A Stolen Kiss

Confusion. Screaming. Shouting.

“Cedric Diggory is dead!�

More screaming. Dumbledore was rushing towards Amos Diggory to break the news about his son’s death. Was Cedric really dead, though? The very idea seemed like some sick joke. It was impossible… impossible…

“Cedric Diggory! Dead!� The words were still reverberating along the stands as people disbelievingly relayed the news to each other.

Penelope Clearwater could hear many girls sobbing from where she stood. Her heart was beating fast as she stood on tiptoe, trying to catch a look at whatever was happening on the Quidditch pitch. Moody was now coaxing a seemingly injured Harry Potter in the direction of the castle.

Penelope turned to her side to see many girls from her house rushing towards Cho Chang, who was shocked beyond emotions. How funny, that she felt the same way, and yet everyone seemed to be more concerned about Cho. But that was because they didn’t know…

She dropped down to her seat as a rush of memories flooded her mind.

It was the second or third day of school. Penelope was in her sixth year at Hogwarts, and she reckoned that one of the best things about being a Prefect was the lovely bathroom with its gigantic pool. There was also the added advantage of getting to meet Percy during rounds and, sometimes, they’d steal a moment when no-one was watching. Also, her parents were proud of her, as her appointment as Prefect was one achievement they could understand perfectly.

Penelope smiled at all this as she entered the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She walked over to the pool and switched on a few random taps, before starting to undress. By the time she was out of her robes, the pool was filled with citrus-scented water with lots of suds and bubbles. She got into the pool and settled herself in it, sighing at the comfortingly warm water. Then, making a pillow out of a towel, Penelope rested her head against the side of the pool and shut her eyes.

She was enjoying her restful bath when she heard the door creak open. Alarmed, she turned around, gathering as much foam around her as possible. “Who’s there?!�

She didn’t need to ask the question, for she knew who it was the moment she looked at his mortified face. It was one of the new Hufflepuff Prefects. Chiselled features, dark hair, striking grey eyes, with a temporary redness creeping up his cheeks… Penelope’s heart missed a beat.

“I’m -- I’m so sorry,� Cedric Diggory muttered, looking at the floor. “I didn’t know… Sorry!� He turned to leave.

“Wait,� Penelope called out to him. “Diggory, right?� she asked him.

“Yes,� he said quietly, still looking at the floor.

“Didn’t you see the door emit red sparks when you said the password?�

“It did,� he replied. “But I didn’t realise that meant the bathroom was occupied. I’m so sorry, I’ll just leave.�

“Yeah, and tell all the other new Prefects about this too,� she called out. “I don’t want any of you barging in while someone else is bathing again.�

He nodded swiftly, not looking at her, and made a quick exit. Penelope sighed and stared after him as someone giggled behind her. Alarmed again, Penelope turned around to see Moaning Myrtle batting her eyelashes at the spot where Diggory had been minutes ago. “Oooooh, I’d love to see him have a bath!�

***

She roamed listlessly around Hogwarts, preferring time away from her friends. The classes were long and boring, and she sat in a corner, making neither head nor tail of what the Professors had to say, only staring at their faces or pretending to take notes…

Penelope felt a tap on her back as she sat at the breakfast table, waiting for her friends to finish eating. She turned around, only to see that it was Diggory -- Cedric. She smiled at him. “Hey!�

“Hi,� he replied, smiling reluctantly. And then he continued earnestly, “I just wanted to apologise once more. I didn’t mean to--�

“I know,� she replied, smiling at him. “It’s okay.�

“Are you sure?�

“Absolutely.�

“Okay, then,� he said, glancing at his table. “I should leave -- I have to get to class in ten minutes.�

“Sure,� said Penelope. “I should go too. Oh, and--� she began again, intending to inform Cedric of Myrtle’s thoughts, but bit her lip against it. This would be her payback for his ignorance.

“Yeah?� he asked, waiting for her to finish her sentence.

