Fic: Sound of the Revolution, Chapter 3
Title: Sound of the Revolution, Chapter 03
Author: kevo
Pairing: Harry + Cedric.
Rating: PG-13, with some slightly more adult content in the middle.
Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership to these characters or the series they’re from.
Summary: In his fifth year, Harry faces ostracism with boyfriend Cedric for coming out and for declaring Voldemort has returned. (Order of the Phoenix canon re-write.)
Author’s Note: I just rewatched the entire second season of Gossip Girl, so in my mind I keep seeing Chace Crawford (aka Nate Archibald) as Cedric and Connor Paolo (aka Eric van der Woodsen) as Harry. Odd, yet somehow it totally makes sense.
( A Lack of Color - Chapter One)
( A Lack of Color - Chapter Thirty)
( Sound of the Revolution - Chapter One)
- - - - - - - - -
( Sound of the Revolution - Chapter Two)
The Love So Green Collection
Playlist #2:
sound of the revolution
CHAPTER THREE
“The Way We Get By”
There’s something absolutely wonderful as waking up in the arms of the person you love after worrying you’d never see them again. No one knew this better than Harry Potter, who was experiencing the feeling for the second time in less than three months.
The boys’ legs were intertwined, and Cedric’s arm was wrapped protectively around Harry’s chest. Harry wished he could’ve stayed like that all day, but the ache in his bladder demanded otherwise. As delicately as he could manage, Harry disentangled himself from their embrace. Ron’s bed, he noticed, was already empty. Harry dashed to the bathroom to relieve himself. By the time he got back, Cedric was awake, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He’d shaved the scruff since Harry saw him last, yet somehow looked more haggard now without it than he did then with it.
“Hey,” Harry smiled. He sat down on the bed, facing his boyfriend. “What are you doing here? And why did you sleep in your clothes?”
“I got in last night,” Cedric told him. “It was late, so I just went to bed in this.”
“Okay,” said Harry. “But that still doesn’t answer the question of what you’re doing here. Not that I’m not happy to see you, but something about you showing up in the middle of the night makes me think you didn’t just pop in for a sleepover.”
“It’s my parents,” Cedric replied somberly. “I don’t know if anyone’s told you yet, but, after the incident on Monday night, I got a letter from the Ministry.”
“Hermione told me,” Harry broke in. “I know about the hearing. It would’ve been nice to hear about it from you, though.”
“I know,” Cedric nodded. “I’m sorry. Things have been so crazy at home since then. As far as my mum’s concerned, this is just further proof that being involved with you is dangerous. And Dad, he’s been fuming. Ranting about how this gives me a bad name and it’s going to muck up my chances of getting a decent job after I graduate. I got so fed up with it last night that I took off, and ended up here. Sirius was still up, in the kitchen. We talked for a while and he told me I could stay here as long as I need to. He even said I could bunk with you.” He gave Harry a weak smile. “You think that means he likes me now?”
“I’d reckon he does,” Harry said. “I’m sorry about your parents.”
“It’s all right,” said Cedric. “I know it’s only because they’re worried for me.”
“And yet You seem oddly calm,” Harry observed.
“Oh, I’m terrified!” Cedric said with a sardonic laugh. “The thought of being kicked out of school has me scared as hell. And I don’t even want to think about the possibility of them taking my wand away. But I know I did the right thing, so I should be fine.”
“I don’t understand, how can the Ministry accuse you of breaking the Statute of Secrecy in the first place?” Harry asked. “Dudley’s a Muggle, but he’s my cousin. He already knows about magic and all that.”
“With everything that’s happened, I don’t think the Ministry is trying to play fair,” replied Cedric. “They’ve probably been waiting for any opportunity they could get to crucify one of us. I’m simply the first one to make the wrong move.” He reached over and took Harry’s hand. “I missed you.”
A second later, the door slammed open. Ron entered, accessed the situation, and immediately looked guilty for interrupting their private moment.
“Hi,” he said awkwardly. “Hey, Cedric.”
“Morning, Ron,” Cedric replied.
“Where’ve you been?” Harry asked.
“Cleaning,” Ron told him. “Mum said I should let you sleep in. She reckons you’ve both had a rough week. But it’s nearing lunchtime now, so you might wanna get up soon.”
“Okay, thanks,” said Harry.
“Yeah,” said Ron.
He nodded, and then went back out, closing the door behind him. Harry rose from the bed and went about changing out of his pajamas.
“I wish you’d told me this could happen,” he said. “That night, when you rushed off. I was worried.”
“I wasn’t sure that it would,” Cedric replied. “I knew it might, but I didn’t want you to worry.”
“I was already worried,” Harry countered. “I didn’t hear from you for days, and I didn’t know why.”
“I know,” said Cedric. “I really am sorry.”
After pulling a clean shirt over his head, Harry went back to the bed and wrapped his arms around the still-seated Cedric. Things were hard enough for him already, Harry decided. He didn’t need any more grief, least of all from his boyfriend.
“It’s okay,” Harry assured him. “Really. I was just scared, that’s all. And I don’t like you keeping stuff from me. I’m not a kid. We need to be honest with each other, okay?”
“Okay,” Cedric consented.
“Come on,” Harry said, standing and taking Cedric’s hand. “Let’s go downstairs and get something to eat.”
Cedric rose and followed Harry out of the bedroom. From the hallway that led to the kitchen, they could hear two voices arguing inside. As they drew nearer, Harry realized they were his godfather and Ron’s mum. The door was slightly ajar, and he and Cedric peered through the opening, carefully staying far enough back that they wouldn’t be seen.
“Well where else are we going to put him?” Sirius was saying. “We’re running out of beds around here, Molly. They’re going to have to double up anyway at this rate.”
Mrs. Weasley’s voice replied sharply, “That is not the point.”
“What is the point, then?” Sirius queried.
“He’s fifteen, Sirius,” said Mrs. Weasley. “And even if he wasn’t, it’s inappropriate to let your godson share a bed with his boyfriend.”
Harry and Cedric shared a glance. This was not a conversation they wanted to walk in on. However, neither was willing to back away from the door just yet.
“Ah, but that’s just it. He’s my godson,” Sirius countered. “And, for that matter, this is my house! It’s my decision!”
“That’s not fair, you know I love Harry like one of my own,” Mrs. Weasley argued. “And you’re not the only adult here, Sirius. You shouldn’t be allowed the only say in this.”
“What’s this really about, Molly? You know the kind of bloke Cedric is. Or have you started buying in to the Prophet‘s lies?”
“I would never - !” Mrs. Weasley gasped, clearly offended by the accusation.
