Comments | stoatshead_hill: RP: The British National Pastime

shh_cedric in stoatshead_hill

RP: The British National Pastime

Mar 17, 2007 18:41

Date: 17 March 2005
Characters: Katie Bell, Cedric Diggory
Location: St. James' Park, Exeter, then dinner
Status: Private (albeit in a public place)
Summary: Cedric & Katie go to a football game, rather than a pub, for St. Patrick's Day.
Completion: Complete

( The British National Pastime )

katie bell, cedric diggory, march 2005, place: exeter

Comments 42

shh_katie March 18 2007, 01:56:25 UTC

For all that Katie had prodded and outright nagged Cedric the day before, he hadn't been any more willing to shed light on their destination for the afternoon. She'd contemplated outright bribery - but he seemed to take a bit too much pleasure in keeping her in the dark. It was just as tempting to pretend indifference, but she couldn't help but be curious. While surprises could be good, Katie was hardly a fan of the unknown ( ... )

shh_cedric March 18 2007, 02:26:11 UTC

"Nope," he replied as she opened the door and asked about blindfolds. He dropped the scarf around her neck. "Just in case it's cold in the stands." Then he motioned her out into the hallway and put his red cap back on. "Ready?"

Slipping an arm around her waist he tucked her against his side. "Hang on tight," and with a little twist, Disapparated them both to an alley he'd spotted the day before when checking things. He'd never been to the park before, and had wanted to know exactly how to get there. They weren't too far away now, and slipped out of the alley into a small crowd of fan-dressed Muggles headed down the pavement and then jay-walking across Old Tiverton Road towards Stadium Way and St. James Park.

"That's where we're going," Cedric told her. "You mentioned being interested in football, and well, I like about any sport. I reckon I should start learning a bit about the British National Pastime instead of just the American," then more softly, "and the Wizarding."

shh_katie March 18 2007, 02:53:59 UTC

When Cedric had mentioned 'the stands' she'd started to have a reasonably good guess where they were going - in as much as she'd started to think 'muggle sport. Katie was examing the crest on the end of the scarf when Cedric wrapped his arm around her, startling her, and apparated them to an alley in what she assumed was Exeter. Exeter City FC? It meant nothing to her ( ... )

shh_cedric March 18 2007, 03:12:01 UTC

Pulling the printed tickets from his pocket, he handed her one. "No tickets needed. I got them Thursday, to make certain we had them. This isn't, I fear, exactly a good team so there were tickets left, if not the best seats." He grinned.

"And yeah, any excuse to go to a game -- of some kind. I miss it, the excitement." He glanced down at her as they merged with the walking crowd. "I reckon you miss it more.

"And I'm glad your trust didn't turn out to be misplaced." He grinned and pointed through the iron gates. "Since we don't need to buy tickets, we can just go in. Show the blokes your pass, and then we can find our spot in the stands. I think these are sit-down seats, instead of the standing ones. I didn't want to stand for two hours."

Thread 11

shh_cedric March 18 2007, 06:04:01 UTC

He watched and listened as she rolled the idea around in her head. "Katie, I'm not joking -- not entirely." His face was serious. "I mean, if you're not interested, then yeah, it was just an idea. It came to me as we were talking; there are a million and one other things to do and I know you've got the cinema. But you love the sport; I can see it when you talk about it. And I think you have what it takes to do it."

Bending a little, he ticked points off on his fingers. "One, you work hard. Two, you're capable of figuring things out on your own. You don't have to be told what to do -- that's the makings of a leader, right there. So, so many people aren't able to do that.

"Third, you are charming, and you can phrase things carefully -- but you also tell the truth. One of the things I like best about you is that you don't just nod and agree with me. If I say something you don't think makes sense, you let me know. I've really come to value that. It makes me trust you when you do agree with me. But you also don't phrase ( ... )

shh_katie March 18 2007, 06:43:30 UTC

"I'm not going to argue with your points," Katie told him, "mostly because I'm vain and agree." Smiling slightly, she continued, "But in all seriousness, perhaps let's move on for now. I could expand on every single thing you said, but I won't, we're here for football not deep self analysis. Besides, I started the cinema on the spur of the moment, I'm not altering my view of the world right now based on one conversation. And that's what me getting involved with Quidditch again would essentially be - changing by entire outlook on things. I'm not saying I couldn't, I'm just saying it's more perhaps I shouldn't. Besides even if Bagman hasn't stepped up - ok, I know he hasn't - there are others in town who might feel they are more suited for the task."

