Disclaimer: This story is based off of the Goblet of Fire of Harry Potter renown.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews that you gave me on the last chapter! I really enjoyed them, and they did get me in the writing mood. The title is from Utada, as are the brief interjection of lyrics (the second line translated) from her song, Can You Keep a Secret? This chapter is written in a much a different style than the usual flow of time in my stories, spread over the span of two months. Oh well, it's especially long. I do need to get the plot moving. So here we go!

Chapter 7: Can You Keep a Secret?

Sitting in the warm, musty Transfiguration classroom a week into the term, Harry couldn't help but let reality slip away, and Ron was not one to stop him, as he was already caught in a frizzy dream. And so, a daydream overcame Harry too as he left his body behind and let the rambling voice of McGonagall gradually fade.

Harry found himself out on the grounds, walking towards the lake, bathing in the warm sun's rays and enjoying the breeze that blew through his hair and rumpled the leaves of the moping maple to his side.

He gazed at the leaves for a moment, admiring their beauty in the light. The leaves were a myriad of colors, from bright yellows to brownish black, colored with fresh greens and brilliant reds. As he sat down beneath the tree, it noted his presence and began to weep, showering its leaves down on him. He sat for a moment enjoying the sensation of the leaves and the breeze on his skin.

Once he had enough, Harry brushed off this colorful coat and looked upwards to see new leaves take the place of old ones, quickly growing to fill in the gaps.

He was content, this was a perfect day. Well, almost. It was missing something, but that was soon to change.

Down by the shore of the lake, Harry heard laughter. As the group approached Harry, Harry noticed Cedric among the ranks of the group, surrounded by jovial Hufflepuffs. He looked perfect, as always.

On cue, Cedric flashed a grin at Harry, and said something to his friends. They looked at him, questioning his decision, but waved goodbye. He was left standing in front of Harry, blushing slightly. He was also saying something, but Harry didn't exactly know what. He was too focused on Cedric sitting down next to him and leaning towards him for--

"Mr. Potter, pay attention!" snapped McGonagall, glaring at him. "You are supposed to Transfigure your quill into a living bird, as you have yet to do. It is still a lifeless feather from the looks of it."

Harry gulped. He had absolutely no idea how exactly to do accomplish this feat, as he had completely disregarded the Professor's lecture. He hoped that she would just disregard him as well and move on to the next student, but she was content to stand right in front of him, tapping her foot impatiently. She clearly expected him to have completed the Transfiguration that Hermione had already completed half an hour ago. He looked to see her move, but she failed to budge.

It looked like he would have to try the spell, at the very least. He had in fact listened enough to ascertain the incantation for the spell, but he wasn't sure even that was right.. He looked down at the feather and hoped for the best. It might actually work, for all he knew.

"Aves niveus," he said, his wand pointing down at the feather. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the feather began glow a bright white and instantly changed into a bird. At least, it looked like a bird as a mist from the spell cleared away.

Well, the thing came into sight, Harry saw that it was only the head of what appeared to be a common dove. From what Harry gathered from Hermione's murmurs, he had apparently missed half of the wand movements necessary for the rest of the body of the bird to form. By now, McGonagall had stopped the patting of her foot and stared at Harry in disbelief, her lips pursed. Just as she was about to yell at Harry for failing to listen to her clear explanation of the proper wand movements, a few bloody pieces of bird flew towards them, with one particularly gruesome piece hitting McGonagall in the face. Besides being red with blood, her face was flushed, displaying her anger. She turned her head and looked towards where the bird had exploded.

"Fifteen points from Gryffindor," she said, anger seeping into her voice. "For not following directions, Mr. Longbottom."

"But I did, Professor," he answered, both flustered and covered with blood. "I followed your directions precisely the way you demonstrated them to us." She pondered this for a moment.

"I ask you, did you remember to reverse the way I worked my wand, as I was facing the opposite direction that you are facing, or did you follow my wand movements exactly?" asked McGonagall. Neville blushed.

"Oh," he replied.

"Yes, oh is right. Next time, make sure to think past following directions like a mindless individual. Honestly Mr. Longbottom. It's your fourth year," she admonished, making Neville blush further. It was hard for anyone to handle being embarrassed in front of a class of your peers by a Professor. Luckily, McGonagall displayed mercy that Snape would never have given and she kept the lesson moving.

"Now, can anyone tell me why Mr. Longbottom's failure to perform the correct wand movements made his bird explode?" asked McGonagall, turning the situation into a bit of teaching. Hermione's hand shot up.

