the pain is so intense, all-consuming. every inch of my being, every muscle, every nerve; screams in agony as i fall against the ground, knocking my head hard on the dirt. i try to yell out for it to stop, but i can't form any words. my head feels like it's going to burst. i know i'm screaming, i must be, but i can't hear anything. all of my senses are blocked out. all i feel is pain.
my limbs fly around me as my body contorts, the torture increasing. i taste salt on my lips briefly; i'm crying. but the pain won't stop. no matter how much i fight it, how much i twist and turn, every bone in my body still feels on fire. my head still pounds, and my voice still screams.
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cedric's pov
"you take it. you should win" i argue back at harry. the cup is only yards away, glowing and tempting us to go grab it.
"that's not how it's supposed to work. the one who reaches the cup first gets the points and that's you. you would have gotten it-"
"no" i shake my head, crossing my arms and taking a few more steps toward him. laying between us is a stunned, gigantic, spider. i would've been out of the game because of it if harry hadn't saved my ass. he gets the cup. i've decided.
"stop being noble" harry huffs, "just take it then we can-"
"do you hear that?" i interrupt him, turning my attention away. i could've sworn i heard-
and then there it is again. screams. terrible, horrible, gut-wrenching screams; coming from a few hedges over. they're hers. i know it
"is that...?" harry says quietly. i snap my head back towards him, a grave look coming over both of our faces.
"you take the cup" i repeat, saying it like an order to harry, and then turning to burn a hole through the hedge, sprinting towards the screams.
they get louder and more painful to listen to as i navigate through the maze, she's close, i can hear-
i turn the corner, and there she is, splayed out in the dirt, thrashing around violently, and screaming. crying. tears cover her face, her eyes screwed shut tightly as she pleads for the torture to stop. i tear my eyes off of her, focusing them on her perpetrator. what the fuc-
"expelliarmus!" i shout, pointing my wand at krum. his wand flies out of his hand, and his attention turns toward me. god what is wrong with his eyes, "stupify!" i shout again, and krum is blown backward, slamming into the hedge by y/n, and falling in a heap beside her. i breath heavily for a bit, observing the damage i've done, before my eyes fall back onto her. holy shit
i rush over to her, gathering up her arms and wrapping them around my neck, trying to lift her up from the ground.
"shit, y/n, c'mon" i mutter, feeling myself get more and more anxious. she's lying limp against me. i grab under her arms, lifting her up slightly to lie her back against the hedge. her head slumps to the side, resting on her shoulder. i check behind me, krum's still out, "y/n c'mon" i plead, shaking her by the shoulders, "wake-"
she starts having a fit, coughing manically and leaning forward, gasping for air. i back away slightly, giving her some space as her coughs become less frequent and less ragged. eventually, they cease all together.
"cedric..?" she says weakly, leaning her head back against the leaves and looking over at me
"yeah, yeah hi" i say quickly, moving back toward her, "you're going to be okay i'm going to send for-"
"the cup, cedric" her voice is raspy, barely audible, "go get the cup"
"to hell with the cup" i mumble angirly, searching the ground for where i dropped my wand
"what-?"
"harry's got it, don't worry" i look over to her with a small smile, finding my wand in the short, untidy grass, "you need to get looked at, krum-"
"how do you know harry's got it?" she says softly, looking at me with dreary eyes, threatening to shut again
"that's no matter" i shake my head, moving over and wrapping an arm around her waist, "we're going back now" i feel her head rest onto my shoulder. i know it's just because she's about to pass out, but i can't help but smile a little. i raise my wand above our heads, holding on tightly to her as the red sparks shoot up into the sky.
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your pov
i must black out from the pain, because the next thing i know i'm back outside the maze, crumpled in someone's arms. music blasts around us from the band, the crowd cheering loudly. my ears ring, my body still aching from the remnants of the curse. i try and straighten up slightly, but fail, my body feeling weaker than it's ever felt before.