“And what do you think’s going to happen, anyway?” Sirius interrupted. “It’s not as if Cedric will get him pregnant.” Harry snickered at that. Noticing Sirius’s eyes shift subtly toward the kitchen door, the boy swiftly fell silent. “Honestly, Molly, do you think we could really stop them from doing anything if they set their minds to it? I don’t.” Then, louder, he asked, “Do you, Harry?”
Again the boys looked anxiously at one another. They were busted. Since the jig was up anyway, they shuffled timidly into the kitchen. Sirius was smirking at them, while Mrs. Weasley looked away uncomfortably.
“Morning,” Harry said.
Mrs. Weasley replied tersely, “Morning, Harry. Cedric.”
“Good morning,” said Cedric. He hesitated a moment before saying, “I can sleep in the drawing room, or something. If there’s a problem.”
“There’s no problem,” Sirius said flatly. “It’s my house, and what I say goes. If you want to share a bed with your boyfriend, it’s no chip off my wand.”
“I don’t want to cause any trouble,” Cedric persisted. “At least, any more than I already have. I know how much you care for Harry, Mrs. Weasley, and I’d hate for you to think poorly of me. But you have to know, I would never do anything to hurt Harry, I love him more than - and I would never -”
At the sincerity of Cedric’s words, Mrs. Weasley’s expression softened. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“Oh, sweetheart, I never meant to suggest you were doing anything wrong,” she said. “I’m just old fashioned, that’s all. It’d be the same for any one of you kids, gay or not.” She sighed. “But I suppose Sirius is right. Rooms are in rather short supply around here, and it’s not as if you’d get up to anything with Ron in the next bed. We’ll have to lay some ground rules, but I know you’re a good boy.” Then, with a sly smile, she added, “And the Daily Prophet can eat dragon dung. Now, what shall we have for lunch?”
Cedric gave her a smile, small but real, and helped her prepare their noontime meal.
O O O O O O O
Any jealousy Harry once felt of Ron and Hermione for being at the Order’s headquarters while he was stuck in Little Whinging was gone by the second day of cleaning. At least on Privet Drive he could get out of the house for some air. Here they were forbidden from venturing outside of 12 Grimmauld Place. The dirty old house was pleasantly cool, though, so that was a pleasant change from the sweltering heart of the Dursleys’.
Unfortunately, not only was his theory that time alone might do Ron and Hermione some good completely wrong, it seemed that time without Harry there only aggravated the situation between the two of them. Whenever Harry tried to question either of them about it (separately, because he wasn’t stupid enough to try it while they were together), Ron would simply shrug and Hermione would say there was nothing to talk about in a very tight voice. He wondered if something might’ve happened to exacerbate their discomfort. Normally he’d wave the notion off, believing one of them would tell him if something did, but then he thought of how he didn’t know they kissed for almost two months. There was no telling what they could be keeping from him now.
To make matters worse, Ron and Hermione hadn’t exaggerated Ginny’s aversion to Cedric. She never spoke to him unless it was absolutely required, and even then she wouldn’t look at him. Whenever Harry and Cedric were too close to one another for very long, Ginny would leave in a huff. Harry tried accommodating her the first two days they were there, but quickly became fed up with the youngest Weasley’s antics.
On the bright side, they also hadn’t exaggerated about Cedric’s housecleaning skills. He really was quite good. The only one better at it than him was Mrs. Weasley. Privately, Harry suspected this was only because Cedric held back around her so she wouldn’t be put off by him. There was no fear of that with the rest of them. As far as everyone else was concerned, the more cleaning Cedric got done, the less they had to do. At the rate he was going, he could’ve had Grimmauld Place in livable condition by the end of the month.
Not that Cedric seemed to mind. He actually enjoyed sifting through the mess, uncovering long-lost relics and ancient heirlooms. As Harry affectionately put it, Cedric was something of a “history nerd.” At first Harry found his enthusiasm endearing, and was glad Cedric had something to lift his spirits in these troubling times. Then, after the twenty-eighth time he ruled that an object’s historical value was too great to simply throw it away, it became annoying.
“Wait, wait, wait!” the excited Hufflepuff cried for the fourth time one afternoon. “Don’t throw that away!”
Harry and Ron, who were working with him, both let out a low, haggard groan. The offending object was a heavy gold locket that none of them could manage to get open. Harry was on the verge of chucking it when Cedric halted him.
“So what is it then?” Harry asked impatiently, handing to him.
“I’m not sure,” Cedric replied as he looked the bauble over. “It looks familiar, though. This symbol, the S with the emeralds, I think I may have seen it somewhere before. It must’ve been in some book I read.”
“You know,” said Ron, “you seem so normal that I sometimes forget you’re like a boy version of Hermione when it comes to school and stuff.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment, given how brilliant Hermione is,” Cedric responded coolly.
“I never said she wasn’t,” Ron frowned, ears flushing.
“Are we putting it in the Keep pile then?” Harry inquired.
“For now,” said Cedric. “Maybe I’ll look it up in the library when we get back to Hogwarts. You know,” he added, “if I go back.”
“Don’t even talk like that,” Harry said. “You will.”
With a shrug, Cedric passed the thing to Ron, who took it to the Keep pile, mumbling under his breath, “He’s keeping us from throwing out more things than Kreacher does.”
O O O O O O O
The day before Cedric’s hearing, Harry took Ron aside after lunch. He had an idea how he could make Cedric relax, but needed Ron’s help, in a way, for it to work.
“Hey Ron, uh… Would you mind giving me and Cedric the room to ourselves for a little while tonight? Maybe hang out in Fred and George’s for an hour or so?”
“Why?” Ron asked. Taking in Harry’s suggestive smile, he exclaimed, “Oh, Merlin! All right, fine. But, um, don’t do anything in my bed, okay?”
“Why would we want to do anything in your bed?” Harry wondered.
“I don’t know what sort of kinky hijinx you get up to!” Ron hissed. “Okay? Just don’t!”
“All right, all right, calm down,” said Harry. “You’re bizarre, but okay. No kinky sex hijinx in your bed. I promise.”
“Thanks,” said Ron. Under his breath, though still audible, he muttered, “At least one of us is getting some.”
Harry frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing,” Ron quickly responded. He didn’t seem to think he’d been heard.
“No, I’m sick of your Nothings,” Harry argued, “it’s clearly Something. Did you and Hermione... Did something happen?”
“Not anything new,” Ron answered. “We’ve kissed, a few times. She’ll just all of a sudden surprise me. I guess you could call it making out, but it doesn’t last very long. We haven’t since you showed up. Not that I hold it against you, just…. She’s nuts.”
“It doesn’t sound like you have much of a problem with it,” Harry pointed out.
“Would you?” asked Ron. “Okay, wrong person to ask, maybe.”
“No, I get it,” Harry assured him. “Have you tried talking to her about it?”
