Fic: Sound of the Revolution, Chapter 1
Title: Sound of the Revolution, Prologue & Chapter 01
Author: kevo
Pairing: Harry + Cedric. The boys are back.
Rating: mostly PG-13 with a smack of NC-17 thrown in toward the end.
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.)
WARNING: Sexual content.
Author’s Note: There’s a new moon and a solar eclipse on the same day. That’s too mystical not to take advantage of. So here’s the first chapter of Playlist #2 in the Love So Green Collection! Thanky to my fiancée for being my constant beta. And please, folks, leave comments. If I don’t know you’re reading, I’m less motivated to write.
( A Lack of Color - Chapter One)
( A Lack of Color - Chapter Thirty)
- - - - - - - - -
The Love So Green Collection
Playlist #2:
sound of the revolution
PROLOGUE
Harry Potter was not normal.
He knew this. He'd always known it, from the time he was little. If he hadn't figured it out on his own, he could've guessed from the way his aunt and uncle recoiled from him, or the way his own cousin beat on him, or the way the other children looked at him strangely.
Even after discovering he was a wizard, there was still something about him that was distinctively different from the other witches and wizards at Hogwarts. Eventually Harry decided to simply accept that it was his fate to always be this way. There was no point fighting it, no sense in going against the grain.
Then, when Harry was fourteen, something unexpected happened. He found someone who was like him. He found Cedric Diggory. In Cedric, Harry found a rival, a champion, an adventure, a best friend, a boyfriend.
But most of all, in Cedric, Harry finally found a reason to fight.
CHAPTER ONE
“Feel This”
Cedric's outside.
The thought appeared in Harry Potter's mind from out of nowhere. The young man was lying on his bed, in his room on the second floor of 4 Privet Drive. From where he lay, he couldn't possibly see the street in front of his aunt and uncle's house to have noticed anyone, let alone his boyfriend of over eight months. Yet he knew, without so much as a glance out the window, that it was true. Having lived with this rapidly-developing new ability for several weeks now, Harry learned to trust it.
It was six o'clock in the evening, and the Dursley house was completely empty except for the teen wizard. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were at an event for the drill manufacturer that Vernon worked for, and had made it quite clear that they would be home very late. Harry knew his cousin Dudley would be using their absence to his advantage, staying out with the band of punks he called his friends far later than his normal curfew. And, while others may have been disappointed that none of their family was around to celebrate their fifteenth birthday, Harry was more than happy to have them gone.
He had someone better to celebrate with this year.
Harry took a moment to look around and make sure his room was presentable for his waiting guest, and to check his appearance in the mirror. His hair was a bit messy, but that was the norm. There was also an irrepressible grin plastered on his face, but that was the norm, too, when Cedric was around. He trundled down the stairs to the front door. Harry pulled it open and found, like he knew he would, Cedric Diggory waiting on the other side. He felt a ping of giddiness coming off of Cedric.
"Happy Birthday, Harry," the older boy said with a smile.
Unlike most wizards Harry had met, Cedric did an excellent job acclimating to Muggle fashion. Cedric was wearing a crimson button-down shirt under a blazer with dark jeans and dress shoes. Harry's eyes lingered briefly on the lightning bolt scar on the left side of Cedric's neck. Tucked under Cedric's right arm was a package wrapped in shiny green paper, unmistakably a birthday present.
Feeling so overcome with excitement, and with the emotions he felt coming from Cedric as well, Harry leaned up and kissed his boyfriend, not caring that they were standing in plain view of the rest of the street. Cedric pulled away, but not so fast that he didn't kiss back first.
"Whoa there!" Cedric admonished. "Kind of risky, standing in the front door, broad daylight and everything."
"Couldn't help myself," Harry replied. "Besides,” he added, tapping the scar on his own forehead matching the one on Cedric’s neck, “I know you wanted me to."
“It doesn’t take a psychic link to tell that I want my boyfriend to kiss me,” Cedric replied.
“Good point,” Harry smirked.
They initially realized there was something strange going on the day after their encounter with Voldemort, after he saved Cedric from Peter Pettigrew's Killing Curse. The boys kept guessing what the other was thinking with uncanny accuracy, and answering questions without being asked, things like that. At first they chalked it up to knowing each other so well, having dated for more than half a year. But then, over the four weeks since then, it began growing stronger. They both started being able to feel the other's presence within a certain proximity. They could often sense each other's emotions with varying degrees of intensity. They could even, on occasion, tell what the other was thinking; not the whole thought, more a general impression of what was on the other's mind at the moment. Cedric had named it their Scar Sense, as a nod to their twin scars, the undoubted source of the connection.
The boys had, for the most part, no problem with this unforeseen turn of events. There were no secrets between them, so all it did was bring them closer. It did, however, make it difficult to control their emotions at times. When you could feel the person you desired wanting you just as much, a lot of willpower was required not to jump each other's bones right then and there, even if the then and there was in the middle of a crowded street. They were able to keep their hormones in check, for the most part, but since it was his birthday Harry didn't see the harm in indulging a little bit.
"Come on in," Harry said, moving aside so that Cedric could enter.
"So this is what this place looks like on the inside," Cedric observed upon entry, placing Harry's present on the table by the door.
Harry nodded
Since the school year ended, Cedric had been coming to visit Harry several times a week. However, this was the first time he ever set foot inside Harry's house. The younger boy felt it was best to keep Cedric's visits secret from his magic-hating, homophobic family, and Cedric didn't disagree. They met down the street instead and would wander around Little Whinging together. There was a park several blocks away that they liked to frequent, and a small cafe in town where they'd seek shelter when the summer heat became too unbearable. Harry felt guilty that he couldn't offer anything more exciting to do, but Cedric didn't mind at all. Thankfully his interest in Muggle culture made Harry's small town seem exciting.
Although he'd been coming for some time now, Harry found it strange to see Cedric standing in the front hallway of his aunt and uncle's house. Having his wizard boyfriend in the house he grew up in was difficult for Harry to wrap his head around. Yet, at the same time, it felt right. Like his past was merging with his present.
Of course it was also just plain nerve-wracking to have his boyfriend over while there was no one home. They had, as Hermione put it, "been intimate" before, many times, only it had been more than a month since they'd been able to do anything more than make out briefly in private corners. Once, when they were so desperate for release that they didn't care about the consequences of getting caught, they exchanged hand jobs in a stall in the men's room at the park, but that was it. Harry's news that his house would be vacant the night of his birthday had carried the clear implication that they would have complete, undisturbed privacy for an evening. It took an enormous amount of restraint not to simply rip Cedric's clothes off the moment he crossed the threshold.
"Would you like a tour?" Harry offered, attempting to get his mind off of sex.
"Sure," said Cedric.
"Okay, well, this is the hallway," Harry began. "Obviously. Through here is the living room, where Ron, the twins, and Mr. Weasley Floo'd in last summer, scaring the crap out of my family." Cedric laughed as Harry continued, gesturing down the hall behind him. "That's the kitchen, where Dobby the house-elf tried to get me kicked out of school by performing a Hover Charm on a pudding my aunt was serving to Muggle guests."
"Why on earth would he do a thing like that?" Cedric asked.
