Disclaimer: I would utterly ruin the wonderful world of Harry Potter if I were to have any ownership of it.

Hogwarts' Book Thief

"Let's go Diggory."

"A second's patience Whitlock." Dark-haired, seventh year Hufflepuff, Cedric Diggory answered as steel grey eyes curiously scanned the ground once more.

"You are awfully slow for a male you know that?"

"Thank you for pointing out my gender, I'm pretty sure I was made aware of that ever since my mother had me dressed in shorts and t-shirts instead of frilly dresses," Cedric absently replied without looking up. "Amazing skill nevertheless. Do you think you could tell the time of the day as well?"

"Very comedic of you. I'm bleeding laughing," Haden Whitlock, fellow Hufflepuff and friend of Cedric, said stoically. "What are you looking for?"

"Advanced Transfiguration That Even Idiots Can't Mess Up. I recall having my copy just right there." Cedric pointed at a patch of grass with his index finger.

"Obviously it's not there anymore, unless it transfigured itself into a blade of grass to camouflage itself with the gang."

"Can books do that?"

"You are in Hogwarts Diggory. I thought with six years of education, at least something would have gotten into that pretty head of yours. Of course they can! Not all, but those crazy advanced ones bloody well can and Merlin knows what a headache they cause."

"I knew I could always trust you to question my intelligence."

"Always at your service. Now let's just go and hope the book would show up eventually. My stomach doesn't bear as much patience as I do." With that, Haden turned around and began walking towards the Great Hall without waiting to see if Cedric followed.

Cedric took a final look at the spot they had been studying under a large tree for the whole afternoon. Normally the library served as a choice preference for Cedric's study sessions, but with the sun nowhere in sight and just blue sky in the horizon, he decided it was too good for him to stay holed up in the cold air of the library amidst thousands of books and being greeted by the smell of printing ink and musty pages. With a short sigh, he finally decided to return later to hunt for the book. He grabbed his other books and started off in the direction Haden left.

Just around the tree, a certain brown-haired witch sat contentedly writing in her two feet long parchment. The scratching of the quill on the parchment were the only sounds emitted as the minutes passed. Her intelligent and sharp dark eyes kept their gaze on her flowing script as her free hand reached out for a book beside her. Her hand deftly flipped the book open to the middle before she shifted her gaze for a brief moment to search for her intended page.

"Witches of the 15th century brought transfiguration to a new echelon when they –" the young witch muttered to herself as her eyes quickly confirmed her facts before her hand furiously scribbled away in corroboration. A minute passed before she unconsciously bit the end of her quill as she read when she had just written. "Sounds good enough, though perhaps I should add in the part about Circe somewhere three paragraphs down," she muttered. Hermione Granger, the young witch in mention, looked over at her book again. Her free hand flipped the pages again in search of her desired information. She stopped short however, when her eyes caught sight of a doodle amongst one the pages.

Puzzled, and slightly indignant at the thought of someone had drew in her book without her knowledge, Hermione quickly flipped backwards. A rough yet comical sketch of a badger in Quidditch robes, flying on a broom, greeted her vision. A small smile crossed her lips at the sight of it before it curved downwards in a frown as she wondered how the drawing ended up in her book. Hermione couldn't think of anyone who would have gone near her books – everyone knows Hermione Granger's books are practically sacred, to even do so much of a dog-ear in them would lead to a never-ending tirade on how one should be responsible for such precious printed materials. That, and an intimidating warning of a hex.

A sudden thought occurred in her head before she quickly grabbed the book with both hands, parchment and quill forgotten entirely, and immediately turn the pages to its cover page. Instead of her own flowing script with her name written across the page, it was blank. She looked around her and caught sight of her own copy of Advanced Transfiguration That Even Idiots Can't Mess Up lying comfortably beside Medieval Transfiguration & Its Obnoxious Usage.