“Once,” Ron replied. “She acted like she didn’t know what I was talking about, and then my mum came in so I couldn’t say anything else.”
“Yeah, that is kinda nuts,” Harry agreed.
“Yeah,” said Ron. “Anyway, it’s fine, you get your rocks off with your lover boy.”
“It’s not like that,” Harry claimed. “The hearing is tomorrow. I wanted to do something to help take his mind off it.”
“Oh, right,” Ron said in a placating manner. “I’m so sure that’s the only reason.”
Truth be told, Ron’s accusation wasn’t so far off. Harry’s intentions weren’t entirely altruistic. He did want to help Cedric unwind, but he also needed some release badly as well. The boys had been living in the same house, sharing a bed, for several days, with no chance of getting in more than a few kisses and a quick grope or two. Harry wanked in the shower, sure, but it wasn’t the same. If he had to go the rest of the summer without any sexual contact, especially now that their attraction was heightened through their Scar Sense, pretty soon Harry was going to start humping the furniture.
He decided to enact his plan after dinner that evening, when Mrs. Weasley, easily the biggest obstacle in the boys’ sex lives, would be occupied with clearing up. Harry signaled Ron to let him know it was time, and then waited in their room for Cedric to finish showering. The anticipation made Harry so hard he had to fight the urge to start playing with himself, afraid he would come before Cedric got there.
Finally, the older boy entered in a bathrobe, hair still slightly damp. He smiled at the sight of Harry splayed out comfortable across their bed, then looked around, confused.
“Where’s Ron?”
“Not here,” Harry said, propping himself up on an elbow. “I asked him to clear out so we could have some privacy.”
Cedric’s eyebrow arched as his smile became more of a smirk. He slid his bathrobe off, tossing it over the back of a chair, leaving him in just a towel. Harry’s heart pounded.
“Oh did you?” said Cedric, stepping closer to the bed. “And why would you do a thing like that?”
Harry almost felt sorry for everyone in the world who would never get to experience Cedric Diggory in a towel, his eyes clouded over with desire. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
“Ron did have one condition,” Harry informed him. “We aren’t allowed to do anything on his bed.”
“Why would we want to?” asked Cedric.
“No idea,” Harry replied, “but he was quite specific about it for some reason.”
Then Harry yanked at the towel around his boyfriend’s waist so that it came loose and fell to the floor. In seconds, the older boy was on the bed with him, on top of him, and seconds after that Harry’s own clothes were on the floor. It was hard to remember to keep their voices down, lest they alert the others what they were up to. They’d never been in a situation where they could get caught, so it was never a concern before. Even when they used to meet in the prefect’s bathroom, they did it in the dead of night with the door locked. And no one could find them in the Room of Requirement. It turned Harry on a little, the danger of it, and the sneaking around.
Once they were both finished, Cedric rolled off of Harry, panting.
“Merlin, that felt great,” Cedric declared.
“Oh yes,” Harry concurred. He laughed, indicating the rapidly cooling mess they left on his midsection. “Good thing I didn’t shower yet.”
“C’mere,” Cedric said. He grabbed Harry by the back of the neck and pulled him in for a hard, passionate kiss. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” Harry said back, stroking Cedric’s cheek.
“Okay,” Cedric sighed. “You go shower. I’m sure the Order meeting will be over any minute.”
Eager to clean himself up, Harry hopped out of bed, gathered up his shower things and hurried to the bathroom.
O O O O O O O
The boys woke up at about twenty after five the next morning. In such close proximity, their Scar Sense had a tendency to rouse one at the same time as the other, a fact they were still getting used to. As Cedric got up and got dressed, Harry contemplated staying in bed. It was tempting, but he could feel Cedric’s fear and anxiety coming off him in waves. Since he couldn’t actually go to the Ministry hearing with him, the least Harry could do was keep Cedric company until he left. He struggled to sit up, leaving the comfortable warmth of his sheets behind.
“Morning,” Harry murmured sleepily.
For the first time since waking up, Harry felt Cedric’s tension ease slightly. He looked over at Harry across the darkened room, a genuine smile on his face. Cedric returned to the bed and gently stroked Harry’s hair.
“Go back to sleep, baby,” Cedric whispered, kissing Harry on the forehead.
“I wanna stay up with you,” Harry replied, his voice slightly raspy from sleep.
“You’re sweet,” Cedric told him, “but you should sleep. I’ll be fine.”
Not willing to be deterred, Harry rose from their bed. It was not a graceful movement, but he was on his feet, at least. He took Cedric’s hand and nudged him toward the door.
Together they went down to the kitchen, where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, Lupin, and sleepy Tonks were already seated around the table. Mrs. Weasley immediately rose and began fixing Cedric some breakfast. The rest continued the conversation they had been having before the boys entered. Harry didn’t let go of Cedric’s hand until the older boy needed it to feed himself, at which point Harry rested his on Cedric’s leg instead.
“You look very nice, dear,” Mrs. Weasley told Cedric as she set a plate of bacon and eggs before him.
“I think that’s the tie you were wearing when we first met,” Sirius noted.
“Yessir,” said Cedric.
“Ohh, don’t call me ‘sir’, Cedric,” Sirius groaned dramatically. “I’ve told you enough times.”
“Right, sorry,” Cedric replied. “Just nervous, I guess.”
“Well, it’ll all be over soon,” Mr. Weasley said reassuringly. “The hearing’s on my floor, in Amelia Bones’s office.”
“I’ve met her before,” Cedric said. “Dad always said she was very fair.”
“She is,” Tonks concurred after a yawn. “She’ll definitely hear you out.”
“And the law is on your side,” said Lupin. “You did what you did to save someone’s life.”
As soon as Cedric finished his meal, Mr. Weasley glanced at his watch.
“Maybe we should go now,” he said. “It’s early, but better that than sitting around waiting here, eh?”
Cedric nodded and stood. The others did as well, all patting him on the back and wishing him luck. Harry and Mrs. Weasley followed Cedric and Mr. Weasley to the front hallway, where the married couple kissed goodbye. The boys looked at each other, then shyly at the adults. Taking the hint, the Weasleys turned away politely so the boys could kiss. It was chaste, though not without feeling.
“It’s going to be fine,” Cedric promised.
“Shouldn’t I be the one comforting you?” said Harry.
“You already have,” Cedric answered.
Mrs. Weasley then took her turn, giving Cedric a hug and wishing him luck. Then, with a small wave, he and Mr. Weasley departed. Once more, Harry considered going back to sleep, but didn’t think he’d be able to. Instead, he went up to the drawing room and sat on the couch there, in the dark, to wait until the others awoke.
