Golden Girl II: By Your Side (Reader x Cedric x Draco)

♡ 01 | A Better Tomorrow

You find yourself ensnared, motionless and voiceless in the grip of unseen bonds. Even with your eyes shut tight, the malevolent presence draws nearer, shrouded in darkness, advancing with grim intent. A discordant symphony assails your senses, not screams but the relentless pounding aftermath of hours immersed in blaring music. The weight upon your mind grows unbearable, devouring your very essence.

With a mighty effort, you pry your eyes open. The room, once a haven, now lies draped in shadows, tainted by the looming specter's malevolence. Before you, vast windows cast a foreboding gloom, while behind, mirrors stretch endlessly, distorting reality's reflection.

A voice, hauntingly familiar, wafts through the darkness like a whispered lullaby. Memories intertwine with moonlit glades, hues of dawn painting a tranquil tableau. A child, clad in sleepwear, nestled securely amidst a sea of plush companions, cradled by her mother's soothing melody. Beside her, a father's gentle strumming weaves harmony into the maternal song.

"Avada Kedavra!"

In an instant, the scene shatters. The child, now bereft, sits amidst the wreckage of a once-whole family. Tears flow unchecked as lifeless forms lie nearby, stark against the serenity that once reigned. A tableau of perfection rent asunder, leaving naught but anguish and desolation.

Above them all stands a figure. Tall, lean, and pale, with platinum locks and chilling silver eyes.

Draco Malfoy.

The first boy you ever loved.

The boy who was forced by Lord Voldemort to murder your parents in cold blood.

He looks at you, dead in the eye, eyes bloodshot and face wet and red. Hair resheveled. Bags under his eyes. Standing at the threshold between entering Hogwarts and waving it. Just how you saw him last.

"Leave!" Draco screams, tears streaming down his face.

You try to scream and run out of the blackening room as your first love morphed into the black figure and it started to cackle. As soon as the darkness hit you, the dream shifted and you are roaming around in a maze, the maze form the third task of the Triwizard Tournament, dark and uncertain. Fog thick and suffocating.

You try to run as you scream for your parents, for Fleur Delacour your best friend from Beauxbatons who had been a guardian angel and like a sister to you for years, your three best friends from Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, for your parents, and...For Cedric Diggory, your boyfriend. His voice, heavily accented and musical, calls out to you; telling you to hang on, that he's coming to help you. You can hear him getting closer. He's on the other side of the bridge, into the courtyard. Where you first kissed and the mornings you laughed and fell in love. But then, when you're just about to see the boy you love, be in his warm embrace, you realize...You're not awake. This is a dream. And you know, beyond logic and reason, that what's calling out to you, what's on the other side of that bridge in the courtyard isn't your boyfriend. It's that dark figure, pretending to be him. You turn on your heel and bolt in the other direction at full speed as the darkness chases after you, cackling. That screeching sound amplifies and nearly deafens you.

You look over your shoulder and take a peek into the courtyard.

Without breaking eye contact, Cedric turns to you, disheveled and gaunt...like he's dead. Standing in a graveyard. Lord Voldemort killed him...The Liquid Luck didn't work. You failed. You watch, as if in slow motion, as he brings his finger to his lips.

You scream, hunching to your knees, ducking your head between your arms as the darkness consumes you and you're drowning in darkness again. And you're running, chased by a phantom devil. Portraits from the Hogwarts halls whisper and hiss at you to give up on the quest, that you would have to face them. The feeling of being completely sentient in a nightmare, not being able to wake up, the screeching sounds continuously resonating throughout your body, the images and noises you hear are beyond scary. They're petrifying.