Hermione was counting the hours for Thursday morning. She had more than 12 hours to go, but maybe counting them would make them go by faster.

"You've been so quiet today. I'm still waiting for you to spill on important details." Said Ginny, shoving another forkful of steak and kidney pie in her mouth. "Maybe we can sit in bed after, place a silencing charm on the bed."

Hermione smiled at her. "Why are you so eager on hearing about your brother, someone who practically helped raise you, and his extra curricular activities?"

"Who's extracurricular activities?" Asked Ron, giving Hermione a good look at the dinner being currently chewed in his mouth.

Hermione scrunched up her face in disgust. "Talk after you've swallowed, Ron."

He shrugged as he swallowed.

"Who are you talking about anyway?" Asked Harry, repeatedly stabbing his fork in his mashed potatoes.

"Fred's extracurricular activities." Answered Ginny, ignoring Hermione's pleading look to keep her mouth shut.

"It's quidditch, isn't it?" Asked Ron, confused at why the girls would be talking about a sport Hermione never seemed to care about.

"Yes, Ron. It's quidditch. And I love quidditch, and Hermione loves me, therefore she loves quidditch." Said Ginny, matter of factly.

Hermione laughed at her friend, amused at her bickering with her brother. Her eyes peered at Harry, expecting him to be laughing along with her, but instead saw him staring at the table intently.

She wished she could help him, comfort him. No one could ever understand what Harry and Cedric had seen that night, and she knew better than to pretend she could comprehend what was going on through his head.

While she stared at her friend, a flash of yellow robes appeared on her peripheral view.

"I'm going to head up early, I'll see you guys later." Said Hermione before she hurried out of the hall.

"Cedric!" She called out.

"This is feeling a bit deja vu, don't you think?" He teased as he turned around, knowing exactly who was calling after him.

"I'm sorry, but I really need to talk to you." She said as she caught her breath after chasing him down the hall.

Cedric sighed. "I thought we had agreed to talk tomorrow. I'm tired and I've been thinking about jumping in bed all day. Can we please just leave it?"

She shook her head. "I'm really sorry Cedric, but I can't stand watching my friend suffer. Harry needs his friends, therefore I need to understand what happened that night through your eyes."

"Would you please just leave me alone for today? Please." He begged before turning away.

"Ouch, that was harsh."

Hermione sighed as she turned to face the redhead behind her.

"Not now Fred." She muttered as she walked past him on her way to the common room.

"I was just kidding. What were you and Diggory talking about anyway?" He asked, joining her step as they walked in unison.

She rolled her eyes, Weasley's really liked knowing everything. "It's a private matter."

"Ah I see. You've had a taste of the first so know your jumping around the other top 10?"

Hermione scoffed, not in the mood to put up with his banter tonight. She rolled her eyes and began walking faster, leaving him behind.

"Oh c'mon. You don't get to ignore me, I made you cum." Hermione could hear the smirk in his voice as she froze in place.

Her cheeks burned madly as her eyes darted around, making sure no one had heard what Fred has just nonchalantly announced.

"What is wrong with you, Frederick Weasley?! For Merlin's sake!" She whispered, walking back to him and smacking his forearm.

He laughed at her, waving her hand away. "Relax, Granger. You take me too seriously."

"That's because you joke about things people don't usually joke about." She muttered, her jaw clenching in frustration. "Also, stop talking about it. We are never to talk about it. It never happened."

"Never?" He asked.

"Never."

"I want to gag but at the same time want to scream. I can't believe he said that after making you have your first orgasm!" Squealed Ginny

"Oh please, gag away." Joked Hermione.

"Like, gross because that's my brother and it's also very cringe. But at the same time, you could have so jumped him then and there."

Hermione wrinkled her nose. "Gross, Ginny. I'm regretting telling you the rest of the story."

"We agreed to never talk about it anyway, and to pretend like it never happened." She continued.