"To protect me from a younger version of Voldemort made up of memories stored in a diary," Harry explained matter-of-factly.
"Ah, isn't that always the reason?" Cedric mused.
Harry's gaze slipped to the left, to the door under the stairs. Behind it was the cupboard he'd slept in for the first ten years of his life. Either because he'd notice Harry's glance or because he could tell what Harry was thinking, Cedric looked, too, and instantly understood what he was seeing.
This was an aspect of their Scar Sense that Harry did not enjoy: they had no real control of it. Because of this, they sometimes found themselves sharing or feeling things they would rather not. Like now, when he could feel Cedric's sympathy for him. It made Harry wish that there was a way to keep their feelings to themselves.
"So this is it, eh?" Cedric said.
"Cupboard under the stairs," Harry confirmed. "I'm surprised it hasn't popped up in any of my unauthorized biographies yet."
"May I see it?" Cedric asked timidly.
"I don't know, Cedric..." Harry said.
"Please?"
Harry wanted to say no, but he also didn't want to be rude. And he knew that if he could trust anyone not to judge him it would be Cedric. So, with no small amount of hesitation, Harry unlatched the door and opened the cupboard.
It was small, much smaller than Harry remembered. Living in there now, at his current size, would probably feel like living in his school trunk. The camp bed he once slept on was still there. The whole cupboard appeared to have been untouched for some time. Harry wondered whether his family was too afraid to come near it now. Cedric went in, stooping low so he wouldn't hit his head. He sat on the bed and looked around. To Harry's relief, he could feel no pity coming from Cedric. There was only sadness intermingling with anger and an unexpected sense of pride.
"I have so much respect for you, Harry," Cedric told him. "A lot of people might've gone through everything you have and come out rotten and angry. But you... You're so full of kindness and forgiveness." He took Harry's hand. "You’re just so amazing."
"Thanks," Harry said, at a loss for words.
"Now," said Cedric, exiting the cupboard carefully, "I think it's time we got your birthday celebration underway, how about you?"
"I’m not going to argue with that," Harry replied. "What did you have in mind?"
"Well, I thought we'd hit the Red Windmill," Cedric proposed. "I've grown rather fond of our little cafe during these visits. And then maybe catch a movie?"
"'Catch a movie'?" Harry quoted back. "You sound like such a Muggle."
"I know!" Cedric exclaimed. "Isn't it great? Then after that we'll come back here and you can open your present."
"You’re going to make me wait all night for my present?" Harry complained. "No fair!"
"Now, now, behave, or you'll get nothing at all," Cedric scolded. "Besides, if you're patient, it won't be the only thing you get to unwrap."
"When you put it that way, how can I say no?" Harry asked. "I have a thought, though. How about, instead of going out to a movie, we watch a video here instead? The Dursleys have plenty to choose from and, besides, we can go out to see one any night we want. Tonight we have the house to ourselves. We might as well take advantage of it."
"I bet that's not all you want to take advantage of, Potter," Cedric said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"You know it, Diggory," Harry shot back.
"Sounds good," Cedric chuckled. "Now, let's get going, I'm famished."
"Uh, you should probably take your coat off first," Harry said. "There's a heat wave on, what were you thinking wearing a jacket?"
"That I'd look sexy and you'd want to have your way with me," Cedric said plainly.
"Oh please," Harry scoffed. "You could wear a dress and I'd still want to have my way with you. But, uh, don't, because that'd be weird."
"I was gonna say..."
So Cedric hung his jacket up in the coat closet and they headed out the door. The boys kept close to one another as they walked into town but were careful not to be too touchy. Despite his earlier lapse of self-control, Harry didn't want to risk anyone seeing them holding hands in public. He knew people wouldn't take too kindly to it.
"So, how's everyone doing?" Harry inquired.
Cedric cast a paranoid glance around before answering. Harry was used to this reaction by now, yet still thought it was overkill. As Harry had grown tired of saying, it wasn't likely that there were any Death Eater spies in the quiet Muggle town of Little Whinging. Harry guessed that old Mad-Eye Moody had been preaching "constant vigilance" all summer and that, at least for Cedric, the message had stuck. He wouldn’t even reveal the name of the group he was working for, the “anti-Death Eaters” as Harry thought of them. Once he slipped and called it “the Order” and was immediately horrified with himself. He berated himself almost as badly as Dobby the house-elf did when he spoke ill of his masters.
"They’re good," Cedric answered when he seemed satisfied there were no enemies about. "Everyone sends their love and birthday wishes.”
“Yeah, I got a bunch of birthday cards late last night,” Harry said wistfully. “How are Ron and Hermione?”
“They’re good, too,” said Cedric. “Missing you like crazy. They feel terrible that they haven’t been able to write with any more details than they’ve been.”
Harry experienced a brief surge of vindication that his closest friends felt terrible, and then felt terrible himself. It wasn’t their fault they couldn’t give him any information. Even Cedric, who was able to appear in person, couldn’t tell Harry very much. And he didn’t begrudge their being together. If anything, he was sort of glad. Since their clandestine kiss at Fred and George’s New Year’s Eve party, the two hadn’t been quite right. Hopefully this time without Harry would give the two a chance to sort things out.
“Tell them I miss them for me?” Harry asked.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to see them soon,” Cedric said confidently.
"I’m not,” said Harry.
"Hey now," Cedric said, patting Harry's arm affectionately. “Dumbledore will give the OK soon. I know it."
"Yeah, maybe," Harry replied, though he didn't really mean it. "Have you been able to talk to him?"
"Still not yet," Cedric answered. "He hasn't been around whenever I've gone there. Or much at all for that matter, according to the others."
"Okay. Anything else you can tell me?"
Like always, Cedric briefly filled Harry in on the latest news from the warfront. He didn't know much about the Order’s plans, or at least not anything he could share. Cedric's only real assignment was to watch over Harry. It still bothered Harry to know that he was under guard, and had been since leaving Hogwarts. The Order originally wanted to keep this from Harry, but Cedric warned them against this, knowing Harry would resent the secrecy more than being under surveillance. Trusting their new recruit’s judgment, they let Cedric tell him.
Only a couple of members had argued against Cedric's admittance to the Order. In the end, they accepted him. He was, after all, the only person over seventeen who had been present the night Voldemort was resurrected. Being the youngest and least experienced member, Cedric took his responsibilities quite seriously. A little too seriously, in Harry's opinion. Harry knew there was a terrible enemy lurking out there, but Cedric reached for his wand every time a stranger came within ten feet of them. It was distracting, not to mention how edgy it made the both of them.
"I suppose you've already seen the latest Prophet?" Cedric asked after he finished his update.
"And wished I didn't? Yes," answered Harry. "Same as always. Dumbledore's either senile at best or sinister at worst. And you and I are liars and glory-seekers."
"Not to mention me being deficient of moral fiber for seducing a boy of fourteen," Cedric mumbled, bitterness and shame dulling his voice.
"At least I'm fifteen now," Harry pointed out meekly. Then, outraged, "I can't believe how twisted they are."
"It's like Professor Lupin said, Fudge is leaning on the paper to report that things are business as usual, and to make us look bad so people won’t believe us," said Cedric. “It isn’t entirely their fault. When the Minister of Magic tells you to do something, you don’t typically question it.”