“Nothing,� she said. “Have a nice day.�

“You too,� he said, with an incredibly charming smile, and walked over to a waiting gang of friends. They were all eyeing Penelope and smirking at Cedric, but he shook his head at them and said something firmly. That only made them laugh harder, though, as they all headed off to class.

“If he came into the bathroom while I was bathing, I’d ‘accidentally’ get out of the pool while still naked,� Penelope’s friend remarked, and she snapped back to reality.

“Oh, shut up--and finish your breakfast,� Penelope retorted. “We have to get to class soon.�

***

“Miss Clearwater, if you’re not interested in my class, I’d be happy to see you leave.�

Penelope looked up from the random doodle on her parchment to see Snape gesturing to the door. She shook her head. “Sorry, Professor.�

“I wasn’t giving you a choice,� he said, still gesturing towards the door. “Ten points from Ravenclaw,� he added, as she packed her bag and walked out of class.

Penelope squinted at the fine print on her Potions book as she tried to put together a nasty essay on bezoars. Snape had been in a particularly foul mood on the day that he’d set the essay. But then, Snape always seemed to be in a foul mood, so this was no exception to the torture he always set for homework, especially since this was Penelope’s NEWT year.

She worked for an hour, filling up two scrolls of parchment and eventually using her measuring tape to check if she had finished three feet of her essay yet. There was still half a foot remaining. She sighed. This was dull stuff. Stretching and rubbing her eyes with her knuckles, she decided to take a walk around the library. She capped up her ink bottle, put her quill aside and got up to take a round.

She realised, as she walked around, that she really missed Percy. He had been very responsive during the summer; he had written to her a lot and they’d even met up once or twice, but then he had become rather busy after the Quidditch World Cup. Eventually, Penelope realised that it was because of the Triwizard Tournament (Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were due to arrive next month). However, Percy seemed to be obsessed with his job and his boss, and this was beginning to annoy Penelope.

Still thinking about Percy, she walked around the Muggle Studies session, only to spot Cedric seated at one of the tables, poring over multiple books on how to operate a computer. Amused at this, Penelope stopped at his table. “Hi!�

He looked up, and smiled when he saw her. “Hi!� He gestured to the seat before him, and she took it. “Don’t you have homework too?� he asked her.

“I do,� she replied. “I was taking a break. It’s a nasty Potions essay.�

He made a face at that. “Ugh, I hate Potions. But I reckon I need the subject.�

“Why? What do you want to do after school?�

“Oh, just work at the Ministry, like Dad,� he said. “But Potions is always useful -- even for day-to-day life situations.�

“Oh, yeah, you’re right,� she agreed.

“What do you want to do after school?�

“Ministry,� she said. “Same as you.�

“Oh, that’s cool,� he said. He looked back down at his essay and sighed. “I never should have taken NEWT level Muggle Studies. This is difficult as hell.�

She squinted at the book. “Computers are easy if you’re practically using one while learning. But this is weird -- why is it all just theoretical?�

“It’s not,� said Cedric. “It’s just for this essay. We’re only actually learning about the invention and use of computers.�

“Oh,� she said, squinting at the text again. She bit her lip. “Do you want me to help you?�

His expression was like that of a rescued puppy. “Can you?�

“Well, we use computers at home, so I can help you.�

“Oh! That will be great, then! Thanks!� he said, and Penelope wondered if she shouldn’t have offered to help him. She was lagging with her own work, and helping him on top of it all…

“Don’t you click on the ‘start’ button to switch on the computer?� Cedric asked her, happy that someone was there to help him, and Penelope snapped out of her thoughts. Well, it was too late to take back her offer.

“No, no,� she said, realising that maybe this wouldn’t be all that bad. “That’s to run programs, search for files and folders, open the command prompt--�

“Programs?�

“Yeah, never mind what those are -- just write what I say now.�

***

Penelope sat beside the lake, staring at the Giant Squid thrashing its tentacles about to catch pieces of food from here and there. It had been a whole week since Cedric had died. There would have been a funeral already.

