Unofficial Portkey Archive

A/N: Okay so it's been a little over a month but don't kill me just yet! There's a good two chapters to go and if I play my cards right I should be finished with this story sooner rather than later. I don't want to jinx it, though, so I'll let you get to reading. Thank you to all who have stuck around through this story! I know I've lost a lot of readers and reviewers by not updating as frequently as I used to but that's something that I've come to accept. I hope those of you who are still left will stick around for just a bit longer as this story comes to an end. I love you guys!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine. At all. So shut it.

Enjoy!

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Magique
Chapter 20: The Shadow of a Smile

"Hermione! Hermione! HERMIONE!"

Hermione groaned and grabbed the pillow next to her to place it securely over her face. "Go away." She mumbled tiredly into its fluffy depths.

Loud knocking began sounding in the direction of her door and she held the pillow more firmly in her fists. "No. It's too early."

"Hermione I'm coming in!"

The voice belonged to Cedric, of course. Still it did nothing for her grogginess. She had been kept up half the night trying to get comfortable in bed. Her inflating stomach was making it increasingly harder to perform everyday tasks and after last night that included the one reprieve she looked forward to at the end of the day whenever she could manage it. She already didn't get enough sleep as it was and now her melon-shaped abdomen was making sure that she would never get so much as a wink ever again.

The door flung open and slammed loudly against the wall causing Hermione to nearly fall off of her mattress. She rose up, still dazed, and flung the pillow she had been holding as hard as she could manage. She heard the muffled moment of impact as it hit Cedric square in the face.

"Ow!" He exclaimed, clutching his nose. "What did you do that for?"

"Usually when someone tells you `Go away' or `It's too early,' it usually means bugger off!" She shouted.

Cedric was taken aback. The smile he had entered the room with was now wiped away and replaced with a confused expression. Hermione's shouting not only made him flinch and loose his happy exterior but also drew more attention to her unusually ragged appearance. The typically quiet and polite Lady Hermione seemed to be replaced with something resembling an angry troll. The imposter's hair was in disarray and it had large bags underneath its eyes, a striking contrast to her usually creamy skin. Paired with the look she was giving him he wouldn't be surprised if steam began to pour out of her nostrils.

"What happened to you?" He asked.

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

He made a gesture towards her. "You look like you've been eaten and then spit out by a hobgoblin."

"Oh thanks. That's exactly how a girl wants to be woken up in the morning." Hermione said, her tone dripping heavily with sarcasm.

Cedric's eyes widened. "No I didn't mean-Ë®

She pressed on in a mocking-male tone. "Oh, morning Hermione! Did I mention you look utterly horrid this morning? Is that a new body odor I smell? Truly disgusting. Well done!"

"Hermione I didn't mean it like that." Cedric said hurriedly. "You look positively radiant this morning!"

Hermione's lip began to tremble as her eyes began to shine with the threat of tears. "Now you're lying to me? I thought you were my friend!"

Suddenly, she fell backwards and pulled the sheets over her head. He heard her begin to cry and rushed over to her side.

"Hermione… Hermione I am your friend. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. Honest. You know I think you're beautiful in every way imaginable. Please don't cry. Come on, Princess." He began to gently stroke the bit of hair that was peeking out from beneath her hideout, hoping it would sooth her.

After a few sniffles, she resurfaced from underneath the covers. "Do you really mean that?"

"Of course I do, darling." He said, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders.

She wiped at her eyes and nose before looking up at him. "I'm sorry, Cedric. I didn't mean to lash out. It must be the hormones or something."

"It's alright." He said, giving her a small smile. "I shouldn't have said anything."

She leaned her head into his chest. "Yeah. You should just refrain from speaking to me before breakfast."

He chuckled and squeezed her briefly. "I take it you didn't get much rest?"

"I never get enough rest." She said plainly. "My unborn child, however, is seeing fit to never have me come close to closing my eyes again."

"I'm sorry, love." He said sympathetically. "Perhaps we can get Celine to draft you a baby-friendly sleeping draft?"

"That would be heavenly." Hermione said.

Cedric detached himself from her and moved off of the bed. "I'll tell her right away."

"Thank you." She said with a tired smile.

