Fic: Sound of the Revolution, Chapter 7
Title: Sound of the Revolution, Chapter 07
Author: kevo
Pairing: Harry + Cedric.
Rating: PG-13
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 literally just finished this chapter right now. Like now as in now. Today is Cedric’s birthday in my own H/C universe, so here’s the “Cedric’s birthday” chapter! Yay!
( A Lack of Color - Chapter One)
( A Lack of Color - Chapter Thirty)
( Sound of the Revolution - Chapter One)
- - - - - - - - -
( Sound of the Revolution - Chapter Six)
The Love So Green Collection
Playlist #2:
sound of the revolution
CHAPTER SEVEN
“What You Don’t Know”
“Absolutely not!”
This was Harry’s response to the idea of using the Room of Requirement for Defense meetings. It had been his response since Cedric suggested it Saturday on their way back from Hogsmeade. He thought that would be it, until Cedric relayed his thought to Hermione. While Cedric may have dropped it when Harry said no, Hermione was not nearly as reluctant to be on Harry’s bad side.
It was now Tuesday evening, and she had been putting the pressure on him for two whole days. She, Harry, Cedric, and Ron had come down to the lake after dinner so they could discuss things without being overheard. Considering how loud Harry was being, however, they may as well have stayed in the castle.
“There has to be another place,” Harry said, his voice rising with desperation. “I still think we could make the Shrieking Shack work for us.”
“Okay,” replied Hermione. “Then why don’t you come up with a way to get twenty-eight students there and back without Umbridge noticing.”
That left Harry stumped. So, rather than answer with something rude, he kicked a rock into the lake, which was promptly thrown back out by the giant squid.
“The Room of Requirement is the only place that will be able to accommodate what we’re trying to do,” Hermione insisted. “I’m sorry, Harry, but we don’t have a choice. This is too important.”
“Easy for you to say,” Harry threw at her. “I don’t see you making any sacrifices for the group. I didn’t even want to do this, it was your idea!”
“Hey, back off, mate!” Ron barked.
“Actually, Harry, all three of us are taking a big risk by doing this” Cedric interjected. “We’ll be some serious trouble if we’re caught. Now that Umbridge has banned unauthorized groups, we could even lose our prefect status.”
“We could?” Ron said, alarmed.
“It’s a possibility, yes,” Hermione replied. “In fact, I was fully aware that it might come to this before I even suggested the idea.”
“Well I wasn’t!” Ron cried.
“Yes, but you don’t actually care,” countered Hermione.
“Ahh, that’s right,” Ron acquiesced.
Try as he might, Harry realized there was no fighting it. He’d agreed to start the Defense group because it was important. So important that he had to be willing to make sacrifices for it, for the greater good. Even if one of them was revealing his private retreat from an increasingly grim reality.
“Fine,” Harry relented. “We’ll use the Room of Requirement. I’m being selfish, and you’re right. It’s... it’s the only way.”
“Thank you, Harry,” Hermione said earnestly. “We should let everyone else know we’ve found a place, and meet as soon as possible, while they’re all still enthused about the idea. Tomorrow night, maybe?”
“That’s rather soon,” said Harry, taken aback. “I don’t have anything prepared.”
“Well, it’s the first one,” Cedric reminded him. “We only need to go over the basics at first, right? So we should probably start small. Maybe the Disarming Charm?”
“Talk about basic,” Ron snorted. “We’ve been doing that since we were twelve. Eleven? Merlin, I’ve lost track, it’s been so long…”
“I agree with Cedric,” Hermione said. “Most students know how to disarm, but they haven’t had any practice at it.”
“Not like we have, anyway,” added Harry.
“We’ll go spread the word about our new location,” Hermione said. “Don’t stay out too late.”
“Yeah, or the Big Bad Toad will hop on out here and gobble you up like flies!” Ron crowed.
Grabbing him by the arm, Hermione led Ron back up to the castle as he laughed at his own lame joke. Harry took his boyfriend’s arm too, and they continued to walk around the lake’s perimeter.
“You all right?” Cedric asked him.
“I’m okay,” Harry said. “I know it isn’t really ours. It’s a part of the school, it belongs to everyone. But I can’t help wanting to keep the Room private, between the two of us.”
“I feel the same way,” replied Cedric. “We’ve spent so much time there, it’s practically become an extension of our relationship. Even when we were… apart, I used to go in on my own. Hoping you’d come.”
“I didn’t know,” said Harry, who was touched, and a little saddened, by this revelation. “I was too afraid to go near it.”
“There’s still plenty of places we can be together,” Cedric said. “Like our old standby, the prefects’ bathroom.”
“We haven’t been there in ages,” Harry mused. “How many epic love stories can say they got their start in a bathroom, eh?”
“From what I’ve read, a lot of the gay ones, actually,” Cedric replied. “No, wait, those are the erotic ones.” He smiled. “You think we’re an epic love story?”
“Oh yes,” said Harry. “The epic-est. Most epic?”
“I like ‘epic-est,’” said Cedric.
“Me too.”
O O O O O O O
The next night, Harry, Cedric, Ron and Hermione convened in the seventh floor corridor in front of the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Like the night they first discovered it, the foursome went about making the requisite three passes in front of the blank wall opposite the wall-hanging. The Room that appeared was similar to the one they’d used in preparation for the Triwizard Tournament’s final task, only bigger. It was also missing the couch it frequently conjured for Harry and Cedric. Harry made sure of this, so that it, at least, would remain solely theirs.
