CEDRIC
XXX
Enthusiasm was what kept all of them with enough energy to discuss and go over the players' moves all the way back to the campsite. Even though Ireland won, everyone agreed that Krum had been the best and found it bittersweet that he was the one to catch the snitch, even when it didn't change their loss.
It wasn't something that happened often.
"That was clever of Krum," Harry said. “They would not be able to reach Ireland for three more days. At least they finished with some glory…”
George and Fred were jumping for joy because they had won a bet. By the time they reached the entrance of the campsite, the mood was still elevated but the tiredness made their eyes sleepy and some yawns appeared. Mr. Lovegood headed toward their tent, arm in arm with Luna, and Cedric followed even though he would have liked to stay longer.
How he was still standing was a mystery.
He said good-bye to everyone —and to Harry, in a slightly clumsy way because so many emotions were mixed between his exhaustion and he couldn't manage them. Harry was the only one he half hugged quickly and Cedric wanted to return the brooch he had lent him, but Harry didn't accept it.
“It's yours, for good luck. And I had two anyway,” he said when Cedric tried to coax him a second time.
Shamrock in hand, Cedric left with a smile he could barely feel.
XXXI
Cedric woke up in the middle of the night.
No, someone woke him up. His father was shaking his shoulder insistently.
He was so tired...
“Cedric, get up. We have to go.”
"Go?" he hesitated, sitting up on the bed. "Go where?"
"Something happened... and I must evacuate you for your own safety."
A few hours of sleep didn’t allow Cedric to take that as seriously and urgently as it was required. His father urged him to pack some of his belongings and assured that he would bring the rest another time before directing Ceric towards the living room.
Mr. Lovegood and a narrow-eyed Luna were there, ready.
He was suddenly very worried.
“What happened?”
It took a moment for his father to respond.
“Some hooded wizards are… attacking a muggle family.”
And then he grabbed Cedric by the arm and they apparated to his house.
XXXII
Amos disappeared after leaving Mr. Lovegood and Luna in the kitchen. Since Cedric still had doubts about what had happened, he asked again out loud. The answer, however, was even more alarming.
Death Eaters.
An unpleasant feeling invaded his stomach.
Like the sudden and lonely host that he was, Cedric offered his guests a space to sleep.
Then he settled into his bed, unable to sleep.
"It sounds horrible," Luna murmured into the mattress on the floor of his room. Cedric couldn't say anything either as she glanced at him. “You must be so worried. Your friends are there. They… They’ll be fine.”
If these were followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named…
The words couldn’t form in his head, leaving only that feeling.
He fell asleep between nightmares.
XXXIII
The next morning, the first thing he did was go to the kitchen to look for the note on the fridge that his father might have left, as he used to do on certain occasions. If Amos had returned home even for a moment, now was the right time to scribble a message.
Situation, controlled. No injuries. Gonna be late, lots of paperwork. Take care of yourself.
And what must say in barely legible handwriting: loves you, Dad.
Mr. Lovegood was already awake, reading the newspaper on the table, which was marked in huge letters:
DISASTER IN THE WORLD CUP, DARK MARK IN THE SKY
It seemed like there would be a lot more to it than paperwork…
"You got up early," he commented, frowning gently. “I haven't been able to rest either. Lunita continues snoring. This attack last night… I doubt it's the end of the whole thing.”
Cedric didn't need to ask to suspect what it meant.
The second thing he did was write a letter to Harry and instruct Puff to make sure she delivered it in person. To say that he was uneasy was an understatement. Harry Potter, Death Eaters and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was not a good combination: what if something had happened to Harry?
He needed to know that he was okay.
Last but not least, he wrote to the rest of his friends. To Cho and Hunter about his safety. Malcolm, Tam, and Willow because they'd probably be worried too. His father's owl rested in the office, and he lifted his head to let Cedric tie the letters on one of his paws.
HARRY
XXVI
Mrs. Weasley was greatly relieved to see them back, safe and sound.