"Still sucks," Harry muttered. He nudged Cedric with his shoulder. "You know you're not really morally deficient, right?"
Cedric shrugged.
It pained Harry to see Cedric be so down on himself. He didn't have to wonder where the boy's low self-esteem came from, either. Cedric didn't talk much about his parents, but what he had divulged didn't paint a pleasant picture. Neither of them were happy about their son's involvement with the Boy Who Lived. Cedric's mother claimed only to be concerned because of Harry's history with Voldemort. Harry couldn't blame her for that; it concerned him, too. As for Mr. Diggory, his condemnation seemed to be based entirely on intolerance. On top of all that, they refused to speak about or even acknowledge Voldemort's return, though Cedric was certain they believed him. Their disapproval of his involvement with Harry and in the resistance made life in the Diggory household very tense. Despite Cedric's insistence that he wasn't responsible, Harry felt guilty that Cedric's family life was so difficult. He did his best to make sure Cedric's time in Little Whinging was always as pleasant and carefree as he could.
The Red Windmill wasn’t too far from Privet Drive. Upon arriving, they took a seat at their favorite table, by the windows facing the park down the street. Their usual waitress, Kristin, a somewhat pretty girl around their age, came and took their drink orders, glancing coyly at the older boy the whole time. She went to get their drinks, leaving Harry to smirk at his boyfriend.
"What?" Cedric demanded.
"She so has a crush on you," Harry chuckled.
"Huh?" Cedric squeaked. "No she doesn't."
"Of course she does," said Harry. "She has for weeks. Not that I blame her. You have a way with people. You're sort of..." He thought for a moment. "Shit, what's the word I'm looking for?"
"Charming?" Cedric offered. "Enchanting?"
"No," Harry said. "I mean yes, but no, those aren't the one I'm thinking of. Something with a D. It's on the tip of my tongue, too...." He sighed. "That's gonna bug me."
Whatever the word he'd been trying to remember was, it didn't come to him before Kristin returned with their drinks. After their food was ordered and Kristin had scurried back to the kitchen, blushing over the smile Cedric had graced her with, the older boy raised his glass. Harry lifted his as well, meeting Cedric in a toast.
"To your birthday," Cedric pronounced. "And to the many more you have yet to celebrate."
"That we have to celebrate," Harry corrected.
"Too right," Cedric replied.
They shared a smile as they took a drink.
"And hey," said Harry, "now there's only a two year age gap between us."
"Until October, when I turn eighteen," Cedric pointed out.
Harry considered that for a minute. He’d never given much thought to the age difference between them before coming out. Back then it didn’t matter, because there was no one’s opinion to take into account except their own. Now that the whole school knew, Harry wondered if it was weird to date someone nearly three years his senior. Or what if, even worse, it was against the law?
“Is there anything we should be concerned about with that?” Harry asked apprehensively. “You know, laws or anything? I never really thought to ask, but now that we’re sort of in the spotlight... I know there’s Muggle laws, Age of Consent and all that.”
“Age of Consent in our world is fifteen,” Cedric informed him. “No worries there. Some people might frown on it a bit, but we were probably going to get that anyway, considering. We’re not doing anything illegal, though.”
“All right. And I know there’s no laws against, like, homosexuality.”
“No, no.,” Cedric replied, fiddling with his napkin. “Nothing like that. The law, at least, is rather liberal as far as homosexuality is concerned.”
“Sounds like there’s a ‘but’ attached to that,” Harry noted.
“I thought you liked my butt,” quipped Cedric.
“Hah,” Harry said flatly. “And while that’s very true, I think you know what I meant.”
“I do,” Cedric replied. He took a deep breath. “The law is pretty liberal, but society itself tends not to be. The only reason we started being afforded equal rights was that the Ministry is highly aware of how limited the wizarding population is. If they denied rights to homosexuals, things would become even more limited. And then who’s next? Muggle-borns? A witch or wizard can’t marry a Muggle? Nahh, they know they can’t legally deny us anything. However, that doesn’t mean the same is true for people’s attitudes. It doesn't hold the same stigma as being, say, half-giant, like Hagrid, but there definitely are some who will be disinclined to socialize with us.”
“So it's more like how some wizards are about being pureblood,” Harry suggested.
“Kind of similar to that, yeah,” said Cedric. “Only, sadly, it’s more acceptable to be anti-gay. People associate pro-pureblood attitudes with Voldemort, which is mostly why those sentiments have fallen out of favor. People overlook the fact that Voldemort tortured and murdered all kinds of people who were different, not just Muggles. He and his followers killed homosexuals as well.”
“It’s kind of like the Holocaust,” Harry said. Realizing that Cedric, being a wizard, might not know what that was, he explained. “It was this thing, more than half a century ago, in Germany. Well, all over Europe, really. Most people think of it only as the genocide of the Jewish people, but homosexuals, people with birth defects, and a number of other groups were exterminated, too.” Then Harry thought of something. “But there’s lots of prominent gay witches and wizards. I read that in Homosexuality and Wizardry. There’s Aidan Lynch and the former editor of the Daily Prophet. And isn’t the bassist from the Weird Sisters bisexual?”
“Those are just rumors,” Cedric dismissed with a wave of his hand. “You know, I read Homosexuality and Wizardry too. And it says Lynch out and proud now, but what it neglects to mention is that Ireland’s top sponsor pulled out when he was first recruited. The sponsor didn’t say it was because Lynch was gay, but everyone knew. The team almost wasn’t able to qualify in time for the season.”
“Are you serious?” Harry asked.
“Well I’m not kidding, that’s for sure,” Cedric responded. “Most people are tolerant, Harry. But tolerance is very different from acceptance.”
“Yeah,” said Harry. “I guess we’ll just have to keep a low profile then. Good thing we’re complete nobodies, eh?”
“My thoughts exactly,” Cedric grinned. “How the hell did we get on this bloody depressing topic anyway? Let’s talk about something else. Has your scar still been acting up?”
"Because that's a less depressing topic?" Harry snorted. "Um, yeah, a bit. Not all the time, though."
"I suppose that's to be expected," Cedric opined.
"What about you? Does yours ever bother you?"
"No, not really," Cedric answered. "At least not in the way you’ve described yours. I get that tingle sometimes, when you come close, but it goes away after a few seconds. And, you know, the other stuff, the empathy and all. That’s it, though. Nothing when I’m on my own.”
"Well, it's like we thought then," Harry said. "Yours isn't connected to Voldemort's, only mine is. Lucky me."
"What about your dreams?" Cedric inquired.
"Less nightmares about the graveyard," Harry told him. "Less of the ones where you, uh... Where you don’t make it. More of the one with the hallway and the locked door."
"That's an odd one," Cedric said.
"Yeah," Harry concurred.
At that moment, Kristin arrived with their food. Harry was relieved, because he didn't like talking about his dreams about the hallway and the door. It made him uncomfortable for reasons he couldn't himself figure out. Thankfully, Cedric dropped the subject after that. Instead they began discussing the latest news in Quidditch. This subject carried them all the way through their meal.
