Wow. I am officially the worst person at updating. I am sorry for the long delay in writing this chapter. Please read it and review it for me. I hope everyone likes it.

Chapter Eight – Because There's Beauty in the Breakdown

Hermione felt as if she was riding a rollercoaster. Her eyes were closed and yet, her head continued to spin and her body was rising higher and higher. She couldn't stop it. She couldn't even seem to wake herself up. She saw Cedric. He was standing a few feet away from her but she couldn't reach him. She tried calling out to him but his back was turned to her and he didn't seem as if he was able to hear her no matter how loud she yelled. He wouldn't turn around. Why wouldn't he turn around?

She felt hot tears begin to sting her eyes. She couldn't get to him. Her feet felt as if they were stuck to the ground, buried in cement, immobilizing her, and no one was coming to help her. Her head was spinning uncontrollably now and she felt as if she was going to faint.

Cedric! She cried out but he still wouldn't turn around to look at her. He was just a few feet away and yet, his back remained turned towards her.

She looked around at her surroundings. She was surrounded by tall bushes of foliage – almost as if she was in a maze of sorts. Everywhere she looked, she was surrounded by the green of the leaves and the darkness of the night. Where was she? Cedric stood in front of her, out of her reach, and she had never felt further away from him before. She could feel his heartbeat though for when his heart sped up suddenly, hers did as well and then when he was gripped with apprehension, she also grew nervous. Everything he felt, she did as well and she frantically looked around, trying to see the cause of his sudden anxiety and growing fear.

She could see nothing though and she wondered if that was why she was growing so upset and terrified. She wanted to see. She needed to see what Cedric saw. She could only feel it through him and she needed to see it so she could help him fight it.

Cedric!

She tried screaming at him again but he still did not hear. He was too absorbed with whatever it was that he saw standing in front of him.

Her head spun harder and she clenched her eyes shut, trying to get it to stop. She felt like she was going to be sick. Her heart pounded in her chest and she tried to focus, tried to get Cedric to calm down. He was trying his hardest to put on a brave front but only she would be able to feel his paralyzing fear. She tried to remain calm but that was impossible. She couldn't move, couldn't get through to him. His emotions had taken her over completely and she couldn't stop them all from bombarding into her at once like pellets.

"Hermione, he knows about us," Cedric suddenly spoke to her through his thoughts.

"Who?" She asked urgently, so grateful that he had finally acknowledged, she nearly began crying again. Cedric did not answer her question however because Hermione already knew the answer. Because Cedric knew the answer, she knew it as well.

She now understood why he was nearly shaking with his fear. Someone had seen them. Someone had seen the marks and had known what was happening between them. They had been spied upon and then had gone and told him.

"Through you and the mudblood, I will get to Potter," a hiss-like voice that sounded like a snake shot through her body and she felt sick to her stomach. She had never felt fear like this before. It took hold of her body with cold hands and she couldn't think, couldn't move. Like Cedric, she was now completely paralyzed. "Avada Kedavra!" The hiss suddenly commanded.

"NO!" Hermione screamed but it was too late. She saw the sparks of green from an unseen wand and Cedric was knocked onto the ground, having been killed instantly.

The force holding her to one place immediately broke and Hermione fell to the ground hard on her hands and knees. She was crying so hard, she could hardly see, but she crawled towards him. She couldn't feel him anymore. He had completely faded away into nothingness and with it, their arms no longer glowed. His being no longer flowed through her. She wept so hard, she felt as if she was going to make herself sick and she fell on top of him, burying her head in his chest. He was already so cold. She clung to him, not wanting to ever let go.

"Cedric… please don't leave me."

It began happening slowly but she could feel it nonetheless. She welcomed it, excited by it. She wasn't going to live without Cedric. She knew she wouldn't be able to. The spell knew it too and Hermione felt her heart actually begin to slow down. Her eyes fluttered closed and as she took her last breath, she felt a heavy wind roaring in her ears before she died, still clinging to Cedric.

"You will both be dead by tomorrow night."

Hermione awoke with such a start, she flew into a sitting position, her body coated in a sheen layer of sweet and her bed covers kicked from off her body. The scream that tore from her lungs pierced throughout the otherwise silent night, awaking everyone in the Gryffindor tower. She couldn't stop screaming. Her terror was unstoppable and she shook and wept as she continued to scream.

And across the castle, tucked away in his bed, sleeping for once without having a nightmare of his own, Cedric felt her fear rip through his body and her screams echoing in his ears. He didn't even hesitate. He threw the covers from off his body and leapt from his bed. He had to get to her. Something was happening and he had to save her. As he ran, he tried to talk to her through their thoughts but she couldn't be reached. Her fear was too great and that in turn, seized his heart in his own fear.

Professor McGonagall tried to calm Hermione down but her screams would not stop. The hissing words kept repeating in her mind and Cedric's cold body could still be felt with her own. A crowd was gathered outside the door, peering into the bedroom she shared with Lavender and Parvati, and Ron and Harry had to shove their way through their fellow housemates to get to her.

