Special delivery for thesteppyone Title: Does My Face Ring Any Bells? Author/Artist:mariangelo Recipient's LJ name:thesteppyone Rating: R/Adult/Mature Pairing(s): Cedric Diggory/Hermione Granger Word Count: 2,657 Warnings (if any): AU; Wall!sex; foul language Summary: Cedric runs into a long forgotten one-night stand only to find that she’s the one woman he doesn’t want to forget.
Authors notes: I’ve not written this pairing before, so I hope it turned out well enough to enjoy.
‘Cedric Diggory?’
Cedric looked around, somewhat surprised; he hadn’t expected to be recognised in the middle of Muggle London. He closed the book he’d been perusing and turned to see a woman smirking at him. She seemed familiar, but he couldn’t quite place where he knew her from and as he’d travelled to so many places throughout the years, she could be anyone. The woman was around his age, mid to late thirties, and very attractive, he noted straight away. His pulse quickened a bit as he swiftly looked her over. She was a little more than a head shorter than he, but at 6’3” most people were. Her cheeks were sprinkled with light freckles and long eyelashes covered warm brown eyes in a bemused oval face. She was curvy in all the right spots and Cedric hoped she was the one who called his name, even if he couldn’t remember her.
‘You don’t recognise me, do you?’ She sniggered, and it was light and friendly. Cedric mentally kicked himself for not being able to recall her. He grimaced sheepishly. ‘Well, it’s not that I can blame you entirely. The last time we saw each other it was very dark and neither one of us was very coherent.’
At this, Cedric was shocked. It really wasn’t like him to not be in control of himself and for him to not remember her he must have been truly drunk. He scoured his memory for something, anything, but drew a blank. His frown deepened and she laughed again.
‘Either you remember and are embarrassed or you wished you hadn’t been reminded at all.’
‘Honestly, I don’t recognise you. I’m sorry, because I really wish I could.’
‘Oh, well...’ Her cheeks flushed pink and Cedric couldn’t deny that she looked even prettier like that. She looked up at him through inky lashes and he was almost overwhelmed by the urge to grab her and snog her senseless. Of course, that would be ridiculous as he didn’t even know her and that they were standing in the middle of a crowded book store, but the tingling was racing through every cell and his hands itched to touch her. He tried to remember ever having this strong a reaction to a woman before and somewhere in the murky depths of his mind a faint and faded memory trudged to the surface. It wasn’t clear, but snippets flashed before him.
‘Hogwarts... You were in Gryffindor, a couple of years behind me!’ He was rewarded with a dazzling smile and he knew he was on the right track. He pushed further, trying to remember the incident she just spoke of. More pieces of the past came to him. He remembered her name, Hermione, and that he’d been attracted to her at school, but she had been close friends with Harry Potter and there was some speculation that they were secretly a couple.
‘Hermione... Granger?’ She nodded, smiling brightly. Cedric was relieved that he could recall her, but something was nagging at him. ‘Hermione, why do I keep hearing bells ringing in the distance when I remember you?’
His grin widened as she stepped closer to him. He could feel the electricity pass between them and wondered if she did, too. She was so close. His eyes fell to her mouth where her lips were full and he wanted to lose himself in the softness of them. He was so caught up in trying to restrain himself from grabbing her up that he missed the wicked glint that flashed in her eye. She raised a hand up and let her fingertips softly, slowly trail down his arm leaving gooseflesh in their wake.
‘Bells? Well, that could be because the last time we saw each other was New Year’s Eve, almost nine years ago and the church bells rang at midnight. Or, it could be because you’d had too much to drink’ – and then the memory hit him like a ton of bricks and he wanted to turn and run away – ‘or, because your friend smacked you square in the face with the door as you tried to sneak off the next morning without waking me or saying good-bye!’
Damn! Of course, much too late, he now recalled everything. He’d always been attracted to Hermione, and the eve before his best friend’s wedding, he’d run into her. It was a very low period in his life. Cho Chang had just confided in him how she had use to wish things had turned out differently between them, but then she wouldn’t have started dating Barney Tackle, his friend and dorm mate. As soon as she had started dating Barney, in typical “Cedric fashion” as Barney would have said, he realised that he had had feelings for her, and now she was going to marry the wrong guy!
