A/N: I hope you are enjoying the story! The best part's at the end, though… I'm surprised! I haven't even gotten to the Halloween Feast yet!

Chapter Five: Emotional Outburst In the Halls…

Having been released out of Defense Against Dark Arts early (Professor Moody seemed so apologetic to the point of letting them out twenty minutes before the time), Holly waited for Cedric and his friends to come out of Charms on Monday afternoon.

"Hey, Holly!" Ryan greeted, the first one out of the class. "Waiting for Cedric?"

"All of you." Holly corrected, but nodded.

"I have to go to the library and write a four foot essay due tomorrow… I procrastinate. You won't want to come."

"I was thinking of going out on the grounds and doing something, actually…" Holly nodded again. "But I guess if you have to work…"

"Ask the others," Ryan encouraged. "I'm sure they'll go with you." As Ryan brusquely walked towards the library, Drew and Erin left together.

"You guys want to go out on the grounds and do something?"

"Like what—" Drew began, but was interrupted by Erin.
"I'm allergic to grass." She forced a smiled. "Besides. Drew and I have a project to finish."

"Oh yeah! Sorry, Holly." Drew shrugged and followed Erin in the opposite direction of the library. Finally, Cedric came out.

"What's the matter?" he asked. "You're looking glum."

"I don't think your friends like me," Holly muttered. Cedric smiled.

"Don't be silly, they love you!"
"Let me rephrase that," Holly said. "I don't think Erin likes me."
"Oh, Erin doesn't like anybody until she gets to know them. Oh, I know what'll cheer you up!" Cedric reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a twig and handed it to Holly whose eyebrow was raised in a skeptical expression.

"A stick?"

"Not just any stick!" Cedric cried, dramatically. "It's a magic stick!"

"You mean a wand? It's a cheap looking wand if you ask me—"
"No, not a wand!" Cedric rolled his eyes. "Here, watch this!" he pulled out his wand, pointed it at the stick, and concentrated hard. He muttered something.

"What are you…" But Holly trailed off as the stick shook in her hands and turned green. It then sprouted leaves and the bumps on the stick became thorns. Finally, a pale blossom as soft as silk struggled out of the tip of the twig. Holly smiled.

"Oh I see! Your famous 'stick-into-flower' trick. Clever." Cedric frowned and nodded.
"Yeah, it's usually quite a charmer. Have you talked to them yet?"

"Not a word since Lee screamed at me," Holly answered, truthfully. She knew by now that she could never avoid speaking about her dispute with Lee and the twins with Cedric. Cedric pulled something out of his pocket and turned it over in his hand.

"You really should. I've said that a million times by now. In fact, if you don't do it, then I will."
"You wouldn't!" Holly laughed. Cedric nodded.

"It is a far, far better thing I do…" he said dramatically.

"What's in your hand?" Cedric could hear the mischief in Holly's voice.

"Oh no you don't! It's a coin, just a coin, nothing more, nothing less! A muggle currency, something I picked up in Peru!"

"It's your lucky coin, isn't it?" Holly pressed, the grin widening on her face.

"No, it's just— OY! How'd you do that?!" In seconds, the coin was in Holly's hand.

"The twins are great teachers when it comes to pick-pocketing!" Holly held the coin high above her head.

"Give it here!" Cedric demanded, jumping for the coin. Holly reached slightly behind her so he'd miss. He advanced on her and she backed away towards the wall, grinning. When her foot hit the cold stone of the castle wall, she knew she was stuck. She instantly hid the coin in her back pocket. Cedric made sure she wouldn't run by putting one arm on either side of her, trapping her in a small space.

"Give it to me!" he whispered. Holly, still smiling, shook her head.

"Not until you agree not to talk to the twins."
"It's for your own good, now give me the damn coin!"

"It is a far, far better thing I do…" Holly mimicked. She looked up into his eyes and her smile faded. The smile he had held so vividly on his lips merely seconds ago was dwindling as well. Their eyes met and they stared, surprised at what they saw. Holly wasn't just seeing his eyes, she was studying them harder than she ever had before. She was seeing deep into them, pools of knowledge and personality. She looked deep into his soul. He was an open book; everything about him lay bare before her.

Similarly, she knew he was looking into her own eyes, reading all her secrets as if it were a diary, left open on a bed. He understood her better than anybody, better than the twins ever could. He could see straight through her, straight through any façade or cover she could put up. He saw straight to her heart.

