Author's Note: First, welcome! Second, wow, you guys and gals are awesome! Thanks for the support and encouragement. This one was edited sooner than I expected!
Hope you continue to enjoy where I take this.
Posted 8/1/15
Standard disclaimer about not owning anything; I am so thankful for JKR and all that she did for us. She gave us one of the greatest gifts, and so many people have taken to this site and played brilliantly with her creation. We should have a JKR day and it should be a global holiday!
Harry breathed in the musky sent of Cedric Diggory and his eyes fluttered open, his head still resting on the other boy's chest. As awareness returned to him he noticed that two arms encircled him and held him tightly and he could feel the rhythmic rise and fall of the chest that he was lying upon. The position he found himself in didn't feel overtly sexual since both of them were fully clothed and likely had clung to the other out of the need to feel safe after their run-in with You-Know-Who the previous evening.
Harry moved his head, and snuggled deeper into Cedric's embrace, thankful that he had survived yet another climatic series of events and not ready to begin processing anything just yet.
However, Cedric then began to stir and Harry felt the arms around him stiffen as Cedric discovered the potentially cumbersome position that they were in.
The next few seconds were awkward, as neither knew what the next steps for them should be, but Harry gradually felt the arms around him loosen and fingers now began tracing unknown patterns into his back. It seemed that Cedric was just going along with things as well.
They both just lied there, not wanting to disturb the moment and both pretending that what they were doing was perfectly normal. They were trying not to think about this new reality that included a potential attraction to someone that they had never considered before since neither Harry nor Cedric had ever shown any inclination towards a member of the same sex before. It wasn't just the physical part that was brand new, it was the intimacy of the position, the comfort that they found in one another. Ultimately, this connection kept away any of the big questions that remained because it felt right and was something that they needed.
Eventually, both heard noises coming from Madam Pomfrey's office, and Harry knew from his previous stays that she would soon begin her morning rounds and began to disentangle himself from Cedric lest she found them like this. As he moved away he briefly caught Cedric's eyes and found so many emotions in them that he had a hard time discerning them.
Cedric looked confused, scared, happy, fearful, and that was only the tip of what Harry could pick out. Harry logically thought that despite the other boy being older, he had had a much harder time processing the events in the cemetery, whereas Harry couldn't honestly say that he was surprised that he had ended up in yet another pickle. Those were just common to his life when in the wizarding world. And then when you added in how they had spent the night, well, Harry was sure that some of those emotions were also coming off of him.
'But at least,' Harry thought, 'they were in the same boat for whatever was developing between them.'
Harry decided to take the first step and reached out to squeeze Cedric's hand and smiled at him, grateful for his company and feeling the surge of hormones in response to how close they had been. Harry's eyes were warm and comforting with a dash of excitement at this newfound attraction. Cedric responded to Harry's hand and his eyes began to shed off the more fearful emotions that wondered if Harry didn't feel the same way as he did – even though those feelings were quite new to him.
Their hands lingered for a few seconds, long enough for Cedric to rub his thumb over Harry's in a gently yet obvious way that admitted his feeling towards the other boy along with his returning smile and reddened cheeks.
Harry blushed slightly as well, and made it to his bed just in time for Poppy's mourning checkup.
"Right, how are you both feeling then?" she began, checking first on Cedric to make sure the blood replenishing potion had worked before moving onto Harry.
"Fine," both boys uttered in near unison, both far more preoccupied with the other boy and shooting furtive glances at each other whenever Poppy had her back turned to record something in their log.
"Very good," she said and retreated to her office, telling them that she would be right back.
Cedric and Harry barely had enough time to look at each other and smirk over how serious Madam Pomfrey always took every little aspect of her job when she reappeared, two steaming hot trays of food floating in front of her.
"Here, I think it would be better for you to eat breakfast here this morning – the school is buzzing about what happened and I don't think all of that excitement is right for either of you at the moment."
Both nodded their heads, thankful that she had thought that far out - neither boy wanted to face the curious glances of the student body just yet. Besides, this way they would get to spend a few more minutes in each other's company, hopefully allowing them to have some understanding between them so they didn't spend the rest of the day with a nagging doubt hovering over their head.
Again, Madam Pomfrey returned to her office and let the boys eat their food.