Cedric insisted on paying the check, like always. He'd converted the majority of his Triwizard winnings into Muggle money at the beginning of the summer, saying he'd rather spend it doing things with Harry than on anything else. It might've also had something to do with Cedric making sure Harry got fed a proper meal more often, since he knew how poorly the Dursleys treated him. Harry tried to insist that it wasn't necessary, but Cedric wouldn't hear it.
"Hey, look at this," Cedric said, holding out a small copper coin from the change he got back. "That's not regular Muggle money, is it?"
"It is, it's just not British," said Harry. "I think it's American.”
Harry took it, turning it over between his fingers. It was definitely American. It said "United States of America" on one side. The other side, next to a man's profile, had a year printed on it.
"This has my birth year on it!" Harry exclaimed. "That's so strange."
"Yeah," Cedric replied. "You should keep it. It could bring you luck."
"Or help me get lucky," Harry mused.
"Believe me, you don't need a coin for that," Cedric told him.
After Cedric made a quick stop in the men's room, they left. They went straight back to Harry's house rather than taking their usual walk through the park. There was no need for it tonight. They had a place to go. As soon as they were in the door, Harry eyed his birthday present eagerly. Cedric smirked.
"Oh, all right, you can open it now!" he said, feigning exasperation.
Harry cheered and brought the package into the living room. He sat on the couch and began attacking the green wrapping paper. Cedric sat beside him, watching the process with a look of amusement. The paper contained a medium-sized box. Harry pulled the top off and dove into the tissue paper inside. Underneath it all, at last, was a portable CD player with headphones, and a stack of CDs.
"You got me a CD player?" Harry gasped.
"Do you like it?" Cedric asked nervously.
"Are you kidding me?" Harry cried. "It's great!"
He tackled Cedric into a hug, making the older boy laugh. Harry planted several appreciative kisses on him, as well.
"I know you liked being able to listen to music in the Room of Requirement, so I thought you'd enjoy it," said Cedric.
"I will!" Harry said.
"And it's more than an ordinary CD player," Cedric informed him. "I made it so it runs on magic, and not batteries. Well, by that I mean Hermione helped me. So it'll work at Hogwarts without any problems, she made sure of that, and it'll never die. There's a whole bunch of CDs in there, too. Hermione showed me a way to make mix CDs, with all different songs on them. I put in a list with what songs are on what discs."
"That's... that's incredible," Harry stammered. "This is really incredible. Thank you."
"You're welcome," Cedric replied, smiling. "You want to pick a movie out now?"
What I really want is to rip your clothes off and show you exactly how grateful I am, Harry thought.
Cedric blushed, picking up on Harry's lustful intentions.
"Now, now, there's plenty of time for that," Cedric admonished. "I want to watch some TV, like a real Muggle."
"Oh, all right," Harry grumbled.
They riffled through the Dursleys’ home video collection. Harry settled on Disney’s The Sword in the Stone, remembering its eccentric portrayal of Merlin. He thought Cedric might get a kick out of that. He popped the movie in and they settled on the couch.
From there it was a slow but steady progression from actually watching the movie to basically rutting senseless on the couch.
Things started innocently enough. Cedric had sprawled out, while Harry laid back into his chest. Harry hadn’t realized how much he missed doing this, all those nights in the Room of Requirement. Thinking about those nights, and what else they got up to on that well-used couch in the Room, made Harry’s heart and hormones start to race. And now, with their new scar connection, Cedric could sense Harry’s arousal, which then made him excited as well. Not that he needed the additional motivation to get turned on by Harry.
Soon they were kissing. Kissing turned to rubbing, and then naked rubbing. Harry insisted on moving up to his bedroom before things got too out of hand, and Cedric eagerly obliged. So eagerly, in fact, that he almost left his clothes piled on the Dursleys' living room floor before Harry reminded him to collect them.
It was a good thing they hadn't attempted anything before, with the Dursleys home, because their newfound connection proved to increase and intensify their feelings, feeding Harry's pleasure into Cedric and then back into Harry in an endless cycle. The pleasure was so intense that it was almost impossible not to react vocally, and loudly at that. Harry's orgasm wasn't so much a climax as it was an explosion. His scar burned white-hot with pleasure. At that moment, he could've probably produced a dozen Patronuses, if not a whole fleet.
It was several long, exhilarating minutes before the intensity their orgasms finally began to dim enough that they could even form coherent thought again. Harry fell beside Cedric on the bed. They were an exhausted, sweaty, sticky mess, gasping for air, still shaking as the aftershock slowly subsided.
“So, Scar Sex is awesome,” Cedric said in awe.
“Agreed,” Harry panted.
Cedric looked down at himself and grimaced.
“Aww, I’m all gross,” he groaned.
“Yeah, you ruined my sheets, too,” Harry observed. “I’m going to have to wash these before my aunt and uncle get back.”
“And I’m going to have to do a cleaning spell on myself or something before I go home,” said Cedric. “It’s bad enough that I’m here so often. If I turn up all sweaty and smelling of sex, my parents will probably kill me.”
"Or me," Harry added. "You could take a shower, if you want. We've still got time."
"Yeah, all right," Cedric agreed. "Only if you join me."
"Sure," said Harry.
They climbed out of bed and dashed across the hall to the bathroom, still naked. The boys took turns soaping each other down, copping the occasional feel and stealing many kisses. They didn't do anything more than that, though. Both were still too spent from their lovemaking. They didn't take very long, and soon were rinsed, dried off, and redressed. Harry decided to change into a fresh T-shirt and pajama bottoms rather than put his old clothes back on.
All too soon, Harry was walking Cedric to the front door to say goodbye.
"This is definitely my least favorite part of when you visit," Harry said somberly as Cedric put on his jacket.
"Mine too," Cedric replied. "But I'll be back soon, okay? How's Monday night work for you?"
"Well, I'd have to check my schedule," Harry joked. “I might be all booked up. I’ll try to fit you in, if I can.”
“I’d appreciate that, thanks,” Cedric smiled.
They embraced, and kissed a few more times.
"Thank you for today," said Harry, giving Cedric an extra tight squeeze. "It's been the best birthday, probably ever."
"It was my pleasure," Cedric told him, pulling away reluctantly. "Literally, in fact."
Harry swatted his shoulder playfully. Cedric opened the door and, with a sad half-smile, departed through it. Harry watched from the doorway as Cedric walked to the curb and Disapparated before going back inside.
After washing his sheets, Harry took his birthday present and climbed into bed. He selected a disc, put on the headphones, laid back and pressed play.
Yep, Harry thought. Best birthday ever.
End Notes: Welcome back!
Been a long time, I know. (Though still less than my lengthiest gap between updates: 7 months and 1 day.) Hope everyone is well. My semester sucked (horrible classes, my grandfather died), but ended nicely (vacation in Walt Disney World, where my boyfriend proposed!).
I’d like to state, for the record, that Harry and Cedric’s ages of 15 and 17 respectively are canon benchmarks only. In my head, they look like DanRad at 19 and RPattz at 22, because imagining actual underage boys doing it is kinda icky, not to mention illegal.
Now I just need to get a new icon to use for this series. Don't suppose anyone could help me out with that...?