She wondered how Cedric’s parents were taking the grief; his death seemed so terrible to her, and she’d not known Cedric for very long.

No, she thought. She knew him well. Maybe not for long, but she knew him well. And then there was everything that had happened between them, all of which had started at this very spot by the lake.

Penelope helped Cedric with all of his Muggle Studies assignments after the encounter at the library. They chose several spots to study together, and Cedric was a quick learner. The only subject he was bad at was Muggle Studies, Penelope realised, because he was a fantastic student otherwise. The students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrived, and Penelope felt a jolt in her stomach as Cedric was picked as a champion. Still, their little meetings continued, though Cedric had limited time because he had to prepare for the first task.

Her relationship with Percy was on a downward spiral now, and she knew that it was coming to an end. They barely spoke these days -- and their letters to each other were getting more and more formal. She could feel an undeniable, growing attraction to Cedric-- an insane urge to kiss him, or rip his clothes off, and this was particularly difficult to ignore sometimes, but she did her best to hold the attraction back, as she wasn’t sure of her situation with Percy yet. However, she loved spending evenings studying with Cedric. He was one of the most handsome and engaging people she knew, and she wondered why they hadn’t been friends before.

One such evening, they were sitting beside the lake, leaning against trees, with both their books in their hands. “What is the difference between a microwave and a regular oven?� Cedric asked Penelope suddenly. She put down her Herbology book and crawled over to him, narrowing her eyes at his text.

“Is it important?� she asked him.

“I just want to know,� he replied to her.

“Oh.� She looked at the text again and bent over a little, trying to look at the diagrams properly. “You can’t bake stuff in a microwave. You can only heat up your food,� she explained, still bent over and squinting at the book.

“All right, then,� he said. “Thanks.�

“No problem,� she lifted her head to look up at him abruptly, and her head made contact with his jaw.

“OW!� He exclaimed, as she sat up, alarmed and massaging her own head. Cedric, in the meantime, had an expression of pure agony on his face. Even with his face twisted like that, he managed to look inexplicably handsome. Merlin, how did he do that?

“S-Sorry!� Penelope said to him, guilty at watching him this way and without thinking twice, she extended her own hand to massage his jaw.

His eyes opened, and she withdrew her hand at once. “Didn’t m-mean to,� she muttered, not looking at him. “I…� She looked up again to see that he was staring at her, confused. Their eyes met, and she blinked at his slightly constricted pupils, before putting a hand on his jaw again and massaging slower this time. Then on a second impulse, she leaned forward, and their lips met.

His mouth was limp against hers at first, and then she felt his firm hands cup her face, as though to pull her away, so she was surprised when she felt a tongue. She threw her arms around his neck, enjoying the feel of his tongue against her mouth. His breath was warm on her face and she could hear him grunt and sigh, his lips working energetically. She could also see the dark eyelashes that lined his partially shut eyes, and her heart was just beating faster and faster. Then suddenly, he seemed to gasp, as he broke away from her abruptly.

It was the best kiss she’d ever had, and she was disappointed at his pulling away. But then she noticed the guilt on his face. “What - what happened?� she panted.

He bit his lip, and ran his hand through his hair. “You’re Percy’s girlfriend,� he said.

“So?�

“So this wasn’t supposed to happen!�

“Who said so?�

He sighed. “This is cheating, Penelope.�

She realised that this was the first time ever that she’d heard him say her name. “It’s not cheating,� she explained to him. “Percy and I are almost through. Now come here.� She pulled him close by his arms, but he gently pulled away.

“I don’t think this is right. I can’t do this.�

She shook her head. “There’s nothing wrong, believe me. Percy--� She didn’t complete her sentence, though, as he picked up his books and made to stand up.

“I should go,� he said.

“Why?� she asked him, and stood up with him. He had started to walk away, when she called out to him. “I really like you, Cedric!�

He turned around. “I like you too. But I can’t do this, Penelope. Sorry.�

She watched him go, anger, sadness and frustration filling her up all at once. Why wouldn’t Percy just let her break-up with him?! She had tried to bring up the topic in their letters several times, but he kept changing the subject with each long-awaited reply.

