Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

The Lioness And The Badgers	By : sawahhaych Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Cedric Views: 7550 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (Although I am British I am unfortunately not the amazing JK Rowling!). I do not make any money from the writing of this fic.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
The Yule ball is just around the corner, only a week away and still no body has asked me to go, sometimes when I lie in my bed at night I think 'I am an independent woman, I don’t need to go with anyone I can go alone and have just as much fun', but then I think of Cedric and how much I want to go with him. Should I ask him to go? I know it isn't necessarily proper but we don’t live in the dark ages anymore, maybe it would be okay?

I have seen Cedric lots of times since the first task, always surrounded by his friends who I have become quite fond of, and I think they like me too. Max is particularly funny and Luke having known Cedric most of his life keeps offering up embarrassing stories about Cedric who runs his hands through his hair and blushed a delicious soft pink. We have all talked and talked about the task and he even let me listen to the egg, excruciating as it was, to try and help him figure it out, we have no clue at the moment.

“You okay?” Viktor asks from across the table, we are in the library again but I just can't concentrate on my studies, this is exactly what my mother warned me about.

I throw down my quill. “I don’t know.” I say honestly.

Viktor nods at me, setting his book down too. “Vhat is the matter?” I look at Viktor wondering if I should tell him how stupid and girly I am being, but it's Viktor, I feel I can tell him anything.

“He still hasn’t asked me to the ball, I thought he liked me but I think it might have been wishful thinking.” I admit quietly.

Viktor shakes his head. “I haff told you many times that he does like you, maybe he is just shy to ask?” Viktor's English has got a lot better since he has been here, he hardly ever misses words out of sentenced anymore, which he says is down to our conversations.

I sigh. “I don’t think so, Cedric is a bit shy but he would have grown a pair to ask me by now if he was going to.” Viktor says nothing to this. “It's stupid, I know, I brought a dress and everything and I told myself that if nobody asks me then it's fine for me to go alone, I can hang around with Harry and Ron and it wont be a big deal, but now it's getting close I'm not so sure.” In my head I can see myself all decked out, hair lovely, make up done, high heels and yet I stand alone in the great hall with everyone laughing at me, asking me why I bothered coming.

Viktor reaches out and puts his hand on top of mine on the table. “You are a beautiful, intelligent voman and if he doesn’t see that then that is his loss.” He says giving me a significant look.

I smile gently. “Thanks Viktor.” What he has said has cheered me up a little.

Viktor removes his hand and I see him smiling. “Tell you vot.” He says with a nod to himself. “How about you come to the ball vith me? As friends ve can have lots of fun, and ve can make him jealous.” The last is said with a wiggle of his thick dark eyebrows.

I giggle at the thought. “I don’t think he likes me in that way Viktor, really I don’t.” Still it would be nice to think he would be jealous.

“Think of it this way, I vould love you to come to the ball with me, you are my best friend, even including people from school and back home. You vould also be helping me qvite a lot.” Viktor says.

A throw him a quizzical look.

“Do not be silly Hermione, you know the girls here are going insane about me, they haff been following me more recently trying to get me to ask one of them, I even haff had a few who haff screeched at me to go vith them.” Viktor looks troubled by this. “If I go vith you I know I do not haff to pretend to be someone I am not and I do not haff the spend the whole night vorrying about how it vill end.”

Suddenly my eyes widen in understanding, if he took anyone else they would expect at least a little kiss at the end of the night. “Oh God Viktor, I’m sorry I didn’t even think about that.” I pause a second. “Why didn’t you ask me before now?” I ask, what if someone had asked me? Then where would he be? Forced to go with someone, he can't go alone as he has to open the ball with a dance.

“I vanted to give him a chance first.” He simply replies. I smile at him.

“I would be honoured to go to the ball with you Viktor, and not as a pity date or a second choice okay?” I say really meaning it, why didn’t I think of this before, Viktor and I have such a great time when we are together, talking and laughing, even checking out boys sometimes.

Viktor simply smiles back at me shoving his books back into his bag. “It is time for food?” He asks changing the subject, blushing slightly.

I laugh, Viktor and his food are rather inseparable. “Yeah, lets go to dinner.”

-xXx-

Once in the great hall I pull on Viktor's arm. “Come sit with us?” I ask putting on my best puppy dog eyes. Viktor simply nods and follows, seating himself next to me, acting like it is no big deal he isn't sitting with the rest of his school mates and the Slytherin's.

Harry and Ron enter the hall a couple of minutes later, I shoot Ron a warning look as he gapes at us.

“Hi Harry, Ron.” I say as they sit. “Viktor, this is Harry and Ron.” I gesture in their direction.

Viktor wipes his mouth with a napkin before replying. “Pleased to meet you.”

Ron gapes again so I kick him under the table and give him a warning look. Harry speaks up first. “So Viktor, are you enjoying Hogwart's?”

