Chapter 10- In This World Alone
Cedric and Viktor, with express permission from Hermione of course, assembled in the abandoned library corner while the winter sun shined through the patterned Hogwarts window. They had had some trouble ridding the section of Viktor's fangirls. Cedric thought that it would contribute to his insecurity, but he found himself both amused and thankful that he wasn't hounded by crazy girls just wanting his attention for purely superficial reasons.
That wasn't to say that Cedric didn't have his fans, of course he did. They were just limited to the Hogwarts crowd, basically everybody except for the Gryffindors. And even some of the Gryffindors had abandoned their housemate Harry in favour of supporting him. Cedric had encouraged they stay behind Harry because if he won they'd regret not supporting somebody from their own house. He had expected the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins to get behind him, but the Ravenclaws seemed to be polarised, using all of their knowledge on strategy and probability to factually work out who was more likely to win. Some of them just preferred Cedric as a person and that was their reason for being on Team Cedric. Cedric had actively discouraged such a label, but his friends were adamant to drum up support.
It was only then, when they were gathered around the table just the two of them, that Cedric and Viktor realised how much they had actually been relying on Hermione. Not to get them through the tasks, but to motivate them. They both wanted to win for her, and for the other, so her presence united them, caused them to focus on the Tournament more so than they did when they were alone, or even when they were with each other.
Like right now, for instance. Cedric sat, idly flicking through a book on advanced spellcasting. Viktor was looking out of the window, random thoughts flitting through his mind, none of them actually about the Second Task. He thought a little bit about Fleur and what Hermione had relayed to them about their conversation at the Yule Ball.
Viktor wondered if he had gone about reading people all wrong. He had previously thought he had Fleur Delacour read so definitively that it required no further introspection. Oh, he wrong he had been. From what Hermione had told them, there was a lot more to Fleur than met the eye. He knew that her natural beauty allowed people, including himself, to shoehorn her into the appropriate category of person, but it seemed that Fleur was all about challenging those ideas and making sure that she was always keeping people on their toes, always making people second guess themselves.
And it was that, amongst other things, that made her an actual competitor in the Triwizard Tournament and not just an afterthought like a lot of people thought. He had heard the opinions on the winner. Most people predicted Cedric, with Viktor himself a close second based on both prior standings and also the First Task results. Fleur was a solid third place with Harry unsurprisingly trailing behind in last. Viktor rather thought that anything could happen and that he had probably only done as well as he had because of Hermione and her brilliant planning and strategy sessions. He knew that if Hermione were in his head, she would be telling him that he had done well based on his own merit and that she had only been suggesting things and that he had done it entirely himself. Both Viktor and Cedric knew that this was not the case. Viktor also knew that he and Cedric were not totally relying on Hermione, they obviously had natural skills and quick thinking of their own, but Hermione looked at things in ways that neither of them would ever actually think of. She was very unique.
"What are you thinking about?" Cedric piped up from opposite Viktor. The former had his head resting on his hands, staring lovingly at the Durmstrang boy. "You know that your pupils dilate when you're deep in thought."
"So says my mother," Viktor chuckled. "I can't believe you noticed that, not many people do."
Cedric smirked. "Not many people are looking at you the same way that I am."
Viktor sighed. "I was thinking of the Tournament. And about Hermione and Fleur."
"Together?"
Viktor just raised an eyebrow.
"Right. Sorry. Carry on."
Viktor grinned widely at his boyfriend. "What Hermione told us about Fleur…we really misjudged her."
"Yeah," Cedric agreed, "but only because that's exactly how she wanted it. I mean, we all had a strategy going into this thing about how we wanted to appear. Right?"
Viktor paused for a moment before eventually shrugging. "I will cautiously admit that I was planning to capitalise on my…uh…celebrity."
Cedric nodded. "I figured as much. It's not a bad thing, Vik, so don't think you're a bad person for wanting to get ahead. I was going to use home court advantage and my Hogwarts reputation to…well, I don't know, I was sure it'd do something."
The two shared a laugh before realising something.
"We used the same strategy," Viktor commented.
"Hermione."
"That makes it sound like we used her. I don't know, I'm still shocked that this thing worked out so well the way it did. The three of us."
Viktor slid his hand across the table for Cedric to grab. He had to admit to himself that Cedric was the alpha male in their relationship, as much as he longed to be the type himself. Cedric's hand was warm and his thumb stroked soft circles across Viktor's skin, making him shiver.
They sat in a comfortable silence until Viktor had a question.
"Do you really think we can win this?"
Cedric shrugged. "Think about it, there's a fifty percent chance of one of us winning. We're both talented and capable, I don't see why not."
Viktor nodded. "Can we make an agreement where if the other one wins, we're happy for them. I mean, I don't think either of us are the type to be secretly bitter, but just in case."