"Do you really think Fred won't keep making jokes about it?" Asked Ginny. "Once he promised he'd stop making jokes about a poem I wrote and next thing you know, it was written in bright orange paint right outside my bedroom. It was the most embarrassing thing, it took weeks for them to stop mentioning pickled toads."

Hermione laughed. "Pickled toads? Christ, what time of poem was it?"

"I will never tell, because it never happened. Just like you and Fred."

Hermione rolled her eyes and lay down, settling her head on her pillow.

"Why did you chase Cedric Diggory earlier?" Asked Ginny.

"I didn't know you noticed." Hermione swallowed. "I've been worried about Harry lately. He comes out with us and joins in on the fun, but he's not really there."

"He doesn't talk as much as he used to." Nodded Ginny. "And his smile hasn't quite reached his eyes, have you noticed?"

Hermione nodded. "I'm trying to get Cedric to tell me what happened the night at the graveyard. I think maybe if I can understand how he felt, then we could understand Harry a little better."

"I think it could work." Said Ginny. "But we also have to remember that Harry has lived with it way before any of us knew who He was. Cedric's experience is only a fraction of what Harry is going through. Every year, without fail, He manages to seek him out."

Hermione reached over to hold Ginny's hand. "How did it feel like? For you?"

Ginny's jaw clenched as she took a deep breath. "Terrifying. He forced his way into my mind. It's like I could see him, sense him, but he wasn't truly there. I could hear his voice and this cold, heavy darkness over me. Every time he spoke to me, I was so scared, Hermione."

Hermione held Ginny's hand tighter, holding it up against her chest.

"Then, when Harry saved me, I realized it. Harry has been feeling this for years. We both first experienced it in our first year, but I had the luck to never have to feel that way again while he goes through it every year."

"What can I do, Ginny?" Asked Hermione. "What can I do to help him?"

Ginny looked at her with teary eyes. "Be his light."

6 A.M and Hermione was already dressed and on her way to the quidditch field. The sun was already rising, warming the field with it's bright rays.

Hermione sat on the field, neatly folding her skirt down over her pale knees. Looking around, she saw no sign of the Hufflepuff boy she had been waiting for.

Have I come too early? Maybe he meant right before breakfast, she thought as she sighed.

15 minutes had passed before she had made her mind up and stood up, fixing her knee socks as they slid down her calfs. Perhaps Cedric had backed out on their meeting, or Hermione had come out too early.

"I guess I'll just chase him down halls again." She muttered to herself as she walked off the warm grass.

As she walked past the changing rooms, she noticed yellow robes hanging on a bench. She looked around for the owner of the robes, eventually finding him laying on a bench on the far end of the corridor.

"You're late." He pointed out as she walked towards her.

"I would've found you earlier if you weren't out here hiding in the shadows. I was waiting on the field." She pointed out. "Why are you here anyways? It's a lovely morning. Are you a vampire or something? Lurking in the dark."

Cedric chuckled at Hermione's teasing, a smile spreading across his sharp face.

"I was taking a nap. You've kept me waiting." He answered, stretching his arms over his head as he pulled himself off the wooden bench.

"Kept you waiting? It's only 6:20, excuse you." Said Hermione as she pointed her nose in the air and placed her hands on her hips, she hated being told she was late.

"I've been here since 4."

She looked at him incredulosly. "4 A.M? What on earth were you doing up and about at that time?"

He shrugged, sliding his robe back on. "I can't sleep."

Hermione's face dropped slowly, her arms falling limp on her sides. She knew too well what he had been going through at night, she had seen it happen with Harry multiple times.

"Lets go sit on the grass, a little sun will do us good. We're awfully pale, we might actually blind someone." She joked, patting the boy on the shoulder and walking out to the sun.

As they sat, Cedric wasted no time in small talk.

"Before we begin, can I ask you a question?" He asked and she nodded, picking at the grass below her. "Why are you so obsessed with it? I know, Harry is your best friend and you love him and all, but why can't you just be there for him without having to know the whole story?"

