Revelations

Disclaimer: Jo owns them. Anything recognisable belongs to her.

A/N: Thanks to Allison, my beta, who agreed to take on a slashy fic even though she doesn't like them!

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Two nights before the Yule Ball, Cedric decided to have a peaceful and quiet bath in a seldom-used prefects' bathroom on the fifth floor. After muttering the password, he filled the bath with warm water, stripped and climbed inside. He frowned at the egg as it sat among his bundled clothes and, again, wondered what he could do differently. Nothing came to mind. He gave up in disgust and relaxed into the bath, enjoying a soak alone with his thoughts.

His mind wandered and his thoughts turned to Cho. Oddly enough, even though they had pretty much been "an item" for the past few weeks, he knew that his feelings for her were not what they should be towards a girlfriend. Cho was a year younger than he, and she was very cute, full of fun, easy to be with, very attractive and obviously attracted to him. He had asked her to the Yule Ball because he genuinely liked her, but also because, as Hogwarts Champion, he was required to bring a date. He knew to himself that he wasn't all that romantically interested in girls, although they made great friends. Thus far, no one had been able to push any Diggory buttons. No one, that is, except Harry Potter.

He had seen Harry occasionally since the first task, usually between classes or during meals in the Great Hall. His stomach always fluttered at the sight of the Gryffindor, and he noticed that Potter also wore a slightly strained expression. Cedric could only assume that Harry's egg was presenting a similar problem. Although they had smiled and acknowledged each other whenever they came into contact, Cedric found that his heart beat entirely too quickly after such brief moments. He still wanted more interaction with the younger Champion, and his feelings of longing often waged war in his mind with other feelings of unease, uncertainty, and anxiety. He thought it strange that he should feel such complex duality whenever he was around the dark-haired boy.

He leaned his head back against the side of the tub and closed his eyes, smiling as thoughts of Harry played and replayed in his mind. Images of his laughing face that morning at breakfast evoked tingling sensations in Cedric's mind and goose bumps along his flesh, despite the warmth of the bath water. He pictured how the corners of Harry's mouth turned up when he laughed, and recalled Harry's tousled look after completion of their First Task. He remembered the night they had been chosen as Hogwarts Champions and how the adrenaline had coursed through his own body when he and Harry shook hands. That night, and again after their First Task, the mere touch of flesh on flesh had caused alarming reactions along Cedric's entire body. He had found those reactions to be a bit disturbing, but in retrospect they were also very ... nice. He found himself wondering what the rest of Harry might feel like ...

With a shock he realized that he was quite aroused.

He stood up in the water and quickly grabbed for his towel, upsetting the pile of clothes under the egg. The egg bounced once on the tile and sprung open, wailing as it fell into the warm soapy water.

"Blast!" he fumed, and ducked his head under the water to retrieve the bane of his existence.

Oddly enough, the egg didn't shriek underwater, but instead he heard voices singing. He came up for air and checked around, wondering if the sounds were coming from somewhere else. When he realized that the submerged egg was the only source of the music, he again ducked his head below the bubbles and listened.

"Come seek us where our voices sound,

We cannot sing above the ground..."

"What could that mean?" He pondered the words as he floated on his back in the tub, muttering them over and over.

'The only time the voices sounded was when the egg was under the water!' he exclaimed to the room.

His mind raced as he considered water, and since Hogwarts had no swimming pool, his only logical choice was the Black Lake. He pondered the possible inhabitants of the lake for several minutes before raising his head. Suddenly, he realized that the mermaid in the picture on the wall was flapping her tail flukes at him. He studied her for many minutes as she giggled and splashed the water, turning her tail and tossing her hair.

"Mermaids," he exclaimed, "in the lake!" He looked to the painting, and the mermaid clapped her hands together in joy. Amazed, he sank beneath the water once more, and listened to the rest of the song.

"An hour long you'll have to look,

And to recover what we took ..."

He would have to survive in the Black Lake for an hour. Cedric was a good swimmer, but still, the prospect of spending an hour searching the cold lake in February filled him with dread. He resolved to visit the library to research Warming Charms and to figure out what would allow him to breathe for an hour underwater.

Cedric's thoughts turned again to Harry, and he wondered whether the younger boy had made any headway with his own egg. He resolved to speak with the Gryffindor the following day, and his face coloured as he recalled his condition immediately preceding his breakthrough with the egg. Sighing, he drained the now lukewarm tub water, dressed and made his way back to his room, hoping that he wouldn't run into anyone who might question his flushed face.

~~

Cedric spent the next morning trying to track down Harry Potter. Under other circumstances, his actions might be looked upon as odd, but he thought that their Champion status would be enough to cover any questions from the student population. He was unable to get him alone as the school was in the throes of preparation for the following night's Yule Ball. Cedric had taken out his dress robes earlier that morning and tried them on, turning to view himself in the mirror of his dorm. He had to admit that he made a striking picture, and sighed as thoughts of him and Cho sprung to mind. He was certain that she would expect more than the chaste kisses they had exchanged thus far, and he was nervous at the prospect of what that might actually entail.

