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

Warning: Writing late at night produced more fluff than usual...

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Chapter Six: Firsts

Saturday morning, the beginning of Hogsmeade weekend, soon was upon the Hogwarts students, bright and breezy with only the slightest wisps of clouds in the sky.

Justin sat on the edge of his bed and slowly pulled his socks on, thinking. He had agreed to go to Hogsmeade this weekend with Cedric without knowing what it would really entail. He assumed lots of walking around shops and the like, but perhaps they would stop and have a drink at the Three Broomsticks? Then again, if they did, they would have to figure out something to talk about. Normally he had no problem at all coming up with what he thought were interesting conversation topics ("He's like the thing that wouldn't shut up(1)," Ernie had once remarked of Justin), but this was different: He was thirteen-years-old--he'd never been on a date before.

Justin stopped in the middle of tying his shoes and stared at the floor. A date. Merlin, he was getting ready to go on a date with Cedric Diggory, prefect, Quidditch Captain, and the object of many a girls' desires here at Hogwarts...What the hell was he thinking wearing that ugly beige jumper?

He was in the midst of pulling said jumper over his head when their came a knock at the door. "It's--oof--open!" Justin muttered from beneath a forest of knitted wool.

"I was just seeing if you were ready to--oh."

Justin stopped struggling suddenly and looked through the gaps in his sweater to find a bemused Cedric looking at him from the doorway. Justin quickly pulled the sweater back down.

"Er...sorry," Justin said sheepishly. "I'm ready." Cedric smiled his slow, warm smile and escorted Justin out of his dormitory.

"What were you doing?" Cedric asked as they left the Great Hall and followed the retreating line of students leaving the castle.

"Just trying to change into another jumper...I didn't really like this one as much as I thought I did." Justin explained, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Really? I always thought that one looked rather nice on you," Cedric replied just as nonchalantly. Justin suddenly thought himself crazy for trying to rid himself of his wonderful, lovely beige jumper earlier.

Once they arrived at Hogsmeade, Justin found his previous worry about running out of things to talk about was clearly unfounded rubbish as he and Cedric easily moved from one topic to the other, much like they had during their late-night sessions in the Hufflepuff common room. On more than one occasion, while sitting together at the Three Broomsticks with mugs of butterbeer in their hands, Justin forgot their were other people in the pub as well, especially when he and Cedric became particularly engaged in conversation about rumors of the Quidditch World Cup being held in England this summer.

Still deep in conversation, Cedric suddenly reached across the table for Justin's hand and Justin, not use to such actions, automatically flinched and pulled his hand back before realizing what Cedric was doing.

"Oh, er, sorry," Justin said, face reddening, and placed his hand back on the table once he realized Cedric wasn't going to attempt to stab ir with his butter knife any time soon. But within that split second Justin had pulled away, Cedric had suddenly remembered where he was, which was not alone with the third year in the comforts of their common room or dormitory, but in a busy, noisy, crowded pub. He sat his hands back in his lap and looked into his empty mug. "Do, er, do you want you get out of here?" Justin offered.

Cedric looked up. "Sure. I'm finished--you?" Justin nodded in response and they paid Madam Rosmerta and then left down the winding, cobbled road. They didn't walk far, however, before Justin slowed down to a halt, and his eyes began to almost cloud over, lost in thought.

"Justin?"

"Does it feel cold to you...?" He asked in an eerie, distant voice, and looked around for a moment. His expression soon changed to that of fear, and he shrank away from an invisible presence, his eyes squeezed shut and small frame beginning to shake.

"Justin, what's the matter?" Cedric asked more sternly, grabbing his shoulders to prevent him from shaking any more. The older boy looked up and saw the Dementors that were still prowling around the Hogsmeade area and immediately realized the source of Justin's anxiety. "Come on...let's get out of here, Justin. I think I have some chocolate Professor Lupin gave me around here somewhere..."

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They reached the Hufflepuff common room about twenty minutes later and found it thankfully sparse as Cedric sat Justin down in one of the large, cushy armchair by the crackling fireplace.

"I'm fine, really," Justin insisted as Cedric handed him another piece of chocolate. "I just don't like them much, is all..."

"No one does, Justin," Cedric said quietly, and kneeled in front of him. After a moment, Cedric continued quietly, "...It was the day you got Petrified, wasn't it?"

Justin looked at Cedric for a moment, unsure of what to say. He knew his Petrifaction from last year was something everyone knew about--how couldn't they?--but somehow it never registered to him the Cedric was one of those people.

"Yes," he finally said, looking down. "But...I don't remember anything from it other than looking through Nearly Headless Nick and then seeing a pair of great, big yellow eyes and then--" Justin shuddered, as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped all down his back. "--I thought I had died." he whispered looking fearful as if the basilisk was lurking around the corner, waiting for him. "I still dream about those eyes, sometimes..." Justin whispered even lower, his voice almost inaudible. "And now with Black on the loose and those Dementors around everywhere I just keep on reliving it and..." He shuddered again. "...I don't want to talk any more about it, Cedric."

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to bring it up like that," Cedric apologized. He stood up and then leaned down over Justin, kissing him on the cheek in hopes of consoling him. When he started to pull away, he was surprised when he found Justin's small arms suddenly wrapped around shoulders, pulling him back.

"Don't leave yet...there's no one here."

"It's okay, Justin. I'll stay here with you--"

"No, I mean there's no one here." Justin said, looking significantly at the older boy, and pulled him closer, almost much like how a small child would hold their teddy bear close to them for security. "Stay with me..."

...So he did.

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Author's Note: (1)Ten imaginary bonus points to whoever can name where that quote can from.

Reviews, as usual, appreciated! Thanks for reading if you've gotten this far. ;-)