"I was going to suggest this, actually. I think it's a good idea. If we're bitter, we get over it and focus on being happy for the other person. The Tournament is a one-time thing and there aren't any lasting repercussions of not winning. Even just competing is something to be proud of, so I think we can be happy either way. At this rate, Fleur's going to rise up and take the Cup."
Viktor smiled. "I wouldn't be surprised if they found a way to award it to Hermione. She'd probably win without competing."
"If anyone could do it, it'd be her."
Viktor looked up as he heard a familiar sound behind him. His eyes rolled. "Oh god, they found it."
Cedric nodded knowingly. The group of girls that swarmed Viktor wherever he went. "I'll deal with this."
Viktor put his head in his hands. He was sharing a nice moment with his boyfriend, could they not leave him alone?
Cedric slipped out of his seat, regrettably removing his hand from Viktor's grasp, and stood in front of the eight or so girls who though he hadn't noticed them. "You do realise that I can see you, right? You're not hidden at all."
A Hufflepuff girl snorted. "We're here to see Viktor Krum. Move it, Diggory."
Cedric smirked. "Oh, Ellen, your crush is hopeless. That's coming from his boyfriend. Now we have things we need to be doing so if you don't mind just leaving us alone, that'd be great." Viktor would've thought Cedric was being polite judging by his words, but his tone was acerbic and sarcastic and he loved every second of it. Cedric was always so nice to people; seeing him say what was really on his mind was a true gift.
But the girls scattered and that was what mattered.
Ooh, a rhyme!
Cedric settled back into his seat and smiled. "I hope I didn't overstep."
Viktor took his hand once again. "Thank you."
Cedric could see the earnest in Viktor's eyes. "This really gets to you, doesn't it?"
Viktor sighed, knowing that he was going to open up. "I just wanted to play Quidditch. When they told me that I could play for my country at 16, I was thrilled. Nobody else had ever done that before. I was the youngest Seeker in the country's history and I focused on that. I didn't realise everything that was going to come. I mean, I knew how I felt about my sporting idols, but I never really thought that that would happen to me because I was so young.
"But it was the opposite. Girls as young as seven would come up to me asking me for pictures and autographs and, while it was nice at first, it became tiring. So I tried to quit."
"You tried to quit Quidditch?" Cedric was shocked.
"I did. The manager wouldn't let me. Said I was too valuable and that I'd signed a contract. Sort of like Harry in this Tournament actually."
"That's why you were so impartial about Hermione making amends with him," Cedric deduced.
Viktor nodded. "Pretty much. I know what it's like to be the youngest part of a competition or a team. People underestimate you and that makes you underestimate yourself. It's likely that Harry wasn't trying so he had an excuse. If he didn't try, it didn't make him look bad if he lost. But if he had worked hard and then lost? They would've said "that was bound to happen" or something like that. Even if he didn't know what he was doing, he was protecting himself.
"Now, don't get me wrong, he shouldn't have treated Hermione the way he did, but I understand why he did. It's hard, constantly being watched. As many supporters as I have, there are always people waiting for me to trip up so that they can prove themselves right. It's a tricky lifestyle to cope with sometimes. The positives are great, but the negatives are almost enough to outweigh them."
Viktor brushed a thumb over Cedric's knuckle. "You and Hermione have been a big part of my settling in here. It makes it a lot easier to ignore the faces when I have two I can concentrate on. Two very beautiful faces."
Cedric smiled, overcome with feelings. "Promise me that this won't be over once the Tournament ends."
"I thought we weren't talking about that."
"I suppose we have to, right? So that we have a plan? Hermione and I can come out to see you in Bulgaria. I've always wanted to see it."
Viktor blushed and beamed. "That'd be nice. I can show you where I grew up and you can meet my family."
"I'd love that. I'd love to learn about how you grew up."
Madam Pince interrupted their moment. "Excuse me, boys, but there's an unusually large gaggle of girls outside the library, they all want to see you two. They're creating a fuss."
Viktor sighed. "We'll just go."
"No, we don't have to."
"I know we don't, it's just easier this way. Pick your battles, Ced. This one isn't worth the fight. We can go for a walk or something."
"Oh, how Harry's cloak would come in handy right about now," Cedric whispered as they left, walking straight into the path of the girls and a few guys who had assembled outside of the library, presumably having been kicked out Madam Pince for creating a disturbance. Cedric saw Ellen the Hufflepuff and scowled at her as he walked past. It did feel good to be petty, Cedric rather thought.
Viktor just stared straight ahead as they tried to follow him. Cedric cut them off and they slipped into the Grand Staircase.
When they realised nobody was following them and that they had given up, Cedric intertwined his fingers with Viktor's once more as they headed out into the wintery air.
