A/N: well here ya go ladies and gents!

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Walking down the darkened corridor, both Cedric and Hermione were met with an awkward silence. Not just any silence, the end all to awkward silences. Desperately, Cedric fumbled around inwardly, trying to find something to talk about, something to get conversation sparked between them.

"No matter how much we try and avoid it, we're stuck with each other until Snape comes and gets us, so we might as well make the best of it until then."

Ever since they had left Snape's room, Hermione had been eerily silent. Barely acknowledging that he was there while they walked, she would look out the windows as they passed them, or fidget with the edge of her shirt. This was beginning to irk Cedric a bit. He was trying to stay pleasant, but every once in a while he could detect a bit of uneasiness, or hesitancy, or even...dislike..., but he shook those thoughts off quickly.

"We've talked once or twice before, and she's never been THIS quiet. I wonder whats going on..."

Turning a corner, the pair came to some stairs, and while walking up them, Cedric built up some nerve and broke the numbing silence.

"So... what did you do to land in detention? You never told me..."

Stopping, Hermione slowly turned her head to face him, and looking him dead in the eye, said,

"I cursed Ron in the common room because he... insulted a... really good friend of mine, who I'm quite fond of..."

"Seriously?" Cedric questioned, never breaking their eye contact; brooding grey mixing with warm, yet icily, cold brown.

"Yea... he compared them to Krum. Said that all guys were the same, and he hinted that this guy would only be my friend for sex, which is a complete lie, and insulting. So I hexed him... over and over..."

"Is he okay?" he tentatively asked.

She paused for a second, obviously deep in thought, before replying, "I think so... Madam Pomfrey came in as I was being manhandled out, and he was... moaning... so for right now I'm assuming he's fine."

"I'm sorry."

"What?" she asked, as if that was the most ridiculous thing she had heard all night, "Why?"

"Well, he is one of your best friends after all, and... I don't know, last time I checked, best friends don't do that to each other." he said, continuing up the stairs, the inquisitive little Gryffindor following suit.

"Well, he was being a great big...big..." she sputtered, trying to find the right word.

"Prick?..."

"Yea, a great big prick! He just had to rub it in my face that he was right about... someone only wanting me for that." Glancing over at her, Cedric could have sworn he saw her lip quiver, so he wrapped his arm around her, and gave her a small squeeze.

"You want me to talk to Krum?"

"NO! Please don't." she spat pleadingly, "I just want this all to end. All this stuff about Krum, Ron..."

"Ok, ok. If you say so, master." he said, in a puny voice, which earned him a well deserved smirk from the bookworm.

"Ha HA! I got a smile. SCORE!"

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at him. He was just so... she couldn't quite put her finger on the word to describe it, but ever since she had met up with him outside Snape's door that night, she had forgotten how much time had elapsed. An hour felt like a minute with him, a month like a day. There was no telling how much longer they would have before before they heard the menacing sound of Snape's cloak, billowing in the wind as he marched down the hall to retrieve her.

Hearing a rumbling sound, they looked at each other, then walked over to the window and gazed out at the grounds.

"Looks like a storm's blowing in..."

"Great. Looks like I'm not getting any sleep tonight." Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Well... my dorm is at the top of one of the towers. When it rains like this, it may sound like soft drips here, but up there it sounds like a dull roar, with the wind and the rain, and... birds..." Giggling, she covered her eyes and turned away from the window.

"Birds?" She nodded, still laughing. "Am I missing something?"

Trying to regain her composure, she explained, "One night last year, it was storming just like it is tonight. A bird flew into the window and smashed its way in. It landed in Parvati's bed, and..." cripplingly she held back the laugh that was coming, "... she ran out of the girl's dorm, fell down the stairs, hit the ground, and screamed at the top of her lungs. We all rushed out to see if she was okay right?" Cedric nodded, biting his lip. "The bird had flown into her pajamas, and apparently it was still alive..."

There was a moment of silence before both teens hit the ground laughing, Cedric clutching his stomach, Hermione tearing up and gasping for air.

"Are... you... serious?!" Cedric gasped.

"Yes! That's the sad part. It kept flapping around, and the more it flapped, the louder she screamed. Her AND her pajamas were hopping around the common room until Professor McGonagall showed up and got the bird out."

"Ha ha... well now I'll never be able to watch the rain anymore without laughing. WAY TO GO HERMIONE!" he bellowed jokingly.

"SORRY! YOU WERE THE ONE THAT WANTED TO KNOW!"

Their laughter slowly died away, and left both still laying on the floor, staring at each other. Cedric, with a cheeky grin, and Hermione, looking windswept. Their eyes locked again, and that one single moment seemed to stretch for eternity. The new rain pounding against the window, the little spider scurrying across the floor by Hermione's foot, everything blurred away as Hermione swam in those thick, grey storms that swirled in his eyes. At the same time, Cedric drowned himself and his senses in her creamy chocolate iris's, the same ones that seemed to envelope him with a warmth that he had never felt before. As warm and gentle as a mother's embrace for her child, yet as shocking as an ice cold shower early in the morning, it set every nerve in his body on fire, made the hairs on his arm stand on end.

"Hermione..."

"Yes?..."

"Umm, before, when you were talking about Ron insulting one of your friends... who was the friend?"

"Let's just say it's someone... who I care about a lot, and didn't deserve anything Ron said about them."she said, eyebrows slightly scrunched as she carefully chose her words.

"And who would that be?..."

"As interesting as this little conversation is Mr. Diggory, her time is up."

Both Hermione and Cedric shot up and saw Professor Snape standing behind them, tapping his foot impatiently with his arms folded. Standing up and saying bye to Cedric, Hermione followed Snape, who had already walked away and turned the corner.

"Hermione, wait."

Stopping, she turned around and looked at him.

"Will you ever tell me who?"

"It was you."

Silence followed that statement. Nothing needed to be said. They could both understand one another without having to speak, it was as if their eyes said what their mouths couldn't. Cedric gave her a smile and a curt nod, and with that, she left.

That night, all slept well. That is, except for a single Hufflepuff boy. A sixth year. Who was busied with thoughts about a fourth year Gryffindor, with wild brown hair.

"She defended me... and when the time comes, I'll return the favor..."

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A/N: I got a little impatient with this one. I actually wrote both the 2nd chapter and the 3rd back to back, I just delayed it a little bit. well now im stuck on what to do after this... sorta... Suggestions?