Fictober - Cedrif Edition

It's not too late, let's go.

Cedric (alive and well) became an Auror because he admires his great-great something something grandfather, Eldritch Diggory, while Herleif became a Magizoologist for his mother's side family tradition. Inspired by Tina and Newt because they're cute :)

And thank you to my beta reader sienwah! I can not thank you enough for helping me with this :)

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Cedric receives a mission and he is assigned a partner, a Magizoologist, to capture poachers trying to illegally transfer a creature, perhaps a date afterwards? And Voldemort who?

~~~~

Cedric was probably on his seventh or eighth cup of coffee by now, he woke up really early around 5 in the morning so he can do some of his paperwork before a meeting by 12 pm. He had barely gotten any sleep after his travels to Mainland China because the Ministry recommended him to unify their relationship with them.

He wished he was born a potato instead. Oh how he regrets it.

He sighed as he looked at the time again and it read 11:54 am. He groans as he stretches before he stands, breathing deeply before grabbing his coat with his wand in his holster and he quickly walks to the meeting with his superior.

"Mr. Diggory. Please, take a seat."

His supervisor, Khalid Euterpe Selby, beckons him to sit and wait for his assigned partner. From what he had read from the letter yesterday, a Magizoologist will be joining him on his hunt for a dark wizarding group.

A few minutes pass and a crack emits outside the door and comes an old batchmate of his, Herleif Clio Selby. "Thank you for agreeing to this brother, I know that you've been busy but please, come meet your Auror partner." God, he is still drop-dead gorgeous, he thinks as he feels his heart skip a beat for a few seconds like the first time in three years.

His hand waved down to the empty seat right next to Cedric. Herleif places his case on his lap as he sits down. "Now that the two of you are here. The both of you are tasked to stop these," He slides a folder and newspaper. "Individuals and bring them in for questioning."

An awkward tension settles between them after exiting the office with the assignment in hand.

"So um.. How are you, by the way?" Cedric wasn't really listening to the meeting as a whole as he kept on staring at Herleif who he noticed has matured handsomely when he was this up close.

"I've been.. fine I guess." "I guess?" He parrots.

"What do you mean by that?"

"My aunt has been pestering me to marry while we travelled."

"Oh."

He coughs. "Anyone in mind?" He shook his head. "I plan to marry but not right now." Makes sense.

"Uhm.." Cedric tries to find another topic. "Your home, still in St. Catchpole?"

He nods. "Mum insisted that I do so, and bought a house in the village when a muggle owner left it."

"That's good." He smiles.

They arrived at his cubicle and conjured another chair for Herleif. The latter grabs the newspaper first, the wizard group is painfully obvious to Herleif. "Did somebody catch your eye?" "When was this group last sighted?"

The Daily Prophet paper wasn't really helpful so Cedric opens the folder on the desk. "Rufus Hedge, Abigail Hedge and Erin Inkwell..." He flips through the papers and pictures while whispering their names, he murmurs through the pages and then.

"Aha! Last sighted in... the forest near St. Catchpole. We can probably use your house as our base of operations for the time being." He suggested. Both brainstormed on how they were going to bring these poachers in for interrogation.

Cedric didn't feel tired at all, even if he did all the talking, he still enjoyed it nonetheless. After all, he was talking to the boy he fancied in his time in Hogwarts, even if it's only small talk and business reasons, he is willing to shoot his shot after all these years.

"Herleif... I've been meaning to ask you something for a while now." He rubs the back of his neck, leaning forwards when he sets down the closed folder.

Herleif raises a brow but his eyes are still glued on the duplicated papers with a hum sound emitting from his closed mouth. "Is it too late to ask you out?" That makes Herleif turn his head towards him, startled.

"What?"

"Well I.. I fancied you back it then in Hogwarts and I still do now-" His lightly tanned skin slightly deepens in colour and gulps. "And I was wondering after this mission, we could go out for a dinner date..?" And it was out and he felt an invisible weight go away.

Herleif's mind buffered while processing the words that Cedric's mouth just uttered out. He breathes as the words 'fancied' and 'dinner date' come into his head, blinking as a sign that he understood what the other bloke just said, his gaping lips closing as he breathes again but slowly this time.

Setting down the papers on his lap as he fully turned his body, Cedric looked concerned.

"I.. um.." He stuttered.

"I don't know what to say." He laughs.

Cedric was not believing his ears and eyes right now, feeling Herleif's arms around his neck and laughter against his collarbone. He softly blew a breath of relief.

"So, is it too late to ask?"

"It's not too late, let's go. Before my brother kills you for asking me out."