24 June 1995
Annabeth stood between Fred and George in the stands as the bond screamed out loud for her to protect Harry. She knew, in the pit of her stomach, that something bad was going to happen that night. Annabeth had tried to get to Dumbledore since morning to warn him when the bond had first come alive, but the twins had kept her occupied all day preparing for their gambling for the Third Task.
Everyone around them cheered and Flitwick conducted a band that was playing a cheery tune. Amos Diggory came running out first, excited, before Cedric came walking out. Amos pointed to his son. Then, came Fleur who was followed by her sister and Madame Maxine. Behind Madame Maxine came Krum with Karkaroff. Dumbledore followed Karkaroff out and Harry came out last. Dumbledore put a reassuring hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry looked around at the crowd. From where Annabeth stood, she could see how nervous he was.
Dumbledore motioned Harry over to stand alone before Dumbledore followed to stand on his podium. Dumbledore used the Amplifying Charm to be heard. "Silence!" The music ended and everyone stopped cheering and sat down. "Earlier today, Professor Moody placed the Triwizard Cup deep within the maze. Only he knows its exact position. Now as Mr. Diggory—" The Hufflepuffs cut him off with a cheer. Amos raised his son's arm, but Cedric pulled it down. "And Mr. Potter." That time Dumbledore stopped for the Gryffindors to cheer, Fred and George among them. Annabeth stood and clapped but didn't cheer because she was worried beyond compare. "Are tied for first position, they will be the first to enter the maze. Followed by Mr. Krum—" The Durmstrang students stood and cheered, cutting the Hogwarts Headmaster off. "And then, Miss Delacour." Annabeth spied Moody coming out of the maze. Suddenly, Annabeth's bad feeling got worse. There wasn't many cheers for Fleur. "The first person to touch the cup will be the winner!" Everyone in the stands cheered but Annabeth it seemed. "I've instructed the staff to patrol the perimeter, so at any point if a contestant wishes to withdraw from the task, he or she need only send up red sparks with their wand. Contestants! Gather around. Quickly!" Dumbledore turned and gathered the Champions in a circle. He had his arms on Fleur and Krum, but Annabeth couldn't hear what he told them. After talking to them, the Hogwarts Headmaster walked past them. "Champions! Prepare yourselves!" As each Champion walked to their respective entrance, the crowd stood and cheered. Harry stood by Mad-Eye. The sight of the man who had always been a comfort to Annabeth now watching over her cousin suddenly didn't sit well with Annabeth. If anything, something was telling her not to let him near Harry. She watched as Amos hugged Cedric. Then, saw as Cedric and Harry nodded to each other in respect. "On the count of three. One—" But Filch shot the canon off on one, and then just shrugged at Dumbledore. Annabeth swore she saw Dumbledore roll his eyes as he looked around, done with the Caretaker.
Mad-Eye gave Harry a reassuring pat on the shoulder before Harry entered the maze. Annabeth stared at her cousin as the maze sealed itself up. Annabeth had one last thought as Harry started the Third and Final Task. I'm sorry if I failed you, Harry.
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Annabeth sat waiting impatiently in the dark with the twins for Harry to return. Cedric hadn't come back either. Fleur and Krum were back already. Krum had been taken to the Hospital Wing after being cursed in the maze while Fleur sat on the field while her friends flocked around her with her sister and Madame Maxine there too. Suddenly, Harry and Cedric landed on the field. But the bond didn't die down even as cheers erupted around Annabeth.
She made to run to Harry, but Fred pulled her back. "Stay here."
"Everything's fine." George assured her.
"No, it's not! Out of my way!" Annabeth actually shoved George to the side and walked past him.
"Annabeth!"
George went to go after his girlfriend, but Fred stopped him. "Wait. This probably has to do with the secrets she can't tell us. Just let her go." George hated that he couldn't go help her or be her comfort, but relented.
Annabeth ran down to where Professors McGonagall and Snape were sitting as everyone continued to cheer around her. The band had even started playing. "What is it? What's happened?" Annabeth asked them.
"What do you mean?" McGonagall wondered as students started to leave the stands to go congratulate Harry and Cedric. Then, someone screamed. McGonagall stood up with Snape and looked down at the two boys. "Oh, my goodness."
Annabeth made to run to Harry as Dumbledore made his way there, but Snape held her back. "Let the Headmaster, Miss Smith."
Dumbledore knelt by Harry after he tried unsuccessfully to pull Harry off of Cedric's dead body. Annabeth followed McGonagall and Snape as they raced over to stand behind the students. Fred and George were in the front and could see everything.
"For God's sake, Dumbledore, what's happened?" Annabeth heard Fudge ask.
"He's back! He's back! Voldemort's back!" Harry cried out. "Cedric, he asked me to bring his body back. I couldn't leave him. Not there."
Dumbledore cupped Harry's face to console him. "It's alright, Harry. It's alright. He's home. You both are."
