ONE YEAR LATER

Seven years had flown by in the blink of an eye and suddenly my time at school had drawn to a close. Now my future relied on a set of exam results which I'd have to wait weeks to receive and it was an understatement to say that it felt as though the stress was going to eat me alive. I had no idea how I was going to survive these weeks but Cedric had promised to help me get my mind off of it and I was going to hold him to his promise – especially when I had found out that his solution consisted of travelling around the world.

"Would you stop that?" an irritated voice said from beside me. Cho threw me a glare, struggling to keep her eyes open.

I smiled sheepishly, knowing instantly what Cho was referring to and stopped shaking my leg up and down. "Sorry."

"Look, I understand that you're excited, we all are, but that doesn't mean that I appreciated you waking me up at an ungodly hour this morning so we could walk around the castle one last time." Closing her eyes, she laid her head against the window and I didn't tell her that it was futile to try and get some sleep now; I could see the station.

"Hey," I protested, nudging her, "That was your idea."

"Ignore her," Marietta piped up, "She's just being a grouch today because she's going to miss the castle. Ignore her and be excited about being able to see your boyfriend again soon."

"That's not why I'm excited," I insisted, wondering why my friends still found amusement in teasing me about Cedric. "I'm excited to go home, to see my parents, to –"

"To snog Cedric's face off," Cho added and even though she couldn't see the glare I threw her way, she still grinned.

I scrunched my nose, "That's gross."

"That was my exact thought when I walked in on that scene," she peeked an eye open to see me blush wildly. "But what you two do together is none of my business."

"Well no one told you to walk into my room unannounced," I muttered under my breath, just as the train horn sounded.

"We can't be there already," Marietta said in disbelief and I couldn't help but agree with her silent wish for the journey to have lasted longer.

The knowledge that this was the last time I was to ride the Hogwarts Express had a rather empty feeling settle inside of my chest. Although there had always been some sort of drama within the castle walls, it had quickly become home and I was going to miss it very much. It was obvious that we all shared the same sentiment, especially as we drew out the actions of gathering our stuff and clambering off the train.

With one last goodbye and a promise to meet up within a few weeks, the three of us parted ways and I headed down the platform, towards the place where mum and dad always stood waiting. Except, before I could reach that place, I spotted an all-too-familiar figure in the distance. Merlin, I had it bad if I could distinguish him just from his vague silhouette. Then again, the black and yellow scarf wrapped around his neck was a rather large giveaway.

My steps slowed as I approached him, as if I was waiting for something. When his eyes settled on my figure an instant smile appeared on his face and I realised that was it – what I was waiting for. He waved, calling out my name as he started to walk towards me.

Quickening my pace, I closed the distance between us quickly and took him in my arms. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I giggled slightly when he returned the hug, lifting me off the ground in the process. Spinning me around slightly, he buried his head in my neck and I met eyes with a fellow seventh year and was overwhelming mortified; we were putting on such a show.

But that didn't matter when Cedric put me back on the ground, pulling back from me slightly. Taking my face in his hands, Cedric pressed a quick kiss to my nose and drew back with a whole-hearted smile. "Merlin, I've missed you."

"I can tell," I laughed quietly when he closed the distance between us to press more kisses to my face. When he pulled back this time, it was with a little pout and I rolled my eyes and rose to my toes to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Don't start pouting before I say it back – I missed you too."

"Of course you did," he said acting as though he hadn't almost become upset. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

He leaned down again, this time with the intention to kiss me properly when there was the sound of a throat clearing. Hurrying to straighten up again, Cedric screwed his eyes shut with a deep wince.

"Of all the possible times," he muttered under his breath before opening his eyes and turning to face my dad, "You're here, sir."

"I am," crossing his arms, dad glared at Cedric and gestured for me to go to his side. I didn't dare – who knows what he'd do to Cedric the moment I stepped away from him. "You were taking such a long time that I wondered if something had gone wrong."

"Nothing's wrong dad," I interjected, relief filling me when I saw mum coming up behind dad; she'd handle him. "I was just going to come and find you."

"It looked like you were."

Mum looked between dad and Cedric, saw the way dad had his wand at his side and the way that Cedric was trying to use me as a human shield, and sighed. Meeting my eyes, she rolled hers and we both knew that further pleasantries would need to wait. Right now, some damage control was needed.

"Why are you all standing around here waiting?" she asked, linking her arm through dad's and forcefully pulling him away, even as he tried to resist. "Let's get a move on before the traffic gets bad."

"Let's," I agreed, giving my parents a head start.

When they had walked out of earshot, Cedric let out a deep breath and I didn't even attempt to stop the upwards turn of my lips. He took my bag from me and went to follow after my parents, seeing the look I was giving him as he did so.

"Don't make that face," he complained, "It's only right that I'm scared – your dad is one of the top aurors around and it's dangerous to piss him off."

"I never said it wasn't, Cedric."

"But I don't understand," he whined, taking my hand in his as we walked. "He used to love me before we started dating."

"That was because he thought you were like an older brother to me and when we started dating, well," I shrugged, "He realised you had the same intentions as most boys."

"Hey," he protested, sounding majorly offended, "My intentions were pure and wholesome."

"Who are you trying to kid?" I glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, and just so you know, he's planning on coming travelling with us."

All colour drained out of his face, "You're joking."

"I wish I was – he owled me last night." He made a sound that was a cross between a piteous whine and a sob, "But don't worry – mum's fighting you side so chances are he'll be locked up at home before he can do anything."