Penelope snarled at her luck and bent over to collect her things. She hated her life. She absolutely hated it.

***

The Great Hall was covered in black drapes for the Leaving Feast. As soon as she walked in the large hall, Penelope realised that they’d be collectively paying their respect to Cedric today. She sat down at the Ravenclaw table next to her friends, dreading everything about the feast.

Cedric and Penelope avoided each other for the next few weeks. They spoke very briefly when she congratulated him after the first task, and then he returned to his friends, while she just watched sadly. She knew he’d never let anything happen between them until she broke up with Percy, and she was trying her best to do just that. She didn’t want to do this in a bad way; she wanted to split on good terms, but Percy was either clueless about the hints that she was dropping, or he was choosing to ignore them. Either ways, the tactic was not working for Penelope.

The Yule Ball was announced, and Penelope could see girls eyeing Cedric as they passed him in the corridor, hoping he’d ask them to be his partner. Penelope wanted to go with him too, but she could bet that none of them stood a chance like she did. But then Percy wasn’t breaking up with her, and Cedric had now started to talk to Cho Chang a lot.

Penelope wondered if Cedric were only talking to Cho to egg Penelope on to dump Percy once and for all, but as far as she knew him, this couldn’t be his motive. He was most probably just interested in talking to Cho. Either way, Penelope was unable to stand it, and one day, she penned a rather bold letter to Percy.

Dear Perce,

I’m sorry, but this is not working. We really can’t be together. I wish it had lasted longer, as you are, without a doubt, a fabulous person, but your lack of time is not working for me.

I will always love you, and am sorry about this.

Penny

Once Penelope had owled the letter, she felt relief flood her. She had been released from the bounds of her relationship with Percy. She could do whatever she liked now. Including snogging Cedric Diggory.

Almost dancing with happiness, she went to the Great Hall for dinner that evening, and was delighted to see him sat at his table. She caught his eye and smiled, and he smiled back hesitantly as she headed towards him. “Can I talk to you?� she asked him, as she approached him.

He nodded reluctantly and they left the hall together, making their way to a corner near the marble staircases. “I broke up with Percy,� Penelope said to Cedric without preamble.

He looked uncomfortable. “That’s-that’s great.�

She grinned at him. “That’s it? This is wonderful! I feel free!�

He gave her back a small grin. “I’m happy for you.�

She smiled, and automatically leaned forward, eager to match lips with him again. But he caught her shoulders gently and moved away, causing her to frown at him, bewildered. “What happened?� she asked him.

He sighed. “I’m - I’m sorry, but I can’t do this.�

“Why?� she asked him. “I’m not with Percy anymore, Cedric.�

“Yeah,� he said, “But…� he bit his lip. “I think I like someone else.�

Penelope raised her eyebrows. “Who?�

“Cho Chang.�

She shook her head. “But… You said you like me.�

“I did say that, and I’m sorry,� he replied, saddened at her reaction. “But then we stopped talking, and I got to know Cho, and…�

She sighed. “You could have told me, you know. I just broke up with my boyfriend for you. This is really not fair.�

He looked at the floor. “I’m sorry.�

“Yeah, and that sorts it out.�

“Penelope…� His grey eyes looked sad as he turned up to her again. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I…� His eyes widened a little before he put a hand on her cheek and pulled her close, placing his lips on hers. And then, just a second later, he pulled away. “I’m really sorry,� he whispered, with an expression of genuine sadness on his handsome face. “I’m sorry.�

And she watched him walk away, feeling as though she had just died a little.

***

“Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right, and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory.�*

A number of sniffles and sobs collectively rose around Penelope as Dumbledore concluded his speech, and, finally, after a month of struggling with her emotions, she could feel a single tear fall out of her eye. And a single thought arose in her mind, echoing through her and bringing another tear with it.

I’ll never forget you, Cedric Diggory. I’ll miss you. A lot.

The End

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