Chapter Three

Walking Queries

9:49 P.M.

Of course, in their walk, questions were asked and answers were avoided. It would have been impossible to continue on in casual conversation, especially while the two of them were holding hands. "Why are you still holding my hand?" Hermione asked, beginning the queue of questions.

"Maybe your hand is nice to hold."

"I highly doubt that."

"Well, that is your prerogative." After a pause, he asked a question of his own. "Why are you still holding my hand?"

She regarded him warily before answering. "Maybe your hand is just nice to hold." They both shared a laugh and commenced in some trivial conversation, but soon the next question surfaced – this time, posed by Cedric.

"Why did you leave the ball? Weren't you having fun?"

"I was having as much fun as anyone else. It had begun as one of the most marvelous nights of my life and I can't believe I'm actually telling you, of all people, this."

"Well, when you finish explaining what changed about that you can move on to that comment."

"It's not that I don't like or trust you, Cedric. It's just that I don't know you very well and I'm usually not very open with my thoughts, let alone my emotions."

"So you're saying that you like me?"

"In a sense, yes."

"Alright, I guess you've explained one part. Now continue on with what happened at the ball."

"Is that really important? I'd prefer not to talk about it."

"No, it's not really that important."

"Why did you leave the ball?"

"Oh come now, that's really not fair."

"How is it not? You asked me the exact same question."

"Which you refused to answer."

"Cedric, don't you trust me?"

"Since you trust me, yes."

"And if I didn't trust you?"

"I think it's too soon to say."

"Well, will you tell me why you left?"

"Maybe at midnight," he answered with a coy wink. She rolled her eyes and carefully slipped her hand out of his. "Why'd you do that?" he asked, his handsome features falling a bit.

"It just didn't seem appropriate any longer."

"How was it not appropriate? Your hand is nice to hold."

"You have Cho."

"And you have Viktor."

"So why aren't you down in the Great Hall with her?"

"Maybe for the same reasons you aren't in the Great Hall with Viktor."

"You won't succeed in tricking me into answering my own questions."

"I'm not trying to. I would never even try to spin logic around the infamous Hermione Granger." Of course, this was a lie. He was one of the first to admit, among all the subtleties, that he would love to spin a web of logic around her, the brainy Gryffindor.

"So why are you here with me instead of at the ball with her?"

"Why are you here with me, a Hogwarts seeker, instead of with the renowned seeker from Durmstrang?"

"C'mon Cedric, you know that's not fair."

Again, he smiled coyly. "Who said that tonight was going to be fair? If it was, I don't think either of us would be here at all."

"Or maybe fairness is the exact reason why we're here."

"How do you suppose that?"

Hermione stopped to think for a minute before answering. She bit her lip as she tried to straighten all of the thoughts that were racing around in her head. "You weren't having any fun and neither was I, so we both left the ball. Somehow, you happened to stumble across me and convince me to go walking with you. Because of that, we are here together and, since we are not at the ball, maybe it is safe to assume that we are both having a much better time. Tonight is supposed to be a night of fun, and only in each other's presence are we having any semblance of that. Therefore, I say that we are here for the sake of fairness."

It took Cedric a while to formulate a decent response, but he managed to. Needless to say, the response had nothing to do with Hermione's theory. "I have never believed in such a thing as 'too forward.' So, may I hold your hand again?"

She shook her head, both in refusal and in amusement. "You never offer a straight answer, do you?"

"I suppose you've heard that I am quite a charming fellow."

"I have heard that, yes."

"Straight answers usually take away from the charm."

"So you will never tell me why you aren't with Cho at this moment, will you?"

"Does it really matter?"

"No, not really."

They walked in silence for only moments, until Cedric saw fit to break it. "Hermione, can I please hold your hand?"

"I thought Hufflepuffs were supposed to be loyal."

"So are Gryffindors, and you're here with me."

"You're here with me."

"Just let me hold your hand."

She flashed him a shy smile. "Maybe at midnight."