A/N: This fic is a collaboration with Adjacent! More chapter(s) can be found at s/8540812/1/The-Boy-Who-Lived. The chapters are standalones and do not have to be read in any order. :)
We do not hate Harry, but it was interesting to look at other ways he could have been the Boy who (Not)Lived.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Cedric's Return
Cedric's death haunted Harry constantly. He could not get it out of his mind – the empty lifeless look in his eyes, the flash of green light - these moments replayed themselves over and over again in Harry's mind. He did not know what made him visit Cedric's grave just a week after the funeral. It felt like something between guilt and sorrow, or maybe it was just a longing to talk to an old friend.
Harry placed the flowers in front of Cedric's headstone and sighed to himself. Was the death of his friends really the price he had to pay to defeat Voldemort?
All of a sudden, Harry realized something was amiss. The earth in front of the headstone was fresh – as if someone had been digging in Cedric's grave. But this was not possible. Why would anyone want to do something like that?
"Harry." The voice was quiet and musical.
Harry spun around in shock. Cedric stood right behind him, a crooked smile upon his lips. He was strangely pale, with some sort of glittery quality to his skin.
"What in the name of…..?!" Harry exclaimed as he blinked furiously in disbelief.
"It's me, Harry. Don't you know me anymore? I'm different now, but I'm still me. "
"You're dead! Dead as a doornail! I attended your funeral! You're absolutely, one hundred percent dead! Who…no, WHAT exactly are you?!"
Harry whipped out his wand and prepared to stun the impostor before him. But even as the spell left his mouth, Cedric had seemingly teleported to the other end of the cemetery, where he stood, sparkling faintly in the sunlight.
"You apparated! How…"
"Apparate? No, Harry, I ran. Just like this. "
Before Harry could react, Cedric was right in front of him again, leaning casually against his own headstone. Looking at Cedric up close, Harry could not believe how dazzling he was. He had always known that Cedric was one good looking fellow, but surely he had not been so devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful as he was now. His eyes were a rich butterscotch and his skin literally sparkled as if thousands of diamonds were embedded into the surface.
Harry suddenly felt a moment of self pity – no wonder Cho had chosen Cedric. He looked like an ugly git beside this gorgeously perfect man.
"Look at me, Harry. I'm not just fast, I am strong too. I would have won the tournament, if not for you, Harry. I would have won. The trophy would have been mine. " A cold, steely glint appeared in those golden eyes and they seemed to darken just a little. Without warning, Cedric brought his fist down onto the headstone. The stone cracked and crumbled into a pile of ash that settled on top of the freshly dug grave.
As Harry gaped openly at the pile of ash, Cedric's hand wrapped itself around his throat, and Harry felt as though he had just immersed his neck into a block of ice.
"You…you're impossibly fast and strong. Your skin is pale white and ice cold. What are you?" Harry gasped as Cedric lifted him clean above the ground.
"You know what I am, Harry. Say it out loud. Say it." Cedric pulled Harry closer to him, so that that his flawless features were only inches away from Harry's face.
"Uh….a fairy?" Harry felt himself falling to the ground the moment he said those words. He landed in a clumsy heap, and could only watch as Cedric bent over him, tawny eyes flashing in anger.
"A fairy? You haven't been paying much attention in Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons, have you? I am a Creature of the Night, a Prince of Darkness. I am, a vampire. "
"No, no you can't be…"
"Are you frightened of me now? You were so brave during the tournament, but looked at what you've been reduced to? A blubbering, trembling fool! You don't realize how incredibly breakable you are, Harry. Shall I explain how you're tempting me?"
Harry scrambled to his feet and ran as though his life depended on it – and it did.
Unfortunately, vampires are never denied their prey.