“Cedric! Get back to the cup!” Harry called as he quickly scrambled up from the ground. “Do it, now!”
With a slight nod in response, Diggory returned to the Triwizard cup and disappeared in a flash just before he could get struck by a jet of green light. In moments he hit the ground with a grunt, disoriented and greeted by the sound of many people shouting. “H-Harry,” he choked out as he sat up while the judges all rushed toward him along with his father. “Professor Dumbledore, sir, Harry, he…”
“Where is Harry?” questioned the elder wizard, urgency mixed with concern in his tone.
Cedric’s brow furrowed as he recalled everything he’d seen and heard before he left the graveyard he’d been in only moments before. Dumbledore wasted no time in disapperating away, quickly leaving the grounds, no doubt to search for Harry and bring him back.
The Hufflepuff was still slightly disoriented as he was led toward the medical tent, his eyes scanning the excited, confused, and worried faces of the crowd. He felt a slight sting when he realized the one person he thought would be there was nowhere to be seen…
Cedric blinked his eyes open, staring blankly at the wall for a few moments before trying to figure out why exactly he was awake. Then it registered to him that his alarm was going off. “Alright, alright,” he muttered to himself before reaching over to switch it off.
After laying there for a few more moments, Cedric finally forced himself out of bed with a sigh. He quietly went about his morning routine, showering and dressing before going downstairs to the kitchen where his mother was eating breakfast. “Morning, Mum,” he said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Dad already at work?”
“Morning, dear. Yes, he is,” she replied with a warm smile. “There’s still some breakfast and coffee over on the counter if you’re hungry.”
“Thanks.”
Cedric smiled before going over to the counter to fix himself a plate and a cup of coffee, glad to see that it was all still warm. “What are your plans for today, sweetheart?” his mother asked after a moment, making him start a bit.
“Diagon Alley,” answered Cedric, taking both plate and cup over to the table where he sat down to eat. “Would you like to come with?”
“No, thank you, sweetie. I’m meeting some friends for tea this afternoon.”
Cedric nodded and focused on his food, sighing inaudibly as flashes of the dream he’d had hit him randomly. After a few moments, he pushed his plate away, getting up to take it and the coffee cup back to the sink to clean up. “I’m gonna call Justin and then get outta here,” he informed his mother, receiving a nod and her telling him to have a nice day in response.
Not too much later, Cedric found himself walking through Diagon Alley with his best friend, Justin. A slight frown folded the blond Hufflepuff’s features as he noticed the papers talking bad about Dumbledore. With a sigh and a shake of his head, Cedric looked at Justin and said, “You don’t believe the Prophet, do you, mate?”
Justin pulled a face, shaking his head as he replied, “Naw, man. My ‘rents and I all think it’s hogwash. Dumbledore may be getting old but he wouldn’t be lying about this. If it had just been that tosser Potter, I dunno… But I trust old Dumbledore.”
Cedric frowned slightly at the jab at Harry but nodded a little. “Yeah…”
The two boys continued to Flourish and Blotts to pick up the books they’d be needing for the upcoming school term and were more than confused to find that their Defense Against the Dark Arts book was nothing more than theory. “This is bollocks,” Justin grumbled as they started out of the store.
Cedric nodded in agreement, looking over his Defense book carefully. “Ridiculous,” he said softly, only to stop as he ran into someone, making the shorter girl stumble a bit. “Oh, ‘m sorry. You alright there, Granger?”
His voice was not unkind despite calling the brunette teen by her last name and she smiled a little, brushing her bangs out of her eyes with the hand clutching her book list. “I’m perfectly fine,” she replied with a nod before looking over Cedric’s shoulders, standing on her tiptoes as someone called her name. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to go. See you at school, Cedric… Justin.”
With a smile and a wave, Hermione rushed over to a woman with short, bubblegum pink hair and a familiar ginger haired girl, apologizing for having gotten behind. “Well, just don’t let Moody find out,” replied Tonks with a wink before ushering Ginny and Hermione inside.
It was only a few days later that Cedric found himself on the Hogwarts Express with his new, shiny Head Boy badge. He was patrolling the corridors when he found Harry, Ron, and Hermione sharing a compartment. The three of them seemed to be in an important discussion but their compartment was silent, leading Cedric to believe one of them’d casted a charm on the door, possibly Granger.
He didn’t waste time staring or trying to figure out what they were discussing, just continued on with his rounds before returning to his own compartment.
The day seemed to speed by as Cedric joked and talked with his friends, only to have the lightened mood they’d all been sharing despite the darkening times ruined by two syllables, “Hem-hem.”
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