Title: Loyalty

Author: Ashanta

Rating: PG

Summary: For some strange, unexplainable reason, I had the desire to write a Justin/Cedric story. As in, that "curly haired kid, Justin Finch- Fletchley" having some kind of innocent boy-crush on the all around good- guy and crush-worthy Cedric Diggory, and Cedric being his usual sweet, kind self about the entire matter, not wanting to hurt Justin's feelings, and thus...this thing evolved. Or mutated. Whichever.

Pairing: Cedric/Justin

Setting: PoA time-span, perhaps GoF later

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Chapter Two: An Unfamiliar Want

As he left the common room with his school bags in hand, trudging off to Herbology, Justin made it a point to avoid looking Hannah in the face for the rest of the day. He supposed she'd figure it out eventually--Hannah was unusually good at reading people--but he still resolved to keep quiet about it anyway. Cedric seemed just as keen on keeping their meeting between the two of them secret as Justin had. Again, he didn't know why, but knowing that made him feel good. Perhaps it was due to the fact that while many others looked up to Cedric, it was Justin that Cedric felt like talking to, one on one, in the middle of the night.

Alone.

He really should stop over-analyzing this, he thought to himself, and entered the greenhouse, following behind Susan Bones.



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Behind the hangings of his bed, Justin looked at his watch by the light of his wand; it nearly a quarter to two. He decided to head down now, and carefully climbed out off his bed and then shut the hangings closed behind him, cautious not to wake Ernie, who had always been a light sleeper.

He and Cedric had kept to these meetings regularly for a few weeks now, and neither party was exactly sure why, other than the two enjoyed each others company more than either realized. He wondered briefly how odd this whole situation was if he cared to think about it long enough; sneaking around in the dark after hours to talk to an older boy. It would border on scandalous if it weren't just an innocent meeting. And if he thought about Cedric that way.

...Which he didn't.

Justin pushed open the door to the common room and found Cedric already sitting by the fireplace, setting up his chess pieces.

"...And maybe next time you wouldn't mind going where I direct you to? We might have won if you had," Cedric was saying to his particularly stubborn bishop.

"Not when you're considering sacrificing me over a pawn," the bishop replied indignantly. "The nerve of it all...your father would've never made such a move--"

"Justin, there you are!" Cedric said, and finally stopped arguing with his chess piece and stood up to acknowledge the younger boy. "Come on, I just finished setting up the board."

They played for a while, Cedric looking as though he had finally cornered Justin's king into a fatal position, when Justin's mind began to wander into dangerous territory. Maybe, Justin thought, as stole a glance at Cedric's concentrated, handsome face, maybe he did think of Cedric in that way, or at least was beginning to. Well, who could really blame him? He pointed out to himself in a somewhat defensive manner. It was Cedric Diggory, after all, and what was there not to like? Girls liked him easily enough, why couldn't he?

"Oh, this is ridiculous," Justin muttered under his breath.

"Checkmate." Cedric announced triumphantly, and Justin looked down at the board in surprise. Cedric's knight had smashed into Justin's king, and was making a spectacle of himself by prancing around the board in what appeared to be a victory lap. Cedric peered at the other boy and said, "Is something wrong? You look a little distracted."

Justin made a mental note to start hiding his emotions better. "I was just thinking, s'all."

"'Bout a girl?" Cedric asked casually as he reset the board, though there was a ghost of grin on his lips.

"Er...well...not exactly," Justin said truthfully, and looked down, thinking if he couldn't keep his face blank, he'd at least not give Cedric the opportunity to see his growing blush. "Can you, er, keep a secret?"

Cedric looked a little surprised, but then straightened up and crossed his heart with a slender finger. "I swear by my Hufflepuff loyalty," he replied, grinning slightly at the corniness of the declaration.

Justin too allowed himself a grin, but it faded a little when he considered what he was getting ready to admit to. "...I wasn't thinking about a girl." He began. "I was, er, I was actually thinking about a guy..." Cedric blinked, and his smile faded a bit as well. Justin instantly felt very, very stupid, and very, very exposed. "Sorry...I probably shouldn't have told you that," he mumbled lowly.

"No, no, that's okay," He said, waving a dismissive hand that knocked into his queen and sent her smashing to the floor. He quickly repaired her with a spell and placed her back on the board, looking uncharacteristically sheepish; Cedric wasn't much of the clumsy type. The Quidditch captain noticed the look on Justin's face and continued, "Would it be too much to ask you who it is? Who you're thinking of, I mean?"

"I'd, uh, really rather not say," Justin decided one confession was enough for tonight, considering Cedric's initial reaction. Stupid, really, for him to think it would go any better. Cedric could've called him a poof and stormed back up to his dormitory and refused to talk to him. Then again, that would have seemed very out of character for Cedric, but then again, Justin thought, maybe he really was a poof...

Cedric shifted uncomfortably for a moment in his armchair and then finally said, "Well, if you want to talk any more...tomorrow night, after the match...?"

Justin nodded, and got up from his armchair. The two said awkward "goodnight"s to one another and then made their way back up to their separate dormitories in silence, each with one more secret to keep between them.

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Author's Note: Sorry if it's a bit short; I'm currently working on chapter three now because I decided to divide the chapter in two; I felt it would make more sense that way. Also, thanks for the reviews! Much appreciated.