Eternal Love by ThghtLsScmng

Disclaimer: I don't own them. JKR does. She is god.

Eternal Love

The window held the proof of the rain, streaking down the glass. Harry Potter stood, his forehead resting against the cold glass. Soothing. The rain seemed to match the mood he was in. For the same streaks that were on the windowpanes were on Harry Potter's face, streaking down the cheeks of the boy. The only difference was that this was not rainwater on his face … they were tears. Feeling a chill all the way down to his bones, Harry wrapped his arms around himself, hoping to stay warm, but to no avail. He had no idea how long he had stood there, watching the rain outside.

There was a knock on the door, but Harry made no effort to turn around and acknowledge the visitor. He didn't want to see anybody right now. He just wanted to be left alone.

"Harry?" came the soft, gentle voice of Hermione. Harry stayed unmoving. "Harry?" she asked again. He heard her footsteps coming closer and he closed his eyes. Big mistake. The first thing he saw when he closed his eyes was the dead, lifeless body of Cedric Diggory staring back at him. His eyes popped right back open. He felt a hand on his shoulder, but still, he refused to acknowledge her. She turned around and shot a worried look at a redheaded boy standing in the doorway. The boy cleared his throat, and entered the room as well.

"Harry, mate, come on. Dumbledore wants to see you," Ron said. Still, no action whatsoever from Harry Potter apart from blinking and breathing. Ron glanced at Hermione and shrugged.

"Harry, please. Say something," Hermione begged. Harry sighed softly. He turned to look at them, deciding that the easiest way for them to leave him alone was for him to act as if he was okay.

"I'm okay, guys," he lied. "I'm just … still in shock is all," he said. That sounded about right, of course he'd be in shock over a fellow classmate murdered by Lord Voldemort. That's all Hermione and Ron knew was going on. They didn't know about the late nights in the prefect's bathroom. Or about the weekend nights spent in the Room of Requirement. They didn't know any of that. They didn't know that Harry Potter's heart had been ripped out the second Cedric was murdered. They didn't know that Cedric Diggory was more than just a fellow student … he was a lover.

"Of course you're in shock, Harry. We all are," Hermione comforted, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. Ron nodded, silently agreeing. Harry fought the urge to scream. To yell that they had no idea what he was going through. And he succeeded in the fight against that urge, and just nodded.

"Um, would you guys give me a moment alone, please? I just want to do a little bit of thinking and get my thoughts together before I go see Dumbledore. I'll meet you guys down in the common room in a few minutes," Harry said. They both nodded, and headed out of the room. Hermione gave him a big hug before leaving.

Harry waited for the door to close and gave into the tears that were threatening to spill over. He moved over to his bed and sat down on it, thinking about his and Cedric's relationship. He smiled faintly as he remembered the first time Cedric came into his life.

---

Harry woke up a little disoriented. He looked around and saw he was in the hospital wing. Groaning, he remembered why he was there. Dementors. They had shown up at the Quidditch match and Harry had fallen off his broom. He vaguely remembered Ron telling him how his broom had flown into the Whomping Willow and been destroyed. He also recalled something about the other team's captain asking for a rematch because he felt it unfair that Hufflepuff won because Harry fell. Cedric. Just the thought of that name made Harry smile.

Harry went to move his hand to his head and realized that he couldn't. It was too heavy. Glancing down, he was surprised to see another hand covering his. His eyes slowly moved up the arm to the owner's face. Harry was even more surprised to see that the hand belonged to the boy who was in Harry's thoughts. Cedric's head was laying on the bed, his face turned towards Harry and his eyes were closed. This gave the Gryffindor the chance to admire Cedric's perfect features.

Harry had known for a few months that he wasn't attracted to girls. At first, he just thought he was a slow developer. But, then when he returned to school for his third year, he saw him. Cedric. And Harry couldn't deny Cedric's beauty to himself. So, he accepted that he was gay. He hadn't told anyone, not even Ron or Hermione, his two best friends. He wasn't sure they'd be so accepting.

Glancing back down at Cedric, Harry took a chance and reached his free hand over towards his head. He hesitated a moment before touching Cedric's soft hair. He felt Cedric begin to stir and he quickly pulled his hand away, closing his eyes. He pretended that he was still sleeping.