The scene was a frozen tableau of silent words and emotions running wild. They knew, and yet they had no idea, exactly what was going on. They had been so swept away by the moment…

They stared so long into each other that they could read each other's mind and know exactly what the other was thinking. And they were both thinking the same thing. Cedric leaned in, hesitantly at first. Holly noticed, but didn't move. She didn't flinch or pull away when she felt his warm hand on her arm. Her lips parted and her eyes closed. She drew in a quiet, shuddering breath and let it out. And when she did nothing to stop him, Cedric moved faster and their lips touched and locked. Cedric put his arm around her and she moved closer to him. It took her a moment to come to her senses and realize what exactly was going on. Suddenly frightened, her eyes snapped open and she pushed him away.

"No," she said, stubbornly, her eyes on the stone floor. She couldn't look into those eyes because she knew if she did, they'd consume her.

"No?" Cedric barely uttered the word in surprise, confusion written on his face as he tried to process what she'd said and figure out what game she was playing. Finally, the word seemed to sink into his brain and he shook his head to clear it. He stared at her, dumbfounded. "NO?" He repeated, louder.

"No." Holly had tears in her eyes, but she wouldn't allow Cedric to see them. She kept her gaze on the floor.

"No?!" Cedric was trying hard to understand what this girl was doing. Moments ago, he knew her every thought, but she had changed in those few minutes that had passed and was now completely different and inscrutable.

"I… I can't do this, Cedric," she whispered, shaking her head sadly. "Not you. Not now."
"Then when?" Cedric demanded with nervous laughter. "Because I can wait! I've waited this long."

"Not now…" Holly repeated, her head still moving from side to side. "Not… Not with you."
"What?" The way Cedric said the word, so shocked, so hurt, so… heartbroken… made Holly look up at him. She could see straight to his heart through his eyes and she could see that it was tearing into. She also saw that it was her hand that was ripping it apart. It was the second time she was breaking his heart. Only this time, it was worse. Holly blinked away her tears.

"You… We have such a great friendship, Cedric. I hate it when people ruin their friendships with romantic relationships, don't you?"

"But…" Cedric just couldn't understand as he stood staring. "But… But I… I love you." He said it as if it was the answer to all the problems, all the questions. Holly cringed. That word. 'Love.' From him, from Cedric… love. He loved her. Someone actually truly loved her. And she had no doubt he meant it.

"We… We can't, Cedric," she said with a straight face.
"But why!" Cedric demanded, anger suddenly flaring in his eyes. "Why can't we do it? I love you, Holly! I've always loved you! I've been a good friend to you, haven't I? Your idea about being friends first was actually a blessing in disguise! I know you better because of it! We know things about each other that… that… Why?!"

"Because… Because…" But Holly couldn't think of a reason. Suddenly, a horrible thought struck the poor boy and his anger left him and was replaced with hurtful surprise.

"You… you do love me too, don't you? That… That kiss… It was amazing… Didn't it mean anything to you?" Holly was torn. A part of her told her she couldn't, she just couldn't. But the other part of her screamed for her to take him, to kiss him again and let him know everything was alright. But she held back. She couldn't. But why, she kept asking herself. Why? Not even she knew.

"I… That kiss… It was amazing… But… Now's not the time. Later." Cedric was angry again. He threw up his arms in frustration.

"Later, later, later! It's always later to you! It's not a question of you not loving me and trying to spare my feelings. That kiss told me you like me. You like me a lot. Maybe you're just too blind too see it. You're blind to everything else. Like the Weasleys! Faithful old Fred and George, always there! I have a news flash for you, Holly Phillips! You think you're the center of the universe! Well you're not! Now I'm sick of all these 'laters!' I want an answer now! Where do I stand with you?" Holly was quiet as she stared down at her feet again.

"We're just friends, Cedric. We'll always be friends." Cedric sighed and shook his head, shifting his weight onto one foot and putting his hands on his hips.
"I was afraid you'd say that," he whispered, sadly. Finally, he looked at her again and she looked up. He could see her brown eyes shimmering. "Well then. It might be convenient for you, Holly, but it's as sure as hell killing me. You're a great friend, Holly. You really are. But I want to be more than just friends; Did that ever occur to you? You're a wonderful person. You're gorgeous, into Quidditch, funny, charismatic. But the earth doesn't revolve around you, Miss. Queen of the Earth. Other people live here too and I don't know when you'll realize that. I'll never be good enough for you, will I? Well I'll just have to learn to live with that. I pity the lucky fool who gets to cater to your every egotistic whim. See you, Holly…" And with that, he turned his back on her and walked down the hall, his stride long and his heart heavy.

