The next month or two trudged by, with one thing or another always popping up to make Ron's life a little more miserable than it really had to be. First, there was that Skeeter cow causing problems again, this time for Hagrid. Second, there was Hermione, who kept badgering Harry about the clue, and neither Harry nor Ron was willing to tell her about Cedric's hint and why neither of them wanted Harry to try it. Third, and related to the previous problem, there was the fact that Ron and Harry still hadn't told Hermione about their relationship, and that they both felt weird keeping her in the dark, but that they felt even weirder about telling her. Finally, Cedric seemed to pop up wherever Ron or Harry went, often with Cho (which made Harry scowl, despite his protestations that he didn't care about her so much anymore), but always with an expression that made Ron's skin crawl in a disturbingly delicious manner.

Harry seemed pretty miserable, himself, and it was getting worse the closer they got to the Second Task. Ron knew he hadn't worked out the clue (despite having told Hermione that he had), and that he was getting closer and closer to caving in and trying the prefects' bathroom.

Ron still slept in Harry's bed almost every night, but more and more was going unspoken between them. They didn't have to say anything; Ron knew that Harry was worried about the egg, and Harry knew that Ron was afraid of what would happen if Harry went to the prefects' bathroom alone, on Cedric's advice. As a result, Ron was sleeping more and more fitfully, and returning to his own bed earlier and earlier.

Finally, late one Wednesday night in February, Harry woke as Ron was slipping out from under the blankets and caught his wrist.

"I'm going to try the bath tonight," he said in a whisper. "And I need your help."

"What, now?"

"No, not tonight tonight. It's after midnight already. I mean the next tonight."

Ron scowled, but decided to pretend that made sense. He eased himself back into Harry's arms, brushing the untidy black hair off Harry's worry-wrinkled forehead. He took a deep breath before he spoke.

"What do you need?" he asked.

Which was how he ended up waiting outside the portrait hole about twenty hours later, listening for Harry's soft knock. He didn't have to wait long; a soft thump from the inside was Ron's cue to say, "Banana fritters." The Fat Lady's portrait swung forward, and something slippery ghosted across Ron's lips.

"Good luck," he muttered, resisting the urge to grab for Harry and hold him close. He could feel the heat of Harry's body as they passed each other, one going in while the other headed out.

Ron looked around the common room. Hermione had spotted him and was busy clearing a space for him at her table. Dean and Seamus looked up from their game of Exploding Snap and called a greeting. Neville glanced up from the corner, where he was curled up with a sheaf of parchment and a quill, shot a glare toward where Ginny was chatting with Natalie McDonald, and went back to writing. Ron suspected he was working on another of the hideous poems Ron had had the misfortune to find on the floor of the dormitory a week or so earlier.

This reminded him that he had never asked Ginny what had happened at the Yule Ball, but he was too distracted to think about it at the moment, so he walked over to Hermione, instead.

By the time he reached her table, though, he was overcome with apocalyptic fantasies of Cedric waiting for Harry in the bath, and seducing him, and ... "I've forgotten something in the library!" he blurted to Hermione's welcoming smile, and turned to run for the portrait hole before she could protest.

It didn't take Ron long to reach the fifth floor corridor, and a good thing, too, because Cedric was only a few paces from the door when Ron caught up with him.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" he asked as he grabbed Cedric's shoulder and span him around roughly.

Cedric raised an eyebrow at him, his unruffled demeanor mocking everything about Ron's reasons for being there.

"I fancied a bath," he said offhandedly. "What about you?" He took a step forward, and Ron unwillingly fell back in response.

"I knew it," growled Ron. "I knew you were making a move on Harry! Not enough for you to drop me, is it? Now you have to try and take Harry away from me, too!"

Cedric smiled and shook his head. "I had a feeling there was something going on with you two. Even if Hannah and Susan swore there wasn't." He took another step and leaned forward until his nose was almost touching Ron's. The glint in his eye wasn't entirely friendly. "I heard you asked Fleur to the Ball, too. Having a go at Viktor, next? Make your collection of Champions complete?"

Ron scowled, the rage boiling up in his gut. He tried to stand his ground, but Cedric's proximity was too much. "It was never about that!" he hissed. "Harry has always been important to me, and I had -" He broke off, afraid to continue.

"You had ... what, Ron?" Cedric purred, leaning closer again as he said Ron's name. Ron's fingertips touched the rough, stone wall behind him. There was nowhere to go. Cedric's normally sunny attitude had taken on a flavour that was something akin to predatory, and Ron was very nervous, indeed. "Did you have a crush on me? Really? For how long?" His lips were almost brushing Ron's cheekbone as he spoke.

"Until you dropped me for better public relations," responded Ron flatly, staring ahead so as to avoid falling into Cedric's eyes.

Cedric chuckled and pounced suddenly, pinning Ron to the wall. "You know that's not what I meant," he said, raking his right hand along Ron's ribcage, "but alright, you don't have to tell me. I'll take the compliment as it stands."

He pulled his head back far enough to lock his gaze with Ron's, offering his most winning smile. "You've stayed very fit," he said, sliding his hand down to grab Ron's bum firmly. Ron yelped and jumped, but only succeeded in bucking his hips against Cedric's. Cedric gave a satisfied grunt and bucked back, making Ron choke back a whimper.

"Sod off, Cedric," hissed Ron, trying to hide the panting of his breath. "Think you can pop up again, out of nowhere, insult me and then attack me ..."

"But I was only teasing," came the surprisingly genuine-sounding reply. "You must know I've missed you. And I can tell you've missed me." He ground his hips, rubbing his hardened groin against the traitorous bulge forming in Ron's trousers.

Ron opened his mouth to protest, but Cedric immediately filled it with his tongue. For a panicked eternity, Ron could find neither breath nor strength to resist. The loudest voice in his mind was coming from points south, and hollered for him to close his eyes, grab Cedric's arse in both hands and rub against him until the stars exploded.

"NO!"

Cedric stumbled and almost fell at the suddenness of Ron's shove.

"I'm with Harry, now! You didn't want to be with me, because of a little bad press - no, wait, because of a little no press. You can't have me back only because you're sick of pretending with Cho Chang!"

Cedric narrowed his eyes. "You don't get it, do you? Cho means the world to me. I don't know what I'd do without her. But what we have - it's not the physical stuff. She has girl bits, you know? Rubbing up against her ... I tried it, but it didn't feel right." He took a step forward again, reaching out for Ron's frozen arms. "With you ... that felt right."

The moment his fingertips touched Ron's arm, Ron came to his senses and batted them away. "You think it's that easy, don't you?" he snarled, hunching his shoulders.

Cedric smiled freely and brushed the fringe off Ron's forehead. Ron pulled his head back sharply, knocking it into the wall behind him. He winced, and opened his eyes to see Cedric still looking shrewdly at him.

"It could be," he said simply.

Ron boggled at him. "And you expect that I would drop Harry, like that, only because you want a bit of fun again?"

Cedric twisted his mouth into a devious smile, turned and started away. A few paces later, he looked back over his shoulder.

"I never said I wanted you to drop Harry," he said. "I'd love to see what he has, too - since you like him so much, and everything."

Ron was still boggling when Cedric disappeared around the corner and out of sight.