Cedric opened his eyes and blinked a few times, unsure of where he was. He sat up and took in his surrounding, quickly remembering exactly where he was. He was in the hospital wing. Glancing down, he took in Harry's still slumbering state. He sighed, restraining himself from reaching out and touching Harry. He mentally chastised himself. 'Father says it's wrong. Boys aren't supposed to like other boys. Not only that, but Harry is only thirteen! I should be thinking about GIRLS my own age, not Harry Potter!' Cedric shook his head He noticed that Harry's eyelids were fluttering, he'd be waking up soon. Quickly, Cedric pulled his hand away from Harry's and sat back in his chair.

Harry opened his eyes and blinked, letting his eyes re-adjust to the … dark? He must have really fallen asleep instead of just pretending. His eyes landed on Cedric. He was still there? Cedric leaned forward in his chair when he saw Harry was awake. He smiled a smile that made Harry melt.

"How are you feeling?" Cedric asked. Harry shrugged.

"Like I've been hit by a truck," he admitted. Cedric chuckled.

"Well, you did have quite a fall. Lucky for you, Dumbledore was there and able to slow you down so you didn't hit the ground going that fast."

"Yeah, lucky for me."

"I'd better go let Madam Pomfry know that you're awake. I'll be back in a second," Cedric stood up and went into Poppy's office. He returned a few moments later, followed by Poppy herself.

"Well, look who's finally awake," she said. Harry noticed that she was carrying some kind of a bottle.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing.

"Oh, just something to make you feel better. And to sleep through the night," she said, pouring some into a glass. Harry groaned.

"Haven't I slept enough?" he asked, but took the glass from Poppy anyway. Upon drinking it, he immediately felt the effects of drowsiness. "Apparently not," he said.

"Maybe I'd better go. Let you rest," Cedric offered after Poppy had left. He stood up to leave, but Harry grabbed his arm.

"No," Harry protested. "Stay? At least until I fall asleep," he begged.

"Okay," Cedric nodded, sitting back down. Harry's eyes closed and he began mumbling.

"You're good at Quidditch, Cedric," Harry said drowsily. Cedric smiled.

"Um, thanks. You are too, Harry."

"You said my name. I like it when you say my name."

"Why's that?"

"Can't say it."

"Can't say what?" Cedric's forehead crinkled in confusion.

"Can't fancy Cedric," Harry said quietly, before he drifted off. Cedric sat speechless. He wasn't sure how long he sat there before his feet carried him back to the Hufflepuff common room. Once in bed, he let those words repeat through his head. 'Can't fancy Cedric'. What did Harry mean? Did they mean that Harry fancied him, too? Cedric hoped so. He resolved to talk to Harry once he was coherent again. With that in mind, Cedric rolled over and went to sleep.

The next day, Cedric headed down to the hospital wing only to discover that Harry was gone. Sighing, Cedric turned around and went to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Harry was sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall when he saw Cedric walk in. He blushed furiously, remembering what he revealed the night before. He hadn't meant to tell Cedric he fancied him, but it just sort of slipped out before he could stop it. He ducked lower so that Cedric couldn't see him.

"Harry, mate, you okay? You went sort of red," Harry turned his attention to Ron and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I just have to lay down for awhile," Harry said, standing up.

"You need help getting upstairs, Harry?" Hermione asked. Harry shook his head.

"No thanks, I'll be fine," he said, giving them a reassuring smile. He headed out of the Great Hall and up the stairs toward Gryffindor tower. Just as he thought he made it out without Cedric seeing him, he heard his name being called. Groaning, he turned around. Sure enough, there was Cedric.

"Harry, hey," Cedric said, a smile on his face. Harry nodded.

"Hey," he repeated. 'At least he's smiling. Maybe he thought the medicine made me mental or something.'

"Feeling better?" Cedric asked. Harry nodded.

"Much."

"Listen, Harry, about what you said yesterday," Cedric started. Harry paled.

"Right. About that. I was sort of-"

"I just wanted to let you know-"

"-out of it, I don't know what I was thinking-"

"-that I fancy you, too."

"-and I think I said some embarrassing stuff – wait, what did you say?" Harry asked. He wasn't sure he heard Cedric correctly.

"I said that I fancy you, too," Cedric said, getting kind of nervous, because what if Harry really didn't mean it? And it was just the medicine taking effect?

"You … you're … you fancy me?" Harry asked, disbelieving.