"I must have grabbed someone else's book by mistake," Hermione bit her lower lip in embarrassment. "I suppose I would have to return this, but how?" She glanced at the book in her hands once more before opening the flap on both sides to check for a name but found none. Hermione's gaze flitted away for a moment when she caught something out of the corner of her eye. Seeing her rolls of parchment beside her, she quickly reached for it and tore a small piece. With her quill in hand, Hermione scribbled a few sentences on the bit of parchment and inserted the piece into the book with a small bit stuck out so the owner would notice it. "This should belong somewhere –" she glanced around and made a quick retrace of her steps for the day. She hadn't been to the library for the day, immediately coming over to the grounds beside the Great Lake after her classes so it ruled out anywhere else but the tree she had been sitting under. She knew no one else in any of her classes would hold possession of such book considering it was an advanced level book that mostly sixth or seventh years would be using. "Here should suffice." Hermione said as she placed it atop a medium-sized rock conveniently located against the tree on her left side. "Well, keep safe. I hope your owner comes for you soon. I'll come back again in an hour just in case and we'll figure out then what to do with you if your owner hasn't come for you." Hermione amusedly conversed with the book, feeling slightly ridiculous yet nevertheless, feeling rather good-humored. She quickly gathered her books, quill and parchment, and placed them into her bag. With a last look at the book on the rock, she turned and made her way towards the Entrance Hall to meet Harry and Ron.

On the way, her quill fell out from her bag and she bent to pick it up. Her sudden distraction led to her not noticing a tall and fair Hufflepuff prefect passing her, towards the very tree she had been sitting just moments before.

"Well, what do you know, Whitlock does have his fair share of intelligence." Cedric mused aloud as he caught sight of his book on the rock. 'Though I think it's a little far-fetched for it to actually transfigure itself for no legitimate reason.' He picked up the thick book but just as he was about to lightly dust it, he caught sight of the parchment stuck out in an odd manner. The Hufflepuff pulled it out and with a smile growing on his face upon every word; Cedric couldn't help but chuckle when he reached the end of it. He folded the parchment neatly across and dropped it into the pocket of his robes as he walked back.

"Found your book, mate?"

"Yes. Apparently it wasn't playing hide-and-seek. Someone had mistaken my book for theirs." Cedric answered as he waved said tome in his hand.

"Brilliant. That solves the mystery then. Off we go for a round of Quidditch."

"Aren't you quite the simpleton."

"What were you expecting me to do? Roll out a red carpet for your book's return? I could throw in one of Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-Bangs if you want." Haden offered with a smirk.

"Oh shut it." Cedric replied with playful smirk of his own.

When Hermione returned to the tree an hour later just as she said she would, she was pleased to see the book had been collected and without giving it another thought, she left to visit Hagrid with her two best friends – although a fleeting flash of memory of the Quidditch-robed badger drew a smile on her lips.

"Hermione?"

"Hermione?"

Ron raised an eyebrow as Harry looked to him with a questioning look. He shrugged.

"Hermione!"

Said witch immediately turned around as Harry's voice broke through her thoughts. "Sorry Harry," she looked at him apologetically, "I just thought I saw something familiar."

"Familiar? What was it?"

Hermione chanced a swift glance at the Hufflepuff table before looking back at Harry again. "It's nothing. Just a book."

Ron snorted into his bowl of soup at her words as Hermione narrowed her eyes at his reaction.

"Ignore Ron," Harry said, knowing full well the following events could lead to an all-out verbal war between his two best friends if there wasn't an intervention. "You barely touched dinner, are you feeling alright?" He said again as he pointed his fork to her still full plate.

"Just distracted with the homework Professor Flitwick gave us this morning. I haven't decided where to begin yet."

Hermione's gaze averted over to the Hufflepuff table once more when Ron engaged Harry in a conversation about the upcoming Quidditch practice; her eyebrows knitted close as she sat up a little straighter to catch sight of a book lying on the other house's table. The book sat beside a blond haired boy who looked like a seventh year, but Hermione couldn't tell who it was from his back. From the navy blue cover and its gold embossed printing gleaming off the cover, the book looked like the very book she had mistook as her own that afternoon. Her curiosity about the owner didn't occur again until she saw the tome.

'So it belongs to a Hufflepuff? Well, it makes sense with the badger drawing then.'

"Don't look now but there's someone looking over at you from Gryffindor."