"Because Neville reversed the spell work, he reversed the effects of the spell, creating a bird that formed inside out. That part follows Murphy's fourth magical law. 'If something is wrong in the working of the spell, than that will always be reflected in the outcome.' That applies to anything from failing to complete the incantation to messy spellwork," she answered looking at Harry on that last phrase Harry rolled his eyes. "As for the explosion itself, the inside of a bird is not made to maintain the pressure necessary to hold the bird together. So once the insides became the outside of the bird, the new insides of the bird burst outward."

"Excellent answer, Ms. Granger. Ten points to Gryffindor," said Professor McGonagall, generously giving points to make up for the ones Neville lost. "Now, Mr. Longbottom, please make sure to clean up that mess."

Professor McGonagall swiftly strode to the front of the classroom, leaving behind the students to wade their way through the transfiguration on their own so that she could grade a set of papers.

Grading must settle her temper, thought Harry. She does always turn to grade papers when anyone messes with her temper. Harry looked around the classroom to see how his classmates were doing, and Hermione caught his eye.

She looked annoyed, as she felt that in the absence of a teacher, it was her duty to help the students out. Especially Neville, who needed just a tad bit of assistance to help him improve. He had mastered the wand movements, just backwards. He had potential and Hermione knew she could help if that was the case.

Harry was glad that McGonagall had ignored him, even if it did vex Hermione, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He listened to the sound of scrubbing brushes as students helped Neville with his scourigify, and Hermione talking in a low voice about how Neville could easily improve. Harry looked over to see Neville nod enthusiastically.

Harry smiled. Neville had distracted McGonagall from scolding him for his own failure. He set back to work, before he could fall back into daydreams...

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Harry walked out of the door of the Potions classroom and down the frigid hall deep in the dungeons a week later, with Ron, Hermione, and Neville by his side. Despite feeling a bit depressed about getting another zero in Potions from Professor Snape, Just as he was about to head up the stairs, Harry saw Cedric running down the stairs, flanked by his Hufflepuff friends. Harry hadn't seen Cedric for a week; even at meals, Cedric somehow avoided Harry, and in the halls, if Harry even caught a scent of what he thought was Cedric, it disappeared within moments. So it was no wonder that Harry was happy to see Cedric and couldn't help but grin.

As Ron and Neville continued talking about how cruel Professor Snape had been to them today, complaining he had taken fifty points from both Ron and Neville for making the same minute mistake in a potion (although Hermione argued nothing was minute in a potion), Harry stopped even pretending to care. He looked at Cedric, hoping to catch Cedric's gaze.

Cedric walked towards Harry, and for a moment, looked sort of bemused. A second later, he looked up and met Harry's eyes, locking his eyes with them. Harry's smile widened as he felt a sort of connection grow between him and Cedric. But as Cedric neared the last step, he stumbled and broke his eyes away from Harry's. Despite losing Cedric's eyes, Harry smirked as he saw Cedric blush. He looked over his shoulder, watching Cedric walk ahead of his group of friends and into the potions classroom. Apparently, Cedric was eager to leave behind the embarrassment as soon as possible.

Oh yeah, he digs me, thought Harry as he walked up the stairs out of the cold hallway. Another voice in his head argued otherwise.

How can you be sure? it asked him. He had no answer. Well then, if you're not sure, you better be careful about approaching him. You don't know for sure how he will react. Get to know him better, make sure you like him for him. Then decide. Harry sighed, but gave in to that surprisingly rational thought. He knew he would have to follow that plan, as it made the most sense out of anything lately. It gave him a goal, and a way to achieve it. He just had to get close to Cedric. Now, could that be so hard?

Yes, thought Harry grimly. After all, he hadn't seen Cedric at all these first two weeks of school besides this brief encounter. But Harry was not one to turn down a challenge. He was going to get to know Cedric Diggory. Harry nodded and content, and looked to his friends. Ron and Neville still seemed to need to vent to each other over the unfair nature of Snape, while Hermione had her head buried in a book, an old musty tome. He let out a breath, glad that none of them had noticed him.

But as he split from the group to head to the bathroom, Hermione followed him. As he looked at her, she looked up from her book, and they both stopped in front of the bathrooms.

"I saw that," she whispered, turning her back and striding into the girl's bathroom. Harry's jaw dropped in surprise.

How? He asked himself, pondering how she could read and be perceptive of what was happening around her at the same time. More importantly though, he wondered if Hermione was getting mad at him for not sharing his secret with her. He had yet to talk to her about him liking blokes, as he now phrased it. Harry knew he should tell her, but he kept avoiding the topic and talking to her about it.

