Passion & Duty ~ Chapter 5 of 8
Title: Passion & Duty
Author: jadestrick
Original Couple/Prompt: Lancelot & Guinevere
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the universe of Harry Potter. JK Rowling owns all that. I do this purely for enjoyment with no profit expected. Life is so unfair.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Sexual implications
Summary: When your heart feels true love for the first time, can you go against the world and everything you believe in?
Notes: Written for dramione_remix. Story begins here in the comm. Beautiful banner made by ningloreth.
I had FUN with this. Oh, it was stressful, especially since I NEVER write long fic. (I'm a drabble queen.) But this was FUN. And I already have oneshots for bits of the story rambling through my head. :) GARGANTUAN thank yous to caitriona_3 for being my beta and to rightxhere for being my cheerleader. I couldn't have done this without them. And thank you, of course, to the mods of dramione_remix for this wonderful idea! And thank you for reading the inner dark workings of my mind. :)
Additional Notes: Hermione's uncle is up to your imagination. :)
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Passion & Duty ~ Chapter 5
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Draco pulled on his overcoat, shielding himself against the night air. Two sentries nodded at him as he opened the door to one of the side entrances of the castle. He nodded back, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. His mind was anything but.
He closed the door and the sentries behind him and leaned back into the aging wood. He closed his eyes and lifted his head until he could feel the cool breeze sneaking past the collar of his shirt and tickling his chest. How he had acted over the past few weeks came back to him hauntingly, and he felt a twinge of guilt rise in his chest. Guilt for convincing others that he truly fancied them in order to release his frustration for Hermione and for keeping what happened in the clearing a secret from Cedric, but at the same time guilt for his own heart.
He tried to make some reason overpower his mind and too quickly realized that it was reason that was causing his problem. His mind reasoned brotherhood and loyalty; his heart reasoned passion and…love.
His eyes popped open and a determined look crossed his features. He couldn't love her. It had been one kiss. And then he remembered all the looks that had passed between them over the past weeks. All the polite words and graces and underneath them all, he knew that her voice was harder, as though she were concealing something. And he knew that his voice had sounded the same. Though the raw affection had begun that day in the clearing, he had come to know her. He had seen the way she was around her subjects: fair and compassionate and as honest as possible. He had seen the way she laughed and whispered behind her hand to Harry and Ron: she truly loved them and was a good person. He had seen the way her eyes had grown soft when she caught his gaze and he had quickly averted her stare, looking up again to see her acting as though she had never glanced his way.
And he remembered how he had longed for her to look at him again.
He closed his eyes again as a distant bird sounded a shrill and sweet call, and he knew its sound. He had heard the same call the night beside the fire when he had admitted to his friends that he had a heart. His eyes rose upwards and against the light of the full moon, he saw a flash of red and he knew it was the phoenix.
His mind made up, he pushed himself off from the door and walked toward the entrance to the labyrinth.
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Hermione wrung her hands beneath her cloak, pacing back and forth between the hedges that formed the entrance to the massive labyrinth. Her mind recalled the stories her uncle had told her as a child: stories about the horrors that awaited all those willing to enter the maze and find its treasure within. The stories were meant to keep her from disobeying his orders and convincing Ron and Harry to help her find that lost treasure. She never told her uncle that they had managed to make it past two left turns and three right turns before all three of them had become so frightened that they gave up their mission. It was sheer luck that Hermione had managed to find her way back to the entrance, Harry dragging Ron away from the tall and looming hedges while Ron screamed like a little girl.
She stopped pacing and stared into the dark tunnel, vaguely aware by the light of the moon that it came to a halt in the distance. She could not see whether the tunnel ended to the right or the left but she found her body wanting to run into the darkness and get lost. For the first time in her life, her decision was not that of a future ruler, but of a woman, alone and confused and full of feelings she didn't want to feel. She lifted her foot to take a step forward, captivated by the idea of running away, and stopped when she heard footfalls from around the hedge.
"My lady," she heard him whisper.
