Disclaimer: This is based upon J.K. Rowling's series of novels, Harry Potter, mostly drawing from the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

A/N: These first few chapters are really important to build up so that we can have some fun with the plot later, and believe me, fun we will have. So, if you're reading and you want an update soon, please review. It makes me happy enough to get off of my butt, or in the case of writing, on it, and want to make you guys another chapter. So Review Please!

Chapter 2: The World Cup

The two really hit it off on the bus, conversing for quite some time. They talked about Quidditch, about friends, about school, about…everything. They felt as though they had known each other for a long time, like they could just tell each other everything, as though they both completely understood the other.

But there had been one abrupt stop in the conversation. Their eyes had met for longer then a stray second, and Cedric's voice was instantly cut off. Harry gazed into Cedric's eyes.

Silver. Silver eyes.

Something familiar. Something he'd seen before. But he couldn't think.

All Harry could do was gaze into the eyes. Gaze and get lost. He looked into the silver and his eyes locked. The world stopped. All that was on the deafeningly noisy, crowded bus was Harry and Cedric, all that mattered was them. All that Harry cared about was Cedric and himself. Not Hermione, not Ginny…

But Stan said something.

Time started.

His trance was broken. Everyone else, everything else, reality, came back.

"So, what were we talking about?" asked Cedric, breaking away his eyes from Harry's.

"The segregation of people due to their individual house's pride," said Harry, sighing.

"Oh yeah," said Cedric, everything coming back to him.

"If people connect, it shouldn't matter what House they're in. Screw their bloody house. What matters is their friendship—or love," said Cedric. Harry nodded his head in agreement.

"I think it's mostly Slytherin, though," said Harry. "They're so cruel to all of the other houses."

"True, Slytherin's cruel, but I think the rest of us play a role in the inter-house rivalry. And in the end, it ends up separating us all, preventing friendships from forming, preventing—love," said Cedric, almost introspectively. Harry nodded in agreement.

Before they could continue, Stan interrupted.

"Everybody off, we're here at Site E-Ether," said Stan. "No loitering, under punishment of the Ministry. We're on a schedule people. We don't have all day." He watched as everyone stared at him.

"Come on! We really don't have all day! The Cup starts soon," said Stan. At the sound of the word "cup," the crowd of people started moving.

The wizards and witches began to squeeze their way out of the bus, and Harry made his way to the front exit. By the time he reached the doorway, he wasn't even in control of his motion. The crowd was. He was being pushed out of the bus by the mob behind him. It was rather uncomfortable. In fact, he had been sandwiched a bit too snuggly between two hulking brutes of wizards. And as he reached the end of the wall of people, he was pushed out into the open. More like flew out, actually.

He landed safely, but struggled to gain his balance. He stood for a moment, trying to gain a bearing on surroundings. It took him a moment to notice that none of the others were with him. Not Ginny, not Hermione, not—

CEDRIC! Harry thought,

Where was he? What happened to him? Is he okay? I hope he's okay. Oh God, tell me he's okay, thought Harry. He started pacing.

Please, tell me he's okay. Oh my God, what happened? Harry gasped. Was he trampled, he asked himselfThen Harry really started panicking, as his mind created worse and worse scenarios surrounding Cedric's disappearance.

Thankfully, Harry's worrying was put to rest, as the bus sped away. On the other side of the bus stood Cedric nonchalantly talking with the others. But as Harry's worrying subsided, Harry couldn't help but wonder why he was worrying in the first place. He didn't worry about a man he knew well, but about a boy he only partially knew. This really made Harry wonder. But he didn't have long to think.

"There he is!" said Cedric as he spotted Harry. He walked over to Harry, his eyes sparkling and a smile spread across his handsome face.

"Where were you guys?" asked Harry. As the others approached him, Cedric brushed up against his skin. Harry loved the feeling of Cedric's skin.

Loved? thought Harry, Did I really like touching a guy that much? he thought. But he didn't worry about that. He worried about making a fool of himself in front of Cedric.

"You know there's another exit on the bus, Harry. We just went out the back," said Cedric, his silver eyes gleaming in the rising sun.

"Next time I'd like to stick with my broom. That made me a little sick. The scenery whizzing by, and that smell," said Harry as they started walking towards the campsite.

"Was it me?" said Cedric perceptively.

"Oh no, I think it was Stan. He smelled awful," said Harry.

"Yeah," said Cedric. "So you really would rather use your broom?"

"Definitely. It's much more scenic. Plus I like flying. Good practice, too."

"True, but it's so slow. I think I'd do apparition. Splinching and all."

"Splinching?" asked Harry as he began to walk to the campsite.