She hugged every one of them, shouting about how she had been fearing the worst for the last couple of hours after the World Cup reporters' express statement —there were even photos, Harry noticed as he sat at the kitchen table and read the newspaper. It was one of those times when the real situation was a thousand times more horrible. No glossing over the atrocity, though they left out many important issues, such as the obvious fact that they were Death Eaters, and instead focused on criticizing the Ministry's handling of the entire sporting event.
Mr. Weasley left his belongings and walked out the door with his coat on hand.
Not before having a short argument with his wife, who claimed that he might as well enjoy the rest of his vacation and let the others deal with it for once.
"I have to go to the office. This is a disaster,” was his closing argument and he spoke to everyone at the table. “See you, guys. Don't make your mother angry.”
A rattling sound caught Harry's attention.
In the window was Puff, who turned her head with her small amber eyes fixed on him. He took the letter in a second.
"She arrived a few hours ago," Mrs. Weasley told Harry, her tone puzzled. “I tried to receive it, but she wouldn't let me. Curious, because she has allowed me to invite her in and caress her. Kind creature. Errol can be a curmudgeon at times, especially when he's kept waiting.”
Harry explained that a friend had written to him and she smiled sweetly.
He said goodbye to the owl and went up to the room to read it.
XXVII
He meant to reply immediately, but Ron and Hermione walked in before he could even find his quill. They talked about everything that had happened and what it could mean. Then Harry told them about his dream, the one where a man died and the same one where he swore it was related to Voldemort. Even if he couldn't justify it, his friends must have believed it too because they looked more scared than they did in the middle of the forest the night before when they were refuging.
Or maybe it was just the daylight that made everything more real and inescapable.
Hermione insisted on reviewing several books in search of information that could make sense of that dream. Ron remembered that the other times Harry's scar had hurt had been because Voldemort was literally there. They reasoned that that was not possible this time.
Voldemort in Privet Drive?
Ridiculous —how easy it would have been for him to hurt Harry.
They came to the conclusion that the best thing to do would be to write to Sirius about it.
Maybe he would know what to do… Harry opened his now big notebook and together they began to find the words.
CEDRIC
XXXIV
When Puff returned, he thought that she would bring a reply letter.
Sometimes Harry did that.
Not this time.
At least he had received it. That meant he went back to the Weasley’s house.
A letter arrived that night.
hey, we're fine. it was horrible, we saw it all
Ron's dad had to go back to work
how are you? and Luna?
Hermione has asked me to send you regards
sorry I couldn't write before (or more)
if you want, well, you could drop by one of these days? for a visit
whenever you want.
Was it too soon if he went tomorrow?
XXXV
Holding back his urgency, he replied to Harry at noon, saying that he could drop by on Thursday if that was okay with him. That only left two days, which he looked forward to. Luna and her father had stayed until the afternoon and they offered Cedric to go to their house if he wanted to, and spend the night there, accompanied. His own father might not be back so soon, and they didn't want to leave him alone.
He preferred to stay, but agreed to stop by at another time.
It was very true that Amos would not be so present those days, he knew it.
So he would go to Malcolm's for the weekend.
XXXVI
Cedric arrived at the Weasley house in a flash on Thursday afternoon, on his broom. His fireplace wasn't connected to theirs, so that wasn't an option. He didn't mind the wind on his face at all, although his hair might have a very different opinion.
Trying to comb his hair as best he could without seeing himself, he knocked on the door.
He had seen the house from a distance a couple of times. It was too tall to go unnoticed, with all its floors held afloat by magic. This was, however, the first time he had come closer. A short woman with red hair pulled back opened so quickly that Cedric flinched, dropping his hand from his head.
"We're not interested in…" was the first thing she said to him, until she saw his face. “I mistook you for a salesman. Sorry. What do you need?”
Unsure on how he didn't look like a salesman…
He probably looked like the nervous teenager he felt like.
"I was wondering if Harry was here," Cedric explained with some difficulty, because she didn't seem to be expecting a visitor. “I would like to, uh, see him.”
