Chapter Text

Chapter Five

Cedric was walking at a fast pace towards the Room of Requirements, where he had asked Alyssa to meet him earlier during lunch. It bothered him that the girl had looked hesitant after he asked her the question, it was clear she'd rather not go, but after giving her an imploring look, she hadn't worked up the courage to deny his request. Just thinking about that awkward interaction made him clench his jaw, silently cursing the fact that their relationship had been deteriorating over the last few weeks. 

His relationship with Alyssa has been different ever since that blasted night in his chambers; if only Cho hadn't ruined their special moment. Others hadn't noticed the change between them, for she never avoided him. Alyssa still ate her meals at the Hufflepuff table and even kept training with him for the tournament. Yet, it felt like the girl created a barrier around herself, keeping him at a distance, never letting her emotion run wild like she used to. Alyssa felt like a husk of her former self. Hollow, apathetic, and detached. She had never been the most outgoing, especially not with other people around them, but one on one? When it was just the two of them? Then there would be this mischievous sparkle underneath her otherwise demure exterior, or she would let out this delightful little giggle whenever he said something funny to her, or a roguish flash would appear in her eyes after they had pranked the Slytherins for brandishing those childish 'Potter stinks' badges. 

Cedric didn't particularly like seeing her this way, and he was afraid if he didn't fix this soon, she would lose all those defining features that made Alyssa, well... Alyssa. Cedric always prided himself on remaining level-headed and acknowledging difficult situations rationally, even if it meant realizing himself to be in the wrong. Here it was no different. He knew he needed to fix the situation soon, or he would eventually lose his newly gained trust with Alyssa. Not only that, but if Alyssa were to truly lose her defining characteristics, he would also feel the loss. Cedric needed his little Darling to remain as true to herself as possible. He couldn't afford Alyssa to lose that firey spirit and almost obsessive determination to save those around her, as he needed that to further his own plans. 

Alyssa's melancholic attitude had been going on for a couple of weeks now, and frankly, Cedric was getting frustrated with pretending that there was nothing different in the dynamic of their relationship. Initially, he had planned on asking Alyssa to be his girlfriend after the third task to celebrate his tournament victory. Now though... It was looking like he needed to go public with his claim on her a fair bit earlier. At least there would be a good opportunity soon already, as his head of house had only just announced that there would be a Yule Ball and that it was expected of him to open the Ball with a dance. Shoving the insulted feeling of not being consulted prior to this away (didn't head boys need to know these kinds of things earlier to prepare?), Cedric thought about the best way of dumping Cho and asking Alyssa without the student body labeling him as a cad. If he was honest with himself, he was secretly glad that he was already forced to dump Cho so soon. He was getting quite sick of her. The needy bitch was getting increasingly annoying, only stopping to whine about her incessant jealousy whenever she was warming his cock with one of her holes (she did give fantastic head, though). 

Cedric opened the door to the room of requirements, immediately spotting the full Gryffindor decor, not the mix between their houses the room usually took upon, meaning that Alyssa was either consciously or subconsciously pushing him away ever further; his decision to take her to the Yule Ball and eventually let her become his girlfriend, could not be delayed any further. He spotted Alyssa intently reading a thick book, cozily sitting on a comfortable-looking chair in front of a burning fireplace. 

"Hello, Love, thanks for coming tonight." 

"Hullo." 

Cedric tried not to show his displeasure at her monotonous response, but a slight grimace slipped through anyway. 

"Did you have a good day, Darling?"

"It was fine. Why did you want to meet tonight? We have training tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, we do, Lyss. I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay, about what?"

"The Yuleball, love." 

Alyssa tensed. When McGonagall informed them about the Ball and her duties as a Champion, she felt nothing but dread. Was she supposed to watch Ced dance and have the time of his life with Cho while she felt absolutely miserable? And who was she supposed to go with? Blaise hadn't even looked as much at her ever since that horrible party at the Hufflepuff's. Merlin, she had never even danced before... She was going to make an absolute fool of herself, become the laughing stock for the school again (as if the horrible articles by Skeeter weren't enough yet).

"Alyssa...?"

"Hmm, did you say something? I zoned out. I'm sorry."

"Yes, I did," Cedric said annoyedly but managed to put a warm smile on his face again, "I just asked you to be my partner for the Yule Ball. I'd like to go together, Love."

"You want to go with me...?" Alyssa asked confusedly.

"Yes, I really do, Darling."

"But-- But..." Alyssa sputtered, "What about Cho?"

