A/N: Thank you for the reviews of the first chapter. I honestly wasn't expecting as many as I got considering I know it was rather confusing. Each chapter will begin to reveal more and more. Also, since this is a completely AU story, Harry is not part of the Tri-Wizard tournament. Thank you for reading and please keep reviewing. Thank you!
Chapter Two – I Was Always Meant to Save You
Hermione Granger was haunting him. He had tried concentrating on Cho. He should have been concentrating on her. And he had tried. He truly did. Cho had been his date to the Yule Ball. He hadn't even really asked her but it had been assumed by both that they would go together. But as they had danced, and Cedric's eyes followed the girl across the hall in the periwinkle dress, Cedric had begun to wonder whether he should have asked Hermione like he had actually thought of doing. He hadn't spoken to her since the Quidditch World Cup but he seemed to start to see her everywhere. In the hallways, in the Great Hall during meals, in the library. When he had put his name into the Goblet of Fire, he had turned his head and it was as if his eyes had sought hers out for his gaze immediately fell upon her. He had wanted to ask her to the Yule Ball but he didn't. And he wasn't sure both why he had wanted to ask her and why he didn't.
And now, she was floating at the bottom of the Black Lake, in the middle of the village of the merpeople, her eyes closed, her skin so pale, it was almost translucent. Cedric floated in front of her for a moment. He was the first to arrive and he looked at the other three "valuables" floating on either side of her. There was a girl with blonde hair that matched Fleur's and then another student from Durmstrang. Cedric knew that Hermione was the one he was there to save. He pointed his wand towards the seaweed bound to her ankle, a ray of red light shooting from the end and burning through the weed. He caught her, wrapping one arm around her waist. She felt like one of those inflatable toys in muggle pools, she was so light. As he began kicking towards the surface, he saw Viktor and Fleur both making their way towards their person. Cedric kicked harder. His bubble-head charmer was going to wear off soon and he wanted him and Hermione safe back onto solid ground before that even had a chance of happening.
This time, with his arm wrapped securely around her, there were no flashes of skin or sounds of laughter or scents of exotic flowers. This time, when he held her, he felt warmth in the cold waters of the lake. And just as it was before, Cedric did not understand why this girl, Hermione Granger, was getting him all out of sorts with himself. It didn't make any sense. He did not even know this girl – and that was what she was. She was a girl. A fourteen year old girl. And he was seventeen. He was a tri-wizard champion. He was practically a man. Feeling this… way whenever he was around Hermione made him feel as if he was doing something wrong. None of it made sense to him and he had suffered through many headaches in the months since the Quidditch World Cup when he thought about it and tried to figure it out. But no matter how often and how hard he tried to make sense of this all, he was no closer to an answer and he was just as confused as he had been at the World Cup.
They broke through the surface and by the sound of the cheers, Cedric knew that he was the first to reappear above the waters. The spells instantly broke and both Cedric and Hermione began to cough violently, gasping for air. Hermione, not sure where she was or what had happened, was thrashing, her arms trying to grab onto something and her feet desperate for solid ground. Cedric put his arms around her waist again and it seemed to almost immediately calm her down. Her arms wound around his neck and she hugged him, her body trembling against his and keeping one arm around her, he began to swim towards one of the three waiting makeshift wooden docks that had been built. Hermione was still clinging to him and he didn't want to let her go, even when hands from above grabbed them and pulled each of them up. Two of his best friends, Michael and Andrew, instantly clapped him on the back and threw towels around him, but Cedric barely heard them. Professor McGonagall had wrapped a towel around Hermione's still shaking body and was saying something to her but Hermione didn't seem to be hearing either.
Instead, Cedric and Hermione were staring at one another. And it was then that most of the people around them, the professors and some student supporters of each Tri-Wizard champion, began to take notice that Hermione Granger, bookworm extraordinaire and best friend to Harry Potter, had been the one at the bottom of the lake as Cedric Diggory's "valuable". She had been the one chosen for him to save. And everyone, including Cedric and Hermione, had no idea as to why. The whispers began and Hermione shifted uncomfortably by it all.
