Entry tags:

Fic: Making Excuses (Cedric/Hermione)
To: starrika
From: silvernatasha

Title: Making Excuses
Author: silvernatasha
Gift For: starrika
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Cedric/Hermione
Summary: Despite what some people might suggest, he was not gay; having Hermione ask him out was almost like a pleasant sort of distraction.
Warnings: AU, wall!sex.

The Triwizard Cup gleamed behind Cedric.

"Take it, then," Harry said, panting. "Go on, take it. You're there."

Cedric turned to look at the Cup. When he looked around at Harry again, Harry was holding onto the hedge to support himself, his injured leg threatening to give out at any moment.

Cedric took a deep breath. "You take it. You should win. That's twice you've saved my neck in here."

"That's not how it's supposed to work," Harry barked. "The one who reaches the Cup first gets the points. That's you. I'm telling you, I'm not going to win any races on this leg."

Cedric took a few paces away from the Cup, shaking his head. "No."

"Stop being noble," Harry said irritably. "Just take it, then we can get out of here."

Cedric watched Harry steadying himself, holding tight to the hedge. "You told me about the dragons. I would've gone down in the first task if you hadn't told me what was coming."

"I had help on that, too." Harry tried to mop up his bloody leg with his robes. "You helped me with the egg - we're square."

"I had help on the egg in the first place," Cedric pointed out, folding his arms over his chest and wondering why on Earth Harry was turning down this opportunity. The Cup was all ready and waiting for him, but still he wasn't going to take it. Bloody Gryffindors.

"We're still square." Harry tried to step forward and Cedric watched as he shook when he put weight on his injured leg.

"You should've got more points on the second task. You stayed behind to get all the hostages. I should've done that."

"I was the only one who was thick enough to take that song seriously! Just take the Cup!"

"No," said Cedric, stepping over the spider's tangled legs. He paused for a moment, squashing down any misgivings and calling up all his courage. Then, he gave Harry a sharp shove. Harry cried out, staggering forward several feet, his leg buckling beneath him. His arms reached out instinctively, trying to find something to steady his balance.

His hands clasped around the Triwizard Cup.

With a howl of wind and swirling colour, Harry Potter disappeared.

Cedric fell to his knees, letting out a ragged breath. "A Portkey." He was absolutely certain that wasn't supposed to happen. Nowhere in the description of the task had there been anything about a Portkey. "Fuck."

*****

Guilt was a powerful emotion.

Even ten years after the Triwizard Tournament, Cedric still had dreams about the third task. Sometimes, he would relive the events exactly, completely helpless to do anything and would wake up gasping a sweating. Other times, though, it would be different. Cedric could change things and the scene would play out differently in his head.

Harry had told everyone about what had happened in the graveyard. In some of Cedric's dreams, he would take the Cup instead of Harry, but he would wake the moment that this hands touched the Cup. Occasionally, he'd even take the Cup with Harry, even though Harry had later told him that he probably would have been killed. The point of the Portkey had been to get Harry to the graveyard, so Voldemort would have had no use for Cedric.

That didn't stop Cedric from feeling guilty, though. If he had listened to Harry and taken the Cup by himself, perhaps he could have stopped Voldemort from returning. That was perhaps a little too hopeful, but maybe it would have delayed things or it would have been different. Using his blood rather than Harry's would mean that Voldemort wouldn't have had the protection he had gained from the Boy Who Lived. Even if they had killed him outright, maybe that would have prevented more deaths.

The year after the Triwizard Tournament, Cedric had become closer friends with Harry. What had happened in the maze had affected him deeply; there was no way that he could just ignore it.

His relationship with Cho had died a death that year. She was one to wear her emotions on her sleeve, and had swung between alternately worrying in an obsessive fashion about him and getting angry with him for being friends with Harry when he could have been spending time with her. Cedric also had his Quidditch duties to concern him, which had driven a competitive wedge between them. Eventually, she'd been placated to an extent when Cedric invited her to the DA organisation that Harry had started.

