Fic... Force of Will Part II
Title: Force of Will
Rating: PG
Pairing: Cedric/Harry
Warnings: mild violence
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends did not come from my head.
Summary: Mad-Eye Moody makes a mistake in the maze. Now Cedric and Harry are in it together.
Author's Note: After all the positive comments, I did decide to expand on my story, but only slightly! This is part two of three, and the third and final section will be posted some time next week (I'm assuming). Hopefully it will not disappoint. And don't forget, I love feedback!
Part I
Force of Will
Part II
“Cedric, thank god it’s you!” The boy pressed tight against his chest sounded as though he were about to break, and Cedric began softly stroking his hair in an unconscious attempt to calm him. But Harry swiftly moved away and pulled himself back together. “What do we do now?” Harry asked, but as he wasn’t making eye contact, Cedric wasn’t sure whether or not he was talking to himself.
What do they do now? Cedric was still trying to piece together what it was he had already done. Their rival Champions lay unconscious in the maze by his very wand. The two objects of his recent obsession - the Triwizard cup and Harry - both stood in front of him, one ominous, the other pacing. He had been prepared to do anything moments ago just to have them meet, and the memory made it difficult to think straight. “Maybe I should take the cup…”
“NO! Don’t go near it!” Harry’s green eyes flashed with fear, and they both knew this had nothing to do with eternal glory. This had ceased to be a game long ago. “I just have to think,” Harry muttered, rubbing his scar. “If Hermione were here…”
And Hermione made Cedric think of Krum, which made him think of Fleur, which made him sink to the ground and moan, “What have I done?”
Harry stopped his pacing to look at him uncertainly, then walked over and patted him on the shoulder. “You couldn’t help it. You were under the imperius curse. You… you don’t know who did it, do you?”
Cedric shook his head sadly.
“Right. Well then, we have two options. We make our way back to the entrance, or we send up red sparks.”
Cedric was dumbfounded at Harry’s sudden decision to take charge, but part of him was far from surprised. After a year of secretly watching the boy, Cedric had witnessed firsthand Harry’s displays of courage and maturity well beyond his age, even if they surfaced at unexpected moments. This was certainly one of those moments. Cedric, however, was still older and more skilled, and he quickly scrambled to his feet and regained his composure.
“Whoever did this to me is still out there. If we come out the entrance, we make you an easy target. If we send up the sparks, however, we can explain to whoever comes to get us first. We’ll have one more ally. That’s our best bet.”
Harry nodded, clearly glad to hand over control, although Cedric hoped he deserved that trust. “On three, then?”
“One, two, three!” Two sets of red sparks flew high into the air. Cedric and Harry moved closer together, wands outstretched, looking in all directions for their salvation.
They waited.
“It’s creepy,” Harry muttered after a few moments, eyes on the glowing cup. “Part of me really did want to win. Now I don’t even want to look at that thing. Do you know what would’ve happened if…”
Cedric shook his head. He had no idea why the cup was dangerous, only knew that if either of them laid a finger to it, something terrible would occur. His thoughts were no longer on the cup however.
“Harry, when I, um… what you did… for me…”
“Forget it,” Harry cut him off tensely. Cedric knew now was not the time. He wasn’t sure why he had felt the need to bring it up at all. But he couldn’t shake the sensation of being suddenly exposed, and slightly wounded. It didn’t help that he could still taste the boy on his lips. He just needed to get Harry out of here so he could explain properly, and then they could put the whole incident behind them.
A rustling in the distance told them that someone was finally approaching. The hedge parted, and Cedric sighed in relief to see Professor Moody storming through, his magical eye quickly taking in the scene before him: two Champions, battered but intact, and the Triwizard cup a few feet away.
“What’s going on here?”
Harry glanced up at Cedric expectantly, who explained. “Someone had me under the imperius curse, and I tried to force Harry to win the tournament. Professor, we think there’s something wrong with the cup.” He was acutely aware of how ridiculous he must sound, and Professor Moody examined him suspiciously with both eyes.
“Nonsense. I charmed and placed that cup there myself. It’s merely a portkey to transport the winner back to the front of the maze.” He paused, deep in thought. “Did it never occur to you that maybe some nutter simply wanted Potter to win, not to do him harm?”
Harry and Cedric looked at each other. No, neither of them had considered that. But recent events had seemed much too alarming and portentous to be explained away so easily.
“Still,” Professor Moody continued slowly, “I agree that what’s important is that we get Potter out of here safely, just in case. And the safest, quickest way out is for Harry to just take the cup.”
There was a flash, and suddenly Moody was on his back, his wand knocked a few feet away. Cedric stood over him, wand arm trembling, gray eyes burning.