"Yeah. I fancy you, Harry," Cedric said. Harry sat down on the stairs.

"Wow. That definitely wasn't what I was expecting," Harry admitted. Cedric sat down next to him.

"What were you expecting then?"

"I don't know, honestly. Punches, maybe. Confessions of similar feelings? Not so much," Harry said. Cedric smiled.

"But it's a good thing?" he asked.

"I guess. I'm …" Harry blushed. "I'm really not very experienced with anything," he admitted. Cedric smiled again.

"Why don't we just spend some time together, and see where it leads?" he suggested. Harry smiled and nodded.

"I'd like that."

---

Harry couldn't stay sitting in this room any longer. He went over to his trunk and dug out his Invisibility Cloak and flung it over his head. As quietly as possible, Harry snuck down the stairs of the dormitory and into the common room. He overheard Hermione and Ron talking quietly.

"I'm worried about him, Ron. He seems to be taking this very hard!" Hermione said.

"Well, yeah. I mean, it could have been him hit by that curse You-Know-Who threw," Ron countered. Harry snorted silently to himself.

"I wish it was me that was hit by Avada Kedavra," he thought to himself, silently creeping past them to the portrait hole. Hermione and Ron were so caught up in their conversation about him, that he was able to sneak out without being noticed.

Harry ran all the way to the prefect's bathroom on the fifth floor. While on the way there, he couldn't help but remember the night both their names were chosen from the Goblet of Fire.

---

"I don't know what the hell is going on, Cedric! I swear that I didn't put my name in that fucking goblet!" Harry yelled. He and Cedric were in the Room of Requirement. Harry's name was the fourth name chosen by the Goblet of Fire, making him the fourth Tri-Wizard Champion.

"Shh, love, I believe you," Cedric grabbed ahold of Harry's shoulders, stopping him from his dizzying pacing. "Just take a few deep breaths, relax," Harry rested his forehead against Cedric's and closed his eyes. Cedric finally felt Harry's body relax into his embrace.

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized.

"You don't have to apologize, Harry," Cedric assured him. "You know Sirius will probably want to hear about this," he suggested. Cedric remembered when an excited Harry was telling him about how Sirius Black wasn't a murderer, and how he was his godfather. And how as soon as Sirius could get his name cleared, Harry would be living with him. Cedric was happy for his boyfriend, he hated seeing Harry stay with the Dursleys, especially after the stories Harry told him.

"You're right," Harry said. He pulled some parchment and a quill out of a drawer and wrote a letter to Sirius. Cedric accompanied him to the Owlery to give Hedwig the letter. Hedwig gave Harry's finger an affectionate nip before flying off. The lovers looked at each other.

"We'll do this together, Harry," Cedric promised, wrapping his arms around Harry in a hug.

"Together," Harry repeated. Cedric tipped Harry's head up and placed a sweet kiss on his lips.

"We should probably get back to our common rooms," Cedric suggested and Harry nodded.

"Yeah, we should," he agreed. Cedric kissed Harry's forehead.

"I love you, Harry. Don't worry about the Tournament, love, we'll figure it out," Cedric said. Harry smiled.

"Love you, too. I'll see you tomorrow," Harry said.

"Right. Tomorrow. Abandoned classroom on the 7th floor, 8pm. Don't be late," Cedric instructed. Harry smiled, rolling his eyes.

"Merlin. I was late once. And now I get chastised every time," he smiled.

"That's one time more than me," Cedric said. Harry rolled his eyes again.

"Yeah, yeah. You're perfect, I know. I'll see you then," Harry gave him a little wave. Cedric waved back and they parted ways, each heading back to their own common rooms to dream of the other.

---

Once he reached the prefect's bathroom, Harry whispered the password and walked through the portrait hole, leaning against the wall once inside. He dropped the cloak on the floor and looked around the room. He expected it to look different, but it didn't look any different from the night before. Harry sat down on the floor and closed his eyes, remembering what happened in this room, just one night ago.

---

Harry whispered the password from underneath his Invisibility Cloak, he didn't want to risk anybody seeing him go into the prefect's bathroom. For one thing, he wasn't even a prefect. For another, he definitely didn't want anybody finding out what happened in this room when he entered. Quietly, he crept into the bathroom and looked around for his boyfriend.

