The Houses Competition: Round 3

House: Gryffindor

Class: DADA

Category: Drabble

Prompts chosen: [Positive Pairing] Cedric Diggory/Hermione Granger

Word Count: 907

Summary: Cedric finds a smooth way to ask Hermione to the Yule Ball.

Title: A Date and a Cause

Hermione was in the middle of putting books back in the library; it was a part of her volunteer work she did for extra credit, not to mention that she enjoyed spending her free time in the library. It was the slight hint of vanilla that got her to relax. The lignin, which was present in all wood-based paper, was closely related to vanillin. As it broke down, the lignin granted the old book that faint vanilla scent that Hermione became so familiar with. She was in the middle of putting a very large book back, titled 'How to Raise Your Own Mandrakes,'

"Neville…" Hermione grumbled to herself as she forced the book back into its spot, just as Cedric approached her from around the shelf.

"Cedric," Hermione greeted, only pausing slightly before she went back to putting books away. "Is there anything I can help you find?" Hermione offered.

Cedric shook his head.

"No, I'm not here to check anything out. I only have about thirty minutes before my next class starts," Cedric informed. "I was actually looking for you. I wanted to talk to you about something. You know those badges…."

"It's alright," Hermione cut Cedric off before he had a chance to finish his sentence. "Harry told us that you asked people not to wear those 'Potter Stinks' badges. You don't need to worry; you're not on our hit list," Hermione joked before she circled around Cedric so she could finish her work before having to go to class herself.

"That's good to know," Cedric muttered before he raced around to get in front of Hermione again. "But I actually wanted to know about those?" He pointed at the S.P.E.W. badge that Hermione was wearing on her jumper.

"It's to do with house elves, right? Equal rights? Respect? Something along those lines?" Cedric asked.

Hermione looked down, completely forgetting that she was wearing it.

"Oh... yeah," she said, a little startled. Cedric was the first one to ask her about it. "It stands for Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. We seek better treatment towards house elves."

"That sounds like a movement I could get behind," Cedric said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of knuts. "You think I could get one of those badges?"

Hermione couldn't stop the wide smile that spread across her face.

"Yes!" Hermione exclaimed. She looked around, grabbing a piece of spare parchment since she stopped carrying the ledger and collection box around.

"I don't have any on me at the moment, but I will find you at dinner and give you your badge along with the information package," Hermione explained, writing Cedric's name down on the parchment so she wouldn't forget.

"You seem surprised." Cedric couldn't help but be amused at how flustered Hermione got as she struggled to set the books down on the table and looked for something to write on.

He reached out his hand and pushed the books back as Hermione set them on the edge of the table.

Hermione shook her head.

"No, not really. Getting people to join is much harder than I thought it would be," she admitted.

"How many people do you have so far?" Cedric asked.

"Including you? Two," Hermione answered honestly with a bit of a frown. "Harry and Ron weren't too keen on joining, so it's just been me until now." Hermione admitted, acknowledging that it wasn't much of a movement with two people. "...If you want your money back-"

Hermione tempered off, thinking that Cedric wouldn't want to join anymore once knowing that it was only them.

"No," Cedric said as he waved Hermione off as she tried to hand him back the bronze coins. "I still want to join; I'm sure more people will join your cause soon enough." Cedric reassured,While I've got you here, I wanted to ask you something else. Has anyone asked you to the Yule Ball yet?"

Hermione's eyes nearly shot out of her head at Cedric's question. That was the last thing she expected. "Uh…no…no one has asked me yet," Hermione answered with a stutter as her cheeks reddened slightly as she worked on gathering the books back up into her arms.

"That's actually perfect because I was planning on asking you." Cedric said smoothly, "Would you like to go to the Ball with me?"

Hermione had no clue what to say at first; she hadn't expected anyone to ask her, and it wasn't like Ron was getting any of the hints she was sending his way. She thought she would likely spend the night in her dorms.

"I would love to," Hermione answered, offering up a nervous smile.

"Good," Cedric said with a slight smile. "I was really hoping you would say yes."

Hermione couldn't stop the blushing of her cheeks as she tilted her head down a little in hopes of hiding it.

"Here," Cedric said as he reached forward and took half of the books that Hermione was holding. "I'll help you put the rest of these back; I wouldn't want you to be late for class because of me."

It wasn't long until Hermione and Cedric were saying their goodbyes, both heading their separate ways for class.

"I'll see you at supper then for my badge," Cedric said before heading down the hall, a big smile spreading across his face once he was out of sight.