Title: A Lifetime of Devotion

Author: Megan (Frozenlife)

Pairings: Harry/Cedric (Eventually)

Chapter: 1? This is going to be long.

Warnings: none for this chapter

Rating: G to begin, but will eventually progress to R or NC-17

Summary: Cedric has always idolized Harry Potter, but is that enough to gain the 'Boy-Who-Lived' attention?

A/N: I realize that in canon the zoo trip takes place during Harry's school year, but for the purpose of this fic its in the first week of July! Also, this is un-beta'd or brit picked. This is my first fic so I don't know the whole Beta-ing process. But I suppose it anyone wants to help out? I would be thrilled!

Cedric Diggory was the same as every other boy wizard; enamored with Harry Potter. Every child wizard grew up with the knowledge that they were safe at home, that they were safe at night, because of Harry Potter. The romantic story of the baby boy who defeated the greatest wizard of all time shamed Cedric. It made him feel inferior and small. It made him strive in school. Cedric received the best marks, not because of his parents, but because he didn't want to disappoint Harry Potter.

But there was one small problem.

Cedric Diggory had never met Harry Potter.

Cedric Diggory did not even know what Harry Potter looked like, he only knew of the boys infamous lightening bold scar.

But maybe, Cedric sometimes thought, that was why he tried so hard, so that he would be ready when the day finally came. The day that Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory would meet.

Cedric had been three years old that Halloween night when his dad rushed into the house. Cedric had made his mother tell him a ghost story, and because of it he had been sitting up in bed, to scared to sleep, when he had heard his fathers frantic calls of "Sophie! Sophie!" ringing through the house.

Cedric had just crept to the top of the stairs when he heard the news;

"The Potters, Sophie! They're dead!"

"That auror, James? How!"

"You-Know-Who"

"Oh how terrible!" came his mothers anguished reply.

"But thats not all, Sophie, You-Know-Who, he's... he's gone! Vanished! His powers, they've been.. destroyed!"

"Thats.. thats incredible! Was it Lily? she was an unspeakable, yes?"

"No, it was their one-year-old son, Harry. You-Know-Who had killed the Potters, but when he shot the curse at Harry, it just rebounded! Right onto You-Know-Who! He never saw it coming! I heard Cornelius after he spoke with Dumbledore, apparently all Harry got was a lightning bolt scar on his forehead."

Cedric, having heard enough, crept back to bed. Not entirely understanding the implications of the conversation, he was happy with the relaxed tone his father had used. Cedric had never heard his father sounding so relieved. 'Maybe I'll see more of him now,' Cedric hoped. Cedric fell asleep, all thoughts of the ghost story erased by thoughts of his happy parents.

Now, ten years and a much more relaxed father later, Cedric still thought of that night. As a twelve year old, he realized what a drastic changing point that had been. And he idolized Harry Potter even more for it.

The summer before Cedric's third year had been mostly uneventful. He'd written to his friends, and had made his first solo floo trip to his grandparents house. But other than that, he had had to keep himself entertained in his home.

Needless to say, by the first week of July, he was already bored.

"Cedric, you've hardly been out of school for two weeks, how can you be bored?" He mother would demand.

But after the excitement and mystery that was Hogwarts, how could Cedric not be bored?

A release came early in July when Cedric's cousins came to visit. Cedric felt ambiguous towards his cousins, they were cute, but also 8 years younger than him, and thus not too exciting. This visit however, his parents decided that to get out of the house, they would all be visiting a muggle zoo.

The young boy in Cedric wanted to express his masculinity by declaring that zoo's were childish. But if Cedric were honest with himself, he was curious to see a muggle zoo, having never been to one.

So they all piled into a ministry car and made the trek to the city zoo, where Cedric gave up his masculinity to his excitement. This was so wicked! All the animals and the ice-cream. Cedric immediately grabbed his laughing father's hand and pulled him towards the monkey exhibit.

As Cedric walked past a food plaza, he noticed a forlorn boy sitting by himself against the wall of a hut. Cedric recognized this boy from earlier, he had seen him trailing behind some boys who looked very much like bullies, and two adults who paid the scrawny, forlorn boy, no mind.

Cedric decided there that he wanted to cheer up this small boy.

"Hey, I'm Cedric!"

The small boy gave a small start and looked at Cedric with a mix of terror and confusion. "H..hi." He said in a small voice.

"Why are you sitting by yourself?"

"My aunt and uncle took Dudley, my cousin, and his friend in for a second lunch."

"Why aren't you in with them?"

"I, ah, I wasn't hungry." The boys stomach took this opportunity to protest that statement with a large rumble. The boy had the decency to look ashamed.

"Well," Cedric offered, "why don't you come with me, I'll buy you an ice cream. My dad gave me some mug.. some money just for today."

"I can't." The small boy, if possible, seemed even more despondent. "My uncle told me too stay right here or I'd be locked in..ah, I mean.. um.. he said to stay right here." The boy covered quickly, earning himself a funny look from Cedric.

Still, Cedric wasn't to be stopped; he didn't want to get this nice, if shy, boy in trouble, but he also wanted a new friend. "Wait right here." Cedric ordered, and ran across the street.

A minute later Cedric came back with the most decadent ice lolly sold in the zoo. The young boy eyed it greedily. But didn't reach out.

"Go on," Cedric urged, " I bought it for you!"

"Are.. are you s..sure?" The boy said, timidly reaching out his hand.

"Of course," Cedric replied with a smile. The smile did the trick. The small boy took the ice lolly, and after looking at it reverently for a few seconds, took a few test licks, and devoured the entire ice-cream.

"Wow," said Cedric, amazed. "You really were hungry! Say, I don't think I got your name?"

"Oh sorry," the young boy smiled, the first smile Cedric had been able to coax out of him, "My name's Ha-"

But the boy was interrupted by a load yell of "BOY!" coming from a large, red faced man.

The small boy gave a terrified squeak, and without a second look at Cedric, dashed off to be yelled at by the large man.

As Cedric heard the yells of, "How dare you! Taking advantage of that young man! You'll get a week in your cupboard! What have we taught you about strangers? You ungrateful whelp!" He wondered why those people were so mean to the small boy. The boy was polite, friendly, and shy. Cedric shrugged his shoulders and stood up to walk back to his parents. There wasn't much he could do now. He only hoped that when the boy was 'locked in his cupboard' he wasn't upset about the ice cream. Cedric was only trying to make him smile.