"And," she added, rolling her eyes, "you think I'm going to hit you for telling me I'm young and pretty? Merlin Cedric, I may be bad at taking compliments, but I'm not that bad ( ... )

shh_cedric March 18 2007, 07:08:31 UTC

He grinned at her responses. "No pressure, just ... yeah. You could do it. Consider it ... a vote of confidence." And at her comment on being young and pretty, he said, "I only meant that some women don't like to have it pointed out that people -- okay, men -- do weigh their physical charms sometimes. I'm trying to be a '90s sort of bloke." Then he realized she probably had no idea what he was talking about. "Never mind."

He blushed at her teasing. "Hey, I just ... like things to be correct. And are you sure you don't want that lecture on Macedonians?" He smirked at her expression. "Actually, I couldn't give it even if you wanted it. Don't know that much, just know he wasn't a Greek ( ... )

shh_katie March 18 2007, 18:04:23 UTC

Katie broke away her attention from the field, the players having left for the locker rooms just a moment before. The people down at the end of the row beside them were standing impatiently, waiting for her to move so they could get out. "It all sounds good," she grinned, although she had no idea what a hotdog was, getting to her feet and following Cedric out of the aisle, "I'll come with."

She was rambling as they walked up the steps to the area where the canteens were, "Okay, the sport itself isn't quite as exciting as...the one I used to play. I mean, they're running and kicking - it's excessively simple. But it doesn't stop it from being exciting, although part of that is the enthusiastic crowd. The little things become more meaningful, especially since there is so little scoring - the steals, the particularly nice footwork, hitting it off the top of their head....I still maintain this would be better if you were playing it yourself, but it's been brilliant to watch too." Laughing, she added, "Maybe that's just a part of my ( ... )

Thread 8

shh_cedric March 18 2007, 22:20:04 UTC

He chuckled at Katie's Quidditch history lesson. "It's fine. You sound like Ed. He failed History of Magic, but he could recite every odd occurrence in the history of Quidditch for the past 300 years. Pretty damn impressive."

He nodded at the idea of escaping the rush, and having dinner before football shopping. Taking her hand to be certain they weren't separated -- and no, the hug had nothing to do with his desire to hold her hand, he told himself -- he eeled his way out of the stands. Even leaving the park in the first stampede didn't keep them from being jostled and he gripped her fingers. "Don't want to lose you," he said over his shoulder. He was taller, so he tried to break a path through the crush.

The start of music made him pause and look back with Katie. Things were thinning out now so he let her hand go ... maybe a bit reluctantly, but he no longer had any good reason to be holding it. Except, well, that he'd sort of liked holding it ( ... )

shh_katie March 18 2007, 23:02:00 UTC

Katie was glad she had stopped blathering on about the Cannons by the time they had exeted the stadium. Maybe she did talk about her time with them and Quidditch a little bit too much, but it had really struck her when she had heard the song and he usually didn't seem to mind. Cedric for his part didn't seem to be into what she was saying - she rather thought he would have after being a Cannons fan for years - and was instead staring at her in a distracted fashion, frowning slightly. She was tempted to ask what was wrong, but it was more than likely he was bored as heck with what she was saying.

"Ok, no more Cannons and Quidditch talk I promise," she told him, placing her hand to her heart. "I've just been a little too struck by some similiarties since we got here."

They were hardly alone, with all the people from the stadium milling around them, but it felt a little more isolated. "This was a lot of fun," she told him honestly, "a lot of fun. I'd never really thought of actually going to a game here in Exeter." She had the ( ... )

shh_cedric March 18 2007, 23:40:33 UTC

He shook his head at her promise not to talk Cannons and Quidditch. "It's all right, Katie, really. I was just ... momentarily distracted. Had nothing to do with you." Well, it had, but he couldn't exactly explain why. "You can talk Quidditch all you like.

"And take-away is fine by me. I'm actually feeling a bit energized. I'd just as soon go and do something instead of sit down and eat."