She drew in a deep breath and turned around. He stood tall and proud, his white shirt hiding underneath a floor length brown overcoat. Her gaze dropped to his hands and she could see that were clenched and her eyes shot back up to see what his eyes would tell her. She had seen that look before, but there was something softer in his eyes this time and her heart jumped at his gaze. She felt her blood rush throughout her limbs and she knew that her desire for him was not the only culprit. Her heart longed for him as well.
For only a moment, she gazed into his eyes and he boldly returned her stare. She managed to break away from the intensity and she dropped her head and cleared her throat.
"Okay," she began. "I need to say something and you need to listen and not interrupt me. Agreed?" She looked up at him and he nodded while crossing his arms. She closed her eyes. "I don't know what happened that day in the clearing." Stupid girl, she thought. She did know. "I don't know why I didn't tell you who I really was or why I didn't push you away."
"Yes, you do," he interrupted.
She felt rage at his interruption and she also crossed her arms. "Oh? Do enlighten me, Malfoy." Her stare dared him while her mind hoped he would remember the rules of propriety.
"You're in love with me." He said matter-of-factly.
Her jaw dropped.
"That day in the clearing," he continued, "you could've pushed me away, but you didn't. Even though I didn't know who you were, you did, and you still didn't push me away."
"You-"
"You knew you were promised to another and yet you still didn't back away."
"So all this is my fault?" She spat.
"No, Hermione," he whispered and she felt a cold shock and a strange warmth at his familiarity. "It's my fault."
Her mouth closed and her eyes felt a slight moistness of tears.
"But before I explain it all, there's something that you have to know. Something that I swore upon my life I would never tell you because in spite of how little or how much you know me, I will always want to put Cedric before anyone else."
She snorted before she could help herself. "Somehow I doubt that's what you truly believe."
"Oh?"
"Otherwise you wouldn't be standing here."
"You didn't hear what I said."
"I did," she turned up her nose. "Somehow I doubt any man who puts their king before anyone else would be standing here with the future wife of that king."
"I didn't say I put him before you."
She threw her hands up in exasperation. "Yes, you did! You said-"
"I said I will always want to put Cedric before anyone else."
"What's the difference?"
"Somehow I doubt a man who's in love with his best friend's future wife would be saying otherwise."
Her stomach dropped. The entire tension of the air swirled around in a new way and her heart thudded against her chest. The world seemed to blur everything around him and he was the only thing she could see. He walked toward her until the distance between them was gone. His eyes bore into hers.
"Tell me the truth, my lady," he whispered. "Tell me what you should've told me that day in the clearing."
She licked her lips and felt her muscles quiver. Her voice was barely audible, but stern. "My name is Princess Hermione Granger of Gryffindor, and I'm engaged to King Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff and you have no place speaking these words to me or approaching me in any disrespectful way."
Something like pain flashed quickly through his features and then it was gone. He lifted his chin, searching her eyes for any other answer. Seeming to be sated, he nodded his bow and turned on his heel, walking away from her. She reached out and tried to call his name, intending to stop him and felt at a loss for words.
Her ears registered a rustling sound from the other side of the hedge and she found herself hoping he had changed his mind and would come back. When he didn't, her knees gave way when he rounded the hedge and she fell to the ground, staring in bafflement at the spot where he had stood.
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Cedric turned swiftly and strode away, glad of the labyrinth of hedges that hid him. The torches burning at the top of each column flashed fire in his eyes, making him feel more and more frenzied and boiling with each one he passed. Dark bitterness and betrayal filled his heads as he replayed the words he had overheard. His mind suddenly filled with images of the past weeks, even more, the past years. He saw him and Draco laughing and hunting and driving Severus mad with their escapades of stealing his herbs and potions. He saw him and Draco sharing harnessed tears when the fire took away their parents and felt the pain of confusion when Blaise was blamed for it. He saw him and Blaise and Theo listening intently as Draco had told of what had happened in the clearing and how he had felt compassion and awe at how brave Draco had been in that private moment. He saw the king introduce Hermione to him and remembered the surge in his heart at how beautiful she was. He saw their private moments of laughter and the way she held onto his arm, confident and sure of them together. He saw her blush when he had leaned in and given her a light kiss on the balcony of Gryffindor tower, her eyes shining at him.
He saw Draco and Hermione.
