Chapter 13

The Yule Ball

George escorted me to the Great Hall, and we had a stiff conversation all the way there. It was too much for us, the formal conversation, and we collapsed into chairs, laughing. After that, our conversation was much more relaxed while we watched the champions dance. It was really funny, in my opinion, watching them dance. Parvati looked like she was leading Harry in a dog show. Cedric and Cho danced wonderfully, but seemed really formal. (They were abiding by George's and Fred's one foot rule.) Roger and Fleur were really friendly. (They broke the one foot rule three feet ago.)

Only Krum and his partner seemed to be really enjoying themselves. "Oh my God! Is that Hermione?" I asked.

"It is, isn't it? Ron's gotta be kicking himself right about now," answered George. And sure enough, Ron was looking rather sulky I the corner. We had a laugh on Ron's expense, and then started to dance to the Weird Sisters music.

It was kind of like a big group dance, made of all the sixth year Gryffindors and their dates. As the music got increasingly faster, the group grew larger and was eventually composed of all the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor sixth and seventh years. Cho had been pulled away the previous song to dance with a guy from Durmstrang.

So when the fastest song yet came on, I pulled Cedric out into the middle of the floor and started dancing. "This is the song I saved for you!" I yelled over the music. We didn't necessarily keep our hands to ourselves (actually, not at all), so at the end of the song, Cho got away from the Durmstrang guy and pulled Cedric away to dance. George also came over and pulled me back into the big group, just like a big brother would.

"You still owe me your dance!" I yelled to Cedric the next time I saw him.

"I've got the perfect song in mind!" he yelled back.

Right at midnight, Cedric went up to the Weird Sisters and requested a song. Many people had already left; including Cho, all the professors, and nearly all the judges (only Ludo Bagman was left). The Weird Sisters announced, "This will be our last song of the night. It's been requested by Cedric Diggory and dedicated to Paige Malfoy. This song is by a Muggle group called the Beatles and is called "Let It Be"." Cedric grabbed me by the waist and we danced, as the most beautiful song I'd ever heard began. Cedric and I seemed to be physically made for each other. My head rested perfectly on his chest; his arms felt right around my waist, and my arms around his neck.

It was a while after the song ended before we noticed that the music had ended. "Thank you," I whispered, and before I could say anymore, his mouth met mine in the most wonderful kiss ever. The world seemed to stop and we seemed to rise off of the ground. When we finally broke apart, we stared into each other's eyes before whispering "Good night," and walking away from each other.

If it weren't for George's arm around me in his brotherly fashion, I think I would have left the ground. As I slipped into my bedclothes, I had only one thought before falling asleep. "So this is what it's like to be in love."

I was pulled out of my happiness the next day when Fred and George decided to confront me about being so 'friendly' with Cedric.

"He was all over you whenever he got near enough to!" insisted George.

"If it weren't for Cho keeping pulling him away, he would have done some…unspeakable things to you by the end of the night!" Fred insisted.

"First of all, he could have done 'unspeakable things' to me at the end of the night when Cho had gone. Second of all, he WASN'T groping me…at least, not that much," I insisted. We decided to drop the argument then, or we'd be late for Transfiguration.

Nothing exciting really happened between the Yule Ball and February 24th, the day of the 2nd task. Fred and George's joke shop sales were doing fabulously, and the new products were coming along great! Cedric and I had some completely unexpected (I swear!) kisses after Potions. But we weren't officially 'together' because of Cho. Cedric knew she'd go completely psycho if he dumped her, and he was too nice to do that to her. I guess I got jealous sometimes, but I never saw any PDAs or anything that should make me suspicious. In fact, they were really rather distant.

I guess Cedric asking me to go to Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day with him was something important, but I couldn't even go because I promised Fred and George that I'd stay behind and help them sell products to the first and second years. I was absolutely mortified that I'd had to turn Cedric down twice, but I made him promise that we'd go together next year to Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day…no matter what.

Anyway, the second task came soon. When Ludo Bagman announced that the person the champions would miss the most was underwater, he saw me and raised an eyebrow. (He'd seen Cedric and I kiss.) I just smiled, and shook my head. Cedric came up first with Cho, then Krum with Hermione, and then Harry with Ron and Fleur's sister. Cedric and Harry were tied in first place going into the third task. As soon as I could get to Cedric, I gave him the biggest hug ever.

Then I told Fred and George, "See? Our relationship is just for fun." Fred and George didn't seem convinced and got 'the look' in their eyes. "What are you guys thinking of?" I asked, only half-heartedly wanting to know.

"You'll see," George answered. And I did indeed find out soon.

Fred and George came into the common room late that night. "Where have you guys been?" I asked. So they took turns telling me what they'd been up to.

"You know that we don't believe for a second that you and Cedric are just having a fling."

"So we went to talk to some of his friends about the task."

"Don't worry…we were very subtle."

"Turns out he was furious that Cho was put there as the thing he would miss most."

"He even said that whoever decided who went down there had figured it out before the Yule Ball."

"Or they must not have seen you and him lately."

"He thought for sure you'd be down there."

"He was even planning to break up with Cho today."

"After it was revealed to everybody that you are the thing he'd miss the most," finished Fred. I was just gaping like a goldfish.

"So now he can't break up with Cho, because everybody thinks that she's the thing he'd miss the most," added George.

"He's thinking of doing it…the dumping…after the third task now," Fred cut in.

I was in a total state of shock. I was pretty sure that Cedric and I were kind of like FWB, (friends with benefits) just a little higher on the 'dating chain' than that. Guess not. It was going to be a messy night after the third task.

A/N: This would be another cliffhanger…except for the fact that everybody knows (or should know) what happens after the third task. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and R&R!