She watched him leave with a more serene state of mind than when she first was disturbed from her attempt at slumber. Honestly, what person in their right mind thought shouting was a good way to rouse someone? There better have been a good reason, that's for sure.

It was then that Hermione realized she had no idea why Cedric had burst into her room in the first place.

"Cedric!" She called out.

He was back inside her room in the span of a few seconds. "Yes, Hermione?"

"Was there a reason you decided to personally wake me up this morning or am I going to have to brush up on my hexing?"

"Oh! Right!" Cedric said, his face lighting up like a newly Incendio'd candle. "I've just received news from Gryffindor."

Hermione's heart welled at the sound of her homeland. She tried to remain calm, however, and spoke in a blasé tone. "Go on."

"Harry won the election. He's head of the Court." He said with a large grin.

"Harry won… Harry won the election?" She asked in disbelief. When she saw Cedric nod his head enthusiastically she screamed. "Harry won the election!"

She scrambled out of bed and practically knocked Cedric over. He steadied the both of them against the frame of the door and tried not to hold her too tightly. "He held ninety percent of the overall votes. Apparently his speech was so heartfelt and persuasive that all but one other candidate dropped out."

Hermione pulled away, her eyes shining bright with joy.

"That's incredible." She said. "Who was the candidate who didn't drop out? Was it Lucius again?"

"Surprisingly not. It was some representative from Ravenclaw."

"Huh." Hermione said, vaguely put off.

"Apparently he was a newly elected member of the Court with a lot of connections. He would have been a shoe-in for Head if Harry hadn't completely awed the voters. My father said a few members actually shed a tear."

Hermione's smile widened. "I can't say I'm not surprised. Harry has always had a way with words that even I cannot fully comprehend. Sirius says he got it from his father." She shook her head with a tiny laugh. "I wish I had been there to see it."

"That makes two of us." Cedric said ruefully. "I still can't believe I'm not eligible to vote. My father is about to resign and I've been to enough meetings to know the protocol."

"I'm sure you're more than qualified." Hermione assured him with a kind smile. "Your time will come soon enough."

He nodded with a sigh. "You're right, of course." He looked down into her shining eyes and smiled softly. "But now is not the time to wallow in my pitiful sorrows. Now that Harry's been elected Head of the Council things will definitely take a turn."

She nodded. "It's one step further."

He observed her face for a moment and saw a flicker of something other than her initial enthusiasm flash across her delicate features. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, still keeping his smile intact. She looked up at him. With one short gaze her happy demeanor melted away into a docile sadness.

"Don't start over thinking again, Hermione." Cedric said quietly. "You'll be back with Harry in no time at all and everything will be perfect."

"I know, I know." She said. "But now that we're so close… what if the new position does nothing? What if Harry gets recalled after a political uprising and the Ravenclaw gets the job? What if-Ë®

"No. No `what if's." Cedric cut her off firmly. "I know that you're including all of the possible outcomes of this one development but the best thing for you right now is to just let yourself relax. We just made major progress - more than we have in months. You should focus on that rather than what the highly unlikely negative outcomes may reveal themselves to be in the future."

Hermione sighed. Everything he said was true. She should be ecstatic. She was a few minutes ago but then she began to do what she always did - think too much. Harry just accomplished something that would send them on the road to her return to Gryffindor. She should just focus on that and not allow her thought process go any further unless it was being used to research and further their progress.

Slowly she stood on her toes and gave Cedric a brief kiss on his cheek. "I'm going to the library." She said firmly. "It always serves as a nice reprieve from unhappy thoughts. Get me when Celine finishes breakfast?"

"Of course." He said with a smile.

She nodded and turned around, craning her head to the side and gave him a playful smirk. "Well bugger off, then. I need to get dressed."

Cedric chuckled and left the room with a swift turn. He closed the door behind him and made his way downstairs and into the kitchen where Celine was already hard at work on breakfast. He felt his mouth begin to water as the smell of smoking sausage and freshly baked bread filled his nostrils.

Celine was facing a large brick stove and had her back to him. She was humming quietly to herself as she worked. Cedric cleared his throat loud enough for her to hear and she turned around to give him a tired smile. "Good morning, dearie. Did you give Hermione the good news?"

"I did." He said.

"And how did she take it?" she asked, turning back to the stove.

"She was ecstatic at first, naturally." He said, leaning his back up against one of the nearby countertops.

