Chasing Shadows || Draco Malfoy x OC

Year 4- Ch. 53

Cedric and Rita Skeeter stare at her a little stunned. Rita then cleared her throat and turned back to Cedric, she was about to open her mouth again before he beat her to it.

"I think its time for us to go.." Cedric said politely.

"But we've only just started the interview." Rita said, a frown forming on her face.

"Yes, well, I did say that I would do it, if you were only asking me the questions. Seeing that you ignored that, I don't see us continuing any further." he said firmly.

"But-"

Cedric stood up, walked around Rita Skeeter, and grabbed Céline's hand to pull her up. "Have a good afternoon."

The two walked away before she could say anything else. Céline looked back at the woman and she looked incredibly upset. They walk out of The Three Broomsticks and walked around in silence for about 10 minutes, until they found a little hidden garden that overlooked the hills on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. They stood there for a moment, Céline didn't know what to do or say. She didn't know if he was upset, she knew she would be if she was in that position. he then cleared his throat.

"Er-- Thank you." He said softly. Céline looked at him confused.

"For what? I didn't do anything." she said.

He chuckled a little and finally looked at her with a small smile on his face. "You did." He said. "You did a couple of things, actually. You agreed to let me do an interview even when you were uncomfortable, and when it all went back to Harry, you stood up for me and tried to bring the focus back on me. So, thank you."

"Of course I would do that. Anyone could see that you deserve to be recognized too. The fact that she only did an interview just to get more about Harry, was frustrating. And her stupid quill wasn't even writing what you said correctly, it was putting words on paper that you never spoke." She felt herself get bothered again. She looked out towards the hills. "You're a very talented wizard, and I'm sure someone with a more... credible reputation will see that and will want to have an interview with you."

She looked back towards him and see's him instensely staring at her with a look of... adoration? She wasn't sure. "Another thing is that Harry is already plenty famous... fame he never asked for... he's been miserable with this much attention on him, attention with all the wrong reasons. He didn't need more glaring eyes on him either."

"You know, I truly admire your personality.." Cedric suddenly said.

She looked at him surprised and she felt the heat rising to her cheeks.

"Its the way you look out for your friends. Not only were you making sure that I got my moment, but when she started spouting about Harry, you made sure his name wasn't getting dragged either. The way you care for others, I like it. I'm honestly surprised you were put in Slytherin." He laughed a little.

"Yeah, I've gotten that a lot." She smiled shyly at him.

There was a moment of comfortable silence between them. Cedric reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as he looked into her emerald green eyes. Céline saw that he was leaning in every so slowly. She could feel his breath tickle her face.

"May I kiss you?" Asked Cedric in a low voice. Céline's stomach was panicking and her cheeks reddened even more. She nodded and he closed the gap between their lips.

A swarm of butterflies erupted from her tummy, this was her first kiss.

And then a knot tied in her stomach. No, it wasn't.

She tried to refocus on what was happening. Cedric's kiss was gentle and his lips were warm and soft against hers. She could still taste the butterbeer that he drank not even an hour ago. He pulled away, with a smile on his face, his cheeks also with a tinge of pink. She smiled back at him, unsure of what to say. What does a person say after they've share their first real kiss as a couple. So they didn't say anything, instead they looked back out to the hills for a little while longer with his arms wrapped around her shoulder.