The breakfast was a simple porridge, and while it wasn't too exciting to eat, it felt good to put something in their stomachs nonetheless.
"So," Cedric began this time, "how are you doing, Harry?"
"Not bad, considering…" Harry replied between bites.
"At least Pettigrew was able to be brought back and questioned. You know, he was the one that betrayed my parents and killed those muggles – not Sirius Black, who is my Godfather and would never do anything to hurt me."
The statement didn't quite shock Cedric, after all he had just met Voldemort and so he had a new bar to compare things to.
"So, does that mean you will live with him? Don't you live with your muggle relatives now?" Cedric had finished his porridge and was sipping on some of the hot tea that had also been provided.
"Yeah, I hope to live with him, but I expect for some reason I will have to return to The Dursleys until Pettigrew's trial." Harry had hoped to never have to return to them, but he reasoned that this would take time. Honestly, he was just happy that it would happen now and that Sirius could be cleared of the crimes that he didn't commit. To him, a little more time with his aunt and her family was easily worth never having to see them again.
Harry was nursing his own tea, savoring the taste and enjoying the warmth the cup provided to his hands.
Cedric smiled at Harry's comments; he could see the joy in the younger boy's eyes at the thought of living with the man, even though most people believed him to be a mass murderer and slightly deranged.
Cedric then found himself quite nervous as he tried to formally address the past few hours and what had been happening between them.
"H-harry," he started shakily, causing the other boy to look up with a curious expression on his face.
"About last night and this morning," he gestured between them and then to the bed that he was lying on. "Um, what was that, I mean, is that okay?" It was still difficult to ask a question that concerned a pretty strong emotion that you had.
Cedric's gray eyes searched Harry's out, eager and a little anxious at his response. Even though he was sure he was reading the signs right, it always helped to have a verbal confirmation.
Harry's cheeks began to feel hot, and he repositioned himself on his own bed.
"I, well, yes?" he replied, not really intending his response to come out like a question. He calmed himself and tried again.
"Yes, I think it's okay. I don't know what it was, but I didn't have any objections to it." Harry's emerald eyes shone as he met Cedric's.
"I don't have any objections to it either," Cedric smiled, "though I can't say I have ever considered something like this before with another guy."
"Me neither," Harry replied, honestly, but having a good idea of why that was or at least what had changed in him. He knew that he should be more shocked, more concerned at a sudden attraction to a member of the same sex, but he couldn't find it in him to care. He had already spent so much of his life without having other people around that really cared for him – so, he just didn't see the point in doing it now. He was already used to unexpected things popping up and then people judging him for it. At least this could bring joy and happiness to his life.
He was really wondering just how much that scar had affected him over the years and what other changes or differences were in his future. He supposed that he would face them as they happened, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't try and get ahead of the curve for once.
Both were lost in their own thoughts while staring at the other, working out whatever problems that they might have had when Madam Pomfrey interrupted again. Then, both fixed their faces and turned to her, their cheeks still having the faintest tinge of red to them.
"So, if you want some privacy getting back to your common room, I suggest you go now while everyone is still at breakfast. Also, Harry, the Headmaster wants to speak with you at lunchtime in his office. Got that?"
Harry nodded while standing up and waited for Cedric to join him before they both headed towards the door.
"Take it easy," she called out after them, "I don't want to see you until next year. Got that Potter?"
"Of course, Madam Pomfrey. Always a pleasure." He waved, somewhat cheekily. But then he had spent more time here than anyone else in the school, save Hermione or one of the other petrified students. However, he was fairly certain that he had had more of a relationship with the matron than any other students and could put his toe just slightly over the line.
Cedric opened the infirmary door after thanking her as well and they both exited into the hallway. They walked side by side until they would have to part ways to get back to their houses.
"So, what now?" Cedric dug his hands into his pockets, planning on showering first thing as he noticed just how dirty his clothes were and wanting to remove all traces from last night. Well, perhaps not all traces, he was rather enjoying his time with Harry – even if he had no idea what to do about it.
"I don't know." Harry's hands were crossed in front of him as they walked, his mind working overtime with things that he didn't really need to think about in the infirmary, like what school would be like now and what the students had been told. It had been a little easier just focusing on things with Cedric and not having to worry about the rest of the world.