I already have more of a leg up on this story than I did on “Lack”, with planning and such. Monthly updates? We’ll see. -kevo
Continue to Chapter Two
Author: kevo
Pairing: Harry + Cedric. The boys are back.
Rating: mostly PG-13 with a smack of NC-17 thrown in toward the end.
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.)
WARNING: Sexual content.
Author’s Note: There’s a new moon and a solar eclipse on the same day. That’s too mystical not to take advantage of. So here’s the first chapter of Playlist #2 in the Love So Green Collection! Thanky to my fiancée for being my constant beta. And please, folks, leave comments. If I don’t know you’re reading, I’m less motivated to write.
( A Lack of Color - Chapter One)
( A Lack of Color - Chapter Thirty)
- - - - - - - - -
The Love So Green Collection
Playlist #2:
sound of the revolution
PROLOGUE
Harry Potter was not normal.
He knew this. He'd always known it, from the time he was little. If he hadn't figured it out on his own, he could've guessed from the way his aunt and uncle recoiled from him, or the way his own cousin beat on him, or the way the other children looked at him strangely.
Even after discovering he was a wizard, there was still something about him that was distinctively different from the other witches and wizards at Hogwarts. Eventually Harry decided to simply accept that it was his fate to always be this way. There was no point fighting it, no sense in going against the grain.
Then, when Harry was fourteen, something unexpected happened. He found someone who was like him. He found Cedric Diggory. In Cedric, Harry found a rival, a champion, an adventure, a best friend, a boyfriend.
But most of all, in Cedric, Harry finally found a reason to fight.
CHAPTER ONE
“Feel This”
Cedric's outside.
The thought appeared in Harry Potter's mind from out of nowhere. The young man was lying on his bed, in his room on the second floor of 4 Privet Drive. From where he lay, he couldn't possibly see the street in front of his aunt and uncle's house to have noticed anyone, let alone his boyfriend of over eight months. Yet he knew, without so much as a glance out the window, that it was true. Having lived with this rapidly-developing new ability for several weeks now, Harry learned to trust it.
It was six o'clock in the evening, and the Dursley house was completely empty except for the teen wizard. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were at an event for the drill manufacturer that Vernon worked for, and had made it quite clear that they would be home very late. Harry knew his cousin Dudley would be using their absence to his advantage, staying out with the band of punks he called his friends far later than his normal curfew. And, while others may have been disappointed that none of their family was around to celebrate their fifteenth birthday, Harry was more than happy to have them gone.
He had someone better to celebrate with this year.
Harry took a moment to look around and make sure his room was presentable for his waiting guest, and to check his appearance in the mirror. His hair was a bit messy, but that was the norm. There was also an irrepressible grin plastered on his face, but that was the norm, too, when Cedric was around. He trundled down the stairs to the front door. Harry pulled it open and found, like he knew he would, Cedric Diggory waiting on the other side. He felt a ping of giddiness coming off of Cedric.
"Happy Birthday, Harry," the older boy said with a smile.
Unlike most wizards Harry had met, Cedric did an excellent job acclimating to Muggle fashion. Cedric was wearing a crimson button-down shirt under a blazer with dark jeans and dress shoes. Harry's eyes lingered briefly on the lightning bolt scar on the left side of Cedric's neck. Tucked under Cedric's right arm was a package wrapped in shiny green paper, unmistakably a birthday present.
Feeling so overcome with excitement, and with the emotions he felt coming from Cedric as well, Harry leaned up and kissed his boyfriend, not caring that they were standing in plain view of the rest of the street. Cedric pulled away, but not so fast that he didn't kiss back first.
"Whoa there!" Cedric admonished. "Kind of risky, standing in the front door, broad daylight and everything."
"Couldn't help myself," Harry replied. "Besides,” he added, tapping the scar on his own forehead matching the one on Cedric’s neck, “I know you wanted me to."
“It doesn’t take a psychic link to tell that I want my boyfriend to kiss me,” Cedric replied.
“Good point,” Harry smirked.
They initially realized there was something strange going on the day after their encounter with Voldemort, after he saved Cedric from Peter Pettigrew's Killing Curse. The boys kept guessing what the other was thinking with uncanny accuracy, and answering questions without being asked, things like that. At first they chalked it up to knowing each other so well, having dated for more than half a year. But then, over the four weeks since then, it began growing stronger. They both started being able to feel the other's presence within a certain proximity. They could often sense each other's emotions with varying degrees of intensity. They could even, on occasion, tell what the other was thinking; not the whole thought, more a general impression of what was on the other's mind at the moment. Cedric had named it their Scar Sense, as a nod to their twin scars, the undoubted source of the connection.
The boys had, for the most part, no problem with this unforeseen turn of events. There were no secrets between them, so all it did was bring them closer. It did, however, make it difficult to control their emotions at times. When you could feel the person you desired wanting you just as much, a lot of willpower was required not to jump each other's bones right then and there, even if the then and there was in the middle of a crowded street. They were able to keep their hormones in check, for the most part, but since it was his birthday Harry didn't see the harm in indulging a little bit.
"Come on in," Harry said, moving aside so that Cedric could enter.
"So this is what this place looks like on the inside," Cedric observed upon entry, placing Harry's present on the table by the door.
Harry nodded
Since the school year ended, Cedric had been coming to visit Harry several times a week. However, this was the first time he ever set foot inside Harry's house. The younger boy felt it was best to keep Cedric's visits secret from his magic-hating, homophobic family, and Cedric didn't disagree. They met down the street instead and would wander around Little Whinging together. There was a park several blocks away that they liked to frequent, and a small cafe in town where they'd seek shelter when the summer heat became too unbearable. Harry felt guilty that he couldn't offer anything more exciting to do, but Cedric didn't mind at all. Thankfully his interest in Muggle culture made Harry's small town seem exciting.
Although he'd been coming for some time now, Harry found it strange to see Cedric standing in the front hallway of his aunt and uncle's house. Having his wizard boyfriend in the house he grew up in was difficult for Harry to wrap his head around. Yet, at the same time, it felt right. Like his past was merging with his present.
Of course it was also just plain nerve-wracking to have his boyfriend over while there was no one home. They had, as Hermione put it, "been intimate" before, many times, only it had been more than a month since they'd been able to do anything more than make out briefly in private corners. Once, when they were so desperate for release that they didn't care about the consequences of getting caught, they exchanged hand jobs in a stall in the men's room at the park, but that was it. Harry's news that his house would be vacant the night of his birthday had carried the clear implication that they would have complete, undisturbed privacy for an evening. It took an enormous amount of restraint not to simply rip Cedric's clothes off the moment he crossed the threshold.
"Would you like a tour?" Harry offered, attempting to get his mind off of sex.
"Sure," said Cedric.
"Okay, well, this is the hallway," Harry began. "Obviously. Through here is the living room, where Ron, the twins, and Mr. Weasley Floo'd in last summer, scaring the crap out of my family." Cedric laughed as Harry continued, gesturing down the hall behind him. "That's the kitchen, where Dobby the house-elf tried to get me kicked out of school by performing a Hover Charm on a pudding my aunt was serving to Muggle guests."
"Why on earth would he do a thing like that?" Cedric asked.
"To protect me from a younger version of Voldemort made up of memories stored in a diary," Harry explained matter-of-factly.