He stopped in his tracks, a lone willow tree standing to his right, shading him beneath its cheerless branches.
Draco and Hermione.
He saw Draco offering his hand to help Hermione down from her hippogriff and the way she avoided his poignant stare. He saw Hermione flush when Draco had returned a hair clip she had lost while touring the village. He saw the way her chest had hitched when the king had called her from a frozen position in the throne room the day they had finally laid eyes on each other.
Cedric closed his eyes and leaned against the tree, slowly letting his knees lose strength as he sunk toward the ground. He was in love with her, and he knew it. She had never said she loved Draco just now, but he had heard the way her voice trembled and lied when she told him to leave her alone. His heart broke at the sound of her voice. And his mind went blank and filled with hot rage and jealousy when Draco had said she was in love with him. His heart was broken by Hermione, but his entire being was filled with betrayal. He covered his face and leaned his elbows against his knees, feeling the rage and sorrow and heartache and willing his hands to shove it out of his mind.
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"Wait…WHAT?" Ron exploded.
Harry stared at her, dumbfounded. "Draco?!"
Hermione stared into space, trying to make some sense of her jumbled mind. The few hours since her conversation with Draco the night before seemed like weeks that had been full of worry.
"This is insane," Harry went on.
"Has he said anything?" Ron asked.
"We both have," she whispered.
Harry quickly rose from his seat. "Hermione, tell me you haven't done what I think you've done."
In spite of her confusion, she glared at him. "No, Harry, I haven't." She rose from her chair and crossed her arms, turning her back to her friends and staring out the window. "Not again, anyway."
"What did you say?" Ron asked quietly.
She closed her eyes and willed away the tears about to flow. "I told him to leave me alone."
"In other words, you pulled out all the propriety?" Ron asked.
She nodded.
"Why?" Harry whispered.
Both Ron and Hermione turned and looked at him. "Huh?" Ron looked baffled.
Harry stood and crossed his arms. "Why shouldn't she?"
Hermione stared. "Harry, what-"
"Why shouldn't you, for once, follow your heart?"
Hermione furrowed her brow and shook her head, denial all over her face. "Harry, this isn't-"
"Of course it is, Hermione. Sure, you've had suitors, but when did any of them-one of them-sweep you off your feet like Malfoy has?"
"Harry," Ron interrupted. "It's not possible for her to do that."
"Why not?"
The three friends stood there, all thinking hard about the idea Harry had just put forth.
"Well," Ron finally said. "He may have a point, Hermione."
Hermione whirled toward Ron. "You both are insane. How? How is it possible for me to do this?"
"Tell Cedric," Harry whispered. "Tell Cedric before it gets any more serious."
Hermione felt her heart drop. The very idea of telling Cedric the truth terrified her, but a small part of her desperately wanted to. "I don't think I can do that," she whispered, tears forming in her eyes.
Harry and Ron both took a step toward her. "Hermione," Ron said, "For once, I think maybe you should. I don't like the idea all that much, and my parents would kill me for knowing about this-"
"They don't have to find out," Harry interrupted.
"-But I'm looking at you and it's like your soul is crushed. You really do love Malfoy, don't you?"
Hermione closed her eyes, trying to come up with an answer other than the one she truly felt. Her spirit felt reckless and her actions dangerous. For the first time in her life, she wanted more than who she was and what she was supposed to do.
Her voice was barely a whisper. "Yes." She covered her face with her hands and sank into a chair.
She felt Harry and Ron kneel down in front of her. "I've never seen her like this," she heard Ron whisper.
Harry reached up and pulled her hands away from her face. "It's your choice, Hermione. We'll support you either way."
Ron nodded.
Hermione sniffed. "I can't believe I'm thinking this way. What about my uncle?"
"If Cedric wants out of the marriage, even for reasons other than this, your uncle can't say anything about it."
"I don't want to hurt Cedric."
Harry placed a hand on her arm. "If it were the three of us, I'd want to know rather than spend my life with you loving Ron."
"Ew," she wrinkled her nose, a giggle causing Ron and Harry to smile.
Ron reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. "Whatever you want to do, we're right beside you."
She took the soft square of fabric from him. "Thank you."