Holly burst into tears.

"Why are you crying?"

"Go away!" Holly lashed her hand out at whoever had spoken. Her face was buried in her arms and she couldn't see who was speaking to her.

"I heard you never cry," the mystery man said.
"Well you heard a lie."

"Come on, Holly, it must be something serious. I know you. You wouldn't cry like this if something wasn't something terrible."

"I don't care who you are, just leave me alone!" Holly shouted. The person sighed.

"If that's really how you want it. You've just always been there for me, I just thought I could return the favor…" Holly stopped crying a moment and looked up. She saw Harry Potter retreating to a corner.

"No…" she whispered. He turned. "I'm sorry. I'm just upset. Come back, Harry. Please." Harry did so with a comforting smile.

"What is it? What's bothering you?"

"Cedric…" Holly murmured. "And why I turned him down. I don't know why I did it. Something in me was just so hesitant, so worried. I don't know what was wrong with me. I suppose it's for the best."

"Yeah…" Harry seemed disappointed and Holly smiled, despite herself.

"Big thing, huh? It's not just that, though," she added. "It's the twins. They hate me too. And Lee. Hell, even my roommates are ignoring me. Why does everyone hate me?!" she started crying again

"Everyone does not hate you, Holly!" Harry sounded surprised.

"Oh really, like who?" Holly asked, so upset she didn't realize what he'd actually been implying. He gave a nervous smile.

"Well… Like me. I don't hate you, Holly. I don't hate you." Holly stopped crying once more and looked up at her little brother. She smiled, sincerely.

"Thanks, Harry," she said. "That's the best thing anyone's ever said to me all year." Harry sat down in a chair next to Holly as she dried her eyes. There was a moment of silence. Finally, Harry spoke to her.

"What happened?"

"I already told you what happened," Holly smiled, warmly.

"Not that," he said, shaking his head. "I mean what happened to you? Between your fourth and fifth year, what changed you?"
"You mean why did I become so emotional all of a sudden."

"Yeah." Harry nodded. Holly sighed.

"I'm not quite sure what happened myself. But let me tell you this. At the beginning of last year, I had never cried in my life. Never. Not when Fred and George broke my arm, not when my dad died, never. And I had never screamed at anyone or yelled about anything they did. I was so patient, I didn't even have a temper. The Weasley twins and I never fought. All those years and not a single tear! But then, something changed..." Holly snapped out of her daydream and looked at Harry. "Did I ever tell you I was adopted?" Harry shook his head. Holly continued. "Well… Anyway. I suppose the best way to say this is I found myself. That year, I found out who I really was. I wasn't who I'd always thought I was, the boring adopted daughter of Elise and Jason Phillips. I mean, I knew I was adopted, but I'd always thought that was the most interesting fact about me. I'd often imagined things, things like I was the daughter of an English noble woman who fell in love with a red-haired Irish popper and had to give her baby away and… well, things like that. But that's all it was, imagining. But I had a secret so dark and deep that even I didn't know it. My past was more interesting then any of my fantasies. And, well, I guess when I discovered it, all my memories, all that I am came rushing back to me like an large ocean wave…" Harry nodded.

"I know that feeling," he said. "I never thought I was anything either. That is, until I turned eleven when I realized I'm a famous wizard." Holly nodded with a smile.

"I think you do understand me," she said.

"Well!" Harry yawned and stood up. "I'm going to bed."

"OK."

"And Holly?" Harry looked over his shoulder over at the girl. "Can I offer some advice?"

"Yeah?"

"Show them."

"Sorry?"

"Do something to show them that you support them. I've heard you say that you can't tell them you're sorry, so show them." Holly smiled, sincerely.

"Thanks, Harry. Thanks a lot."

Holly didn't sleep that night. She grabbed a quill, rainbow ink, and bright colored parchment and began her project. In the morning, she asked Kristen, Megan and Maria to help her. They were only too happy to oblige. Too full of excitement to be tired, Holly set up her post outside the Great Hall and began.