A/n: Wahoo, a chapter update. And this is another hu-mon-gus chapter (for me, anyways, lol) so please leave me a review at the end to tell me what you thought. As a warning, though, I'd just like to say there isn't much more of this story left. I know, I know, people like it. My very original original plan was to follow Order of the Phoenix, but from Cedric's point of view. I decided not to do that for two reasons. #1 It would be hugely long and #2 Everyone's already read OOTP so we know what happens, and especially if I am trying to make Harry and Cedric friends-ish (lol) then it would be so much of the same. So, there's less than five chapters of this story left and it is AU - just a reminder. Anyways, have a read, and let me know whatcha think. :D

Chapter 11

That night, Cedric worked on his homework in the far corner of the Hufflepuff Common Room, barely speaking to anyone. When Ewan tried to pry about what was wrong, Cedric insisted nothing had happened. Which, in a sense, nothing had.

As soon as his homework was done, Cedric headed up to the dormitories early, thinking he would read his book before bed. Once laying down and picking up a fiction novel about a wonderful adventure in a faraway place, however, his mind kept coming back to Cho. He shortly abandoned his attempts at reading and taking his thoughts off his girlfriend.

Why had she had acted the way she had on the train? Why had she acted that way around Harry? Did the way she was around Harry have to do with how Cho was on the train? Did Cho have a crush on Harry? Then why wasn't she dating him if she did? Did Harry have a crush on Cho? Did Cho go pink around Harry because she knew or because she was embarrassed to see Harry while Cedric was standing there?

The questions frustrated him to no end because he didn't have any answers but more so because he knew he was completely overreacting. Nothing happened. Cedric sighed and rolled over onto his side, still frustrated with everything.

What was his problem? He wasn't a jealous person, nor a person to be easily angered. Yet one look between a friend and his girlfriend pushed him to the brim of losing control. What was wrong with him?

He sighed again and flipped onto his other side. The best thing to do was just talk to Cho, and he would do so tomorrow, first thing.

Morning came, and Cedric quickly rose, got ready and headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Ewan was still asleep and probably would be for some time yet, and David would have been up for at least an hour already, done breakfast and catching up on homework in the library.

In all his years of attending Hogwarts, Cedric's routine had changed minimally. He would head down to breakfast, eat and head to the library where he would sit with David until five minutes before the bell rang when Ewan would rush blearily in complaining about how early school started.

Cedric was still thinking about talking to Cho about Harry as he pointedly ignored the continued excess of points, whispers and stares directed his way. He arrived in the Great Hall just after morning post, as the last few owls flew back out of the Great Hall. He was running slightly late today, but still had lots of time. Not surprised in the slightest at not receiving anything with the morning post, Cedric sat down after a quick glance at the ceiling, noting it was a very chilly looking gray.

He quietly helped himself to some cereal and a tall glass of apple juice, wishing Ewan for once would not wait until the last possible minute and come down and join Cedric. He felt like he needed his friend beside him today, though he never had felt that need when merely eating breakfast before.

Matthew Butcher, a fair-haired Hufflepuff in Cedric's year tentatively took a seat beside Cedric a few moments later. Cedric and Matthew had been best friends in their first year and somewhat in their second year. They'd drifted apart after that, though still remained friendly with each other. Right then, although Matthew sat beside Cedric, Cedric couldn't help but feeling like Matthew had left a little extra space between them.

"Hey." Matthew said uncertainly.

"Hey." Cedric continued eating his cereal, though he slowed to a stop when he realized Matthew was openly staring at him.

"Er, what's up Matt?" he said, his spoon dripping, suspended in mid-air above his bowl.

Matthew looked away for an instant and cleared his throat before turning back to meet Cedric's eyes with his own. "What happened… that night?"

Suddenly the handful of Hufflepuffs within earshot seemed to freeze and listen in all at the same time. Everyone desperately wanted to hear the account for themselves, straight from one who claimed to have been there, regardless of whether they believed he was barking or not.

Cedric stiffened and tried to return to his cereal bowl. "I'd rather now talk about it, if you don't mind."

The others didn't stop listening. Matthew cleared his throat uncomfortably again. "But… what was it… like?" he persisted anxiously.

Cedric shook his head a little. "I'd really rather not talk about it." he repeated firmly.

Matthew slowly began to fill his plate with breakfast food items, clearly deciding whether or not he should push it or leave the subject alone. Others, it seemed however, were not so easily deterred.