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~ Chapter 4 ~
~ Chapter 6 ~
Author: jadestrick
Original Couple/Prompt: Lancelot & Guinevere
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the universe of Harry Potter. JK Rowling owns all that. I do this purely for enjoyment with no profit expected. Life is so unfair.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Sexual implications
Summary: When your heart feels true love for the first time, can you go against the world and everything you believe in?
Notes: Written for dramione_remix. Story begins here in the comm. Beautiful banner made by ningloreth.
I had FUN with this. Oh, it was stressful, especially since I NEVER write long fic. (I'm a drabble queen.) But this was FUN. And I already have oneshots for bits of the story rambling through my head. :) GARGANTUAN thank yous to caitriona_3 for being my beta and to rightxhere for being my cheerleader. I couldn't have done this without them. And thank you, of course, to the mods of dramione_remix for this wonderful idea! And thank you for reading the inner dark workings of my mind. :)
Additional Notes: Hermione's uncle is up to your imagination. :)
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Passion & Duty ~ Chapter 5
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Draco pulled on his overcoat, shielding himself against the night air. Two sentries nodded at him as he opened the door to one of the side entrances of the castle. He nodded back, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. His mind was anything but.
He closed the door and the sentries behind him and leaned back into the aging wood. He closed his eyes and lifted his head until he could feel the cool breeze sneaking past the collar of his shirt and tickling his chest. How he had acted over the past few weeks came back to him hauntingly, and he felt a twinge of guilt rise in his chest. Guilt for convincing others that he truly fancied them in order to release his frustration for Hermione and for keeping what happened in the clearing a secret from Cedric, but at the same time guilt for his own heart.
He tried to make some reason overpower his mind and too quickly realized that it was reason that was causing his problem. His mind reasoned brotherhood and loyalty; his heart reasoned passion and…love.
His eyes popped open and a determined look crossed his features. He couldn't love her. It had been one kiss. And then he remembered all the looks that had passed between them over the past weeks. All the polite words and graces and underneath them all, he knew that her voice was harder, as though she were concealing something. And he knew that his voice had sounded the same. Though the raw affection had begun that day in the clearing, he had come to know her. He had seen the way she was around her subjects: fair and compassionate and as honest as possible. He had seen the way she laughed and whispered behind her hand to Harry and Ron: she truly loved them and was a good person. He had seen the way her eyes had grown soft when she caught his gaze and he had quickly averted her stare, looking up again to see her acting as though she had never glanced his way.
And he remembered how he had longed for her to look at him again.
He closed his eyes again as a distant bird sounded a shrill and sweet call, and he knew its sound. He had heard the same call the night beside the fire when he had admitted to his friends that he had a heart. His eyes rose upwards and against the light of the full moon, he saw a flash of red and he knew it was the phoenix.
His mind made up, he pushed himself off from the door and walked toward the entrance to the labyrinth.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hermione wrung her hands beneath her cloak, pacing back and forth between the hedges that formed the entrance to the massive labyrinth. Her mind recalled the stories her uncle had told her as a child: stories about the horrors that awaited all those willing to enter the maze and find its treasure within. The stories were meant to keep her from disobeying his orders and convincing Ron and Harry to help her find that lost treasure. She never told her uncle that they had managed to make it past two left turns and three right turns before all three of them had become so frightened that they gave up their mission. It was sheer luck that Hermione had managed to find her way back to the entrance, Harry dragging Ron away from the tall and looming hedges while Ron screamed like a little girl.
She stopped pacing and stared into the dark tunnel, vaguely aware by the light of the moon that it came to a halt in the distance. She could not see whether the tunnel ended to the right or the left but she found her body wanting to run into the darkness and get lost. For the first time in her life, her decision was not that of a future ruler, but of a woman, alone and confused and full of feelings she didn't want to feel. She lifted her foot to take a step forward, captivated by the idea of running away, and stopped when she heard footfalls from around the hedge.
"My lady," she heard him whisper.
She drew in a deep breath and turned around. He stood tall and proud, his white shirt hiding underneath a floor length brown overcoat. Her gaze dropped to his hands and she could see that were clenched and her eyes shot back up to see what his eyes would tell her. She had seen that look before, but there was something softer in his eyes this time and her heart jumped at his gaze. She felt her blood rush throughout her limbs and she knew that her desire for him was not the only culprit. Her heart longed for him as well.