Staring at the dusty rug on the floor, Harry let the sounds of the old house, the creaks in the floors and Mrs. Weasley bustling about wash over him. He thought his mind would’ve been racing, worrying about Cedric, but he actually found it to be kind of listless. It wasn’t that he wasn’t concerned; he simply couldn’t get his mind to focus on it. Maybe that was for the best.
When sitting didn’t feel comfortable enough, Harry lay on his side, curled up against an arm of the couch. It was a decently comfortable couch, really. So much that Harry didn’t even realize he was falling back asleep until he woke up again. He got up and stumbled, feeling slightly disoriented, to the room he shared with Ron and Cedric. It was empty. There were voices coming from downstairs, so Harry went to the kitchen. Everyone was sitting down to what appeared to be lunch already.
Everyone, including Cedric.
“Cedr’c?” Harry mumbled groggily. “What’re y’doing here? Thought you had the hearing.”
“You slept right through it, man,” Ron informed him.
“I did?” Harry said, surprised. “I didn’t even mean to fall asleep.” He turned to Cedric. “Well? What happened? How did it go?”
Before Cedric could answer him, George announced, “He got off!”
“And without your help for once!” added Fred.
“FRED!” Mrs. Weasley shouted thunderously.
“What?” Fred replied innocently. “I was only saying he got out of trouble without Harry’s help. You know, like when Harry saved him from You-Know-Who?” He shook his head in feigned derision. “Need to get your mind out of the gutter, Mum.”
“Oh, is that what I need?” said Mrs. Weasley. “I thought what I needed was to give a smack to my cheeky-mouthed son.”
“Nope,” Fred said breezily, “definitely the gutter thing.”
Harry was barely listening to a word of this exchange, too busy hugging his boyfriend instead.
“I knew you’d be fine,” Harry murmured.
“Oh really? Could’ve fooled me,” Cedric teased.
As they ate, Cedric and Mr. Weasley filled Harry and the others in on their day and the hearing, or rather the trial, as it had apparently become. Harry took Cedric’s hand under the table as he described the dungeon courtroom and being interrogated by the Wizengamot. It was surprising to learn of Dumbledore’s participation in the trial. Especially, Harry thought bitterly, since he hadn’t seen the headmaster once since he arrived at Grimmauld Place the week before. A sharp pain cut through his scar as he thought this, so strong that he couldn’t help bringing his hand to his forehead.
“You okay?” asked Cedric.
“Yeah, it’s nothing,” Harry said. “Scar acting up, that’s all. Hang on, did you just say Mrs. Figg was a witness? Why didn’t Dumbledore have me come? I was there, I saw the whole thing!”
The elder members of the Order looked uneasily at each other. It was Mr. Weasley who finally answered Harry’s question.
“I think Dumbledore felt the Wizengamot might not find you to be a credible witness,” he said, “with all the, er, bad press you’ve been the subject of lately.”
“But that’s not fair!” Harry cried. He didn’t realize how childish it would sound until it was already out of his mouth.
“Try not to let it bother you, Harry m’boy,” Sirius said, patting Harry on the back. “Cedric’s cleared of all charges. That’s what really counts.”
This was true. What did it matter if Dumbledore had excluded him from the proceedings? He won Cedric’s case, and that was the important thing. Yet, for some reason, Harry felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of anger toward the man. He tried to shake it off, and be happy for Cedric’s sake, but it was hard.
Once lunch was finished, and Mr. Weasley had gone back to work, Mrs. Weasley announced that she was giving them all a reprieve from cleaning for the day, in honor of Cedric’s ruling. Harry and Cedric spent the day with Ron and Hermione doing nothing much at all. They didn’t discuss the trial, or anything that happened at the Ministry of Magic, again until later that evening. Cedric was sitting, pajama-clad, on the bed while Harry finished changing into his own nightclothes.
“We saw my dad,” Cedric revealed. “Today at the Ministry.”
“You what?” Harry exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I am telling you,” Cedric countered. “I didn’t want to talk about it in front of everyone else because I don’t want to make a thing out of it. We saw him in the lift on the way to Mr. Weasley’s office. He looked at us, and he said, ‘Arthur. Son.’”
The newly acquitted teen lay back on the bed, hands clasped over his stomach. He nibbled his lip for a second before speaking again.
“He called me ‘Son,’” Cedric repeated. “That was it. And the way he said it, he may as we’ll’ve been talking to some work acquaintance. It’s not like I was expecting him to ask how I’ve been or, Merlin forbid, wish me luck on my hearing. But I thought he’d be, I dunno, less cordial or something.” In a much smaller voice, he asked, “What if he never forgives me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” Harry replied hotly. “You haven’t done anything wrong. From what I understand, that’s what a large portion of the Wizengamot seemed to think, anyway.”
“They did,” said Cedric. “And that was reassuring, believe me.” He sighed. “I’ m trying to stay positive, I really, really am. It’s tough, though, when there’s so many things working against it. All the stuff the Prophet’s been saying, and my dad’s attitude today. I can’t help feeling a little hopeless at times.”
“And I understand that,” Harry said. “But you have to realize that you are a good man, no matter what anyone else tries to say about you. I know it. Our friends, and the Order, they all know it. The Goblet of Fire must've known it, or it wouldn't've picked you. Dozens of students entered, but you're the one who got chosen, by an object enchanted to select the best out of all of them.”
“I never thought about it like that,” Cedric responded.
“Well, maybe you should,” said Harry, giving Cedric a poke in the tummy. Cedric smiled.
At the same time, Ron entered from brushing his teeth and, seeing them on the bed together, asked, “You sure you two don’t need any time to, er, celebrate?”
“You’re very considerate to offer,” said Cedric, “but no, thank you. I don’t know that we could get away with that two nights in a row.”
“No problem, so long as you don’t go changing your minds in the middle of the night,” Ron said. “It might be for the best anyway. I had to tell my brothers why I needed to be in their room last night, and I can’t promise Fred didn’t use Extendible Ears to eavesdrop on you two.”
Harry and Cedric blushed profusely at this revelation.
End Notes: I know what you’re thinking. Sex again? Already? Are you sure this story is still by Kevo? Don’t worry, though, this story won’t turn into a PWP or anything. (For those who don’t know, an acronym for “Porn Without Plot, or Purpose” or, my favorite, “Plot? What Plot?”)
This chapter, like Chapter Two, also needed to undergo a Cedric de-mope-ification, and a much more intensive one at that. Also, for a while, this chapter had a longer ending, which has since been moved to somewhere in the front of the next chapter.
Sorry I didn’t get this out sooner. Readership seems to have severely declined (if comments, reviews, and story traffic on FanFiction.Net are any indication) and it’s got me disheartened and lacking the drive to write more. I will complete this story, as promised, but if no one is reading I don’t feel the need to move at a very fast pace. -kevo
Continue to Chapter Four
Author: kevo
Pairing: Harry + Cedric.
