Cedric looked from the Triwizard cup to Harry and smiled. “You’re on. Come here.”
Cedric walked over to where Harry was standing, clutching the hedge for support. Together, they slowly made their way towards the cup; its silver surface eerily illuminated through the darkness.
With each passing step, Cedric’s grin widened. It was over. He and Harry were walking towards the Triwizard cup. A Hogwarts victory, as it should be. He let out the breath he had been holding ever since his name had been pulled out of the Goblet. Ever since Harry had told him about the dragons.
All of that seemed stupid, now. A faded memory, long forgotten. It was over. The scene waiting for him when he emerged from the maze passed in front of him as a memory; not a hope, not a prediction.
There would be cheers from the crowd, and Ludo Bagman would announce the winners over the noise. His mum and dad would rush over to him to congratulate him, along with his friends and Cho.
In a way, the predictability of it all seemed ironic. He had had this vision ever since he had been made a Champion, but the fact that he was only seconds away form it made it real somehow. It may have well have already happened.
“On three, then,” Harry said, jarring Cedric from his thoughts. Again his eyes focused on the cup. An anxiety he had never known coursed through his body. He was three seconds away from eternal glory. Three seconds away from fame beyond his wildest dreams. In second, all of his meaningless visions would become realities.
“One-two-three!”
Cedric felt the familiar jerk from behind his naval. The maze was lost in a swirl of colors. He couldn’t make out Harry through the dizzying blackness. He could only see the faint silver glow of the cup, shining on through his confusion.
In seconds, Cedric landed sprawled out on his back on the hard ground. He glanced over to see Harry in a similar position.
“Where are we?” Harry asked.
Cedric looked around and shook his head thickly. They appeared to be in some sort of graveyard. Was this part of the task? And if it was, was he the only one who didn’t know about it?
Realizing that he was still on the ground, Cedric stood up and helped Harry to his feet. Then he looked back from the Triwizard cup to Harry.
“Did anyone tell you the cup was a Portkey?”
“Nope,” Harry replied, shaking his head. “Is this supposed to be part of the task?”
“I dunno,” Cedric mused, though inside, he knew the answer. No, this was not part of the task. “Wands out, d’you reckon?” His voice shook slightly. Something about this made him uneasy. An indescribable panic coursed through his body. Where were they? How were they going to get back?
“Someone’s coming,” Harry said suddenly in a tone that perfectly matched Cedric’s thoughts.
Cedric turned around. A cloaked figure was approaching them, holding a bundle in it’s arms. Cedric shot Harry a look, then went back to watching the figure. His throat went dry, and his heart began pounding in worry. The cup being a Portkey, them turning up at a graveyard, a mysterious figure drawing nearer… These were not coincidences. Cedric looked around hopelessly. He didn’t know what to do. This is not good, continuously and stupidly ran through his head.
Suddenly, he heard a cry of pain from somewhere next to him. Harry had fallen to his knees and was clutching his scar in agony.
Cedric looked around wildly. The figure was advancing on them. The cup was much too far to reach. This isn’t good. Damn, this isn’t good…
Suddenly, a high, cold voice rang out, shattering the deafening silence. “Kill the spare.”
And Cedric understood. Though he would have preferred ignorance, though he longed to be oblivious, he understood. They wanted Harry. He, Cedric, was the spare. He was going to die.
He looked hopelessly at Harry, writing on the ground. Help me, he thought weakly. Please, help me. But there was nothing Harry could do. Nothing anyone could do. So this is the end.
A hollow defeated feeling filled him. He was defenseless against Lord Voldemort. He turned his head and saw the cup, gleaming innocently in the moonlight.
“Avada Kedavra!”
The wand gave a powerful, swishing motion, slicing through the silent, expectant air.
Cedric had no time to think. To feel. There was a jet of green light, piercing the air, illuminating the night.
So this is the end
A hand was forming from the wand. Following came a torso, a body. Cedric looked around, not sure of what was happening. Where was he? What was he doing?
Then he looked down at his hands. Not the hands he knew. Ghosts of hands; ghost of a body. And he remembered. He understood. He was a mere echo of who he had been; a mere shadow of who he was. The mere spirit of Cedric Diggory.
The cold night air brushed across his face. Once again, he could think. One last time, he could feel.
He stared at Harry, then at Voldemort. The person who had ended his life. The person who had murdered him, along with so many others.
And never had Cedric had such a clear view of right and wrong; of good and evil, as he did then. He stared back at Harry, his wand linked with Voldemort’s. He knew that Harry was weak. He knew that he had to be afraid. Yet he held on. Because he had to. Because, despite the temptation of letting go, he knew what was right. And he held on for that.
“Hold on, Harry,” Cedric spoke. A soft, pleading whisper, though compelling all the same.
Hold on, Cedric willed him. Don’t let go, Harry.
And as Harry held his wand, more figures appeared. An old man, followed by a younger woman. They both spoke to him, giving him courage.
At last, two more figures appeared. Cedric needn’t have seen them before to tell who they were. Harry’s parents. And as they spoke to him, Harry’s determination increased. The need to keep fighting strengthened.
“When the connection is broken, we will linger for only moments… but we will give you time… you must get to the Portkey, it will return you to Hogwarts… do you understand, Harry?” Lily whispered to him.
And Cedric looked at the cup once more. It’s innocent gleam strengthening in the light of the wands. Again, he saw the vision he had seen before touching the cup. Of he and Harry, emerging from the maze. Of him being a hero. Suddenly, none of that mattered. All of his focus now was on Harry. He understood that he, Cedric, was gone. And there was nothing that could be done. But the fate of the Wizarding World depended on keeping Harry alive. On him safely reaching the cup.
“Yes,” Harry gasped, his hands slipping, his wand shaking more violently.
And then Cedric remembered something. He could hear his voice shake as he asked solemnly; “Take my body back, will you?” He was choking on his words, though he forced himself to continue. “Take my body back to my parents…”
And as Harry spoke the words “I will”, Cedric was filled with an unexplainable sorrow.
For the first time, Cedric pictured his parents, his friends, his whole family, that he would never see again. His life that he had left behind. His dreams, his hopes, his goals, no longer important. He saw all lost opportunities, and the injustice of it all weighed him down with a feeling of mixed sickness and grief. And that made the need for Harry to triumph double in his heart.
“Do it now,” James whispered to Harry. “Be ready to run… do it now…”
“NOW!” Harry shouted.
Run, Harry. Keep going. Just keep running.
Cedric turned back to Voldemort, a cold, bitter anger coursing through his body. Staring at the man who had ended his life, he took a step forward with the others; blocking Voldemort, obscuring Harry from view.
Voldemort was shouting orders for the Death Eaters, though he was defenseless.
And Cedric turned around, watching Harry run towards his body. Watched him scream “Accio!” at the cup. Watched him disappear from view.
Cedric could feel himself fading. He just took the last breath he would ever know, and stared up at the sky, the moonlight spilling onto his face. After all, it was over, and he and Harry were going back. After all, it was all over. And as he stared up at the sky, he slowly let himself fade from this half life. He let himself fade from the only life he had ever known, into the mysterious darkness of the night.
The End by lily_evans34
Chapter Notes: Thank you very much, Jo, for letting me borrow select sentences/scenes from GoF. (Just so you know, Cedric's not mine. Or Harry, or Voldy, or, well, anyone, for that matter...)