(i)
Harry escaped the crowds of people, whether waiting to congratulate him or make fun of him, he wasn't sure. Ron had slapped him on the back and then wandered off to berate Hermione. Harry, wishing for his invisibility cloak, slipped between the crowds of people as quickly as possible, and stood outside the Hufflepuff common room, waiting to see Cedric return.
From the lack of noise coming from it, he assumed that they had chosen to party elsewhere.
He sat down on the opposite side of the corridor from the entrance, trying to conceal himself behind a dusty tapestry. He didn't think Cedric would appreciate the rest of the Hufflepuffs seeing him there.
He knew that he should feel euphoric after at least surviving the lake, but his hands quivered as he thought about Cedric and wondered what he was going to say.
He felt like throwing himself on his knees and begging for forgiveness, but he wasn't sure if that would merely make him look silly. He though about Cedric's look of concern, and his blue smile, and felt slightly better.
Cedric didn't hate him, he reminded himself firmly. He'd just been stupid.
I am so stupid, he thought, tugging at the edge of the tapestry.
He pulled himself more firmly behind it as he heard approaching footsteps.
"Couldn't find him anywhere," a voice said.
"Poor Ced, I wonder what's in that lake?" someone replied.
"We'll have to start a celebration without him I suppose."
"Yeah, I'm sure he'll turn up," the first voice said. "Those Gryffindor twins sold me two dozen Custard Creams, look!"
"Oh, fantastic!"
Harry, trying not to snigger at the image of Hufflepuffs turning into canaries, walked away from the common room as soon as he heard them all clatter inside.
He made for the Prefect's bathroom. It was obvious, now, that that was where Cedric would be if he wanted to see him.
"You took your time," Cedric said, when Harry had whispered the obligatory "pine fresh".
He was in the bathtub, with several hot taps running.
"That lake was bloody freezing," he said, almost conversationally, and looked at Harry.
"I think the – the gillyweed made me not notice," Harry said.
"I was worried about you," Cedric said quietly. "I was going to find you when I figured out the bubble-head charm, but I…"
"You were probably angry," Harry said. His hands still quivered. He had anticipated a lot more wrath.
"I don't know," Cedric said. "I was confused."
He kicked off from his side of the bath, and swam languorously towards Harry.
Harry tried to avert his gaze and concentrate on the problem at hand, but he was having trouble. He missed the smell of Cedric round him.
"Are you really that – that upset by this?" Cedric asked.
"No," Harry said. "I mean I thought I was – but then I felt more upset when I thought you – Cedric, I'm sorry…"
"It's not…" Cedric sighed. "Merlin, Harry, sometimes you make me feel like I'm inflicting this on you."
"No! I…" Harry shook his head, suddenly feeling clearer. "Sometimes I feel like you're changing me, but it's not a bad thing. It's sudden, and confusing … but, Cedric, I missed you."
Cedric looked at him for a few moments longer, his gaze so penetrating it made Harry nervous.
Then he smiled. "I feel silly talking to you from down here," he said.
"Will I get in, too?" Harry asked, feeling a blush start. Bathing together, this time, felt different somehow.
"Yes," Cedric said. "Do."
Harry self-consciously began to remove layers of clothing. His skin was damp beneath them; he hadn't bothered to dry properly after the lake.
When he got down to his underwear, he glanced nervously at Cedric, but Cedric didn't look away. Harry awkwardly eased his underwear down, over his knobbly knees and disentangled his feet from it.
He didn't look at Cedric as he leapt for the water. He landed in it with a great splash. It was almost uncomfortably hot, and he could feel his chilled hands swelling slightly in it.
"Can you turn the taps off?" he asked.
"Yeah, alright," Cedric said. "I'm beginning to thaw anyway."
Harry swam lazily to where Cedric had been leaning. His muscles ached a little.
"You feeling better?" he asked.
"Oh, yes, much," Cedric said, not quite meeting Harry's eyes.
"Your hands," Harry said, suddenly, seeing them above the water. They looked even worse from close to. "What did you do to them?"
Cedric had pulled them beneath the water. "Nothing," he said. "I was nervous."
"'Bout what?"
"Everything. My father almost insisted on coming, I had to beg him not to."
"Didn't you want him to?"
"No!" Cedric said emphatically. "He'd only…"
He stopped. The fingers of one hand tugged at the skin around the nails of his other.
"Cedric," Harry said softly, and held Cedric's hands still.
Cedric's eyes remained on his hands, trapped by Harry's, for a few seconds. Then he looked up into Harry's face.
Harry was never sure which one of them breathed, "I missed you", but the words were barely heard over the faint lapping of the water before they kissed.
Harry was still holding Cedric's hands, like a barrier between them, as they leant up, over it, to press their wet lips together. Their faces were covered with droplets of warm water and condensation from the bath, and their cheeks stuck clammily together for a few moments at a time, before releasing and allowing them to open their mouths for each other.