"Ah, isn't that always the reason?" Cedric mused.
Harry's gaze slipped to the left, to the door under the stairs. Behind it was the cupboard he'd slept in for the first ten years of his life. Either because he'd notice Harry's glance or because he could tell what Harry was thinking, Cedric looked, too, and instantly understood what he was seeing.
This was an aspect of their Scar Sense that Harry did not enjoy: they had no real control of it. Because of this, they sometimes found themselves sharing or feeling things they would rather not. Like now, when he could feel Cedric's sympathy for him. It made Harry wish that there was a way to keep their feelings to themselves.
"So this is it, eh?" Cedric said.
"Cupboard under the stairs," Harry confirmed. "I'm surprised it hasn't popped up in any of my unauthorized biographies yet."
"May I see it?" Cedric asked timidly.
"I don't know, Cedric..." Harry said.
"Please?"
Harry wanted to say no, but he also didn't want to be rude. And he knew that if he could trust anyone not to judge him it would be Cedric. So, with no small amount of hesitation, Harry unlatched the door and opened the cupboard.
It was small, much smaller than Harry remembered. Living in there now, at his current size, would probably feel like living in his school trunk. The camp bed he once slept on was still there. The whole cupboard appeared to have been untouched for some time. Harry wondered whether his family was too afraid to come near it now. Cedric went in, stooping low so he wouldn't hit his head. He sat on the bed and looked around. To Harry's relief, he could feel no pity coming from Cedric. There was only sadness intermingling with anger and an unexpected sense of pride.
"I have so much respect for you, Harry," Cedric told him. "A lot of people might've gone through everything you have and come out rotten and angry. But you... You're so full of kindness and forgiveness." He took Harry's hand. "You’re just so amazing."
"Thanks," Harry said, at a loss for words.
"Now," said Cedric, exiting the cupboard carefully, "I think it's time we got your birthday celebration underway, how about you?"
"I’m not going to argue with that," Harry replied. "What did you have in mind?"
"Well, I thought we'd hit the Red Windmill," Cedric proposed. "I've grown rather fond of our little cafe during these visits. And then maybe catch a movie?"
"'Catch a movie'?" Harry quoted back. "You sound like such a Muggle."
"I know!" Cedric exclaimed. "Isn't it great? Then after that we'll come back here and you can open your present."
"You’re going to make me wait all night for my present?" Harry complained. "No fair!"
"Now, now, behave, or you'll get nothing at all," Cedric scolded. "Besides, if you're patient, it won't be the only thing you get to unwrap."
"When you put it that way, how can I say no?" Harry asked. "I have a thought, though. How about, instead of going out to a movie, we watch a video here instead? The Dursleys have plenty to choose from and, besides, we can go out to see one any night we want. Tonight we have the house to ourselves. We might as well take advantage of it."
"I bet that's not all you want to take advantage of, Potter," Cedric said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"You know it, Diggory," Harry shot back.
"Sounds good," Cedric chuckled. "Now, let's get going, I'm famished."
"Uh, you should probably take your coat off first," Harry said. "There's a heat wave on, what were you thinking wearing a jacket?"
"That I'd look sexy and you'd want to have your way with me," Cedric said plainly.
"Oh please," Harry scoffed. "You could wear a dress and I'd still want to have my way with you. But, uh, don't, because that'd be weird."
"I was gonna say..."
So Cedric hung his jacket up in the coat closet and they headed out the door. The boys kept close to one another as they walked into town but were careful not to be too touchy. Despite his earlier lapse of self-control, Harry didn't want to risk anyone seeing them holding hands in public. He knew people wouldn't take too kindly to it.
"So, how's everyone doing?" Harry inquired.
Cedric cast a paranoid glance around before answering. Harry was used to this reaction by now, yet still thought it was overkill. As Harry had grown tired of saying, it wasn't likely that there were any Death Eater spies in the quiet Muggle town of Little Whinging. Harry guessed that old Mad-Eye Moody had been preaching "constant vigilance" all summer and that, at least for Cedric, the message had stuck. He wouldn’t even reveal the name of the group he was working for, the “anti-Death Eaters” as Harry thought of them. Once he slipped and called it “the Order” and was immediately horrified with himself. He berated himself almost as badly as Dobby the house-elf did when he spoke ill of his masters.
"They’re good," Cedric answered when he seemed satisfied there were no enemies about. "Everyone sends their love and birthday wishes.”
“Yeah, I got a bunch of birthday cards late last night,” Harry said wistfully. “How are Ron and Hermione?”
“They’re good, too,” said Cedric. “Missing you like crazy. They feel terrible that they haven’t been able to write with any more details than they’ve been.”
Harry experienced a brief surge of vindication that his closest friends felt terrible, and then felt terrible himself. It wasn’t their fault they couldn’t give him any information. Even Cedric, who was able to appear in person, couldn’t tell Harry very much. And he didn’t begrudge their being together. If anything, he was sort of glad. Since their clandestine kiss at Fred and George’s New Year’s Eve party, the two hadn’t been quite right. Hopefully this time without Harry would give the two a chance to sort things out.
“Tell them I miss them for me?” Harry asked.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to see them soon,” Cedric said confidently.
"I’m not,” said Harry.
"Hey now," Cedric said, patting Harry's arm affectionately. “Dumbledore will give the OK soon. I know it."
"Yeah, maybe," Harry replied, though he didn't really mean it. "Have you been able to talk to him?"
"Still not yet," Cedric answered. "He hasn't been around whenever I've gone there. Or much at all for that matter, according to the others."
"Okay. Anything else you can tell me?"
Like always, Cedric briefly filled Harry in on the latest news from the warfront. He didn't know much about the Order’s plans, or at least not anything he could share. Cedric's only real assignment was to watch over Harry. It still bothered Harry to know that he was under guard, and had been since leaving Hogwarts. The Order originally wanted to keep this from Harry, but Cedric warned them against this, knowing Harry would resent the secrecy more than being under surveillance. Trusting their new recruit’s judgment, they let Cedric tell him.
Only a couple of members had argued against Cedric's admittance to the Order. In the end, they accepted him. He was, after all, the only person over seventeen who had been present the night Voldemort was resurrected. Being the youngest and least experienced member, Cedric took his responsibilities quite seriously. A little too seriously, in Harry's opinion. Harry knew there was a terrible enemy lurking out there, but Cedric reached for his wand every time a stranger came within ten feet of them. It was distracting, not to mention how edgy it made the both of them.
"I suppose you've already seen the latest Prophet?" Cedric asked after he finished his update.
"And wished I didn't? Yes," answered Harry. "Same as always. Dumbledore's either senile at best or sinister at worst. And you and I are liars and glory-seekers."
"Not to mention me being deficient of moral fiber for seducing a boy of fourteen," Cedric mumbled, bitterness and shame dulling his voice.
"At least I'm fifteen now," Harry pointed out meekly. Then, outraged, "I can't believe how twisted they are."
"It's like Professor Lupin said, Fudge is leaning on the paper to report that things are business as usual, and to make us look bad so people won’t believe us," said Cedric. “It isn’t entirely their fault. When the Minister of Magic tells you to do something, you don’t typically question it.”
