FORGIVE ME, PLEASE! I MUST BEG for your forgiveness because I didn't keep my word and I didn't upload the next chapter as soon as I got the reviews I asked for but my laptop crashed and I just got it fixed and I had to rewrite the whole chpater.

Chapter #2

Friendly encounters

Cedric was by their table in just a few, long, feline strides and scoped Melanie in his arms reprimanding her for her departure:

"Don't ever do that again! And how did you even manage to get away from Alice?"

"Who's Alice?" Melanie asked, trying to avoid answering his question.

"The secretary you were supposed to stay with until I finished talking to Alec."

"Oh. You mean the brunette one? The one with..."

"Mel!" Cedric was clearly not keen on playing along like he usually did.

"What? I was just trying to figure out who she was. There are just so many secretaries! And they are all so stupid! And mean! She didn't want to go buy me an ice cream! Said I was a spoiled brat to think that she is my servant!"

"Melanie, how did you manage to get away?" Cedric's voice was softening slightly, taking its usual velvety texture.

"I just told her I wanted to go to the bathroom. She didn't even look where I was heading to so it was pretty simple. Nothing happened to me, see? Please, don't be mad, daddy!" And how could he ever manage that when his little angel had the most adorable pout on her pretty lips?

"It's fine, darling." He then kissed her forehead and put her down, turning towards Hermione to apologize for the inconvenience.

"Thank you so much for... GRANGER?! What are you doing here? I could have sworn you died!" he joked trying to conceal the huge grin that spread over her face. Any other questions he might have had were interrupted by the arrival of the waiter with Melanie's order.

"Here you go, young lady. Exactly what you ordered. Anything for you, miss?"

Cedric just couldn't miss the flirty smile that came with the question directed at Hermione and asked himself whether the boy honestly thought he had a chance with her since he was obviously at least 6 years younger that Granger was, even though she didn't look that much older. He wondered briefly if Ron's claims that she ran away with another man were true?

"A chocolate ice cream for me, please." And that was a wake up call for Diggory.

"Make that two."

"Still have a sweet tooth, don't you Diggory?" Hermione asked after the waiter had left. Cedric took a seat next to her and Melanie before answering:

"What can I say? Some things never change... Others do."

"You married Cho." That wasn't a question. It was a statement, almost an accusation and Cedric didn't have enough time to compose himself before Melanie piped in:

"You know mom? How do you know her? And how do you know dad?"

"We went to school together. Your mother was one year above me, Cedric two years above me." That left Melanie thinking for about 3 seconds before asking:

"So, you know Harry? And Ron?" Hermione winced a bit at the mention of her former friends' names, but enough to attract Cedric's attention.

"Yes, I know them." she finally answered. "We were all Gryffindors and in the same year. Before you ask, I also know Ginny, Ron's sister."

"They used to be best friends. Granger, Harry and Ron. The whole school knew them as the 'Golden Trio'. That's why everyone calls Harry and Ron the 'Golden Duo' now. Because Granger left."

"Aha..." Melanie made a small pause, thinking of something and then frowned. "Why do you call her Granger, daddy? Your name is Hermione, isn't it" she asked, turning a bit towards the young woman.

"It's just a habit, muffin. I think her name is too long."

"But it's so pretty!" she argued.

"Don't worry, Melanie. I'm used to it. Your father and I always argued about calling each other by our first names. I refused to call him Cedric while he kept calling me Granger."

"And then I said Hermione was 3 syllables, Granger was 2. Diggory was 3 syllables, Cedric was 2. Ced is one." He added the last part with his signature charming smile.

"Daddy! I just remembered something! Wasn't Hermione the name of Helen's daughter? The one that started the Trojan war? The really beautiful one?"

"Yes, it was. My mother's name was Helen, she tought it'd be funny to name me Hermione." the woman answered instead of Cedric.

"Really?" Melanies' eyes almost popped out of her head when she heard this. " That is sooo awesome! No wonder you're so beautiful! You are, after all, the daughter of a woman who started a war! Could I ever meet you mother, please? I bet she's really pretty!"

"Let her breath! Eat your ice cream before it melts away!" The effect of Cedric's stern voice was a bit marred by his crooked grin but effective nonetheless since Melanie started eating immediately. As if on cue, the waiter appeared with Hermione and Cedric's ice creams.

After receiving her ice cream, Hermione started eating it eagerly, glad that the conversation hadn't revolved around her until that moment and hoping it would remain that way, but to her chagrin Cedric hadn't changed much over the years -personality wise- and didn't skip the opportunity to question her of her whereabouts.

"So... where have you been all this time?"

"Um.. around..."

"And that means?"

"New York City. In other words, the US."

"You've been in the US all these years? Where exactly did you live? A hole? Harry searched for you everywhere and couldn't find a trace! It was as if you had disappeared. What did you do for a living for goodness' sake? You sure as hell weren't an Auror or a Healer because he searched every record of employed Aurors and Healers."

"What makes you think I was either an Auror or a Healer?"

"Because you had the qualification to be an Auror and if you would have decided to drop that job you would have become a Healer because that is your dream."

"Was my dream. And I was an Architect all this time. Magical Architect, of course."

"I thought you didn't like drawing?"

Hermione just shrugged and said:

"It was better since I had to work from home." Her attention was then diverted to figure that was approaching their table, a figure that Cedric couldn't see because he had his back towards it. "Your wife's coming." she announced as flatly as she could.

"Mum! Look who I met! Daddy's old school friend!"

And there were simply not enough words to describe Cho's expression when she laid eyes upon Hermione, but recognition, shock, fear and anger were a good start.

"Granger.... It's... nice to see you... alive... and breathing..." She then turned towards Cedric and announced. "If you still want to meet my friend I suggest you hurry up or he'll leave and you forgot your mobile phone. Again. Are you sure you're not avoiding me?"

"I forgot all about it. I am soooo sorry Hermione but I really have to go. Could we please meet tomorrow night for dinner? At the French restaurant that just opened? Please?"

And she just couldn't help but agree after he gave her that look, the one that made all the girls melt back in their school days and that seemed to have amplified its effect over the years because she could feel her knees weaken.

So, love it? Hate it? No matter how you feel about it, please review! I need advice and feedback because this is the first fan-fiction I've ever written and the first story of this lenght I ever attempted to write (not to mention I'm Romanian so I need to know if you feel like my English isn't good enough for me to try writing stories in it)