Rating: PG-13, with some slightly more adult content in the middle.
Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership to these characters or the series they’re from.
Summary: In his fifth year, Harry faces ostracism with boyfriend Cedric for coming out and for declaring Voldemort has returned. (Order of the Phoenix canon re-write.)
Author’s Note: I just rewatched the entire second season of Gossip Girl, so in my mind I keep seeing Chace Crawford (aka Nate Archibald) as Cedric and Connor Paolo (aka Eric van der Woodsen) as Harry. Odd, yet somehow it totally makes sense.
( A Lack of Color - Chapter One)
( A Lack of Color - Chapter Thirty)
( Sound of the Revolution - Chapter One)
- - - - - - - - -
( Sound of the Revolution - Chapter Two)
The Love So Green Collection
Playlist #2:
sound of the revolution
CHAPTER THREE
“The Way We Get By”
There’s something absolutely wonderful as waking up in the arms of the person you love after worrying you’d never see them again. No one knew this better than Harry Potter, who was experiencing the feeling for the second time in less than three months.
The boys’ legs were intertwined, and Cedric’s arm was wrapped protectively around Harry’s chest. Harry wished he could’ve stayed like that all day, but the ache in his bladder demanded otherwise. As delicately as he could manage, Harry disentangled himself from their embrace. Ron’s bed, he noticed, was already empty. Harry dashed to the bathroom to relieve himself. By the time he got back, Cedric was awake, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He’d shaved the scruff since Harry saw him last, yet somehow looked more haggard now without it than he did then with it.
“Hey,” Harry smiled. He sat down on the bed, facing his boyfriend. “What are you doing here? And why did you sleep in your clothes?”
“I got in last night,” Cedric told him. “It was late, so I just went to bed in this.”
“Okay,” said Harry. “But that still doesn’t answer the question of what you’re doing here. Not that I’m not happy to see you, but something about you showing up in the middle of the night makes me think you didn’t just pop in for a sleepover.”
“It’s my parents,” Cedric replied somberly. “I don’t know if anyone’s told you yet, but, after the incident on Monday night, I got a letter from the Ministry.”
“Hermione told me,” Harry broke in. “I know about the hearing. It would’ve been nice to hear about it from you, though.”
“I know,” Cedric nodded. “I’m sorry. Things have been so crazy at home since then. As far as my mum’s concerned, this is just further proof that being involved with you is dangerous. And Dad, he’s been fuming. Ranting about how this gives me a bad name and it’s going to muck up my chances of getting a decent job after I graduate. I got so fed up with it last night that I took off, and ended up here. Sirius was still up, in the kitchen. We talked for a while and he told me I could stay here as long as I need to. He even said I could bunk with you.” He gave Harry a weak smile. “You think that means he likes me now?”
“I’d reckon he does,” Harry said. “I’m sorry about your parents.”
“It’s all right,” said Cedric. “I know it’s only because they’re worried for me.”
“And yet You seem oddly calm,” Harry observed.
“Oh, I’m terrified!” Cedric said with a sardonic laugh. “The thought of being kicked out of school has me scared as hell. And I don’t even want to think about the possibility of them taking my wand away. But I know I did the right thing, so I should be fine.”
“I don’t understand, how can the Ministry accuse you of breaking the Statute of Secrecy in the first place?” Harry asked. “Dudley’s a Muggle, but he’s my cousin. He already knows about magic and all that.”
“With everything that’s happened, I don’t think the Ministry is trying to play fair,” replied Cedric. “They’ve probably been waiting for any opportunity they could get to crucify one of us. I’m simply the first one to make the wrong move.” He reached over and took Harry’s hand. “I missed you.”
A second later, the door slammed open. Ron entered, accessed the situation, and immediately looked guilty for interrupting their private moment.
“Hi,” he said awkwardly. “Hey, Cedric.”
“Morning, Ron,” Cedric replied.
“Where’ve you been?” Harry asked.
“Cleaning,” Ron told him. “Mum said I should let you sleep in. She reckons you’ve both had a rough week. But it’s nearing lunchtime now, so you might wanna get up soon.”
“Okay, thanks,” said Harry.
“Yeah,” said Ron.
He nodded, and then went back out, closing the door behind him. Harry rose from the bed and went about changing out of his pajamas.
“I wish you’d told me this could happen,” he said. “That night, when you rushed off. I was worried.”
“I wasn’t sure that it would,” Cedric replied. “I knew it might, but I didn’t want you to worry.”
“I was already worried,” Harry countered. “I didn’t hear from you for days, and I didn’t know why.”
“I know,” said Cedric. “I really am sorry.”
After pulling a clean shirt over his head, Harry went back to the bed and wrapped his arms around the still-seated Cedric. Things were hard enough for him already, Harry decided. He didn’t need any more grief, least of all from his boyfriend.
“It’s okay,” Harry assured him. “Really. I was just scared, that’s all. And I don’t like you keeping stuff from me. I’m not a kid. We need to be honest with each other, okay?”
“Okay,” Cedric consented.
“Come on,” Harry said, standing and taking Cedric’s hand. “Let’s go downstairs and get something to eat.”
Cedric rose and followed Harry out of the bedroom. From the hallway that led to the kitchen, they could hear two voices arguing inside. As they drew nearer, Harry realized they were his godfather and Ron’s mum. The door was slightly ajar, and he and Cedric peered through the opening, carefully staying far enough back that they wouldn’t be seen.
“Well where else are we going to put him?” Sirius was saying. “We’re running out of beds around here, Molly. They’re going to have to double up anyway at this rate.”
Mrs. Weasley’s voice replied sharply, “That is not the point.”
“What is the point, then?” Sirius queried.
“He’s fifteen, Sirius,” said Mrs. Weasley. “And even if he wasn’t, it’s inappropriate to let your godson share a bed with his boyfriend.”
Harry and Cedric shared a glance. This was not a conversation they wanted to walk in on. However, neither was willing to back away from the door just yet.
“Ah, but that’s just it. He’s my godson,” Sirius countered. “And, for that matter, this is my house! It’s my decision!”
“That’s not fair, you know I love Harry like one of my own,” Mrs. Weasley argued. “And you’re not the only adult here, Sirius. You shouldn’t be allowed the only say in this.”
“What’s this really about, Molly? You know the kind of bloke Cedric is. Or have you started buying in to the Prophet‘s lies?”
“I would never - !” Mrs. Weasley gasped, clearly offended by the accusation.
