The Real Champion

Date Started: 03-12-07
Pairing: CedricxCho, CedricxHarry, HarryxCho, HarryxCedric
Disclaimer: This was written for a challenge, I suppose. Besides... Cedric is dead and now Harry loves Malfoy just doesn't fit well in my opinion. Cedric living through it is something I don't think I've ever seen... The challenge was for - http://hp.adult-fanfiction.org/authors.php?no=10501

A/N - I'm basing Cedric's year... as his seventh. It's stated that Cedric's birthday was Sept or Oct of 1977. ( It's also stated that 1993 was his fifth year. To me that doesn't make sense. ) It's also been stated that student's that would have turned 11 before August 31 would recieve their letter. Cedric, being born in Sept or Oct wouldn't have gotten his letter until 1989, just before his 12 birthday. This would make the year 1993 the year that he became Quidditch captain and Seeker. In 1995, his sixth year, according to the way I see things, he was chosen for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, having turned 17 shortly after the begining of the school year.

---

"Diffundo!"

Cedric heard the rip on his bag and frowned faintly before hearing the crash of his books and parchment and the distinct shatter of his bottles of ink. "Don't bother," He said as he waved his friends off when they leaned down to help him, "tell Flitwick I'm coming, go on."

He heard a rustle and looked up faintly to see none other than Harry Potter coming down the corridor. He gave a weak smile while holding up a piece of parchment to let some ink drip from it.

"Hi," he said, picking up one of his books. "My bag just split... brand-new and all..."

"Cedric, the firest task is dragons," Harry said quickly.

"What?" Cedric looked up from his collecting of quills.

"Dragons," Harry said, talking fast, "they've got four, one for each of us, and we've got to get past them."

They stood in silence for a few seconds before the sheer panic of having to face a dragon flashed over his face.

"Are you sure?" He asked in a hushed tone.

"Dead sure." Harry nodded once. "I've seen them."

"But how did you find out? We're not supposed to know..."

"Nevermind." Harry cut him off, shaking his head. "But I'm not ythe ponly one who knows. Fleur and Krum will know by now - Maxime and Karkaroff both saw the dragons too."

Cedric adjusted his arm load, succeeding in dropping a quill, looking positively puzzled. Harry wasn't sounding like someone in a competition.

"Why are you telling me?"

Now Harry was staring at him like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Cedric felt even more torn about it.

"It's just... fair isn't it?" Harry said, looking around slowly. "We all know now... we're on even fooiting, aren't we?" He looked up slowly, and Cedric couldn't deny the slight tint worry brought to the younger boy's face.

"I see..." He gave his best charming smile and nodded. "You'd make a fine Hufflepuff, Harry."

The boy grinned and shook his head. "I just don't know what I'd do if I know you got hurt because I didn't tell you...besides I really l-"

An odd clanking seemed to break the boy's train of thought and Cedric smiled weakly at the upcoming professor, nodding to his armfull of things and adjusting the strap of his ripped bag on his shoulder.

"Come with me, Potter." Moody spoke before looking Cedric up and down. "Diggory, off you go."

Cedric nodded again before smiling at Harry who happily smiled back before turning to follow the professor with a small wave of his hand. Cedric returned the gesture and moved further down the corridor to his charms lesson.

***

Cedric frowned, staring outside the window. The day wasn't particularly sunny or even a good day to watch outside for the first few rain drops to hit the glass. It was almost foggy and increasingly depressing. All the Captain could do was sigh and wish it would be over already.

"Mr. Diggory... Are you feeling alright?"

The boy jerked his head to the professor, a few girls sitting behind him giggling. They must have known that he was staring gloomily out the window.

"I just have a horrible headache... I'm terribly sorry, Professor."

"Well... here. Let me write you a pass to head to the infirmary. They'll get you fixed right up."

Cedric nodded and slowly stood, pushing his book and parchment into his bag, grabbing his quill before slowly leaving the classroom. Perhaps that was one of the perks of being Head Boy. He slowly entered the infirmary and saw Harry sitting boredly on one of the beds.

"Hi, Harry... what are you doing in here...?" He asked, moving to sit on one of the beds beside the boy,

"Oh... Hi, Cedric." Harry gave a quick smile and moved to hide his hand from view. "Just getting something checked out. What about you?"

"Ah... told Professor Flitwick that I had a headache... He sent me here to get something for it."

"A headache?" Harry seemed to frown.

Cedric just gave a charming smile and Harry was reminded of that first morning when Cedric almost landed on him. "I suppose being Head Boy makes people think that you're never going to lie about something like that... I was in all reality just staring out the window... the lesson was incredibly boring..."

"Excuse me, Mr. Diggory?" Madam Pomfry raised a brow as she stepped over and rubbed something onto the back of Harry's hand.

Cedric looked incredibly meek and Harry doubted that he'd ever see the older boy give that expression. The last time that happened was when Cedric had caught the snitch and Harry fell from his broom.

The nurse shook her head but didn't seem too upset over it. Harry doubted that it was the kind of thing that Cedric did often.

Harry smiled and thanked her before hopping down from the bed and looking back at Cedric before leaving the room. Cedric gave a smile before standing. "May I leave, ma'am?"

"Of course." She gave the boy a nod. "I just don't expect this to be a regular thing. No matter how much I don't mind seeing your face."

Cedric nodded and headed out of the room, spotting Harry walking down the corridor and quickening his pace to catch up to him. "Hey, Harry..."

Harry looked to the side, giving a small smile. To say he felt awkward was an understatement. This was the guy that got to the girl he wanted to take to the ball last year. "Hi, Cedric."

Cedric didn't seem to notice and instead gave another charming smile. That smile could break a hundred hearts in one go. The boy shouldn't really hand it out so easily. "Where are you going?"

Harry raised a brow but didn't think too much on the offer. He could say Cedric was a friend, he guessed. After all they had helped each other through the tournament last year. "To the dormitory... I doubt they expect me back in class."

"Wanna go for a walk? I know a nice little place on the other side of the castle. It's near the Hufflepuff common. On that end."

Harry felt an odd sensation that led him to believe that his stomach was now a breeding ground for hundreds of birds. "Uhm... sure."

Cedric smiled that smile again that made the birds in Harry's stomach seem to kick into overdrive. "Great. Come on."

Harry looked down when he thought that Cedric was going to grab his hand but assumed that he had been imagining things. He shook his head and followed the taller boy along.

"So what happened to your hand? Did you spill potion on it?" Cedric asked airly.

Harry frowned before looking down at the back of his hand. "Ah... just started bleeding. I... cut it yesterday. Nothing serious, though."

Cedric frowned before nodding once. "The school was talking about you. Getting in trouble this early in the year."

Harry almost pouted. Cedric found it adorable.

"What did you do anyway?"

"I sort of... yelled at the teacher..."

Cedric wanted to laugh but didn't since he saw how glum Harry looked. "Which one?"

"Umbridge."

"Oh, no wonder. She's a little mad in my opinion."

Harry looked up at Cedric and smiled. Cedric decided that it was much nicer to see Harry smile than frown.

---

Same goes. Three reviews and I'll post the next chapter when it's finished. Glad to see some people like it. ^^