"Cedric!" She cried out as Minerva gripped her shoulders, shaking her, and several of the students looked at one another with confusion upon hearing the Hufflepuff's name fall from her lips.

"Hermione," Harry gasped breathlessly, finally able to get into the room and he and Ron were instantly at her side though they instantly felt helpless. Ron grabbed her arms and Harry tried to get her to look at them but she only kept screaming, trashing around as if she was trying to fight something off from her dreams that they couldn't see.

"Voldemort!" Hermione screamed and everyone except Minerva and Harry who had heard gave a collective gasp. "Harry, Voldemort is coming!" Harry was shocked into complete stillness as his best friend looked at him, her eyes wide with a terror he had never seen in her before. "I need Cedric. I need to see Cedric!"

No one moved and the air seemed to leave the room as Hermione's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she promptly fainted in Minerva's arms.

Cedric quickly steered direction and instead of running towards the Gryffindor tower which is where his feet were initially taking him, he felt Hermione being moved and he bolted towards the hospital wing. The blood roared in his ears as his heart pounded in his chest.

"Hermione!" His mind shouted loudly but she didn't respond. He couldn't get to her and that scared him more than anything ever had before.

Madame Pomfrey leaned over Hermione, pressing a hand to her forehead, trying to determine what had happened to the young lady, as Minerva, Albus and Harry and Ron all waited by her bed, scared, anxious and confused as to what had happened. When the large doors at the end of the hall banged open, they all looked to see Cedric, panting heavily, enter.

Before he could get too close to the bed Hermione was laying in however, Ron stalked towards him, his blue eyes flashing with anger. Without saying anything at first, Ron wound his fist back and shot it forward, having it collide with Cedric's jaw. The sheer force of the punch sent Cedric onto the floor and Ron bent down to deliver one but Harry grabbed him, trying to hold him back.

"What the fuck did you do to her?" Ron demanded to know, shouting at him, not caring that McGonagall and Dumbledore were both there to punish him for his language and his violence. "Hermione was just fine before that bloody second task! What did you do to her?"

Cedric was able to get to his feet with Harry holding Ron back. His jaw ached and he knew that he was going to have a bruise. He also knew that Ron and Harry were Hermione's best friends and that they were worried and scared for her but that didn't give either of them the right to just punch him. They had no idea what was going on. They didn't know that it was so much bigger than any of them.

"I didn't do anything to Hermione!" Cedric shouted back and Ron struggled to break free from Harry's hold so he could deliver another punch to the Hufflepuff seeker.

"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory," Dumbledore spoke calmly, stepping towards the three young students.

"Ms. Granger needs quiet. I need everyone out of here this instant," Madame Pomfrey demanded in a firm whisper, horrified that someone would disrespect the hospital wing so much by starting a fighting and screaming match.

"Cedric has my permission to stay with Hermione," Dumbledore instructed but as Ron and Harry both opened their mouths to complain, he continued. "Professor McGonagall and myself will talk to Ron and Harry in my office and explain the present situation to them."

Cedric almost snorted. No one had explained what was going on to him or Hermione. They had to figure it out for themselves but of course Dumbledore would coddle Harry. He shook his head slightly. He didn't mean that. He didn't have a problem with Harry Potter or Ron Weasley, except now for the punching him. He was just so petrified for Hermione that he wasn't thinking clearly.

Without hesitating or waiting for everyone to leave him alone with her, Cedric went to Hermione, laying on the bed, and touched her and kissed her. He sat on the side of the bed and pressed his forehead to hers, closing his eyes, trying to calm down and send some of his tranquility onto her.

"How did he even know that she would be here?" Harry asked Dumbledore as everyone left the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey closed the doors behind them.

The room was silent and dark and Cedric focused all of his attention onto Hermione who had yet to wake up. He kept his forehead pressed to hers and a hand rested on her cheek. His other was placed on her chest, over her heart and as he felt his own heartbeats begin to slow down as he calmed down, he felt hers do the same as well. He poured his energy into both of them finding peace for if he didn't, she certainly wouldn't. They felt everything together now.

Since their first time underneath the Quidditch stands, the strength of their bind had increased ten folds. When he was hungry, her stomach grumbled as well. When she sat in class and sneezed, no matter where he was in the castle, Cedric felt his own nose begin to tickle. It didn't scare them though like one would have thought. They had almost been expecting it to happen. Hermione had read that sexual stimulation would bring the spell to its full power and now, the craving for the other their bodies experienced was never quenched no matter what they did. They made love every day, whenever they could find time. They would meet in empty classrooms and on several instances, in the greenhouse. They always wanted one another and they felt hollow when they were apart.

"That's it, 'Mione," he whispered to her, his eyes closed, his concentration focused on nothing but her. "Breathe with me, baby."

He knew now that he had been panting not because of the sprinting from his room to the hospital wing. He had been panting because she hadn't been able to breathe. Her nightmare had taken her energy from her and she couldn't breathe. Therefore, Cedric hadn't been able to either.