For only a moment, she gazed into his eyes and he boldly returned her stare. She managed to break away from the intensity and she dropped her head and cleared her throat.
"Okay," she began. "I need to say something and you need to listen and not interrupt me. Agreed?" She looked up at him and he nodded while crossing his arms. She closed her eyes. "I don't know what happened that day in the clearing." Stupid girl, she thought. She did know. "I don't know why I didn't tell you who I really was or why I didn't push you away."
"Yes, you do," he interrupted.
She felt rage at his interruption and she also crossed her arms. "Oh? Do enlighten me, Malfoy." Her stare dared him while her mind hoped he would remember the rules of propriety.
"You're in love with me." He said matter-of-factly.
Her jaw dropped.
"That day in the clearing," he continued, "you could've pushed me away, but you didn't. Even though I didn't know who you were, you did, and you still didn't push me away."
"You-"
"You knew you were promised to another and yet you still didn't back away."
"So all this is my fault?" She spat.
"No, Hermione," he whispered and she felt a cold shock and a strange warmth at his familiarity. "It's my fault."
Her mouth closed and her eyes felt a slight moistness of tears.
"But before I explain it all, there's something that you have to know. Something that I swore upon my life I would never tell you because in spite of how little or how much you know me, I will always want to put Cedric before anyone else."
She snorted before she could help herself. "Somehow I doubt that's what you truly believe."
"Oh?"
"Otherwise you wouldn't be standing here."
"You didn't hear what I said."
"I did," she turned up her nose. "Somehow I doubt any man who puts their king before anyone else would be standing here with the future wife of that king."
"I didn't say I put him before you."
She threw her hands up in exasperation. "Yes, you did! You said-"
"I said I will always want to put Cedric before anyone else."
"What's the difference?"
"Somehow I doubt a man who's in love with his best friend's future wife would be saying otherwise."
Her stomach dropped. The entire tension of the air swirled around in a new way and her heart thudded against her chest. The world seemed to blur everything around him and he was the only thing she could see. He walked toward her until the distance between them was gone. His eyes bore into hers.
"Tell me the truth, my lady," he whispered. "Tell me what you should've told me that day in the clearing."
She licked her lips and felt her muscles quiver. Her voice was barely audible, but stern. "My name is Princess Hermione Granger of Gryffindor, and I'm engaged to King Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff and you have no place speaking these words to me or approaching me in any disrespectful way."
Something like pain flashed quickly through his features and then it was gone. He lifted his chin, searching her eyes for any other answer. Seeming to be sated, he nodded his bow and turned on his heel, walking away from her. She reached out and tried to call his name, intending to stop him and felt at a loss for words.
Her ears registered a rustling sound from the other side of the hedge and she found herself hoping he had changed his mind and would come back. When he didn't, her knees gave way when he rounded the hedge and she fell to the ground, staring in bafflement at the spot where he had stood.
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Cedric turned swiftly and strode away, glad of the labyrinth of hedges that hid him. The torches burning at the top of each column flashed fire in his eyes, making him feel more and more frenzied and boiling with each one he passed. Dark bitterness and betrayal filled his heads as he replayed the words he had overheard. His mind suddenly filled with images of the past weeks, even more, the past years. He saw him and Draco laughing and hunting and driving Severus mad with their escapades of stealing his herbs and potions. He saw him and Draco sharing harnessed tears when the fire took away their parents and felt the pain of confusion when Blaise was blamed for it. He saw him and Blaise and Theo listening intently as Draco had told of what had happened in the clearing and how he had felt compassion and awe at how brave Draco had been in that private moment. He saw the king introduce Hermione to him and remembered the surge in his heart at how beautiful she was. He saw their private moments of laughter and the way she held onto his arm, confident and sure of them together. He saw her blush when he had leaned in and given her a light kiss on the balcony of Gryffindor tower, her eyes shining at him.
He saw Draco and Hermione.
He stopped in his tracks, a lone willow tree standing to his right, shading him beneath its cheerless branches.