Haden Whitlock looked up from his plate with a surprised look at his fellow Hufflepuff friend across the table. "Is it a murderous look or just a naturally admiring one?" He asked suspiciously.

"Negative for both."

Haden lifted an eyebrow before suddenly turning over his shoulder to see who it was. "No one's looking over."

"Yes there was. Potter's best friend."

"Weasley?" Haden made a face.

"The other one. Granger."

"Oh, that's not too bad then." Haden looked over his shoulder again and allow his gaze to fall on the Gryffindor witch who was now picking at the basket of bread. He turned back and picked up his goblet of pumpkin juice, "Maybe she thought I was someone she knew or something."

"Whitlock!"

The sudden shout of his name and a hearty, albeit good natured, slap on his back caused Haden to spit pumpkin juice from his lips and spraying unwanted droplets of said juice onto their surrounding friends. The groans came in unison.

"Blame it on the prat Diggory." Haden said as he wiped his lips with a napkin before shooting a murderous look at said boy. Cedric merely grinned in response. "What do you want?"

"I need my book back to complete the last twelve inches of the essay." Cedric answered with a nod at the very tome that was beside Haden.

"Couldn't you have just asked for it in a normal manner?"

"No fun in that."

"You childish twat." Haden replied as he grabbed the book and tossed it casually to Cedric.

"Your nicknames for me have never ceased to amuse." Cedric said. "I'll see you blokes back in the Common Room." With a wave of his hand, Cedric was off again.

Hermione looked up again just as Cedric walked out of the Great Hall, merely catching sight of the end of his robes. Her gaze shifted over to the Hufflepuff table once more and was surprised when the book wasn't at its place anymore. She looked up and down the long table but could not locate the sight of the thickly-bound printed material anywhere.

Hermione chuckled softly to herself when she realized she was being concern over something so menial. 'It's none of my business now that the book's back to its owner.' She mentally shook all thoughts of the book away and tuned her attention into Harry and Ron's conversation instead – as much as it hardly fascinated her with all the Quidditch terms. However, she found herself musing over the Quidditch badger the more she listened in to their conversation. In her mind, she imagined the badger whizzing about with his hand out trying to grasp the Snitch while avoiding a Bludger and balancing itself on the broom.

"What's so funny?"

Hermione looked at Ron, who was staring at her as if she had just sprouted another nose, and realized she had laughed a little louder than she expected at her mental image. "Nothing."

Harry and Ron exchanged a short look – the one that wondered if she had just studied too much and went mental, before resuming their conversation again.

Her gaze shifted to Harry and back again at Ron with a small relieve smile. With all that happened the year before in the Triwizard Tournament alongside with this year's foreboding events, dark clouds of gloom and despair still hovered over them as they grasped hold for whatever was left of sanity and sanguinity. Harry of course, had been in the most volatile mood ever since the tournament. He went through phases of depression, fury, fear, anxiety, and denial, faster than Hermione would expect to see in a hormonal pregnant woman. She couldn't blame him of course – she understood his frustration, anybody would behave that way if they were sent to meet death in the face, literally. He had been lividly infuriated throughout the summer holidays but his temperamental side had since toned down as soon as he stepped into Hogwarts with homework, friends and Quidditch alike to distract him. Until then, both she and Ron felt as if they were precariously threading on thin ice whenever they were around him. She looked over the Hufflepuff table as she recalled the other Hogwarts champion who was dragged along to greet death with Harry. He wasn't anywhere in sight but upon the chanced occasions she did see him as her fourth year drew to an end and the beginning of her fifth, she noted his behavior was non-atypical to Harry's aftermath. Like Harry, Cedric seemed to eventually loosen up although the dark, haunted look in their eyes sporadically flashed within respective boy's eyes. Hermione stared at her plate before her and wondered if fifth year would be just as eventful – as much as she dreaded the thought. O.W.L.s were due in less than nine months and Hermione felt as if there wasn't enough time for anything else other than her studies.

At that thought, Hermione dropped her fork with a loud clatter. Harry and Ron immediately turned to her in surprise. She shot them an apologetic look before quickly excusing herself with the intention of going to the library.

"Again?" Ron stared at her bewilderedly.

