Of Hands and Hermione
Challenge Nineteen: Bring Out Your Dead!
Title: Of Hands and Hermione
Author: myownmuggle
Wizard/Witch: Cedric Diggory/Hermione Granger
Rating/Warnings: G/PG
Genre: Romance/Humor
Word count: Exactly 750
Prompt: # 39 Cold Terror
Summary: Sometimes a simple question is not so simple to ask, but the answer just might be more than you could hope for.
Cedric wasn’t listening to Moody as the Auror laid down the rules. His eyes were focused elsewhere - firmly on the riotous brown hair of one Hermione Granger. She appeared to be listening intently, mesmerized by the older man’s intensity and meticulous attention to the tiniest detail.
“Constant Vigilance!” Moody barked as he pounded the ground with his ever-present walking staff. The noise made Hermione jump, and Cedric grinned as her hair bounced with the sudden movement. He laughed involuntarily, coughing in an attempt to cover it up as Hermione turned to glare at him.
Moody finished his speech and swept out of the room, his magical eye spinning wildly. Hermione started after him.
“Damn,” Cedric muttered to himself. Now he was going to have to catch up to Hermione. That was likely to make him late for the match since he still had to get back to the dormitory and find his gloves. It was bitter and cold and no player in his right mind was going to fly on that pitch without gloves. The Snitch was hard enough to catch when your hands weren’t frozen to your broomstick.
Cedric finally caught up with Hermione in the entrance hall. She’d paused on a bench and was writing furiously in a leather-bound book. She stopped for a moment and looked out one of the windows, chewing on the end of her quill.
“Got a moment, Granger?” Cedric asked, wishing he could kick himself swiftly in the arse for starting off that way. He’d intended to be grander and much more gentlemanly.
“Certainly, Diggory.” Hermione nodded formally and set the book and quill down. Noting the look of abject fear on the normally taciturn Hufflepuff Seeker’s face, she smiled and tried to tuck her hair behind her left ear, kicking at her overflowing bag at the same time.
He’d faced some of the most celebrated Quidditch players in Hogwarts history. Caught Snitches in daring dives. Soared through the air in the foulest weather imaginable. All in pursuit of the game he loved. So why on earth was it so bloody hard to ask one simple girl one simple question? Why did standing in front of her feel like the cold terror of being surrounded by Dementors?
Cedric drew himself up to his full height, took a deep breath and blurted out his question as rapidly as he could. “Are you coming to the match today?”
Hermione looked startled. And somewhat disappointed, Cedric noted with a grin.
“It’s sort of miserable for Quidditch, isn’t it?”
“We’re playing Slytherin. Snape won’t cancel just because of a little weather when the cup is at stake.”
Hermione nodded. Snape wasn’t likely to do anything to jeopardize a chance for Slytherin to increase their lead for the House Cup. “I’ll be there,” she added.
Cedric grinned. “Good. How about I take you to the Three Broomsticks for some hot mead afterwards? To warm up those feet and hands?”
A flush spread across Hermione’s face. She turned a very Ron Weasley-like red when she felt her heel hit her bag and the contents finally spilled out onto the floor. An oddly shaped package wrapped in brown paper and tied with string landed squarely at her feet. Cedric looked at Hermione quizzically as she bent to pick it up, turning it over in her hands. She finally looked up through her hair and held it out. He took it, untying the string slowly and waiting for her to speak.
“I thought of you when I saw them. They’re supposed to be the latest in Quidditch gear.”
Cedric removed the wrappings and discovered he was holding a pair of Guardi’s Go-Forth Gloves. Impervious to rain, snow and just about any conceivable spell, Guardi’s offered the ultimate in broomstick navigation and control even in the worst weather. They were used by only a few professional teams and incredibly difficult to find. Without thinking or hesitating, Cedric sat next to Hermione and stroked her cheek with his calloused hands. He kissed her softly and watched her eyes close.
“Hermione,” Cedric murmured against her lips.
“Mmmmm,” she replied, moving closer and relishing the feeling of his arms and hands as they enveloped her.
“Never mind.” Cedric kissed her again, firmly this time, and felt his head spin like he was in a steep dive on his broomstick.
“Trying to sabotage the competition, Miss Granger?”
Cedric and Hermione groaned in unison as they looked up to find Professor Snape towering over them and sneering.
Author's Notes: I had to ask myself how many dearly departed wizards one could fit into 750 words. I thought three was nice. I created Guardi’s Go-Forth Gloves for a drabble exchange elsewhere and was so pleased to be able to take them out of the storage locker for this. Obviously, this is AU.
Proof-reader: missblane