He followed her to the sporting goods shoppe and kept biting his tongue at the look of fascinated inquiry she turned on everything. When she pointed out the face masks and suggested it to protect his head, he laughed. "Well, I'd only need that if we were playing with a puck on ice. It's for hockey. And there's a brutal sport for you, as bad as Quidditch, but I heard plenty about it. It's sort of the Canadian national sport ( ... )

shh_katie March 18 2007, 23:58:20 UTC

He really had to stop leaving all the decisions up to her. In terms of stuff like this, she couldn't care less. "Football first," she made the decision with a shrug as she followed Cedric into his cottage. "And yes, I wouldn't mind a change of clothes - jeans are hardly comfortable for real physical activity."

Katie waited for Cedric to set the food down, before she unpacked the dishes and casting warming charms on them. That should last until they came back in. "Who needs a microwave when we have this 'technology'?" she pointed out, placing the last charm on one of the chicken dishes.

Accepting the track bottoms Cedric rummaged around for, Katie found the washroom to change. The bottoms were much too large, but a shrinking spell later, and they were practically tight. Much easier than rolling them up, since they'd be more than likely to slip down with any sort of activity. She would just have to counteract with an engorgio later, and they should be as good as knew. She would have made some comment on how they smelt like ( ... )

Thread 16

shh_cedric March 19 2007, 04:15:59 UTC

He nodded at her description of her home. It was more or less what he'd gathered from things she'd said, and he knew the name 'Bell' belonged to the old-moneyed purebloods, like the Malfoys. "The Diggories were always nicely middle class," he said with a smile. "Upper middle class, certainly -- Cornish gentry -- but yeah ... no estates ( ... )

shh_cedric March 19 2007, 04:16:24 UTC

"Moving ..." He sighed. "Honestly? Yeah, I've considered it, but I think it would hurt Hermione's feelings, make her feel even worse. It was a generous offer to let me say here, and I moved in before anything happened. When we talked, Hermione was very insistent about wanting to stay friends, and I agreed -- do agree. That's why I make a point of seeing her sometimes at the shop.

"But when I said it might take a little before I was ready to see them -- as a them, not as individuals -- I could tell she didn't entirely understand why, if it were in public, and maybe was a bit hurt, or put out. I'm not sure she got it, or why I left Ron's party when I saw her there with Roger. She's much more logical than me. And it wasn't that they were doing anything, it was just ... " He shook his head, hoping Katie understood what he was getting at because he wasn't having much luck hanging words on it ( ... )

shh_katie March 19 2007, 04:50:23 UTC

"You're talking in circles to try and make sense of things, not explain them to me exactly," Katie told him frankly, propping herself up on her elbows, adding with a smile, "To be honest, I probably don't need to be here for it. It makes sense in a convoluted way - just saying the same thing a million different ways. I can't speak for Hermione's logic, but you're much more logical than you think Cedric. You need it all to make sense, and you talk around things until you get them in your mind ( ... )

shh_cedric March 19 2007, 05:43:17 UTC

He laughed when she told him he was talking in circles and rubbed his palm over the crown of his head. "Yeah, that's ... how I think. I've got to verbalize it." He shot her a smile. "If I hear it, aloud, that's somehow different than hearing it in my head. Dunno why."

He smiled at her observation that she did listen to him. "I know you do. But I also ... sometimes I think there are people who do like the competition side of it. There's got to be some challenge, something on the horizon, some new conquest. Maybe it's a male thing, but I know men like that. Maybe it's evolutionary but it missed me ( ... )

shh_katie March 19 2007, 06:07:39 UTC

Katie sat up, sitting cross-legged, while Cedric rambled on. She could say again what she had said a million times before, and what he said often in different ways - Hermione wasn't right for him, he wasn't right for her. And yes, that was something she could still be objective on. But hearing that repeated ad nauseum wasn't going to change anything. Instead she was more struck by other comments Cedric had made, repeating something he had said before but she'd never really thought much of.

"Hermione as replacement for Gwen or not," she told Cedric, "I know this is a novel concept - but stop thinking in terms of what worked, or even didn't, with Gwen. This is going to sound incredibly hurtful, but think about it - the two of you didn't work out. If it wasn't coming here, wouldn't there have been something else back in Toronto that would have ended things anyway? Don't judge relationships by that standard, it's never going to work if you do. Even the 'right' similarities with what you had with Gwen - each woman is unique, don't ( ... )

Thread 6