Harry, almost drowsily, his mind was so intent on Cedric's mouth, felt his penis hardening in the water.
He released Cedric's hands suddenly, and Cedric's body fell slowly towards his own through the bubbly water. Their erections pressed together.
"Are you…?" Cedric said, but he never finished his sentence, because Harry was already kissing him again, eager, suddenly, to feel Cedric's body pressed against ever curve of his skin, for their every orifice to be entangled.
Cedric pulled away slightly, "Harry, I…"
"It's ok," Harry said, reaching for Cedric's chewed hands, and pressing them around him.
Cedric didn't try any more self-restraint. And suddenly Harry felt like he was being swallowed by all his new sensations, by the feel of Cedric's body rubbing against his, in all the right places. He barely felt like he could remember his own name.
But he could remember Cedric's.
(ii)
"That was…" Harry said languidly, not bothered to finishing his sentence.
"Feel better?" Cedric said, smiling at him, his head tilted back against the side of the bath. His hair was damp.
Everything was damp, Harry thought, stretching luxuriously, his own wet hair sticking to the back of his neck.
"So, I'm not a virgin anymore?" Harry asked slowly.
"Well, you sort of are," Cedric said. "It depends. We'll talk about semantics later."
"Okay," Harry said lazily. Cedric kissed his temple, smoothing his hair out of his eyes. It stuck back, because of the wet, leaving Harry's white forehead strangely exposed.
"I think you need more extravagant eyebrows," Cedric said, and dabbed some foam onto Harry's forehead.
"What?" Harry murmured.
"Wizards should have entertaining eyebrows, I think," Cedric said. "It makes them seem more magical."
"Okay," Harry said, too sleepy to bother responding properly. He hadn't felt this relaxed since February approached.
Cedric chuckled. "You can't sleep here," he said.
"How late is it?" Harry asked grudgingly.
"You're wearing a watch," Cedric said.
Harry looked at it. Its surface was smeared with something, and he rubbed it off.
"It's ten past nine," he said.
"It's stopped, Harry," Cedric said, tapping its surface.
It was dark outside, and the bath was getting cold.
"We'd better go," Cedric said. "Back to the common rooms."
"They've probably eaten all our party," Harry said.
"Yeah."
"I don't want to leave," Harry said.
"We'd better," Cedric said. "Someone's might be looking for us."
"Yeah," Harry sighed, and they grudgingly hauled themselves over the side.
Harry's limbs were tired and sore, and his head didn't seem to be working properly. He dressed slowly, putting socks in the wrong places, and forgetting to put his underwear on before he pulled on his robe.
"I'll leave first, in case someone spots me," Cedric said. He sounded more furtive than necessary, Harry's drowsy brain decided.
He nodded, however, and sank into the quick embrace Cedric gave him. Their kiss was an awkward one, with bashed noses, but Harry couldn't help smiling at Cedric none the less.
He padded to his common room, undisturbed, save by Professor Flitwick, who offered him congratulations. His stomach growled with hunger, and the quiet in the common room suggested it was suppertime, but as soon as he saw a chair he sank gladly into it.
He smiled vaguely at various people as they trooped upstairs.
"Harry!" Hermione said. "Where were you?"
"I'm hungry," he said.
"That gillyweed was fantastic!" she said. "Why did we never think of it?"
"To make me as worried as possible," Harry murmured.
"Have some cake," Ron said.
"Thanks," Harry took a large bite from some heavy plum cake.
"How's lover boy?" Ron asked.
"Alright," Harry said.
"Don't call him that!" Hermione said. "His name is Cedric."
Ron ignored her. "Did you spend this whole afternoon with him?"
"Most of it," Harry said.
"You missed the party. In your honour," Ron said.
"Did you miss me?" Harry said cheerfully, licking the last traces of the cake from his fingers.
"We managed alright without you," Ron said.
Harry saw Hermione kick Ron meaningfully.
"Ow!" Ron said. "But we did!"
"'Course you did," Harry said. "Any more cake?"
"There's some custard creams," Ron said.
"Fred and George's ones?"
Ron nodded guiltily.
"They sold them to the Hufflepuff's too," Harry told him.
Ron laughed.
"I have some crisps up in my room," Hermione said, standing up.
"Did lover boy turn into a canary, then?" Ron asked.
Harry laughed, "no, I would have warned him."
"That was great, in the lake," Ron said.
Harry shook his head. "I was daft to think they were really going to die."
"Nah," Ron said. "Moral fibre, remember?"
Harry grinned at him. Hermione returned with the crisps.
"How's Vicky, then?" Ron asked her, looking more cheerful than petulant.
She raised her eyebrows at Harry.
"Vicky's a better name than lover boy," Harry said.
"But it'll make people think I'm the gay one!" Hermione said.
"Nah, I think 'lover boy' is fairly explicit," said Harry.
"Have some crisps," Ron said peaceably, offering the packet to them both.
A/n: Hope the sex isn't too badly written! Not really my forte, I must admit.