"Meet me in the astronomy tower tonight?" Harry asked, knowing it was their best bet at privacy and excited with the prospect of spending time with the other boy in a place where they wouldn't be constantly interrupted so that they could work through whatever was going on.
"Okay, what time? It will have to be after curfew but I can get away then, no problem."
"Midnight?" Harry had his invisibility cloak and knew that Cedric was well versed in charms and would likely have no problem disillusioning himself.
"I can do that," Cedric asked as they reached the stairs in which one would go up and the other would go down.
They stopped and faced each other, each standing with just a little bit of tension in their stance.
Neither wanted to say goodbye, but now really was their best chance to get back to their rooms without being inundated by the masses.
There wasn't much distance between them and their eyes found comfort and understanding in the others, which lessoned the jitters and allowed them to close the remaining distance that separated them. The hug was brief but important, and each noticed the jolt of hormones that resulted from the situation.
"I'll see you later, Cedric," Harry said in parting.
"I look forward to it," Cedric smirked and each went their separate ways.
Once Harry was out of sight of Cedric, he raced up to the Gryffindor Tower and retrieved his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map because, while he wanted to see Ron and Hermione, he didn't want to see anyone else just yet.
He had just made back into the hall and outside of the portrait of the Fat Lady when he heard the rising noise of his housemates down the hall. Quickly, he threw on his cloak and stood out of the way along the wall as people started to pass him. He waited until he spotted the bushy brown hair of Hermione and realized that he would need a plan to signal them without being seen by the others.
Unfortunately, the only thing he could do was to take a chance and carefully dodge the crowd as he made his way to them and hoped that she would take the hint of him brushing into her lightly and resting his hand on her arm.
"Harry?" she whispered, having expected to run into him at any time since she hadn't seen him since last night and knowing that crowds were not really something that he fancied.
"Yeah," he replied, standing in front of her so that he was out of the way until the rest of the students made their way past.
"Wazgoingon?" Ron blurted at the sudden stop, his mouth still full from the bits of toast that he had brought with him. It was only because of how long they had been friends that either Harry or Hermione understood his garbled speech that occurred when he was feasting on something.
"Harry!" she mouthed at him, waiting until Ron's mind put two and two together.
The trio remained in the hall and Hermione took up a pointless conversation with the youngest male Weasley that gave them a reason to remain in the hallway until they were alone and the rest of their house had passed through the portrait.
"Care for a walk outside?" Harry ventured, chancing other people seeing him and removing the cloak.
Hermione quickly threw her arms around his neck.
"We were so worried," her voice sounded in his ear.
Harry greeted Ron and smiled at him and gently rubbed the back of Hermione, responding to her concern over him. The hug ended and she looked him up and down, trying to discern what injuries he had had this time
Harry shook his head, knowing exactly what Hermione was doing.
"I'm fine," he told her. "Well, more or less, but let's go somewhere else and talk."
Harry led them down the stairs and then outside, where they ended under a tree that was very close to the edge of the lake. Some of the roots even rose above ground and allowed someone to sit in a position where they could dip their toes in the chilly water.
The few students that they passed on the way there stared openly at him, but thankfully, kept their questions to themselves.
"How was breakfast?" Harry asked, wondering what the school was talking about.
Hermione obliged, knowing that her own questions would soon be answered.
"Well, the arrival of the Daily Prophet certainly started things off. They discussed Pettigrew and his confession, highlighting the formal trial will take place and that Sirius Black is no longer a wanted man and will be fully pardoned after the trial. It was very light though on how Pettigrew turned up and nothing else was really discussed."
Harry can't say he was surprised; he didn't expect the Minister would want people to know that Voldemort was back, though he didn't see how that could be avoided at the trial. Harry caught Hermione's eyes, pleading him to fill her in with his side of the story.
"Voldemort's back," he stated. Ron swallowed nervously at the thought while Hermione looked contemplative, and in truth a little frightened as well.
Harry then went into a more in-depth version of events, talking about their arrival in the cemetery, to meeting his mom, which Hermione had gasped at that and grabbed onto Harry knowing how emotional it must have been for him.