“And what do you think’s going to happen, anyway?” Sirius interrupted. “It’s not as if Cedric will get him pregnant.” Harry snickered at that. Noticing Sirius’s eyes shift subtly toward the kitchen door, the boy swiftly fell silent. “Honestly, Molly, do you think we could really stop them from doing anything if they set their minds to it? I don’t.” Then, louder, he asked, “Do you, Harry?”
Again the boys looked anxiously at one another. They were busted. Since the jig was up anyway, they shuffled timidly into the kitchen. Sirius was smirking at them, while Mrs. Weasley looked away uncomfortably.
“Morning,” Harry said.
Mrs. Weasley replied tersely, “Morning, Harry. Cedric.”
“Good morning,” said Cedric. He hesitated a moment before saying, “I can sleep in the drawing room, or something. If there’s a problem.”
“There’s no problem,” Sirius said flatly. “It’s my house, and what I say goes. If you want to share a bed with your boyfriend, it’s no chip off my wand.”
“I don’t want to cause any trouble,” Cedric persisted. “At least, any more than I already have. I know how much you care for Harry, Mrs. Weasley, and I’d hate for you to think poorly of me. But you have to know, I would never do anything to hurt Harry, I love him more than - and I would never -”
At the sincerity of Cedric’s words, Mrs. Weasley’s expression softened. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“Oh, sweetheart, I never meant to suggest you were doing anything wrong,” she said. “I’m just old fashioned, that’s all. It’d be the same for any one of you kids, gay or not.” She sighed. “But I suppose Sirius is right. Rooms are in rather short supply around here, and it’s not as if you’d get up to anything with Ron in the next bed. We’ll have to lay some ground rules, but I know you’re a good boy.” Then, with a sly smile, she added, “And the Daily Prophet can eat dragon dung. Now, what shall we have for lunch?”
Cedric gave her a smile, small but real, and helped her prepare their noontime meal.
O O O O O O O
Any jealousy Harry once felt of Ron and Hermione for being at the Order’s headquarters while he was stuck in Little Whinging was gone by the second day of cleaning. At least on Privet Drive he could get out of the house for some air. Here they were forbidden from venturing outside of 12 Grimmauld Place. The dirty old house was pleasantly cool, though, so that was a pleasant change from the sweltering heart of the Dursleys’.
Unfortunately, not only was his theory that time alone might do Ron and Hermione some good completely wrong, it seemed that time without Harry there only aggravated the situation between the two of them. Whenever Harry tried to question either of them about it (separately, because he wasn’t stupid enough to try it while they were together), Ron would simply shrug and Hermione would say there was nothing to talk about in a very tight voice. He wondered if something might’ve happened to exacerbate their discomfort. Normally he’d wave the notion off, believing one of them would tell him if something did, but then he thought of how he didn’t know they kissed for almost two months. There was no telling what they could be keeping from him now.
To make matters worse, Ron and Hermione hadn’t exaggerated Ginny’s aversion to Cedric. She never spoke to him unless it was absolutely required, and even then she wouldn’t look at him. Whenever Harry and Cedric were too close to one another for very long, Ginny would leave in a huff. Harry tried accommodating her the first two days they were there, but quickly became fed up with the youngest Weasley’s antics.
On the bright side, they also hadn’t exaggerated about Cedric’s housecleaning skills. He really was quite good. The only one better at it than him was Mrs. Weasley. Privately, Harry suspected this was only because Cedric held back around her so she wouldn’t be put off by him. There was no fear of that with the rest of them. As far as everyone else was concerned, the more cleaning Cedric got done, the less they had to do. At the rate he was going, he could’ve had Grimmauld Place in livable condition by the end of the month.
Not that Cedric seemed to mind. He actually enjoyed sifting through the mess, uncovering long-lost relics and ancient heirlooms. As Harry affectionately put it, Cedric was something of a “history nerd.” At first Harry found his enthusiasm endearing, and was glad Cedric had something to lift his spirits in these troubling times. Then, after the twenty-eighth time he ruled that an object’s historical value was too great to simply throw it away, it became annoying.
“Wait, wait, wait!” the excited Hufflepuff cried for the fourth time one afternoon. “Don’t throw that away!”
Harry and Ron, who were working with him, both let out a low, haggard groan. The offending object was a heavy gold locket that none of them could manage to get open. Harry was on the verge of chucking it when Cedric halted him.
“So what is it then?” Harry asked impatiently, handing to him.
“I’m not sure,” Cedric replied as he looked the bauble over. “It looks familiar, though. This symbol, the S with the emeralds, I think I may have seen it somewhere before. It must’ve been in some book I read.”
“You know,” said Ron, “you seem so normal that I sometimes forget you’re like a boy version of Hermione when it comes to school and stuff.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment, given how brilliant Hermione is,” Cedric responded coolly.
“I never said she wasn’t,” Ron frowned, ears flushing.
“Are we putting it in the Keep pile then?” Harry inquired.
“For now,” said Cedric. “Maybe I’ll look it up in the library when we get back to Hogwarts. You know,” he added, “if I go back.”
“Don’t even talk like that,” Harry said. “You will.”
With a shrug, Cedric passed the thing to Ron, who took it to the Keep pile, mumbling under his breath, “He’s keeping us from throwing out more things than Kreacher does.”
O O O O O O O
The day before Cedric’s hearing, Harry took Ron aside after lunch. He had an idea how he could make Cedric relax, but needed Ron’s help, in a way, for it to work.
“Hey Ron, uh… Would you mind giving me and Cedric the room to ourselves for a little while tonight? Maybe hang out in Fred and George’s for an hour or so?”
“Why?” Ron asked. Taking in Harry’s suggestive smile, he exclaimed, “Oh, Merlin! All right, fine. But, um, don’t do anything in my bed, okay?”
“Why would we want to do anything in your bed?” Harry wondered.
“I don’t know what sort of kinky hijinx you get up to!” Ron hissed. “Okay? Just don’t!”
“All right, all right, calm down,” said Harry. “You’re bizarre, but okay. No kinky sex hijinx in your bed. I promise.”
“Thanks,” said Ron. Under his breath, though still audible, he muttered, “At least one of us is getting some.”
Harry frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing,” Ron quickly responded. He didn’t seem to think he’d been heard.
“No, I’m sick of your Nothings,” Harry argued, “it’s clearly Something. Did you and Hermione... Did something happen?”
“Not anything new,” Ron answered. “We’ve kissed, a few times. She’ll just all of a sudden surprise me. I guess you could call it making out, but it doesn’t last very long. We haven’t since you showed up. Not that I hold it against you, just…. She’s nuts.”
“It doesn’t sound like you have much of a problem with it,” Harry pointed out.
“Would you?” asked Ron. “Okay, wrong person to ask, maybe.”
“No, I get it,” Harry assured him. “Have you tried talking to her about it?”