"Well, I'll obviously not go with her if I'm asking you to go with me, am I?" Cedric said cheekily.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it! She is your girlfriend, isn't she?"

Cedric's cheeky smile was replaced with a serious look, "Yes, Lyss. But I plan on breaking up with her soon so you and I can go together."

"You haven't even broken up with her yet, and you're asking me already?" Alyssa asked with a hurt look on her face.

"I fail to see the problem, Love. I thought you'd be happy with me asking you." Cedric said while frowning.

"What If I say no? Will you go with her then?"

"But you're not going to say no, are you? We're perfect together, aren't we, Darling." Cedric said while pulling her off the couch, so she was leaning against his chest.

"I can't even dance," Alyssa mumbled softly, ignoring the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Did he really believe that they were perfect together? Alyssa thought giddily. 

For the past few weeks, Alyssa had tried to distance herself from him emotionally in a desperate attempt to get over her stupid and, what she believed to be, a completely one-sided crush. Obviously, she failed miserably. Crying in her bed for hours until she would finally fall asleep, making her incredibly tired and unresponsive during the day. She was forced to master multiple glamour charms to hide her swollen eyes and dark circles to avoid everyone's suspicions. Alyssa thought she would be over him by now, but it felt like it was only getting worse. The only reason she was still eating and functioning properly in class was to avoid Cedric starting to ask difficult questions... Questions that would only make her break down in his presence again, something she truly wanted to avoid. 

"We could practice, Love. But you move so gracefully when we duel; trust me, you'll be a natural." Cedric murmured into her ear, his warm breath sending chills down her spine.

"You're breaking up with  Cho ? Tomorrow?" Alyssa failed to leave the venom out of her voice when addressing Cho.

"Tonight even, Lyss." 

"You promise?"

"Yes, Darling. I promise."

Alyssa hugged Cedric tightly, feeling high on the warmth and security his muscled body offered her for the first time in weeks. She was basking in the euphoria of their embrace before she stilled and looked up at him with a panicked expression.

"I have nothing to wear at all, Ced." 

Cedric, who was expecting something far worse, let out a relieved chuckle that turned into an infection laugh. Alyssa balled her fists and punched his chest lightly, "I'm serious! Stop laughing!" Alyssa yelled but couldn't avoid smiling too."

"Don't worry, Darling. We'll figure out something together. We're going to need to coordinate what we wear anyway." 

"Our house colors don't match at all, though!" 

"We'll, then we'll just have to go my colors, right?" Cedric said with a smirk.

"No way!" Red and gold are way more festive!" Alyssa said incredulously.

"Yes, and I'd rather not look like something that belongs in a Christmas tree! Black and yellow is way better." Cedric said with an air of superiority.

"Ugh, I hate yellow, Ced! No way I'm wearing that! It always looks horrendous on me."

Cedric laughed loudly before responding, "We'll figure it out, Love. We'll go to a proper eveningwear shop during yulebreak, and they will advise us on the best options." 

"That sounds lovely, I'd--." Alyssa stopped herself, a gloomy look appearing on her face.

"What's wrong, Lyss."

"I can't leave, remember? Sirius is still being cared for in Sweden..."

"Don't worry, Darling. I'm sure we can get permission for you to leave for a few hours, especially if I'm there to supervise as head boy." Cedric winked.

"But-- But, don't you have to go home? To your parents?"

"And leave you here all alone? No way, Love."

"You're staying at Hogwarts? For the entire vacation?"

"Of course, Darling," Cedric said warmly.

"But your parents! I can't ask that off you!"

"My parents are fine with it, Love. I've already let them know." 

(Not like he would spend any time with those useless wastes of magic anyway)

Tears welled up from gratitude in her eyes, "Thank you, Cedric. You don't know how much this means to me."

Cedric leaned down and gave her a chaste kiss on her cheek, making the raven-haired girl look down to avoid his heated gaze while blushing furiously and secretly wishing it was on her lips instead. Then, Cedric lifted her chin up to look directly into her eyes.

"I can't wait to kiss you properly, Darling."

"Alyssa!" Lavender exclaimed in a betrayed tone while barging back into the dorm room she had only just left a few minutes ago. 

"What, Lav? Forgot something to pack?" Alyssa returned while reading a book on more esoteric and mostly forgotten potions she found in the Room of Requirements.

"Don't you 'what, Lav' me, you bitch!"

"Mmh?" 

