How wrong he was.
“Cho, it didn’t happen,” he pleaded.
“But everyone says it did!” she argued.
“Okay fine,” he said bluntly and started to walk away. Cedric had the art of hard to get down to a tee, she tried to stand her ground and was doing well. She was waiting for him to look back, but when he was about to enter the school and still hadn’t given as much of a glance to her, she broke down. Crying and running after Cedric she screamed, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
His goal achieved, he held her close in his arms and soothed her tears. He ran his hands through her long, honeyed hair and grinned at his cunning manipulation. The airy scent of lavender wafted through him and slowly her sobs quieted. Releasing her he asked, “Would you like to go to lunch?”
Hermione walked at a very determined pace into the common room. Ron was causally flipping through the Daily Prophet and was startled by her entrance. She promptly met his eyes and with a motion of her hand beckoned him towards her. Ron sneered and sat back down on the couch. A huff of frustration was released by Hermione.
“Ronald! I need to speak with you.”
“Hermione! I don’t want to speak with you.” he mocked nastily.
Another huff left Hermione’s lips and she began marching towards the sofa where he was so comfortably seated. Ron heard her stomping feet and jumped from the couch. He darted behind a lamp and then ran as fast as his legs could take him out of the common room. Hermione hastily followed him through the halls, flailing curses at him left and right.
“Ronald Weasley if you believe everything you hear you’re more dense then I ever took you for!” she hollered as he hid behind a suit of armor.
“So then the rumors aren’t true?” he said nervously.
“NO YOU IDIOT!” Hermione exploded and sent a torrent of curses at Ron, all of which were deflected in opposite directions by the suit of armor.
Once the flashing of spells had ceased he poked his face out from behind the armors breastplate and looked at her.
“Care for lunch?” she asked him in a cheery voice.
“Of course, just try not to blast my head off while I‘m eating my pudding.”
So they walked down to the hall together and although Hermione was thoroughly embarrassed by the obscene gestures that were being ‘thrust’ at her she endured.
“Hullo you two,” greeted Harry from behind the pair. Ginny followed close behind him.
Hermione opened her mouth to explain the rumors that were whizzing around the school but Harry stopped her.
“Ginny’s already told me,” he explained while a third year girl mouthed a very nasty word to Hermione.
“Well then let’s get lunch!” Hermione said cheerfully, ignoring the girl’s foul vocabulary.
Lunch was as foul if not worse then all of the gestures, the comments and the reenactments put together. By the end of it both Hermione and Cedric had wished they had skipped the meal altogether.
“Granger,” said the snide and insufferable voice of Malfoy, “you really should consider yourself lucky, to be touched by a pureblood is quite an honor. Although,” he said looking Cedric in the eye, “respectable wizards would never engaged in such an activity.”
Coincidentally, at this very moment Draco’s robes burst into purple flames. He flew by the seat of his pants out of the hall screaming, “I’ll get you Weasley!”
Ron however hadn’t lifted a finger and he was looking around his table when he saw Cedric putting away his own wand. Ron found a sense of respect for Cedric. After all, anyone who hated Malfoy, was a friend of his.
It was Thursday’s Transfiguration class when Professor McGonagall had announced the upcoming date of the Yule Ball. Cedric and Hermione were officially old news as the entire school was now fretting over who was taking whom and more importantly, what they were wearing. Ginny and Hermione had only been out of class for five minutes and they had already joined the majority and were discussing dates.
“It would be such a shame if no one asked me,” Hermione complained.
“Such a shame for you? I think you mean such a shame for me. At least you’re old enough to go! I’ve got to be asked by an older student! And, you’ve got Cedric.”
Hermione giggled.
“It would be wonderful if he asked me!”
In the Great Hall Cedric was casually eating a roast lamb --that he wished was Hippogriff-- sandwich. He bit into its succulent flesh, the lettuce had a satisfying crunch and the marinara sauce had a pleasant tang.
“Nothing like wild game,” he mused to himself.
He closed his eyes and was about to divulge into the sandwich again when he felt someone sit down next to him.
“Ai’ Cedric!” said Brandon, “You’ve heard about the ball I presume?”
“Yep,” Cedric replied in a rushed voice, hastily gulping down the sandwich.
“Who’re you thinkin’ about takin’?”
“I haven’t thought about it.”
“That looks like a mighty tasty sandwich,” Brandon commented eyeing its juicy goodness, “Maybe you should take ‘Ermione?”
The idea toyed with Cedric, and he put down his sandwich.
“Not sure if I will. I haven’t decided, she might not even want to go with me.”
“Ay! Bollocks!” Brandon said lightly and ripped off a hunk of Cedric’s sandwich.
Through his chewing he said, “’course she’ll want to go with you. Any gal would, ya’ are champion after all!”
“I’m still thinking about it,” Cedric repeated, polishing off what was left of his sandwich.
“We’ll tell me when ya’ pick”
“You’ll be the first to know!” the “Champion” hollered over his shoulder while he left the Great Hall. He hadn’t walked far when Draco Malfoy stopped him and pulled him into the center of a large crowd of Slytherins and Durmstrang students.
“So, are you going to ask Granger to the ball?” he asked with a sneer.
“I don’t know Draco, who are you planning on taking, Pansy Parkinson?” he asked, and then answering his own question replied, “of course you are, ‘cause she’s the only girl that’ll have you.”
“You’ll pay for that Diggory!” Malfoy retorted, “Ah! Look! There’s your shag buddy now! Granger, get your ass over here.”
She stood firmly in place, defying his order.
“What do you want Malfoy?”
“I want you to tell us what it was like when--”
“Listen you!” she commanded, “Shut it before I do it for you! I’m fed up with all these lies! Nothing happened and you haven’t any right to say such fowl things to Cedric! He hasn’t tarnished his honor in anyway, as a wizard, man or a pureblood!” and then with a taste for revenge she added, “Really, for a pureblood you a complete idiot and the rest of your kind should be ashamed.”
“You disgusting, foul mouthed Mudblood bitch. I’m going to--” Malfoy started but was cut off by the boisterous, booming Bulgarian voice of Viktor Krum.
“She’s vight too know. You shood be very ashamed of yourself Malvoy. You shood not be so vude. Honor is very important among us and you haff none. What leetle respect you haff is only for yourself.”
She looked graciously at the Seeker. He gave her a toothy grin in reply and stalked off down the hallway. The gang of speechless Slytherins quietly dispersed leaving Hermione and Cedric alone.
“Thank you,” he said, “I need to get to class but I need to talk to you later, can I meet you somewhere?”
“How about in the library after dinner?” she suggested.
“Sounds lovely.”
Hermione was particularly perky when she returned to the common room that evening. Sitting by the fire and opening a book, she let out a girlish squeal and suppressed her delight. Ginny was sitting in the opposite corner of the room and walked over to sit on the couch.
“Okay, SPILL!” she whispered giddily, “Someone-- someone’s asked you to the ball haven‘t they?”
Hermione giggled and nodded her head.
“Did you say yes?” Ginny squealed.
Hermione nodded again and then they both burst out screaming like school girls.
“When! How! Who! Tell me who!” Ginny pleaded.
“Well, we were in the library…”
“Who! Tell me who!” Ginny exclaimed, unable to contain her emotion.
“Guess! Guess who it is and I’ll tell you!” Hermione teased and the girls giggled on throughout the night, their conversation not straying far from the lucky young lad who would be escorting Hermione to the ball.