a/n: To Amy Happy 23rd Birthday!

Can It Be

Everyone at Hogwarts knew about the Yule Ball. As Cedric walked down the halls to the library from dinner everywhere he looked girls stared at him wishing that he would ask them. As he got closer to each of the little groups they would turn around and giggle. Cedric knew that there were girls at Hogwarts but never, I repeat never, did he realize that one school could hold so many girls all wanting his affection, who were all giggly as he talked to them. Behind him girls flocked in a hushed chatter. Cedric felt good now being in the spotlight. When the list went up for who was going to stayover Christmas everyone who was fourth year and up placed their names on the list, planing to go to the Yule Ball. Never in the History of Hogwarts had there been so many staying for Christmas.

Cedric took a seat in the library and began to read. The library was dark and silent as Cedric a little later closed his eye for a short rest from reading a very long book for History of Magic . He gently, though, drifted off into a slumber.

Cedric sat in a darken locker room wearing his yellow Quidditch robes and his broom resting on a locker compartment behind him. His mind was racing with questions, Cedric's heart pounding faster and faster with every second he sat there. He had been waiting for this moment for so long. Six shadowy figures loomed in the locker room all dressed in the same yellow robes that Cedric wore. He stood up carefully with sorrow inside his heart. He began to think of what to say the faint people but none came to mind. Cedric just nodded toward his team mates, as he snatched his broom, and headed toward the door.

The crowd erupted with cheers as he entered the Quidditch stadium. It was a brightly lit day with the wind at a still, with no rain pouring heavily from the swelled bulky clouds or prayerfully no dangerous rough bludgers.

From the other end of the field bright red robes shuffled toward the middle of the Quidditch Marsh. The crowd erupted with louder cheers once more with some "boos" from the Slytherin sides. Cedric strode toward the Griffendor Captain, Oliver Wood. A year younger than Cedric, with broad shoulders, bushy eye brows with a soft face and his brown hair cut short. He was intimidating. Diggory stood up straighter so that he could be a clear two inches taller than Wood.

Madam Hooch remained firm, between the two captains with her hawk like eyes burning a hole through Cedric. "Captains shake!" Cedric grasped Oliver's hand. Both trying hard to break the other's, a tradition that was meant to be broken. Cedric's hand grew redder with a thin line of white where Oliver's fingers were. He dug his fist harder into Oliver's until he winced, just a bit, and then only then did Cedric let go. Cedric glanced behind him at the shadowy forms he called team mates. "Mount your brooms!"

Cedric kicked off the round. His feet now dangling high in the air over the defined green field on the ground. Hooch let the Quaffle into the blue sky and the game of Quidditch began.

Left. Right. Left. His eyes moved all over the Quidditch Pitch looking for one thing alone. A gleaming golden ball with little satin wings, and faster than a speeding bullet. Lee Jordan's voice roared from every single angel. Harry swirled around the stadium looking for the Snitch too. The Griffendor side, drenched with red and gold, exploded with chaos as the fifth year chaser Katie Bell sunk the Quaffle in the circular ring. Cedric took a deep breath. 10 to nothing not bad, not bad at all.

One who plays Quidditch would no that the game can get hard in an instant, and rough in a minuet, that's exactly what had happened. The game astonishingly quickened. He held his breath as the three Griffendor Chasers scored more and more til there was no real hope for the House of Helga Huffelpuff. They were trampled on and severly beaten by Godric Griffendor's house already and nothing could be done to save them. Cedric's only hope was to catch the Snitch as prompt as possible.

There it was. Cedric's eyes widen, right under the last hoop of the Griffendor rings. He blinked and then it was gone. Ced felt so disappointed in himself. He should have know better. Wait. There the Snitch was again right by the tip of Professor McGonagall's hat. He pushed himself forward toward the gleaming golden ball. Cedric may not have the body of the seeker but with his mind and brain he made the Seeker position work. His body moved closer to the broom so that he was going faster than his broom should have gone. He forced the broom to break it barriers. His hand stretched out as he approached the snitch with a weary looking woman just under the rim.

"Huffelpuff has caught the snitch but with 180 to 150 Griffendor win's!!!!!" Jordan's voice boom over a loud eruptions of cheers and boos. Cedric turned his broom around slowly heavily breath from all the adrenalin running through his veins. Tightly enclosed in his hand was a small ball with wings, withered from its flight. Underneath him was bright green grass the bathed in the afternoon shower of light. A bead of sweat fell from under Cedric's locks and into his eye. It stung with terrible pain. He brushed the rest of the sweat off his face with the back of his forearm covered in yellow robes. Cedric had done his best keeping or giving depending the way one looks at it the Huffelpuff team honor to up hold.

