Shipping C2 - Best Friend Test
Fall E2 - Legacy
Setting C1 - Beach
Stacked With: SoC, PP, LL, NC, StL, ToS, BAON, FPC, Cluster, MLG, ER, Shower, Fence, Star, SHoE, RoIL, O3, SN, FR; T3, TY, Ship, FaB, Set
Individual Challenges: Long Haul (Y); The Real MC (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Neurodivergent x4 (Yx4); Rian-Russo Inversion x4 (Yx4); Ethnic & Present x4 (Yx4); Disabled (Y); Tiny Terror x3 (Yx3); Ship Sails x3 (Yx3); Hold the Mayo x2 (Yx2); Zed Era (Y); Gryffindor MC x2; Hufflepuff MC; Ravenclaw MC; Durmstrang MC; Beauxbaton MC; Magical MC x6 (Yx1); Old Shoes (Y); Tell My Story (Y); Go Fluff Yourself; Kinder (Y)
Representations:
Primary & Secondary Challenges: Queen Bee, Under the Bridge, Getting On; Jet Fuel; Second Verse (Dog Star; Corvid Brain; Rock of Ages; Car in a Tutu; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Nontraditional; Found Family; Not a Lamp; Ladylike; Persistence Still); Chorus (Turtle-Duck; Larger Than Life; Unicorn; Tomorrow's Shade; Delicious Lie; Mouth of Babes; Machismo; Rediscovery; Odd Feathers)
Tertiary & Generic Challenges: SHoE (Onus); RoIL (Workstation; Satisfaction); O3 (Orator; Oath); SN (Ameliorate); T3 (Thimble); TY (Enfant); FR (Satisfaction)
Warnings:
The invitations for Viktor and Esperanza's wedding arrived the day after the beach and Cedric was surprised to find a personalized note from Viktor expressing happiness that he was coming to the wedding and his relationship with Hermione. After passing her exams with flying colors, Hermione took her role as Best Man seriously and made calls to caterers and florists and anybody who was needed for the wedding. Viktor had the World Cup, which would have its last game the day before Rose's birthday and he and Esperanza would be coming straight to Kauai afterwards to have their bachelor(ette) parties and finish getting everything together.
Cedric focused on planning Rose's birthday party to take one more thing off of Hermione's plate. Which frankly he thought was harder than a wedding because her latest interests (on top of being a witchy princess) were fairies, mermaids, kung fu, and cars. This would have been so much easier if she still wanted a roller rink party like last month or a Studio Ghibli theme like the month before.
Hermione gave him a budget to adhere to and told him Rose would be happy with anything new because her last three birthdays were a piñata and homemade sheet cake at the park.
"Alright," he said, sitting next to Hermione at the kitchen table. "So, Rose still wants to be a Kung Fu warrior, right?"
"Yes, a witchy Kung Fu warrior fairy princess," she said as she arranged slips of paper with names on them around a template of dinner tables. "I have to sit at the main table, will you be alright sitting with my family?"
"Do you think they'll like me?" he asked.
She looked over at him. "They'll love you. Dad loves you, so Mum and Roger will, too. Paulina will definitely like you. You're an impossible person to hate, Cedric."
"I just worry," he said.
"How's Rose's party coming along?"
"Great, actually. So you know how I became mates with Kai's friends? Well Keone and Heather have a taekwondo class at the community center and they said we could have the birthday party there at a discount if we invite Rose's entire class. It's not Kung Fu, but you know she's seven, it's a martial art, I figured it's close enough."
"Yeah, it's close enough," Hermione agreed.
"Anyway, they give a little defense lesson and then they have this game that involves shields and foam swords. I don't think we'll be friends with the parents after that. Twenty young children, half of them girls, sugaring up on cake and ice cream and then going feral on the boys that pick on them in class?"
"Rose will be very popular."
"And she loves that Cars movie, so I've got the themed plates and napkins, the optional dress up theme is fairy princess, which is all the rage. I know everyone has fairy wings in their home from last Halloween; I've also asked for suitable trousers to be brought so when it's time for the lesson there's no tripping on tutus. She desperately wants a princess cake and I had some room in the budget and ordered one of those cakes with the doll that looks like a dress and have it written to buy extra cupcakes the night before from the grocer. We had to provide the Barbie, so I found a plastic mermaid one and requested the cake reflect that." He took a deep breath. "God, I'm trying too hard, aren't I?"