By eight o’clock, everyone who’d come to the meeting in the Hog’s Head on Saturday arrived. None had any idea that the Room of Requirement existed. Only the twins had encountered it once before, while it was in the guise of a broom cupboard.
“And here I thought we knew all the castle’s secrets,” George marveled. “You’ve got one up on us, mate.”
“A place like this’s got a lot of potential,” said Fred, sounding like he was already imagining ways to apply that potential.
“Er, I suppose,” Harry replied. He could already feel his sanctuary slowly slipping from his grasp.
“This room is to be used for Defense lessons only,” Hermione stated authoritatively. “The Room of Requirement is an important resource, and should not be abused by anyone.”
“Why d’you look at us when you say that?” George demanded.
“It’s crucial that both the group and this room remain a secret,” Hermione continued coolly. “Anyone who jeopardizes the concealment of either will answer to me.”
She raised her wand to drive the point home. Everyone nodded their understanding, for no one wanted to be on the wrong end of Hermione Granger’s spellcasting. The witch flashed Harry a tiny smile, which the boy graciously returned.
“Now,” concluded Hermione, “let’s begin. I think that we all concur that Harry and Cedric will be in charge.”
“Hang on,” said Ginny suddenly. “I thought Harry was going to be teaching us.”
“I am,” Harry replied. “But Cedric was Hogwarts champion, same as me. I think he’s earned the right to be co-captain here.”
The redhead made a not-so-soft sound of derision that Harry elected to brush past. He did not need to cause a scene in the middle of their first official meeting.
“Next order of business,” Hermione said, also ignoring Ginny’s attitude, “is a name for the group.”
There were many ideas submitted, most of them intended to disparage Umbridge or the Ministry. The only good proposal came from Cho, who seemed unusually reluctant to draw attention to herself. It was Ginny’s variation, Dumbledore’s Army or the D.A. for short, which was unanimously agreed upon.
Now that they had a name, it was time to get to work. As the foursome had earlier established, they started with the most rudimentary of defense skills: the Disarming Charm. This evoked another sneering remark from the increasingly-less-pleasant Zacharius Smith, who challenged the relevance of the charm, considering what they were up against. He failed to come up with an adequate response when Harry announced that it was the spell that saved his life last June.
After discussing the basic spell technique, stance and the like, Harry had the group split into pairs for practice while he and Cedric observed and critiqued. It went well for about an hour. Then Cedric made the mistake of trying to help Ginny. Harry didn’t know what had been said to set her off, but he certainly heard her response.
“Would you back off already!?” she shrieked. “I know what I’m doing!”
Most of the room stopped mid-spell, heads whipping around to where the pair stood. Those who hadn’t overheard Ginny’s outburst, being too far or too intent on their spellwork, soon stopped as well, confused by the sudden silence. Cedric’s face turned redder than Harry had ever seen it, his mouth working soundlessly.
“I didn’t - “ he finally managed to eek out feebly. “I wasn’t trying to - “
“Forget it,” said Ginny, clearly embarrassed by her own behavior.
“I think that’s enough practice for tonight,” Harry announced.
Several people groaned their dissatisfaction with this proclamation. Hermione, noticing that they were rapidly approaching the boarders of the Hogwarts student curfew, hurried to harmonize with his decision.
With a promise that she’d find a way to communicate the time and date of the next meeting to all of them, Hermione began ushering students out the door. Ginny was among the first, to Harry’s vaxation. He mumbled that he’d be right back to no one in particular before darting out after her. Ginny hadn’t gotten far, only a quarter of the way back to the Gryffindor common room. Harry trotted up behind.
“Ginny!” he called. “Can we talk for a second?”
“Sure, Harry,” she said, stopping so he could catch up. “What’s up?
“What was that in there?” Harry asked, biting back his anger.
“I don’t know what you -”
“Yeah, you do,” he interrupted. “You want to be mad at Cedric, or me, just because we’re in love, fine. I don’t care. I stopped caring a long time ago, and I’m done trying to convince you to be nicer to him. But you do not undermine either of us while we are instructing this group, got it? If you can’t keep those feelings to yourself during our meetings, don’t bother showing up.”
“Harry…” she began.
But it was too late. He’d already turned back around and headed back toward the Room of Requirement. Hermione, Ron and Cedric were still there, along with a few stragglers. Ron’s brow furrowed at his friend.
“Everything all right, mate?” asked Ron.
“I guess we’ll see,” Harry replied cryptically, and joined them in tidying up the room without another word about it.
O O O O O O O
In the days leading up to the seventeenth of October, Cedric made no comments about the impending date's significance. Had it not been for Mrs. Diggory's mention of it during their sit-down in Hogsmeade, Harry might have missed his boyfriend's eighteenth birthday entirely. The fact that this was Cedric’s first birthday that they would celebrate together made it an important one. He imagined this must've been what Cedric felt in July. And yet Harry had the added stress of knowing this was Cedric's first birthday without the loving support of his parents. Being so inexperienced in relationships, Harry was unsure of how he should proceed. Was it better to ignore the date, as Cedric had been doing? Or perhaps over-compensate, make a big deal about it to distract Cedric from his troubles?
