A/N JK Rowling came up with the Triwizard Tournament. This could have happened. Maybe.
"I know because Severus told me!"
Hermione paused and arched an eyebrow. She almost took him seriously until his gaze slipped off her face and bungeed to her breasts. She folded her arms across them.
"First name terms, well aren't you cosy?" she mocked. "You'll have to do better than that."
Cedric rubbed his hand across his forehead. He looked like he was trying to gauge the distance between them. Hermione took a wary pace backwards and swung her robes over her shoulders. She watched his eyes linger on the gap at the front, before he remembered himself.
"He showed me his wand. He said it would help. You were right, Helen bound his wand. I don't know all of the details, but something went wrong when she died. His wand has a bridge because something happened to the bound part when Helen died, or didn't die." Cedric shook his head.
"A bridge can mitigate a damaged area, I saw one in a reference book where a bridge was used to bypass part of a wand badly scorched in a duel." Hermione dissected his words. "He said it would help with what?
"What?" Cedric had a hunted look in his eyes.
"You said – he said it would help. What would help?" Cedric got to his feet. Hermione took another step backwards. "What is real here?"
He gave her a coy smile, slowly reaching for his balled up shirt and began to clean himself up.
"You knew something about my wand by the time we sat together in Transfiguration, why else would you put your wand next to mine like that. You were reading something about wands and wand wood in the library, telling me there are three parts to a wand when most books say two – unless they are special interest, like for apprentices."
Cedric dragged his pants over and slipped them on. He nodded. "The core, the wood plus whoever is holding it."
"Professor Sprout said that a Bound Wand was stronger, more powerful than normal. The Willow said Vine wielders are strength and shield." She eyed Cedric shrewdly, as he nonchalantly pulled on his socks. "How long have you known the Triwizard Tournament was coming?"
She didn't expect an answer, but was not surprised to see him barely suppress a grimace as he found his shoes.
"How far was this supposed to go?" The last question came out as a whisper. She pointed her wand at him threateningly as he rose to his feet. The vine slid backwards and flattened itself over her hand and up her forearm, forming a glove like a gauntlet.
Cedrics stared upwards, it would be better this way. A clean break. Nothing could come between him and his ultimate goal. When he returned his gaze to her, his face was an impassive mask and his tone was flat. "Any advantage in the Tournament is worth it. I just needed the ring, everything else was a bonus." He offered her a cruel smile. "You're good though. You almost had me there. Don't disapparate. I'll leave and you can," he waved a hand at her partially clothed form, "whatever." He turned his back to look for his wand.
She laughed mirthlessly, "I don't think I'll being taking your advice." She pictured the sanctuary of her four poster bed in the dorm, but wasn't sure she could judge the landing and switched it to the roaring fire and the vivid tapestries of the lion and the unicorn adorning the walls of the common room. Most of all, she surrounded herself with the feeling of safety and serenity the Tower brought her.
Cedric spun back panicked as she said loudly, "Gryffindor."
"Kit, no! Fuck it!" Cedric swore as Hermione disapparated cleanly with a small snapping noise.
0.0
Cedric strolled to the head of the Great Hall, accepting the applause as his due, although he had barely earned it yet. He grinned inwardly when he saw Hermiones reaction. Good girl. She was fine. She would be fine. Krum would sweep her off her feet and make a life for them in Bavaria. The thought was oddly distasteful.
He shook Dumbledores hand and moved to stand with the other champions. He exchanged a nod with Krum and smiled weakly in reply to Fleurs beam. She was pretty in a pinched sort of way, but then he decided he didn't like the way she looked down her nose at him. Not at all like the way Hermione looked down at him, like she couldn't believe he was being so innane…or devious. "Welcome to the real world, Kit," he muttered. He couldn't pick her out from the blur of students at this distance. Not until Harry stood up and she stood up behind him, manhandling him off the bench and pointing him in the right direction. Being his strength to face whatever was coming.
Cedric locked eyes with her as Harry stumbled forwards, up the nave of the Great Hall. She flicked her eyes to Harry then back to him. She was asking him to look out for her friend. That wasn't how this worked, not in a Tournament, it could compromise everything. Besides the tests were individual, there wouldn't be much he could do. Harry looked terrified. Cedric felt sick, this was not a playground for the unprepared. He felt himself nod back. Hermione stared as if to be sure and he nodded again, more firmly. Whatever this was, it felt like reparation.
