Harry was so preoccupied with his dark thoughts that he collided with Cedric Diggory's chest. Stumbling backwards and adjusting his glasses, Harry blushed furiously. Why did Cedric have to be so tall in which he towered over Harry? And why couldn't he watch where he was going? Stupid smirking Hufflepuff. Harry tried to push past him with a mumbled " Sorry," but Cedric barred his way, still wearing that stupid grin. Harry wished he could wipe it off his face. The fact that Cedric was in first place in the Triwizard Tournament didn't help either. Instead Harry craned his neck to look at him. Cedric's blazing butterscotch eyes were boring into his...Blazing butterscotch? Where had that come from? Since when did Harry have a feminine side? And since when did Cedric take an interest in anything but his mirror? Blimey! It must be a full moon, Harry decided, and shook his head to ward off these weird thoughts. When he realized that they had been staring at each other wordlessly for almost five minutes Harry cleared his throat and said, " So...?"

Cedric flashed his white, perfectly square teeth at Harry, which was really starting to get to him. Shielding his eyes from their dazzling brightness, Harry heard Cedric say, in a voice like liquid chocolate that both intrigued and pissed him off ( why did he have to be so dang perfect?) " I never got a chance to thank you properly for telling me about those dragons. I never would have been able to do it without you." Harry was momentarily dazed by his words. I never could have done it without you bounced around the inside of his brain like someone was flinging it against his skull. Harry closed his eyes and stammered, " D-Don't mention it Cedric."

Mr. Perfectly Sexy And Appealing to Cho Chang apparently couldn't keep his perfect mouth shut, however. " You know, I thought it would be fair if maybe I, you know, helped you out with that egg." he said slyly, raising an elegant eyebrow. Harry was stunned. Cedric Diggory, cheating? Heck, he was so good, even Snape kissed his perfectly toned butt. What was going on? Harry raised his eyebrows, which were sadly not nearly as elegant, and tried to say coolly, " And?" but it came out as more of a croak. Cedric leaned in and Harry got a whiff of some expensive girly cologne, no doubt that Cho had bought him. Harry stared at Cedric, who was only inches away from his face now. His pale skin was glowing so brightly, it was like he was pregnant or had been struck by some radioactive beauty chemical. Probably both, Harry decided.

" You know the Prefect's bathroom on the third floor? Not a bad place for a bath. You migh want to take the egg and er, mull things over in the hot water. Password's pine fresh." He leaned out and winked dazzlingly at Harry before strutting beautifully away, leaving a trail of exotic fruity scent and adoring girls behind him.

Harry would have been less irked if Lord Voldemort had shown up in Hogwarts and invited him to some tea and crumpets. The nerve of some people! Just because Cedric always smelled like sunshine and daffodils and was blessed with the skin of a veela and always had immaculate hair didn't mean that he had to go waltzing around the school telling people to go take a bath! Fuming, Harry set off to his last class of the day, Transfiguration, hoping in the back of his mind that Cedric didn't think he smelled like a sewage pipe.

A few hours later, Harry was tossing and turning restlessly in his bunk bed, his hand on the cold metal of the golden egg which so perplexed him. Annoyingly, Cedric's words echoed around and around in his head. For the millionth time that day, he wished he hadn't collided with Cedric Diggory's perfect abs. Yes, now he could confirm that the Hufflepuff did indeed have a twelve pack like everyone always talked about...why some people were blessed with perfect muscles was a mystery to Harry, seeing as though he had the physique of an eight year old girl...Harry kneaded his forehead, angry with himself. Why was he wasting time dwelling on stupid Cedric's abs when he could be doing something about that egg! Harry felt his cheeks heat up. He glanced at Ron, glad that he was asleep and could not read Harry's mind. Harry thought about how Ron's face would look if he knew that Harry had stayed up all night long thinking about what Cedric Diggory had said...and not only what he had said. Harry was still thinking about his perfectly straight, pearly white teeth, that one strand of golden-brown hair that seemed to hang in his eyes no matter what he did with it...and those eyes...eyes that could stare straight into your soul and read your heart.

Harry wanted to punch himself in the face. Embarrassed and furious at these new emotions, he flung his pillow at the wall and said out loud, " I'M NOT GAY!" To his horror, a disgruntled Ron said, " Bloody hell Harry! No one asked! Some people are trying to freaking sleep here!" Harry's eyes slid over to his trunk, which contained his father's old Invisibility Cloak. A plan began to form in his mind. When he was sure Ron had fallen back asleep, Harry slipped out of bed and crept to his trunk, removing the shimmering Cloak and placing it around his shoulders. He grabbed the egg, the Marauder's Map, and his wand, and set off towards the third floor. He was going to put Cedric's theory to the test, before curiosity ate him alive.