"Eight months, ten days, four hours, and twenty two minutes to our O.W.L.s Ron." Ron gaped at her for a few seconds as Harry gave Hermione an amused smile. "Well, I'm off. I'll see you later in the Common Room."

"Bloody hell – if she gave us the seconds, I would really think she's gone mad." She heard Ron say but kept her tongue to herself although she was fairly tempted to retort with a verbal lashing at his procrastination and insufferable manners. Hermione made her way down the long hall and stepped out of the great doors without even looking up from her bag as she searched for a small journal where she kept track of her homework and studies. So engrossed she was in her search that she failed to see a fellow student, equally engrossed in the roll of parchment in his hands, coming towards her way.

When her hand felt soft leather, a delighted "yes" escaped her lips as her hand swiftly withdrew the book from her bag. Just as she did so, her gaze lifted and the next thing she knew, she had thumped headfirst to a solid, yet soft being and her upper cheek felt a sudden sharp pain. "Ow!"

"Are you alright?"

Hermione didn't answer; instead, she reached to feel the spot where a searing pain was greeting her. She pulled her fingers back to see a short, thin streak of blood across them.

"Oh shoot. Was that my fault? Must have been my parchment. I'm really sorry; I wasn't looking at where I was going."

Hermione looked up to reassure the stranger she was alright but the words fell to a numb at her lips when she saw concerned steel grey eyes looking back at her. "Diggory?"

"Granger." Cedric greeted her warmly with an acknowledging nod. "I'm awfully sorry about the papercut."

She glanced at the blood in her fingers, "It isn't bad is it? I can't see it myself at the moment but from the looks of it, I'm guessing it's a little streak across my cheekbone?"

Cedric peered closer before pulling back with an affirmative nod. "Nothing serious that would leave a mark." He grinned. "I can heal it immediately if you want me to." He pulled out his wand from his robes' pocket.

Hermione reflexively took a step back, knowing full well over the consequences of having a fellow student wizard using a charm against a body part. 'Even if he does mean well.'

"Oh come on, I'm pretty good in Charms if I say so myself. I promise this won't hurt a bit."

"It's more of the end result than the pain I'm worried about. No offense Diggory, but I'd very much like to keep my face as it is."

Cedric laughed. "I never knew you had thought so little of my wizarding capabilities." He placed his wand back where it belonged before smirking at her, "Well, Ms. Granger, allow me to escort you to Madam Pomfrey then – I'm sure her healing capabilities far exceed mine."

Hermione couldn't resist a small grin at his good-natured poke at her and himself. "Never knew you could take a blow to your male ego."

"I thought that was what you were testing so I can't possibly fail to disappoint." Cedric responded dryly although a smile was playing upon his lips.

"I'm afraid I'd have to give another blow as I am going to turn down your offer, politely, as I reckon the papercut would heal by itself after a day or two. A dab of healing cream and a band-aid should do fine." Cedric plastered a mock indignant look at her response which led Hermione to emit a giggle. "Oh, you'll get over it Diggory. I'm sure you could withstand a small rejection from lowly me. If need comes to be, drop by the Great Hall and many of your female equivalents would be pleased to heal the bruised ego of yours. " She shot him a grin with a wave of her hand in farewell before proceeding on her way, leaving a faintly speechless yet fairly intrigued and regaled Cedric Diggory.

"What are you doing here prat? I thought you said you'd be at the Common Room."

Cedric turned to see Haden and their group of friends coming out of the Great Hall towards him. "In case your incredibly short-term memory is failing you again, the name's Cedric."

"I'll have you know it's not short-term, it's simply selective." Haden retorted.

"Glad to know of my position in your heart."

"Pleasure's all mine." Haden grinned as he grabbed Cedric by the shoulder and the group of boys laughed as they playfully wrestled one another on their way back to their Common Room.

From the top of the marble staircase, Hermione Granger stood by the barrister with a small smile upon her lips. It was good to see Cedric behaving like normal seventeen year olds should without the worry of a Dark Lord hovering over his head. With a last glance at the group of boys disappearing down the steps to the right of the marble staircase, Hermione turned away; not catching the sudden upwards glance – or the playful twinkle reflecting in steel grey orbs, from the very boy she had been watching seconds before.

