CEDRIC
LXXIV
He had fond memories of his mother taking care of him when he was little.
But his father was the most caring person Cedric knew.
Every time he got sick, even just the flu, Amos would miss work and come into his room as punctual as clockwork to ask how he was feeling. As if he was wired for it, and the days following the first symptoms were key to anticipating the subsequent development.
Within 72 hours of the news, Cedric knew what his boyfriend was up to.
Harry's intent glances at him in the Great Hall during meals, meeting two days in a row when in a good week they would see each other in private a maximum of three times, and insisting on accompanying him to his classes could only mean one thing.
“I know you're worried about me, and I'm fine. Really."
Harry frowned for a moment, either because he didn't quite believe it.
Or because he believed it.
"Sorry for being like a hawk on you," he sighed, embarrassed. "It's just… I want to make sure you're okay. Well, as fine as possible."
Cedric's inappropriate smile contrasted with his expression.
"You don't have to apologize," he laughed, thinking that the way Harry showed it through extra attention didn't bother him at all. "In fact, I like that you are all over me."
Evidence enough was that Harry hugged him again.
He did enjoy being cared for, not that he would put it in those words.
LXXV
"I've told you a lot of things since I've known you," Harry said, leaning against both the wall and Cedric. "Crazy and unbelievable things."
"And illegal," he said, covering his hand with his. "Don't forget."
A laugh almost as soft as his gaze emerged from Harry.
"And you've always taken it well. Surprisingly well."
If he thought so, it seemed like a compliment.
"Crazy, unbelievable things have happened to you since you've met me. Weird dreams and running into not-me,” he continued, and Cedric wouldn't mention how close to losing his sanity he had been back then. "This is different. Worse. It's hard… to think that you can be truly okay."
Harry turned to get a better look at him, and Cedrc admitted it, "I don't know how I feel about it."
"That's alright, Ced," he said softly, squeezing his hand. "I'm here if you ever want to talk about it."
LXXVI
What Cedric didn't like was his own way of worrying.
Because he did too.
It would be very naive of him to believe that he was the only one affected.
The weekend's news hadn't gotten into his head enough to forget that this had been the reason for Harry's strange mood at Hogsmeade. That Harry had heard one of the weirdest stories involving him in some improbable, magical way, and he hadn't had time to process it when another bomb dropped.
Cedric hated not knowing how to make it all better.
How to make no one take responsibility for something that wasn't their fault.
LXXVII
The HARRY POTTER dot appeared in the Gryffindor common room.
The other point was touring one of the secret passageways.
Cedric still hadn't decided when he would make the visit.
That same night he closed the book.
It wasn't as if reading about the philosophy of time and space could do much for his particular case. He knew that muggle discipline, and as the pages turned his mind became more involved with questions that were intermingled with stories that bordered on the biography and longings of a witch writer. The technicalities and the paradoxes. Different notions of time and parallel universes.
Cedric wondered in how many of them had he died so young.
The doubts that could have an answer he barely considered.
LXXVIII
He had taken more time off than he intended.
If lying in his bed for hours could be called that way.
The study session that took place in Hufflepuff on Wednesday helped him get back on track and up to speed. It involved saying no to his boyfriend about meeting that afternoon for the third day in a row, but he couldn't resist agreeing to drop by the restricted section of the library after hours to return the book and share some more time together.
A fifth year Hufflepuff girl addressed him when he finished an essay. "Cedric, excuse my intrusion…"
He looked up from his parchment, and stopped gathering his belongings.
"You and Harry, are…? Are you together?" she continued under her breath, leaning in closer.
"What?" He was surprised, and the thought of their last intimate moment in the classroom crossed his mind. "We are friends," Cedric blurted out quickly, his tone unrecognizable by the lie. "Why do you ask?"
He tried to find out how far the issue extended.
The girl just let out a soft oh not informative at all.
Why, honestly, why was he part of rumors without even knowing it?
"Do you happen to know if Harry already has a date for Valentine's Day?"
Cedric frowned for a second before relaxing his expression. "I think he doesn't have one," he said, much to his regret.
"Then maybe I should invite him."
With wide eyes, she watched him from above.
Cedric tilted his chin up to shoot her one of his intentional smiles.
"Good luck," he wished her, trying to sound friendly and ignoring the strange feeling on his lips, hoping he didn't seem too confident.
HARRY
LXXIII
He wasn't the type of person to sit around when he could act.
As long as that didn't involve studying.
Visiting the forbidden section of the library almost counted as a paltry attempt to prepare for the second task. Cedric had insisted that it would be a good opportunity for them to look up something about plants with magical properties.
Harry dedícated to it while he returned his book.
"Today, uh, today a girl asked me about us. If we were dating." With two books in his hands, Harry turned to Cedric in amusement, who continued, "She wanted to know if you already had a date for Valentine's Day."
"And what did you say?" he questioned, leaving all the weight on a table.
"That you didn't have one."
“Ced,” he chided with a laugh so light in his chest. "You are always my date. Let me, uh, invite you. What would you like to do?"
He had never been interested in a date like that before.
But he was betting Cedric would be.
There was something in his gaze suddenly that took his breath away.
A moment Harry was a few steps away and inadvertently he was just within reach of Cedric's hands, who grabbed him around the waist with a gleam in his soft gray eyes.
"This would be more than enough," he answered against Harry's lips before kissing him.
