Strawberry and Vanilla (Cedric Diggory AU)

Chapter Two: Eventful

It was pitch black, the only sound to be heard was the gentle smack of Lavender Brown snogging the crook of her elbow. Hermione rubbed her eyes and gazed at her ceiling through the darkness. It was around 4 A.M. and it was Hermione's routine to wake up at 3:50 A.M. to study and prepare for the day ahead.

        With Lavender's ill-fated timing, Hermione was now unable to study without interrupting the girl's make-out session with her arm. As she stared up, her mind drifted from thought to thought. She had little homework to do, so she didn't stress much. Her mind floated from OWLS to her parents, to her job as prefect, to the head boy.

        Cedric had caught her off guard on the first day back. She'd seen him multiple times after that and didn't think much of the meetings, afterward, that was. While she was with him, she felt as if she was doing everything awry. But it was getting better.

        She saw him more and more. He nodded to her in the hallways, she always smiled and looked down at her books. It was instinct, it was routine. Cedric himself found enjoyment in it, but as they didn't hang out, he wasn't sure if they were friends.

        He had decided, that today would be the day he asked her to hang out.

        They both lay awake in their beds. Cedric's legs ached badly and he debated going to see the nurse, but he was pre-occupied planning his conversation with Hermione already. Hermione.. she lay listening to the smack of Lavender Brown's lips against her arm.

        Cedric inhaled deeply and sat up in bed. He took another dose of the herb capsule he was prescribed at St.Mungo's. It helped quite a bit. He had it all organized, finally. His simple tip was to just say hi. Nothing else to it. She was a girl, just a girl. There was no planning needed to have a conversation. It wasn't like a date with a girl he liked.

        His mind flickered back to just last week. Would it be ill-advised to ask her to hang out in Hogsmeade this forthcoming weekend? I mean, Scott...

———— LAST WEEK

"It's the Granger girl," Scott beamed. Cedric's smile faded. Something didn't sit completely right in the pit of his stomach. "She's got this laugh that I can hear from across the hall and sure she's... a bit nerdy and has the bushiest hair I've ever seen but I want to make her mine."

        Scott's mood was confident. He would do whatever it took him to have Hermione by his side.

———— PRESENT DAY

Scott fancied Hermione. So would he be upset if Cedric asked? Surely he wouldn't, they would be going as friends. So he smiled and decided to do it.

        Cedric sighed and rose from the bed, then stumbled against the bedpost, pain shooting up his legs. He chuckled at his confidence. It was a stupid idea- but overcoming his other thoughts gave him a sense of strength that temporarily took his mind off of the pain in his legs. It sucked being disabled. He got ready for the day, combing his hair, dressing, applying his leg braces and grabbing his crutches. He hobbled into the dark common room, then slipped out into the corridor.

        Meanwhile, Hermione was done with hearing Lavenders disgusting little mm's and breaths, so Hermione herself slipped into her loose uniform, just her blouse, tie and skirt, along with her black shoes and she then tied her hair up into a tall ponytail. Nobody would see her, or so she thought. Lavender had stopped as soon as she heard the creak from Hermione's bed. What a relief, Hermione thought, then she walked out.

        Both students, Cedric and Hermione, were not rebellious people. Hermione, a bookworm, Cedric, confined to reading as he could no longer play Quidditch. So both students headed to the library to read a bit, leisurely.