Chapter 6

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter and co. I created Melissa.

Mel snuggled closer to the source of warmth beside her. Through a sleepy haze she wondered what the solid form next to her was. She was half asleep again when she heard it groan. Opening her eyes, and regretting it instantly, Mel saw the sleeping form of her best friend next her.

"Shit," she said, sitting up and leaning against the headboard. "Double shit," she groaned, holding her pounding head in her hands and squinting from the bright sunlight. She groaned again as she leaned over the bedside and opened the nightstand drawer. She grabbed the hangover potion that Angela had given her before break and took a sip. The affects were instant. She was able to open her eyes without being blinded and all the pain was gone from her head. Cedric remained still beside her. His steady breathing was the only sign of life.

"Cedric," she said, shaking him. "Cedric, wake up!"

He moaned in protest and buried himself further under the blankets. Mel could not help but smile as she though of her similar behavior yesterday. However, she found that he had a much better grip on the blankets than she had had and to abandon that tactic.

"Come on, Cedric," she said, punching him in the shoulder. "Just wake up!"

"Fine!" he said, rolling over. "I'm up. What do you want?"

"Really? That's the first thing you have to say to me?" she asked in disbelief. "Have you noticed where you are?"

"Yes, because, unlike you, I did not get completely drunk and remember what I did last night," he smirked.

"Cedric!" she said, slapping his arm. He laughed, sat up, and grabbed both her hands. She struggled against his hold, but his grip was too. She gave an annoyed huff and gave up fighting.

"That's better," he said, releasing her hands. "All that noise could've woken up my parents, or my grandparents."

"Oh dear god," she groaned, hiding her blushing face in hands.

"Chill, Mel," Cedric said, scooting closer to and wrapping an arm around her. "Nothing happened. We're fully clothed. For all they know, we got up early and have just been talking."

"Huh," she said, letting her hands fall form her face and looking at him curiously.

"What?"

"Hufflepuff's golden boy, the model student in all of Hogwarts, the Cedric Diggory drinks and lies," she said in a mockingly shocked tone. "What other poor character traits are you hiding?"

"None," he said, pretending to think about his answer. "Though, I do apologize for not being as perfect as everyone believes me to be. I don't suppose these flaws could stay between us?"

"Only if this does."

"And what is this?" Cedric asked, raising an eyebrow. She gave a small, mischievous smile before leaning in to kiss him. Though initially surprised by her boldness, Cedric responded enthusiastically, shifting them so Melissa was lying on top of him. A door slamming down the hall caused Mel to pull away and look nervously at the door. She listened to the footsteps disappear before turning back to Cedric, blushing.

"So, Jumpy, why are we keeping this a secret?" Cedric asked, trying not to laugh at the skittish girl.

"Because it will drive matchmaker Angela crazy…and I don't want to deal with her smugness or anyone else's."

"Such as?"

"The rest of Hufflepuff."

"Could be fun, but you're going to have to be a lot less jumpy," he teased. She glared at him and tried to push herself off him, but had barely moved when he flipped them over, trapping her underneath him.

"Damn you and your quidditch skills."

Cedric smiled and kissed her. He did not even pull away when his mother knocked on the door.

"Melissa, I need you to get and come help get ready for the party. We have a lot to do today."

Mel pulled away from Cedric, who began trailing kisses down her neck, and said, "Be down in twenty minutes, Mrs. Diggory."

She blushed, hoping Mrs. Diggory did not hear the strain in her voice. As soon as she was sure Mrs. Diggory was gone, she turned on Cedric.

"Cedric!" she said, pushing against his shoulders.

"What?" he laughed, moving to let her up. "You said twenty minutes."

"Because I need to wash so I don't smell like firewhiskey," she said, getting up and picking out fresh clothes.

"What a coincidence, so do I," he smirked.

"Really, is this how you're going to be now?" she asked, smiling despite her annoyed tone.

"Maybe," he said. He moved to the end of the bed when she walked into the bathroom to set her clothes down. She sighed, and then laughed at the "innocent" look he wore when she came back out.

"You need to go," she said, walking over to him.

"Kiss me," he said, causing her to blush again. He stood up, which left only a couple inches between them and said, "Kiss me, and I'll go."

She had to push herself up on her tiptoes to do so, but she complied. She gave him a light peck on the lips and then backed away from him. It was her turn to smirk, "I held up my end."

"Tease," he muttered, walking toward the door, smiling as he did.

XXX

"Everyone's here, how can you still be baking?"

Mel gritted her in annoyance as she put the last pie in the oven. Mrs. Diggory had had her cooking, baking, cleaning, and reorganizing the furniture all day. Her feet were killing. All she wanted to do was sit down and eat.

"Your mother wanted ten pies made, so I made ten pies," she said, her voice strained. "That's how I'm still baking."

"Well, if it helps, they're delicious," Cedric said through a mouth full of food. She rolled her eyes as she set the pie on the counter to cool.

"So what have you been doing all day?" she said, turning around to face him. She grimaced as she watched him shovel food into his mouth. Suddenly, she did not feel so hungry.

