Experience A New Life || Klaus Mikaelson [1]

Prologue

The older boy stepped over the spider's tangled legs to join me "Go on," he urged. Merlin help me. He was actually serious? He looked as though this was costing him every ounce of resolution he had, but his face was set, his arms folded.

"Both of us," I finally decided.

"What?" Cedric frowned in confusion.

I smiled – or rather grimaced "There's no way I can walk all the way to the Cup. If you're so determined then we'll take it together. Make Hogwarts proud. Standing united and all that rot."

The Hufflepuff stared at me "You – you sure?"

I nodded "Like I said, I didn't want a part in this in the first place. I don't want to win. Plus, we've helped each other, haven't we?"

For a moment he looked like he couldn't believe his ears, but then his face slip into a grin "You're on. Come here." He grabbed my arm and slung it over his shoulder. I hobbed towards the plinth, leaning almost my entire weight onto the seventeen year old. As soon as we had reached the glimmering Cup, we both held a hand out over one of the handles.

"On three?" I asked "One. Two. Three." My hand touched the handle and I instantly felt a jerk somewhere behind my navel. My feet left the ground as the Cup was pulling me and Cedric to a destination unknown. No one had told us that the Cup was supposed to be a portkey?

Minutes later, my feet slammed into the ground. My injured leg gave away and I fell forward "Where are we?" I whispered, looking around in fright. We landed in a graveyard. For some reason, I felt like I knew my surroundings, but I couldn't place where I had seen it before.

Cedric shook his head, looking as lost as me. He got to his feet and carefully pulled me up. The graves were all overground and to our right was the black outline of a small church which was visible beyond a large yew tree. To our left, a hill rose above. In the darkness, I could make out the outline of a big old house on top of the hillside "Did anyone tell you the Cup was a portkey?"

"No," I shivered "I have a bad feeling, Cedric."

The older boy shifted nervously "Wands out, do you reckon?"

I nodded and pulled out my wand. The feeling of being watched that I had ever since we landed, intensified "Someone's coming." Squinting, I observed a figure drawing nearer, walking steadily toward us. I couldn't make out a face, but from the way they were walking, I could tell they were carrying something. Whoever it was, he was short and wearing a hooded cloak that obscured his face. The outline was strangely familiar. It couldn't be, could it? "Cedric. Go back to the Cup. Run!"

The boy frowned down at me and then, without warning, my scar exploded with pain. It was agony. At this point, I wasn't sure if I had ever felt pain like this. My wand slipped from my numb fingers as I slipped to the ground for the hundredth time today. From far away, above my head, I heard a high cold voice say "Kill the spare."

There was a swishing noise and a second voice that undoubtedly belonged to the traitor of a rat, screeched "Avada Kedavra."

My head snapped up when I heard something heavy fall to the ground beside me. Cedric was lying spread-eagle on the ground beside me, dead. For a second, I stared into the Hufflepuff's face, at his open grey eyes and his surprised expression. No. No! Please, Cedric. You can't be dead. Please... Wormtail had put down his bundle and lit his wand. I barely noticed it when he dragged me towards the marble headstone. I saw the name upon it, flickering in the wandlight before I was forced around and slammed against it.

Tom Riddle

The rat conjured tight cords around me, trying me from neck to ankles to the headstone. I coughed lightly, the rope around my neck choking me. I struggled against them and Wormtail landed several good hits in both my face and my stomach "What are you doing?" I gasped and grunted when his fist made contact with my face again, but this time so hard that my head was thrown back into the stone. As soon as he turned his back on me, I slumped into the ropes.