"Why won't you tell us?" a green-eyed girl sitting across and a seat down from Cedric asked.

"Yes, don't you want us to believe you?" the long-faced boy beside her added eagerly.

Cedric hardened. "Yes, I do, but I want you to believe me without me having to… relive what happened." The image of the Dark Lord's severe red eyes flashed in Cedric's mind and he blinked a few times to rid it. If you saw what I saw, you wouldn't want to talk about it either. He thought. I can't even imagine how much worse this is for Harry.

"But, if you're just telling us…" Matthew interjected and a strawberry blonde nearby finished for him.

"That's not reliving it." she said.

"And besides, we really want to know!" the green eyed-girl said.

Cedric stopped his spoon in mid-air again. "Look, its not something I'm ready to discuss openly, alright?" he said, keeping his tone cool.

A red-haired boy two seats to the right of the green-eyed girl guffawed loudly. Cedric didn't know his name or what year the boy was in, only that the his temper and mouth had a reputation. "You can't discuss it because its all a big lie."

Cedric clenched his spoon tightly, quite tired of the attention and the conversation. "Actually, its not." He said.

The red-haired boy crossed his arms over his chest. "It sure is. You probably have to check with that Potter kid before you disclose any details about " – he made quotation with his fingers – " that night, so you don't mess up your big lie."

Cedric said nothing, holding his spoon so tight it was starting to become quite painful. He would not lose his temper.

The red-haired boy continued unabashedly. "Everyone knows you're a liar, Diggory. They just can't figure out why you're keeping the lie up and ruining your family name. I don't know why you and delusional Potter stick to this cock-and-bull story that You-Know-Who is back." He leaned forward. "Don't you think if it were true it would be somewhere in the news? If it actually happened?"

Cedric took a small breath, fighting to remain calm. He was generally a calm, easy going person, but the red-haired boy's comments were digging into his skin like a parasite. It was driving him crazy not to be able to reach across the table and punch the boy right in the mouth.

"Well, that's your opinion." He said rather rigidly. "I don't agree."

"You stupid prat!" the red-haired boy called. The boy beside him immediately placed a restraining hand on the red-haired boy's shoulder.

"Quit it Joel." The other boy said warningly.

Joel, the red-haired boy, did not heed his friend and seemed quite determined to make a scene by provoking Cedric to explode. Cedric refused to give Joel that satisfaction.

Joel continued fiercely. "The Ministry said it didn't happen! It's painfully obvious who to believe! A powerful system of government, made up of highly intelligent, informed people, that has been running for a very long time and have never steered us wrong, or a cracked, aging old man, a spoiled, attention-seeking brat, and a seventeen-year blockhead who probably can't even tie his shoes?"

Eyes around the table widened and some people covered their mouths in shock Joel's words. It was absolutely impossible to tell who agreed with Joel and who sided with Cedric. People shifted uncomfortably.

Cedric knew his cheeks were probably flaming red at this point and he felt angry and hot all over. He silently counted to ten, knowing Joel was sitting back in his seat smirking, waiting for an outburst. Cedric took another breath and said sternly,

"I'm sorry, but I don't agree."

Clearly even angrier at Cedric's lack of reaction to his verbal onslaught, Joel swore and made a very rude hand gesture at Cedric before departing the table in a fiery temper, followed by his very small group of friends. Generally Hufflepuffs were calm, easy going people who very much disliked confrontations. Not for the first time, many at the table, including Cedric, wondered how in the world someone like Joel was put in Hufflepuff.

Now almost all who had overheard the conversation were looking at Cedric. Whether they were staring, gaping, glaring or smiling, their attention was still on him and it was completely unnerving. Absolutely fed up with the people around him, Cedric let his spoon clatter extremely noisily to his bowl and hurriedly left the table.

He's gone less than fifteen steps when he felt a soft tap on his shoulder. He turned around sharply and was surprised to see a slender girl with long black bangs touching her eyes standing there. She smiled shyly and said, her voice barely more than a whisper,

"I believe you."

And then she walked away.

Cedric's body relaxed significantly, completely caught off guard by the girl. At least someone does. He thought, a little sadly. Then his eyes caught on the Hufflepuff table where he was still being watched. He scowled and exited the Great Hall, completely forgetting about his earlier purpose of talking to Cho.

As the day went on, it actually wasn't until the late afternoon that Cedric remember he'd wanted to have a chat with Cho. And then it wasn't until the evening when he finally found her. She was doing her homework in the library when Cedric came in to take out a book. He felt a sudden wash of warmth towards her, his previous anger melting at the prospect of sorting the whole stupid thing out.