Cedric had, however, been somewhat relieved when she had told him that things weren't 'working out' between them.

"Cedric, wake up." A hand waved in front of his face and Cedric blinked; he looked up from his desk to see Hermione Granger smiling in amusement at him. "You looked like you were in a world of your own. Away with the fairies, as my Mum used to say."

"Did you want something, Hermione?" Cedric reached for his quill, at least attempting to make it look as though he was doing work and not daydreaming.

She frowned. "It's five o'clock. Oh, you're not doing overtime are you, Cedric? Come on, you promised you'd come out for a drink with everyone after work."

"You want to go out?" Cedric asked. Hermione wasn't known for being overly social with people with work - he'd been working with her in the same office for two years now, and normally she just about stretched to the Christmas party.

"Yes, actually. We've all had a crap week with this new filing system. A couple of drinks to celebrate getting through it without tearing my hair out sounds appropriate. Besides, we're going to have a hellish week next week with that departmental performance review." Hermione smiled broadly at him, her hand resting on his shoulder for a few moments. "We're leaving in a minute if you want to join us."

Cedric nodded. "Yeah, okay. That doesn't sound too bad."

Hermione pulled a face. "No need to make it sound like a chore," she chided gently. More earnestly, she added, "I'd really like it if you could come."

"Hermione," he warned, stowing his quill in his desk drawer. This wasn't the first time Hermione had asked him out for a drink. He'd always known that Hermione was a determined sort, but he'd never realised that this even extended into her personal life.

It really didn't help that he couldn't help imagining what she was like in bed. That was completely his fault - he had gone out for a drink with Harry and Ron thinking that, as her best friends, they would know the best way to dissuade Hermione's advances. Harry had laughed and wished him luck, saying he didn't have a clue. Ron, however, had already had several drinks and had proceeded to tell him that he should just fuck Hermione because she was a wildcat in bed.

"Cedric, this isn't a date. It's a drink. With several people from work. Not an orgy."

His cheeks flushed red. Orgy? Why did she have to mention sex? He really could have done without the mental image of Hermione in an orgy.

"Fine," he said with a slight grumble. "Just let me get my cloak," he added, as though she was forcing him at wand point.

A glass of wine in her hand and not worrying about deadlines, Hermione could actually be quite good fun. Cedric especially enjoyed her company when she wasn't stressed over things that made her voice annoyingly shrill. Watching her from the other side of the table as she talked to another wizard from their office, Cedric considered, not for the first time, what it would be like to be in a relationship with her. It was difficult to picture, though, his lack of experience in serious relationships always blocking his thoughts.

When he told people that he was waiting for the right person before he got into a relationship, Cedric was telling the truth. He really wanted that special person in his life, although he wasn't entirely sure that he'd met her yet. Despite what some people might suggest, he was not gay. That didn't seem to stop random blokes from chatting him up every now and again, to his annoyance. In fact, he found that far more annoying than Hermione asking him out.

Having Hermione ask him out was almost like a pleasant sort of distraction. In a way, it was nice to be reminded that women still found him attractive.

He hadn't realise how much he enjoyed it, though, until Hermione started seeing someone else.

Kevin Entwhistle. A former Ravenclaw whose sole purpose in life seemed to be to annoy Cedric. He worked in a different office, having beaten Cedric to a promotion, which was mostly due to the fact that he was a workaholic brownnoser. By all accounts, Hermione had been the one to ask Kevin out for a drink. When Cedric recognised the scorned feeling that rose up whenever he saw them together as jealousy, he felt as though Kevin had violated something that was precious to him. Hermione was supposed to ask him out, not Kevin with his starched shirts and too-white parting.

Guilt bubbled somewhere inside him when he saw Hermione chatting and laughing with Kevin. Guilt that he hadn't accepted her invitations and that he wasn't the one making her smile like that.

He continually berated himself. All that waiting for the right person and now maybe he'd gone and turned that person down one too many times. His luck with women was worse than he'd thought.