"Spent quality time with my grandparents and mingled with the guests. You know, my mum really appreciates your help. Grandmother's not one for cooking and tends to micromanage everything. You've saved her a lot of stress."

"I know," she sighed. "Merlin knows I owe your parents big time. This is the least I could do."

"How many times do we have to tell you not to worry about that?" Cedric asked, lowering his voice to a whisper. Mel shrugged, her eyes falling to the floor.

"You look nice, by the way," Cedric said, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen.

"Thanks," she said, giving a small smile. "So, who all is here?"

"Ryan, Drew, Angela and their families, and some other people," he listed, setting the plate on the counter next to him. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around his waist. "How about I take care of this last pie, and you go get some food and see Angela?"

"You promise you won't burn it?"

"There's a timer, so no, I don't think I will," he said, pretending to be uncertain.

"Promise me, you will not burn that pie," Mel said, her tone and look one of complete seriousness.

"Promise," he smiled. He kissed her forehead and said, "Now go before I change my mind."

"Thank you," she said, relief spreading across her face.

She had not even been out of the kitchen a minute before Angela was at her side, filling her in on all the latest gossip. Mel only half listened as she got some food. No wonder Cedric had volunteered to take care of the pie, Angela's incessant talking had probably been driving him crazy. After she had finished getting food, Angela led them to a slightly secluded corner.

"So," she said, trying to be nonchalant. "I heard you and the boys got a little drunk last night?"

"And?" Mel said.

"Did anything happen between you and Cedric?" she prompted.

Mel took the smallest fraction of a second to compose herself before answering, "No."

"Mel!" Angela yelled, slapping her friend's shoulder out of frustration. "You're running out of time."

Mel laughed, enjoying Angela's annoyance, and said "Angela, you can't set a deadline for these things. They'll happen when they're supposed to happen."

"You two are so frustrating!" Angela said through clenched teeth. Mel laughed again as Angela recomposed herself. "Well, you may want to hurry things up anyways. Cho Chang's here and has been taking every opportunity to flirt with Cedric. He's only been polite, but you can't expect him to ignore her forever. Especially, if you continue to act indifferent to him."

"Really? That's your tactic? Get me jealous so I tell Cedric how I feel?" Mel said, forcing disbelief into her voice. "You must really need that ten galleons."

Angela huffed exasperatedly and muttered, "At least I got a rise out of Cedric. Maybe he'll do something."

It was Mel's turn to sound exasperated. "What did you tell him?"

"Only that I heard Oliver Wood was planning on asking you out once we got back to school," Angela said innocently.

"Why would you do that?" Mel whined, holding her face in her hands.

"I guess I really want my ten galleons," she smirked.

XXX

"We did it," Cedric said, flopping down on the bed. "We survived my grandparents, the guests, preparations, and our friends."

"Don't forget Angela," Mel added, sitting down next to him. Your mother's very odd, by the way. She used magic to clean up after the party, but none to prepare for it."

"I can't explain that. Is Angela not a friend anymore?"

"She's pain, is what she is," Mel sighed. "And a busybody."

"So who likes me?" Cedric asked playfully.

"Half the female population of Hogwarts and probably some of the male population," Mel said, lying down and covering her eyes with her arms. "Angela's chosen example for tonight was Cho Chang."

"So, were you jealous? Worried?"

"Nope," she said, rolling unto to her side to face him. "Heard you were though."

Cedric glared at her, while she giggled.

"You shouldn't have been, you know," she said.

"Why's that?" he asked.

"Wood asked me out—"

"He did? When?" Cedric demanded, his tone slightly indignant.

"Last year. How do you not know this? Drew was there."

"What?" Cedric exclaimed, sitting up. Mel sat up as well, rolling her eyes.

"Can you please calm down? I said no."

"Why?" he asked, his voice returning to its normal level.

"Because it would've been a huge betrayal to my house's quidditch team," she teased. "And, I may have liked you. Just a bit."

"I think you need to spend more time with Angela if quidditch is your first excuse for not going out with a guy," he chuckled. She pushed herself off the bed, but he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. "So, you weren't jealous at all?"

"Not tonight, no. But if she continues to flirt like that with you, I may be paying Angela her ten galleons sooner rather than later.

Cedric smirked, "Ten galleons?"

"It's her two-year-old bet that we would get together. I won, originally, when it was only five galleons, and then she doubled the bet and extended it to this year. And now she's won," Mel explained. Cedric busted up laughing, causing Mel to stare at him curiously.

"What's so funny?"

"She's been betting and scheming to get us together for years," he said, still laughing. "And all it took was Ryan serving firewhiskey."

Mel giggled a little at the realization. Angela was going to be so pissed when she found out.

"You should probably go to your room," Mel whispered.

"I agree," said Mrs. Diggory, who was walking by the room, causing Mel and Cedric to blush. She kissed him goodnight and slid off his lap.

"Goodnight, Cedric."

"'Night," he said, smiling as he shut the bedroom door behind him.

Thoughts? Btw, I'm on spring break (FINALLY!), so hopefully I'll be able to crank out some more chapters. I've been writing chapter 10 for weeks. My goal is to finish it and write a couple more so that I continue with weekly updates.