"Cedric? Ced, are you in here?" Harry called quietly, dropping the cloak to the ground. He smiled when he saw Cedric's clothes already folded neatly on the floor by the lockers. He glanced into the water and smiled bigger when he saw him floating carelessly in the bubbles.

"Took you long enough, love. I was beginning to wonder if you remembered that we were meeting in here tonight," Cedric said, moving to stand on his feet in the deep bath water. Harry rolled his eyes.

"I know, I know. Ron and Hermione were going at it again-" he said, but was stopped by the strange look Cedric gave him. "What?"

"Ron and Hermione? When did that happen?" Cedric asked. Harry laughed, bending over and pulling off his shoes.

"Going at it, as in fighting again," Harry clarified as he pulled off his shirt.

"Ohh … go on," Cedric encouraged, trying not to stare at the creamy white skin of Harry's chest that was revealed to him.

"As I was saying, they were fighting again, and Ron made Hermione cry, so I had to take care of that before I could leave," Harry was now untying the waistband of his pajama bottoms. He let those fall to the ground, then stepped out of them. "And here I am," he said, holding his arms out. Cedric smiled, swimming over to the edge where Harry was.

"And here you are. Better late than never," Cedric dunked himself under the water to get his hair out of his face, and when he came up, Harry was no longer in front of him. He smiled when he felt arms around his waist. Turning himself around, he smiled at Harry. "Sneaky, sneaky," he teased. Harry shrugged. He gave Cedric a quick, chaste kiss, before he pushed off of him and swam away.

Cedric swam after him, and managed to catch him, grabbing a hold of Harry's ankle and pulling his body back. Harry slid through the water and smashed against Cedric's chest. Cedric grinned at him and brought their mouths together for a much longer passionate kiss. As things always did with them, they escalated from the kiss, and before long they were both out of the bath, lying on the floor and Cedric was entering Harry.

Harry threw his head back and moaned, enjoying Cedric's ministrations. Cedric reached next to them and grabbed the pile of clothes and placed them behind Harry's head, so he wouldn't hit his head too hard like he had done once before. "Look at me, Harry," Cedric commanded, and Harry did so, opening his eyes. Cedric leaned down and kissed Harry with all the passion he could muster, and Harry returned the kiss for a few moments, before he let his head fall back to the cushion of the clothes.

After a few more moments, Cedric reached between their bodies and grasped Harry's cock in his hand. He looked deep into Harry's eyes as he started stroking it slowly at first, and then worked faster so that his stroking matched his thrusting. Harry moaned Cedric's name, reaching up and clutching fistfuls of Cedric's hair.

"Oh, fuck, Ced," Harry moaned. He bit his bottom lip when he felt himself getting closer, and finally he came. "Oh, Cedric, I love you," Harry moaned as he came. Cedric thrust once, twice, three more times before he came as well, echoing Harry's profession of love.

Afterwards, they lay together on the rapidly cooling floor. Cedric had his arms around Harry, watching as Harry lie there contentedly. Cedric brushed the hair off of Harry's face, and just caressed his skin. He didn't know it was possible to love somebody so much. He smiled when he saw a smile come across Harry's face.

"What are you smiling about?" Cedric asked. Harry shrugged.

"Nothing, really. I'm just so happy."

"Me too," Cedric confessed. Suddenly, the smile vanished. "Harry? What is it?" Cedric asked.

"Nothing," Harry lied. Cedric gave him a look.

"Come on, Harry. You know you can tell me anything, love," Cedric said. Harry nodded.

"I know … I have a bad feeling about tomorrow," Harry confessed. Cedric furrowed his brow in confusion.

"What kind of a bad feeling?"

"Just … a bad feeling."

"Harry, tomorrow's the third and final task. Once we complete it, we're done. We're free," Cedric reminded him. Harry nodded.

"I know. But I just … I have a really bad feeling," Harry said. Cedric laid back and held Harry close to him.

"Everything will be alright, Harry. I promise," Cedric assured him. Harry nodded, cuddling in closer to Cedric. They stayed like that for what seemed like ten minutes, when in reality it was more like three hours. Finally, Harry spoke up.

"We should probably go back to our beds … we'll need to be well rested for tomorrow," he said. Cedric nodded, and they both stood up and got dressed. Before they left the bathroom, Cedric gave Harry a reassuring kiss.