He was glad it was Leilani's turn to watch Rose and Lila for the day so he could discuss the party freely.
"She'll love it," assured Hermione. "I'm glad we can give this to her. I know you love her so you'll do your best to give her a wonderful birthday so she doesn't feel overshadowed by the wedding."
She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"You have a birthday coming up," he noted.
"Yes, but I think I'd just like to go out to dinner with you, Rose, and Dad," she said. "I don't need a party."
"I'll probably want a party for mine," he admitted. "I never really had one growing up. I got my favorite meal for dinner and gifts and all but, you know, a birthday doesn't mean chores don't exist. Only big party I ever got was for my bar mitzvah."
Hermione looked sad for a moment and hugged him tightly.
"You can have whatever sort of party you want," she said. "Backyard water balloon fight, roller rink, bowling alley. We'll budget and plan for it."
"It's not childish?"
"I think that forcing people to give up the things they loved or wanted as children is soul crushing and a way to feed capitalist agendas in keeping workers dead inside and compliant."
"You know, Luna says the same thing," he noted. "How have you never gotten along before?"
Hermione shrugged. "I thought that my logic and insistence in cold hard facts made me better than her. Really it just made me a jerk. I mean… I didn't know magic was a thing growing up, who's to say there's no such thing as a blibbering humdinger? Maybe there's something similar with a colloquial name."
"Ah."
"But I still don't believe a wizard flew his broom to the moon to catch moon frogs," she said sternly. "A human, magical or no, can't go fast enough to break through the atmosphere and they have sent people to the moon. If there was life, everyone would have been talking about it."
"Fair," he conceded.
Hermione turned back to her seating chart and pursed her lips.
"Fleur and Bill have R.S.V.P.'d," she said. "They're bringing Victoire and Dominique. I'm trying to decide how to bring up to Rose that she has cousins."
"Well, she sort of knows," said Cedric. "I told her Fleur is family to me and that she has two daughters."
"Yes, but actual blood relatives…" Hermione rubbed her neck and sighed. "This is complicated. I told her that she has five uncles and an aunt, so she might figure out that she has cousins… but they're not coming to see her. They're coming because of the wedding."
"Ah, I see your point," he said.
"What did they say when you told them we were dating?" Hermione asked.
"Luna was happy for us," he said. "Fleur was… a bit more skeptical, even with her support for you and Rose."
"Well, I was never nice to her until I had no friends," said Hermione, wincing at the memory of her past behavior. "It wasn't her fault. I had just… I was taking my hurt and anger with Ron out on her. I apologized over letter and I intend to apologize again when I see her. I get her reservations. Even when Ron and I were dating he still pined for her and acted a damn fool! I thought that constant contact with veela lessens the reaction to their allure. Viktor told me the dance team has to rehearse in the stadium so the team doesn't get befuddled by allure."
"That's correct," Cedric said and cringed. "Sorry, that's probably not what you want to hear."
She buried her face in her hands. "They never followed me… none of them. I said where I was going… no letters, no visits. Did they think I was coming back? Did they not care? I know I left so they didn't have to make a choice, but I'm still hurt about it."
"I know." Cedric wrapped his arms around her. "You have good friends here. You're not alone. That's what matters."
"You're right," she said and sat in his lap so she could bury her face in his neck.
He held her tight, rubbing slow circles around the middle of her back. He was glad that his wheelchair was strong enough to support two so he could hold her like this.
"Could you see us getting married?" he asked, feeling fluttery and nervous at the potential responses.
"Definitely," she said. "I mean… I had you move in, and now we're dating and sleeping together and sleeping together, the only purpose of getting married at this point is number one) insurance benefits and number two) you could adopt Rose so if anything happens to me she would go to you."
He nodded. "When… er… that is to say…"
"We haven't even been dating a year," she said. "I want to finish my education and be established at a job before we get married. I think worrying about a ceremony during all this would send me over the edge."