The long trip to the third floor was not fun. Harry almost tripped about twelve times, since he had to keep his wand lit so he could keep an eye on the stupid map, making sure no one was coming. How would he explain to them that he was going to take a bath in the middle of the night? And he wasn't even a Prefect. "Curse Cedric and his persuasive good looks!" Harry muttered to himself. When he finally reached the large gilded door, he mumbled, " Pine fresh," feeling rather foolish. He entered the bathroom, feeling as though he had stepped into the bathroom of some great royalty. It was large and oval-shaped, with a domed ceiling and a gilded gold mirror in the corner. The bathtub itself was huge and lined with gold that glinted in the light from the crystal chandelier above. A huge fountain was set in the middle, and a stained-glass picture of a snoozing mermaid hung on the wall. Harry gazed around him, openmouthed. So this is where Cedric takes his baths...Harry squeezed his eyes shut against the onslaught of perverted images running through his mind. His heart pounding, he willed himself to think about something normal, instead of he and Cedric Diggory in flowery field almost as beautiful as he is... " My God, I hate my life!" Harry sighed as he took off his Gryffindor robes and lowered himself into the empty tub.

For the first half-hour, Harry did nothing but goof off. He soon discovered that the numerous silver faucets around the edge of the bath contained many strange things. One oozed glittery, flowery-smelling pink bubbles. Another turned the water pure silver. Yet another caused the water to become so thick that Harry could lay on it like a blanket! He was having so much fun that he almost didn't notice the arrival of Moaning Myrtle. She was looking as glum and as translucent as ever, hovering over the central fountain and peering down at Harry as though she had never seen something so intriguing. " Hello Harry," she said in her thin, high-pitched voice. " Come to say hello?"

She giggled, and Harry wanted to vomit. He sank lower into the water, making sure nothing important was visible. He supposed his revulsion had to do with the fact that Cedric was so divine. No one looked hot compared to him anymore, not even Cho Chang. Harry shuddered. He was letting Cedric's beauty get to him! His head spun wildly. He was using him to get what he wanted! "He's a beautiful weapon!" he said out loud. Horrified, he clamped his soapy hand over his mouth. Myrtle swooped down at him. " Who!" she demanded. "Who's so beautiful that you can't even tell you're best friend about?" Harry invented wildly. "My-um, my girlfriend...Sally..um...Jenkins. Yeah, she's the light of my life. Yeah, we do loads of stuff together. Like go to the...clubs and other crazy stuff that people do with their girlfriends..." Myrtle looked sour. " So you do have a girlfriend then," she sniffed, sounding on the verge of tears. " I was wondering if one day you would maybe-" Harry was saved this awkwardness by the arrival of the person he both loved and loathed: Cedric Diggory.

The door swung open. Cedric leaned against the doorframe, a small smile on his lips that told Harry he had been listening to their entire conversation. He sank even lower into the bubbles, mortified. He liked Cedric more when they were in broad daylight, in full view of everyone else. And when he wasn't looking at him like a delicious piece of cake. Harry couldn't suppress a small blossom of hope. Maybe he was interested. Cake is good, right? But he was the Boy Who Lived, he deserved to be treated like something better than cake! Boy, if Cedric didn't kill him, these mood swings would. Myrtle squealed and dove into a toilet, watching with round eyes.

Cedric wrapped his lips delicately around the words, and they floated towards Harry's ear like a tantalizing whisper. " I didn't think you would actually come, so I came to take a bath. My mistake." He was wrapped in a black bathrobe that contrasted very highly with his skin. Harry half-hoped that he was wearing something under there. The other half of him...he didn't want to go there, not with Cedric standing there and looking so radiant, not when he might say something embarrassing. Harry swallowed the lump in his throat and forced himself to speak, though his voice was raspy. " Call it a coincidence." Cedric took a step forward, his eyes on the chandelier. He turned to look at Harry, his gaze the brightest light in the room. "Or maybe it was fate. Intuition. Some days the stars just align..." Harry's heart almost stopped. So did Cedric mean to find him here? Cedric slid the robe off his muscular shoulders and slipped lithely into the bath. Harry gasped and tried to conceal it as a cough.

