In ten minutes time, he'd be battling for his life in a giant maze. But it didn't matter to Harry. The only thing on his mind right now was the handsome young boy that sat next to him. The very same boy whose lips were currently occupying his.
It had been so hard for them at first. Even if he only saw him a brief second in the hallway, it still made Harry want to snog him right where he was standing. After a week of fighting off temptation, the two worked it into a schedule. Keeping the secret from the rest of the world was the hardest part.
Harry easily remembered the first time they had met together to sort out their emotions. Cedric had sent him a note asking to meet him in a random, secluded spot. The second he arrived, a very confused Cedric kissed him. Shock was his first reaction, his second to kiss him right back. There was something so sweet about that boy and it wasn't just his looks. The two were drawn to each other from that moment on.
Cedric withdrew his mouth from Harry's, their eyes meeting. Just by the look on his face, Harry knew this would be a very serious conversation.
"Harry." Cedric practically sighed his name. Harry smiled at this, brushing a hand gently across Cedric's cheek. "I'm going to apologize now for anything that happens in the tournament. We need to..."
"Keep up appearances, I know. Don't worry about it. I know it's not the real you." Harry smiled. "And when it's over?"
"We tell everyone." Cedric grinned at his fellow competitor, hugging him tightly. "You ready for this?"
"No really." The dark haired boy laughed. "Good luck, though." Cedric began to walk out of the room they'd been hiding in, but stopped to say the same. Harry sighed, knowing it'd take even more courage than it had to step into the maze than it would to tell everyone.
It depressed Harry to say goodbye to Cedric at the first time in the maze. He felt so lost without the boy who'd been guiding him through everything. But when he ran into him, everything felt right again. And to protect him against Krum and the spider, it was the most he could do.
The two ran together to the cup, thinking they'd win together. Instead, Cedric was killed. And suddenly Harry wished he hadn't been so goddamn noble and insisted that they do it together. Cedric could have been safe... and alive.
Cedric's death clouded his mind so much while he was fighting that the spells he threw out weren't possibly the best he could do. Not like much mattered to him now that his love had been killed. Cedric's request to him was so simple. There was no last "I love you" or "be happy." Just bring his body back. It disappointed him. Yet, the smile... everything was in that smile. All the words he couldn't say, the memories, everything.
So he did as his love requested, and cried until he was pulled away. He could have held on forever. No one should have to see his body. Cho would be just as hurt as he was.
Without Cedric's smiling face, things seemed too hard to bear. Moody becoming Crouch Jr., the revelation that Crouch had been the one technically responsible for the Portkey and Cedric's death. Harry felt glad that justice had been served by the dementors' kiss. Yet Dumbledore's speech brought him to the realization that thinking like that was wrong. Cedric would never have wanted that.
On the last day of school, he went to visit their secret spot. The very same spot where they had first kissed. The classroom was empty, as it always had been. He stood in the very spot where the kiss had occurred and broke down crying for the first time since Cedric had died.
To no one, he gave a simple whisper. "I love you."
A/N: Please review. Constructive criticism greatly appreciated.