Lavender knelt before the still reading girl and snatched her book out of her hands. Lavender ignored her indignant sounds of protest and gave her a withering look, "Pay attention, Alyssa!" 

Alyssa, who was previously laying cozily on her bed, propped herself up on her elbows and gave an exasperated sigh, "What's wrong, Lav? Don't you have a train to catch?"

"Tell me why I must hear from some annoying pimple-faced first year that your crush is staying at Hogwarts during the vacation? How dare you not inform me about this? This is so romantic, Alyssa! Oh Merlin, do you think he'll ask you to the Ball?" Lavender prattled on, her voice getting higher and higher. 

"Wow, slow down, please." 

Lavender shot her another whithering glare, "Don't tell me to slow down! Why didn't you tell me or the other girls that Cedric was staying with you?" 

"I-- I didn't think it was that important?" Alyssa trailed off unsurely.

"Not important?" Lavender yelled out again, "Cedric is by far the hottest bloke in the school, and he is single for the first time in like forever again. So how is this not important, especially for you?"

(Alyssa silently agreed with the first part but chose to ignore it; it wouldn't help to get distracted by his looks again. She was doing that plenty already at night, thank you very much)

"What do you mean with especially for me?" Alyssa asked with a, what she hoped to be, haughty look.

"Oh, come on, Alyssa! We've all seen you acting like a lost puppy around him! It's clear that you're in love with him! When are you just going to admit it?"

Alyssa looked away to avoid Lavender seeing her growing blush. She hadn't told the girls in her room that Cedric had already asked her to be his date for the Ball. He wanted it to remain a surprise, and it also would have been too soon after breaking up with Cho otherwise. 

"It's not like that, okay? And I'm sure he doesn't even like me. Merlin, he just got out of a relationship, Lav.

(Alyssa wasn't even lying right now. She honestly didn't know what Cedric thought about her. It wasn't clear to her if he only wanted to take her to the Ball or also wanted to date her properly after that. She was too over the moon to think about it when he asked her, and now she was too scared to ask, not wanting to be rejected by the boy that meant so much to her.)

"Of course, he likes you! You're gorgeous, love. And isn't it so romantic? The two of you staying together here during Christmas? Tell me you're not at least a little bit excited about it?" Lavender asked while playfully shoving her shoulder. 

A small smile escaped her, and Lavender immediately started squealing, "I knew you were thinking about it! You have to tell me everything when I'm back. I don't want to hear this from some freshman again, alright?"

Alyssa couldn't help but smile just as brightly as Lavender; her enthusiasm was just too infectious, actually giving her some confidence that Cedric does, in fact, might want her to become his girlfriend eventually. 

"I will. I promise, but you need to leave soon, or you're going to miss the train, Lav! Everyone must already be there by now!"

A panicked look overcame the bubbly blonde in front of her, "Shit, you're right! Write me if something exciting happens, or I'm going to die of boredom with my family!"

"Bye Lav, happy Christmas!

"See you soon, and don't be a prude! You're the only one that has a shot with the fittest bloke of the school. Parvati and I need to leave vicariously through you, understand me?!" Lavender yelled while dragging a large suitcase filled to the brim with clothing behind her. 

Alyssa was glad Lavender had already turned around, or else she would have spotted the red look that overcame the raven-haired girl who was totally not dreaming again about someone's strong hands holding her tight while whispering dirty things in her ear; she really wasn't. 

Unlike what most of the students around her believed, Alyssa absolutely loved staying at Hogwarts during Yule Break. The castle has an almost ethereal look covered in snow, and walking around the grounds alone truly was the best method of clearing her mind, making her focus only on the nature and magic around her. The only thing that used to bother her tremendously was the cold, her old ratty cloak providing very little protection against the harsh Scottish winter winds. The cold would seep into her bones, remaining there for the rest of the day, but even that wouldn't stop her from venturing out into the beautiful grounds of Hogwarts, sometimes even hiking with Hagrid through some of the saver parts of the Forbidden Forrest. 

Now though? Now the only cold she felt was on her rose-colored cheeks as the rest of her body was protected very well from the harsh Scottish climate. The high-quality black winter cloak, adorned with pretty silver accents, that Cedric had gifted her a while ago was laced with permanent heating charms that automatically adjusted itself to her ideal temperature, never too hot or cold. Geared up with her green mittens and earmuffs, she actually felt pretty cute for once, as opposed to the mess she usually was in the winter (or always, really). 

