Sorry this chapter is so short. The next one is as long as the first though, so no worries! ;) Thanks to all the reviewers, you guys are awesome!
Chapter Two: A Fear of the Dark
Accidents happen in the strangest of places
How come they happen at all
Look for the turning for something or nothing
I won't let go because I need you so
-'Army of Lovers'- Lee Ryan
"Trouble in paradise?" From the mirror that flanked each wall of her coveted dance studio Shan had caught a glimpse of Cedric's form as he stood and watched her from the doorway once more. It had been nearly a week since they're first meeting and neither had spoken a word to the other in the halls. They did however seem to find themselves catching each other's gazes at scant intervals during meals and in the corridors. Cedric's friends conveniently mistook the reason behind his occasional glances towards the great hall's Ravenclaw table for Cedric's supposed infatuation with Cho. Miss Chang had in fact been much more amiable now that her boyfriend wasn't in need of so much attention. He had Shandie to thank for that and he found himself uncharacteristically eager to do so.
"No." As Cedric shook his head softly it was accompanied by a gentle smile, "Everything's fine."
Shandie had been keeping her gaze firmly ahead of her as she stretched and practiced positions at the barre. At the realization however that Cedric had come to see her for very little apparent reason at all she came down from standing on the balls of her feet and relaxed her calves. Her eyes roved to the door as he began waking in, his hands shoved in his pockets, his white, oxford shirt untucked and his tie loosened. She couldn't help but smirk at how adorably ruffled he appeared. His cheeks were catching red, as though they'd been harassed by the winter wind whipping around outside and his honey brown hair had obviously been run through many times with his hands that day.
"You know, I never thought I'd actually see you again." she did her best to smile at him as he took the liberty of standing so close to her she could have counted his eyelashes if she'd wanted to.
"I wouldn't have said it if I hadn't meant it." he told her gently, feeling somewhat dejected at her not having thought his words sincere.
"I'll remember that." she murmured.
"So, what was that you were doing?" he threw a pointer finger in the general direction of her previous place at the barre. Because it was after dinner, the dark that threatened to swallow Hogwarts whole was only fought off by the candle lit chandelier hanging from the very center of the ceiling, along with the host of candelabras on the walls.
"It's called pas de cheval, here let me show you." She went back to the barre and took up the standard frame once more. "You start with your working leg in pointe tendu"-
"Pardon?"
Shandie smiled, "Sorry, pointe tendu," she spoke clearly and slowly "That's what we call it when your working leg is stretched out straight with only your toes touching the floor."
He nodded, quickly catching on, "So, point…tandoo?"
"Close enough," her smile grew and she shook her head as she continued on, "So you have your working leg in pointe tendu and then you"-
"Sorry, but what's your working leg?" he asked hesitantly, nearly wincing from having to stop her again. She only nodded at herself, mentally chiding her neglect of his lack of knowledge.
"Not a problem, your working leg is the leg you're using to perform at any given moment. Like right now I'm using my right leg as my working leg." She demonstrated this as she lifted it forward and then slid it back to her calve while her left foot stayed docile.
"Got it," he nodded eagerly, his focus momentarily switching to her eyes before back down at her feet.
"Good, now once you have your working leg in pointe tendu," she recited for the third time, "Then you draw it along the floor back to the supporting leg, that's the one which isn't performing. Then, without pausing, you move it up to the smallest part of your calve, which we call le cou-de-pied and then back out to pointe in a small revolution. It's supposed to resemble the pawing of a horse on the ground, that's where it gets its name."
"What do you call it when you,…when you jump?" he demonstrated a small skip to the side which landed in a pathetic imitation of first position. Doing a poor job of stifling a giggle, Shandie moved out onto the floor beside him at an arm's width apart. From force of habit her arms took to rising so they were level with her shoulders and she performed a tiny, steady hop in the same direction Cedric had taken.
"It's called une petite sauté, which is a small leap from both feet that lands on both feet as well."
"Are there different kinds?" he frowned, not clear on what she meant.
"Well, there are five types of jumps. Sautés, which are jumps off of two feet onto two feet. Changements, which are jumps from two feet to two feet in fifth or third position, changing which foot is in front. Sisonnes which are jumps from two feet to one foot. Jetés, jumps from one foot to the other. Temps levés are jumps from one foot which land on that same foot, and assemblés are jumps from one foot where the legs "assemble" in the air."
"That's a lot of French to wrap your head around." Poor Cedric's mind seem to be dizzy from the sheer amount of it.
"Ballet is all French, I could probably hold a decent conversation with a dancer from Paris and we'd understand each other perfectly."
"Have you learned anything other than ballet?" he inquired.
"I've dipped my hand into some ballroom and a little alternative. Some jazz here and there...I took a summer course on the highland step once." she shrugged.
He nodded, mentally taking note of her words.
"I'm glad I found this place again," he looked out of one of the window panes. Silver-blue moonlight shimmered on the lake that seemed to be breathing with it's calm, steady tide. "I had begun to wonder if meeting you was just a figment of my imagination." he offered her a sheepish smile when he turned his gaze to face her as she took her place back at the barre and began practicing changements.
"Why do you say that?" she questioned.
"Well you're not in any of my classes for a start."
"We're in two completely different houses." she nearly laughed.
"I have two classes with sixth year Ravenclaws. Cho loves it." he grumbled.