As always, Harry turned to the one person he continually did when he needed help in life: Hermione. He relayed the situation to her as they sat in their usual table in the Gryffindor common room.
“I think either extreme is too much,” she said when he finished. “You can't ignore your boyfriend's birthday. All that does is guarantee you won't be together for his next. And you don't want to overwhelm him. This all must be so difficult for him. At least you have four years' experience being the center of attention.”
“Oh yes,” Harry drawled. “Because that kind of experience translates so well into the real world.”
“It could,” replied Hermione. “If you wanted to go into - Wait. No. Birthday thing first. Have you thought of asking him what he wants?”
“I'm afraid I might upset him,” Harry admitted. “This may be the worst birthday he's even had, with all the stuff with his parents, and he and Cho are barely speaking lately...”
“I can’t say I’m surprised,” Hermione muttered under her breath.
“How’s that, exactly?” Harry demanded. “You’ve been suspiciously twitchy about Cho for a while now. Out with it.”
After a few seconds of contemplation, Hermione shut her textbooks and pushed her homework aside. This was a foreboding gesture, and Harry braced himself for what she had to say.
“For one thing,” Hermione began, “I’m sure she’s more than a little embarrassed about Cedric coming out.”
“Embarrassed?” Harry replied, baffled. “What right does she have -”
“Oh please, Harry,” Hermione said. “People thought they were dating! She was his escort to the Yule Ball!”
“So what? I took Parvati.”
“And basically ignored her all night until she left you for a boy from Beauxbatons,” she reminded him. “Cedric and Cho were often seen together long before the ball. There was the brief period after Cho slapped you that people wondered which champion she was really with, but when nothing came of that everyone went back to thinking she was Cedric’s girlfriend. And then he came out of the closet.”
“I still don’t understand why she’d be embarrassed,” said Harry.
“Of course you don’t.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“No no, don’t get me wrong,” Hermione quickly continued. “You and Cedric, you have every right to be self-involved about this situation. It affects your lives more directly than anyone’s. But think about Cho. The boy everyone thought she was dating turned out to be gay. A lot of people are questioning whether she made him that way.”
“It doesn’t work like that,” Harry scoffed.
“Oh, really? D’you think?” Hermione shot back. “I know that, Harry, but most people aren’t as well-informed about this sort of thing.”
“All right, but what if Cedric explained that they weren’t really dating, that he was gay the whole time and she knew about it?” Harry wondered.
“That’s not any better,” said Hermione. “In fact, it may be worse. Then she was his willing beard for ages.”
Though he was reluctant to admit it, Hermione’s logic made sense. It certainly explained Cho’s sudden turnabout in attitude.
“What’s the other thing then?” Harry asked.
“Sorry?”
“At the start you said ‘for one thing.’ What else is there?”
“Oh.” Like before, Hermione took moment before she spoke. She had Harry on the edge of his seat. “Well… I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, so please don’t tell Cedric I said anything, but… Harry, I think Cho’s in love with him.”
That was possibly the last thing Harry expected her to say.
“Hermione, Cedric’s gay,” Harry stated flatly. “Cho knows that, she’s known it for years.”
“Yes, I’m aware of the situation,” said Hermione. “Be that as it may, I still feel rather certain about this.”
Still not able to wrap his head around the idea, he started to say, “What makes you even think…” But he couldn’t complete the sentence. It felt too surreal.
“The way she talks about him, mostly,” Hermione answered.
“Because you and Cho are so close that you talk all the time,” Harry mocked.
“Maybe not, but remember last Christmas?” Hermione responded. “While you all were playing in the snow and she and I sat on the sides watching. We talked for a good long while, about a lot of things, and most of all about you two. She kept saying how happy she was that Cedric found someone, and how she was trying so hard to be supportive. A little too hard, if you ask me.
“She told me how at first she thought Cedric was going through a phase with the whole gay thing, and that she cared so much about him that she stuck by him. Then she started to say she had hoped he’d grow out of it one day and that, when he did, she’d be there. She quickly threw in that she didn’t think that anymore, but it didn’t sound very convincing.”
He didn’t want to believe it, yet deep down Harry could feel that she was right.
“But Cho’s never had a problem with me,” Harry pointed out. “At least she doesn’t act like it.”
“Well, you’re his boyfriend,” Hermione reasoned. “She probably doesn’t think he’d tolerate her being mean to you. And I don’t think Cho hates you or anything. She might resent you a bit, like Ginny does with Cedric, but I’m sure she knows it isn’t your fault. I think she realizes now that it’s not a phase. So that, coupled with how awkward it must feel to be seen with Cedric now that he’s out, has obviously resulted in Cho distancing herself from him.”
As Hermione finished her last statement, the pair fell silent for a minute. It was a lot of information to digest, and certainly not the conversation he’d been planning to have.
“I didn’t mean to get so far off topic,” Hermione said, as if sensing what Harry had been thinking. “I wasn’t even sure I wanted to tell you…”
“No, I’m glad you did,” Harry assured her. “It explains a lot.” He paused. “I’m not going to tell Cedric.”
“That’s entirely your decision,” she replied. “Honestly, I don’t know whether it’s a good idea to tell him or not. It’s why I kept it to myself for so long. But if you think it’s best not to - ”
“For now, at least,” Harry broke in. “I can tell it bother him from time to time, but he still has plenty of friends who haven’t abandoned him in all this. If I have to, I may.”