Catching the Snitch was the best any Quidditch player would do in the same situation. Cedric on the other hand felt shameful know that it he had caught the Snitch sooner than maybe, just this once, the house cup would go to Helga Huffelpuff. It seemed though no matter what Cedric did do he was always compared to another, making him feel lower and useless. He was never seen as one of a kind just a pretty face. Cedric clenched his hands harder with that thought, squishing the wings of the Snitch.

He did not want to face the team he had let down, in his opinion. He was the Captain which meant the lost was all forced upon his shoulders already piled with so much. Cedric ran his free hand through his hair thinking what he had done wrong to lose once again to Oliver Wood. He began to question himself. Was he even good enough to deserve the place as Captain of the Huffelpuff Quidditch Team. It seemed that since Cedric was given the position in his fifth year that the team was slowly falling apart.

He stood out there for a long time in the center of the field with his head bowed low thinking. Cedric was just a shadow in the stadium lost in his own thoughts. The crowd of people that had flooded into the stadium cleared out with no one noticing the Quidditch Captain, tearing himself apart. Cedric did his best while in thought to look on the brighter side of the problem. People did always lose games; the Cuddly Cannons, though, were the only example he could think of. He just wanted to start from scratch and learn more this time.

Cedric then found the strength to head in the locker room where his team mates were dressing. He glanced down at his Captain's badge, a huge responsibly pressed upon his shoulders. Cedric pushed hard against the door leading to the locker room.

The door swung open as his body weight shifted. Cedric shielded his eyes the first chance he was granted. The door slammed promptly behind with with a loud thud. He smelled the sweet scent of flowers. Suddenly something pulled onto his arm slowly moving his arms away from the eyes. It was still increasingly light in the courtyard of Hogwarts. It must have been mid-day, Cedric guessed. The grass swayed in the gentle spring breeze. Flowers in full bloom filling the area with vibrant color. The willow stood in the corner of the space. With long emerald green leaves flowing down with the tips causing ripples in the little pond. Branches stretched out into the clear blur sky. Fish squirmed away from the tips of the tree. With every drift of the warm breeze the leaves rose and fell with elegance and grace. The sunlight shone through every spot that was aloud.

The court-yard he knew was even more beautiful than he had ever seen. He heard a rustle in the candy like grass. Cedric slowly walk toward the towering willow to find a familiar face hidden behind the branches. Her face was dug right into a book. A red book that was more that four hundred pages of words on paper. He stood there smiling at her with his hands inside his school uniform pockets.

Her face was covered completely though Cedric knew right away who she was. A burning sensation ran through his body making him feel even more uncomfortable. The feeling did not go away as the moments went by which made him feel worse. It was not a bad feel that was contained inside of him it was just lust, lust was taking over him.

He coughed into in sleeve to muffle the noise. The sound came through, as a soft whisper. Her head moved out of the book to meet Cedric gazing eyes. Her soft pale cheeks became a deep shade of rouge. Cedric looked down to the ground trying not to stare at the beautiful figure before him.

Her hands let go of the book and placed it beside her. Hands patted softly on the ground with rhythm as she beckoned, "Sit.". Her voice came from heaven above with its lyrical sound. Cedric's back grazed the bark on the tree as he sat down of the soft pillow of grass. Her head slowly fell upon Cedric's shoulder. The chance had come Cedric moved his arm around to her other shoulder that was free and all seemed well.

Her head turned as the red book came to fall in both Cedric's and her's lap. "There's a spell in here that you would just love." Her fingers now grazed each of the pages as she looked for the page.

Cedric just sat there a laughed. Laughed loud and clear that her elbow kept jabbing into his stomach followed by a "what's so funny?". There were many reasons why he was laughing but Cedric kept most to himself, "What's so funny you ask? Well, your reading a four hundred page book filled with spells."

"For you information Cedric Diggory this is a book on vampires for DADA and there just happens to be a few good spells in the book." Cedric smile secretly to himself for he was sitting next to the most beautiful girl he had seen. He lost his train of though as a her finger tapped the piece of paper. Cedric's eyes gazed down and read the incantation, he laughed at what he was forced to read. He then looked up into the light trying not to let her see his now redden face. He pushed his legs off the ground and stood up. Cedric reached out his hands to help his darling off the grass too. The willow tree surrounded them as a cover from the outside world. Cedric felt that as longer he remained in the spot the safer he would be from the troubles around him.