"y/n?" a voice says softly, a chest rising against my head as it speaks. i look up, seeing now that cedric is the one holding me. i'm able to straighten up slightly, taking in his face. it's bloody, and covered in dirt, but he's here. we've made it-
"oh thank god" i breath out, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck and pulling him in toward me. i feel his arms around my waist, hugging me back. a smile spreads on my face, purely elated that i made it out alive. i pull back, placing my hands on either side of cedric's face, "you're incredible, ced" i shake his head, my smile continuing to grow, "thank you, thank you-" i pull him back in for another hug, so overwhelmed with emotion. i thought i was going to die in there, while krum was torturing me. i feel high, honestly. the pain has disappeared, and i feel lighter than air, giddy with excitement.
cedric helps me stand up. even though the adrenaline has blocked out the pain, i'm still stumbling a bit, unable to place weight on my leg. i walk over with him to the champions tent, where fleur is seated. her arms are crossed, a blank stare in her eyes. she looks up at me and something about her... i can just tell. krum got to her too.
he sits me down next to fleur and then runs off to get madam pomfrey, who's in another nearby tent.
"-i just left krum in the maze, i figured-" i can hear cedric talking to the judges, as madam pomfrey walks over, starting to inspect my injuries. my head feels foggy now, i'm barely paying attention as i relay to her what happen, and answer her "yes" or "no" when she asks if certain things hurt. she tells me she'll be right back, and whisks herself away out of the tent. i take a deep breath, putting my head down in my hands. jesus, what a day it's been.
"he's back!" i hear a shout from outside of the tent. must be harry back with the cup. finally, it'll all be over. i stand up slowly, each bone cracking as i do. fleur's already outside, and i hobble along behind her, pulling open the curtain and peering outside.
then i see him, harry, curled up on the ground, clutching the cup. he's the one shouting, shouting, "he's back" i see him look up at dumbledore, intense worry in his eyes, "voldemort. he's back"
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the next few minutes feel like a dream, or rather, a nightmare. harry screams, saying the cup was a portkey. i don't think the crowd can really hear him, but i'm fairly certain they can tell something's off. dumbledore and fudge are telling harry to get away from the cup, to leave it be.. but harry won't let go. he just keeps screaming. i'm not sure if they believe him. i do. i see the large gash in his arm, looks to have been done with a knife. there was horrible things in that maze... but nothing in there did that.
i don't know when, or how i make the decision, but i suddenly feel my legs running me over to harry, kneeling on the ground next to him. i plead with him to stand up. i must break through to him more than the adults, because he slowly nods and loosens his grip from the handles of the cup. i can hear girls in the crowd screaming, whispers running from where we're standing and back up into the crowd. i look back over my shoulder, seeing cedric standing back by the tent. his face is white, he's frozen in shock. we both know how close he was to being the one grabbing the cup.
"you two need to get to the hospital wing" a rugged voice mutters from behind harry and i as we stand. dumbledore and fudge are in front of us, turned away to face the crowd as they frantically whisper. this situation is going to be a nightmare to control. voldemort. my mind rushes as i feel a hand wrap around my arm, pulling me back to the castle. all of the clues were there. karkaroff's arm, the dark mark at the world cup, even draco acting strange whenever i brought it up. draco. i think back to his words that one night, "even if i knew anything, i couldn't tell you. it's too dangerous. promise me you won't get involved", realization sets in and i feel a knot in my stomach. how much had he known?
i hear a door close shut, and i realize i'm back in the castle. harry's standing next to me, rattling off answers to whoever brought us inside. i feel the hand finally let go of my arm, and i look over. it's professor moody.
"it was voldemort- sir" harry says as we're walked up the marble staircase
"the dark lord was there? what happened then?" moody says, a little to enthusiastically for my taste. the dark lord? i take note of his phrasing... i've never heard an auror call voldemort the dark lord before.
"he.. he made a potion... to get his body back" harry looks at me worriedly, his eyes still struck with horror just as they were when he landed back on the quidditch pitch
"the dark lord's got his body back? he's returned?" i can slowly feel my head clearing, and as it does... i get more and more uneasy. moody ushers us into his office, sitting us down next to each other
"professor i thought you were bringing us to the hospital-" i start, but moody hushs me
"oh, don't worry. i've got something in here that will do the trick" he grunts, turning his back and sticking a key into a locked, wooden box, "now harry, what then? what's next?"
"... well then the death eaters came-"
"death eaters?" i say, harry nods slowly
"yeah.. and then we dueled-"
"you dueled the dark lord?" moody gasps, turning around to face us with two glasses in his hands. harry nods again, starting to recant the events, pausing every few words. moody hands us the drinks, forcing it down our throats. my head begins to clear, everything looking more crisp. my headache almost completely disappears as well.