"It's okay, Hermione." Harry looked up at the leaves in the tree and leaned back to rest his head on his arms.
"It was weird, seeing her like I see you both right now. It felt so weird to me. I haven't really had the time to process it yet. I don't know how I survived the killing curse again, but my mom alluded to it being important how I ended up there. It freaks me out a little thinking that I was dead or almost dead. But I suppose I'm okay with it because she was there and I finally got a chance to be with her."
Hermione and Ron shared a look; they had no idea what to say to him.
Harry kept going. "I got to go back, and I feel different now. I feel like my mind is clearer and thinking about things is so much easier now."
Harry looked around for a moment to make sure that no one was around them.
"I think it was something to do with my scar. Here, look."
He sat up and brushed his hair away, revealing the faded scar that had been much more vibrant just a day before.
"I can barely see it!" Hermione exclaimed and Ron scratched his chin; even he had noticed how faint it had become.
"It doesn't even ache anymore. Anyways," Harry shrugged and moved the conversation along, noticing the attempted expression of support in Ron's face. He was trying his best, and Harry appreciated it. Ron could be extremely jealous and thick at times, but he was Harry's oldest friend and that meant something to him.
Harry then described the other events in the cemetery leading up until they arrived back in the maze in front of the crowd. He neglected to tell them anything about Cedric or how Harry was beginning to realize that he was gay. There was something to be said about too much too soon and keeping some things to yourself.
And so the trio sat there and talked more about the events that occurred the previous night before moving onto some discussion about what the future held.
"I don't know, Hermione. Now, that he is back, I don't know what to expect. It seems like he went out of his way to get me to that cemetery. I mean, we had someone that was impersonating a teach here to make sure I ended up there!"
That had been the ultimate betrayal to Hermione, thinking that her education had been compromised; though, she had to agree with Harry that Voldemort was going out of his way when it came to Harry Potter. It was very peculiar, now that she really thought about all of the occurrences over the years.
"Perhaps we should train more or something, since we keep finding ourselves in these situations. Who knows what we can expect to have happen, you know?"
Even Ron had to admit that that probably wasn't such a bad idea, considering everything they had faced up until now.
"Okay, mate," Ron added, shocking Hermione by continuing with, "we should probably start focusing on school more too, I guess. What use is extra training if we don't have a firm grasp with the basics."
Harry and Hermione just stared at Ron with their mouths half open.
"What? I do realize the importance of education, even though I sometimes don't feel like doing my work because they assign way too much. In this instance though, it isn't just about grades, I for one want to survive whatever's coming. I wonder what You-Know-Who will do now?" Ron asked, leaning back into the tree.
To the others it might have seemed that Ron had changed overnight, but he had been observant this year after realizing his jealously with Harry had not as much to do with his friend as it did with himself. It had taken him time to realize that he needed to grow up a little and this was the perfect time to do so.
Hermione let go of the breath that she had been holding, turning it into a laugh that kept going as the buildup of tension in all of them loosened and allowed them to relax.
"But not today," Ron added with his usual, lazy grin. "But we will start soon, we will come up with something" he added, and both Harry and Hermione approved, still chuckling and realizing why they were all friends.
They sat there until lunchtime when they began to make their way back to the castle before Harry remembered that the Headmaster wanted to see him.
Relieved at not having to face the school quite yet, he excused himself from his friends and told them to meet him by the lake after and that he would let them know what Dumbledore had wanted with him.
A quick detour around the usual route that students took to get the Great Hall and Harry found himself in front of the gargoyle that blocked the circular staircase that would lead him to his destination.
After several run-throughs of popular muggle candy, he found that 'Hershey Kisses' had been the magic word.
He quickly ascended the stairs and knocked.
"Come in."
Harry opened the door and made his way in, noting that Dumbledore was seated behind his desk.
He had barely made it a few steps when his Godfather, who had been waiting out of view in case someone other than Harry had walked in, swept him up in a very tight embrace.
"Pup," Sirius breathed, happier than he had been in a long time with Pettigrew being found, but worried at what Harry had been through in making it possible.
"Oh, Sirius," Harry sighed, returning the hug and holding on tightly.
"Wonderful," Albus clapped, directing their attention to the chairs he wanted them to sit in. Naturally, Sirius moved Harry into the chair and then stood at his side, his hand never leaving Harry's shoulder.