“And on some level, he may even already know,” Hermione posited. “You were aware of how Ginny felt about you.”
“Ginny played it a little looser than Cho has,” Harry pointed out. He focused his attention on the loose thread he was playing with on his armrest as he said, “Speaking of Ginny, I talked with her the other night about her behavior after the D.A. meeting. About her snapping at Cedric.”
“I thought that was where you went,” Hermione nodded. “How did it go?”
“Well, it wasn’t so much a talk, actually, as much as it was me snapping at her,” he confessed. “I didn’t really give her a chance to respond, either. I basically said that she needs to either get over it or not show up for the next meeting.”
“Sounds reasonable,” she declared.
Harry exhaled angrily, trying to release some of the tension that had increased during their conversation, despite its original purpose being to relieve it.
“And I still don’t know what to do about Cedric’s birthday,” he added aloud, unable to keep himself from laughing at the absurdity his night had devolved into.
“I really do believe you’re over thinking that one,” said Hermione. “Is it important? Yes. But you need to ask yourself: what feels right? What feels best for Cedric, and for you?”
It was such a simple question; Harry wondered why he hadn’t thought of it before. Cedric, never one for too much attention or adoration, wouldn’t want an enormous fuss made over his birthday. At the same time, Harry doubted he would want the day to pass unacknowledged. There was no way Harry could.
In the end, there was only one answer.
O O O O O O O
“Hey, did I tell you I got a birthday card from Fleur?”
“Fleur?” Harry echoed. “As in Fleur Delacour?”
“Do you know some other Fleur?” Cedric teased.
“Of course not, I’m just surprised, is all,” said Harry. “Where the hell was my birthday card three months ago? I’m the one who saved her sister from the lake!”
“Well, you didn’t really save her, she was safe the whole time,” Cedric corrected him.
“That’s not the point!” Harry argued. “She just sent you one because you’re, y’know, you. Hufflepuff Hottie.”
“Hey!” Cedric cried. “You don’t know! Maybe I made a lasting impression.”
“Or she was hoping to make one on you,” Harry scoffed. “You know, as in sex.”
“I got it, very funny,” Cedric said, giving Harry a playful nudge. “Where are we going this late, anyway?”
October the seventeenth had landed on a Thursday, a school night, drastically narrowing Harry’s options for day-of birthday celebrations. Thankfully, the conclusion he’d come to did not preclude being out on a school night. Or rather, it never had for them in the past.
“I thought we could revisit one of our old haunts tonight,” Harry said. “After all, you’re the one who said we hadn’t been there in ages.”
“The prefects’?” Cedric asked gleefully. “That is a nice surprise.”
They arrived at the prefects’ bathroom and followed the familiar ritual of Cedric giving the password to be allowed access. Harry found it odd that the word hadn’t changed since the year before. Then again, there were less students using this room on a regular basis than there were coming and going from the four school houses. The boys didn’t hesitate to strip completely naked as soon as the door was closed, even before the tub was filled. They were well past modesty at this point.
That being said, Harry did still get a thrill at the sight of Cedric in all his glory. He couldn’t blame Fleur or Cho for fancying him. Cedric was a catch. Even when he was doing a ridiculously childish cannonball dive into the now-full tub.
“Before you get too comfortable in there,” said Harry once Cedric resurfaced, “I do have something for you.”
He slipped a small package out of his pants pocket. He sat at the tub’s edge while Cedric dried his hands on one of the towels they’d retrieved and placed around the perimeter.
“You didn’t have to, you know,” he said, picking the present up gingerly.
“Oh, get real,” Harry laughed. “Birthday. Present. The two sort of go wand-in-hand, don’t they?”
“Guess you’re right.”
Cedric carefully undid the bow and pulled open the box it’d been holding shut. Nestled inside in a bed of silk was a pocket watch resembling a flattened, wingless Golden Snitch. He popped the tiny door open to reveal the Roman numeral-marked hours, and the silvery Snitch wings that served as hands.
“I was worried it would look like I was copying you,” Harry said nervously. “You know…” He gestured at the Silver Snitch locket dangling over his heart. “But it seemed so perfect, I couldn’t resist.”
“I’m glad you didn’t,” Cedric gaped. “It’s absolutely beautiful. Thank you, Harry.”
They kissed, of course. This while Cedric very carefully slid the watch back into its box and away from the tub, so that when he pulled Harry into the water suddenly his new favorite possession wouldn’t get wet.
End Notes: There was no way, when I woke up on the sixteenth, that I thought this would be ready to post the seventeenth. I had miles to go. But then inspiration struck, and I was able to type on-the-go using my Blackberry (no, I’m not sponsored, I just love my phone). By the end of the day, I had a chapter. Still didn’t have a title, and still don’t love this one, but what can you do? It fits.
I probably won’t be back for Chapter Eight until my usual anniversary post, December 7th. (Haven’t missed one yet!) Especially now that I’m unemployed, my main focus needs to be writing that I can sell. As I always say (and people always ignore and send me messages about it anyway) I will never simply abandon this story! Even if I ever decided I couldn’t write fanfic anymore, I would do a post telling you what would’ve become of this boys. That is a guarantee!
