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There was a little Harry Potter in Diagon Alley.
Well no, that wasn't quite right , Cedric corrected himself. The boy, who couldn't be more than eight, may look like a carbon copy right down to the messy black hair but he definitely wasn't Harry Potter.
"Well hello there," Cedric said, kneeling down on the snowy cobblestone, ignoring the people rushing around them as he focused on the teary boy. "Is everything alright?"
"I lost my daddy," the boy hiccuped, green eyes wide.
"That's alright, I can help you find him," Cedric said, taking off his black and yellow scarf and wrapping it around the boy for extra warmth.
"Mummy and Daddy say I'm not 'sposed to talk to strangers," the boy said, rather wisely in Cedric's opinion.
"And they're absolutely right," Cedric said sagely. "But you're a touch lost right now, so we have to work with what we've got. What's your name?"
"Albus Potter," the boy said, holding his hand out in greeting.
"It's nice to meet you, Albus," Cedric said kindly, reaching out to give his hand a shake. "My name is Cedric Diggory."
Recognition flared in those green eyes. "Oh, like Handsome Cedric ?"
"Er...who?" Cedric blinked in confusion.
"You know, Handsome Cedric ." Albus said, as if this was common knowledge. "My mummy teases daddy about Handsome Cedric all the time."
"She does now, does she?" Cedric said, feeling rather warm all of a sudden.
"Yep!" Albus said cheerfully. "Can we get a hot chocolate?"
"Of course," Cedric said, holding out his hand for Albus to hold. "Come on, we'll stop by The Leaky Cauldron for some before we start searching."
Albus grabbed Cedric's hand, and he felt a lump form in his throat. He may have only known Albus Potter for a few minutes, but he already adored him.
Armed with a hot chocolate for each of them, Cedric and Albus strolled down Diagon Alley, peaking in stores for Harry Potter. They had little luck at first, but after about 5 minutes of searching, they started finding people who had seen Harry.
"Yeah, he ran through Flourish and Blotts like a mad man," One witch said. "Nearly knocked me over."
"He searched every inch of my store," a kindly wizard said. "I wasn't sure what he was looking for, but this must be the tyke."
"Last I saw he was talking with a Goblin in Gringotts," A young witch said. She looked to be Hogwarts age. "Maybe try up there?"
They walked down the street, and Cedric soon caught sight of Harry, two other children trailing alongside of him as he glanced around the street, clearly upset.
"Found him, Albus!" Cedric said, ducking down so the boy could hear him. He pointed toward Harry, and Albus took off running.
"Daddy!" Albus cried, and Cedric straightened up just in time to see the boy fling himself into Harry's arms.
"Al!" Cedric could hear Harry cry. He wrapped him up in a hug, the two other children throwing themselves on the two of them. "I was so worried. What happened? Where were you? Where did you get this?"
Harry touched the black and yellow Hufflepuff scarf that was still wrapped around Albus's neck. Cedric shuffled over, a small smile on his face.
"Er...that would be mine, actually."
"Look daddy," Albus said, pointing at Cedric. "I found Handsome Cedric !"
" Handsome Cedric ?" The other two children said excitedly, peering around their father to get a look at him. Cedric reddened under all the scrutiny.
" Great Merlin ," Harry said, going a darker shade of red than Cedric.
"Are you really Handsome Cedric ?" The other boy asked skeptically. He looked a great deal like Harry too, except in place of green eyes were warm, honey brown.
"I don't know how to answer that," Cedric responded, looking at Harry who was very much not looking at him.
"I am going to kill your mother," Harry groaned, more to himself than anything else.
" Handsome Cedric ! Handsome Cedric !" The little girl cheered, red hair bouncing.
"Please stop saying Handsome Cedric ," Harry begged.
"I dunno, I like it," Cedric teased, finally drawing Harry's gaze to him.
"Oh my god," Harry said. "This is not what I imagined would happen the next time I saw you again."
"What did you imagine, then?" Cedric asked innocently.
"Nope," Harry replied, standing straight. "I have embarrassed myself in front of you enough for a lifetime."
"Aw, come on," Cedric said as Harry started to walk away, his kids peeking at him as they trailed after their father.
Cedric scooped up a handful of snow, forming it into a lazy ball before throwing it at Harry. The snowball hit Harry in the arse, exploding rather beautifully.
"You did not just throw that at me!" Harry laughed, turning around once more.
"I had to get your attention," Cedric grinned. "I can't ask you on a date if you're ignoring me."
"A date?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, my parents have been banging on about Handsome Harry for years now," Cedric said, "They'd never let me live it down if I didn't at least ask you out."
"I don't know..." Harry said, looking down at his kids.
"Bring them. Albus and I are mates now." Cedric threw a wink at Albus, who giggled. "Plus, I haven't gotten a chance to talk to your other two kids, and I need all the embarrassing dad stories."
"You're a menace," Harry replied, his expression fond. "What am I going to do with you?"
"I have some ideas," Cedric said cheerfully. "So, about that date?"
"Yes," Harry laughed. "I will go on a date with you."