Author's Notes: This is my first CedXMione fic so go easy on me. This is during the part of the Yule ball where Hermione goes MIA for a few minutes.
Summary: Cedric and Hermione one shot! It was her eyes. They got him every time. He knew he shouldn't be here but... there was just something in those eyes...
Disclaimer: Standard note inserted here.
…There was just something in those eyes…
Cedric had been standing there watching her for a while now. He didn't know what it was about her but he was drawn to her. All he knew was that he'd spent the better part of free afternoons gazing at his girl.
She wasn't a conventional beauty like his girlfriend Cho. She had a very unique beauty that surpassed the superficial attraction that most girls seemed to have. Funny thing was until recently he'd only ever seen her in the hallways with Potter and Weasley.
He had only really met her this year but that hadn't stopped him from trying to ask her to the ball. And he had been extremely close to doing just that. Unfortunately, just as he was about to approach her Krum stole his opportunity. After finding out that she had agreed to be Krum's date, he basically went for his second choice.
And now here he was at the ball with Cho. Actually he wasn't technically at the ball with Cho. At the moment, and for quite a few previous moments, he had been in a small alcove of a dark hallway near the great hall and Hermione Granger was sitting on the stone floor under a dimly lit torch. Her periwinkle dress flowed and fanned out delicately around her, in drastic contrast to clenched jaw and pounding fists.
Ronald Weasley was the main cause of her distress. Cedric had seen and heard the whole confrontation as an innocent bystander. When Hermione had run off he had followed her and found her attempting to beat the stuffing out of the floor. Her hands were red and her hair was now a bit of a mess but he could have sworn that he'd never seen anything more beautiful.
It was her eyes. They got him every time. They were the first things he had noticed about her the morning they met before the Quidditch World Cup. Her almond shaped chocolate colored eyes were enchanting and they held a fire in them that he had never seen present in anyone else. He didn't care what she looked like, as long as her eyes remained as passionate as they were on this night, then she would be forever beautiful to him. He had only been fortunate enough to get extremely close to those eyes once but the one time he did see them up close he had gotten a very good look at them.
One day, about a week into the first term of the year, they had literally run into each other in the halls. They both fell on the ground on a tangled mess with Hermione splayed on top of him. When she opened her eyes after the impact, his stormy grey eyes met those deep chocolate orbs. The brown had some tiny black spots in it and he could have sworn that he had seen slivers of gold in there too. Once she realized the position they were in, she quickly apologized, gathered her things off the ground, and left before he could regain his senses.
It wasn't until a few days later that he realized that he hadn't stopped thinking about her and that she was becoming a constant image in his mind. Then his thoughts drifted to the idea that maybe she was more than just a meaningless crush, but he knew that wasn't true. As a little time went on this fact became blatantly obvious, but he refused to acknowledge it until it hit him in the form of an epiphany.
This epiphany of his occurred right in the middle of his History of Magic class. He had screamed out "It's her eyes! I'm in love, and it's all because of her bloody eyes!" Of course the whole class thought he was off his rocker and some had the nerve to suggest that he take a visit to St. Mungo's. It was all in good fun and they clearly thought he had been speaking of Cho. Thankfully Professor Binns hadn't noticed but then the ghost never really noticed much of anything.
He knew he shouldn't be here. As it stood, he already had relationship problems of his own. Cho was mad at him because she claimed that he had been staring at someone else the whole ball. He hadn't denied it simply because it was true. He'd been watching Hermione dance with the Bulgarian monkey. As she smiled and laughed he felt a pang of what he could only assume was jealousy.
His thoughts were brought back to the currently disheveled Hermione and he decided it was time to interfere. Twenty minutes was much too long for her to injure her porcelain hands. He walked over quietly and kneeled down next to her.
She looked up sharply, obviously mistaking him for Weasley, and was about to yell at him until she realized who he was. She whipped her cheeks with her hands roughly trying to erase the evidence of her despair. Cedric stopped her by reaching for her face with one of his calloused hands. He reached into his dress robes for a handkerchief and brushed away her tears. As he did this their eyes locked.