Grabbing his cloak, Cedric glanced over to the door, where Hermione was greeting Kevin. His heart thumped as he was sure that she looked over at him for a moment before kissing Kevin. The nagging suspicion that had been harbouring inside him for the last few weeks flared up again.

Was Hermione doing this on purpose?

In the past, he had seen Hermione manipulate people to get what she wanted. She'd even dipped into blackmail and quite clearly still had people under her thumb even now. Considering how well he knew her, it wouldn't surprise Cedric if she were using Kevin to her own ends. That was it. She was using Kevin to make him jealous.

It all made so much sense. Hermione wanted to make him jealous, to force him to make a move. Cedric's fists curled in exasperation. Fuck, the woman was insufferable. What am I going to do about her? He held a certain amount of incredulousness that she would even be so bold as to do this.

Worse still, it was working.

*****

Hermione's prediction of a hellish week at work came true. The performance evaluation put everyone on edge: various wizards peering over their shoulders and asking inane questions was hardly conductive to doing any actual work. While they might have normally been a little more lenient with deadlines and paperwork, everything had to be done to the letter.

Not getting the results of the evaluation for another two weeks made it even more frustrating. As soon as they came in, though, an impromptu office party was called for, copious amounts of alcohol and food seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

Cedric had tried to make his excuses and escape home, but he had been roped into attending, someone even going so far as to hold his favourite quill to ransom until he agreed to stay. Cedric rationalised that that didn't mean he had to socialise, though, so hung at the edge of the room, avoiding meeting anyone's eyes lest the they attempt to draw him into conversation.

"Here, take a drink." Ron forced a glass of wine towards Cedric who sighed and took it reluctantly.

Cedric sighed, pushing his hair from his eyes. "Thanks." He sipped it, and then looked inquisitively at Ron and Harry, who had appeared on his other side, munching on a piece of bread. "What are you two even doing here? You don't work here."

"Hermione invited us," Harry said, swallowing.

Ron nodded in agreement. "Also, there's free booze."

Harry gave him a slightly disapproving look. "We haven't seen much of Hermione recently, either. She's been all caught up with that Kevin bloke."

Cedric frowned, glancing over to the other side of the room where Hermione was chatting to a couple of their co-workers. "Yeah, she has," he agreed.

Head whipping round, Ron gave a soft groan of delight as she spotted the buffet table. "Oh. Sausages on sticks! I think a trip over there is in order." He grinned and departed, making Harry chuckle, shaking his head.

"Nothing gets between Ron and miniature food," he remarked. Studying Cedric, Harry gave him an inquisitive look. "Are you alright? You seem a bit out of sorts." His brow creased in a 'we've been friends for years so you can tell me anything' sort of way that made Cedric prickle uncomfortably. He shook his head, taking a large mouthful of wine and swallowing a splutter that tickled up his throat.

"I'm fine," he insisted, eyes watering. "Look - Hermione's free. Why don't you go over and see her?" He knew it was a transparent attempt to get rid of Harry, but it was the only thing that came to mind. After the week he'd had, Cedric wasn't in the mood for company, either.

Half an hour later, Cedric still skulked at the edge of the room, glass in his hand. He kept glancing at the clock, wondering how much longer it would be before he could leave without seeming rude. The fine line between an early exit and beating a hasty retreat taunted him.

"Cheer up, Cedric." Hermione smiled, appearing at his side. "Any chance you're going to crack a smile any time soon?" she asked hopefully.

"Probably not." Cedric took a large gulp of the wine: Hermione was the last person he wanted to see right now.

Hermione sighed. "Are you okay? You've been acting a bit off for a while."

"I'm fine." Cedric clenched his teeth. Hermione was as stubbornly inquisitive as ever. "Please, just go and enjoy the party."

Brow creasing, Hermione pulled the glass from Cedric's fingers, setting it down on the nearest desk. As Cedric started to protest, she grabbed his arm, yanking him out of the office as she declared, "We need to talk."

She glanced around the corridor, her eyes falling on the stationery cupboard. Proceeding to pull them in there, Hermione lit up the small cupboard, closing the door. Cedric's cheeks flushed at the close proximity to her - if anyone found them, they would get the wrong idea. He raked a hand through his hair, chest feeling tight.