"Are you a friend of Harry's?" she asked, narrowing her eyes in an attempt to identify him.
Which he found intimidating.
“Yes, I am.”
"Come in, darling," she said softly, her face relaxing. “He is upstairs. I'll call him for you.”
"I didn't introduce myself. I'm Cedric. Diggory,” he added because perhaps it made a difference, and it did because she nodded more confidently, claiming to know his father. “I’m sorry I dropped in without warning.”
“Do not worry, dear. Any friend of Harry's is welcome here. Do you want some tea? I'll make you a cup.”
Cedric smiled, remembering the time he had visited Hagrid's cabin.
The lady didn't wait for him to answer and started boiling the water.
“It is not necessary. Thank you,” he said, trying to be grateful and not sound rude at the same time.
A sound came from the stairs.
Ron appeared and walked past, not noticing Cedric.
“Son, go call Harry. A nice young man has come to see him.”
Then Ron turned around. “What are you doing here?”
Indeed, that was a very good question.
Harry had invited him but neither Mrs. Weasley nor Ron seemed to be expecting Cedric. Or have knowledge that he would even show up. He took a deep breath as his mother chided Ron for the puzzled tone. "Don't be rude with the visit.”
"I wasn't," Ron explained, rolling his eyes before turning to Cedric. “Come. Harry is upstairs.”
That was why he was there.
XXXVII
He apologized to Ron for showing up without any warning from him (or Harry's…) and explained that Harry had invited him. Ron didn't seem surprised by that last bit, and Cedric didn't really think he'd been rude to him before.
"I'm glad you and your family are okay. After what happened.”
"Thanks, same goes," Ron replied as he walked up the stairs to stop in front of a dark wooden door with a poster of a Quidditch team on it. “Harry is in there," he said and continued upstairs, leaving Cedric alone.
After a soft knock, he entered slowly.
The room was small and bright. Many shelves full of things lined the walls, along with photos of players in motion. But what Cedric was looking for was the boy who stood on his back, making his bed.
"Ron, why did you knock…?"
HARRY
XXVIII
“You’re here.”
It had been Hermione's idea to invite Cedric.
And Cedric had said that he would go…
The surprise in his tone was because he was suddenly in front of the boy itself.
"You're fine," was what Cedric said close to his ear, pulling Harry into a short, strong hug and then passing his hands over his shoulders, descending to the back of his hands before releasing him...
Chills ran through Harry's entire body.
"I remember I wrote that I was," he murmured, half laughter, half don't-even-know-what-it-is.
"And I remember that I said I would come," Cedric continued, his voice somewhat serious and amused at the same time, like a contradiction he wanted to resolve, "but no one here seemed to know."
Oh.
"I… I forgot to mention it."
“I can see it.”
He thought Cedric would be upset, but he shook his head with a smile and was interested to know everything about that horrible night at the World Cup. Harry offered to sit on his newly made bed and told Cedric every detail. The muggle family being tortured by levitating in the air. How the Ministry tried to rescue them. The escape of the great majority towards the forest. The dark mark in the sky, like a bad omen, until his return on one of the first portkeys, with the sole exception of that dream.
XXIX
“Can I come in?“ he heard the voice of one of the twins, but he had already entered. “I thought you’d be busy…”
Harry turned red. No one but Fred would dare to do something like that.
Cedric greeted him as if he hadn't noticed the subtle suggestion behind it. Harry heaved a low sigh. What had Fred thought he would find?
Did he think he would interrupt them in a compromising scene or what?
Not that Harry hadn't thought of any, but they were just friends.
“We’re going to fly for a while. You in?”
Cedric waited for Harry to nod before accepting.
Fred left while he was looking for his broom in the closet, and Cedric offered to carry it for Harry. Well, he first found it amusing that the Firebolt and Harry were almost the same height standing next to each other, and then he carried it on his way down the stairs. Not that it was heavy or difficult to carry, but the gesture made him feel pretty on the inside.
His crush on Cedric was no longer little.