"Still sucks," Harry muttered. He nudged Cedric with his shoulder. "You know you're not really morally deficient, right?"
Cedric shrugged.
It pained Harry to see Cedric be so down on himself. He didn't have to wonder where the boy's low self-esteem came from, either. Cedric didn't talk much about his parents, but what he had divulged didn't paint a pleasant picture. Neither of them were happy about their son's involvement with the Boy Who Lived. Cedric's mother claimed only to be concerned because of Harry's history with Voldemort. Harry couldn't blame her for that; it concerned him, too. As for Mr. Diggory, his condemnation seemed to be based entirely on intolerance. On top of all that, they refused to speak about or even acknowledge Voldemort's return, though Cedric was certain they believed him. Their disapproval of his involvement with Harry and in the resistance made life in the Diggory household very tense. Despite Cedric's insistence that he wasn't responsible, Harry felt guilty that Cedric's family life was so difficult. He did his best to make sure Cedric's time in Little Whinging was always as pleasant and carefree as he could.
The Red Windmill wasn’t too far from Privet Drive. Upon arriving, they took a seat at their favorite table, by the windows facing the park down the street. Their usual waitress, Kristin, a somewhat pretty girl around their age, came and took their drink orders, glancing coyly at the older boy the whole time. She went to get their drinks, leaving Harry to smirk at his boyfriend.
"What?" Cedric demanded.
"She so has a crush on you," Harry chuckled.
"Huh?" Cedric squeaked. "No she doesn't."
"Of course she does," said Harry. "She has for weeks. Not that I blame her. You have a way with people. You're sort of..." He thought for a moment. "Shit, what's the word I'm looking for?"
"Charming?" Cedric offered. "Enchanting?"
"No," Harry said. "I mean yes, but no, those aren't the one I'm thinking of. Something with a D. It's on the tip of my tongue, too...." He sighed. "That's gonna bug me."
Whatever the word he'd been trying to remember was, it didn't come to him before Kristin returned with their drinks. After their food was ordered and Kristin had scurried back to the kitchen, blushing over the smile Cedric had graced her with, the older boy raised his glass. Harry lifted his as well, meeting Cedric in a toast.
"To your birthday," Cedric pronounced. "And to the many more you have yet to celebrate."
"That we have to celebrate," Harry corrected.
"Too right," Cedric replied.
They shared a smile as they took a drink.
"And hey," said Harry, "now there's only a two year age gap between us."
"Until October, when I turn eighteen," Cedric pointed out.
Harry considered that for a minute. He’d never given much thought to the age difference between them before coming out. Back then it didn’t matter, because there was no one’s opinion to take into account except their own. Now that the whole school knew, Harry wondered if it was weird to date someone nearly three years his senior. Or what if, even worse, it was against the law?
“Is there anything we should be concerned about with that?” Harry asked apprehensively. “You know, laws or anything? I never really thought to ask, but now that we’re sort of in the spotlight... I know there’s Muggle laws, Age of Consent and all that.”
“Age of Consent in our world is fifteen,” Cedric informed him. “No worries there. Some people might frown on it a bit, but we were probably going to get that anyway, considering. We’re not doing anything illegal, though.”
“All right. And I know there’s no laws against, like, homosexuality.”
“No, no.,” Cedric replied, fiddling with his napkin. “Nothing like that. The law, at least, is rather liberal as far as homosexuality is concerned.”
“Sounds like there’s a ‘but’ attached to that,” Harry noted.
“I thought you liked my butt,” quipped Cedric.
“Hah,” Harry said flatly. “And while that’s very true, I think you know what I meant.”
“I do,” Cedric replied. He took a deep breath. “The law is pretty liberal, but society itself tends not to be. The only reason we started being afforded equal rights was that the Ministry is highly aware of how limited the wizarding population is. If they denied rights to homosexuals, things would become even more limited. And then who’s next? Muggle-borns? A witch or wizard can’t marry a Muggle? Nahh, they know they can’t legally deny us anything. However, that doesn’t mean the same is true for people’s attitudes. It doesn't hold the same stigma as being, say, half-giant, like Hagrid, but there definitely are some who will be disinclined to socialize with us.”
“So it's more like how some wizards are about being pureblood,” Harry suggested.
“Kind of similar to that, yeah,” said Cedric. “Only, sadly, it’s more acceptable to be anti-gay. People associate pro-pureblood attitudes with Voldemort, which is mostly why those sentiments have fallen out of favor. People overlook the fact that Voldemort tortured and murdered all kinds of people who were different, not just Muggles. He and his followers killed homosexuals as well.”
“It’s kind of like the Holocaust,” Harry said. Realizing that Cedric, being a wizard, might not know what that was, he explained. “It was this thing, more than half a century ago, in Germany. Well, all over Europe, really. Most people think of it only as the genocide of the Jewish people, but homosexuals, people with birth defects, and a number of other groups were exterminated, too.” Then Harry thought of something. “But there’s lots of prominent gay witches and wizards. I read that in Homosexuality and Wizardry. There’s Aidan Lynch and the former editor of the Daily Prophet. And isn’t the bassist from the Weird Sisters bisexual?”
“Those are just rumors,” Cedric dismissed with a wave of his hand. “You know, I read Homosexuality and Wizardry too. And it says Lynch out and proud now, but what it neglects to mention is that Ireland’s top sponsor pulled out when he was first recruited. The sponsor didn’t say it was because Lynch was gay, but everyone knew. The team almost wasn’t able to qualify in time for the season.”
“Are you serious?” Harry asked.
“Well I’m not kidding, that’s for sure,” Cedric responded. “Most people are tolerant, Harry. But tolerance is very different from acceptance.”
“Yeah,” said Harry. “I guess we’ll just have to keep a low profile then. Good thing we’re complete nobodies, eh?”
“My thoughts exactly,” Cedric grinned. “How the hell did we get on this bloody depressing topic anyway? Let’s talk about something else. Has your scar still been acting up?”
"Because that's a less depressing topic?" Harry snorted. "Um, yeah, a bit. Not all the time, though."
"I suppose that's to be expected," Cedric opined.
"What about you? Does yours ever bother you?"
"No, not really," Cedric answered. "At least not in the way you’ve described yours. I get that tingle sometimes, when you come close, but it goes away after a few seconds. And, you know, the other stuff, the empathy and all. That’s it, though. Nothing when I’m on my own.”
"Well, it's like we thought then," Harry said. "Yours isn't connected to Voldemort's, only mine is. Lucky me."
"What about your dreams?" Cedric inquired.
"Less nightmares about the graveyard," Harry told him. "Less of the ones where you, uh... Where you don’t make it. More of the one with the hallway and the locked door."
"That's an odd one," Cedric said.
"Yeah," Harry concurred.
At that moment, Kristin arrived with their food. Harry was relieved, because he didn't like talking about his dreams about the hallway and the door. It made him uncomfortable for reasons he couldn't himself figure out. Thankfully, Cedric dropped the subject after that. Instead they began discussing the latest news in Quidditch. This subject carried them all the way through their meal.
