Girl Who Escaped {Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire} [BEING EDITED]

[19] Veritaserum

[Chapter 19: Veritaserum.]

The skies were pitch black, blanketed by an ominous slu of clouds. There were no visible stars to make the blackness any more pleasant.

     I had spent most of my time gripping Hermione's hand, and thinking about what I was going to say and ask both Cedric and Harry when they came out.

     After a long, excruciating wait, Harry appeared out of thin air; he was gripping both Cedric and the Triwizard Cup; his face was pressed into grass. He did not move. He tightened his hold on the two things he was still clutching: the smooth, cold handle of the Triwizard Cup and Cedric's body.

     Were they alright? Neither of them were moving. I felt a knot form in my throat and immediately stood up to get a better look. I felt helpless as I watched Dumbledore seize Harry roughly and turn him over.

     "Harry! Harry!"

     He opened his eyes.

     Dumbledore was crouched over him. The dark shadows of a crowd of people pressed in around them, pushing nearer. Harry let go of the cup, but he clutched Cedric to him even more tightly. He raised his free hand and seized Dumbledore's wrist.

     Unable to restrain myself any longer, I immediately began descending down from the stands and the crowd to where Harry and Cedric were. I needed to see for myself that everything was okay.

     I felt a hand stretch out and grab my arm. I looked back to see Hermione trying to hold me in place, "No, you can't go down there yet! Just wait!"

     "Hermione, let go of me." I said very darkly. "I'm going down there and no one is going to stop me."

     Her fingers went loose on my forearm and I snatched away, immediately making my way down towards the crowd around Harry, uncaring of anything anyone may have had to say to me.

     As I got closer, I could see Harry through a gap in the circle. He leaned up, with tears in his eyes, and whispered something to Dumbledore.

     "What's going on? What's happened?" The face of Cornelius Fudge appeared; it looked white, appalled. "My God--Diggory!" he whispered. "Dumbledore--he's dead!"

     I fumbled in my footing as the words were repeated, the shadowy figures pressing in on Harry and Dumbledore and gasped it to those around them... and then others shouted it--screeched it--into the night--"He's dead!" "He's dead!" "Cedric Diggory! Dead!"

     "NO!" the word escaped from my mouth in shill scream of pure heart ache. It was then that I ran all the way forward, trying to rip away from the hands that were restraining me from running to his side. Cedric couldn't be dead! We were going to have a future together. I love him so much. I love him. "No, no, no, no, no!"

     I dropped to Cedric's other side, across from Harry, and gripped the front of his robes. Tears streamed down my face.

     "Let go of him," Fudge's said, and he tried to pry Harry from Cedric's limp body, but Harry wouldn't let him go. Then Dumbledore's face, which was still blurred and misted, came closer.

     "Harry, you can't help him now. It's over. Let go."

     "He wanted me to bring him back," Harry said--it seemed important to explain this. "He wanted me to bring him back to his parents and Ash... he needed me to tell them that he loves them and he's sorry."

     At this news I could only break down further. This wasn't real. It couldn't be happening! Cedric couldn't be dead, I refused to believe it. Only hours ago had we shared a kiss. I'd promised that we'd be together the rest of our lives.