"voldemort's back, harry? you're sure of it?" moody stares unblinkingly at harry as he nods, i think i see moody smile, "and the death eaters? they've returned?"
harry nods again, "yeah, loads of them. but i only saw a couple-"
"how did he treat them? did he forgive them?"
harry blinks for a moment, and then his face lights up, like he's had an epiphany. his head spins towards me, "there's a death eater! here, at hogwarts. they must've put my name in, to make sure i got straight to the end-"
my face falls, and i bring my hand up to cover my mouth, "i know who it is" i say quietly. if i had just told someone, "karkaroff" i whisper, keeping my eyes locked with harry's
"karkaroff?" moody laughs, i had almost forgotten he was here altogether. both harry and i's heads swing back towards him, "karkaroff's fled. when the dark mark burned on his arm tonight, he left. he had betrayed too many of the dark lord's supporters to face them again, but i doubt he'll get far. the dark lord has ways of tracking his enemies-"
"why do you keep calling him-?" i start, but harry cuts me off
"karkaroff fled? then he didn't put in my name?"
moody doesn't answer, as he suddenly whimpers and turns away from us. i look over at harry, who shrugs his shoulders slightly, his eyes wide.
"did he forgive the death eaters? those scum who wouldn't even brave azkaban for him?" moody says, still facing away from us, "what was it like, to stand in his presence?"
"harry-" i start to whisper, but he shakes his head, taking a deep breath and putting on a brave face
"i don't know. it- it was like i had fallen into one of my dreams. into one of my nightmares" he says, keeping his cool. i can feel my breath getting unsteady.. god i don't know how harry's managing this.
moody pulls out a flask, trying to take a sip of it.. but it appears empty. his hand... his hand looks like its- its bubbling? i try and get a better look, but i can't as he rushes over to a cabinet, frantically pushing through bottles. his neck tilts back as he sharply inhales, completely out of breath. i meet eyes with harry, both of us not having a clue how to proceed.
"professor-"
"how many others? how many in the graveyard-"
"there were-" harry starts, but then stops again, "sir, i- i don't think i ever said anything about a graveyard" sharply, moody turns back to us, his eyes more wild than i've ever seem them
"'marvelous creatures, dragons, aren't they?'" he says slowly. i can see the expression on harry's face darken, "do you think that miserable oaf would have led you into the woods if i hadn't suggested it?" moody continues to rummage around the room, tearing through every cabinet and drawer, as harry's face grows more grim, "do you think cedric diggory would've told you-" he spins around, pointing his eyes at me now, "to open the egg underwater if i hadn't told him first myself?" my eyes go wide. i flashback to that moment in the library beforehand... cedric had said it was moody's idea...
moody continues on, saying how he told neville to get harry gillyweed for the second task. i find myself checking the door, trying to see if i would be able to make a run for it. i don't know what's gotten into professor moody, but it surely isn't anything good.
"it was you from the beginning?" harry says, his eyes following moody around the room, "you put my name in the goblet of fire"
"you bewitched krum" i add breathlessly, "but-"
"but- but- but-" he mocks us, moving his head back and forth, "you won because i made it so, potter. and you, y/l/n, krum would've killed you in there if diggory had made it to you any later" i can feel tears fighting there way towards my eyes, but i hold them back, trying to steady my breathing and make sense of it all
moody's head twitches as he turns back to us, walking toward us slowly. i can hear harry's breath quickening, i'm sure mine is too. his wand raises and i think, this is it, this is where death finally gets me
but then, the door opens with a bang as a light shoots through it, knocking moody back. dumbledore, snape, and mcgonagall come rushing in, bombarding moody and shoving him back into a chair. i cover my mouth, trying not to cry out. what the hell-
snape pours a clear liquid down moody's throat. i cringe as he struggles against dumbledore's grip as he questions him. it's veritaserum, i recognize, and it's making moody spill all of his secrets.