The calming sounds of snow crunching under her boots accompanied her while she was walking to the agreed-upon meeting point where Cedric should already be. It was only the second day of Yule Break, but Cedric wanted to get their dress fitting done early, as the Yule Ball was already in five days. She hadn't seen him much yesterday, only briefly during dinner, which he arrived late for, as he was busy with head boy business for the entire day. Luckily, according to what he told her during dinner, he was mostly free for the rest of the vacation, able to finish the rest of his schoolwork during their many scheduled training days. 

Today, they were supposed to quickly apparate to Diagon Alley, get dress robes fitted, and then return immediately to school again, at least that was what Mcgonnogal told them after giving them permission to leave the school grounds. Alyssa could already see Cedric standing in the distance, waiting for her to arrive. She hadn't expected him to be there already, as she was quite early herself, wanting to take a stroll across the grounds early in the morning, when Hogwarts was at its most beautiful. 

He hadn't seen her yet, as he was looking in the wrong direction, expecting her to arrive from the main path connecting the school with the apparition zone outside the wards. Even from here, his tall, imposing stature was apparent, instantly making her feel a weird concoction of emotions in her stomach. Feelings of anxiety, giddiness, butterflies, dread, and horniness were battling inside her. Was this normal? Shouldn't liking a boy only make her feel happiness? Snapping herself out of her emotions, she yelled out her greeting when she was within speaking distance. 

Looking as put together as ever, Cedric turned around and gave her a bright smile, "Didn't expect you to come from that direction, Love?"

"Yeah, I went on an early morning stroll, enjoying the silence for a little bit." 

"Excuse me for ruining your silence then, Darling," Cedric said cheekily. 

"You are forgiven, Ced." Alyssa returned haughtily. 

"It's good to see you, Lyss. Excited to leave the school grounds?"

"I mean, yes? But it's not like we're able to that much anyway with how soon we have to return." 

"Wait, you actually want to return immediately?" 

"Uhm, yes? I'm not feeling getting detentions for the rest of the year." 

"I thought you were a Grynddor? Where is your sense of daring, of adventure?" Cedric said teasingly in a grandiose tone.

"I'm plenty Gryfinddor! But like, I've also got common sense, unlike you apparently." 

"The same common sense you had when dragging that baby dragon all the way up to the astronomy tower instead of just to somewhere on the grounds?"

"Shut up," Alyssa grumbled, "I should have never told you about that story!"

"Probably, yeah," Cedric said with a cheesy smile on his face.

"But are you serious? Do you really want to stay away longer from school?"

"Yes, of course! We don't get many opportunities like that, and I want to show you around, take you out for lunch somewhere nice."

"But-- But, won't you get in trouble? You're the head boy... Don't they expect you to not break any rules, like ever?" Alyssa protested weakly, secretly feeling immensely flattered that he wanted to take her out for the entire day... Almost like a  date ? 

"Love, don't worry about me. It's not like they're going to keep track of our whereabouts at all times; we'll be fine! Or don't you want to stay longer?"

"No-- No, it sounds lovely. Truly, Ced."

"Well then, come here, Darling, and I'll apparate us to the Leaky Cauldron so we can grab some breakfast before we go shop for our clothes, alright?"

"Alright," Alyssa spoke softly while shuffling closer to the tall boy in front of her.

"Closer, Darling. You need to hold me tightly. I don't want you to splinch on me." Cedric said while looping his arms around her waist, holding her closely. Alyssa responded by hooking her hands around his neck, pressing her face against his muscled chest, "Okay, I'm ready."

"Don't let go!" Cedric warned again before apparating the both of them away in a loud crack. 

They landed near the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron, Alyssa just about being saved from landing on her face by Cedric, who held her upright. But even then, she was still swaying on her feet. 

"Are you alright, Darling?"

When she remained silent, Cedric spoke again, "Do you want to sit down for a minute?"

At Alyssa's shaky nod, Cedric quickly conjured a simple chair and carefully placed her on it. "Take deep breaths, Love. The dizziness will fade away soon; magical travel is never fun if you aren't used to it."

Alyssa focussed on her breathing while looking Cedric, who was crouched in front of her, in the eye, slowly feeling more and more steady. 

"Feeling better?" Cedric asked while rubbing soothingly on her arm.

"Y- Yeah, I'm sorry, Cedric."

"Hey, don't apologize. Finally found something you aren't a natural at, huh?"

Alyssa let out a shaky laugh, "You should have seen the first time I traveled with the Floo; I ended up in Knockturn Alley by accident."

