A/T: Well, I love you guys so much, I had to (start) write(ing) another chapter, no matter how much Algebra there was to complete.

To Carya, because life is nice and all, but the fanfiction world is just so much better. winks

Disclaimer: See the first chapter. Then come and read this one.

Alley of Dreams

Act 7: Here We Are, But Where Is Here?

Suddenly, the crowd did not exist. The voices were only murmurs; the shouts were only hums. The people passing by were blurs to Cedric and Cho, as beautiful as ever, approached both husband and son with a disarming smile.

"Hello Cedric," she said finally, smiling at their son. She bent over, hands on knees, so she could meet him eye-to-eye. Harry obviously didn't exist to her either. "I haven't seen you in a while. Where are all those visits you promised me?"

Cedric could only stare in a state of carefully concealed horror- what was he going to say? Do? Act like? What was she doing here? Why? How?

"I... hi Mom," he stuttered, unable to say anything more. But he wasn't the only one to be thinking like this. The fact was that Harry wasn't quite sure what to say and was pretty sure if he did say anything, he'd want his son to cover his ears. He was torn between shock and anger.

"That's no way to say hello!" she chided playfully. "We haven't seen each other in ages! What do you say we go and do something together soon?"

Cedric nodded, his green eyes cast downward. "Okay. That sounds good to me."

She smiled again. "What about today? A new ice cream shop just opened and-"

"We have plans for today, Cho. Our team just won and we have to leave in a few minutes," interrupted Harry, clutching his broom and trying not to appear rude. She looked up at Harry, raising an eyebrow, but Cedric was secretly thankful. Talk about awkward.

"Do you? Well, I'm sure you and your team mates need your time together to... I don't know, drink beer and be merry. Do what you men always do," she said, crossing her arms.

"Cedric wants to come. He likes Quidditch and he just made friends with Draco and Oliver-"

"Listen, Harry. I haven't seen my son in almost a year and I want to spend time with him. Plus, I'm not sure whether I want him around Draco Malfoy, of all people."

"Cho, I really don't want to get into this right now. The team is waiting for us. And Draco has changed- you know that."

"Harry, just go. I want time with my son, and you can have time with your team-"

"Your son? I'm sorry, but did I miss something?" he snapped, a dark look beginning to flare in his eyes. He was truly irritated now, but didn't want to cause a scene. He knew he had to escape.

Cho removed her hands from her chest and placed them on her hips, glaring at him. "I don't want to fight with you, Harry."

"I've already said that! I don't want a fight with you- I want to leave. With my son. You can stop by sometime at the house, if you can remember the address."

Cedric already saw was this was to become. An argument, a fight, an all out brawl in the middle of a crammed Quidditch crowd. He hated when this happened. He couldn't let it. He simply couldn't.

"Mom, Dad, I really don't think... I mean, you guys don't have to do this," he said, meekly, trying to figure out the exact words to say and them all tumbling out at once.

"Really, Harry! Do you want him to think I don't love him? Is that what you've instilling in his head these past months?" Cho was asking, angrily.

"Well, you sure haven't acted like you have! What's he supposed to think? And what do you mean by "months"? It's been a year and a half!" Harry retorted, just as livid.

"Please-" Cedric began, helplessly. "Maybe we can all go with the team?"

His parents unknowingly drowned his voice out with things that really had nothing to do with whether or not he went one place or another, things they'd been dying to get off their chest for nine years now. The day had been going so well; how did this happen? He stood there, next to his father as Harry and Cho proceeded to trying to rip out the others vocal chords.

He tried to look past the crowd for the team that waited for them at the gates of the field. He knew they were there but he couldn't quite spot them. The noise was far too much and everything was going so fast. It was far, far too much for him to handle at the moment.

He looked up at his parents once more, realizing that both had forgotten he was even there. The fight, as it now was, was not even about him anymore. It was about the past. A past neither of them could simply let go of. Cedric's head was beginning to hurt- what he needed was a quiet place- a safe place.

Bitterly realizing that Harry nor Cho would not realize he was gone until one of them triumphed over the other, he turned and began to zigzag through the maze of people until he reached the entrance gates to the stadium. The Chudley Cannon's stood, waiting for Harry and Cedric to leave with them to celebrate their victory. He made his way a little farther until he reached Oliver, who immediately took attention of the miserable boy before him.

"Oi, Cedric! Where's Harry?" he asked, raising his eyebrows curiously.

Cedric rapidly began to formulate a story- not quite the truth, but not a lie, either- and plastered a cheerful expression of his face.