"is he in this room?" i hear dumbledore, and then suddenly he's ordering us up out of our chairs, giving way to a large chest behind us. harry and i scatter instantly, hiding into opposite corners of the room. i cautiously take a few steps forward, peering over my teachers shoulders and into the chest. there, some 20 feet below, lies moody-
"but then who's-" i start, looking back over at the other moody sitting in the chair, who has begun grunting and twisting even more violently than before. i watch in horror as his face and his body morph, revealing the person underneath. i recognize him instantly... barty crouch jr.
famous death eater, you know as far as death eaters go. one of his own turned on him, gave him up to the ministry. awful because his own father was the one who had to send him away at trial. i back away, going up against the wall and holding my hands over my mouth. a single tear finally makes it to my eye, breaking free and running down my cheek. but why would crouch-?
"lord voldemort has returned" he smirks, leaning back in his chair with delight
"send an owl to azkaban" dumbledore says grimly, " i think they'll find they're missing a prisoner"
i feel mcgonagall take my arm softly, starting to pull me out of the room as dumbledore grabs harry.
"oh, and y/l/n" i hear the wretched voice say behind me, and i can't help but turn back, meeting his eyes, "make sure to tell your father i said hello"
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"what did he mean by that?" harry whispers to me once we're outside, trailing behind dumbledore and mcgonagall as they walk us to the hospital wing, "'tell your father i said hello'?"
"i- i don't know" i say quietly, following along the empty corridors.
but i do know. at least, i have some idea. i'm not certain but-
i don't want to believe it, but i suppose on some level i've always known. my father's relationship with lucius, his unexplained disappearance for two years and at the world cup, and of course his ideals match up but-
no. it can't be. or at least, i don't want it to be.
i remember my father having a trial when i was younger. i must've only been two or three, so it's the faintest of memories, but i know it happened. i questioned my mother about it once, probably around 8 years old... but she brushed it off. said it was just an inquiry about work, something amuck in his department.
i'm not sure i believe that anymore.
my mind flashes back to the first time we visited malfoy manor, my father seeming awfully friendly with lucius. said they were old school friends... and then it clicks. school? lucius went to hogwarts, and my dad... durmstrang. i should've caught it sooner.
i'm sat down at a bed in the hospital wing, and am quickly attended to by madam pomfrey. it feels every second my head has started to clear today, another wild revelation is thrown at me. i don't know how much more i can take.
i just want to go home.
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cedric visits me within the first hour i'm in the infirmary, checking that i'm not too shaken up. i don't mention crouch's comment about my father, knowing that speculation would quickly begin if i let that information slip. but, i tell him everything else.
he spends the night in the chair next to my bed, telling me random stories to try and calm me down. daphne and pansy visit at one point, checking that i'm alright. they ask me question after question, "is what harry said true?", "jesus, and krum really tortured you?", "was crucio as awful as they say?, "i heard from someone that barty crouch jr-" but eventually cedric shoos them away, saying i need rest. i don't even have the energy to yell at pansy, or even question her about today. secretly, i wish draco had came, but he never shows.
the next day we're packing, heading home for the summer. i don't know how we're meant to enjoy our summer holidays after all of this. i'm still bandaged up, around my forehead and on my knee.. but i'm walking much better now. i don't see draco at all that last day, as daphne packs my bags for me and meets me in the infirmary with them. i'm not taking the express back, they sent an owl for my parents to come pick me up personally, with everything that's happened. i'm dreading seeing my father, not knowing what i'm supposed to say to him.
i don't have much time to think about it though, because by noon my mum and dad are at the doors. my mum's crying, saying how she should've tried harder to get me out of the tournament. my dad stands silently by, his arms crossed in front of him. i avoid making eye contact the whole time, not knowing what i would say if i did.
my mum helps me up, while my dad grabs my bags as they walk me outside.
what a hell of a year it's been.
i pray that next year can only be half as bad.
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super long chapter but i had to give u guys a good year 4 finale. hopefully i delivered. more stuff will be cleared up as year 5 goes on dw :) probably will post again tmrw or thursday! (sry for any typos in this chapter i didn't get loads of time to proofread)
also sorry if u wanted cedric to die lol. there was too many opinions in the comments and i just had to go w my gut haha and make an executive decision
thank you guys for all the support on the last few chapters! any year 5 suggestions comment them here! x
vote/comment/share <3
p.s. thank you for 150k reads, 6k votes, and 9k comments!!!