Harry couldn't help himself. He stared at Cedric, openmouthed. He couldn't think straight, couldn't process what was going on. All he knew was that Cedric Diggory was acting very...not goody-two shoes. Not like himself at all. And that his heart, once it had started again, was beating so hard that it threatened to explode. Cedric was staring at Harry again, and this time Harry couldn't process what was in his eyes. But it made him feel scared...and strangely curious. Bloody hell! He was in a bathtub with Cedric Diggory! The reality of the situation finally crashed down on him, and Harry had to laugh. " Do I amuse you?" Cedric purred. Harry couldn't believe his luck...or was it luck?

" Do you normally...er, bathe with your Hufflepuff buddies?" Myrtle was silent, but Harry could tell she was listening and watching with baited breath. Strangely, it didn't bother him. It seemed as if he and Cedric were in their own little universe, unaffected by anything going on around them. Cedric didn't meet his eyes. Instead, he inclined his immaculate head at the golden egg, which lay forgotten, along with the Cloak, the Map, and Harry's wand. " Did you try that yet?" Harry shook his head. Cedric said unblushingly, " Well, go get it then."

Harry felt stupid to state the obvious. " Yeah, but I'm naked !" Cedric didn't bat a perfect eyelash. " So am I. Go get it." Harry was dumbfounded. Since when did Cedric act so...naughty? He wasn't sure what to do. There was no way he was going to get up and put everything on display for Cedric to see. No thank you! He thought quickly. Sure, they were in a bathtub together. Yes, Harry had felt stirring of something when he was with Cedric. He wouldn't call it homosexuality, it was more of a fling. Yes, that was it. After all, didn't everyone get a bit...curious? And it was nothing more, he assured himself. Still a little worried but trying to put everything in the back of his whirling mind, Harry said with a slight tremble in his voice, " Myrtle, get my egg."

Nothing happened right away. Harry supposed she was being stubborn. He turned nervously back to Cedric and scooted further away from him, little eddies of bubbles swirling in his wake. " Are you frightened?" said the Hufflepuff with a trace of haughtiness. " My God, you're in the same damn bathtub with me and you seem so nervous." He looked downward towards his own marble chest, then back up at Harry with a different expression. His voice back to his usual silky soft sexiness, he moved closer to him. Harry held his breath, his heart pounding. " There's nothing to be afraid of, Harry. I know how you think you are, and how you might feel when you're with your friends." He was close enough to touch now, Harry could feel his warm breath. " But I also know the way you really are. The way you actually feel towards me." Cedric was only inches away, Harry's heart fluttered and he longed to do something he had never wanted to do before with a member of the same gender. Cedric whispered," And I know how I feel. So show me that you've let go of everything that you were before. Tell me...tell me what you want to do to me, and I promise you that you won't be disappointed." Harry shivered, though the water was still warm. " Are you playing games with me?"

Cedric's eyes bored into Harry's, making his knees weak. " I don't play games, Harry Potter," his voice barely above a whisper. " Please answer my question. I need to know." His tone was pleading, he had longing in his eyes. A thrill of excitement erupted in Harry's chest. He looked straight into Cedric's beautiful eyes and told him exactly what he wanted to do to him.

They kissed so passionately that they didn't even notice Myrtle weeping in a nearby stall. Harry had never felt so free, so exhilarated at the same time. He ran his hands up Cedric's smooth back and wrapped his arms around his neck, kissing his soft lips with such enthusiasm that he was surprised he wasn't hurting him. But if he was, Cedric wasn't complaining. He was as good as he had only dreamed about, so beautiful and real. Harry felt he was finally complete. When he eventually distangled his hands from Cedric's hair and lay back on the side of the tub, still tasting the inside of Cedric's lips, Harry gasped, "Where did you learn all that!" Cedric smiled, but then looked concernedly down at Harry.

" But I never got a chance to help you out with that egg." Harry had to laugh as he looked up at his handsome lover. " Is that really what you came for, Cedric?" It was Cedric's turn to smile. He wrapped his arms around Harry's neck and pulled him to his chest, murmuring, " No. But I don't want you to get distracted. Surprisingly, I can do that to some people." Harry was having difficulty breathing, but not because of Cedric's gentle embrace. He smiled and purred, " But we have all night, don't we? The clue can wait." Cedric placed his lips on Harry's forehead and breathed, " Yes, we do. And I was right. This wasn't a bad place for a bath after all." They began kissing again, and this time, they couldn't stop.