"Oh, he won't be able to leave with you right now. He says to tell you that he'll meet up with you in a few minutes but he didn't want you to wait."

Oliver tilted his head. "Is that so?" he asked, not 100 percent convinced. Cedric nodded.

"Sure did," he confirmed, sticking his hands in his pocket and, while doing so, crossing his fingers. "He promises to meet up with you soon."

Oliver sighed. "Well, alright, but tell 'im to get himself over there as soon as possible. It's not the same without the entire team."

Cedric nodded again. "I will. Have fun!"

Oliver motioned for the rest of the team to follow him as they walked out of the gates, talking among their selves. He watched as Draco turned back and gave him a wave, and Cedric smiled back, deciding he genuinely liked the Slytherin man. His smile grew even larger as the blonde Slytherin snaked his way next to Oliver. Well. At least someone was happy.

He stood there in the middle of a maddening crowd. A crowd that was too loud and too pushy, at least for a lost little boy. A lost little boy that was about to cry, despite the fact he knew he wasn't supposed to, or at least shouldn't. Because, when you zoom out and get the big picture, it really was such a silly thing to be upset over. This'll be forgotten by tonight, when Harry finally detached himself from his current squabble. This happens to a lot of other kids, and sometimes they have it even worse.

But right now, all he wanted to do was to leave.

And then, in the sea of all these people- of all these wizards and witches and children and players, one face appeared.

Severus.

Cedric, for one brief moment, wondered if his favorite Potions Master even realized he was there. But from the direction he was coming from, it would seem that he knew exactly who was there and was on his way.

Cedric decided to help out.

With a small sob, he ran as fast as he could to the darker wizard. Before Severus knew it, Cedric had latched himself to his waist, and was getting salty tears on his new robes.

Severus didn't mind.

...

It had been twenty minutes and Severus had consoled him the best he could. Cedric had dried up as soon as possible, not wanting to look childish. They had found a table in the corner of the crowd and they sat, waiting for Harry to come find his son. This didn't mean, of course, that the young boy didn't begin launching as many questions as he could manage to pass the time.

"So what are you doing here? I thought... you had a potion to brew. For –um- a friend?" he asked, inquisitive.

Guilt flooded Severus. He was silent for a long moment, reflecting on the thought. Guilt. Funny. Never thought he would feel such an emotion. But perhaps he had been feeling it too much. Perhaps that's all he lived in.

"I found some extra in the back of my storage closet. Besides, I had tickets to the game." Well, Albus did have extra tickets and he wasn't going to be able to make it to the game... Severus almost grinned at the looks on the Professors faces in the lounge when he had graciously accepted the tickets from the Headmaster.

Cedric folded his arms on the table and looked curiously at Severus as if he didn't quite believe him. His head was slightly tilted to the right and he raised his eyebrow. The Potions Master felt increasingly uncomfortable at such a uncertain gaze. He cleared his throat, trying to think of a change of subject.

"So where's your father?"

Cedric sat back into his chair, crossing his left leg over his right and drumming his right hand fingers on the table- a habit from Harry that he had recently picked up. His eyes began to scan the ground as if he were asking himself the very same question.

"Well, he's obviously not here with me. His mind leaves him so easily... I'm sure he's looking for me right about now."

"It might be easier for him if you didn't wander off so much," advised Severus, resting his elbows against the table top.

Cedric sighed. "I know. But I couldn't watch them. My mother's here. I guess I decided I had had enough. Does that sound selfish to you?" Cedric looked quite miserable as he stared at the ground. "Sometimes I feel like I sound so selfish when I talk like that. But you weren't there- they were shouting at each other in front of everyone!"

Severus shook his head. "You don't sound selfish. In fact, for as little time as I've known you, I can't tell you are completely dedicated to your father and I can understand how it must feel to work so hard at trying to keep him on the right track. It's not selfishness... it's frustration."

Cedric smiled gratefully at Severus. "Thank you. That actually makes me feel better. I guess I just needed someone else to say that."

Severus smiled dryly. "Don't get used to it. I'm not one to usually give pep talks. I loathe the things."

"Oh, that's a big surprise," came a sarcastic voice from behind them. They turned around to find two very pissed-off adults. Cho and Harry both had their arms crossed. It was easy to see that both were angry at each other and at Cedric from walking off to Never-Never land while they weren't watching.

"Cedric, what were you thinking? Do you have any idea how easy it is for you to get lost? Look at the crowd! Why do you think Severus keeps finding you all the time? Can't you stay in one place for more than two minutes?" asked Harry, stalking over to them. "And I see you've found my son again. Is that your new hobby, Severus?"

