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Thee Authoress presents...

Well, readers! Sorry for that impossibly long hiatus. Here I am, back with another chappie for your entertainment! O-o Uh, I'm sorry this chapter is mostly just filler. -smackslapswear- Please forgive me and my inscrutable writers block. I hope to get back on track soon. I hope you all have a splendiferous week and make the Schwartz be with you!

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Someone Like You

Chapter Sixteen - The Sweetest Thing

"I fell for you like a child,

oh, but the fire went wild." - Johnny Cash

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Kate crept silently through the Gryffindor Common room and into the girls dormitory. No one made an immediate acknowledgment to her as she glided across the room to her bed. Slowly, one by one, seeing how she shined with happiness, the girls fell silent, and all of their eyes turned to her. What was she so happy about?

Kate was still shaking from the events of the evening. She was still buzzing, and her nerves would not calm down. She knew she would have trouble sleeping that night. Her first kiss, her very first kiss in her life from someone that wasn't in her family...you only get one. She hoped it was with the right person. She wondered, in ten years, would she still remember it? Would she remember the way she had felt, the way his body pressed against her, or the way the sand touched her skin? Would she remember the way his lips felt on hers? Would it, in ten years, even matter to her anymore?

She certainly felt that it would.

She jumped onto her bed, and inescapable laugh emitting from her lips. She drew her knees up to her chest as she rocked back, her hair cast about her pillow in a soft manner. She let out a long, pent up breath as her friends surrounded her.

By the time she opened her eyes again, she was surrounded by a dozen of her peers. She sat up, a look of disgust coming over her face. "What?"

"Why were you...smiling like that?" Angelina asked, giving her a skeptical look. "Where were you? You didn't even come to dinner. Fred and George said you were with Cedric."

Kate was unresponsive at first. "Uh, yeah, so what?"

Angelina gawked at her. "What did you just happen to be doing?"

"Who says we were doing something?" Kate asked innocently, biting her bottom lip.

"So, what, you were just sitting there with your minds empty?" Angelina asked.

Kate looked down at her shoes. "Well, no, I guess not."

People slowly started to return to their own beds, figuring there was nothing to hear or see. Angelina sat down on Kate's bed next to her, and gave her an earnest look. Hermione and Ginny Weasley stayed by as well. Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet sat on the next bed, as if in conversation, but they were listening intently if there was something they would want to hear.

"Kate, I know that look. Something happened to you. Not something usual. Something exciting, maybe even extraordinary. So I am not getting off this bed until you tell me what it is." Angelina said in a sly voice.

A pained look crossed her face. "Well, yeah, I guess he does that to me." She said in a rushed voice. She then pulled up her pillow and buried her face inside of it.

"He...what!" Angelina spat, giving her an astounded word. "Please tell me you did not use the L word in his presence!"

"Oh, God, no! I mean, I don't feel that way about him yet. I mean, I guess I love him in a brotherly sort of way, but not more than that. I mean, I admit I have had feelings for him lately, but I just..." Kate rushed together beneath the muffle of the pillows.

"Dear Lord, I don't even know you anymore! Do you have any idea how many times you just said 'I mean' ?" Angelina sighed. "What happened to you?"

"I'm not one to kiss and tell!" Kate whined. Then, realizing what she had said, she cupped a hand to her mouth and drew in a sharp breath.

Angelina fell silent as a look of shock covered her face. heard as well. Hermione and Ginny stared in disbelief. They all gazed ominously at Kate.

Kate slowly pulled her hand away from her face and observed the eyes that goggled at her.

"Um, excuse me?" Angelina gawked. "Weren't you the one who said you would never, ever be with him?"

"Maybe I said those words separately on some occasions..." Kate trailed off, refusing to make eye contact with anyone in the room. She all felt a hot judgmental feeling from them.

"Finally!" Ginny squealed. "I mean, it was only a matter of time before you two, you know..." she trailed off.

"No! No! Just stop talking! We are not, and I repeat, are NOT, together in that way." Kate stressed.

"Yet." Angelina added with a smirk.

"Kate, you don't need to sound so embarrassed about it. If it were me, I'd gloating my guts out!" Ginny grinned.

Kate sighed. "I am happy about it, but I just wish you all weren't reacting this way!"

"You will tell us what happened, won't you?" Ginny asked eagerly.

"It's a very personal moment!" Kate squeaked.

"But, not doubt it was romantic, right? That is the part we want to hear!" Ginny implored.