The Castle was abuzz with excitement. Cedric saw Cho briefly at lunch, but couldn't get close as she was surrounded by a pack of giggling girls. He smiled at her from afar, hoping that his nervousness wasn't as apparent to them as it was to him. He'd noticed that girls seemed to be in packs everywhere, no doubt going over their dresses and hairstyles for the Ball. He was actually looking forward to the ball, and although he knew he and Cho would make a dashing couple, he still harboured a hope that he would be able to get more than fleeting glimpses of the tournament's youngest Champion. He knew that his musings about Harry had intensified since his decision to tell him about the egg, but there was something else that nagged at him.

~*~

Immediately after lunch, Cedric sat alone in his dorm and pulled the curtains around his bed as he opened the small box containing the Firebolt. It zoomed back and forth, periodically performing various manoeuvres such as the famed Wronski Defensive Feint and the Double Eight Loop. Cedric smiled as he pictured Harry's body miniaturized on the broom, and interspersed those images with others of Harry's face wreathed in smiles as he received Cedric's gift.

Cedric snapped back to reality as he acknowledged his problem. He couldn't risk giving Harry the gift while they were face to face, and he wasn't even sure that he could write his own name on a card to Harry. He sighed heavily. No, this would have to be an anonymous gift. He was relieved that both Markus and Jamie weren't around, for although he loved his best friends like brothers, he wasn't yet ready to face their inevitable questions regarding the gift.

Cedric picked up Harry's gift, which he had wrapped in simple green yuletide paper adorned with twinkling silver stars. He returned to the Entrance Hall and walked down the staircase and through the corridor that lead to the Hufflepuff common room and the kitchens. Upon entry into the kitchens, he took in the sight of dozens of house-elves working feverishly to clean up after lunch. He was amazed as always that so many elves could be at Hogwarts, working alongside each other, yet they were almost never seen by the students.

He looked around for the one elf that was different. Dobby, a former house-elf of the Malfoys, was running around with mismatched socks. Somewhat hesitant, Cedric approached the elf, whose eyes opened wide in shock. Before Dobby could prostrate himself, Cedric shoved Harry's present into the elf's hands and asked for his help in a low voice. Dobby listened intently and nodded severely when Cedric insisted that his name never be mentioned in connection with the gift. Feeling slightly foolish for all the subterfuge, Cedric nevertheless thanked the elf and hastened back to the common room.

~*~

That evening after dinner, he and Cho walked through the Entrance Hall and through the corridor leading to the courtyard. They sat together on a bench and, shivering slightly, Cho moved closer to him in the brisk night air. He gallantly performed a Warming Charm over the two of them.

"Oh, thanks. That's much better," she breathed, not changing her position, but gazing up at him with her enormous brown eyes.

He smiled uncertainly and masked his slight unease as he withdrew her Christmas present from inside his robes. He presented it to her with an exaggerated flourish, and they laughed easily as she, in turn, presented him with her gift, shyly placing the box into his hands. He smiled at her fondly and wished that he could feel for her the way she obviously felt for him.

"Shall we open them now?" she asked excitedly, her eyes dancing in the reflected lights of the castle.

"No, no, my dear, it's not yet Christmas!" he admonished jokingly, but relented when he saw that she could no longer contain her excitement. He nodded, and she began to open her gift, taking rather more care to not rip the paper than he thought absolutely necessary.

She gasped delightedly as she opened the box to reveal a silver chain with a pendant in the shape of an eagle in flight. Intricately carved and obviously magically enchanted, the eagle's wing feathers appeared to ruffle as it glided through an imaginary wind. It was, in a word, exquisite.

"Oh, Cedric, it's beautiful," she exclaimed, and he smiled again at her words. He had chosen this particular pendant because, being a Ravenclaw, her house's emblem was an eagle. This one reminded him of how she looked when she played Quidditch and her hair flowed out behind her, similar to the eagle's feathers as they tracked the wind.

Her eyes misted over as she hugged him, and their lips met in a warm embrace. She broke their kiss quickly and smilingly urged him to open his own present. He complied, partly out of curiosity, and partly because he was enjoying their worry-free time together. He'd had precious little of that recently.

His fingers quickly removed the wrapping and he opened his own box, catching her eye as he reached in dramatically. He was surprised to feel something moving and withdrew what appeared to be a small chest. He glanced at Cho quizzically and she blushed, suddenly looking like a little girl. He shrugged off the image and returned his attention to the chest now sitting in his lap. He opened the lid and peered inside, unconsciously gasping in his surprise. There before him was a miniature Quidditch set, painstakingly crafted, and perfect in every detail. The two Bludgers were made of bronze, the Quaffle of silver and the tiny Snitch of pure gold. He shook his head in stunned amazement.

"Cho, this is wonderful!" he exclaimed, truly at a loss for words. Her smile was stellar as she explained.

"I wanted to get something that would mean as much to you as it does to me, Cedric, and Quidditch is something we both love." He had to agree with her there, and realized that he'd probably found a very kindred spirit in the person of Cho Chang. Why then couldn't he love her?

But he knew the reason why.

~~~

TBC