"Ow."

Cedric's eyes flew open and he exhaled a sigh of relief as he saw that her own eyes were fluttering open as well.

"What is it? Are you alright? What happened?" He immediately asked. He didn't mean to bombard her with his questions but he had to know what was going on. She was hiding it from him and no matter how hard he searched her mind, he couldn't find the answers.

She gently pushed his hand from her cheek and she opened her jaw, wincing in pain before closing it again. "Did someone hit you?" She asked.

"Oh," he said, sitting up, his hand remaining on her chest, making sure that her heart remained at the same steady pace it was currently beating at. "Your mate, Ron, had a rather strong opinion of me."

Hermione stared at him, still feeling her jaw from where Cedric had been punched, and then she lifted her other hand to his face, her fingers gently swiping over the angry red mark on his right jaw, already slowly beginning to bruise. She would have to talk to Ron about that. He couldn't just go around hitting people – especially Cedric and not only because if he hit Cedric, he was technically hitting her too. She had lectured him countless times of how violence was never the answer but it was a speech Ron never seemed to remember considering how many fights he got into.

She slowly began to realize that she was in the hospital wing and Cedric sensed her confusion, moving closer to her again. Her hands went to the collar of his shirt, pulling him to her and they maneuvered their bodies around until Hermione was laying completely back and he was on top of her. He really hoped that Madame Pomfrey didn't come back in to find them in this compromising position and his thoughts made Hermione smile faintly before she pressed her lips to his softly.

Cedric did not hesitate in returning the kiss, cupping her head in his hands, tilting it slightly to the side so he could kiss her deeply, his mouth angling against hers, his tongue swiping into her mouth and tasting that sweet flavor that was completely her.

"Tell me what happened," he told her, using his inner strength to pry his mouth from hers. First things first. He had to know what was happening so he could fix it and then he would love her until the sun rose and she was released from the hospital.

At the thought of her nightmare, Hermione instantly grew cold once again and she clung to Cedric tightly, not letting go, never wanting to let him go. She didn't want to talk about it but she knew she had to. She was keeping it from Cedric. She could feel him trying to read her thoughts but she was hiding from him, which only added to his worry and slight apprehension, growing stronger with each passing minute she didn't answer him. She held onto him tighter.

"We are going to die," she whispered into the side of his neck. "I saw it happen." She felt Cedric stiffen but her arms tightened around him so he could not pull back to look at her. She pressed her face more into his shoulder and neck. "Someone knows of our binding. They saw our marks or saw us together or… I don't know." Her voice began to tremble and she felt him pressing his lips to her ear, trying to keep her calm so she could keep talking. She took a shaky breath and forced herself to continue. "They are a spy for Voldemort."

Like almost everyone else in the wizarding world, Cedric stilled at the name. He never said it and could barely stand to hear it when someone else uttered it.

"He will kill you during the third task to kill me. And then he will kill Ron. He will kill anyone close to Harry. He only wants Harry but we are in his way."

Tears rolled down her cheeks and Cedric felt the moisture on his neck. He held her tighter as she trembled.

Cedric didn't understand. He wasn't doubting her dream but he was doubting the meaning of it. Each and every time he dreamt of their deaths, she drowned. She didn't die through him. She died and then he always followed. Moments passed after she drowned that he would die as well but never did he die first. She always went first despite his efforts to save her and then he always willingly died as well.

"Please don't do the third task, Cedric. You have to forfeit," Hermione pleaded with him, finally releasing him just enough so they could move their heads back and lock their eyes together. He wiped at her tears but more fell down her cheeks as she continued to cry. "I can't lose you. We just found one another. Please don't to the third task. We won't survive if you do."

He didn't respond immediately. It wasn't in his nature to quit anything he started. She knew that about him and yet, she asked him to do the very thing he never did. He faced his battles head on. If someone was trying to kill him and Hermione, he needed to take care of it instead of turning around and running away. He couldn't quit the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He had to see this through to the end. He had to save him and Hermione and hopefully, when he did, all threats and nightmares would be over. It was his duty to take care of her and look after her. He couldn't do that if he quit and hid, living every day in fear that it would be his last.

Hermione saw all of his thoughts and she kissed him, pouring her fear and love for him into that kiss, trying to convince him that not quitting wasn't even an option. If he entered that maze for the third task, he would die and so would she. He had to quit. She knew it was against his principles but surely, he loved her more than victory or glory.

Please, Cedric. Don't do this, she pleaded with him, kissing him harder, deeper.

He didn't respond immediately, instead, kissing her, matching her heat and hunger. He pushed her back further onto the bed, laying fully on top of her. Both remembered that they were in their thin flimsy pajamas and she moaned softly when he cupped one of her breasts through her thin tank top.

I will talk to Dumbledore, he answered, gently sucking on her tongue. I promise.

But first, he had other matters to attend to. She had had a bad night and he now had to see to her first. After he took care of her tonight then he would take care of himself and talk to Dumbledore in the morning.