"I thought it would have been Cho," Michael was saying with Andrew nodding in agreement but Cedric had to bite his tongue to keep from snapping that Cho made less sense than having Hermione down there. Just because they had gone to the Yule Ball together did not mean that Cho meant something to him. He and Hermione hadn't even really talked to one another but it was obvious to him, and probably to her too, that there was something between them.
Cedric moved away from his friends and stood for a moment, staring at Hermione as she watched the water, continuing to tremble. He wasn't sure if it was from the cold or not. He dared himself to go to her. The cheers rose from the crowd again when Viktor and his friend popped out of the water followed by Fleur and her little sister by just mere seconds. Cedric had won by a landslide. The Hogwarts students began cheering, it growing steadily to a deafening roar. Cedric went to Hermione and she turned before he could fully stand next to her.
She didn't say anything. She barely looked him in the eye but she did slide her arms suddenly around his waist, their wet clothes heavy on their bodies, and she hugged him tightly. But before he could truly react like he wanted to, before he could wrap his arms around her and hug her in return, she had pulled away. She was staring at him and he knew that she was expecting him to have answers to all of the questions swimming both of their heads at the moment. And that scared him. Because this was Hermione Granger. She was a know-it-all. She was the smartest witch in her class, one of the smartest in all of Hogwarts and if Hermione didn't know why she was at the bottom of the lake for him to rescue, well then he certainly wouldn't know.
"Are you alright?" He asked, reaching out and brushing a stray week hair plastered on her cheek behind her ear.
"I'm fine," she said softly, nodding her head. "Just a bit shaken up. And cold. I'm really cold now."
Cedric laughed shortly at that then rubbed the back of his neck. "Here," he said without much thought. He could easily get another blanket and right now, he wanted to seem chivalrous. He had just rescued her from the merpeople and yet, he still felt the need to impress her. He took the blanket from off his shoulders and draped it around hers, his hands rubbing her upper arms up and down gently.
"Thank you," she said, shyly lifting her eyes to meet his. They stood there, staring at one another, her fingers clutching the blankets around her and Cedric rubbing her, trying to warm her up. "And thank you for…" she couldn't seem to find the words which Cedric felt odd since being eloquent with words seemed to always be one of her strong suits. He nodded his head though, knowing what she was thanking him for. She lowered her eyes for a fleeting moment before took a deep breath and looked back up at him. She opened her mouth to say something and Cedric took a step towards her so he would not miss a word. She had the most beautiful brown eyes he had ever seen – the most beautiful eyes period. She was actually quite beautiful in that natural way and he wondered how no one had noticed it before. His heart was thumping rapidly in his chest and he was certain that it had nothing to do with the adrenaline rush from the second task.
"AND FOR THE SECOND TASK… FIRST PLACE, CEDRIC DIGGORY OF HOGWARTS!"
Professor Dumbledore shouted and the cheers became louder. Michael and Andrew laughed, grabbing both of Cedric's hands and held them above his head like a champion. Cedric couldn't help but smile slightly as he continued looking down at Hermione. She was looking up at him and there seemed to almost be a hint of pride within those chocolate orbs of hers.
"Hermione!"
Cedric looked and saw Harry and Ron pushing through the crowd to get to her. Although he knew that they were her best friends, his smile faded and he clenched on his jaw as he watched her fling her arms around both boys' necks, the blankets she had around her shoulders falling to the ground. Cedric watched and was not sure why he felt a jolt of jealousy. Honestly, what reason did he have to be jealous? Ron and Harry were her best friends and Cedric was no one. Well, he wasn't no one but he was at least to Hermione. And he wasn't sure why he felt sick just thinking that he was nothing to her. He knew he wasn't anything. Why should he? They didn't know one another. Before the Quidditch Cup, she was just another student. One third of the Golden Trio. She was a Gryffindor and he was a Hufflepuff. Houses rarely had reason to commingle together. Why should Cedric have meant anything to her?
