Just Like Magic (Cedric Diggory and Hermione Granger Fan fiction)

Chapter 12: Expressions

Cedric thought over this and seemed to accept the answer. A look of determination crossed his features and he spoke in a confident voice. "When do we leave?"

Mr. Diggory scanned the letter. "It says a member will be here tonight to take us to Headquarters."

"Hermione, dear?" Mrs. Diggory spoke. "You don't have to come. This is entirely your decision."

"I'm coming." I answered with a voice that rang a clear as Cedric's.

"I thought so."

Her gaze drifted to where Cedric had now gripped my hand. I was certain the Weasley's would be re-joining and that somehow Harry would arrive. My mind wandered to the thought that Sirius must be involved and that Harry would finally be reunited with his godfather. How would Harry react upon seeing all of us there waiting for him? Would he feel further out of the loop of things? I wondered if Dumbledore would be there so I could ask him why by not talking to Harry I was protecting him.

Mr. and Mrs. Diggory excused themselves and started bustling around the house to prepare for our departure. Cedric went to stand and took me with him as he announced we would be going for a walk. With warnings to keep our wands out we exited the house hand in hand.

The walk was filled with silence for a long time with both of us going over the new information in our heads. Dumbledore had established an army to fight against Voldermort and now it was going to fight again. The reality of Voldermort's return truly struck me for the first time. I knew lives would be lost, but never had the weight of them been felt within me. Everyone I knew could be dead when all this was over. Cedric, my calm, could be dead.

He had wished to be a part of my "family," the family I kept so close to while at Hogwarts. By joining that family he was signing away his life. He would be at the front lines against death. Cedric would be close to the very thing Voldermort would want to destroy. My best friend.

A slight sound could be heard in the bushes and Cedric and I both turned toward it with our wands ready. A tiny bunny hopped out from the tall grass stared at our illuminating tips and continued on its way. We both expelled a breath of release and then Cedric turned towards me and enveloped me tightly against him.

"I won't lose you." He whispered. "I can't."

I sniffled against his shirt. "We'll be together."

"We can run away. Right now. The two of us could escape all this and never look back."

My hands gripped his shirt. "That's just the thing. We would always be looking back. It would be running."

"I know." His lips fell upon the top of my head. "I just had to try everything."

My hands unwound from him as he pulled back and held me at arm's length. His eyes watched over me, every part of me. They studied the lines of my face down to the hollow of my neck. Grey irises looked down the swell of my breasts to the flatness of my stomach and the curves of my hips. Not a part of me went unlooked. I felt worshiped. Needed. And dare I say it, loved.

Cedric was willing to leave his family-his values-in a last minute effort to protect me. Though I was certain he knew my answer before I spoke it, the willingness I had to be there for my friends could go undeterred. We would face this as a unit-an unstopping barrier between Voldermort and power. Our unit would grow now that Cedric was a main factor in my life. Allies would be gained as friendships would be tested. How many friends would Harry still have when term began? The thought of term brought on new woes as the addition of Cedric became the forefront of my mind.

"This is going to be your last year." I murmured when Cedric's gaze returned to my hazel eyes boring into his.

His hand lifted to my chin. "We're going to work, Hermione. I can feel it. This is different than anything I've ever felt before. You're real. You're beautiful, smart, witty, and you balance me. I'd be a bloody fool to lose you."