"I can't tell you how happy this reunion makes me, and hopefully, soon, it will be able to be in public as well," The old man remarked.
"But before that can happen, Pettigrew's trial needs to take place, and I'm afraid Harry, that…"
"That I need to return to The Dursleys for part of the summer?" Harry finished, not understanding why he always needed to go there and not surprised in the least with this.
Dumbledore nodded, his twinkling eyes abating with talk of the more serious matter at hand.
Sirius didn't like that idea; he wanted Harry to go with him immediately, but he had already been through this with Albus.
"I don't understand why I have to go, Sir," Harry stated.
Dumbledore sighed. It would seem that the removal of the horcrux in his scar had freed up a lot of Harry's mind, which would make hiding things from him until Albus thought he was ready that much harder. It wasn't because he wanted to control him, per say; but they were dealing with very important matters and that he had spent years guarding. He wanted to make sure the boy could handle them.
"Harry, there are things that need to be done for your benefit, and technically, while it is very likely, Sirius hasn't been cleared yet."
Harry sat there for a moment, thinking hard about things, when it occurred to him that he could also play a little hardball with Albus or at least begin getting his feet wet.
"On one condition," he bravely put forth. If he could face Voldemort, then he could certainly be frank with Albus.
Albus had a feeling he knew where this was going, and thought it was well played and very reasonable for Harry to attempt it.
"Very well, what do you want to know?" Sirius' eyes bounced between the two.
"Why is Voldemort after me and what is up with my scar?" he put bluntly.
Sirius glanced nervously at Dumbledore, now knowing what at least part of the topic was about.
Dumbledore rose from his seat and moved around the desk, coming to lean on the front of it before replying.
"Those are very serious questions, Harry… but ones I think you have earned the right to know. I just ask that you give me time to put a response together so that we can do it properly, and I must make a request of my own?"
Harry nodded, not having expected to get this type of answer and curious at what the stipulation was.
"You must learn Occlumency before I tell you; this information is everything." Dumbledore was firm; he would not budge on this.
"That would seem reasonable, Albus," Sirius spoke up.
Harry was unfamiliar with the term. "What is that?"
"It is the art and skill of protecting the knowledge inside your mind, Harry." Dumbledore answered.
Well, Sirius was right, it did seem reasonable, but it still stung a little that there was information about him that was being withheld.
"You promise that the moment I learn this that you will tell me?" Harry asked, wanting no room for delay going forward. Though, he did accept that Albus probably would require him to master this skill before divulging what he knew. No matter, he would become an expert then.
"I promise that when you can block my mental attack, sufficiently, then I will tell you everything that I know. Sirius, I trust that you will help him with this immediately?"
Ideally, Albus would have preferred Severus to provide the tuition so that he could get an inside peak into Harry's mind, but since Sirius had to be a master Occlumens to be an Auror, he knew it would not have gone over well. Albus had gotten so far in this life because he knew what battles to fight and which were too costly for the Greater Good.
At least Harry would get to spend some time with his Godfather at The Durselys.
"Of course, Albus."
They talked for a bit longer about the upcoming trial, which would take place in a week and Dumbledore thought that Harry's time at Little Whinging would not extend past two weeks before he could live with Sirius. Dumbledore conceded that Harry would lose the protection of his mother's sacrifice, but he knew it would be a losing battle against the pair of them. Besides, Grimmauld Place was a good backup.
"Lastly, Harry, I want to tell you that the Ministry is keeping Voldemort's return under wraps for the time being. The DMLE is quietly increasing its force, but it was decided that it would cause too much of a panic at this time. I have already spoken with Cedric about this."
"Oh, um" Harry started, but he was waved off.
"I expected that you would have already told Ron and Hermione, but just promise me that they will keep it to themselves also?"
Harry nodded.
"Splendid, and Harry, if they also learn Occlumency, I think it would help you in having friends that you could talk about things with, if you wanted to." Albus knew that the best way to keep someone that was potentially difficult to control under your control was to make them think that you were giving them special favors, and Harry was too young to realize that yet. He fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
"I will let them know, Headmaster." Harry said thankfully, thinking that this conversation had gone much better than expected.