0.0
Hermione pored over an owl keeping manual, absently stirring the remains of honey and raisins in her porridge and horridly fascinated by an animated line drawing of an owl pellet unwrapping itself and the contents recreating itself in its original form – as a mouse, or frog or ugh half a bat? A particularly sleek long-eared owl called and fluttered directly above her before dropping a letter, corner first into her breakfast. She snatched it up, pinched off the offending foodstuff and stuffed in the bottom of her bag, barely glancing at the return address.
Ron looked over raising his eyebrows, "secret admirer?"
"None of your business," she snapped, suddenly jittery. "Hurry up and finish your breakfast," she huffed. "You'll be late for the first round of the Tournament." She gathered her book and swung her bag onto her shoulder narrowly missing Rons automatically ducking head and took a minute to free her hair trapped under the strap.
"Don't worry," said Harry, adding the horizontal slab to Rons toast Stonehenge and sucking the melted butter off his finger. "We've still got a few minutes."
Hermione opened her mouth to recite part of the history of the standing stones and then thought better of it. Cedric was staring at her from across the trestles, probably thinking she was preening for him and she swished her hair so that he couldn't see her face.
Harry lit his wand and moved it around the mini Stonehenge like a rising and setting sun. Ron added a sacrificial stone in the centre of the toast ring. Harry blew on the tip of his wand and flicked it like one would shake a lit match to make it go out. "What you need is a virgin," he winked, blocking out all thoughts of the Tournament.
"Wha…?" started Ron mouth open and sharing the uneaten contents with his friend
"For your Stonehenge," Harry clarified. "Here you go," he said, adding a triangular dab of marmite between the legs of a toast figurine."
"Can you do another one?" asked Ron
Harry raised his eyebrows.
Ron held up a jar of marmalade, "I'd like mine to be blonder," and then he flinched because he knew Hermione hadn't left yet and even though he had meant it as a compliment, he wouldn't be able to explain.
Nothing happened and he spun around to see why not. Cedric was staring and Hermione was making a point of ignoring him. She wasn't as unruffled as she affected though, her wand was in her hand and the Vine was lashing angrily. He had worked out that the wand was a better barometer of her moods than anything she said.
Ron tried to talk her down, "Mum always said he was a death or glory sort of bloke."
"Who?" said Hermione absently.
"Cedric. He's an adrenalin junkie. This Tournament is right up his street. Course I bet I could do it, if you like that sort of thing." Ron stuck his chest out and tried to look bigger, until Harry and Hermione both said in unison, "shut up Ron!" Harry collapsed one Stonehenge arch into another like toast dominoes.
"Hey!" complained Ron. Hermione marched off, shadowed on the other side of the Hall by Cedric.
"You could take my place anytime," Harry muttered unhappily.
Ron was silent, the kernel of something forming in his mind. "I've got a better idea."
0.0
He didn't so much walk as lope Hermione decided. No matter what speed she chose he moved fluidly with her, like a well oiled albatross. Cedric held the door open for her at the end of the Great Hall.
"Nothing to say to me, Kit?" he murmured
"Thank you. For looking out for Harry." She shot back, refusing to look him in the eye.
"Ah, Harry." He nodded. "And how is your lap dog, Ron?"
"Honest." She said sharply.
Cedrics lips twisted, "about that."
"Leave it," she said tersely. "I get it. Death or glory, right?"
"It's all I've ever wanted." He stopped, letting her walk off ahead of him. He bowed his head and stuffing his hand in his pockets, he scuffed the flagstones. "Until now," he said to himself.
"Cedders!" Ron called cheerily. Harry slipped past them and Cedric plastered a smile on his face.
"All right Ron?"
"Never better, listen mate. I've got an idea. Fred said you helped him with something the other night."
Cedric listened in disbelief as Ron laid out the bones of his plan that would allow Hermione to see Ron in the light in which he wanted.
"It's dragons. I know about dragons because of Percy. I just want the chance to show her I'm good enough for her. It's like she doesn't even see me any more. I'm just her thumping bag. Please mate. I love her enough to give up everything."
"Do you?" Cedric asked Ron, seizing him by the shoulders. And then asked himself the same question.
0.0
A/N Epi left to tie up the loose ends. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have.
X
Sherbs