“There I was, trapped in a maze of tunnels, and three bats appear out of nowhere chasing me,� Ed said, gesturing wildly with his hands. “They were coming from every angle in a rotating triangle formation, so the two on top would rotate to be on the bottom. And while they were attacking me, they mocked me too.�


Porter’s laughter grew stronger the more Ed spoke. Ed looked pleased with himself about the reaction, and after making certain he still had a captive audience, he continued his narrative.


“'Pesky ickle Eduardo can’t run! Look at his stubby little legs.' It was like their insults were in sync with their attack patterns. Almost like they were patient in the knowledge they would eventually get me."


Cedric and Julianne made eye contact and joined Porter’s peals of laughter. Dinner at the Hufflepuff table was always an adventure, but on Friday nights when Ed was severely sleep deprived, it was chaotic.


After their laughter slowed, Ed took a deep breath — no doubt preparing to share another dream. Cedric jumped in before Ed could speak.


“Ed, you know I love hearing about your dreams, but I have to go.�


Ed looked up at Cedric with a most disapproving glare. Fortunately, once Cedric stood up, Hailey sat down next to Julianne. Ed’s eyes lit up, thrilled to have a new audience member.


“So yesterday,� he began. “I fell asleep in History of Magic, and had the weirdest dream about dancing goblins.�


Cedric shook his head as he walked off. Ed’s dreams were entertaining to say the least, but he could go on for hours about the same dream.


As Cedric made his way out of the Great Hall, he reminded himself he had three things to work on tonight. He’d made a list of things to work on before their match against Gryffindor in one week. He didn’t expect to catch the Snitch, but if he could fly decently around Charlie Weasley that would be enough for him. After last week’s incident, just walking around him had proven more difficult than expected. Catching the Snitch would be nigh impossible if he didn’t have absolute focus at least one week before—


“Cedric!�


He turned to see Julianne coming from the Great Hall. She always ran when she was excited or nervous about something, and she was moving fast.


"What’s up?� he asked as she caught up to him.


“Oh, I just finished eating and didn’t want to get stuck in the middle of another dream for forty more minutes,� she said airily.


Cedric laughed in response. They continued walking down the hallway; Julianne bypassed the hall leading to their common room.


“Where are you headed?� Cedric asked.


“Wherever you're going,� she replied, without missing a beat. “And where will that be?�


Cedric smiled as he pointed to the nearby broom cupboard. “I’m off to practice,� he said. “Did you want to join me?�


“I thought you preferred to fly alone,� Julianne said.


“You were looking for company,� he replied. “I won’t leave you stranded.�


Julianne shrugged as she followed him into the cupboard where the school brooms were kept. Cedric noticed she was more uptight than normal but chose not to mention it.


“Why do you practice with the school brooms?� Julianne asked once they were sorting through the stacks in the cupboard. “Isn’t yours better than these?"


He looked up from the pile he was sorting through. “Honestly?�


She nodded.


“Well,� he said as he resumed sorting. “My father always said if you’re used to the best, you can only fly in the best. That includes the broom you’re on. Learning to fly on brooms that are slightly malfunctioning gives you better control when you’re flying on a higher quality broom.�


“So what are you looking for?�


“A broom I haven’t used before.�


“And what should I be looking for?�


Cedric reached toward the back of the pile, and found one of his favorites. It flew well, was responsive, and somehow he trusted it more than any of the others. “This one,� he stated.


Julianne stepped over to take the broom Cedric was holding. She raised one eyebrow as she asked, “And what makes this one so special?�


Cedric just smiled. “You’ll see.�


He turned back to choose a broom he hadn’t flown on yet. When he was ready, he turned, he could almost taste the thrill of flying. But when he turned, all he could see were Julianne’s eyes staring straight back into his.


Before he could think, react, or move, her lips were pressed on to his.