She seemed to be floating in his cloudy grey eyes and he was drowning in waves of chocolate… but for some reason he didn't seem to want to save himself. In that instant he was able to see the real Hermione Granger and swim in the beauty she was exposing him to. He could see everything in those eyes. How could Potter and Weasley be graced by this sirens presence everyday and to realize how remarkable and unique she truly was?
She reached out to touch his face but hesitated when her fingertips were merely a centimeter from his cheek. They were so close. Her lips were a whisper away from his. He hadn't noticed when they had gotten this close. He knew she would not advance any further and therefore it was up to him to bridge the gap between them. Just as he was about to close the non-existent distance the annoyingly shrill voice of Cho Chang could be heard further down the dark hall calling his name.
Hermione pulled back and stood up quickly, pulling him to his feet. Neither made a move to leave until Cho's heals got noticeably louder signifying that she had turned the corner and would be on them any moment. When Hermione was about to step into the darkness he took her hand and brought it to his lips, brushing a gentle kiss across her knuckles. Her eyes shone in the dim light reflecting what he interpreted to be happiness and desire.
The clanking from Cho's obnoxiously high heals was getting progressively louder. Cedric released Hermione's fingers and she fled in the opposite direction. She was gone in with a rustle of periwinkle silk. Cedric pivoted just in time to see his girlfriend enter the torchlight.
As far as he could tell she didn't suspect a thing and he drew this conclusion because she didn't say anything when she saw him. She just flashed him a grin that reminded him of the bloody Cheshire Cat in the muggle cartoon Alice in Wonderland. And to imagine he had to spend the rest of the night with her. At least it was almost over.
Upon returning to the great hall it was obvious that most everyone had left. Cedric spotted Harry and was headed over to talk to the younger boy when he noticed that the poor lad seemed to be attempting to calm his red headed friend down. No doubt the whole issue was over Hermione going to the ball with Krum. By the time Cedric turned around to find his date she was already headed up the stairs towards the Ravenclaw common room. That was fine with him, it just meant that he would be a good prefect and wait for the last Hufflepuff to leave before he went to bed.
So he sat down and waited for the last student to leave. It wouldn't be that bad. Besides he had some serious thinking to do…
He didn't know what he was going to do. After an hour of thinking a smiling Professor Dumbledore who was accompanied by a certain Deputy Head Mistress interrupted him. They both suggested that he go to bed seeing as though that particular Hufflepuff didn't seem to want to leave and Neville Longbottom and his red haired date were still dancing.
As he headed towards the Hufflepuff common room he came to a conclusion. He would make a visit to the library tomorrow and stand in the doorway. If she acknowledged him in anyway, which he hoped she would, they would eventually start meeting and then possibly develop something more after he broke up with Cho, of course. But it would have to be in secret. He didn't want a scandal, and Merlin knew she'd had enough of those this year. He just wanted to see her. She just had to talk to him tomorrow.
He didn't even want to think of what would happen if she ignored him, and he didn't think she would. Not after what he'd just seen in her eyes. She wanted to be with him but she didn't quite know how.
He intended to teach her. She was hesitant and he planned on banishing her doubts. He hoped to do these things as soon as she accepted him into her life… her essence… possibly even her soul. But he was getting ahead of himself. She still had yet to go on a first date with him and he was talking all of this serious soul mate commitment crap. Those were a girl's thoughts, but for some reason that didn't bother him.
He would have to drown himself in those chocolate orbs tomorrow to see what she truly wanted. He didn't know her well but he could read her through her eyes. He could see the emotions brewing in those dark depths. Unfortunately, he knew that she could see all of this in his eyes as well. She had read him well enough tonight. She could rip his heart out tomorrow and feed it to a Swedish Short Snout if she wanted. But he wasn't all that worried…
…There was just something in those eyes…
End Comments: So this is a new pairing for me but I kind of like it. I'm also working on more Oliver/Hermione fics. I've got a Blaise/Hermione, a Draco/Hermione, a Harry/Hermione, and a James/Lily fic. Hope you enjoy!