"Fair enough," he said. "But I would like to."
"I would too," she straightened up. "I'm keeping my name though."
"Would it be weird if I took your name?" he asked. "I'm not entirely attached to mine and Cedric Granger has a good ring to it."
"If that's what you wish," she said and kissed his forehead.
Cedric stroked her hair, glad that she had some peace. He didn't think he would change his mind about wanting to marry her, but he was glad they had discussed it, even a little and knew now that the best time to propose was after she got her degree. That was this December, about six months away. Maybe they would discuss it again and she'd ask to wait or maybe she'd agree and they would have a long engagement.
Until then, he'd prove himself worthy of being her partner.
~o0o~
Rose's birthday came and every one of her classmates had attended along with their parents. These things were as much a way for the parents to chat with each other and catch up amongst their busy lives.
When seeing the decorations and cake, Rose screamed and hugged Cedric tightly, which made the tension he hadn't realized he was carrying ease.
During the lesson, the parents lined up along the back wall to supervise. A couple of the kids were already in lessons and seemed a bit antsy to get to the games, but Heather and Keone led them all in warm up stretches and some basic self defense moves and how to throw a punch and kick and control their falls.
"So glad you suggested this," Hermione whispered.
"Me too," he said.
After the lesson, they broke out the cake, sweets, and ice cream. Hermione lit seven candles and one sparkler (for good luck) in the cupcakes since the heat might cause the doll to melt. They all sang the birthday song.
"Make a wish, sweetness," said Hermione.
Rose screwed her eyes shut and scrunched her nose as she wished then blew the candles out in one breath.
"Don't tell your wish or it won't come true," said Cedric, freeing the doll from the cake while Hermione took care of the candles.
"A MERMAID!" Rose shrieked happily.
The cake itself was strawberry flavored with purple buttercream frosting inside. The turquoise outside actually created a very pretty effect.
As the kids ate and talked, Cedric went around refilling cups with pink lemonade.
"INCOMING!"
He whirled around. "LUNA NO!"
Luna paid him no mind as she barreled towards him at top speed and jumped into his arms. The (thankfully plastic) pitcher dropped to the ground, splattering lemonade everywhere as he caught his cousin in his arms. She grinned, completely unrepentant.
"Looney-Tune," he said. "This is a surprise. You know when I said a visit was in order I meant with planning."
"Viktor invited me to his wedding," she said. "He's really quite nice."
"Oh, that explains it." He set her down and hugged her tightly. "It's been a while, cousin."
"Yes it has," she said. "Much too long. I think I should like visiting here."
He smiled. "Clean up this mess."
"Okay!" She skipped along and took the mop and bucket from Heather. Good thing they had more lemonade.
Rose hopped up from her seat and trotted over. Cedric stooped to wipe a stray bit of frosting from her cheek though her lips were entirely turquoise.
"There we are," he said. "Rose, this is my cousin Luna."
Rose seemed shy and averted her gaze from Luna's wide perpetually-perplexed eyes. Luna was dressed for the party theme, but Cedric knew that it was just her eccentric style from the bell-shaped felt flower hat to the lighter than air green dress dotted with flowers, to the stockings decorated with rhinestones and reflective shapes, to the flats that had ribbons wrapping around her ankles. All she was missing really were the wings and he had no doubt she would have come in with them if she thought they were required.
"Hello, Rose," said Luna. "I brought you a gift. Of course, this was before I knew it was your birthday."
She opened her satchel and dug out a wrapped parcel, offering it to Rose. Cedric nodded encouragingly and Rose took the present.
"Can I open it now?" she asked.
"Of course, Princess," said Cedric.
Rose tugged the ribbon and the paper fell away, revealing a large potion bottle. Suspended inside was a soft pink rose with sage green fillers. It lit up with gold lights, perfect as a nightlight for the young girl. Her eyes got as big as moons as she stared at it.
"Thank you!" she whispered and hugged Luna.
"Of course. You can call me Auntie."
"Thank you Auntie!" Rose ran back to her seat to show her friends what she was given.
"Time for games!" Hermione announced.
While Keone and Heather equipped the kids with helmets and brought out the foam swords and shields, Hermione approached Luna.