"There's your answer. I'm a seventh year." she explained, amused by his disgruntled reference to his girlfriend.
The young Huffelpuff at the window didn't say anything. He was rather disappointed by this latest bit of news. Not long afterwards however, it occurred to him that he had nothing to be put out about since this girl was just a casual friend and nothing more. Somehow that didn't change his discontentment level.
"What are you staring at out there?" she inquired, smiling innocently as she stood unaware of his thoughts.
Cedric shrugged, his arms folded over his chest. "Just the grounds. It's nearly a full moon tonight."
"Is it? I hadn't noticed. I love the moonlight though…" she leaned forward so she was eye level with her knee while her left leg stretched up behind her so she was nearly achieving a standing split. His gray eyes flickered over her lithe figure as she twisted it delicately. Warmth crept up his neck and he quickly turned back towards the window when he realized the thin material of her shirt combined with the position she took when bending forward, allowed him quite a view of her chest. Worse still, he was blushing because his first response had definitely been a positive one.
"I've never liked moonlight much. I mean it's nice. But I love the sun. Sunlight is such a relief."
Shandie took a deep breath as she straightened her back once more, "How do you mean?" she asked before leaning forward once more in a repeat of the same position, this time stretching her right leg upwards.
"It's brighter. It's warm. It means the day is all around you and you're safe."
"Safe from what?" she asked, rising again and straightening her white camisole.
"From the dark. From night." he only realized just how childish he sounded once he'd spoken. Turning away from the window once more, this time completely, he tried to redeem himself, "What I mean is"-
She had been walking towards him, finished cooling down and stretching, and now found herself in front of him. Her hand seemed bolder than her heart as her fingertips gently came to rest on his lips, silencing him.
"What you mean is from the unknown." she took her hand away while her eyes however stayed docile, unable to leave his own.
"I don't know why I let it bother me. It's just silly nonsense you hear about in stories as a child." he chuckled to himself.
"Isn't love just like that though? Silly nonsense we hear about in stories as children?" her eyes were bright with a passionate longing to make him see he wasn't being immature. "And yet we invest so much time searching for it. Pining for it day after day. It's not nonsense Cedric, if it makes you feel something, how can you call it nonsense? It means something to you."
A silence brimming with thought and wonder filled the space between them. He had never known such validation and benevolence in a companion. For once in his life he felt as though he didn't have to try and please someone, it was enough for him simply to be himself.
"I've always been afraid of the dark." he murmured. "Or rather, what might be hiding in the dark."
"I like to think I have a healthy respect for dark and the night." Shan went to the window and gazed out at the moonlit grounds. "But it's just so beautiful on nights like this. It's the moonlight that does it. I'm blind to fear when she's watching over everything in the sky like that. She's like a mother."
"I wish I could see it like that…it all just looks eerie to me. The lake seems to breathe like an organ. The way the clouds drift by like that, it almost seems foreboding in a way."
As they stood at the window she turned to look at her new friend. Were they really friends so fast or was the term acquaintances more appropriate? Funnily enough, even the term 'friend' didn't seem to do justice to what she felt when she was with him, beside him like this. So close she could feel the warmth emanating from his skin.
"Then we won't look at it." she took the drapes firmly and pulled them across the floor to ceiling panes of glass, snuffing out the squares of moonlight on the hard wood floor. Now only flickering candle light remained.
The golden glow caught the surprised smirk on Cedric's mouth as he watched her. Shan seemed full of little amazing wonders like that. Out of no where she'd do something to make him feel more at home in her dance studio than he ever had in the dorm he'd occupied for the last six years. And it was times like those when he felt guilty, as though these feelings which his heart shared with no one but his mind were as good as cheating on Cho flat out.
"How's quidditch practice going?" she asked, beginning to get her things together.
"It's alright." Cedric forced a shrug as he walked to the corner she was in. "Everyone's rather discouraged obviously. I mean it's hard to be enthusiastic about working hard when there's really not much to work hard towards."
Shandie nodded. "I understand. I'm sorry. If it's any consolation we never would have met if you hadn't lost that game to Ravenclaw." she reminded him softly, standing and tying her shrug sweater just under her chest after lifting her duffle bag onto her shoulder. His smile was faint and flickered out almost as quickly as it had come. "That's not enough is it?" she sighed softly as she started out the door and down the hall. Cedric followed, keeping her same slow pace.
"It is and it isn't at the same time." he knew he should have explained more but the complication of telling Shandie about feelings he himself wasn't even sure about scared his tongue into stillness. How could he explain that having her as a friend was costing him the heavy conscious Huffelpuffs were known for?
"Would you care to elaborate on that?" she pried hopefully.
Cedric stopped at a nearby window and sighed. "I just want to make everyone happy and right now I feel like I'm screwing things up no matter what I do."
"Cedric you need to calm down about quidditch. I've heard your father brag about you, the whole school has. He's proud of you"-
"This isn't just about him." he cut in shortly, avoiding her eyes.
"Well what then?" she asked, growing impatient.
"It's complicated and it's late as well." he squinted at his wristwatch double checking that he had the time right, "I should be getting back to the cellars. I'll see you around?"
"Yah, sure." she did her best not to grumble before her heart melted in spite of itself when Cedric leaned down to hug her goodbye. "Have a good night Cedric."
"You as well, don't let it be another week before I see you again."