The old man nodded, "I do believe it is lunchtime," he clapped his hands and a tray of food appeared. Harry and Sirius ate the thoughtful meal with Albus, talking about this or that, and finishing on how Sirius was going to get to work cleaning Grimmauld Place and making it fit for living, since it was so well protected.
Harry and Sirius said a lengthy goodbye, with Sirius promising to stop by The Dursleys when Harry arrived and that they would set up plans for Occlumency lessons.
Harry left in much better spirits knowing that he would get training, questions answered, and that his time at The Dursleys would be limited to only two weeks.
Ron and Hermione were already waiting for Harry and he filled them in on what had occurred and they mainly spent the afternoon relaxing by the water, and enjoying their last days at Hogwarts since they would be returning home in a few days time.
Before long, it was dinnertime; something that Harry was dreading as he didn't really care to face everyone all at once, but going along with it to get it over with. The longer he delayed this moment, the harder it would eventually become.
As such, he barely ate amid the stares and side conversations, and the only thing that kept his spirits up were that Ron, Hermione, Neville, Fred and George, and Ginny were all sitting around him, shielding him from the brunt of the inquiry.
Draco was glaring at him ominously from the Slytherin table, but Harry found that he was relatively easy to ignore as long as he focused on his friends.
Cedric seemed to be having an easier time with adjusting to the stares from the rest of the school because Hufflepuffs were notoriously loyal and were sticking by him.
He did manage to catch Cedric's eyes and his stomach began to flutter in anticipation of meeting with him later, which was also a reason why Harry barely ate anything. It made him feel better that the other boy seemed to be just as nervous because he kept pushing his food back and forth across the plate.
Thankfully, dinner ended and the trio made it back to Gryffindor without incident. A few games of exploding snap were played, which even Hermione participated in considering that exams were done with and she didn't want to leave Harry's side.
The hour became late, and Harry waved the other two off to bed, saying that he wanted to stay up a little more – but not to worry and that he would be okay.
They left him reluctantly, which made Harry feel a little guilty that he hadn't shared this with them yet, but he needed time to figure his sexuality out for himself first.
He was becoming okay with it, but he didn't want to throw it out there just yet.
Harry waited until it was close to midnight and then snuck out using his map and cloak and walked quickly in anticipation to his clandestine meeting with Cedric, who showed up a little after Harry had arrived.
"Hey," Cedric said, slightly out of breath.
"Hi," Harry smiled, moving towards Cedric.
They reached for the other's hand at the same time, which broke the nerves that they were both feeling at finally having time to themselves.
"How was today?" Cedric inquired, leading Harry to the stone balcony that overlooked the lake far below.
"Some parts were better than others. Yours?"
"About the same. This part is pretty good," Cedric said coyly. He looked down at their joined hands and they moved to face each other.
"I have no idea what is going on between us, Harry. I have never felt this way about another guy before. I just know that when I thought you had died, it was the hardest thing I have ever been through. I wished there had been something more that I could have done or that it had been me instead; I mean, wasn't the killing curse heading my way?" Cedric ventured, opening up to Harry fully and releasing the weight that was on his chest.
It was a lot to process, Harry thought.
"Same here, Cedric. But I don't mind this," he gestured between them, his face growing warm.
"As to your other comment, I don't think you should feel bad. It was out of both of our control…though, didn't the cup glow before the curse changed direction?"
It was a good question and one that Harry had forgotten to ask when he had been back with Dumbledore since he had been more focused on Sirius and all of that.
"Possibly," Cedric remarked. He wasn't too sure anymore, and standing this close to Harry made it hard for him to think about anything else.
The more they talked, the more they subconsciously moved towards each other until their chests were practically touching.
Harry looked into Cedric's eyes, anticipation building up within him as Cedric leaned his head forward. Then, it happened so quickly that neither could have stopped it: their lips met and everything else faded away.
Let me know what you think! My main goal with Harry/Cedric is for them to have this relationship born out of tragedy. I think they are closer to each other because they shared a pivotal experience – but perhaps rush into things or don't fully consider if they are right for each other. And for what I want Harry/Charlie to be, I want to lay down this groundwork so that they know they should be together – so let me now what could be added/changed to make that feeling.