"Er… hi," she said, awkwardly and took Cedric's hand.
He squeezed it comfortingly.
"Hello, Hermione," said Luna. "It's been a long time."
"Yes, it has. Erm… would you like some cake? There's still some left."
"That would be lovely, thank you."
"I like your hat," Hermione commented.
"Thank you. The shape tricks Dabberblimps into thinking there's no one there," she said. "This makes it good to observe them."
"Oh yeah?" said Hermione without missing a beat. "I suppose they look at it and just see a flower."
"Precisely!"
"Did we miss cake?"
Hermione grinned and turned around. Viktor and Esperanza had walked in.
Cedric was almost stunned. He knew that Viktor was happy and in love, but he hadn't realized what sort of change that would make over him. He always knew him as surly and stoic. Now… if he hadn't been expecting to see him, he never would have recognized him.
He was still short, about Hermione's height but he had dressed fashionably in a color-blocked shirt, black trousers, boat shoes, and a hat. He had grown his hair out too, showing a curl to it and his beard was sculpted. He didn't look like that awkward kid anymore.
Cedric had seen Esperanza in pictures but he wasn't prepared for the reality. She was taller than him, heavy set, and breathtakingly beautiful. She had a charisma and grace about her that turned heads much like Fleur had. She wore parakeet green trousers and a blinding pink halter top that looked great with her dark brown skin, and her long dark hair tumbled down her shoulders.
Hermione hugged them both and kissed their cheeks.
"I'm so happy to see you," she said, signing for Esperanza's benefit.
Cedric knew Esperanza was deaf and Rose and Hermione had been teaching him sign language, but he was relieved to see her bring out a notebook and pen when she approached him. She had written a greeting down, but she said it out loud.
"Hi, Cedric!" Her voice was monotone and slightly slurred. "It's nice to finally meet you. Mimi told me so much about you!"
"Happy to meet you," he signed, tried to think of what to say next, and ended up clasping his hands together and shaking them. "Friends?"
She smiled and hugged him, kissing his cheek.
"Hello, my friend," said Viktor, hugging him next. "I do not think I have seen you since Fleur's wedding."
"Yeah, I've been traveling," he said and noted that whatever was said discretely appeared in Esperanza's notebook. Nifty spellwork. "Congrats on the engagement, I'm happy for you."
"CHICHO! TÍA!" Rose ran top speed towards the both of them and ended up crashing into Viktor.
"Ey, I was wondering when you two would show up," said Manny, giving them both hugs.
Cedric stepped aside so they could have their reunion. He was friendly with Viktor, but they had never been close and he wasn't sure what he would talk to Esperanza about. Rose quickly moved on and ran back to the baby fight club, so the adults could talk.
"We shall go to dinner tonight," said Viktor. "Catch up."
"Yeah, definitely," said Hermione.
"You're cheating! I got you!" Rose yelled angrily.
"I have invincibility," said the boy she was fighting. "You can't take me out!"
"Oh geez," Hermione went over to help mediate the inevitable real fight that would break out if this continued.
Luna stood next to Cedric. "You never said who Rose's father was. It's so obvious just looking at her. How come she didn't say anything?"
Cedric frowned. "She was scared everyone would still take Ron's side. She told him she was pregnant and he didn't believe her."
"He can be quite unkind," said Luna. "Still, if that hadn't happened, then you and her never would have found each other. Your auras match."
"You think so?"
"I know so."
Cedric looked over at Hermione who was explaining that in the rules of the arena, special wards were set up to negate invincibility spells in order to make the battles fair. Which caused the boy to cry and his mother to sigh with exasperation. Rose was still adamant that she had won, but Hermione was doing well at keeping her calm.
"I love them," he said. "Both of them."
"She's changed," said Luna.
"How come no one ever reached out to her?" Cedric asked. "She's still hurt about it."
"Well, we were all angry at her," said Luna. "For saying those awful things to Harry, for breaking up with Ron, leaving without a goodbye. And then, when we were no longer angry… how do you know what to say? How come she never sent word about Rose?"