"Ah, novice at apparition?" Cedric smiled. "But I shouldn't expect expertise—you're not even of age yet! Splinching, hmm, how to describe it nicely? It's—it's basically splitting yourself in half. It's pretty nasty, " said Cedric.

There was a pause. Harry tried to keep the conversation going. Although he was nervous, he talked because he dearly wanted to talk with Cedric longer.

"You know, you never told me who you're rooting for in the big match." Harry said.

"Ireland," said Cedric, "They'll win, I'm sure of it. Their team's just too good. What about you?"

"Probably Ireland," said Harry. He was about to add, 'because you are,' because that was the truth, but it would probably sound a bit—gay. But he couldn't worry about that now, he was enjoying talking too much to care.

"Yeah, Ireland's a great team. Bulgaria's only here because of Krum though. They really shouldn't be here considering the caliber of the rest of their players. The team doesn't even work that well together. But he's the best Seeker in the world, so…"

"Cedric, come on! We've got to get going!" yelled Mr. Diggory. Cedric looked slightly glum, as did Harry. But before he went, Cedric thought of something.

"Hey, do you want to talk later, I mean if you're not busy or anything. We really have never gotten to talk and…" Cedric would have kept babbling, but Harry cut him off.

"I'd love to," said Harry.

SHIT! I did not just say I'd love to! I really do sound gay, oh no, he's going to hate me now, no, no…

"Great! I'll meet you by your tent then, just a little bit after the match?"

Did he just say "great?" He did! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thought Harry.

"Sure, why not." Harry answered. "Um, I think you should go, your dad looks pretty angry," said Harry. Cedric smiled.

"Yeah, he tends to do that. I better go. See ya later!" Cedric called out as he ran away.

"Most definitely!" replied Harry.

As Cedric walked away, Harry couldn't help but feel happy.

Cedric had just asked him if he would like to spend time with him. It was too good to be true. But first, Harry had to think things over.

Like the fact that he was gay.

Yeah, that would definitely take some thinking. First of all, hadn't he always liked girls? I mean, he had noticed them and fancied them, hadn't he? Hadn't he wanted to be with them?

But not in that way, he thought. Sure, he liked girls, they were nice people and all, but they weren't what he was looking for. He could love them; he did love Hermione after all, but as a close friend. But this was another type of love, almost a lust, it was what satisfied his urges, made him feel complete. Like he said on the Knight Bus, he had other things on his mind. And they weren't girls. Sure, he had liked girls, admired them even, but he had never been attracted. He had fancied them, but he hadn't felt as though they were hot.

Cedric, he was a different story. He was tall and handsome. His soft brown hair complemented his cute face, and then there was his beautiful, wonderful silver eyes, the cute blush in his cheeks, his toned body—everything. Cedric simply took his breath away. Every time Harry glanced at him, Harry felt butterflies fly into his stomach. He felt his breathing falter. But to Harry, girls weren't like that. They weren't cute, or extraordinarily beautiful. And they certainly didn't do what Cedric did, or ever could, in Harry's mind. They may have been pretty or dainty, but Harry didn't want to be really close to them. Harry wanted that with Cedric. He wanted to be close to him, to his toned body, to smell him, to do maybe more than that.

More? thought Harry. Isn't that a little fast? I may not be gay, you know, but another voice in his head told him otherwise.

Not now, Harry's mind replied. But still, he couldn't help but wonder how much he cared about Cedric. True, he didn't know Cedric very well, but something about him, how he talked with Harry, something just clicked between the two of them like potions—er, chemistry, they had chemistry. He couldn't help but feel attracted to Cedric, or worry about his safety. Even after only talking for a short time, after only a Quidditch match, Harry seemed to care about Cedric. When Cedric hadn't gotten off the Knight Bus and had potentially been trampled by the mob, Harry had panicked.

You know, you have to care about someone to worry about them that much, said the little voice in the back of his head. He knew that this was probably true. Scratch that, it was true. He was interested in Cedric and was starting to care for him.

You're gay, said the voice.

I'm not gay! he thought, fighting the voice.

Homophobe, said the voice.

Now you're calling me names? Be civil! Harry told himself.

But you are being one. You're being homophobic.

Stop that! fought Harry.

Homophobe!

I am not being a homophobe! I just don't want to jump to conclusions. I mean, I may not be gay. I don't want to have to go through something if I'm not actually it. Makes no sense. Being gay can be really hard sometimes because a lot of people are just assholes and don't understand it, thought Harry

True, said the voice. But still.

An image appeared in his head.

Silver. Silver eyes.

They shimmered in the shining sunlight.