When he’d run into Hermione at the Bubbling Goblet, it was late and many, many drinks into the night. She’d been out celebrating with her mates, as well, and there was an instant chemistry between them. He remembered them snogging obscenely in the middle of the pub until Barney suggested they go to somewhere more private before they were kicked out. He woke the next morning in her bed, feeling hung over and thoroughly ashamed of what he’d done. He’d never done anything like that before and was mortified that he’d taken advantage of her. He hadn’t meant to slip off soundlessly into the morning, but he was so upset he wanted to ask Barney what to do and as he reached the door, Barney came crashing in, smashing Cedric right in the face. All he could get out was a lame and mumbled “thanks” before Barney jerked him out of the house to get ready for the wedding.
‘I... I don’t really know what to say. I’m truly sorry! I was, well, I wasn’t quite in the right frame of mind at the time... Not that I wouldn’t have slept with you if I was, I would have! I mean, of course, I hadn’t planned to just sleep with you and be done with it... That is to say, I didn’t necessarily want it to be a one-time thing. Damn! Not that all I wanted was someone to have s—‘
‘Cedric, I get it,’ she laughed. ‘I’m not angry... anymore! No, I got over it years ago, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about you and wondered.’ She looked up at him, a suggestive smile tugging her full lips at one corner. A rapid heat washed over him and it was like his memory of that night in the pub. His mouth watered to taste her, his fingers burned to get tangled in her hair and his body begged to be pressed against hers. As if she could read his thoughts - or maybe just his body language as he’d stepped even closer to her – her cheeks flushed lightly again and she bit down on her lush lower lip, effectively driving him mad.
‘If it’s alright, I’d like the chance to make it up to you,’ he said, hoping that she was still single and then, that he’d read her correctly. ‘I’d like to take you to dinner. We could get to know each other properly. I really am sorry about before, I was young and stupid.’
‘Yeah, I’d like that.’ A sliver of the rising sun cut across her bedroom. Hermione stretched, a huge smile spreading across her face. She rolled out of bed, slipped on her house coat and padded out to the kitchen. She languidly got out things to prepare tea, swaying slightly to the memories of the night before.
Her dinner with Cedric had gone very well. She still couldn’t believe that she’d run into him like that. She hadn’t been sure how she felt at first, but was surprised at how quickly she’d forgot all the hurt feelings when he looked at her. One of the reasons she’d always fancied him was because he seemed so reasonable and sincere. He genuinely looked uncomfortable as his finally remembered their one night together. When he turned those amber eyes on her, she felt as if her bones liquefied. The soft rasp of his voice had sent shivers through her and the thought of him breathing words against her skin made her overheat in places she longed for him to touch. She was more than thrilled to see that he seemed to have the same reaction to her.
Dinner had been more than she expected. The chemistry between them seemed to have intensified since she’d seen him earlier and she was amazed at how easy it was to make conversation with him. He was funny and thoughtful and smart... but all she could focus on where his hands. Her body shook with a strong tremor upon imaging those long, slender fingers gliding over her. Merlin! She couldn’t wait to see him again tonight. She sipped her cuppa as she made her way to the shower, her thoughts lingering on how good she knew he’d feel.
Butterflies swooped excitedly when she heard the knock on her door. She stopped in front of the mirror for a last minute check.
‘Leaving little to the imagination tonight, are we?’
She stuck her tongue out at the cheeky mirror and hurried to the door. He stood in her doorway looking even more delicious than yesterday. He held a beautiful bunch of wild violets out to her, wearing a crooked smile. Hermione took them and leaned in to kiss his cheek. She inhaled deeply, drinking in his intoxicating scent. A little moan curled in the back of her throat and her eyes fluttered closed.
‘Ahem. Hermione?’ She thought she heard Cedric gasp. She opened her eyes and found herself wrapped around him, crushing the flowers and nibbling on his ear. She could see his pulse bounding in his neck and his breath caught as she slipped away from him. Grabbing hold of his shirt front, she dragged him into her flat.
‘I think we should order in.’