Shocked and slightly alarmed, he held his broom in one hand, and reach out far a stack of brooms to steady himself. If any ounce of rational thought was in him, he would have realized that a stack of brooms was unstable; however, he found that out when the stack, Cedric, and Julianne fell on top of each other, abruptly ending the kiss.


Julianne laughed nervously when she found herself on the floor. She pushed herself up to a sitting position, and looked over at Cedric, waiting for a response.


Cedric looked around, his mind racing, completely unsure of what happened and utterly confused about why he was on the floor.


“We should probably,� he began, indicating the brooms surrounding them.


“Yes,� Julianne agreed.


Silently Cedric helped Julianne to her feet and they began stacking the brooms where they belonged. Cedric couldn’t think of anything to say, but he knew Julianne expected something. The only problem was, he had no clue what that something was. As far as he could tell they were only ever friends. Friends don’t kiss, do they?


As they finished, Julianne looked up at him. Cedric knew she wanted him to say something, but he prolonged that as long as possible.


They stood there, staring at anything but each other. Finally Cedric stepped toward her, decided he should reply in the same way she started their silent conversation, but as he leaned forward to kiss her, she wasn’t there. Awkwardly attempting to disguise his forward dive, he looked over at her. Julianne smiled weakly at him.


“So,� Cedric began.


With nothing else to say, he looked up at her and hesitantly asked, “I guess this means you’re my girlfriend?�


Julianne’s head jerked up, her eyes wide, and after a pause she said. “No — well, yes. I mean… Yes, I suppose I’m your girlfriend.�


Cedric nodded as if it were done. Then he reached his hand down to hold hers in his. He’d never done that before, but he guessed he was doing it right, as she didn’t pull away. “Then, as your boyfriend, I’ll let you know that you really don’t have to fly with me,� he said with a smile. “I know it gives you a fright. I’ll just find you in the common room later.�


Julianne nodded and stepped out of the broom cupboard, bee-lining straight for the common room.


Cedric was alone in the broom cupboard completely shocked and unnerved. He had no clue what to expect. He sat on a pile of old brooms.


So much for focusing, he thought.


Silently he stood up and walked toward the pitch, his mind racing so fast it might as well have been blank. He couldn’t remember much of anything that happened out there—he did get on his broom. For how long, he had no idea. The last thing he remembered was collapsing on his bed later that night.

---

Cedric looked around the corner, hoping with all his might that she wasn’t anywhere nearby. He sighed in relief when he saw no sign of her. Taking advantage of her absence, he walked briskly across the common room toward his dormitory.


He wasn’t sure exactly how it happened, but somehow they were dating. And he had no clue how to deal with that. He only knew he needed to continue avoiding her at all costs.


They were in their second year, so they couldn’t carry out the assumed responsibilities of going to Hogsmeade or studying for O.W.L.s in hidden corners of the library as most Hogwarts couples did.


Cedric didn’t even understand why they were dating if they couldn’t go anywhere or do anything. Yet after that brief and rather unexpected kiss in the broom cupboard, he knew they were expected to be together, so the formalities of becoming her boyfriend had been observed. Not that Cedric even knew if he’d gone through all the expected formalities. At the moment, that was the least of his worries.


He didn’t know what to do, and he certainly did not want to disappoint her by breaking it off. He knew he needed to continue this course of delaying any action for as long as he possibly could.


He heard someone at the door and attempted to quickly and inconspicuously dive under his bed before they entered.


"Nice try,� called a voice from the entryway. Luckily, it was a male voice.

He looked out and recognized Ed staring down at him. “Oh, it’s you. I thought it was…�


He trailed off as he looked down, not wanting to admit the obvious.


“Yes, I know exactly who you ‘thought I was,’� Ed said. “Porter’s downstairs talking to the person you ‘thought I was,’ and I’ve been sent up here to determine whether you’ve disappeared up here or are hiding from her elsewhere.�


Cedric pushed himself up off the floor and sat down on his bed, unsure how to respond to the unasked question hanging in the air. He looked up to see Ed grinning at him.