Whispers seemed to follow both Cedric and Hermione for days. No one could understand it. Why would Cedric Diggory have to seek for something that was taken only for that something to be Hermione Granger? It didn't make sense to anyone. Cedric had made his opinion clear on the matter. Anyone who wanted to bother him about it would kindly be told to piss off. Hermione had another way for dealing with all of the hushed whispers and pointing. She practically lived in the library, studying and avoiding everyone, except Ron and Harry, though they had a tendency to bombard her with questions of their own. No one understood it at all. Of everyone, why would Cedric have had to rescue Hermione? If Viktor Krum had been the one to rescue her, that would have made a bit more sense considering they went to the Yule Ball together but for Cedric to be the one that had to rescue her, it was baffling. All of the students at the school were fairly certain that Cedric and Hermione had never even spoken before. Cedric was one of the most handsomest popular boys in school. Hermione on the other hand surrounded herself with a tight close-knit group of friends and rarely, if ever, ventured outside of that circle.
Cedric wanted to talk to her. He wanted to go to the library and just see her. As she avoided everyone, he was clearly included. He hadn't seen her since the second task. The need to see her though was so intense, oftentimes, so blinding, he could hardly stand it. And yet, he had to gather the courage to see her. He smirked at the irony. He had no problems facing dragons or diving into a lake to face off against merpeople but when it came to Hermione Granger, it took him nearly a week to prepare himself to see her. Just to see her. He wasn't even counting on talking to her. He was certain that he would need at least another week to feel brave enough to talk to her. He just had to see her and make sure that she was alright. He knew she was. For some reason, he had the feeling that if she wasn't, he would know, but he had to see her with his own eyes.
He was on his way to the library but the hallways were crowded with students walking to and from classes and it seemed that it was taking him longer than usual. He took a deep breath, looking over the heads of a group of first-years walking in front of him. Hermione was close. He could feel her. He stopped and turned in a circle, looking carefully around. But he didn't see her. He could feel her though. Sense her. Practically smell her. She was getting closer. Trying not to rudely push students aside, Cedric rushed as fast as he could in the direction the sensation was coming the most strong from. And as he turned the corner, he almost collided with her. She gasped in surprise and his arms instinctively reached out and grabbed her waist, keeping her from stumbling back. Being the star seeker of the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team gave him reflexes envied by most.
Hermione gripped his shoulders as she felt her weight shift at the shock of his body plowing into hers but when she looked into his stormy grey eyes, her hands instantly dropped from him as if touching him had burned her and Cedric's hands slowly followed suit, dropping to his sides. He expected her to walk around him and continue on her way but she didn't and he couldn't help but smile at that.
Something was keeping her there. Perhaps it was the same thing that had him seeking her out.
Her hand rested on the stone pillar at the corner of the hallway, she on one side, Cedric leaning into it with his shoulder, his head dipped slightly so he could look into her eyes. Their foreheads were almost touching and standing as close as they were, they did look rather intimate. Neither saw the students looking and staring openly at them or whispering in excited hurried voices.
"Meet me tonight," Cedric whispered, wanting this to be just for her ears. "Hermione…" He reached out and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, her eyes slowly lifting to meet his. "We have to talk about something."
Hermione nodded her head. She was so quiet around him and she didn't know why. She wasn't exactly the quiet type. She had no trouble yammering away to Ron or Harry or speaking up in class. And yet, around Cedric, she became practically a mute. She knew they had things to talk about. Something was happening. Something that she had actually spent so much time in the library trying to research. But it was hard to research something when she had no idea as to what was going on. She didn't even know where to start looking for she had no idea what was happening and why it was happening between herself and Cedric Diggory of all people.
"Where?" She asked softly.
Cedric smiled. "I have prefect rounds tonight so I'll come and meet you at the Gryffindor Tower entrance at nine. We'll go to the Whomping Willow." Hermione nodded her head then blushed faintly when he lifted a hand to her cheek, his fingers brushing across her skin for a moment. "Tonight," he repeated with a wider smile before one last lingering touch to her face and then he turned and was gone, leaving Hermione behind and grateful that she had the pillar there for support. Her knees suddenly felt quite weak and if one touch from him made her want to collapse, she feared to think what spending more time with him would do to her.