"Everything will be fine tomorrow, love. Don't you worry about it," Cedric said. Harry forced a smile and nodded.

"Yeah, everything will be fine," he agreed. He flung the Invisibility Cloak over himself and said good night to Cedric, before heading back to the Gryffindor common room. No matter now much he tried to let Cedric's words soothe him, they never did. He couldn't shake the uneasy feeling he had about the next day.

---

And now Harry knew why he had felt so uneasy. Harry glanced around the bathroom and sighed loudly. He sat down on the edge of the bath and closed his eyes.

"Cedric," he called softly. He wasn't expecting an answer, so he wasn't sure why he called out to him. "Why?" Harry let the tears fall down his cheeks again. "Why did you take him from me?" Harry hung his head in his hands and cried. He cried for the loss of the love of his life.

Harry didn't know how long he sat there crying. He glanced out the window and saw that it was dark, so he must have been in there for a few hours. People must be worried sick. But Harry didn't care. He didn't care about anything anymore. Why did this have to hurt so much? Why did Voldemort murder everyone he loved? First his parents, now Cedric. Who was next? Sirius? Ron? Hermione? Harry shook his head. He wasn't going to let that happen.

Standing up, Harry fetched his wand from where he dropped his cloak. He would put an end to his torment now. He wasn't exactly sure if you could cast Avada Kedavra on yourself, but he was about to find out. Closing his eyes, he pointed his wand at himself. Just as he was working up the courage to do the task, he heard a gasp and he opened his eyes, ready to hex whomever his new company was. What he saw made him drop his wand in surprise.

Cedric was standing in front of him.

"C..Ced? What-? How-?" Harry was at a loss for words.

"Harry, love, what are you doing?" Cedric asked, a pained expression on his face. Harry finally got his voice back.

"No… this isn't possible! You're dead!" Harry yelled. Cedric smiled slightly, moving closer.

"That's not true, Harry. The ones we love never really die," Cedric said. Harry's hands flew to his ears.

"NO! I saw it! He killed you! I … I felt your … your cold body!" Harry was confused beyond belief. Cedric moved closer yet.

"Harry, I'll live on. In your heart. I'll always be there. But you have to go on."

"But it hurts! So much!" the tears started again, and this time Harry was completely powerless to stop them.

"I know it hurts, baby. And it will. For a while. But you've got a bright future ahead of you. I don't want to be responsible for you ending your life before it's your time."

"I can't, Cedric! I can't … I don't want to go on without you!" Harry cried. Cedric moved closer and placed a hand on Harry's cheek. Harry's hand moved up and held Cedric's hand to his cheek. He was surprised by how warm Cedric's touch was.

"I'll always be with you, Harry. In here," Cedric placed his other hand over Harry's heart. "That's where you'll always find me." Harry closed his eyes and let the tears keep falling.

"What if I can't do it?" Harry asked. Cedric smiled.

"You can. I have faith in you. And now that Voldemort has risen, the world needs you more than ever." Harry hung his head for a few moments, letting the tears slowly subside. He looked back up into Cedric's face with teary eyes.

"Will I ever see you again?"

"Of course you will, love. I'll be waiting for you. But you have to promise me something."

"Anything."

"No more of this," Cedric said, gesturing down to where Harry's wand fell on the ground. "You're strong, Harry. You'll make it through this, I promise," Cedric said. Harry nodded, sniffling.

"I promise," Harry repeated. Cedric smiled.

"I love you, Harry. Never forget that," Cedric said. Harry nodded, a few leftover tears spilling out onto his cheeks.

"I love you too, Cedric," he said. Cedric leaned down and placed a soft, tender kiss on Harry's lips.

"I'll always be with you," Cedric said, slowly backing away from Harry. Harry watched him go, willing himself not to start crying again.

"Cedric?" Harry called before Cedric left.

"Yes, love?"

"Would it have worked? The Avada Kedavra on myself?" Harry asked. Cedric smiled.

"Harry … please. No way," Cedric said. Harry couldn't help the small smile that crossed his lips. "Goodbye, Harry," Cedric said, then he slowly faded away.

"Goodbye, Cedric," Harry whispered to the empty bathroom. He reached his hands up to wipe away the final tear tracks on his cheeks. He took a deep breath, and felt his heart warm. He knew Cedric was in there … he knew everything would be all right.

The End.

01-30-06