“Once,” Ron replied. “She acted like she didn’t know what I was talking about, and then my mum came in so I couldn’t say anything else.”
“Yeah, that is kinda nuts,” Harry agreed.
“Yeah,” said Ron. “Anyway, it’s fine, you get your rocks off with your lover boy.”
“It’s not like that,” Harry claimed. “The hearing is tomorrow. I wanted to do something to help take his mind off it.”
“Oh, right,” Ron said in a placating manner. “I’m so sure that’s the only reason.”
Truth be told, Ron’s accusation wasn’t so far off. Harry’s intentions weren’t entirely altruistic. He did want to help Cedric unwind, but he also needed some release badly as well. The boys had been living in the same house, sharing a bed, for several days, with no chance of getting in more than a few kisses and a quick grope or two. Harry wanked in the shower, sure, but it wasn’t the same. If he had to go the rest of the summer without any sexual contact, especially now that their attraction was heightened through their Scar Sense, pretty soon Harry was going to start humping the furniture.
He decided to enact his plan after dinner that evening, when Mrs. Weasley, easily the biggest obstacle in the boys’ sex lives, would be occupied with clearing up. Harry signaled Ron to let him know it was time, and then waited in their room for Cedric to finish showering. The anticipation made Harry so hard he had to fight the urge to start playing with himself, afraid he would come before Cedric got there.
Finally, the older boy entered in a bathrobe, hair still slightly damp. He smiled at the sight of Harry splayed out comfortable across their bed, then looked around, confused.
“Where’s Ron?”
“Not here,” Harry said, propping himself up on an elbow. “I asked him to clear out so we could have some privacy.”
Cedric’s eyebrow arched as his smile became more of a smirk. He slid his bathrobe off, tossing it over the back of a chair, leaving him in just a towel. Harry’s heart pounded.
“Oh did you?” said Cedric, stepping closer to the bed. “And why would you do a thing like that?”
Harry almost felt sorry for everyone in the world who would never get to experience Cedric Diggory in a towel, his eyes clouded over with desire. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
“Ron did have one condition,” Harry informed him. “We aren’t allowed to do anything on his bed.”
“Why would we want to?” asked Cedric.
“No idea,” Harry replied, “but he was quite specific about it for some reason.”
Then Harry yanked at the towel around his boyfriend’s waist so that it came loose and fell to the floor. In seconds, the older boy was on the bed with him, on top of him, and seconds after that Harry’s own clothes were on the floor. It was hard to remember to keep their voices down, lest they alert the others what they were up to. They’d never been in a situation where they could get caught, so it was never a concern before. Even when they used to meet in the prefect’s bathroom, they did it in the dead of night with the door locked. And no one could find them in the Room of Requirement. It turned Harry on a little, the danger of it, and the sneaking around.
Once they were both finished, Cedric rolled off of Harry, panting.
“Merlin, that felt great,” Cedric declared.
“Oh yes,” Harry concurred. He laughed, indicating the rapidly cooling mess they left on his midsection. “Good thing I didn’t shower yet.”
“C’mere,” Cedric said. He grabbed Harry by the back of the neck and pulled him in for a hard, passionate kiss. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” Harry said back, stroking Cedric’s cheek.
“Okay,” Cedric sighed. “You go shower. I’m sure the Order meeting will be over any minute.”
Eager to clean himself up, Harry hopped out of bed, gathered up his shower things and hurried to the bathroom.
O O O O O O O
The boys woke up at about twenty after five the next morning. In such close proximity, their Scar Sense had a tendency to rouse one at the same time as the other, a fact they were still getting used to. As Cedric got up and got dressed, Harry contemplated staying in bed. It was tempting, but he could feel Cedric’s fear and anxiety coming off him in waves. Since he couldn’t actually go to the Ministry hearing with him, the least Harry could do was keep Cedric company until he left. He struggled to sit up, leaving the comfortable warmth of his sheets behind.
“Morning,” Harry murmured sleepily.
For the first time since waking up, Harry felt Cedric’s tension ease slightly. He looked over at Harry across the darkened room, a genuine smile on his face. Cedric returned to the bed and gently stroked Harry’s hair.
“Go back to sleep, baby,” Cedric whispered, kissing Harry on the forehead.
“I wanna stay up with you,” Harry replied, his voice slightly raspy from sleep.
“You’re sweet,” Cedric told him, “but you should sleep. I’ll be fine.”
Not willing to be deterred, Harry rose from their bed. It was not a graceful movement, but he was on his feet, at least. He took Cedric’s hand and nudged him toward the door.
Together they went down to the kitchen, where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, Lupin, and sleepy Tonks were already seated around the table. Mrs. Weasley immediately rose and began fixing Cedric some breakfast. The rest continued the conversation they had been having before the boys entered. Harry didn’t let go of Cedric’s hand until the older boy needed it to feed himself, at which point Harry rested his on Cedric’s leg instead.
“You look very nice, dear,” Mrs. Weasley told Cedric as she set a plate of bacon and eggs before him.
“I think that’s the tie you were wearing when we first met,” Sirius noted.
“Yessir,” said Cedric.
“Ohh, don’t call me ‘sir’, Cedric,” Sirius groaned dramatically. “I’ve told you enough times.”
“Right, sorry,” Cedric replied. “Just nervous, I guess.”
“Well, it’ll all be over soon,” Mr. Weasley said reassuringly. “The hearing’s on my floor, in Amelia Bones’s office.”
“I’ve met her before,” Cedric said. “Dad always said she was very fair.”
“She is,” Tonks concurred after a yawn. “She’ll definitely hear you out.”
“And the law is on your side,” said Lupin. “You did what you did to save someone’s life.”
As soon as Cedric finished his meal, Mr. Weasley glanced at his watch.
“Maybe we should go now,” he said. “It’s early, but better that than sitting around waiting here, eh?”
Cedric nodded and stood. The others did as well, all patting him on the back and wishing him luck. Harry and Mrs. Weasley followed Cedric and Mr. Weasley to the front hallway, where the married couple kissed goodbye. The boys looked at each other, then shyly at the adults. Taking the hint, the Weasleys turned away politely so the boys could kiss. It was chaste, though not without feeling.
“It’s going to be fine,” Cedric promised.
“Shouldn’t I be the one comforting you?” said Harry.
“You already have,” Cedric answered.
Mrs. Weasley then took her turn, giving Cedric a hug and wishing him luck. Then, with a small wave, he and Mr. Weasley departed. Once more, Harry considered going back to sleep, but didn’t think he’d be able to. Instead, he went up to the drawing room and sat on the couch there, in the dark, to wait until the others awoke.