"Honestly, Cedric, I don't know. Part of me thinks it could help me understand Harry better, that way I don't have to ask what he needs. Another part of me thinks that maybe..." She paused, swallowing thickly. "I will always be by Harry's side, even when the toughest times are upon us. And I think we both know that times are about to get even tougher for him. Eventually, Harry will have to face him again, and I plan to be there, wand ready and at his side. Part of me feels that if I know how He made you feel, maybe it could prepare me for the future when I have to face him."

Cedric nodded slowly, his eyes glued to his hands.

"Have you ever seen a car accident?" He asked.

Hermione furrowed her brows, not used to wizards talking about cars.

"As in a car crash?" She asked. "Yeah."

"A car crash where you know the people in that car died. It collided with the wall so hard that there's absolutely no way a body could survive that much impact. And then you catch a glimpse of their bodies, all lifeless and damaged. You want to look away, but you just can't." He continued.

Hermione nodded, not understanding why Cedric felt the need to bring up such a scenario.

"That is how it feels like. Looking at Him felt like seeing dead, bloody bodies and being unable to look away. Everything about Him felt like death. His laugh, his smile, his eyes. He made me feel like I was going to die." Cedric's voice broke, both his hands balling up into fists.

Hermione fought the urge to reach over and hold his hand.

"And I should have. He was going to kill me, Hermione. I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't have made it back to my father that night, if it weren't for Harry." He said, finally looking into Hermione's eyes. "He had Harry trapped, and I couldn't even do anything about it. I just stood there, like a pathetic child, while the wizard who murdered Harry's parents taunted him."

"There was nothing you could do, Cedric. He's one of the most powerful wizards in history, there was no way a 17 year old boy could ever stand against him." Said Hermione gently, comforting him.

"He said the words, you know." He said, pressing his lips into a thin line. "I've never heard a wizard say them the way he did, like he meant it. He wanted to kill me. Avada kedavra and I was supposed to be dead."

Hermione winced at the name of the spell, remembering how she felt after Barty Crouch has perfomed it in class disguised at Professor Moody.

"I didn't even notice when Harry broke free. He was so quick, I don't think anyone there expected it. He had me in one arm and the cup in the other before He could even finish saying his words. I blinked and there we were, infront of all of you, barely escaping death." He continued. "I couldn't even move, and a boy who is younger than me managed to overcome his fear and save the lives around him. I owe Harry my life and more."

Hermione finally reached over, firmly holding his hand.

"Your reaction is the same way I would have reacted, Cedric. You are a powerful wizard, but we're only students. There was nothing you or Harry could've done apart from escape." She said and Cedric nodded.

"Cho has been saying the same." He commented. "She's trying to do the same as you, you know. Understand what happened to know how to be there for me."

"She's a smart girl." Said Hermione, making Cedric smile.

"I don't know how you can help Harry, but maybe start with just being there with him. When I can't sleep, I sneak out to come here. Maybe keep an eye out at night, he may be taking a walk out someplace else. If you find him, just be with him. You don't have to talk or anything. Sometimes, Cho finds me here and just sits with me. It gets my mind off things, you know, knowing that she's there with me." Said Cedric.

Hermione smiled at him. "Thank you."

They both stood up, shaking some grass off their clothes before walking back to the castle. Hermione noticed Cedric stopped walking, causing her to turn her head.

"Are you not coming for breakfast?" She asked.

"Go on ahead, I think I'll go wait for Cho outside Ravenclaw. She quite likes it when we walk to breakfast together." He said, causing her to smile and waved her goodbye.

Hermione guessed it must have been around 7 A.M due to the increase in students walking around the castle. She had a light skip in her step, happy to finally have a talk with Cedric. Maybe Cedric was right, all she could do was just show Harry that she was there for him, always.

Thoughts of earl grey and pancakes filled her mind as she walked over to the great hall.

"Have a nice chat there with Diggory, did you?"

Hermione turned her head to see the tall Weasley looking at her, the corners of his lips turned slightly downwards and his arms crossed over his chest.