That has to change, he thought as he walked into the bathroom.

ChcHcHcHcHcHcHcHcHcHanges!

Over a month later and only a week before Halloween, Harry found himself wondering more about how he would get close to Cedric and less about Professor Binn's boring speech on the Giant Invasion of 1111. Harry could not approach Cedric or even get his attention. Even when he was trying to find Cedric, he couldn't even catch sight of him. Two months into the school year, and Harry had only seen Cedric a handful of times, most of them at meals.

A few weeks ago, Cedric had taken to attending dinner when Harry did. However, Cedric still ate breakfast and lunch at a different time, and still managed to elude Harry even when Harry changed the time at which he ate. Although Cedric was present at the evening dinner, every time Harry tried to catch Cedric as he left or at the door of the Great Hall, Cedric slipped away. Sometimes, Cedric used a group of friends as a sort of barrier for himself as he passed by Harry. Other times, if Harry looked away for one second, letting his attention wander elsewhere, Cedric took the opportunity to disappear.

As Harry sat there pondering these events, he finally came to a conclusion that he had denied to even be possible for weeks.

Wait, thought Harry. Is he really avoiding me? I thought those were all coincidences, but how can they be? How can anyone want to avoid me? Harry had just realized that Cedric was avoiding him and it hurt. He felt emotions take over him as this realization two months in the making hit him, and hard. He had been in denial of it for so long, but he knew it was the only logical conclusion. Considering how small the student populace was, Harry knew the only way Cedric could not see someone was by actively avoiding them. Coincidence could only explain so much, not two months.

There could be a multitude of reasons for Cedric avoiding him, and as he thought of them, most came down to him not liking Harry. He couldn't help but jump to the worst conclusion and emotions really began to run wild as his eyes filled with water that foreshadowed the coming tears. But before the first tear could fall, his emotional free fall was interrupted.

"Mr. Potter? Could you tell us why exactly the giants chose the year 1111 to attack the Wizarding World?" asked Professor Binns, putting Harry on the spot.

"I suppose it was a ceremonially significant year for them. It must have been magically significant for them and led them to believe that it would be a successful revolution against wizards if and only if they started and ended it that year," answered Harry, spewing what came to his head first when he had no other option. He was surprised to see Professor Binns nod.

"Good," he said, moving onto the next question. "Now, Ms. Granger, why would this year be magically important to the Giants?"

"As they only had the intellect to count in binary, they thought such a..."was all Harry caught of Hermione's answer as he began to cry. He made sure that Ron, who was sitting next to him, and the rest of the class did not notice that he had been crushed by his crush.

But for some reason, even with those tears of pain, he felt that he had some hope with Cedric. As his silent tears continued, he looked down to the chain around his neck. He felt a little smile come across his face as he held the heart on the chain in his hand.

Sure, the chain had garnered a few questions from Ron and especially from Hermione, but wearing it was worth the questioning. After Harry had fixed up the Portkey he had from his arrival at Hogwarts with Cedric, he fixed it up. He used some simple cleaning to remove the tarnish that covered the necklace and the grime that refused non-magical means of cleaning and fixing charms he had learned around the Burrow to repair places where the chain was rusted or broken. Once he was done with that, he put on a few of his own finishing touches, giving the chain a more intricate design using an incantation Hermione taught him.

With the necklace's refurbishing done, Harry contemplated keeping the necklace in a drawer or somewhere where it would be safe but unnoticed, yet he decided against that. He thought he should wear it around his neck as a silent proclamation of who he was and maybe even more than that.

Harry couldn't help but feel that the necklace partially symbolized the future for him, and the possibility of him with Cedric. Even when things looked as grim as they did right then, that necklace gave him hope, even if it was only a chain with a heart on it.

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A week later on the night before Halloween , things had not improved much for Harry. He had not gotten to talk to Cedric at all, nor had he told any of his friends about him being gay. But that did not matter right at the moment, because he had a plan. He would get to talk to Cedric tonight. Using the fact that Cedric would have to be at the feast because of Dumbledore's orders, Harry planned a sort of ambush that he had not yet tried. He would have to leave the feast early, but he figured that that wouldn't be much of a problem. Hermione might notice, but he doubted Ron would. Apparently, something was happening tonight according to rumors. Harry thought that Ron would get too caught up in the excitement to notice his missing friend.

As Harry listened to the Headmaster's speech about this Triwizard Tournament deal, he was going to put his plan into action. Except, the doors at the front of the hall burst open as a group of wizards and witches clad in thin clothing fit for a warmer climate strode in. Harry looked to Dumbledore for more information on this development.