Cedric fell into his bed with a thump and as he stretched, he heard a crisp brushing sound in the pocket of his robes. His left hand reached into his pocket to pull out a folded piece of parchment. A chuckle escaped his lips as his memory quickly recalled the parchment's origin. Cedric unfolded it and began to read the neat script before him again.

"What's that?"

Cedric looked up from the parchment to see a wolfish grin on Haden Whitlock's face. Some girls thought it was incredibly charming but Cedric couldn't help but thought it was incredibly creepy. "Nothing of your concern Whitlock."

"Oh come on Cedric. Be a good sport."

Cedric raised an eyebrow. Every time Haden called him by his first name, Cedric knew the former was up to something. "Go away Haden."

"Selfish twat." Cedric laughed and merely turned away from his friend. "Don't think I'm letting this go so easily Diggory."

Cedric shook his head in amusement before focusing his attention on the parchment once more. There was no name to the writer but he could tell it was a female's handwriting with the elegant manner the writer placed her dots on the i's and smooth curves of every alphabet. He could also guess the writer was a particularly meticulous and organized person with the precise arrangement of equal words in every sentence without breaking an invisible line, and the lack of ink blots alongside the carefully torn edges of the parchment. Somehow, he couldn't help but match the writing to a certain Gryffindor witch. She was the only one he could think of that would fit such descriptions, although a harboring thought crept to mind that it could be a Ravenclaw student as well. Thinking of the other school house led him to think of Cho Chang.

They were now good friends after amiably sorting things between them. Cedric had always found the Ravenclaw witch pretty and endearing with her soft-spoken manners yet rather audacious when she was playing Quidditch. He had casually asked her to the Yule Ball to get to know her better outside the Quidditch field, but soon realized the affection was based on nothing more than admiration. Soon after the second task, they took a walk in Hogsmeade and Cedric cautiously explained to her of his feelings and to his surprise, Cho had nodded in agreement. She then told him she loved him but didn't felt she was in love with him. With a warm hug, they parted ways with a promise to keep a platonic relationship. No one in Hogwarts actually knew the status of their relationship, save for his and her close friends, but since both didn't saw the need to announce it to the world – they didn't and left the curious thoughts of the student body as they were.

"Got it!" Cedric's thoughts flew out his mind at the sudden disappearance of the parchment piece in his hand. He shifted his glare onto a smirking Haden. "I told you I wouldn't let go of this easily."

"Being a busybody is a trait most girls would have Whitlock." Cedric wearily responded as he pulled himself into a sitting position.

"Nonsense. This is not being a busybody; it's a man being concerned for affairs that might concern him." Cedric snorted in response and made no move to snatch the parchment away from Haden, knowing full well of the latter's tendency to immediately respond with a swift slap on the hand. He hated it whenever Haden did that – it reminded him too much of his grandmother whenever she caught him trying to sneak a cookie before dinner. As much as he loved her, the little slaps were rather annoying since it usually left a tell-tale sign of his boyish mischievousness to his otherwise perfect good boy record. Contrary to what many may think, Cedric Diggory had his fair streak of mischievousness and impish, cheeky behavior – even until now, although he seldom revealed it. "I'm assuming this note came from the book thief?"

"She's not a book thief."

Haden shot him a quizzical look, "She?"

"It's just my assumption that she's probably a she," seeing the baffled look on his friend's face, Cedric sighed before continuing, "The handwriting, Haden."

Haden shifted his gaze to the parchment again, "Possible, but it could be a he with a feminine handwriting for all you know."

"That's feasible but what are you trying to point out?"

"You are obsessing over something that's possibly not true and frankly, it's worrying me."

"You're so full of it Whitlock." Cedric's superb Quidditch skills allowed him to swiftly throw a pillow at Haden's head without a chance for the latter to duck.

"Oy." Haden protested laughingly. "Anyway, are you planning to look for her or something?"

"I thought I should just say thank you."

"How very well-mannered of you Diggory."

"Unlike some prat I know."