Cedric insisted on paying the check, like always. He'd converted the majority of his Triwizard winnings into Muggle money at the beginning of the summer, saying he'd rather spend it doing things with Harry than on anything else. It might've also had something to do with Cedric making sure Harry got fed a proper meal more often, since he knew how poorly the Dursleys treated him. Harry tried to insist that it wasn't necessary, but Cedric wouldn't hear it.
"Hey, look at this," Cedric said, holding out a small copper coin from the change he got back. "That's not regular Muggle money, is it?"
"It is, it's just not British," said Harry. "I think it's American.”
Harry took it, turning it over between his fingers. It was definitely American. It said "United States of America" on one side. The other side, next to a man's profile, had a year printed on it.
"This has my birth year on it!" Harry exclaimed. "That's so strange."
"Yeah," Cedric replied. "You should keep it. It could bring you luck."
"Or help me get lucky," Harry mused.
"Believe me, you don't need a coin for that," Cedric told him.
After Cedric made a quick stop in the men's room, they left. They went straight back to Harry's house rather than taking their usual walk through the park. There was no need for it tonight. They had a place to go. As soon as they were in the door, Harry eyed his birthday present eagerly. Cedric smirked.
"Oh, all right, you can open it now!" he said, feigning exasperation.
Harry cheered and brought the package into the living room. He sat on the couch and began attacking the green wrapping paper. Cedric sat beside him, watching the process with a look of amusement. The paper contained a medium-sized box. Harry pulled the top off and dove into the tissue paper inside. Underneath it all, at last, was a portable CD player with headphones, and a stack of CDs.
"You got me a CD player?" Harry gasped.
"Do you like it?" Cedric asked nervously.
"Are you kidding me?" Harry cried. "It's great!"
He tackled Cedric into a hug, making the older boy laugh. Harry planted several appreciative kisses on him, as well.
"I know you liked being able to listen to music in the Room of Requirement, so I thought you'd enjoy it," said Cedric.
"I will!" Harry said.
"And it's more than an ordinary CD player," Cedric informed him. "I made it so it runs on magic, and not batteries. Well, by that I mean Hermione helped me. So it'll work at Hogwarts without any problems, she made sure of that, and it'll never die. There's a whole bunch of CDs in there, too. Hermione showed me a way to make mix CDs, with all different songs on them. I put in a list with what songs are on what discs."
"That's... that's incredible," Harry stammered. "This is really incredible. Thank you."
"You're welcome," Cedric replied, smiling. "You want to pick a movie out now?"
What I really want is to rip your clothes off and show you exactly how grateful I am, Harry thought.
Cedric blushed, picking up on Harry's lustful intentions.
"Now, now, there's plenty of time for that," Cedric admonished. "I want to watch some TV, like a real Muggle."
"Oh, all right," Harry grumbled.
They riffled through the Dursleys’ home video collection. Harry settled on Disney’s The Sword in the Stone, remembering its eccentric portrayal of Merlin. He thought Cedric might get a kick out of that. He popped the movie in and they settled on the couch.
From there it was a slow but steady progression from actually watching the movie to basically rutting senseless on the couch.
Things started innocently enough. Cedric had sprawled out, while Harry laid back into his chest. Harry hadn’t realized how much he missed doing this, all those nights in the Room of Requirement. Thinking about those nights, and what else they got up to on that well-used couch in the Room, made Harry’s heart and hormones start to race. And now, with their new scar connection, Cedric could sense Harry’s arousal, which then made him excited as well. Not that he needed the additional motivation to get turned on by Harry.
Soon they were kissing. Kissing turned to rubbing, and then naked rubbing. Harry insisted on moving up to his bedroom before things got too out of hand, and Cedric eagerly obliged. So eagerly, in fact, that he almost left his clothes piled on the Dursleys' living room floor before Harry reminded him to collect them.
It was a good thing they hadn't attempted anything before, with the Dursleys home, because their newfound connection proved to increase and intensify their feelings, feeding Harry's pleasure into Cedric and then back into Harry in an endless cycle. The pleasure was so intense that it was almost impossible not to react vocally, and loudly at that. Harry's orgasm wasn't so much a climax as it was an explosion. His scar burned white-hot with pleasure. At that moment, he could've probably produced a dozen Patronuses, if not a whole fleet.
It was several long, exhilarating minutes before the intensity their orgasms finally began to dim enough that they could even form coherent thought again. Harry fell beside Cedric on the bed. They were an exhausted, sweaty, sticky mess, gasping for air, still shaking as the aftershock slowly subsided.
“So, Scar Sex is awesome,” Cedric said in awe.
“Agreed,” Harry panted.
Cedric looked down at himself and grimaced.
“Aww, I’m all gross,” he groaned.
“Yeah, you ruined my sheets, too,” Harry observed. “I’m going to have to wash these before my aunt and uncle get back.”
“And I’m going to have to do a cleaning spell on myself or something before I go home,” said Cedric. “It’s bad enough that I’m here so often. If I turn up all sweaty and smelling of sex, my parents will probably kill me.”
"Or me," Harry added. "You could take a shower, if you want. We've still got time."
"Yeah, all right," Cedric agreed. "Only if you join me."
"Sure," said Harry.
They climbed out of bed and dashed across the hall to the bathroom, still naked. The boys took turns soaping each other down, copping the occasional feel and stealing many kisses. They didn't do anything more than that, though. Both were still too spent from their lovemaking. They didn't take very long, and soon were rinsed, dried off, and redressed. Harry decided to change into a fresh T-shirt and pajama bottoms rather than put his old clothes back on.
All too soon, Harry was walking Cedric to the front door to say goodbye.
"This is definitely my least favorite part of when you visit," Harry said somberly as Cedric put on his jacket.
"Mine too," Cedric replied. "But I'll be back soon, okay? How's Monday night work for you?"
"Well, I'd have to check my schedule," Harry joked. “I might be all booked up. I’ll try to fit you in, if I can.”
“I’d appreciate that, thanks,” Cedric smiled.
They embraced, and kissed a few more times.
"Thank you for today," said Harry, giving Cedric an extra tight squeeze. "It's been the best birthday, probably ever."
"It was my pleasure," Cedric told him, pulling away reluctantly. "Literally, in fact."
Harry swatted his shoulder playfully. Cedric opened the door and, with a sad half-smile, departed through it. Harry watched from the doorway as Cedric walked to the curb and Disapparated before going back inside.
After washing his sheets, Harry took his birthday present and climbed into bed. He selected a disc, put on the headphones, laid back and pressed play.
Yep, Harry thought. Best birthday ever.
End Notes: Welcome back!
Been a long time, I know. (Though still less than my lengthiest gap between updates: 7 months and 1 day.) Hope everyone is well. My semester sucked (horrible classes, my grandfather died), but ended nicely (vacation in Walt Disney World, where my boyfriend proposed!).
I’d like to state, for the record, that Harry and Cedric’s ages of 15 and 17 respectively are canon benchmarks only. In my head, they look like DanRad at 19 and RPattz at 22, because imagining actual underage boys doing it is kinda icky, not to mention illegal.
Now I just need to get a new icon to use for this series. Don't suppose anyone could help me out with that...?
I already have more of a leg up on this story than I did on “Lack”, with planning and such. Monthly updates? We’ll see. -kevo
Continue to Chapter Two