"We?" Angelina and Hermione said in unison.

"Oh, please, you act like you don't care about romance. Angelina, you're floating around Fred Weasley every other moment, and Hermione, if you spent one moment in the library without Victor Krum I would be overly astounded." Ginny chastised. Angelina and Hermione looked down at their feet.

"So, Kate, how did it happen?" Ginny questioned again, leaning in closer.

"No!" Kate threw herself into her pillows, fuming madly. She hadn't wanted this to happen. It was her moment, they didn't need to know about it! Couldn't they just leave her be?

Sensing they were not going to get what they wanted, Angelina, Hermione, and Ginny reluctantly traveled back to their beds separately. Kate was relieved when they were finally gone. Sure, they were her friends, but she just didn't feel like she could talk about what had happened. Not yet, at least.

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The next morning Kate felt herself still buzzing. She was wondering what it was going to be like between them now. Would he kiss her again? In front of everyone? It was certainly nerve-racking. She wished he would.

She walked cautiously to breakfast with Angelina and Hermione. Every step she took brought new anticipations. Millions of apprehensive questions filled her mind as she noticed just how cold her fingers were.

"Kate, are you...that nervous?" Angelina said, her tone changing from worried to accusational in the middle of the sentence.

"Wouldn't you be?" Kate spat out, squeezing her eyes shut. It was a rather inconvenient time to do this, as they were at the top of the marble stair case and she stumbled down the first few steps.

"Maybe I would understand better if you'd let up about what happened." Angelina trailed off, casting a suspicious look at Kate.

Kate looked taken aback. "My God, you make it sound like it was some sleazy night."

"Well, without further proof..." Hermione replied slyly.

Kate turned on them angrily. "Oh, bother! All we did was kiss. There, are you happy?" she spat out.

Angelina and Hermione nodded in unison. They entered the Great Hall.

Kate's eyes immediately darted to the Hufflepuff table. She saw Cedric's familiar chocolate colored hair in between a few other lads. She smiled to herself, a rupture of nervousness breaking out in her stomach.

As if his senses told him she were there, Cedric looked up merrily and smiled nervously as she walked down the isle towards her regular place on the Gryffindor table. Their eyes met for a piercing and non-regrettable moment, before Fred Weasley called out, "Oi, Kate! Angelina!"

Kate and Angelina sat down a happily returned the Good Morning. Hermione sat down gruffly, apparently insulted from the lack of hello to her. But she quickly got over it as she began talking to Lavender Brown.

Of course, Fred and George wanted to know how her "big night" with Cedric had gone. Sensing what they were implying, she retorted, "Oh, shut up. You're just jealous because you can't get any."

They thought she was teasing. She was, partly.

Throughout breakfast she became more nervous and nervous. It was Saturday, so they wouldn't have any classes. So it wasn't like she had an excuse to go talk to him. But she was wondering, did she really need an excuse anymore? She thought she had enough ground to just go talk to him. Why was she still so nervous?

She found herself quite disappointed that he wasn't jumping up to greet her good morning and embracing her in his arms, even though she would be quite embarrassed if he actually did do that. But for him to only smile at her and then let it be made her feel somewhat uneasy, and a tad nervous. What, just what was going on in his mind. He wasn't having second thoughts was he? He wasn't sitting there at the Hufflepuff table, putting on a facade of happiness, but really on the inside, thinking Oh man, I kissed her? What was I thinking!

Kate's insides lurched at these thoughts. She hated worrying like this. She felt like an canvas, and Cedric was her painter. Every stroke he made mattered immensely to her. It seemed like everything he did, every little move, every word, was of uncomparable importance.

Her insides stirred as she slowly returned to the Gryffindor common room. Her skin tingled with an insatiable sensation. Stop worrying, she told herself. But somehow, she just couldn't stop. Her thoughts pervasiveness was overwhelming, and she found herself quite tired, despite the fact she had only woken up a few hours previous.

"Really, Kate, you haven't said one word since we returned from breakfast. Are you feeling alright?" Angelina asked, a deep look of concern spreading across her face.

Kate figured the grim expression on her face must have looked especially bad. She tried to compose her thought momentarily and said, "No, I'm just a bit tired..." she said in an exaggeratedly exasperated voice.

Kate, trying to draw attention from her condition, looked around the room in a frantic matter. She noticed that Fred and George were not in there usual spot near the back of the room at a table, exchanging a strange vernacular of words that undoubtedly had to do with some sort of magical "whizzes" they had invented.