He was walking towards the table she was sitting alone at when Marietta rushed up and sat down beside Cho. Cedric was just about right behind Cho, and definitely within earshot, when he heard Marietta ask,

"You talked to him then?"

For an instant, Cedric thought Cho was talking about him and felt better that she had been thinking the same thing about them having a talk. But it was only an instant.

"Yes…" Cho answered. "But then his friend – you know the one. Um, Ron? Ron Weasley?"

"Yeah?"

"I'd barely said three words to Harry and he jumped in there and accused me of being a Tornados supporter."

The two girls snickered and giggled. Cedric, with a rather sick feeling in his stomach, took a few steps back and to the side so he was standing beside a book shelf, still well within earshot.

"Oh, but what about Harry?" Marietta pressed, and it was obvious from her tone that she was smiling.

Cho was quiet for a second before saying quietly, "He looked very good." She paused. "Better than last time, anyway." And from her tone, Cedric guessed she was grinning widely as well. "On the train, d'you remember?"

The two girls laughed loudly, earning them an icy glare and a "shush"-ing from Madame Pince the librarian.

So she had seen Harry on the train. That explained the short absence and flushed cheeks when she had returned. Cedric stared at his shoes, truly unsure of how he was feeling at that moment.

The girls continued to chat, though quieter now and Cedric had to lean right close to the shelf to catch everything they were saying.

"What are you going to do about Cedric?" Marietta asked. Cedric swallowed.

Cho sighed. "Tell him the truth, I guess. I mean, what else can I do?"

Cedric dropped his eyes to the floor. He felt… hurt? Confused? Guilty for listening? Betrayed? Yes, all of the above.

Marietta shrugged. "Well, its probably best." She paused. "You've liked Harry forever, haven't you?"

Cho nodded. "Since before the Yule Ball at least."

Cedric felt as though he'd just received a punch in the stomach and it hurt. No, he decided, a punch to the stomach must hurt less than how he felt right at that moment.

"So when are you going to tell him, then?"

"Who, Ced?"

"Yeah."

Cho sighed again. "First thing tomorrow, I think."

Before the conversation could go any farther – Cedric wasn't sure he could handle it if it did – he moved out from behind the shelf and stood directly behind Marietta and Cho.

"You could tell me now." He said suddenly. Marietta let out a noise when she realized who it was and he hoped she felt extremely guilty. "Since I'm here." He added.

Cho turned in her seat abruptly and looked up at Cedric. She struggled to put on a natural-looking smile, but the emotions in her eyes betrayed the face she was trying to make.

"O-h, hey, Ced!" she said uncomfortably, fighting to sound casual and failing. "Er, w-when did you get here?"

Cedric crossed his arms and clenched and unclenched his jaw. "I heard everything Cho." He paused. Her face fell – she knew it before he said it. "I heard every word from the minute Marietta sat down till now. I really wish I hadn't."

Marietta went very red and stared down at her lap and Cho's cheeks flared pinkly.

"Its not what you think. Ced, I can explain – "

"That would be good." He said curtly, hoping she could see the rising anger on his face and the hurt in his eyes. "Or do I really care to hear it?"

She was a deer caught in the headlights. She opened her mouth to speak, found she couldn't and shut it. She swallowed and blinked and no words would come. Her eyes said she was sorry but her mouth couldn't. Finally, she was able to mumble out,

"I d-didn't know… you were there."

"Should that matter?" Cedric said loudly, getting a freezing glare from Madame Pince. "What is going on, Cho?" he continued and got a loud "shush!" from Madame Pince. He completely ignored her and pressed on. "Tell me what the heck is going on. What the bloody heck is going on with you and Harry, Cho?"

Madame Pince stomped over. "Mr. Diggory! Keep your voice down! This is a library!" she said harshly. "If you must yell, for heaven's sake go somewhere else!"

"I will then!" Cedric snapped and angrily strode out the library, aware the stares he was receiving now were because of his shouting in the library instead of the "usual".

Cho glanced at Marietta and rushed after Cedric, not catching up with him until they were a ways down the hall from the library. "Cedric, please let me explain!" she pleaded when she finally caught his arm.

He whirled on her. All the anger that he had been ignoring and controlling since the beginning of the summer seemed to come rushing in a torrent directed at Cho. He didn't mean for it to happen that way, but suddenly his anger was beyond him.