Cedric narrowed his eyes, not liking the thought of her being all alone in that shady part of the magical world, "I hope you were alright; that's not a good place to end up lost." 

"I ran into Hagrid fairly quickly," Alyssa supplied sheepishly.

"Alright then..." Ced started, choosing to forget about it for now. "How about we get something to eat for breakfast? It might help you with the nausea from apparating."

"Sounds good to me, Ced." 

After they enjoyed their breakfast, Cedric having opted for a full English, while Alyssa ordered some fruits and a croissant, they were now heading towards Twilfitt and Tattings. She tried to push away the instant rush of giddiness when Cedric grabbed her hand while walking down Diagon Alley. Alyssa enjoyed the pleasantly comfortable silence during the short walk; this was truly something she could get used to. During times like this, when it was just the two of them, no one around to interfere with their little bubble of serenity, she found herself adoring Cedric more and more, so much so that she could almost forget that underneath that sweet and caring exterior, something darker resided underneath it.  Almost . Alyssa hated that her mind had to go to this right now, just when everything was going so well. But it was getting harder and harder to ignore, wasn't it? She had seen it a few times now, a flash of darkness seeping out his otherwise perfectly normal character. It was most apparent after she had kissed Blaise. That night he seemed like a completely different person, angry, possessive, and dominating. Or maybe he wasn't acting like a different person at all; perhaps he was simply unable to keep himself from taking his carefully crafted mask off, showing her who he really was. 

But did she really care? Did she actually mind that underneath that sweet and caring exterior, something dark and possessive resided? She found herself thinking about that a lot these last few weeks. Was it that bad that he wanted to keep her to himself? To control her? The girls in her dorm cared; she knew that for certain. Both Parvati and Lavender complained about boys acting too controlling, usually leading them to dump them instantly. But did she care about that too? She knew that Cedric had no right to be so possessive of her, but... Doesn't it show that he at least cares? No one else had ever shown so much care for her, constantly asking if she was alright, how school was going, whether she wanted to train for the tournament or perhaps simply hang out. It made her feel wanted, feel  special . Cho never got his attention the same way, she knew that for certain. Even when the two of them were dating, he was spending almost all of his time with her, not that  skank . 

Alyssa knew she shouldn't curse Cho like that; it really wasn't fair to her. She had done nothing wrong... In fact, Alyssa was probably the bitch in this situation, slowly stealing her boyfriend from her. But she just couldn't find herself to care, couldn't stop herself from hating the beautiful girl. Because that was the issue, wasn't it? Cho was incredibly gorgeous and obviously way more experienced than her, and while she had been dreaming about doing  stuff  with Cedric for a while now, she wasn't sure if she was actually ready to do anything yet. Well... She knew she wanted it, but she was terrified of not meeting his expectations, Just thinking about it gave her anxiety already. She knew that Cho and Cedric were very active sexually, how could she ever compete with that? The only things she knew were from overhearing gossip between Lavender and Parvati, and even then, she mostly zoned them out, too embarrassed to listen any further.

"I can't wait to kiss you properly, Darling."

That line. That damned line had been haunting her dreams ever since he said it in that deep voice of his. She could still feel his warm breath on her face, and she wasn't too afraid to admit that she had spent many nights with her hands in between her legs, never having orgasmed as much as after that night. It was just too hard to ignore the wetness in between her thighs, thinking about his strong hands, muscled yet lean and tall body --

"Alyssa?"

Snapping out of her inner musings, Alyssa stiffened, actively avoiding his searching gaze, afraid that he'll spot her reddened cheeks and realize that she must have been having inappropriate thoughts. 

"We're here, Darling." 

Darling

"Alyssa?" 

"Hmm, what?" 

"Are you alright? You seem distracted...?"

"Sorry, sorry. I'm alright, just thinking about some unimportant stuff." 

"If you're sure... Well, want to head inside? They promised that the store would be empty for us."

"Really?"

"Yeah, of course, Darling. We're both heirs to our family, and you're the girl-who-lived; who are we to ignore such generous offerings by them." Cedric said cheekily.

"I guess you're right; only fair to use the advantages that come with my situation, right? I definitely deserve it after those annoying articles by Skeeter," Alyssa grumbled. 

"Absolutely Love, and don't worry about that wannabe journalist. I'm thinking of something to do about it. You're way too loved by everyone to have to endure this baseless slander." 

"Thanks, Ced," Alyssa said with a soft smile on her face.

"No worries, Love. Let's head inside now, alright?"