He said the words with such force that both were rendered speechless for a second, before an angry expression darkened the older wizards handsome face. "Perhaps if he weren't so easily found, this wouldn't happen," he replied, coldly.

"What exactly are you implying?"

"Your parenting skills lack in certain areas."

Harry leaned in closely. "Are you saying I can't raise my son, Severus? Because I learned some of those children handling skills from one of the best teachers."

"Don't try to blame this on me, Harry! You are more lost than he has ever been!" snapped Severus, rising from his seat. "Why do you think your house is a dump? Why can't you ever find anything, including your son? Why does your mind wander worse than he does? It's because you are lost, Harry. You don't know what you're doing so you have to do something to fill in the space."

"Don't talk to me like that in front of my child!" yelled Harry, but the truth was ringing true, and there was no way he could shield it from Cedric or himself.

Cho was listening quietly, her own silent anger radiating off of her. Her dark eyes were flashing with resentment.

There was a long silence as Harry looked at the man in front of him and knew he was right on target, as usual. The facts hurt him, but the truth wasn't always what you wanted it to be. Severus had taught him that one.

The quiet continued until Severus broke it one last time.

"But I suppose what makes up for it all is the fact you love him. You love him more than anything and you would sacrifice everything for him." He smiled softly, almost sadly. "I suppose that kind of evens out the scale. I hope you never actually learned any child skills from me, Mister Potter. I may be able to track a students every move so they won't hurt themselves, and I may be able to teach them about both Potions and life, but there is a reason they fear me so much. They think I hate them, which I don't."

He grabbed his coat off this back of his chair, ever graceful, when, after a moment of thought, bent in order to be face to face with Cedric.

"I'm sorry I yelled just then. I know that's what you were trying to get away from. I probably just made it worse, didn't I?"

Cedric shook his head silently. "No, you didn't. It's okay. Sometimes you've just got to say something and get it off your chest. Sometimes you're tired of being dim and not being noticed."

"Like stars?"

"Exactly like stars."

Severus smiled. It was, perhaps, the most beautiful smile Harry had ever seen. It was so soft, understanding, perfect. Severus rose up, nodding his head as a farewell to the silent trio. "Perhaps I'll see you sometime." That being said, he turned and began to mix into the crowd. Harry was silent for a moment, breathing heavily. Was he, Harry Potter, about to cry?

"Severus, wait-!" he began desperately, but he knew it was too late. Even if Severus did hear him calling, as unlikely as it was, he wouldn't turn back. Harry swallowed back the misery that was rising up within him.

"C'mon, Cedric," said Harry, grabbing their things. Cedric's look was unreadable.

Cho looked at if she wanted to say something, as if she wanted to argue. Her mouth opened but Harry whirled around and fixed her with a fierce glare.

"No. Don't say anything."

...

Harry lay in the darkness of his room. Cedric was in his own room but he probably wasn't sleeping. They hadn't said much on the way back home, but Harry had apologized over and over about what he had said and the tone in which he had said it. He knew Cedric had walked off for a reason and Harry couldn't blame him. Cedric smiled up at his father and said everything was okay and all was forgiven and he was sorry he had wandered off and he wouldn't do it again, but in his eyes it looked as if he were tired of Harry's constant apologies, because that didn't always make things better.

Harry sighed and turned on the light, sitting up in bed. He wasn't going to sleep well tonight, that was for certain. His heart hurt every time he thought about what he said to Severus. He had been angry with Cho and that anger hit whomever was nearest to him.

Both he and Cedric knew they were more or less fighting the tides when it came to every day life, but Severus had highlighted it and made him face it... almost like the quizzes he and Ron had tried to put off when it came to class. He was lost and was just above the water. Was he bringing Cedric down with him?

And then he thought about Severus.

And he thought about how he felt, or didn't feel, when he was around him. He felt like he knew what he was doing. He didn't feel misplaced in the world.

His heart ached at how Severus had looked that day. He looked almost sad. Did he do that?And he remembered how he had tried to call Severus back, because he knew the older man was right. And he knew one other thing.

He was in love with that man.

Somewhere, deep within him, he knew he had always been in love with him. Through both war with Voldemort and the personal wars they fought inside themselves, Severus had been there when he asked him and helped him when he needed it despite everything.

Harry buried his face in his hands.

What was he doing? What had he done? What was he going to do?

With a low growl, he turned off the lights and settled back down into the blankets, because he knew another thing now.

"Tomorrow", he thought, as he closed his eyes, "We are going back to Hogwarts."