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"Fuck." She says, without really meaning to.
She was shivering though, wet from head to toe, freshly fished from a lake, you can hardly expect her to be bothered watching her words.
Someone laughs from somewhere behind her, and she turns to find Cedric attempting (and failing) to hide his amusement from behind his hand.
Hermione flushes, for some reason unknown to her.
"Language, Granger." He chides, grinning.
She huffs, fully intending on ignoring him.
But the cold must've spread to some part of her brain too, because she doesn't stay silent for long. Her mouth opens and the "Fuck off, Diggory." falls out almost as if on accident.
There's a moment of silence, where Hermione's sure she must've just imagined herself saying those words, before he guffaws, leaning over slightly to clutch at his stomach as if she'd just said a particularly funny joke.
She's warmer now, than she'd been a minute ago. And she refuses to believe it has anything to do with Cedric Diggory.
*
"Stupid bloody fucking-"
Boys.
She'd really had just about enough. She'd had enough of Ron, of this night, of the shoes pinching her toes, of the dress she'd spent so long trying to find, of everything.
Viktor had been so sweet, keeping her laughing and smiling and feeling lighter than air.
And then Ron had stepped in, opened his mouth, and now Hermione wished she could forget this entire affair.
She wipes at her tears, frowning at the state she was in, at how she's still so undeniably hurt, when she wishes she could just be angry, just, furious.
"Language, Granger."
Cedric steps out from wherever he'd been hiding during her and Ron's yelling match, looking a little sheepish but mostly just handsome as usual.
Hermione wants to run, wants desperately to hide somewhere so he doesn't have to see her like this, with her hair coming undone, tears streaking down her face, just a big heaping mess.
He doesn't say anything though, just moves to sit next to her when she collapses against the stairs.
She doesn't talk, and neither does he. She just continues to cry, and after a while he wipes her last few tears away with his thumb.
It is a moment entirely too intimate, too intimate for two people who had come with different partners, for two people who have barely spoken to each other.
Still, she relishes the moment, the little bit of comfort and quiet he offers her.
*
"Fuck you." She hisses, hoping to carry across every ounce of anger she feels in her.
The Slytherin snickers, before they turn around and walk away, only to trip over Cedric's very conveniently placed foot.
They stumble, blushing horribly, before practically fleeing the scene.
Hermione's shoulders tense for a moment, before relaxing again once they're gone. She barely even lifts her head to acknowledge Cedric's presence.
"Language, Granger." He says, as he slides into the seat opposite her.
She scoffs, and decides she's better off not looking at him, before focusing on her charms homework sitting in front of her.
The silence lasts for a total of two minutes, before he pulls her homework towards him, forcing her attention onto him. She scowls, but he keeps her homework in his hands, and refuses to give it back unless she speaks to him.
She concedes, after a while, and they mostly just whisper half hearted insults at each other before the conversation turns to discussions of the tournament, of the next task.
Hermione enjoys Cedric's company much more than she'd care to admit.
*
"Is he- he can't be fucking-"
The "Language, Granger." doesn't come.
*
"Fuck!" She exclaims, when his hand comes in contact with her skin.
He's blinking at her, a little disoriented, a little confused.
"Language, Granger." He croaks anyway, grinning like he'd just caught her doing something she wasn't supposed to.
She is so, so relieved, even looking at him battered and bruised in the hospital bed.
Harry's invisibility cloak falls off her lap when she leans forward to kiss him.
*
("Of course I fucking do." She answers, smiling as she does so.
Cedric beams.
"Language, Granger."
Hermione rolls her eyes and yanks him down for a kiss, grinning when she pulls back.
"It's Diggory, now.")