The idea pleased him very much, and he pressed Cedric against the shelf.
With a little less finesse than he intended, but Cedric didn't seem to care. The wave of heat that engulfed Harry clouded his mind completely in an intensity that pulsed through his body. Harry needed him, and it was obvious the feeling was mutual judging by the way Cedric was holding him.
Harry left what was most likely a mark on his neck.
And the hands on his butt that brought him closer…
LXXIV
He didn't keep track of how many times he had thought about it.
Ever since that night in the storage room, Harry had been wanting to.
It was just that the subsequent events froze everything…
Now he felt as if hell had broken loose on his skin.
Harry dropped to the ground, and looked at Cedric to confirm that he was okay with it.
Despite the lack of lighting, he could notice his heavy breathing and the desire framed on Cedric's face as well as the bulge in his pants. The satisfaction of knowing that he was the reason for it was mixed with every sensation that Cedric caused him and with the nerves that hit him.
With sweaty hands, he undid the button and pulled down his boxers.
Of course Harry had already seen him, but having it face to face was different.
Still with a rushing heartbeat and flushed cheeks, he leaned in without hesitation.
LXXV
At first Harry didn't know if he was doing it the right way.
He tried to keep his teeth out of the way, and relaxed against the caresses Cedric left in his hair. The moans guided him and he felt on the verge of exploding himself when he managed to turn Cedric into a closed-eyed mess.
If Cedric was already beautiful, in those conditions he bordered on the divine.
Harry felt his breathing become more ragged...
The delicious sounds are becoming less and less controlled…
But he wouldn't have expected Cedric to let him know how close he was.
Or that listening to him coming in his mouth was the hottest thing Harry had ever experienced in his life.
His own legs trembled as he lifted off the ground.
"That was so…" Cedric whispered hoarsely, not slowing down to pull Harry against him again, "So incredible."
He laughed from the accumulated tension and only had one comment, "I like how you taste."
Cedric kissed him hard and just as Harry's head was spinning he pulled away.
A small smile on his lips.
"I want to try you too."
They traded places, and Cedric breathlessly cast a privacy spell.
"You can make all the noise you want," he told him before kneeling down, not allowing Harry to sink into the fact that he had totally forgotten to consider that detail earlier.
A necessary one, because he fell apart under Cedric's mouth.
LXXVI
He was almost sure they hadn't reached a conclusion.
Unless that was what they were doing on Valentine's Day next week.
To which neither of them would object…
He inspected Cedric's neck to magically remove the mark he left behind, and caressed his soft skin as he said, "Would you be my date? Let me surprise you."
As difficult as it would be to do something as great as the night of the Yule Ball, Harry wanted to try.
"You always manage to surprise me," Cedric laughed, his hand on Harry's hip in the casual way he was becoming addicted to. "Of course. I'll be your date today, tomorrow. Every day."
Harry melted into a warm, different sensation at his words.
They kissed for another while, without haste and with a sweetness that, far from contrasting with the previous moment they shared, seemed like a continuation that stopped the rest of the world so they could feel.
Just feel each other in calm.
This is how love is meant to be, Harry thought.
LXXVII
The second task on his list wasn't half as fun.
Telling Hermione was more of a challenge, because they were never alone. He adored the presence of Ron, who had seemed in a better mood these past few days, and it wasn't that Harry wanted to leave him out.
It was just that this consisted of a private matter.
The less involved, the better.
Perhaps Hermione would see fit to tell Ron as well.
In that case, Harry would be in favor.
For now, he was looking for the ideal moment.
That brief window appeared on Thursday when Krum approached Hermione.
Instead of going on with Ron, Harry let him know that he'd see him in the common room later.
"I need to talk to you," he said under his breath before reaching the boy with whom she had a dubious relationship status. "Tonight. In private. At one in the morning."
Hermione must have understood the seriousness, because she nodded without complaint.
On a weekday when they had classes...
It was the only safe time.
CEDRIC
LXXIX
New concerns arose.
Some that made him nervous as much as excited him.
He really enjoyed being with Harry, and things were moving forward...
When the moment came, Cedric wanted to make sure Harry had a great time.
The problem was that he only had the slightest idea, and that wasn't enough.
His trusted person was Malcolm, which led to another concern.
He knew his best friend too well to notice that something was wrong.
Malcolm told him that he didn't finish reading the book. Funny, considering how fast he usually was as a reader.
He also didn't accept his offer to find him another one in the restricted section, and he remembered that Malcolm even had a list about it.
Those stood out as the compelling reasons that made Cedric, for the first time in his life, lack his personal ethics as a friend and roommate.
Thursday after school he walked into the empty room.
On an impulse he succumbed to, Cedric headed for the bed in the center.
Three books with white covers laid under the pillow. Typical Malcolm.
Partly sensing that he was engaging in deplorable behavior and wondering how Malcolm could read different stories at the same time, Cedric disarmed the cloaking spells.
DEATH OMENS: WHAT TO DO WHEN THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE AWAITS
It could be a simple book from the sixth year Divination class.
Cedric didn't know about the program... but he knew it wasn't it.
He sat up on the mattress and finally gave in to the anguish in his chest that he had been trying to contain.
------------
Well…
I wrote this during summer and the weather was hot around here but... These two...
I don't even know how I manage to write smut a little more explicit with that ending