All right? All right. -kevo
Continue to Chapter Eight
Author: kevo
Pairing: Harry + Cedric.
Rating: PG-13
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 literally just finished this chapter right now. Like now as in now. Today is Cedric’s birthday in my own H/C universe, so here’s the “Cedric’s birthday” chapter! Yay!
( A Lack of Color - Chapter One)
( A Lack of Color - Chapter Thirty)
( Sound of the Revolution - Chapter One)
- - - - - - - - -
( Sound of the Revolution - Chapter Six)
The Love So Green Collection
Playlist #2:
sound of the revolution
CHAPTER SEVEN
“What You Don’t Know”
“Absolutely not!”
This was Harry’s response to the idea of using the Room of Requirement for Defense meetings. It had been his response since Cedric suggested it Saturday on their way back from Hogsmeade. He thought that would be it, until Cedric relayed his thought to Hermione. While Cedric may have dropped it when Harry said no, Hermione was not nearly as reluctant to be on Harry’s bad side.
It was now Tuesday evening, and she had been putting the pressure on him for two whole days. She, Harry, Cedric, and Ron had come down to the lake after dinner so they could discuss things without being overheard. Considering how loud Harry was being, however, they may as well have stayed in the castle.
“There has to be another place,” Harry said, his voice rising with desperation. “I still think we could make the Shrieking Shack work for us.”
“Okay,” replied Hermione. “Then why don’t you come up with a way to get twenty-eight students there and back without Umbridge noticing.”
That left Harry stumped. So, rather than answer with something rude, he kicked a rock into the lake, which was promptly thrown back out by the giant squid.
“The Room of Requirement is the only place that will be able to accommodate what we’re trying to do,” Hermione insisted. “I’m sorry, Harry, but we don’t have a choice. This is too important.”
“Easy for you to say,” Harry threw at her. “I don’t see you making any sacrifices for the group. I didn’t even want to do this, it was your idea!”
“Hey, back off, mate!” Ron barked.
“Actually, Harry, all three of us are taking a big risk by doing this” Cedric interjected. “We’ll be some serious trouble if we’re caught. Now that Umbridge has banned unauthorized groups, we could even lose our prefect status.”
“We could?” Ron said, alarmed.
“It’s a possibility, yes,” Hermione replied. “In fact, I was fully aware that it might come to this before I even suggested the idea.”
“Well I wasn’t!” Ron cried.
“Yes, but you don’t actually care,” countered Hermione.
“Ahh, that’s right,” Ron acquiesced.
Try as he might, Harry realized there was no fighting it. He’d agreed to start the Defense group because it was important. So important that he had to be willing to make sacrifices for it, for the greater good. Even if one of them was revealing his private retreat from an increasingly grim reality.
“Fine,” Harry relented. “We’ll use the Room of Requirement. I’m being selfish, and you’re right. It’s... it’s the only way.”
“Thank you, Harry,” Hermione said earnestly. “We should let everyone else know we’ve found a place, and meet as soon as possible, while they’re all still enthused about the idea. Tomorrow night, maybe?”
“That’s rather soon,” said Harry, taken aback. “I don’t have anything prepared.”
“Well, it’s the first one,” Cedric reminded him. “We only need to go over the basics at first, right? So we should probably start small. Maybe the Disarming Charm?”
“Talk about basic,” Ron snorted. “We’ve been doing that since we were twelve. Eleven? Merlin, I’ve lost track, it’s been so long…”
“I agree with Cedric,” Hermione said. “Most students know how to disarm, but they haven’t had any practice at it.”
“Not like we have, anyway,” added Harry.
“We’ll go spread the word about our new location,” Hermione said. “Don’t stay out too late.”
“Yeah, or the Big Bad Toad will hop on out here and gobble you up like flies!” Ron crowed.
Grabbing him by the arm, Hermione led Ron back up to the castle as he laughed at his own lame joke. Harry took his boyfriend’s arm too, and they continued to walk around the lake’s perimeter.
“You all right?” Cedric asked him.
“I’m okay,” Harry said. “I know it isn’t really ours. It’s a part of the school, it belongs to everyone. But I can’t help wanting to keep the Room private, between the two of us.”
“I feel the same way,” replied Cedric. “We’ve spent so much time there, it’s practically become an extension of our relationship. Even when we were… apart, I used to go in on my own. Hoping you’d come.”
“I didn’t know,” said Harry, who was touched, and a little saddened, by this revelation. “I was too afraid to go near it.”
“There’s still plenty of places we can be together,” Cedric said. “Like our old standby, the prefects’ bathroom.”
“We haven’t been there in ages,” Harry mused. “How many epic love stories can say they got their start in a bathroom, eh?”
“From what I’ve read, a lot of the gay ones, actually,” Cedric replied. “No, wait, those are the erotic ones.” He smiled. “You think we’re an epic love story?”
“Oh yes,” said Harry. “The epic-est. Most epic?”
“I like ‘epic-est,’” said Cedric.
“Me too.”
O O O O O O O
The next night, Harry, Cedric, Ron and Hermione convened in the seventh floor corridor in front of the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Like the night they first discovered it, the foursome went about making the requisite three passes in front of the blank wall opposite the wall-hanging. The Room that appeared was similar to the one they’d used in preparation for the Triwizard Tournament’s final task, only bigger. It was also missing the couch it frequently conjured for Harry and Cedric. Harry made sure of this, so that it, at least, would remain solely theirs.