Fudge came over towards Annabeth, McGonagall, and Snape and yelled out— "Keep everybody in their seats." Then he spoke lower to the Professors. "A boy has just been killed." Annabeth followed Fudge, Snape, and McGonagall over to Dumbledore, but stood back behind them. "He must be moved, Dumbledore. Too many people."
"Let me through!" She heard Amos Diggory shout as he came racing down the steps with Arthur on his heels. "That's my son! That's my boy!" He cried before dropping to his knees in tears at Cedric's head. "My boy!"
Dumbledore was trying to console Amos with Arthur, and Snape and McGonagall were focused on the body with Fudge. Annabeth was so distraught by the bond and everything going on she didn't notice at first when Harry went missing. Suddenly, she realized he wasn't laying over Cedric's body anymore.
"Harry?" She looked around and couldn't find him. "Harry!" Then, she realized Mad-Eye wasn't in the crowd either and that the bond was still alive and loud.
With the bond pounding in her ears, Annabeth pulled a perturbed Snape aside. "What is it, Miss Smith? And is now really the time?"
"Harry's missing and so is Professor Moody."
"So? Perhaps he took the boy to get looked at by Madam Pomfrey."
Annabeth leaned in and whispered to her Potions Professor. "The bond is loud. Something is wrong. Professor Moody has been acting odd all year."
Something clicked in the back of Snape's mind, but what it was Annabeth didn't know. "I'll get Minerva and the Headmaster. Wait here."
Snape walked over to McGonagall, spoke to her a minute, then left. McGonagall came to stand with Annabeth. "You don't have to come, Miss Smith."
"I'm coming. No one, not you, not even Professor Dumbledore, is going to stop me." Annabeth told the older Witch.
McGonagall sighed. She wished Annabeth would live her life more for herself than her cousin. "Very well."
Snape was whispering in Dumbledore's ear where he kneeled next to Amos. "Arthur, take my spot." Dumbledore stood up and Arthur took his place, wrapping his arms around his shattered friend.
Snape nodded his head for McGonagall and Annabeth to come and the four Wizards ran off for the ancient castle.
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As soon as they got to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, the four Wizards ran to Mad-Eye's office. "Expelliarmus!" Dumbledore yelled. Blue light shot out of the Headmaster's wand and shot through the closed door. It was so powerful it sent Mad-Eye flying back into a chair that slammed into the wall. Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall headed straight for Mad-Eye with their wands raised, but Annabeth went to stand in front of Harry instead, also with her wand raised.
"Severus." Dumbledore said. Snape pulled out the small bottle of Veritaserum, Truth Potion, that Dumbledore had made them stop for on their way, and poured it all into Mad-Eye's mouth as Dumbledore held Mad-Eye's mouth open with a hand on his neck. Dumbledore moved his hand to Mad-Eye's collar and after a second started to interrogate him. "Do you know who I am?
"Albus Dumbledore." Mad-Eye got out through gritted teeth.
"Are you Alastor Moody?" When he didn't answer right away, Dumbledore yelled— "Are you?"
"No."
"Is he in this room?" No answer. Dumbledore shook the imposter. "Is he in this room?" The fake Mad-Eye looked over to a chest by the fireplace and Annabeth, Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall all looked to it. "Annabeth, Harry, away from there!" The Professors moved to stand across from the chest while Annabeth and Harry climbed back over it and went to stand behind their teachers. Snape sent a shot of magic to the chest, and it unlocked and lifted its lid on its own. Like a set of Russian dolls, another smaller chest emerged and opened, then another, then another, and on and on until finally it opened to a normal inside. The Professors, Annabeth, and Harry cautiously walked up to it. They look inside to see that at least fifty feet down sat the real Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, alive and relatively well, sitting in his long johns. Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief and waved. Mad-Eye waved back, happy to see anybody, but especially happy to see her. "You alright, Alastor?" Dumbledore asked his friend.
"I'm sorry, Albus." Mad-Eye apologized.
"If that's Mad-Eye, then who is...?" Annabeth asked.
Snape, who had grabbed the imposter's flask, opened it and sniffed. "Polyjuice Potion."
"Now we know who's been stealing from your stores, Severus." Dumbledore turned back to look down at Mad-Eye. "We'll get you up in a minute." Mad-Eye groaned.
Annabeth, Harry, and the Professors turned to the fake Mad-Eye who had started to groan as well. He'd also started to transform back into his real self, and it was a grotesque sight to witness. The imposter pulled Mad-Eye's false eye from its socket and dropped it on the floor where it rolled around on its own. The fake Mad-Eye's head moved from side to side as the transformation finished. The man was looking down at the ground, but Annabeth could make out that he had a tongue tick that made him lick his lips repeatedly.
Harry leaned down to get a better look at him, but the man reached for him. "Harry!" Annabeth grabbed onto Harry and pulled him back as did Dumbledore while Snape and McGonagall went over to shove their wands in the imposter's face.
"Barty Crouch Junior." Dumbledore identified the imposter.
"I'll show you mine if you show me yours." Junior lifted his jacket sleeve to reveal his Dark Mark that all Death Eaters had to take.