"May I introduce the students of Beauxbatons and their headmistress, Madame Maxime," he said, motioning towards a giant lady wearing a black gown that made her look sleek, or as sleek as a women of her size and presence could look. As they strode to the front of the room, Harry couldn't help but notice Ron begin to drool as a petite blonde girl strode by in an outfit slightly more brilliant than the rest of her classmates. Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron as he stared at the rest of the girls without even trying to be sly about it.

"Boys," she remarked.

"Now, here are the wizards and witches of Durmstrang and their Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff," continued Dumbledore, his arm extending towards the group of individuals walking into the room. Unlike the Beauxbatons students, these people worse thick coats, from animal fur to layers and layers of cotton outfits. After studying the group of people for a moment, Harry noticed one girl that stuck out from the rest. Instead of the traditional thick, cumbersome robes that the other students doned, she wore a sleek outfit. Harry surmised that it must have be enchanted to keep her warm. From the looks of it, it was fairly intricate charm that probably only increased the cost of an already expensive looking outfit. It was no wonder that only one wizard could afford it, and from the looks of it, she was a tiny, pretentious looking Pureblood girl.

As the students filtered into the room, and Dumbledore continued on his introduction to the perils of the Triwizard Tounament, Harry saw his opportunity to move. When everyone seemed preoccupied with the tournament, hanging on Dumbledore's every word, Harry smoothly pulled his invisibility cloak out of his pocket and put it over himself. He looked around at his peers to make sure that none of them had seen what he done. Besides a slightly befuddled Hermione, it looked as though no one cared the slightest that he had disappeared from sight, let alone notice.

Without a moment to lose, Harry slipped away from the table, and began to walk out of the room with no one the wiser. As he did leave however, he heard Hermione poke Ron and ask, "What happened to Harry?" but no matter how much she tried to ask Ron what happened, he would not answer as he was still infatuated with a girl from Beauxabatons. Harry sniggered at his friend, and the infuriated Hermione, but quickly had to stop as a few first year Hufflepuffs turned their heads at the sound of his laughter, and looked frightened to death.

Harry swiftly strode out of the Great Hall and looked over his shoulder for a moment. Everyone, even the foreign students, was focused on Dumbledore, hanging on his every word. Looking to the front of the room, Harry saw Dumbledore standing tall, looking quite serious. But for a moment, his eyes twinkled, and his face lit up. Professor Dumbledore caught Harry's eyes and winked at Harry knowingly, still speaking to the rest of the students all the while.

So much for keeping my feelings a secret, thought Harry. If Dumbledore knows, he is either completely omniscient in Hogwarts, or just well tuned into the gossiping networks. Regardless, I have to trod carefully.

And without hesitation, Harry continued to stride out of the Great Hall and stood out in the hall to try to catch an unsuspecting Cedric Diggory. So Harry lied in wait. Fifteen minutes past, and nothing happened, but the end of Dumbledore's speech and beginning of the steady drone of conversation emitted from the Great Hall.

Another good ten minutes passed by, but nothing changed. Harry stood there waiting, and began to doubt his plan, knowing that if Cedric really wanted to avoid him, he could be taking precautions beyond simply leaving meals early.

Five minutes past, and hope was fleeting from Harry. He was ready to leave his station and head up to his room, ready to cry at his failure. But finally, something changed. A creak came from the slowly opening grand door of the Great Hall, and as suddenly as that sound came, hope flooded back to Harry, inundating his emotions.

Knowing who it was without a doubt, Harry threw off his invisibility cloak, making sure to safely hide it in a pocket so no one noticed its presence. He watched the prefect come out of the hall, and turn around, frozen in his tracks, looking straight into Harry's eyes.

Cedric Diggory couldn't help but blush a deep rosy, red. Harry had finally caught him.

Now comes the trodding carefully part, thought Harry. Knowing this would be hard, as he had never been one to hide his emotions, Harry stared at Cedric for a moment, trying to control the emotions rampaging in him. Anger. Fear. Embarrassment. A foreshadowing of love. He had to control them, but anger was hardest of all, and would not allow itself to be ignored.

"Hello, Cedric," said Harry shortly.

"Er... hey, Harry. How're you doing?" asked Cedric, trying to flash a smile at Harry. Harry didn't fall prey to it, and failed to go weak in the knees.

"I'm good. Except for the fact that I haven't been able to even talk to my new friend I made over the summer," replied Harry, implying a great deal.

"I'm sure that it's just a coincidence," said Cedric, smiling as though it was a joke of sorts. Harry failed to laugh.

