Shifted: Book One

Chapter Thirty Two - A Warning To All

The marching band resumed their euphoric music, their upbeat and jolly instruments echoed as the crowd cheered and chanted their names. Hazel noticed Cedric's father was the first to jump out his seat with happiness, as he hugged a rather jolly looking, ginger haired man, who, besides the hair colour, resembled Ron, and so she assumed he was his father, Arthur Weasley, next to him with contentment. Hazel leaned her head against Cedric's chest, his heart completely stopped. And Harry wrapped his arms around her as they both sobbed horrifically. Fleur was the first to realise what had happened, as she stood out of her seat and shrieked with all the oxygen she held in her lungs.

"Hazel, Harry!", Dumbledore shouted as he rushed over to them, who were huddled over Cedric's corpse.

Within moments, the music paused, the audience were speechless and whispered to each other quietly, some even ran down to the bottom of the stands to see what had happened. Dumbledore, followed by other professors, kneeled down to them. He tried pushing Hazel off his body, but she was tied to him.

"No, no!", Hazel repeated whilst Dumbledore took her arms off the boy's body.

She collapsed into Harry's arms and he hid her from the world. Harry held her tightly, not letting go, and dug his head into her shoulder, both letting their tears trickle down their red, hot cheeks and onto each other's blood stained clothes. They clasped their hand together, interlocking their bruised fingers with one another and firmly gripping to each other.

"He's back, he's back, Voldemort's back!", Harry repeated, lifting his head from Hazel's shoulder and looking into Dumbledore's eyes, terrified.

The single name sent everyone into whispering and uncertainty. A name that was very rarely heard, very rarely spoken, created a void within their world, a void so evil and toxic, that the use of his name could destruct their home within seconds.

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault", Hazel admitted, running her fingers through her hair chaotically and nervously.

"I couldn't leave him, not there", she pleaded, looking back down at Cedric and stroking his colourless hand.

"It's alright, he's home now, you all are", he said, gently taking a hold of Hazel's trembling face; tears running down and onto Dumbledore's comforting hands.

"Keep everyone in their seats", Fudge announced with obedience.

"A boy has just been killed", he said quietly as he turned to McGonagall and Snape. Their eyes widened, McGonagall covered her trembling mouth with her fragile hand and Snape, not showing off much expression, looked to Cedric's corpse, his eyes dimming.

Fudge then approached Dumbledore who was still kneeled over Cedric, checking his non-existent pulse.

"The body must be moved, Dumbledore, too many people", Fudge insisted, as his father climbed through the crowd and rapidly dashed to his son's body that had been slammed against the cold, muddy ground.

A small herd of concerned students gathered round and behind the teachers and looked down on the dead body that lay before them. Cho clasped her hands and cupped her face, sobbing whilst being comforted by Seamus who stood next to her, at a loss of words.

"Let me through!", he shouted, pushing everyone out the way.

"That's my son!", he wheeped. His face shrivelled up and grew red with trauma as Arthur tried to hold him back with a disappointed and awfully sad frown plastered on his lips.

He slowly approached Cedric closer and collapsed to his knees.

"That's my boy!", he sobbed, crying into his dead son's chest.

He screamed like a baby in a tumble dryer, garbled, muffled, intermittent, but none the less distressing and intense.

Moody swiftly grabbed Harry who was still attached to Hazel, his intense grip ripped their hands apart like ripping a plaster off skin. Hazel's tears fogged up her vision, unable to see exactly where Harry went. She continued to sit there and look at Cedric with his father's heart shattering into a million little pieces kneeling above his precious face. She thought of all the things she could've done that would result in him still being alive. The night had never looked so broken before, the sky didn't cry, but it shared its condolences with dark clouds that consumed the earth's ceiling, hiding any light that dared to escape.

Dumbledore lifted her up slowly as her hand brushed Cedric's, never feeling his touch again. Followed by McGonagall and Snape, Dumbledore took Hazel away to his office whilst Fudge escorted everyone back to the castle. Her tears didn't stop, they rolled and rolled and rolled down her cheeks, the sobs punched through, ripping through her muscles, bones, and guts. She would have rather been struck by Voldemort's wand a second time than feel the loss of a boy who quickly acted as a friend to her, despite only knowing each other no more than six months.