DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.

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Chapter 28: Too Nice?

"'See?' said Ron quietly. 'I'd like to see Black try and break into Honeydukes with Dementors swarming all over the village. Anyway, Hermione, the Honeydukes owners would hear a break-in, wouldn't they? They live over the shop!'

'Yes, but - but-' Hermione seemed to be struggling to find another problem. 'Look, Harry still shouldn't be coming into Hogsmeade, he hasn't got a signed form! If anyone finds out, he'll be in so much trouble! And it's not nightfall yet - what if Sirius Black turns up today? Now?'"

-J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

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1993

(Cedric and Hermione's past)

"Hey, why is Hermione researching for the regulation and control of magical beasts?" Terrence asked him while they were on the way to the castle. They had just finished their Herbology class in one of the greenhouses.

Cedric gave his friend a questioning look. "When?"

"Yesterday, during your Quidditch practice, she fell asleep on the couch in the common room while waiting for you. She was hugging a thick tome."

"Maybe it's for light reading?" quipped Ian.

"Mate, she already has a lot on her plate," Terrence told Ian, then he turned to him. "Tell her to rest, Ced. If my guess is right, she's trying to help Hagrid with the hippogriff case."

Ced sighed and shook his head in disapproval. "I'll ask her later."

When they finally reached the castle staircase, Ced saw Harry Potter, standing near the huge doors, nervously staring at him.

"You two go ahead," he whispered to his friend subtly. "Potter wants to talk."

"Stay out of trouble, Ced," warned Ian. "I don't want a repeat performance of last year."

Ced knew he was referring to the Chamber of Secrets incident. "Well, Hermione was involved at that time," he grinned.

His two friends went past Harry Potter as if the Boy Who Lived was not there. Ced slowed down his steps and gave Harry a curt nod.

"Can I talk to you, Diggory?" the boy asked politely.

He stood close to him. "Sure."

"First, thank you for saving me from the Dementors."

"It wasn't only me. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were there, too. They conjured their Patronuses."

Harry nodded in understanding. "Still, thank you."

"Don't mention it, Potter," he said casually, silently hoping that the conversation would be over. He didn't dislike Potter. He just wanted to be careful and maintain the invisible barrier between the two of them. He wasn't blind. He had accepted a long time ago that he wasn't the only one who fancied Hermione Granger.

Normally, Ced would share what he had - food, material things, attention, time. That was why he had two great friends by his side for four years now, and perhaps, one of the reasons why he became a Prefect. He cared for others, especially the younger students. He was always willing to help.

But this time, he didn't want to share with Potter. He could be called selfish, but he didn't like the Gryffindor boy near Hermione.

"How did you learn the Patronus Charm?" Potter asked nervously.

"Someone taught me," he replied shortly, but based on Potter's facial expression, he was waiting for him to say more. "Someone adept in the dark arts defence."

"Professor Lupin?" asked Harry with a confused look.

He shook his head. "No. It was uh... another person. A family friend," he lied smoothly.

Harry Potter sighed unhappily. "It's my boggart - Dementor. Can you teach me the Patronus Charm?"

Ced suddenly felt a bit irritated, but he didn't show it. "I'm sorry, Potter, but Hermione's already asked me to teach her, and I have O.W.L.s this year, so..."

Harry Potter's facial expression fell, but he nodded in understanding. "Sorry to bother you."

And he felt it again: conscience. He always felt bad when not helping someone. "Maybe you can ask Professor Lupin. He's a great teacher..."

Harry seemed to consider his suggestion because he perked up a bit. "Thanks, Diggory."

He patted the younger wizard on the shoulder. "See you around, Potter."

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July 2020

(the present)

Hermione instantly spotted her husband when she closed the door of Al's hospital room. He was learning on the wall and Auror Potter was standing near him as if waiting for Ced to say something. The two wizards noticed her presence, and her husband immediately approached her, and their hands touched.

"What happened?" he asked, looking really worried. "Almost everyone in the department was in a meeting."

She gave him a comforting smile and squeezed his hand. "He's fine now. He's allergic to sesame seeds, and he wasn't aware until today and ate some snacks from your cafeteria earlier."

Ced sighed in relief. "I'm glad he's fine."

"Art is also allergic to sesame seeds," quipped Auror Potter who made it to their side. He turned to her. "May I see him?"

"I'm sorry, Auror Potter, but my patient is under the custody of the Unspeakables," she replied in a professional tone.

"But he's my son," the Auror insisted.

"No," she replied sternly to make the wizard understand. She gently dropped her husband's hand to fully face Harry Potter. "Not in this timeline. He is under the Unspeakable's protection. His being here was an accident, so he has no business to you or anyone."

"Auror Potter," came Ced's gentle voice. "You are working under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Surely you know how to follow rules."

Harry Potter looked like he had been slapped.

"You're not in Hogwarts anymore, Auror Potter," she reminded him.

Harry frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, sounding offended.

"It means that Dumbledore is not here to tolerate you. Even your Invisibility Cloak will be useless here. I will make sure that no one enters this room except for me, the Unspeakables, and the other hospital staff." She gave him a challenging look.

Potter glared at her.

Good, she thought contentedly.

Then the Auror moved to walk away, but she stopped him. "And don't you dare use Polyjuice Potion, Auror Potter."

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"Why are you being so hard on Potter? What did he ever do to you?" asked Susan when they were alone at the staff station on the third floor.

Hermione gave her friend an eye-roll. "You know the answer, Sue."