Draco and Hermione.
He saw Draco offering his hand to help Hermione down from her hippogriff and the way she avoided his poignant stare. He saw Hermione flush when Draco had returned a hair clip she had lost while touring the village. He saw the way her chest had hitched when the king had called her from a frozen position in the throne room the day they had finally laid eyes on each other.
Cedric closed his eyes and leaned against the tree, slowly letting his knees lose strength as he sunk toward the ground. He was in love with her, and he knew it. She had never said she loved Draco just now, but he had heard the way her voice trembled and lied when she told him to leave her alone. His heart broke at the sound of her voice. And his mind went blank and filled with hot rage and jealousy when Draco had said she was in love with him. His heart was broken by Hermione, but his entire being was filled with betrayal. He covered his face and leaned his elbows against his knees, feeling the rage and sorrow and heartache and willing his hands to shove it out of his mind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Wait…WHAT?" Ron exploded.
Harry stared at her, dumbfounded. "Draco?!"
Hermione stared into space, trying to make some sense of her jumbled mind. The few hours since her conversation with Draco the night before seemed like weeks that had been full of worry.
"This is insane," Harry went on.
"Has he said anything?" Ron asked.
"We both have," she whispered.
Harry quickly rose from his seat. "Hermione, tell me you haven't done what I think you've done."
In spite of her confusion, she glared at him. "No, Harry, I haven't." She rose from her chair and crossed her arms, turning her back to her friends and staring out the window. "Not again, anyway."
"What did you say?" Ron asked quietly.
She closed her eyes and willed away the tears about to flow. "I told him to leave me alone."
"In other words, you pulled out all the propriety?" Ron asked.
She nodded.
"Why?" Harry whispered.
Both Ron and Hermione turned and looked at him. "Huh?" Ron looked baffled.
Harry stood and crossed his arms. "Why shouldn't she?"
Hermione stared. "Harry, what-"
"Why shouldn't you, for once, follow your heart?"
Hermione furrowed her brow and shook her head, denial all over her face. "Harry, this isn't-"
"Of course it is, Hermione. Sure, you've had suitors, but when did any of them-one of them-sweep you off your feet like Malfoy has?"
"Harry," Ron interrupted. "It's not possible for her to do that."
"Why not?"
The three friends stood there, all thinking hard about the idea Harry had just put forth.
"Well," Ron finally said. "He may have a point, Hermione."
Hermione whirled toward Ron. "You both are insane. How? How is it possible for me to do this?"
"Tell Cedric," Harry whispered. "Tell Cedric before it gets any more serious."
Hermione felt her heart drop. The very idea of telling Cedric the truth terrified her, but a small part of her desperately wanted to. "I don't think I can do that," she whispered, tears forming in her eyes.
Harry and Ron both took a step toward her. "Hermione," Ron said, "For once, I think maybe you should. I don't like the idea all that much, and my parents would kill me for knowing about this-"
"They don't have to find out," Harry interrupted.
"-But I'm looking at you and it's like your soul is crushed. You really do love Malfoy, don't you?"
Hermione closed her eyes, trying to come up with an answer other than the one she truly felt. Her spirit felt reckless and her actions dangerous. For the first time in her life, she wanted more than who she was and what she was supposed to do.
Her voice was barely a whisper. "Yes." She covered her face with her hands and sank into a chair.
She felt Harry and Ron kneel down in front of her. "I've never seen her like this," she heard Ron whisper.
Harry reached up and pulled her hands away from her face. "It's your choice, Hermione. We'll support you either way."
Ron nodded.
Hermione sniffed. "I can't believe I'm thinking this way. What about my uncle?"
"If Cedric wants out of the marriage, even for reasons other than this, your uncle can't say anything about it."
"I don't want to hurt Cedric."
Harry placed a hand on her arm. "If it were the three of us, I'd want to know rather than spend my life with you loving Ron."
"Ew," she wrinkled her nose, a giggle causing Ron and Harry to smile.
Ron reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. "Whatever you want to do, we're right beside you."
She took the soft square of fabric from him. "Thank you."
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~ Chapter 4 ~
~ Chapter 6 ~