"Where are Fred and George?" She asked in a somewhat motherly tone.

"In the library, they said." Angelina answered. Reading the blank expression that crossed Kate's face, she added, "I know, I was surprised, too. But they assured me it had to do with their–ahem–extra-curricular activities."

Kate smirked, and sat back in the thick carmine armchair. She tucked her feet up underneath her, and she opened her large potions book to a page about burn-healing mixtures. She made an imitation retching motion before she began reading.

It seemed as if moments later, after Kate had merely read a measly three paragraphs–which equated to one-half of the page–Fred and George returned from their pursuing escapade in the library. They both wore smug expressions on their faces, which made Kate guess that they had been caught in the restricted section again and been thrown out by Madame Pince. They stomped grimly back to their usual seats in the back before resuming their strange talk.

"Imagine this, we mix some instant hair grower with body wash..." Kate over heard George say. She couldn't help but snort out some laughter.

"What was that, Kate?" Fred asked nonchalantly, turning towards her direction in his chair.

"Oh, by the way, Kate, your, er, 'friend' Diggory was in the library. I can see just how torn up you are that you haven't spoken to him today, so I thought I'd let you know." George added on, sniggering.

Kate scrunched up her nose at him, despite the fact that that was exactly how she was feeling.

She didn't want to make it seem to obvious that she wanted to see him. She waited for another quarter of an hour, while leafing through the aging pages of her potions book, before snapping it shut and declaring in a careless voice, "Well, it seems that I am going to need some further research to finish this assignment, so I will be off to the library." She tried to make it not too rushed, but she feared it came out sounding cloudy.

Her feet took her very fast. She was almost gliding she was moving so rapidly. It seemed as if in mere moments she arrived.

The moment she stepped into that warm, inviting environment of the library, which she usually loved and indulged in, her mind was filled with agitated questions. Who was he, to just not say anything to her? You can't kiss someone and then make a vow of silence!

And yes, Kate considered this a vow of silence.

She stomped over to where she recognized Cedric's curly brown head poking up over the back of a couch.

He was wearing glasses, Kate speculated. What business did he have wearing glasses! She thought irrationally.

He had no business at all.

Cedric seemed to sense Kate approaching(or maybe it was just her loud stomping that made sharp echoes churn through the library, receiving dirty looks from Madame Pince) and he turned around to look. Upon her grace entering his vision, he couldn't help but smile, and begin to say, "Why, Kate..." but he was abruptly cut off but Kate's irritated voice.

"Whaddyathinkyerdoing?" she spat out in a long rush of words.

"Er...excuse me?" He asked.

"I mean, you kiss me, then you just...don't say anything today! You can't just do that!" Kate fumed, throwing her arms out her sides for emphasis.

"Um, well, then...what do you want, exactly?" Cedric asked, snapping the worn book he had in his hands shut.

"I want to know what this is between us!" Kate demanded. They had attracted the eyes of many students elsewhere in the library. Madame Pince was giving them the look of an executioner about to chop off someone's head.

"Well, I guess it means..." Cedric trailed off, looking around the room in a day-dream manner. He tapped his fingers nonchalantly on his book. He was trying to look casual, Kate knew that; but she could tell from the slight read growing on his cheeks that she had hit a spot he had given a great thought to.

"How about...it means that you and I...are together?" Cedric placed his book on the couch, then stood up. He stood directly in front of Kate, quite close to her; their eyes locking together. Kate felt her cheeks flush as his sweet aroma intoxicated her.

"Well, that sounds pretty good." She replied, watching herself speak in the transparent reflection of his glasses. She didn't feel the need to ask him why he had them.

"Well, then, it's set." He said frankly.

And he placed his hand delicately under her chin, turning her face up towards his, and brought his lips down until they were crushing hers.

Kate felt sure she should be embarrassed–after all, there were many of her peers there, watching them. But she didn't care. She was blissfully happy. She pushed back with her lips against his, tasting the sweetness of his lips.

All she could seem to think, as his lips pulled away from hers, were such simple words in was infectious. Infectiously wonderful.

Ain't love the sweetest thing?

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A/N: Thanks for the reviews and whatnot! I hoped you like this...I'm gonna need a lot of feedback to keep me going, so please please review! Tell your friends to review! (Just kidding.) Much love! I will update as soon as I can...

Have a good day, my lovelies!

Oh this story is the second Cedric fic to have over 40,000 words! Huzzah!

Please review!