"Yes, by all means, please do explain! Explain why you're dating me if you want to be dating Harry. Explain why you never broke up with me before now if you liked Harry so much. Or better yet, explain to me why you ever said yes in the first place, when you knew you'd rather be Harry!"

Cho's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry, Cedric, I really am – "

"Yeah, well, you should be!" Cedric shouted.

"I didn't handle it properly, I know." The tears spilled like a river down Cho's cheeks, and as mad as he was right then, Cedric felt himself soften.

Cho actually rarely cried, though Cedric had heard a remark or two that Cho was a cry-baby. He'd seen her cry when he grandmother, who she'd been very close to, had died, followed by her grandfather. She'd been depressed and watery eyed for some time, but for her loss, it was to be expected. He'd also seen her cry once when a hundred things in her life were becoming way too overwhelming, and then just recently when he'd told her he was paralyzed. She only cried when she really hurt inside, and Cedric felt guilty for causing that hurt right then.

"I didn't mean for it to happen." Cho swallowed and wiped the tears away quickly. "I just…"

Cedric sighed, burying the anger inside. "I'm sorry I yelled. I just don't understand what's going though your mind."

"I'm sorry too. For everything. I should have talked to you sooner – I meant to." Cho paused. "I didn't want you to overhear it like that."

Cedric lifted his chin a little. "So that's what you wanted to tell me?"

Cho half-sighed. "Let me fully explain." She hesitated before continuing. "I did like Harry, and I liked you too. I know this will sound strange, but I've thought about it a lot lately, and this is the best way I think I can explain what happened exactly.

"My feelings for you grew faster than my feelings for Harry, making me feel like liking Harry was a little girls' crush I would quickly grow out of. So when you were interested in me back, I was very happy and even more thrilled when you asked me to the Yule Ball. I really, really was. But then, Harry asked me to go with him later, and I was so disappointed to have to turn him down. I wondered if I was crazy, because I didn't understand how I could be so happy with you but want to be with Harry so much at the same time."

Cho stopped for a moment to sniff and then kept going. "Then the whole third task happened. When Harry reappeared on that field… I didn't know what to think." When her eyes met his at that moment, Cedric could see how much sadness and fear were brought back with that memory. He was a fool to think he and Harry were the only two who had a hard time that night. "I thought you were dead, Cedric!"

Cedric wanted to interrupt, but he bit his tongue back. He'd let her finish first.

Cho took a breath. "I didn't want to lose you and I was so happy and relieved to find out you were ok. But somehow… during that time… its like part of me moved on. The feelings I had for you lessened over the summer, in that I no longer thought of you as my boyfriend but more as just a friend. I don't understand it, but that's how I felt. And the opposite happened with how I thought of Harry. I found myself thinking of him constantly and I just wanted to see him." She wiped another tear from her face. "I'm so sorry, Ced. I didn't m-mean…"

Cedric shook his head. "It's ok." He said and slowly held Cho in a warm hug. Somehow – and he didn't know how – he felt like he understood her. Somehow, it wasn't her fault. It wasn't Harry's fault or his fault either. It just happened that way. He remembered clearly how Harry had looked at Cho and how Cho had looked back at Harry. It just happened.

"It's ok." He said again.

Cho looked up at him, her face etched with guilt and sadness. "No, Cedric, it's not ok! Don't do this – don't tell me its ok when you and I both know its not. It's my fault I – "

He cut her off gently. "It's nobody's fault, Cho."

"But I – "

"You handled it wrong. That's all." Cedric said calmly. "I don't know why, but really, it's ok."

They were quiet for several seconds, neither sure what to do next. Finally, Cedric said,

"So… I guess we've broken up, then?"

Cho half-smiled. "Yes, I guess we have."

They shared another tight hug and Cedric kissed Cho lightly on the cheek. They both smiled a little shyly. Cedric didn't understand how he could feel so relaxed and passive when only moments ago he'd been boiling over.

Cho smiled again and began heading back in the direction the library. Cedric sighed and started walking in the direction of the Hufflepuff Common Room. The book he had originally intended to get out from the library was completely forgotten.

Cedric and Cho each hadn't gone far when Cedric turned and said, "Cho?"

"Yes?" she turned around also.

"Say hi to Harry for me."

A/n: So? Whaddya think? I am making the most out of the reviewer reply thingy, so please, give me something to reply to. Ask me a question and I will tell no lies. I may not be able to give you a good answer though, either, lol. Anyways, 'till next time... :D