"Your arm, Harry." Dumbledore pulled Harry out of Annabeth's grasp.
"No!" Annabeth cried.
Dumbledore showed the wound on Harry's arm to Junior. Junior smiled. "You know what this means, don't you? He's back. Lord Voldemort has returned."
"I'm sorry, Sir, I couldn't help it." Harry apologized.
Dumbledore ignored Harry and started giving McGonagall orders. "Send an owl to Azkaban, I think they'll find they're missing a prisoner."
"I'll be welcomed back like a hero!" Junior proclaimed.
Dumbledore led Harry and Annabeth to the door. "Perhaps, but personally, I've never had much time for heroes." When the door closed, the Headmaster turned to Annabeth. "Take your cousin to the Hospital Wing, Miss Smith. His arm needs to be tended to."
"And Mad-Eye?" Annabeth asked, worried.
"I'll see to him. Don't worry."
With a sigh of relief, Annabeth nodded. "Right. Come along, Harry." She wrapped an arm around him, and they headed off for the hospital as the bond went silent.
------
Black H banners hung from the ceiling as Annabeth sat between Fred and George at Cedric's school memorial. She was saddened by Cedric's death. He hadn't been a friend, more an acquaintance. A rival really, on the Quidditch Pitch. But he was well known around school. Still, to lose any student in such a way was terrible. Annabeth was just relieved it wasn't Harry who had died.
Ginny was sitting on Fred's right with Cat, Kit, Luna, and Lysandra on her right before some Durmstrang students. Fred and George didn't really know how they felt about Lord Voldemort's return yet, not that they thought Harry was lying. But Annabeth knew it was real because Dumbledore wouldn't have lied to her for all those years about Harry and Harry would never have lied about Voldemort's return.
Dumbledore sat in his gilded chair at the front of the room as he thought over what to say to all those present. "Today, we acknowledge a really terrible loss." He stood up. "Cedric Diggory was, as you all know, exceptionally hard-working, infinitely fair minded, and most importantly a fierce, fierce friend. Now, I think therefore you have the right to know exactly how he died." Dumbledore walked up to his podium. "You see, Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort. The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this, but not to do so I think would be an insult to his memory. Now, the pain we all feel at this dreadful loss reminds me and reminds us that while we may come from different places and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one. In light of recent events, the bonds of friendship we made this year will be more important than ever. Remember that, and Cedric Diggory will not have died in vain. You remember that! And we'll celebrate a boy who was kind and honest and brave and true right to the very end."
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Dumbledore had wanted to speak to Harry alone, and so he sought Harry out in his dorm. The Headmaster opened the door to find Harry in the middle of packing, sitting on his bed. When Harry heard the door and noticed Dumbledore, he stood up.
Dumbledore walked over to Ron's bed and spied the bed curtains lying folded on top of the four-poster single bed. He reached up and touched them. "I never liked these curtains. Set them on fire in my fourth year." He snickered. "By accident, of course." Dumbledore made sure to mention. He walked over to sit on the foot of Harry's bed. "I put you in terrible danger this year, Harry. I'm sorry."
Harry looked around before deciding to ask Dumbledore about something that happened the night Voldemort returned. "Professor, when I was in the graveyard, there was a moment, um, when Voldemort's wand and my wand sort of connected."
"Priori Incantatem." Dumbledore realized something. He got up and went around the bed to stand in front of Harry. "You saw your parents that night, didn't you? They reappeared." Harry smiled and nodded. "No spell can reawaken the dead, Harry, I trust you know that." Harry looked down, saddened. "Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy. But remember this." Dumbledore put his hands on Harry's shoulder. "You have friends here. And Miss Smith. You're not alone." Harry took what he said to heart. Dumbledore nodded to Harry, patted the side of his head, and turned to leave.
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Annabeth was with Lee, Alicia, Fred, and George in the Front Courtyard as the Hogwarts students readied to say their goodbyes to the Beauxbatons students and Durmstrang students. The group of five were just standing there, chatting with those around them, and saying their goodbyes. Annabeth spied the moment when Victor Krum went over to Hermione and gave her a piece of parchment before whispering something to her in front of Angelina and some other Gryffindor girls. Annabeth smiled. She was happy for Hermione and wanted nothing but happiness for her. Annabeth looked across the way and caught sight of Harry in the covered area as he watched everyone with a smile on his face. Thank God he survived this year and that he seems happy.
To announce it was time to depart, the Durmstrang ship shot off a canon. Then, Annabeth, Fred, and George went to the covered area to stand with the rest of the students to see off the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students. The Beauxbatons ladies were to leave first. The boys of Hogwarts were cheering particularly loud as Fleur led the girls out while holding her sister's hand. Behind them came the Durmstrang students, led by Krum and his friend. Krum was shaking a bunch of people's hands.
After a few minutes, long enough for them to get to their ship and carriage, Annabeth, Fred, and George turned to look out the windows to see the carriage fly by led by the Winged Horses. They saw it as it flew past the Durmstrang ship just before the ship descended int the water. And thus ended another year at Hogwarts.