"Cedric. What's got into you?" Hermione peered at him, as though trying to read him like a book. In the dim light of the cupboard, it was equal parts endearing and excruciating; Cedric couldn't meet her eyes for fear that, if he did, he'd shove her up against the wall and kiss her until they were both breathless.

"Nothing," he insisted. Two pink spots appeared on his cheeks.

"Then why are you being such a prat?" Hermione frowned. "Cedric, look at me."

Angered, Cedric lifted his eyes. "I can't stand seeing you with that idiot."

Hermione's eyes widened and she was almost physically taken aback by the tone of his voice. Several beats of awkward silence later and Hermione's tongue swiped across her lips in a bid to wet them. "Kevin?"

"Yes, Kevin." Cedric's lip curled with disdain.

"But I broke up with him." A crease appeared on Hermione's forehead. "Last week. Cedric?" She reached for his hand - he tried to shake her off, but Hermione was insistent and grabbed it. "You were jealous of Kevin? Why?" Setting him with a hard look, Hermione shook her head in amazement. "This is ridiculous. You don't even like me that way."

Cedric clenched his teeth. "You should be proud of yourself, Hermione," he growled. "Your plan to make me jealous worked." He wrenched his hand away from hers, shoving it in his pocket to remove any temptation. "Well done."

"I wasn't trying to make you jealous!" Hermione searched his face, trying to understand what Cedric was telling her. "You… want me?"

"Yes! Which I didn't realise until you started going out with that prick. That's exactly what you wanted, wasn't it? To see how I would react."

Hermione stared at him, incredulity written on her features. "That wasn't my plan at all."

Cedric gave a bark of laughter, taking a step forward. He towered over her. "So you're admitting you had a plan?"

Craning her neck to look up to him, Hermione scowled. "I went out with him because I knew you weren't interested in me. I thought I was over you." Her tongue darted out again, wetting her lips. The action was infuriating and Cedric wanted to replace her tongue with his, tasting her.

"And are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Over me."

Hermione blinked. "No." Her voice shook.

"Then why are we arguing?"

Licking her lips again, Hermione's hands grabbed the back of Cedric's head, pulling him in for a hard kiss. It took a moment for him to respond, the shock of her lips against his stunning him into submission as Hermione's tongue darted between his lips. Hermione moaned, the sound deliciously soft to Cedric's ears.

The kiss was rough, unpractised and messy. Cedric staggered back under Hermione's momentum, his back crashing against the shelf. The nudge sent a bottle of ink flying to the floor: dark blue ink splattered onto their shoes.

When Hermione extricated herself from Cedric's firm grip, a delighted smile lit up her face. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that."

Cedric returned the smile, dipping his head again to kiss her. It was as insistent as the last, but this time Cedric twisted, turning them so that Hermione was pressed up against the shelf. The stationery supplies trembled. Hermione moaned against his lips as one of his hands cupped a breast through her blouse.

"Cedric?" Hermione murmured against his lips.

"Yes?" He pressed kisses to her jaw, too focused on the task at hand to look at her properly.

"Is that your wand?"

Chuckling, Cedric flicked his tongue at her pulse point, pressing himself against her. His cheeks were flushed. "Would you be upset if I said 'no'?"

"I think…" Getting the words out when he was grinding so wantonly against her was a little difficult. "That I'd be flattered."

"Excellent." Heart pounding, Cedric's other hand slipped down her body, skimming over the starched cotton of her blouse and rougher material of her skirt. His fingers clasped the hem, pushing it up to give him access to her bare thighs.

Hermione shivered, her breath a puff of hot air against Cedric's ear as he drew a finger along the dampening material of her knickers. "We shouldn't."

"Probably not." Cedric kissed her lightly. "But I have a small problem and I think that you're the only one who can help me right now." His finger wiggled under the leg of her knickers to caress slick folds, earning a gasp from Hermione.