“Diggory, what do you think you’re doing?” Moody roared. “It won’t count as a win, Potter will forfeit the tournament. I hope you understand you just attacked a professor!”
“Cedric?” Harry asked quietly. Cedric understood Harry’s concern, but he was more in his right mind now than he had been since entering the maze.
“It was him,” Cedric simply said. “It was him all along.”
“What are you going on about? Don’t listen to him Potter, the tournament’s obviously driven him mad! Get to the cup while you can!”
For a brief moment, Cedric was afraid Harry would listen. The student had confusion written all over his face as he stared first at his mentor on the ground, then back up at Cedric imploringly. Unfortunately, Cedric couldn’t even explain to himself why Moody’s words had suddenly set off flares in his brain. All he could do was lock eyes with Harry and try to make him understand. You have to believe me on this. I’m not going to let him hurt you.
Harry understood. He slowly lifted his wand alongside Cedric’s and pointed it directly at Moody’s chest. His next words were icy.
“I trusted you.”
Moody opened his mouth to speak, but his blue eye swung rapidly to the left, and there was a split second when only he knew what was coming next. He flashed Cedric an obscene grin. Suddenly, there was a deafening crash as the maze engulfed them in chaos. A spider the size of a house came careering through the hedge, reaching down for Cedric with its oversized pincers. He dove out of the way at the same moment that Moody lunged for his wand, and before Cedric could stop him, Harry was flying backwards through the air, colliding with the Triwizard cup, and then he was gone.
“Harry!”
Cedric ran to the place where Harry had been, and spun uselessly on the spot. Flooded with fury, he threw himself at the battle now being waged between Moody and the spider, and in two fluid motions, Cedric had disarmed and bound him head to foot with the same spell that had earlier bound Harry. He then scooped up Moody’s wand, sending two simultaneous curses into the belly of the monster, which cried out horribly and flattened the hedge as it went down. Cedric scrambled to Moody's body, pressing both wand tips deep against his neck.
“Where is he?” Cedric breathed venomously.
But Moody merely laughed. “What are you going to do, Diggory, torture me?”
“Where is he?”
“Nowhere you’ll ever find him again!”
Cedric held there a moment breathing heavily, the cruciatus curse on the tip of his tongue. He stared at the leering face which had never truly looked mad until that very moment. Then he jumped to his feet and turned, laughter echoing behind him.
Cedric ran.
He realized now how foolish he had been, and screamed curses at the air as he whipped past. He couldn’t trust anyone, only Dumbledore, and that was whom he had to find. Stupid, stupid, stupid to send up sparks when there was safety in numbers, when not even Moody would have attacked with the whole school watching. They should have gone straight to the maze’s entrance, and now it was his fault that Harry was…
But Cedric wouldn’t think about that. He would run until he found Dumbledore, and then things would be fine, Dumbledore would know what to do. Tears streamed down Cedric’s face, and he wasn’t paying enough attention, he kept coming up at dead ends and hexing them angrily. He had to pull himself together. Harry wouldn’t have fallen apart. But what did that matter? Harry was gone. Harry was gone, and Cedric had done nothing to prevent it. No. Focus. Find the entrance. Find Dumbledore.
When Cedric finally burst through into the sunlight, the first thing he saw was a small boy lying face down in the grass, the Triwizard cup gripped tightly in his hand. The cheers and screams of the crowd were smothered by the sound of Cedric’s own pulse. His knees buckled. He lurched back to the hedge for support.
Harry was dead.
But then Dumbledore was swooping down, turning him over, speaking to him… and Harry was talking back. A surge of relief propelled Cedric from where he stood, and he nearly collapsed onto Dumbledore as he cried out, “Moody, it was Moody! He’s at the end of the maze…” Cedric pushed Moody’s wand into Dumbledore’s hand, desperate to be rid of it.
Dumbledore needed no other explanation. “You stay with Harry,” he ordered before sweeping into the maze, the hedge parting neatly before him.
Cedric knelt down beside him. Harry was white as a sheet, and looked as though he would be sick. One hand still clenched tightly around that terrible cup, the other gripped the earth. His green, blurry eyes slid in and out of focus. Cedric suddenly noticed a bleeding gash on his arm that had not been there before, and he tried to form the words to apologize, to apologize for all of his faults, for failing Harry when he needed him most. But Harry spoke first.
“I’m sorry,” he choked, grabbing Cedric’s arm for support. “I couldn’t stop it. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Cedric muttered, wrapping his arms around him despite the onlookers. “You’re safe now. Everything will be okay.”
And if part of him was shocked to see Harry lying here, tortured but alive and apologizing no less, the part that had secretly watched Harry Potter for the past year was hardly surprised at all.