Susan laughed. "So he's still trying his best to befriend you? When's he going to give up? I sometimes don't understand why he would still do that. You know, try to be close to you. He wants you to be a part of his life... But why marry Ginny Weasley?"

"Took him more than a decade before dating her," she sighed.

"Yeah. That's right! Because his feelings for you were very strong. Looking back to our Hogwarts days, you did a lot of things for him, to help him. But gosh, Mione, it's been more than two decades and he still can't get over it."

"That's why I have to push him away," she replied nonchalantly. "I have to be unfriendly towards him."

"You mean, you have to be like Snape?" Susan laughed.

"What can I say? He's my mentor," she laughed as well.

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1993

(Cedric and Hermione's past)

Two weeks before the Christmas holidays was the schedule of another Hogsmeade trip. Cedric had been very busy lately with his captain and Prefect duties, and O.W.L.s. They only saw each other in the morning before breakfast, and during mealtimes but he didn't forget to ask her for another date. Hermione was quite happy about it. They had to postpone her supposed Patronus Charm tutorial and she completely understood. She needed rest, too. Her electives were getting more and more complicated, especially Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Plus, Professor Trelawney's prediction of Harry Potter's death annoyed her. She wanted to quit, but maybe now was not a good time. She could just tell Professor Sprout that she wouldn't be taking Divination next year.

Since it was almost winter, Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card. The roofs and ground were blanketed with snow. If not for the Dementors hovering over them, the village would look perfect.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, but Percy Weasley assigned me to patrol outside Honeydukes. After that Dementor incident during the Quidditch game, he became more vigilant."

She looked up to him with a smile. "It's okay. I can go to Tomes and Scrolls alone."

Ced touched her head and brushed her hair in appreciation. "But we can have lunch together at Three Broomsticks."

"Of course. I think I'll visit Honeydukes first. I want to buy Toothflossing Stringmints for my parents as a Christmas present."

"I think they would like them. Buy some of those chocolate balls as well. For me, please?" Ced reached for his pocket, but Hermione held his hand to stop him.

"I'll buy them for you," she told him rather affectionately.

"All right, but only if I pay for our lunch."

"Deal."

Cedric leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "Go inside," he said when they were already in front of the sweets shop.

Hermione entered the sweet shop and to her horror, she saw Harry Potter speaking to Ronald Weasley. She tried to remember if Potter was at the courtyard earlier when Mr. Filch was checking. He wasn't.

The two boys' backs were on her, so she approached them carefully, but stopped when Harry Potter said something about a map given to him and a secret passage the Weasley twins told him about.

"But I'm the brother!" Ronald was outraged. "They should've handed it down to me. I get hand-me-down things..."

Hermione decided to interrupt. "Excuse me."

Harry Potter's eyes widened upon seeing her and he looked around. Perhaps he was looking for Cedric.

Ronald Weasley gave her a piercing glare. "You're stalking us!" he accused.

"No," she replied in a bored tone and turned to Harry Potter. She pointed at the glass window where Cedric was visible. "Percy Weasley assigned Cedric and the other Prefects to guard outside the shops because he's still bothered the Dementors might attack the students."

Harry Potter's ears turned pink.

"I think I will tell him about the map."

"You wouldn't!" said Ronald angrily.

"Please, Granger, don't," Harry Potter said. "I was bored! I wanted to visit the village just like everyone else. You already know that my Muggle relatives don't like me, so they didn't sign my slip. I just wanted to see the village..."

"What about Sirius Black?" she retorted. "And the Dementors?"

"Well, I guess Diggory will just have to save the day again," he replied bitterly. "And Sirius Black's not after me."

"We both know that's a lie. Malfoy's been itching to tell you, to taunt you. Sirius Black's your godfather."

Harry Potter looked taken aback, and so was Ronald Weasley.

"Better go back to the castle before a Prefect or professor sees you," she urged him.

Harry Potter walked to the stairs behind the counter unhappily. Ronald Weasley stared daggers at her.

At lunchtime, she and Ced went to Three Broomsticks and she told him everything in a low voice.

"You did the right thing, Mione," he said approvingly. "I won't tell anyone. Let's just pretend you didn't see him. I hope he won't do it again."

Their food arrived and they stopped talking for a moment. Two tables away, she saw Ronald Weasley alone, glaring daggers at her.

"Anyway," Ced told her, getting her attention again. "Do you have any plans for the Christmas holidays?"

She met his eyes, forgetting about Ronald Weasley. "My parents are leaving for Africa - dental mission," she told him. "I think I'll be staying at the castle."

"You don't seem happy about it," he said carefully.

She shook her head. "I wouldn't mind being alone at the dormitory for a few weeks, but this year, there are Dementors..."

"Well... why don't you spend the break with me and my family?" he offered.

"Oh..." She knew she was blushing. She bit her lip and Ced was waiting for her answer patiently. She never thought of spending the Christmas holidays with the Diggory family. She was now beginning to worry if his parents would like her and how they would react to their courtship stage.

Ced reached out for her hands. "You don't look comfortable. It was just a suggestion..."

"No," she said promptly. "It would be nice and really, thanks for the invitation... But what would your parents say? Do you think they'd approve?"

Cedric gave her an amused look. "Hermione, my parents like you. I write to them about us, you know."

"And that really makes me nervous," she told him honestly. "What if I do something not right and disappoint them?"

"You won't disappoint them. If ever we fight, I won't tell them," he assured her.

"And I don't want to fight with you. Ever."

He smiled and squeezed her hand. "That's inevitable, but I know you won't hurt someone on purpose. You're too good to hurt someone's feelings."

She blushed at his compliment. "Well, I'm a Hufflepuff."