By eight o’clock, everyone who’d come to the meeting in the Hog’s Head on Saturday arrived. None had any idea that the Room of Requirement existed. Only the twins had encountered it once before, while it was in the guise of a broom cupboard.
“And here I thought we knew all the castle’s secrets,” George marveled. “You’ve got one up on us, mate.”
“A place like this’s got a lot of potential,” said Fred, sounding like he was already imagining ways to apply that potential.
“Er, I suppose,” Harry replied. He could already feel his sanctuary slowly slipping from his grasp.
“This room is to be used for Defense lessons only,” Hermione stated authoritatively. “The Room of Requirement is an important resource, and should not be abused by anyone.”
“Why d’you look at us when you say that?” George demanded.
“It’s crucial that both the group and this room remain a secret,” Hermione continued coolly. “Anyone who jeopardizes the concealment of either will answer to me.”
She raised her wand to drive the point home. Everyone nodded their understanding, for no one wanted to be on the wrong end of Hermione Granger’s spellcasting. The witch flashed Harry a tiny smile, which the boy graciously returned.
“Now,” concluded Hermione, “let’s begin. I think that we all concur that Harry and Cedric will be in charge.”
“Hang on,” said Ginny suddenly. “I thought Harry was going to be teaching us.”
“I am,” Harry replied. “But Cedric was Hogwarts champion, same as me. I think he’s earned the right to be co-captain here.”
The redhead made a not-so-soft sound of derision that Harry elected to brush past. He did not need to cause a scene in the middle of their first official meeting.
“Next order of business,” Hermione said, also ignoring Ginny’s attitude, “is a name for the group.”
There were many ideas submitted, most of them intended to disparage Umbridge or the Ministry. The only good proposal came from Cho, who seemed unusually reluctant to draw attention to herself. It was Ginny’s variation, Dumbledore’s Army or the D.A. for short, which was unanimously agreed upon.
Now that they had a name, it was time to get to work. As the foursome had earlier established, they started with the most rudimentary of defense skills: the Disarming Charm. This evoked another sneering remark from the increasingly-less-pleasant Zacharius Smith, who challenged the relevance of the charm, considering what they were up against. He failed to come up with an adequate response when Harry announced that it was the spell that saved his life last June.
After discussing the basic spell technique, stance and the like, Harry had the group split into pairs for practice while he and Cedric observed and critiqued. It went well for about an hour. Then Cedric made the mistake of trying to help Ginny. Harry didn’t know what had been said to set her off, but he certainly heard her response.
“Would you back off already!?” she shrieked. “I know what I’m doing!”
Most of the room stopped mid-spell, heads whipping around to where the pair stood. Those who hadn’t overheard Ginny’s outburst, being too far or too intent on their spellwork, soon stopped as well, confused by the sudden silence. Cedric’s face turned redder than Harry had ever seen it, his mouth working soundlessly.
“I didn’t - “ he finally managed to eek out feebly. “I wasn’t trying to - “
“Forget it,” said Ginny, clearly embarrassed by her own behavior.
“I think that’s enough practice for tonight,” Harry announced.
Several people groaned their dissatisfaction with this proclamation. Hermione, noticing that they were rapidly approaching the boarders of the Hogwarts student curfew, hurried to harmonize with his decision.
With a promise that she’d find a way to communicate the time and date of the next meeting to all of them, Hermione began ushering students out the door. Ginny was among the first, to Harry’s vaxation. He mumbled that he’d be right back to no one in particular before darting out after her. Ginny hadn’t gotten far, only a quarter of the way back to the Gryffindor common room. Harry trotted up behind.
“Ginny!” he called. “Can we talk for a second?”
“Sure, Harry,” she said, stopping so he could catch up. “What’s up?
“What was that in there?” Harry asked, biting back his anger.
“I don’t know what you -”
“Yeah, you do,” he interrupted. “You want to be mad at Cedric, or me, just because we’re in love, fine. I don’t care. I stopped caring a long time ago, and I’m done trying to convince you to be nicer to him. But you do not undermine either of us while we are instructing this group, got it? If you can’t keep those feelings to yourself during our meetings, don’t bother showing up.”
“Harry…” she began.
But it was too late. He’d already turned back around and headed back toward the Room of Requirement. Hermione, Ron and Cedric were still there, along with a few stragglers. Ron’s brow furrowed at his friend.
“Everything all right, mate?” asked Ron.
“I guess we’ll see,” Harry replied cryptically, and joined them in tidying up the room without another word about it.
O O O O O O O
In the days leading up to the seventeenth of October, Cedric made no comments about the impending date's significance. Had it not been for Mrs. Diggory's mention of it during their sit-down in Hogsmeade, Harry might have missed his boyfriend's eighteenth birthday entirely. The fact that this was Cedric’s first birthday that they would celebrate together made it an important one. He imagined this must've been what Cedric felt in July. And yet Harry had the added stress of knowing this was Cedric's first birthday without the loving support of his parents. Being so inexperienced in relationships, Harry was unsure of how he should proceed. Was it better to ignore the date, as Cedric had been doing? Or perhaps over-compensate, make a big deal about it to distract Cedric from his troubles?