Her eyes a little glazed, Hermione bit her lip. "I don't think," she whispered, hand slipping between their bodies to touch the prominent bulge in Cedric's trousers, "that I wouldn't call it a small problem."

"Now I'm the one who's flattered." Cedric grinned, Hermione trembling against his fingers. The heady smell of her arousal encircled him and he pressed himself more firmly against her hand as his fingers teased her cunt.

Hermione made a small purring noise in the back of her throat. Her head fell backwards, giving Cedric access to her neck; delighted, he licked from neck to ear, the tang of sweat and perfume on his tongue. "I should have given up on you a long time ago," she choked out, purring again as a finger pushed firmly into her; Ron's jokes about Hermione being a wildcat struck a more truthful chord now. Cedric groaned, the tight muscles attempting to pull his finger deeper into her.

Nimble fingers unfastened his belt, and Hermione was as impatient as ever when it came to something she wanted. She lifted her head, licking her lips as she shoved down his boxers. Riding his fingers, Hermione bucked her hips upwards, his erection now pressed against her bare thigh. Cedric hissed at the contact of skin-on-skin, pumping another finger into her.

"Fuck." Hearing Hermione Granger use that word had to be one of the singularly most erotic moments in Cedric's life. She looked at him with glazed eyes, her breathing shallow. Pressing kisses to her neck, Cedric could feel her pulse fluttering beneath his lips.

Grasping her hips, Cedric murmured, "Up," and Hermione obediently wrapped her legs around his waist, skirt bunched up high. One of her hands fumbled between them for a moment, closing around his cock for one intense moment before she guided it into her. Once fully seat in her, Cedric stilled as his mind when blank with surprise about the situation.

Hermione wasn't one to lay still - or be held still, as the case was - and she thrust against him, making the shelves behind her rattle. "Fuck me," she begged, cunt clenching around him as an added incentive.

Cedric kissed her hard, knowing he couldn't turn down a request like that. His fingers tangled in her hair, other hand slipping under her arse to help her move. She whimpered against his mouth; like Cedric's legs, the shelves trembled with every thrust. His thigh muscles tensed, threatening to give out from under him. Is she close? He didn't want to come first and leave her wanting: he'd always been taught 'ladies first', although that adage perhaps wasn't intended for this sort of circumstance.

The hand on her arse crept around her thigh, accidentally slapping against it as Hermione pushed her hips towards him. His fingers found wet flesh: Hermione gave a strangled groan against his lips, pulling out of the kiss and her head tipping back. When his fingers met her clit, Hermione buried her head in the crook of his neck, her body shaking. Her orgasm started around his cock, spreading out through her body in tremors that had Hermione gasping against his neck, breath hot and shaky.

Two more thrusts and Cedric fell over the edge, slumping against Hermione with a grunt. "Bloody hell," he mumbled into her hair, breathing in sweat and sex and floral shampoo.

Hermione squirmed. "I'm going to be sore after this."

"'S that good?"

"Mmm. Yeah." Hermione laughed, arching her back. "Don't know how we're going to get out of this cupboard without everyone knowing what we've been doing."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Cedric teased.

She shook her head with a moan, hair ticking his nose. "Can't think."

"You're always thinking."

"Not after sex."

"I'll bear that in mind for the future."

Hermione gasped as Cedric helped set her feet down: he was still inside her and the change in position shifted his cock inside her. Reluctantly, Cedric pulled out of her, biting his lip at the loss of the wet heat surrounding him. "So what happens now?" Cedric asked as Hermione attempted to straighten her appearance, running a hand through already-messy hair.

"We make our excuses and leave?" Hermione flashed him an impish grin. "Your place or mine?"

"Really?" Cedric cleared his throat, wishing he hadn't squeaked the question.

Hermione arched an eyebrow. "D you really think I'd just have sex with someone in a stationery cupboard and leave it at that."

Cedric shook his head, aghast that she would even have to ask anything: an embarrassed blush crept onto his cheeks as Hermione laughed. "Come on," she said, fingering his tie. "You've got to make up for all that time you spent being an idiot."