Something clicked.

The forgotten piece of the dream. The Quidditch match, the other player! It had finally come back to him. He couldn't help but smile.

It had been him! It had been Cedric he was dreaming about, that made him so happy, that made him want to go back to bed to sleep, to dream more, hopefully about him.

The little voice piped up, I told you so. Harry shrugged, thinking for a moment as he continued to walk, catching up to the group.

Okay, so fine, I'm gay. Great. A life of overcoming homophobic people, some of whom will never be accepting. But also… Cedric. That would make it all worth it.

He saw Ron up ahead of him, his red hair bouncing as he walked beside Hermione. Ron...

Even if Ron wouldn't accept him, even if some people would shun him—if he could just have someone love him, Cedric love him, people love him for who he was, he knew he would be okay with it. It was part of him, he couldn't change that, and he wouldn't want to change it, because that would change who he was.

With things finally under control, Harry at least beginning to better understand who he was, he caught up to the group.

"Hey Harry, where were you?" asked Hermione.

"Just…thinking," answered Harry. Hermione looked at him for a moment, doing some thinking of her own. She nodded her head.

"So, looking forward to the game Harry?" asked Ron.

"Yeah, I've never seen this many wizards together before," remarked Harry. They had reached some sort of kiosk or cabin.

"Harry, is this a five? I have to pay the muggle for letting us stay here and I don't know…"said Mr. Weasley.

"Actually, it's a twenty, that's a five, see the numbers?" said Harry.

"Are you foreign?" asked the Muggle, a few feet away at a desk, "You know, you're not the first people today to have trouble with money. Someone tried to give me these huge gold coins. Seems like some sort of creepy gathering."

Pop.

"Obliviate!" said the Ministry staff man. He sighed as he watched the Muggle's eyes glaze over. "That's the third time today we've had to erase this one's memory…"

"What a pity…" said Mr. Weasley.

But even with the Muggle's tragic loss of memory, Harry was happy. He could care less of what had just occurred, of what was the present. He couldn't help but look forward to the match, and what lay after it.

Harry peered through his omnoculars, watching Krum maneuver around the field. For a moment, it looked as though Krum had seen the Snitch as he dived down, going faster, faster. The Irish Seeker followed close behind, miming Krum's movements. The crowd reached a crescendo, both sides cheering endlessly. Then half the field quieted abruptly as a gasp arose. As Krum pulled out of the dive…

Crash! A loud sigh arose from the Irish side as a time out was called. Krum had out maneuvered their Seeker. The Bulgaria supporters simply roared. But with the Irish chasers keeping up a tough offense, the Irish pulled ahead, to the point where Bulgaria had no hope of winning. So he ended it.

Krum caught the snitch, ending the game, but losing the match. Fred and George, who had bet upon such an event, cried out for joy. Harry couldn't help but feel happy too. Ireland had won.

That would mean that Cedric was happy too, and that meant a lot to Harry. He wanted Cedric to be happy. As people began to leave the stands, Harry practically ran with Hermione and Ron back to the tent, eager for the night ahead with Cedric.

Finally, some alone time to get to know him, to maybe do something more than just get to know him. Hermione noticed how particularly upbeat Harry was as he ran into his room to change. She stood outside.

"Why are you so happy?" asked Hermione. Harry had to think of an answer, and quick.

"Because Ireland won Hermione! Do you have any idea how big this is?" Harry asked.

"Well, I guess it is pretty big, but I thought it was… you know what, never mind. You're right. It's pretty big. Have fun celebrating tonight. I don't think I can stay up too long, I'm pretty tired myself. Woke up too early, even for me. Might do some reading before bed though," Hermione said. Harry was not the least bit surprised at Hermione and smiled. He yawned as he waved to Hermione and walked outside. Sure, he was a little tired. But still, he was excited— he would get to see Cedric!

He stood there, waiting patiently as the people around him celebrated.

Two hours later, no one had come.

Harry felt a tear slide down his cheek. He felt no need to celebrate.

A/N: Okay, I thought that went pretty well, after all, it's necessary so that we can get to the fun parts later. Yay! But, there is one little detail that I am changing. I'll mention it later, probably in the next chapter. I can't condone Harry and Cedric being together if Harry is only 14. So I'm moving Harry's birthday to back a year, so that he's 15 instead of 14. That way, it won't be statutory rape between Cedric and Harry. So, Harry will be old for his age… errr, well, you know what I mean. Older than we're used to him being. Otherwise… Please review! I love feedback and it spurs me on to write more. Support means a lot to me. So that's about all. Until the next installment.

Another A/N: Want more chapters sooner? Please Review.