As always, Harry turned to the one person he continually did when he needed help in life: Hermione. He relayed the situation to her as they sat in their usual table in the Gryffindor common room.
“I think either extreme is too much,” she said when he finished. “You can't ignore your boyfriend's birthday. All that does is guarantee you won't be together for his next. And you don't want to overwhelm him. This all must be so difficult for him. At least you have four years' experience being the center of attention.”
“Oh yes,” Harry drawled. “Because that kind of experience translates so well into the real world.”
“It could,” replied Hermione. “If you wanted to go into - Wait. No. Birthday thing first. Have you thought of asking him what he wants?”
“I'm afraid I might upset him,” Harry admitted. “This may be the worst birthday he's even had, with all the stuff with his parents, and he and Cho are barely speaking lately...”
“I can’t say I’m surprised,” Hermione muttered under her breath.
“How’s that, exactly?” Harry demanded. “You’ve been suspiciously twitchy about Cho for a while now. Out with it.”
After a few seconds of contemplation, Hermione shut her textbooks and pushed her homework aside. This was a foreboding gesture, and Harry braced himself for what she had to say.
“For one thing,” Hermione began, “I’m sure she’s more than a little embarrassed about Cedric coming out.”
“Embarrassed?” Harry replied, baffled. “What right does she have -”
“Oh please, Harry,” Hermione said. “People thought they were dating! She was his escort to the Yule Ball!”
“So what? I took Parvati.”
“And basically ignored her all night until she left you for a boy from Beauxbatons,” she reminded him. “Cedric and Cho were often seen together long before the ball. There was the brief period after Cho slapped you that people wondered which champion she was really with, but when nothing came of that everyone went back to thinking she was Cedric’s girlfriend. And then he came out of the closet.”
“I still don’t understand why she’d be embarrassed,” said Harry.
“Of course you don’t.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“No no, don’t get me wrong,” Hermione quickly continued. “You and Cedric, you have every right to be self-involved about this situation. It affects your lives more directly than anyone’s. But think about Cho. The boy everyone thought she was dating turned out to be gay. A lot of people are questioning whether she made him that way.”
“It doesn’t work like that,” Harry scoffed.
“Oh, really? D’you think?” Hermione shot back. “I know that, Harry, but most people aren’t as well-informed about this sort of thing.”
“All right, but what if Cedric explained that they weren’t really dating, that he was gay the whole time and she knew about it?” Harry wondered.
“That’s not any better,” said Hermione. “In fact, it may be worse. Then she was his willing beard for ages.”
Though he was reluctant to admit it, Hermione’s logic made sense. It certainly explained Cho’s sudden turnabout in attitude.
“What’s the other thing then?” Harry asked.
“Sorry?”
“At the start you said ‘for one thing.’ What else is there?”
“Oh.” Like before, Hermione took moment before she spoke. She had Harry on the edge of his seat. “Well… I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, so please don’t tell Cedric I said anything, but… Harry, I think Cho’s in love with him.”
That was possibly the last thing Harry expected her to say.
“Hermione, Cedric’s gay,” Harry stated flatly. “Cho knows that, she’s known it for years.”
“Yes, I’m aware of the situation,” said Hermione. “Be that as it may, I still feel rather certain about this.”
Still not able to wrap his head around the idea, he started to say, “What makes you even think…” But he couldn’t complete the sentence. It felt too surreal.
“The way she talks about him, mostly,” Hermione answered.
“Because you and Cho are so close that you talk all the time,” Harry mocked.
“Maybe not, but remember last Christmas?” Hermione responded. “While you all were playing in the snow and she and I sat on the sides watching. We talked for a good long while, about a lot of things, and most of all about you two. She kept saying how happy she was that Cedric found someone, and how she was trying so hard to be supportive. A little too hard, if you ask me.
“She told me how at first she thought Cedric was going through a phase with the whole gay thing, and that she cared so much about him that she stuck by him. Then she started to say she had hoped he’d grow out of it one day and that, when he did, she’d be there. She quickly threw in that she didn’t think that anymore, but it didn’t sound very convincing.”
He didn’t want to believe it, yet deep down Harry could feel that she was right.
“But Cho’s never had a problem with me,” Harry pointed out. “At least she doesn’t act like it.”
“Well, you’re his boyfriend,” Hermione reasoned. “She probably doesn’t think he’d tolerate her being mean to you. And I don’t think Cho hates you or anything. She might resent you a bit, like Ginny does with Cedric, but I’m sure she knows it isn’t your fault. I think she realizes now that it’s not a phase. So that, coupled with how awkward it must feel to be seen with Cedric now that he’s out, has obviously resulted in Cho distancing herself from him.”
As Hermione finished her last statement, the pair fell silent for a minute. It was a lot of information to digest, and certainly not the conversation he’d been planning to have.
“I didn’t mean to get so far off topic,” Hermione said, as if sensing what Harry had been thinking. “I wasn’t even sure I wanted to tell you…”
“No, I’m glad you did,” Harry assured her. “It explains a lot.” He paused. “I’m not going to tell Cedric.”
“That’s entirely your decision,” she replied. “Honestly, I don’t know whether it’s a good idea to tell him or not. It’s why I kept it to myself for so long. But if you think it’s best not to - ”
“For now, at least,” Harry broke in. “I can tell it bother him from time to time, but he still has plenty of friends who haven’t abandoned him in all this. If I have to, I may.”