By the time they had made it half way through her flat, she had his shirt unbuttoned and was quickly working the fastener to his belt. Shoes had been kicked off and she stumbled on her tip-toes backwards pulling him towards her bedroom, all the while not breaking their kiss. One of his large hands pressed her lower back, keeping her stable and up-right as his other caressed her thigh beneath the silk skirt of her dress. Just as they got to the door of her bedroom, she loosened his trousers and slipped a hand inside. He shuddered as her fingers wrapped around the head of his steely cock. It took little for him to snap the string on the side of her knickers, letting the thin material flutter to the floor. Instantly, he lifted her thighs to either side of him as she slid his trousers passed his bum and he crushed her to the wall. She grabbed his arse and pulled him to her, her body thrummed and her wet pussy ached maddeningly for him.
‘Hermione,’ he choked out. ‘This is insane. We shouldn’t—‘
‘Cedric, shut up and fuck me,’ she growled into his open mouth. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his shoulders, fingers tangled in his hair. She cleaved her body to him, working his mouth feverishly with her tongue. He groaned and then pressed himself into her. They were both still for a moment with only the sounds of their ragged breathing filling the empty space. She wiggled her hips against him and it was his turn to growl. He slowly slid his cock out of her wet warmth and slammed back into her back into her, over and over again, each time bringing her closer to the edge of reason.
She almost couldn’t stand what he was doing to her. He was just as big as she remembered him to be, which was to say, bigger than any man she’d been with before. It had only been painful for an instant after he entered her, even with her dripping wet, but after a couple of thrusts it turned into the most exquisite ache and she was afraid she would come within seconds. His rhythm became more erratic and she knew it was a matter of moments before he was spilling his juices into her. She threw herself into kissing him, which made her throb and clench down on his dick. It was if her whole body was one giant nerve ending, even taking a shuddering breath made her crescendo again against him.
She felt his knees weaken as he ground her against the wall. He was murmuring unintelligibly against her cheek and she found that she couldn’t have cared less what he was saying. With a final, grinding thrust, a guttural moan escaped from him and she could feel him spilling his hot seed into her. They stayed in the same position, letting their breathing return to normal before Cedric gently retuned her feet to the floor. She didn’t want to, but she loosened her arms from his neck and tentatively looked up at him. His cheeks were flushed and his forehead was damp, and he avoided her gaze.
‘Cedric?’ she questioned quietly after a moment. Her heart felt as though it dropped into her stomach. She began to mentally whip herself for not expressing more control. She was a grown woman after all; she should have been more responsible. Now, Cedric couldn’t even look at her after she threw herself at him like that, and of course being the considerate man that he was, he would oblige her sparing her feelings.
‘Merlin, Hermione...’ He sighed heavily and she could hear the disappointment in his hoarse voice.
‘I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me!’
He peered down to her, his eyes wide with disbelief. She smiled up at him. They’d said it at the same time. She slid her arms around his waist and pulled him to her.
‘Hermione, I didn’t mean for this to happen again – well, not like this, anyway. I really wanted to do this right, for us to get to know each other... You know, actually date before going to bed together.’
She snuggled in closer, every inch of his firmly muscled torso felt graciously through the delicate silk of her dress. She pulled his shirt off of his shoulders, leavening him standing there naked. He arched a brow at her.
‘Technically’ – she kissed him lightly on the lips – ‘we didn’t actually make it to the bed. Maybe, if we avoid it altogether, this night won’t count.’ This time, her kiss lingered a bit longer and he reciprocated. She felt the tie to her dress loosen and the wrap fell open exposing her. His tongue took a full, leisurely sweep of her mouth, drawing hers into his mouth where he sucked on it. ‘I do have an awfully comfortable sofa...’ A sliver of the rising sun cut across her lounge. Hermione stretched, a huge smile spreading across her face. She rolled off the floor, slipped a throw around her shoulders and padded to the kitchen. She languidly got out things to prepare tea, swaying slightly to the memories of the night before. An owl tapped lightly on her window and she let it in. She exchanged some coins and some bread for the Daily Prophet and sent it on its way. Taking her steaming cup back to her lounge, she snuggled down in front of the fireplace and flipped the paper open.
‘Hmmm.’ Cedric stretched and opened his eyes.
‘Well,’ she said, still reading through the paper, ‘it is morning and you’re still here, so... apology accepted.’ She peeked over the top to find him grinning at her.
‘Well, I could always keep trying to make it up to you.’