Her smile was sent from heaven above and all Cedric could possibly do was smile back. His hand still remained intertwined with hers. Cedric looked down into her eyes filled with the most rich color.

Cedric's mind swirled as his lips slowly pressed against her's, fitting perfectly. Her arms wiggled from Cedric's hand and wrapped around his neck. While his rested upon her waist. His arm slowly went up the back of her shirt exploring her body. His fingers traced her stomach and traced the back of her bra. One of her hands rested on Cedric's face while the other ran up and down Cedric's chest through the school uniform. She leaned on him for support as the kiss became more lusty, more wanting, more needing.

Cedric want to feel her skin against his with nothing in between. He lifted his head with his eyes closed, he could not control himself while around her. He hear laughing, the laughing sent chills up his spin.

He opened his eyes to see four Death Eaters holding two of his friends who were covered in dirt and fear int heir eyes. Cedric pulled her closer, protecting her from the chaos that lay ahead. One snickered at the sight of Cedric and her, he nodded toward the rest of the Death eaters who pulled Cedric away from her.

Cedric screamed but nothing came out of his mouth. The Death Eaters threw her onto the hard cold ground. He reached out his hand to help her out but another Death Eater had a strong grip on Cedric's arms. Cedric wiggled and pulled but could not break free. The lead Death Eater smiled as he pulled out his wand and a jet of electric green light streamed toward Cedric. One voice was heard, "Cedric!"

"Cedric. Cedric. Come on now wake up!" The voice of a young woman said. Cedric jumped out of his chair with a startle. He rubbed his eyes and began to look around.

A figure took the empty seat next to him and pulled out their wand from their bag. A heavy book pounded upon the table. Cedric looked up to see a girl pulling her brown hair up in to a ponytail. She looked at him with her ecstatic hazel eyes. A soft smile drew across her face as Cedric scrambled to change the course of his mighty task.

"Sorry forgot about our session today." Cedric said grumpily as he threw his Transfiguration book on the round wooden table. There was a pause as Cedric finished.

"Can it be? The illustrious Cedric Diggory actually forgot something." She said with a chuckle.

"Veronica just open your book." Cedric pointed his wand at Veronica's book and pages began to turn on their own until they stopped at a page.

"Turning Mice Into Books?" Veronica repeated with her face slowly turning red from holding in a laugh. Cedric though slowly took out a cage with two mice safely inside the iron bars. "Why the hell do we need this?"

"Well you don't really but I thought it would give you a bit of a challenge. Moving objects can be really hard to transfigure. Wand out and watch. Oh, this one is a nonverbal." Cedric grinned from ear to ear, fifth years never learned nonverbals so he knew the so called "Transfiguration Prodigy" would be confounded. He lifted his newly polished wand and flicked his wrist at the mouse that he placed in front of him. Thei tail of the mouse began to sink into the torso of the body and turned into a grey bounded book.

Veronica's mouth dropped open at the sight of the book. Cedric felt a sense of pride rush through him since McGonagall asked him to privately instruct the young lady she had been able to do anything and everything he had given her in just one flick of the wand. He had finally stumped her. "It's simple you know. Nonverbals." Cedric walked slowly behind her and whispered gently in her ear smelling the fragrance of lavender, "Just think of the incantation written in the book so hard that you don't want the mouse to turn into a book but yet you need it more than anything in the world, you would yearn for it night and day and not even care if it only happens once."

She slowly raised he wand to the mouse moving across the floor and flicked her wrist. The mouse stopped dead in his its tracks. Cedric held his breath. Could she really do a non-verbal on the first try? The fury grey head turned and met with his eyes and then scurried off deeper in the library. Cedric let his breath out. "Immboulus!" The mouse stopped dead in it's tracks as his sounded "Acico" the tiny grey mouse rose in the air and soared over to his hand. Quickly as Cedric could he threw the mouse once again back into the cage.

"I think that's enough for tonight, just practice non-verbals that's all." Cedric tossed the items into his school bag and laid down his head. He was doing his best now to recollect the dream completely, though the face of the girl or woman faded with every second her thought about her, and soon nothing remained but a shadow. Cedric sighed trying to figure out t he dream and who the dream girl was. He guessed only one person . . .