“And on some level, he may even already know,” Hermione posited. “You were aware of how Ginny felt about you.”
“Ginny played it a little looser than Cho has,” Harry pointed out. He focused his attention on the loose thread he was playing with on his armrest as he said, “Speaking of Ginny, I talked with her the other night about her behavior after the D.A. meeting. About her snapping at Cedric.”
“I thought that was where you went,” Hermione nodded. “How did it go?”
“Well, it wasn’t so much a talk, actually, as much as it was me snapping at her,” he confessed. “I didn’t really give her a chance to respond, either. I basically said that she needs to either get over it or not show up for the next meeting.”
“Sounds reasonable,” she declared.
Harry exhaled angrily, trying to release some of the tension that had increased during their conversation, despite its original purpose being to relieve it.
“And I still don’t know what to do about Cedric’s birthday,” he added aloud, unable to keep himself from laughing at the absurdity his night had devolved into.
“I really do believe you’re over thinking that one,” said Hermione. “Is it important? Yes. But you need to ask yourself: what feels right? What feels best for Cedric, and for you?”
It was such a simple question; Harry wondered why he hadn’t thought of it before. Cedric, never one for too much attention or adoration, wouldn’t want an enormous fuss made over his birthday. At the same time, Harry doubted he would want the day to pass unacknowledged. There was no way Harry could.
In the end, there was only one answer.
O O O O O O O
“Hey, did I tell you I got a birthday card from Fleur?”
“Fleur?” Harry echoed. “As in Fleur Delacour?”
“Do you know some other Fleur?” Cedric teased.
“Of course not, I’m just surprised, is all,” said Harry. “Where the hell was my birthday card three months ago? I’m the one who saved her sister from the lake!”
“Well, you didn’t really save her, she was safe the whole time,” Cedric corrected him.
“That’s not the point!” Harry argued. “She just sent you one because you’re, y’know, you. Hufflepuff Hottie.”
“Hey!” Cedric cried. “You don’t know! Maybe I made a lasting impression.”
“Or she was hoping to make one on you,” Harry scoffed. “You know, as in sex.”
“I got it, very funny,” Cedric said, giving Harry a playful nudge. “Where are we going this late, anyway?”
October the seventeenth had landed on a Thursday, a school night, drastically narrowing Harry’s options for day-of birthday celebrations. Thankfully, the conclusion he’d come to did not preclude being out on a school night. Or rather, it never had for them in the past.
“I thought we could revisit one of our old haunts tonight,” Harry said. “After all, you’re the one who said we hadn’t been there in ages.”
“The prefects’?” Cedric asked gleefully. “That is a nice surprise.”
They arrived at the prefects’ bathroom and followed the familiar ritual of Cedric giving the password to be allowed access. Harry found it odd that the word hadn’t changed since the year before. Then again, there were less students using this room on a regular basis than there were coming and going from the four school houses. The boys didn’t hesitate to strip completely naked as soon as the door was closed, even before the tub was filled. They were well past modesty at this point.
That being said, Harry did still get a thrill at the sight of Cedric in all his glory. He couldn’t blame Fleur or Cho for fancying him. Cedric was a catch. Even when he was doing a ridiculously childish cannonball dive into the now-full tub.
“Before you get too comfortable in there,” said Harry once Cedric resurfaced, “I do have something for you.”
He slipped a small package out of his pants pocket. He sat at the tub’s edge while Cedric dried his hands on one of the towels they’d retrieved and placed around the perimeter.
“You didn’t have to, you know,” he said, picking the present up gingerly.
“Oh, get real,” Harry laughed. “Birthday. Present. The two sort of go wand-in-hand, don’t they?”
“Guess you’re right.”
Cedric carefully undid the bow and pulled open the box it’d been holding shut. Nestled inside in a bed of silk was a pocket watch resembling a flattened, wingless Golden Snitch. He popped the tiny door open to reveal the Roman numeral-marked hours, and the silvery Snitch wings that served as hands.
“I was worried it would look like I was copying you,” Harry said nervously. “You know…” He gestured at the Silver Snitch locket dangling over his heart. “But it seemed so perfect, I couldn’t resist.”
“I’m glad you didn’t,” Cedric gaped. “It’s absolutely beautiful. Thank you, Harry.”
They kissed, of course. This while Cedric very carefully slid the watch back into its box and away from the tub, so that when he pulled Harry into the water suddenly his new favorite possession wouldn’t get wet.
End Notes: There was no way, when I woke up on the sixteenth, that I thought this would be ready to post the seventeenth. I had miles to go. But then inspiration struck, and I was able to type on-the-go using my Blackberry (no, I’m not sponsored, I just love my phone). By the end of the day, I had a chapter. Still didn’t have a title, and still don’t love this one, but what can you do? It fits.
I probably won’t be back for Chapter Eight until my usual anniversary post, December 7th. (Haven’t missed one yet!) Especially now that I’m unemployed, my main focus needs to be writing that I can sell. As I always say (and people always ignore and send me messages about it anyway) I will never simply abandon this story! Even if I ever decided I couldn’t write fanfic anymore, I would do a post telling you what would’ve become of this boys. That is a guarantee!
All right? All right. -kevo
Continue to Chapter Eight