Staring at the dusty rug on the floor, Harry let the sounds of the old house, the creaks in the floors and Mrs. Weasley bustling about wash over him. He thought his mind would’ve been racing, worrying about Cedric, but he actually found it to be kind of listless. It wasn’t that he wasn’t concerned; he simply couldn’t get his mind to focus on it. Maybe that was for the best.
When sitting didn’t feel comfortable enough, Harry lay on his side, curled up against an arm of the couch. It was a decently comfortable couch, really. So much that Harry didn’t even realize he was falling back asleep until he woke up again. He got up and stumbled, feeling slightly disoriented, to the room he shared with Ron and Cedric. It was empty. There were voices coming from downstairs, so Harry went to the kitchen. Everyone was sitting down to what appeared to be lunch already.
Everyone, including Cedric.
“Cedr’c?” Harry mumbled groggily. “What’re y’doing here? Thought you had the hearing.”
“You slept right through it, man,” Ron informed him.
“I did?” Harry said, surprised. “I didn’t even mean to fall asleep.” He turned to Cedric. “Well? What happened? How did it go?”
Before Cedric could answer him, George announced, “He got off!”
“And without your help for once!” added Fred.
“FRED!” Mrs. Weasley shouted thunderously.
“What?” Fred replied innocently. “I was only saying he got out of trouble without Harry’s help. You know, like when Harry saved him from You-Know-Who?” He shook his head in feigned derision. “Need to get your mind out of the gutter, Mum.”
“Oh, is that what I need?” said Mrs. Weasley. “I thought what I needed was to give a smack to my cheeky-mouthed son.”
“Nope,” Fred said breezily, “definitely the gutter thing.”
Harry was barely listening to a word of this exchange, too busy hugging his boyfriend instead.
“I knew you’d be fine,” Harry murmured.
“Oh really? Could’ve fooled me,” Cedric teased.
As they ate, Cedric and Mr. Weasley filled Harry and the others in on their day and the hearing, or rather the trial, as it had apparently become. Harry took Cedric’s hand under the table as he described the dungeon courtroom and being interrogated by the Wizengamot. It was surprising to learn of Dumbledore’s participation in the trial. Especially, Harry thought bitterly, since he hadn’t seen the headmaster once since he arrived at Grimmauld Place the week before. A sharp pain cut through his scar as he thought this, so strong that he couldn’t help bringing his hand to his forehead.
“You okay?” asked Cedric.
“Yeah, it’s nothing,” Harry said. “Scar acting up, that’s all. Hang on, did you just say Mrs. Figg was a witness? Why didn’t Dumbledore have me come? I was there, I saw the whole thing!”
The elder members of the Order looked uneasily at each other. It was Mr. Weasley who finally answered Harry’s question.
“I think Dumbledore felt the Wizengamot might not find you to be a credible witness,” he said, “with all the, er, bad press you’ve been the subject of lately.”
“But that’s not fair!” Harry cried. He didn’t realize how childish it would sound until it was already out of his mouth.
“Try not to let it bother you, Harry m’boy,” Sirius said, patting Harry on the back. “Cedric’s cleared of all charges. That’s what really counts.”
This was true. What did it matter if Dumbledore had excluded him from the proceedings? He won Cedric’s case, and that was the important thing. Yet, for some reason, Harry felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of anger toward the man. He tried to shake it off, and be happy for Cedric’s sake, but it was hard.
Once lunch was finished, and Mr. Weasley had gone back to work, Mrs. Weasley announced that she was giving them all a reprieve from cleaning for the day, in honor of Cedric’s ruling. Harry and Cedric spent the day with Ron and Hermione doing nothing much at all. They didn’t discuss the trial, or anything that happened at the Ministry of Magic, again until later that evening. Cedric was sitting, pajama-clad, on the bed while Harry finished changing into his own nightclothes.
“We saw my dad,” Cedric revealed. “Today at the Ministry.”
“You what?” Harry exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I am telling you,” Cedric countered. “I didn’t want to talk about it in front of everyone else because I don’t want to make a thing out of it. We saw him in the lift on the way to Mr. Weasley’s office. He looked at us, and he said, ‘Arthur. Son.’”
The newly acquitted teen lay back on the bed, hands clasped over his stomach. He nibbled his lip for a second before speaking again.
“He called me ‘Son,’” Cedric repeated. “That was it. And the way he said it, he may as we’ll’ve been talking to some work acquaintance. It’s not like I was expecting him to ask how I’ve been or, Merlin forbid, wish me luck on my hearing. But I thought he’d be, I dunno, less cordial or something.” In a much smaller voice, he asked, “What if he never forgives me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” Harry replied hotly. “You haven’t done anything wrong. From what I understand, that’s what a large portion of the Wizengamot seemed to think, anyway.”
“They did,” said Cedric. “And that was reassuring, believe me.” He sighed. “I’ m trying to stay positive, I really, really am. It’s tough, though, when there’s so many things working against it. All the stuff the Prophet’s been saying, and my dad’s attitude today. I can’t help feeling a little hopeless at times.”
“And I understand that,” Harry said. “But you have to realize that you are a good man, no matter what anyone else tries to say about you. I know it. Our friends, and the Order, they all know it. The Goblet of Fire must've known it, or it wouldn't've picked you. Dozens of students entered, but you're the one who got chosen, by an object enchanted to select the best out of all of them.”
“I never thought about it like that,” Cedric responded.
“Well, maybe you should,” said Harry, giving Cedric a poke in the tummy. Cedric smiled.
At the same time, Ron entered from brushing his teeth and, seeing them on the bed together, asked, “You sure you two don’t need any time to, er, celebrate?”
“You’re very considerate to offer,” said Cedric, “but no, thank you. I don’t know that we could get away with that two nights in a row.”
“No problem, so long as you don’t go changing your minds in the middle of the night,” Ron said. “It might be for the best anyway. I had to tell my brothers why I needed to be in their room last night, and I can’t promise Fred didn’t use Extendible Ears to eavesdrop on you two.”
Harry and Cedric blushed profusely at this revelation.
End Notes: I know what you’re thinking. Sex again? Already? Are you sure this story is still by Kevo? Don’t worry, though, this story won’t turn into a PWP or anything. (For those who don’t know, an acronym for “Porn Without Plot, or Purpose” or, my favorite, “Plot? What Plot?”)
This chapter, like Chapter Two, also needed to undergo a Cedric de-mope-ification, and a much more intensive one at that. Also, for a while, this chapter had a longer ending, which has since been moved to somewhere in the front of the next chapter.
Sorry I didn’t get this out sooner. Readership seems to have severely declined (if comments, reviews, and story traffic on FanFiction.Net are any indication) and it’s got me disheartened and lacking the drive to write more. I will complete this story, as promised, but if no one is reading I don’t feel the need to move at a very fast pace. -kevo
Continue to Chapter Four