"She didn't want her to be rejected. Or dragged between two homes like she was. And can you really see Ron letting Rose be herself? He didn't even like Hermione as herself."
"I suppose that's as good a reason as any," said Luna. "But everyone knows Hermione is here now with you and with a daughter. I couldn't just not tell Ginny and Fleur told Bill. Had to. Ginny is my plus one, but she's keeping Ron and Harry away at Kilokilo for now."
Cedric felt his stomach drop.
"Are we gonna have a family reunion on our hands?" he asked.
"Oh yes. I imagine it will be quite loud," she said. "Especially when they realize who Rose's father is. Fleur seemed to know, but she didn't say when they were all speculating when and how."
"Are they daft?" said Cedric. "What do they think she ran off and then got pregnant by a stranger? Does he think he has no hand in this?" He dropped his voice low so only she could hear. "She told me he kept removing the protection spell without telling her because he hated how it felt."
Esperanza's jaw dropped and she looked over at them. Guess the notebook picked up quite a lot.
"It doesn't matter," he said. "Hermione is happy now. She has an amazing kid. And I'm happy to be a part of it." He hesitated. "Are all the Weasleys here?"
"No. Just Ginny, Bill, and Ron. Harry is here, too."
"Mm. This won't be pretty. I'm glad they're not here to crash the birthday party. I don't want her day spoiled."
"I don't either," said Luna.
Thankfully, no one else arrived. Rose opened her presents and said her 'thank you's and then her goodbyes. It was late and time for some real food by then, so they went to Manny's for dinner and karaoke. It didn't take long for Rose to warm up to Luna.
As Cedric was singing "Hotel California" he spotted Fleur, Bill, and their two daughters entering the restaurant.
"Fleur!" he said. "Hi! WELCOME TO THE HOTEL CALIFORNIA!"
"California?!" she yelled to the laughs of the people in the diner. "I thought this was Hawaii!"
He watched Hermione approach them and talk to Fleur directly, leading her over to the table. Chairs were brought in and rearranged to accommodate the four of them. The lights were in his eyes then and he couldn't see or hear what was going on. He finished his song and bowed, then handed off the microphone so he could go see if Hermione needed rescuing. He needn't have worried, Hermione was talking with Fleur and she was smiling. Rose was telling Victoire and Dominique about all the things to do in the area.
Bill still had a look of bewilderment and slight anger on his face as he stared at Rose. Cedric smacked his shoulder.
"You scare my little girl and I'll make you regret it," he hissed. "Get that look off your face."
"Sorry, I just… can't believe Ron told us it was a lie." Bill paused. "Your little girl?"
"Oh, Rose just adores Cedric," said Hermione. "He's amazing with her. He takes her to the places that I get overstimulated by. You know, when he first showed up, Rose asked him what happened to his legs and he—" she broke off, stifling her laughter. "He said with the straightest face, 'I didn't eat my vegetables. Do you eat yours?' Oh! You should've seen the look on her face!"
Fleur laughed. "He always was witty."
Cedric rested his hands on Hermione's shoulders and kissed the top of her head before sitting down. She smiled at him and rested her hand on his arm before turning back to listen to Fleur. Rose waved her hands from the end of the table.
"What?" Hermione signed. After Rose threw her question, she turned to Bill and Fleur and said out loud, "Rose wants to know if Victoire and Dominique would like to come over and play tomorrow. I have to bring Esperanza and Viktor around to tie things up for the wedding, but Cedric will be home."
"That I will," he said. "It's alright with me."
"And her best friend Lila is coming over tomorrow, too," said Hermione. "Lila is a sweetheart. She's a grade younger than Rose, but they've been best friends since they were babies."
"That would be nice," said Fleur. "It will give me, Luna, and Cedric time to catch up."
"It's settled," said Cedric. "Come on over at any time, I'll be home all day. Though I'm sure you'll have serious jet lag and will want to sleep in. It is eleven hours difference."
"True, but I think if we force it we should be alright," said Fleur. "We shall try to be by after lunch."
Hermione nodded and wrote out her address with directions on how to get there from Manny's diner. "Oh, Viktor's bachelor party will be Wednesday evening. I wanted us to have it a few days before the wedding so that we didn't have a sleep-deprived groom weebling at the altar."