Viktor nods at him. “Yes, it is not as cold as Durmstrang, larger too, the grounds are quite nice and the library is excellent.”

Ron scoffs. “No wonder you and Hermione get along so well.”

We all laugh, and with that the spell is broken, Ron no longer looks at him like he is some sort of God, he is just another student like us, well a geeky one like me I suppose.

As we start on pudding I look over at Harry who is in turn watching the Ravenclaw table. “Have you asked her yet?” I ask gently eyeing Cho Chang chatting away with her friends.

Harry snaps back to us. “She's always surrounded.” Harry exclaims exasperated. “Even when she goes to the toilet! It's like... like... why do you travel around in packs?” He asks me.

I smile at him. “It is as much as mystery to me as it is to you.” I really don’t get other girls and their need to never be alone, to me it seems like they aren’t happy with themselves so have to surround themselves all the time lest they realise they cannot stand their own company.

“Has he asked you yet?” Ron asks gesturing with his fork to the Hufflepuff's. I cant help myself and look over too, Cedric is sitting close to Max gesturing wildly with his hands as he speaks, stopping every now and again to run his hands through his hair.

I shake my head but smile. “I'm going with Viktor.”

The gaping is back, this time in my direction. “Bloody hell Harry, we need to do something fast, at this rate we will be the only people left without partners.”

“Okay then, tonight, tonight we get dates.” Harry announces before standing up, Ron trails after him questioning exactly how they will do it.

Viktor laughs quietly and I join in. “Ve are being vatched.” He announces pointing discretely to Cedric who has turned a full one hundred and eighty decrees to look at us.

I shrug my shoulders. “He has his chance.” Viktor laughs loudly and shoulder bumps me, which earns him a sour look from Cedric.

-xXx-

Later I sit in the common room, staring at the fire. “Hey.” Ginny says flopping down into the seat next to me.

“Hi Gin.” I smile back at her.

“Are you really going with Viktor Krum?” She asks in awe.

I narrow my eyes at her playfully. “Yes Ginny.”

“I'm coming too.” Ginny grins at me.

I raise my eyebrows, the only way Ginny could go is if someone from fourth year or above asked her. “Who you going with?” I ask trying to seem disinterested.

Ginny looks me right in the eye. “Neville.”

I smile, I like Neville, he is sweet and brave but I know most girls would be embarrassed to go with him because of this nervous disposition which usually leads to him making a fool of himself. “That's brilliant Ginny.”

Ginny grins back at me. “I knew you wouldn’t laugh at me! My dorm mates have but I think they're just jealous because they cant go.”

I nod, agreeing. “This is going to be brilliant.” I say. “All of us can sit together and have a dance.”

Ginny hasn’t stopped grinning. “So I was wondering if you want to join in the preparations?”

I raise my eyebrows. “Preparations?” It sounds ominous.

She nods. “The afternoon of the ball all of us girls who are going are gonna help each other get ready, do each others hair and make up and stuff so we can all look our best, Lavender asked me so now I'm asking you.”

I give Ginny a bewildered look. “It's going to hurt isn't it?”

“Beauty is pain.” Ginny simply answers with a grin. “So you in?”

I sigh then nod gently. “It's only one day, how bad could it be really?”

This is one time when my comment doesn’t come and bite me on the arse, magic it seems has loads of painless and time saving beauty methods.

-xXx-

“I can't believe you have never done this before.” Ginny comments as she spells all the hairs off my legs, she has already done my underarms.

“I shave them.” I answer simply.

Ginny gives me a look. “You are the cleverest witch in this whole school but you never thought to look up stuff like this?”

I blush a little. “I never really thought about it, it didn’t seem important.”

Ginny scoffs at me as she holds a hand out to sit me up. “You need to sit really, really still for this one okay? I don’t want to take half your eyebrows off.”

I freeze, not even breathing as Ginny points her wand directly at my eyebrows with one eye closed, squinting. If I wasn’t so afraid that I would end up completely hairless if I moved I would laugh at her expression.

Ginny is already nearly ready, all her preparations done when I was in the shower coating my hair with some sort of taming potion for my wild locks, which are now in rollers, I guess not everything requires magic.

“Go get your dress on.” Ginny orders as she snatches hers up off the bed.

The satin material glides over my tingling skin, I turn to the mirror once I have it on and smile, even with my hair in rollers and no make up on I have to admit I look nice, older too.

Another hour is required by Ginny to make us both look 'perfect' as she puts it. My hair falls in soft ringlets down my back, my make up understated, highlighting my best features, making my eyes look like they are jumping out.

“Ginny, You are a miracle worker!” I say smiling at her in the mirror.

Ginny just looks smug then glances at her watch. “I better go, told Neville I would meet him in the common room at about now.”

I nod and watch her go. Viktor said he would meet me at the foot of the staircase by the great hall. I take one final look at myself, doing a spin in the empty room before walking slowly in my heels to the stairs.
- 10
- 11
- 12
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

The Lioness And The Badgers