"Oy!" The pillow came whizzing back at Cedric but he easily missed it with a nonchalant move to his right. "I hate Quidditch players and their stupid skills of ducking." Haden muttered as Cedric laughed. "Well, I'm off to bed you Quidditch git." He flicked the parchment to Cedric who easily caught it.

"Goodnight Whitlock." Cedric absently said as he folded the parchment again and placed it in the pocket of his jeans that hung by the foot of his bed. He grabbed said jeans, a round-neck tee with long sleeves and a towel before making his way to the prefects' bathroom. When he came out freshly showered, with his hair slightly damp, and on his way down the staircase, he was pleasantly surprise to see Hermione Granger walking out of the library, contentedly reading a book in her hands as her bag hung on her shoulder. He retracted his steps and silently walked towards her.

"If you are planning to scare me, I'll tell you now that I'm not hesitant to hex you into next week." Hermione said without looking up from her book as soon as he got within two yards to her.

"How did you know I was coming?"

"I may be a bookworm, but I'm not a blind bat Diggory." Hermione looked up with a shut of her book.

Cedric couldn't help but grin. "I just thought I would say hi."

"Okay." Hermione stopped in her tracks. Cedric looked at her in puzzlement at her awaiting expression and immobile stature.

"Granger?" She said nothing but just stood there waiting for something Cedric couldn't figure out what. A thought suddenly clicked in his head before he chuckled at himself and looked at her with his best charming smile, "Hi."

Hermione softly laughed, "Took you long enough to figure it out."

"Well it's not everyday someone just stop dead in their tracks when they see me. Then again, maybe they do." Hermione rolled her eyes to the reference of his good looks that charmed most of the girls in Hogwarts. Cedric chortled at her expression. "What brings you still out and about Granger?"

"I was studying. What about you?"

"Shower. Say Granger, you wouldn't happen to be doing a Transfiguration essay this afternoon would you?"

"I was." Hermione's eyebrows knitted together in an inquisitive manner, "Why?" The growing grin on Cedric's face was starting to scare a little bit. 'Just a little.' She watched as he fished something out of his pocket and began reading from the bit of parchment audibly.

"Dear book-owner, I'm sorry to have mistaken your book as my own. " Hermione's eyes widened. "I think I may have, well, swiped your book when I wasn't looking. I can assure you it was entirely unintentional as I happen to have the same exact copy, so I suppose it was inevitable I would pick up yours as my own. Hopefully, I didn't cause you much trouble without it, if I did – I'm honestly sorry. I'm leaving this book here where I think I might have taken it from. Once again, I am honestly sorry. P.S. – Please do write your name on your book, it would ease the process of locating its owner the next time."

"That was your book?"

"I couldn't think of anyone else who would leave such a P.S. note but you." Cedric pointed out with a smirk. "Straight to the point and no wishy-washy words." Hermione stifled her urge to blush, but of course it was uncontrollable and a small rosy flush appeared at her cheeks. Without consciously realizing it, a fond smile crossed Cedric's lips at the sight of the slightly embarrassed witch.

"Sorry about that."

"Oh don't worry about it. I had a good laugh, it brighten up my day significantly."

"Glad to know I'm such a sunshine for you." Cedric laughed again and Hermione wondered if she had ever met anyone who was as carefree and good-humored as the seventh year. His laughs sounded so easy and warm to her ears, and more than often, were reflected in his eyes as the steel grey orbs twinkle with mirth. She was amazed that despite what he had gone through the year before, he seemed to bravely soldier on with lightheartedness. "I suppose I should be going – Harry and Ron would be up waiting for me."

Cedric nodded, "I'll walk with you to the stairs then."

They fell into step side by side with Cedric casually asking her about her fifth year and how Harry's doing. In return, she asked him about his preparation for N.E.W.T.s to which he made a face in response. When they reached the staircase, Cedric said goodnight with a bow of his head which emitted a snicker from Hermione for his gesture before she said her goodnight. They parted at the staircase, her heading up to the Gryffindor Tower and him heading down to the Hufflepuff dormitory.

Both left with an amused smile on their faces and an eagerness for the next day where they would perhaps, cross paths again.

A/N: First attempt at a HP fanfic and for a fairly new favorite pairing of mine. Hope you've enjoyed it, thanks for reading!