Part III
Rating: PG
Pairing: Cedric/Harry
Warnings: mild violence
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends did not come from my head.
Summary: Mad-Eye Moody makes a mistake in the maze. Now Cedric and Harry are in it together.
Author's Note: After all the positive comments, I did decide to expand on my story, but only slightly! This is part two of three, and the third and final section will be posted some time next week (I'm assuming). Hopefully it will not disappoint. And don't forget, I love feedback!
Part I
Force of Will
Part II
“Cedric, thank god it’s you!” The boy pressed tight against his chest sounded as though he were about to break, and Cedric began softly stroking his hair in an unconscious attempt to calm him. But Harry swiftly moved away and pulled himself back together. “What do we do now?” Harry asked, but as he wasn’t making eye contact, Cedric wasn’t sure whether or not he was talking to himself.
What do they do now? Cedric was still trying to piece together what it was he had already done. Their rival Champions lay unconscious in the maze by his very wand. The two objects of his recent obsession - the Triwizard cup and Harry - both stood in front of him, one ominous, the other pacing. He had been prepared to do anything moments ago just to have them meet, and the memory made it difficult to think straight. “Maybe I should take the cup…”
“NO! Don’t go near it!” Harry’s green eyes flashed with fear, and they both knew this had nothing to do with eternal glory. This had ceased to be a game long ago. “I just have to think,” Harry muttered, rubbing his scar. “If Hermione were here…”
And Hermione made Cedric think of Krum, which made him think of Fleur, which made him sink to the ground and moan, “What have I done?”
Harry stopped his pacing to look at him uncertainly, then walked over and patted him on the shoulder. “You couldn’t help it. You were under the imperius curse. You… you don’t know who did it, do you?”
Cedric shook his head sadly.
“Right. Well then, we have two options. We make our way back to the entrance, or we send up red sparks.”
Cedric was dumbfounded at Harry’s sudden decision to take charge, but part of him was far from surprised. After a year of secretly watching the boy, Cedric had witnessed firsthand Harry’s displays of courage and maturity well beyond his age, even if they surfaced at unexpected moments. This was certainly one of those moments. Cedric, however, was still older and more skilled, and he quickly scrambled to his feet and regained his composure.
“Whoever did this to me is still out there. If we come out the entrance, we make you an easy target. If we send up the sparks, however, we can explain to whoever comes to get us first. We’ll have one more ally. That’s our best bet.”
Harry nodded, clearly glad to hand over control, although Cedric hoped he deserved that trust. “On three, then?”
“One, two, three!” Two sets of red sparks flew high into the air. Cedric and Harry moved closer together, wands outstretched, looking in all directions for their salvation.
They waited.
“It’s creepy,” Harry muttered after a few moments, eyes on the glowing cup. “Part of me really did want to win. Now I don’t even want to look at that thing. Do you know what would’ve happened if…”
Cedric shook his head. He had no idea why the cup was dangerous, only knew that if either of them laid a finger to it, something terrible would occur. His thoughts were no longer on the cup however.
“Harry, when I, um… what you did… for me…”
“Forget it,” Harry cut him off tensely. Cedric knew now was not the time. He wasn’t sure why he had felt the need to bring it up at all. But he couldn’t shake the sensation of being suddenly exposed, and slightly wounded. It didn’t help that he could still taste the boy on his lips. He just needed to get Harry out of here so he could explain properly, and then they could put the whole incident behind them.
A rustling in the distance told them that someone was finally approaching. The hedge parted, and Cedric sighed in relief to see Professor Moody storming through, his magical eye quickly taking in the scene before him: two Champions, battered but intact, and the Triwizard cup a few feet away.
“What’s going on here?”
Harry glanced up at Cedric expectantly, who explained. “Someone had me under the imperius curse, and I tried to force Harry to win the tournament. Professor, we think there’s something wrong with the cup.” He was acutely aware of how ridiculous he must sound, and Professor Moody examined him suspiciously with both eyes.
“Nonsense. I charmed and placed that cup there myself. It’s merely a portkey to transport the winner back to the front of the maze.” He paused, deep in thought. “Did it never occur to you that maybe some nutter simply wanted Potter to win, not to do him harm?”
Harry and Cedric looked at each other. No, neither of them had considered that. But recent events had seemed much too alarming and portentous to be explained away so easily.
“Still,” Professor Moody continued slowly, “I agree that what’s important is that we get Potter out of here safely, just in case. And the safest, quickest way out is for Harry to just take the cup.”
There was a flash, and suddenly Moody was on his back, his wand knocked a few feet away. Cedric stood over him, wand arm trembling, gray eyes burning.