"What are we going to be doing?" Fleur asked.
"Miguel, the Man of Honor, is taking Esperanza and her friends geocaching. They played it at Castelobruxo. She transferred there her third year."
"What is geocaching?" asked Fleur.
"It's basically a treasure hunt. They've got geocache boxes in quite a few places here. Zee doesn't seem the type but she's actually very adventurous."
"Best ideas come from outside sources," said Esperanza.
"Her day job is fashion design," said Hermione.
"Why not just become a Curse-Breaker if she likes treasure hunting?" asked Bill.
"Because she doesn't rob graves to do it," said Hermione. "There I said it."
"We don't rob graves!"
"Oh, so you think pyramids are… what, fancy vaults?"
His face flushed bright red.
"It is a grave," said Fleur. "But Bill does not do that anymore. He does inventory on the abandoned Gringotts vaults these days."
"Oh yeah?" Hermione nodded. "Anyway, Viktor said he gets enough danger from his day job so he wants a relaxing day with the girls. And Cedric."
"Thank you."
"Your friends are all girls?" said Bill, furrowing his brow and looking at Viktor.
"Yes," he said. "Mimi was my first real friend, then Fleur followed and Cedric was always kind to me."
"But you're famous, aren't you?"
"I am also Romani," said Viktor. "You think the pureblood elite don't take ethnicity into account? My father is old money, my mother is old Romani lineage all the way back to when our family still lived in Punjab, but that means nothing if you don't look the part. Becoming famous Quidditch player just stopped me and brother from being thrown in dumpster every day. I did not have friends until I left Durmstrang behind and started union for magical beings in Bulgaria. Now, along with present company, I have Alexandra who is Beater on Quidditch team, Bily and Rositsa who are Veela on dance team, Nadine and Suna who are vampires, and Augustina the Swan Maiden."
"And what will we be doing for your bachelor party?" asked Fleur.
"We're going to go to the Kilokilo Hawker Centre," said Hermione. "We're going to eat, see the local performances, eat some more, go to the comedy club, and eat again. Kilokilo has options for all walks of life."
"Yeah, we're staying at a hotel there," said Bill. "It's insane how massive the place is."
"Next up is Mimi!"
"Ooh! My song!" Hermione got up and hurried over to the stage just as 'Ya No' began over the speakers.
Cedric rested his chin in his hand and watched her with a smile.
"Ooh, you are in love," said Fleur.
Rose came over and tugged on his sleeve.
"Yes, Princess?" he said.
She climbed onto his lap and cuddled up to him, closing her eyes. Cedric smiled and lifted her hat so he could kiss the top of her head.
"I think after her song, Hermione and I oughta get home," he said to the table. "There's plenty of time for catching up this week."
"Of course," said Fleur. "We have been up for a long time, so I think we should get the girls to bed. Right, mon chou?"
"Yes, of course," said Bill.
That night, Rose was tucked in with a story, her new toys stacked up in her room to be put away in the morning. Cedric finished readying for bed himself and climbed in next to Hermione. She had already tucked her hair into her satin-lined bonnet and was fiddling with the duvet in its place.
"That wasn't so bad," she said, though her brow was creased with worry. "I think Luna accepted things as they are. Victoire and Dominique are too young to understand. I'm glad Rose was excited to meet her cousins. Bill? I dunno. He looked upset with you playing the role of father. I'm not sure if he was angry at me or Ron."
Cedric drew her close and settled on top of her, resting his chin on her chest. She inhaled deeply, taking comfort from his weight.
"Bad news: Ron and Harry are in the area," he said. "Luna told me so."
"Yeah, she told me as much, too," said Hermione, looking back at the ceiling, but petting his hair.
"Good news: If things do go badly, they're not invited to the wedding so they won't have permission to be in Kauai the day before or of the ceremony."
"What if Ron decides he wants custody?" Hermione whispered.
"Then we dispute it in court," he said firmly and kissed her.
As he moved away to return to his own side of the bed, she pulled him back and kissed him deeply. He waved his hand to turn out the light and pushed all thoughts of tomorrow from his mind so he could focus solely on her.