IMPORTANT NOTE:
This story is finished. If you wish to read the rest of the story, it is at my livejournal. Please click on my user name above and that will take you a link so that you can read the rest of the story.
The Boy Who Died
Note: Although the pairing seems insane, this is basically my version of events in the Goblet of Fire time span had Cedric and Hermione had the opportunity to interact. I've always wanted to explore the character of Cedric more and after seeing the film, I decided that Hermione was the character best placed to do it!
The first time Hermione had spoken to Cedric Diggory had been the day of the Quidditch World Cup.
On that day, Hermione, Harry and the Weasleys set out very early on a cold and dark morning. Like thousands of wizards across the world, they were making their way toward the Quidditch World Cup. As always, it was a slightly strange feeling for Hermione, this new world of which she was a part - a world her parents could never understand but seemed happy for her to join. Oddly enough, she felt more at home in her strange new world than she had ever felt in her own Muggle world.
She listened with interest as Mr Weasley explained to Harry the organisational and logistical nightmare in arranging such a massive event as the World Cup with arrivals to a deserted moor staggered, 200 Portkeys placed at strategic points around Britain. The Portkey to which they were walking was located at Stoatshead Hill.
It was a long walk and they walked silently down the dark lane toward the village. As the day lightened, it was not sufficient to warm them and Hermione's hands and feet were freezing. She noted that Mr Weasley continually checked his watch but didn't think to ask: "Are we there yet?"
No one spoke on that long walk, there was no time and no breath to spare. The climb to climb Stoatshead Hill in particular was very arduous and there was stumbling in hidden rabbit holes, slipping and the occasional clutching at the grass to retain their balance. Each breath Hermione took was sharp in her chest and her legs had started to seize up on her when, at last, to her relief, her feet found level ground.
She had clutched the stitch in her side as she was the last to come over the crest of the hill, arriving just in time to hear Mr Weasley tell them that they had made good time and that they had 10 minutes remaining. To her chagrin, Mr Weasley announced that they would then have to look for the Portkey, an object which naturally could not be very large and would no doubt require a great deal of effort to find. To her intense relief, their search was interrupted within minutes by a shout.
"Over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we've got it."
As she glanced up, she saw two tall figures standing on the other side of the hilltop.
Mr Weasley shook hands with a man he introduced as Amos Diggory, a ruddy-faced wizard with a scrubby brown beard, who was holding a mouldy-looking old boot in his other hand.
Hermione definitely recognised his son Cedric, a tall, extremely handsome boy of around seventeen. He was Captain and Seeker of the Hufflepuff House Quidditch team at Hogwarts and extremely well-liked and respected by his peers.
"Hi," Cedric said in a friendly fashion, looking around at them all with a smile on his face and excitement in his grey eyes.
Everybody said hi back except Fred and George, who merely nodded brusquely. They had never quite forgiven Cedric for beating Gryffindor in the first Quidditch match of the previous year. Their response was extremely typical of them and Hermione simply rolled her eyes in disbelief. Boys. She caught Cedric glancing at her questioningly, an amused grin on his mouth as he had noticed her eye-roll of exasperation. He shrugged insouciantly as if to say it didn't bother him and she was rather embarrassed to have been caught.
The two fathers exchanged pleasantries and Hermione learnt that the Diggorys had been forced to wake up at 2am.
"Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced?" Cedric gave his father a laughing nod but there was no look of complaint in his eyes.
"I tell you, I'll be glad when he's got his Apparition test. Still ... not complaining ... Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sackful of Galleons - and the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got off easy. . . ." Amos Diggory peered good-naturedly around at the three Weasley boys, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny. "All these yours, Arthur?"
Hermione was intrigued to note that although he also worked for the Ministry of Magic, the two families clearly were not close as Mr Diggory did not recognise the Weasley children.
"Oh no, only the redheads," Mr Weasley said pointing out his children. "This is Hermione, friend of Ron's - and Harry, another friend..."
"Merlin's beard," Amos Diggory exclaimed, his eyes widening as he stared at Harry. "Harry? Harry Potter?"
"Er - yeah," said Harry said awkwardly with that look Hermione knew well as being Harry wishing he could be a thousand leagues away.
"Ced's talked about you, of course," Amos Diggory said. "Told us all about playing against you last year... I said to him, I said - Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will... You beat Harry Potter!"
Harry was clearly unable to think of any reply to this remark and remained silent. Fred and George started scowling again. Hermione might have interjected at this point but fell silent when she saw that Cedric looked slightly embarrassed.
"Harry fell off his broom, Dad," he said quietly. "I told you ... it was an accident..." his explanation lifted him several notches in Hermione's esteem as it was clear that he hadn't merely talked himself up to impress his father.
"Yes, but you didn't fall off, did you?" Amos roared jovially, slapping his son on his back with gusto and lashings of fatherly pride. "Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman ... but the best man won, I'm sure Harry'd say the same, wouldn't you, eh? One falls off his broom, one stays on, you don't need to be a genius to tell which one's the better flier!" The expression on Cedric's face mirrored Harry's and it was very clear that both of them would have Apparated far away if, in Harry's case he had only known how and in Cedric's case if he had been allowed ...
Fortunately Mr Weasley interrupted at that point, telling them that it was time to leave. The nine of them stood around a mangy looking old boot, each touching the same boot in the semi-darkness, waiting.
"Three. . ." Mr Weasley muttered , one eye still on his watch, two. . . one. . ."
It happened immediately: Hermione felt a violently jerking sensation. Her feet left the ground; she could feel the others around her, their shoulders banging against hers and they were all speeding forward in a howl of wind and swirling colours. Her forefinger was stuck to the boot as though it was pulling her magnetically onward and then her feet slammed heavily into the ground. Someone staggered into her and she toppled over awkwardly, the Portkey hitting the ground near her head with a heavy thud.
Hermione looked up questioningly. Only Mr Weasley, Mr Diggory and Cedric were still standing after all that although they looked somewhat windswept. Everyone else was on the ground in various ungraceful-looking positions.
"Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill," said a voice.
Hermione lay on the ground, still slightly breathless from the force of her landing and Cedric stepped forward with a smile. He didn't even boher to tame his dishevelled hair but stretched out a hand.
"All right?" He asked her cheerfully.
"Yeah," she said, realising that her hair was even more wild than his. Her hair, already unmanageable at the best of times was now almost tangled after that adventure. His hand clap was firm, cool and assured and he released her hand as soon as she was on her feet and had regained her balance again.
"Be great when we can apparate, yeah?" he asked her and she nodded. We. It was nice of him to put it that way. He could no doubt apparate already, it was simply that he hadn't passed his test yet. Hermione on the other hand hadn't even started learning yet but she appreciated the way he didn't try to patronise her.
The Weasleys and Diggorys had been allocated separate sleeping quarters so parted. Hermione had not seen Cedric again that night.
This story is finished and the above is just PART of the story. If you like this and want to read more, the rest of the story is at my livejournal. Please click on my name user name above and that will take you a link so that you can read the rest of the story.
I'm sorry for the trouble but it's just too hard to amend things here sometimes so I posted the story in livejournal instead.