"So, you don't want yellow or black?" the nervous-sounding salesperson asked.

"No, yellow is the ugliest color!" 

"What's wrong with black then?" Cedric asked, affronted. 

"Nothing, but it's so boring!"

"What about red and gold then?" The middle-aged woman asked.

"Absolutely not. As I told Alyssa earlier, I'm not going to our most important Ball as a Christmas tree.

"Red is a beautiful color!"

"I don't care. I veto it." Cedric said, stubbornly trying to hide his growing grin.

"You can't just veto something!"

"I can and I will; it's not like you didn't basically veto yellow already, Darling."

"Ugh, alright. Whatever." Alyssa said while petulantly crossing her arms.

"What about something other than your house colors?" The saleswoman said, trying to placate her soon-to-be well-paying customers. "Something green would go lovely with your eyes, Miss Potter."

"I do love green... And silver, for that matter. But, ugh, why did the Slytherins get the best house colors?"

"Perhaps something dark blue with silver accents?" The woman suggested.

"That would be fine by me," Cedric responded. 

"I guess that could work," Alyssa grumbled, still peeved that green and silver were not an option. No way that she would give Malfoy the satisfaction of wearing his house colors, she thought to herself snidely. 

"If that's agreed on, we should discuss the styles of your attire. Conservative or more modern? Classical wizarding garments or perhaps something more muggle?" The woman trailed off carefully, clearly unsure if she had overstepped with her suggestion

Alyssa looked over at Cedric, not entirely sure what his preference would be. She knew what hers was, though. She hated the classical wizarding fashion, with unflattering and heavy garments, ugly colors and prints, and, quite frankly, ridiculous styling overall. But luckily, her worries appeared to be unnecessary, as Cedric spoke up, "I wouldn't mind something more muggle or progressive but nothing too scandalous; we don't want to give the older wizards heart attacks, do we, Darling?"

"I completely agree," Alyssa stated happily. 

"Good, good. Do you two want to pick your clothes out and get fitted separately or together?"

"Together," Cedric said.

"Separately," Alyssa said at the same time.

They looked at each other, Cedric amusedly raising his eyebrow and was about to speak up again, but Alyssa was quicker, "No way, Ced. I don't want you to see my dress before the Ball. Please?"

Cedric looked to be thinking it over but finding nothing wrong with her request; he voiced out his agreement, "Alright, Darling. That's fine by me." 

He turned towards the patiently waiting saleswoman, "I trust you'll manage to finish it before the Ball." 

"Of course, Sir. I'll just need to measure both of you, and I'll start working on it right away. You'll not be disappointed; we deliver only the best." The woman said proudly. 

"I trust that I won't. I'll wait outside so Alyssa can get measured first. See you soon, Darling."

The rest of the day passed in a blur for Alyssa. It was honestly one of the best days of her life. After they left Twilfitt and Tattings, they walked around Diagon Alley, doing a little bit of window shopping; she even got herself some new exciting books on Alchemy at the bookshop. After that, they left Diagon Alley to explore some more of muggle London. She had never truly gotten the chance to explore the city properly, and to do so with Cedric as her guide, was an incredible experience. He even took her for lunch at a posh restaurant, and after that, they lazed about in an almost empty St James's Park, warmed by Cedric's heating charms. Unfortunately, Cedric hadn't tried to kiss her, even though she had dropped enough signs of her wanting to, but she didn't let that ruin their wonderful day out. Eventually, everything had to end, though, and they made their way back to Hogwarts by another nausea-inducing apparition. 

Pressing her head against his firm chest to avoid herself from falling down on the snowy grounds, she couldn't help but take comfort in his now familiar smell. 

"Alright, Lyss?"

"Yes, just a moment, please."

"Of course, Darling."

After a few seconds of silence, Alyssa spoke softly, "Thank you for today; it was wonderful, Ced."

"I'm glad you liked it, Darling. So did I."

Alyssa looked up with her lips parted, staring at him with her green Doe eyes. 

"You're making it very hard not to kiss you right now, Love," Cedric murmured into her ear.

Feeling brave, Alyssa responded, "Then why don't you, Ced?"

"Hmm, I want to wait for the Ball, Darling. Make it something special." 

"Who cares about that? Just kiss me now, please." Alyssa said petulantly.

"Good things come to those who wait, Darling." 

Not wanting to ruin the moment, Alyssa simply hugged him tightly, savoring the moment, realizing that, right now, she's never felt more cherished, more loved.