"I'm sensing a `but.'" Celine said knowingly.

"But then she started over thinking and worrying herself all over again." He said disapprovingly.

"The poor girl." She said softly, turning another piece of sausage on its side. "She's too clever for her own good."

"That she is." He agreed. "But she has a fair point. Now that Harry is Head of the Court we have a whole new set of obstacles in the way of getting her home. We don't know how long it will take to find any information worthwhile. It may take months… years, even. The law of the kingdom is very extensive, not to mention we have barely any leads on who caused this upset in the first place."

Celine turned around with a disapproving glare. "Now don't you go and get all melancholy as well. Hermione is carrying that burden enough for the rest of us. Not to mention her rising hormone levels. The poor girl must be an emotional wreck. The last thing she needs is a pessimistic comrade to make her feel worse. Merlin, boy, you could give the poor child a heart attack!"

Cedric's eyes widened. "I could?"

"Well," Celine said, waving her wooden spatula around in thought. "I don't think it would be that extreme. But you could still heighten her blood pressure and risk harming the child in her womb. Imagine if the king found out." She continued cynically. "He would come after you with a sword in his hand and murder in his eyes."

Cedric gulped. "That's even worse."

Celine nodded firmly, sobering up her tone. "So don't screw it up. Be positive. Help her face these horrible circumstances with a smile and enthusiasm." Cedric looked at her blankly and she pointed her spatula at him warningly. "Got it?"

"Yes ma'am." He said, his pitch wavering.

"Good." She said. "Now off you pop. Breakfast is almost ready and Hermione needs some food in her stomach if she wants to make it through the day. Poor girl never gets enough sleep."

"Speaking of which," Cedric said, remembering why he came down in the first place. "Hermione is in need of a baby-safe sleeping draft."

She narrowed her brow. "I thought she said she didn't need one."

"Well now she does." Cedric said flippantly. "She didn't get a wink of sleep last night and she thinks it's the baby."

"Ah." Celine said in understanding. "I'll get right on that after breakfast."

"Thank you." Cedric said kindly. "And thank you again for covering cooking duty for Annabelle. She should be back in a week or so."

"It's no trouble. I just hope my cooking is adequate enough to feed this house of ever-eating carnivores."

"It's more than adequate. It's delicious." Cedric said, continuing in a whisper. "And for the record, I like your peppered eggs much more than Annabelle's."

Celine blanched, shooing him with her cooking utensil. "Oh hush, you big sweet talker. Now hurry up and fetch our one and a half guests before my amazing peppered eggs get cold"

Cedric flashed her a winning smile before exiting the kitchen. When he reached the library he wasn't surprised to see it already looking like a war zone. When Hermione wanted to use the library as an escape she did it right. Books were spread out across the large table in the middle of the room resembling a rainbow of sorts. Papers were stacked atop and around them in what he knew to be some organizational method that only she knew. Multiple pots filled with different colored inks were pushed to the side with quills of matching feather colors lying beside them. He looked at the sight with a wry smile.

Her head craned up to meet his gaze as soon as she heard his footsteps. She was wearing a curious expression on her face that Cedric could not place. "You alright?" he asked.

She nodded slowly, placing the quill that had been clutched in her hand down gently. "I think… I think I may have found something."

Cedric looked at her with a stupefied expression on his face. When he saw her pick up a piece of parchment and hold it out to him he sputtered. "You wh - already?!"

"Well I… I'm not certain. But I think it may be something." She sputtered.

He stepped forward and took the parchment out of her hand. He scanned her neatly written, color-coded notes and narrowed his eyebrows. Looking back up at her, he saw her anxious face and spoke with a baffled expression.

"Hermione this looks like a background check of Dmitri Sondheim."

She nodded. "He was the opposing runner against Harry in the election."

"Right." He said slowly. "But what has he got to do with anything?"

She sighed in exasperation and quickly got up from her seat to stand next to him. She pointed to a short paragraph towards the middle of the document written in bright red ink. "This here says that Mister Sondheim never had any association with the Court before three months ago when he was hastily elected to replace Hayden Zimmer, the forty-five, nowhere near retirement, Ravenclaw representative."

"Okay…" Cedric said, still not making the connection.