“You don’t know what to do, do you?� Ed asked with a grin on his face. “Mr. I-always-have-all-the-answers is finally stuck on the one thing he was so confident about before.�


“What do you mean?� Cedric asked.


“I mean, you don’t know how to respond to Julianne,� Ed replied. “I remember before yesterday you were telling Porter and me how easy it was to be around girls, and that there was no problem telling them exactly how you feel.�


Cedric shook his head as he laughed at himself. “I was an idiot that day, mate.�


“Yeah, you were,� said Ed as shoved him out of the way to sit on his bed. “You could just keep ignoring her. At least, until Monday comes around and you have to see her in all your classes.�


Cedric growled in disgust as he fell back on his bed, tormented at how frustrating the situation was becoming.


“Hey,� Ed started, “You know I hate to see my best mate struggling, but this is completely your fault.�


Cedric looked up at Ed in disgust. “You’re making this so easy, oh wise Ed.�


Cedric identified the unusual amount of sarcasm in his voice but didn’t care. Julianne was the one who ambushed him; he had nothing to do with her becoming his girlfriend. She was the one who kissed him and started the whole mess.


Ed looked over at Cedric. “What are you going to do?�


“I’m going to stay here as long as possible and not eat at all tomorrow,� Cedric immediately replied.


Cedric sat there in silence, wondering how long he could survive without meals. Or desserts for that matter.


Ed straightened up, unnerved by something. “Cedric,� he said in awe. “How will you miss out on the Easter feast?�


Cedric shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s not that good,� he responded.


Ed was shocked and slightly alarmed by this apparent display of apathy from his best mate. “Oh, yeah?� Ed asked as he lifted his wand, preparing to jinx Cedric.


Unbeknownst to him, Cedric already held his wand up, and three pillows were racing toward Ed.

---

Cedric rolled over to look out the window. It had been a day and a half since that uncomfortable scene in the broom cupboard. And he’d spent most of it hidden in his dorm.


He groaned as he remembered his conversation with Ed and Porter last night. He’d been all day without food, and went to any measures to avoid seeing Julianne. Fortunately she didn’t seem to be around much either.


Porter finally convinced him that he should just talk to her, but from Cedric’s perspective, that was much easier said than done.


With a sigh he pushed himself out of bed and headed down to the common room. It was brunch time, he was starving, and he’d agreed to see Julianne now anyway.


When the common room came into view, Cedric realized he was holding his breath. Julianne was there talking with her friend Hailey. Fortunately Ed and Porter materialized just at that moment, and he saw them pull Hailey away. Julianne looked up, saw him, and quickly looked away. But she still stayed where she was, expecting him to approach her.


Cedric took a deep breath and walked over to her.


“Julianne, hi.�


“Hello,� she said, her eyes clearly examining the floor.


Cedric looked around, trying to look anywhere but at her, and desperately trying to remember what Porter told him to say. “Um...�


Julianne opened her mouth as if to speak, but Cedric spoke first.


“Sorry I avoided you,� he said quickly.


Julianne opened her mouth, and then closed it almost immediately.


“It’s okay,� she said.


Cedric looked around again. “Um,� he started, “this is kind of weird.�


Julianne forced a laugh and agreed. “I think we were better as friends,� she said.


Cedric nodded to the floor.


“And I mean non-kissing friends,� she continued.


Cedric nodded again. They looked at each other for a moment, waiting for nothing in particular, but something.


“I think Ed and Porter were headed down for brunch,� Cedric began.


Julianne nodded; both were grateful for the abrupt change of subject.


“Think we can beat them at a game of Exploding Snap?�


Julianne’s face split into the largest smile she’s worn since they started dating and broke up. “I’ll bet we can cream them.�


“Race you down there,� Cedric said.


Julianne took off without another word, not waiting to see if Cedric was on her heels or not.