"I'd hope so. After all, it's hard not to be a friend with someone after they saved your life from a rampaging dragon. And I'd hope that they would not be avoiding me. After all, that is not at all friendly of them," remarked Harry, speaking in the abstract. Cedric flushed.

"It was a coincidence that we don't talk," said Cedric directly. " I'm sorry. It's just our classes our too different--" but he was caught off by Harry.

"I'd expect you not to lie to me. I consider you my friend, Cedric. But why don't you consider me yours?" asked Harry, gaining momentum.

"I do, I just--"

"Well, you have a strange way of showing it. As I have been told, friends aren't meant to lie or hide from each other," said Harry, feeling a pang of guilt.

"Now look here Harry, that's a big accusation to make, when you have no--" Harry cut off Cedric again.

"I have figured out your schedule. Our classes aren't so far apart that we wouldn't meet more than once during two months," remarked Harry.

"So now you think I'm avoiding you?" asked Cedric, with anger growing in his voice.

"No, I don't think that."

"Well, that's good, because--"

"I know it," interjected Harry. "The question then becomes, why?"

"Harry, I have not been--"

"Please stop. We've already been over this. You have been avoiding me, I'm not stupid."

"I never said you were, it's just--"

"Just what? Why would you avoid me?"

"You're jumping to conclusions, that's what!" snapped Cedric, his kind, well-mannered demeanor slipping.

"I haven't been doing any jumping, I can assure you--"

"Yes you have. You haven't for one moment considered why I would avoid you," replied Cedric, looking flustered.

"Well, it's good that you've finally admitted that you've been avoiding me. I have been asking you why, I don't know myself. I suppose it's a good reason?"

"Very good," replied Cedric, trying to gain control in the conversation.

"Well then, tell me."

"No."

"Why can't you tell me?" asked Harry.

"I--"

"Why?"

"I don't know if you can keep a secret."

"Why don't you ask then? 'Can you keep a secret?' it's not that hard," said Harry, looking at Cedric. So far, his plan was working. He was gradually grating away at Cedric, until he cracked.

"Just stop! I told you, I don't know if I can trust you!" replied Cedric, flustered.

"Cedric, you can, believe me..." said Harry soothingly, changing tactics.

"STOP!" yelled Cedric. Harry didn't stop.

"I won't, I swear. Cedric, I'm your friend treat me like one--"

"Stop!" replied Cedric, now making quite a commotion. By now, a group of students had gathered by the door of the hall, and were listening in on the conversation. Even if, Harry hadn't gotten quite as far as he wanted, he was not about to make a spectacle of himself and Cedric. Even if he was angry, that was no reason to put Cedric and himself in an unruly spotlight. So Harry took Cedric's advice, and stopped, just as Professor Dumbledore strode out into the hall.

"Ah, is there anything I can do for you boys?" asked Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling at Cedric and Harry.

"No sir, we just had a minor disagreement," replied Cedric, choosing his words carefully. He was regaining his composure.

"Ah, good. If you ever need to talk to me, I am in my office. You will find that another ear in a conversation can make matters much easier," said Dumbledore knowingly.

"Thank you sir. I think I'll pass up the offer for now. Bye Harry!" said Cedric, leaving the scene for the Hufflepuff common room.

"Yes, thank you for the offer Professor Dumbledore. I'm tired myself," replied Harry.

"Ah yes, we all are a bit drowsy, after that delightfully filling feast. I must thank the house elves, I daresay they outdid themselves this year..." remarked Dumbldore conversationally.

"Yes, er, delightfully filling. Well, I've got to go!" replied Harry, as the crowd of people witnessing this exchange continued to grow.

Well, thought Harry. Now I'm sure he likes me.

Can you keep a Secret?

Or is this situation secret?

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After an already eventful night, Harry opened the common room door to find yet another disturbance awaiting him. Hermione and Ron stood there, arguing. When they saw Harry come in the room, the stopped.

They expected him to say something, that much was clear. Harry just wasn't sure what.

A/N: Another chapter in the bag after yet another long wait... I hoped you enjoyed the chapter, it was a bit of a change of pace. And there's a cliff type thing happening at the end of this chapter. Hmmmmm, well, please review and I'll try to update. I am reaching the end of my job soon, so I may be able to go on a little writing spree fairly soon. We shall see about that, though. And if you are looking for another HarryxCedric story, one a little fluffier and cuter than this one (more humorous as well), I have started betaing The Boy Who Loved by Takeo. Just a suggestion...

Thanks for all of the positive feedback on the story! I really appreciate it

And I guess I will start this review reply thing, because I love my reviewers.