Halloween fell on a Friday this year and the teachers, being for some reason or another in a 'good' mood decided to let the whole of the school off of timetable for the day. Apparently there were going to be activities of all sorts taking place in and around the school. The school had been decorated for the occasion and was decked out in finery consisting of two colours, orange and black. Students had decided to add their own pranks and decorations, which meant that unsuspecting people, sometimes even teachers would face them. Cedric knew of two to be wary of, the west wing corridor on the fifth floor where a group of third years had placed a charm on a certain part of the wall that contained some sort of motion detector and whenever somebody walked pass alone in a group of three or less a huge swarm of spiders rushed out at them. He had seen first hand the effects it had had on one sixth year, she had shrieked and promptly fainted at the sight. Cedric was not scared of spiders but he didn't fancy coming face to face with an army of them. The statue of the famous Mediwitch in the lobby parlour had also been charmed so that every five or so minutes it would come to life and begin terrorizing whoever was closest to it.
Parties were in full swing on the Thursday evening as being off timetable the next day meant that they could stay up to whatever time they wanted, within reason of course, they had to make sure that no teacher happened to be walking by the common room.
"Cedric!" a male voice called to him as he struggled to make his way through the crowd and over to his friend. It took him a good two minutes to cross the small stretch of space in between the two of them but the managed to meet in the middle and Sean dragged Cedric off to the side of the common room where there were slightly less people.
"Where have you been? You've been missing all the fun!" Sean cried taking a large gulp out of his bottle of Butterbeer.
"Out." Cedric said simply taking in the sight of his classmates chasing each other childishly around the common room. Others were dancing, but in an odd fashion since it was Halloween. The music playing sounded familiar, organs low and loud.
"Out where?" Sean persisted. Cedric frowned at him and shrugged heading towards the common room stairs.
"Cedric?" was the last he heard as he ascended the stairs to his dormitory. He wasn't worried about Sean following him for he knew he wouldn't, Sean was what people, namely teachers, liked to call a bit of a bad influence on the younger population of Hogwarts otherwise known as crazed party animal. He wouldn't be joining Cedric in the dormitory till later on in the early hours of the morning, if at all. It was highly likely that he would just fall asleep in the common room and be found the next morning by a teacher.
Collapsing on the four-poster bed that was his own he let his mind back to the earlier events of the evening.
It was dinnertime and the hall was crowded with people, all trying to eat quickly as to go back to their respective houses and join the parties that had surely already begun for some. He sat down at his usual space and reached for a plate when he heard a soft thud opposite him. Fleur had joined him and she too reached for a plate. She felt his gaze on her and smiled at him, he returned it and they both silently began to fill their plates.
"Hard day?" He asked, finally breaking the comfortable silence that they had been eating their meal in. She nodded and went back to her meal.
"You?" She asked some minutes later, her craving for Lasagne having apparently worn off and she was now contentedly chewing at a normal speed.
"Double Herbology. Always difficult on a Thursday afternoon, well actually it's worse when it falls on a Friday but this feels like one so I suppose so." He explained while she reached for a second helping of Pasta.
"Hmmm." She agreed, "What are you doing tonight?"
He looked at her quizzically and then realized that she was talking about the parties. One was being held in each house, and then there was another one with the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students. He knew people were planning to switch and go to each other's parties, he had also heard about the prank war they were planning to have. He really didn't want to have to be a part of that, he'd much rather just relax that evening, get his homework out of the way and then get a good nights rest for the festivities the next day.
"I don't know, to be honest with you, I'd really much rather just stay away."
"Me too." She smiled at him, "Do you want to go for a walk round zee lake or something, I'm sure nobody would be zere."
"I'd love to."
After Dumbledore had made the evening announcements and the school had begun to filter out of the hall Cedric and Fleur put there dirty plates in the bowls placed at the end of each table and made their way out to the grounds.
"Cats or dogs?" He asked her randomly when they reached the edge of the lake. She looked quizzically up at him and quirked her head in the same manner that a puppy would, had he been confused.
"Cats or dogs?" he repeated, "Which do you prefer?" She considered the question for a moment before replying.
"Dogs."
"Really? I always saw you as more of a cat person."
"How so?"
"I don't know, I suppose in a way you remind me of a cat." She narrowed her eyes at him and laughed.
"Zankyou." She said sarcastically.
"I didn't mean it in a bad way, I just mean your mannerisms are so feline like, it's uncanny. Like the way you walk, so graceful and elegant, like a cat!" He explained.
"You saved yourself zere Diggory." She told him smiling gently, "You?"
"I like dogs too. I have an Alsatian at home, well actually two Alsatians as well as a Retriever."
"What are zere names?"
"Mindy and Samson are two German Shepherds and Penny is our Lab, chocolate."
"I wish I had a dog, all we have are zee swans, fish and ducks in zee garden along wiz a very old cat named Jaq who eez always home nowadays."
"Where is home?"
"Just south of Paris in a small town called Valedjaq. Ands you?"
"London." He said simply, she nodded and looked at the lake at this time of night. It was still early, only eight thirty but the nighttime sky was pitch black save for the stars that lightly twinkled for it was the end of October and the days were becoming much shorter.
"Christmas or Birthdays?" Fleur responded looking up at him expectantly.
"Christmas." He told her straight off. She raised silver eyebrows. "… Because… I don't know, I guess everybody's celebrating and when it's your birthday it's only you. I love the snow and busyness of Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley on the days just before Christmas."
"Eez it fun?"
Cedric nodded remembering the years before when he had gone with his friends and parents to the crowded shops, hurriedly buying last minute things for the festive season. He thought of what it would be like this year with the tournament and everything else going on, 'it would be hectic' he imagined however he could be sure that he would make time to show Fleur around the village near Hogwarts. He wanted her to feel the same feelings he did every other year and he wasn't sure why.
"I'll show you." He made the promise with his eyes, stopping to come and stand in front of her. He looked down at her and she up at him. They stayed that way for a seemingly long time, just staring at each other while they both desperately tried to think of something to say to break the uncomfortable tension that was slowly building between them. All the while Cedric was staring at her he willed his eyes not to wander down to her mouth but they would not oblige, he found himself looking at he lips far more than he should have been. Not really thinking about what he was doing he moved closer to her, his head bending as she craned her neck.
'This is too cliché." He thought as he moved closer still and as if someone, somewhere had heard what he had thought they decided to go the full works and send the rain down.
FLASH
The two of them sprung apart as the lightning touched down in what Cedric could only assume was one of the fields behind the school, it was extremely close because not a second after the flash the thunder sounded around them and the heavens opened, sending gallons of rainwater down on to the two of them. Cedric took Fleur by the arm and made his way towards the school before they were soaked to the bone and caught hypothermia. By the time they reached the front doors the storm had moved with them and the lightning was now narrowly missing the edges of the lake.
"I better get back to zee carriage, Madame Maxime will wonder where I am." Fleur said shaking her hair so the water fell off and on to the floor.
"I'll walk you, I think we need to hurry though." He said nodding towards the dark cloud that had quickly overshadowed the lake.
They ran past the side of the school and out towards where the Quidditch pitch was and where the Beauxbaton's carriage was parked.
"I had fun tonight Cedric, Zankyou." She smiled, blushing at the thought of their 'almost kiss' earlier and before she had time to think about what she was doing, she reached up and kissed him on the cheek and turned to go inside leaving a slightly bewildered yet happy Cedric in the storm.
As he had made him way back to the school after, he came to the startling realization that he was doing something that he had promised himself he wouldn't. Not with her, not a close friend like she had turned out to be. He realized that he was falling for her.