“Diggory, what do you think you’re doing?” Moody roared. “It won’t count as a win, Potter will forfeit the tournament. I hope you understand you just attacked a professor!”
“Cedric?” Harry asked quietly. Cedric understood Harry’s concern, but he was more in his right mind now than he had been since entering the maze.
“It was him,” Cedric simply said. “It was him all along.”
“What are you going on about? Don’t listen to him Potter, the tournament’s obviously driven him mad! Get to the cup while you can!”
For a brief moment, Cedric was afraid Harry would listen. The student had confusion written all over his face as he stared first at his mentor on the ground, then back up at Cedric imploringly. Unfortunately, Cedric couldn’t even explain to himself why Moody’s words had suddenly set off flares in his brain. All he could do was lock eyes with Harry and try to make him understand. You have to believe me on this. I’m not going to let him hurt you.
Harry understood. He slowly lifted his wand alongside Cedric’s and pointed it directly at Moody’s chest. His next words were icy.
“I trusted you.”
Moody opened his mouth to speak, but his blue eye swung rapidly to the left, and there was a split second when only he knew what was coming next. He flashed Cedric an obscene grin. Suddenly, there was a deafening crash as the maze engulfed them in chaos. A spider the size of a house came careering through the hedge, reaching down for Cedric with its oversized pincers. He dove out of the way at the same moment that Moody lunged for his wand, and before Cedric could stop him, Harry was flying backwards through the air, colliding with the Triwizard cup, and then he was gone.
“Harry!”
Cedric ran to the place where Harry had been, and spun uselessly on the spot. Flooded with fury, he threw himself at the battle now being waged between Moody and the spider, and in two fluid motions, Cedric had disarmed and bound him head to foot with the same spell that had earlier bound Harry. He then scooped up Moody’s wand, sending two simultaneous curses into the belly of the monster, which cried out horribly and flattened the hedge as it went down. Cedric scrambled to Moody's body, pressing both wand tips deep against his neck.
“Where is he?” Cedric breathed venomously.
But Moody merely laughed. “What are you going to do, Diggory, torture me?”
“Where is he?”
“Nowhere you’ll ever find him again!”
Cedric held there a moment breathing heavily, the cruciatus curse on the tip of his tongue. He stared at the leering face which had never truly looked mad until that very moment. Then he jumped to his feet and turned, laughter echoing behind him.
Cedric ran.
He realized now how foolish he had been, and screamed curses at the air as he whipped past. He couldn’t trust anyone, only Dumbledore, and that was whom he had to find. Stupid, stupid, stupid to send up sparks when there was safety in numbers, when not even Moody would have attacked with the whole school watching. They should have gone straight to the maze’s entrance, and now it was his fault that Harry was…
But Cedric wouldn’t think about that. He would run until he found Dumbledore, and then things would be fine, Dumbledore would know what to do. Tears streamed down Cedric’s face, and he wasn’t paying enough attention, he kept coming up at dead ends and hexing them angrily. He had to pull himself together. Harry wouldn’t have fallen apart. But what did that matter? Harry was gone. Harry was gone, and Cedric had done nothing to prevent it. No. Focus. Find the entrance. Find Dumbledore.
When Cedric finally burst through into the sunlight, the first thing he saw was a small boy lying face down in the grass, the Triwizard cup gripped tightly in his hand. The cheers and screams of the crowd were smothered by the sound of Cedric’s own pulse. His knees buckled. He lurched back to the hedge for support.
Harry was dead.
But then Dumbledore was swooping down, turning him over, speaking to him… and Harry was talking back. A surge of relief propelled Cedric from where he stood, and he nearly collapsed onto Dumbledore as he cried out, “Moody, it was Moody! He’s at the end of the maze…” Cedric pushed Moody’s wand into Dumbledore’s hand, desperate to be rid of it.
Dumbledore needed no other explanation. “You stay with Harry,” he ordered before sweeping into the maze, the hedge parting neatly before him.
Cedric knelt down beside him. Harry was white as a sheet, and looked as though he would be sick. One hand still clenched tightly around that terrible cup, the other gripped the earth. His green, blurry eyes slid in and out of focus. Cedric suddenly noticed a bleeding gash on his arm that had not been there before, and he tried to form the words to apologize, to apologize for all of his faults, for failing Harry when he needed him most. But Harry spoke first.
“I’m sorry,” he choked, grabbing Cedric’s arm for support. “I couldn’t stop it. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Cedric muttered, wrapping his arms around him despite the onlookers. “You’re safe now. Everything will be okay.”
And if part of him was shocked to see Harry lying here, tortured but alive and apologizing no less, the part that had secretly watched Harry Potter for the past year was hardly surprised at all.
Part III