Hermione sighed and continued, tracing her finger an inch down the page where she had written a list of surnames and circled a select few along with drawing lines between them in green ink. One name in particular stood out, for it was circled heavily with contrasting red ink: Fowl.

"These were the listed hierarchy names that elected and voted Sondheim into the Court. The election…" She pointed to a date written in blue ink, "was a month after I had been banished. Exactly a month."

Cedric looked at her with a bewildered expression. "You think this has some sort of connection with your banishment?"

"I do." She said, speaking rapidly. "It may be nothing and simply coincidental but I think it's enough to inform the others about. The Fowls never liked me, I could tell. Elizabeth wanted to push her daughter onto Harry and get me completely out of the picture. Clara isn't a cardholder in the election process until her twenty-first birthday but I highly doubt she would have the capacity to pull off such an elaborate scheme, let alone keep it a secret. If either of them had a hand in my banishment it would have to be Elizabeth."

"You think that she would go so far as to get you banished?" Cedric asked. "Isn't that a bit extreme?"

"I know, I know. It's crazy but it makes more sense than anything else we have come up with in all of our other research. From the beginning I've done my best to overlook my biases and completely write out the Fowl's because of my feelings towards them but now I think we've passed that point."

Cedric nodded. A thought crossed his mind and he looked at her as she set the parchment back onto the table. "How did you think to research Sondheim?"

Hermione blushed. She looked at him with a meek expression. "I wanted to see what idiot in their right mind would run against Harry."

Cedric laughed. Hermione joined him and after they began to cool down he led them to a set of plush chairs by the fireplace in the corner of the room. Hermione sat herself down with a short struggle to remain balanced. Cedric's eyes drifted to her stomach where he could easily see the growing bump protruding from her dress robes. She followed his gaze as she sat more comfortably in her seat and, almost self-consciously, put a hand atop it.

"Sorry it's just… he's growing so fast." Cedric marveled.

"Or she." She corrected. Cedric chuckled lightly. "But yes… it's quite remarkable, isn't it?"

"A miracle." He responded.

She began to rub the spot where the baby had been kicking earlier during her research as she thought out loud. "I wish Harry could be here to see this."

"He will be." Cedric said reassuringly, reaching over to put a hand on her knee. "After this discovery you've made, I'm sure you'll be back in Gryffindor by the month's end."

Hermione smiled sadly. "I hope you're right. I want him to be here with me… to help."

Cedric looked at her placidly.

"I mean, it's fantastic having you and Celine around to help me but I just wish that he could be here as well." She continued, her tone getting more weighed down by sadness with every word she spoke. "It kills me to not tell him. Every day I wake up and the baby is a day closer to being here and Harry is losing one more day to watch how fast it's growing."

"You said yourself it was for the best." Cedric said, trying his hardest to steer her away from letting her impending tears escape.

"I know I did and I still do." She said. "It's just getting harder to remember why and to be strong enough to keep moving forward when all I want to do is go back to the way it was."

Cedric sighed softly and leaned forward, connecting their gazes. "Hermione you are the strongest person I know. And soon - very, very, soon - you will get the happy ending you deserve. Look at the progress you made within ten minutes of finding out Harry was elected! That's incredible!"

Hermione blushed.

"If you can achieve this much with a baby on the way and banishment from your home weighing you down, imagine what will happen when everything plays out. You'll raise your child with Harry, be in love, and do amazing things that will change the world."

Hermione's cheeks turned a deeper shade of scarlet as tears began to roll down her face. Cedric didn't worry, though. Because behind her tears he saw a shadow of a smile that he hadn't seen in weeks.

"You're too kind to me, Cedric. I don't deserve a friend like you." She said, her voice beginning to waver.

"Darling, you deserve much greater than I." Cedric said with a humble upturn of his lips. "Now get up and give me a hug, eh?"

Without hesitation, they both rose from their seats and met each other in a warm embrace. Hermione's sniffles were the only sound that filled the room as they stood there without speaking. Cedric didn't know how much time had passed but he knew that Celine wouldn't mind them being late for breakfast when a teary-eyed Hermione was at his side.

After a while, Cedric decided to break the silence with a question he thought would be better answered while he still had her in his arms. "So what are you going to do next?"

Hermione sucked in a breath and said something she never would have imagined she would say in a thousand millennia.

"I'm going to invite Clara to tea."

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