"Cedric! No!" Harry cried as he clung tightly onto his arm. There were murmurs around him, and the crowd was getting thicker. He saw Albus Dumbledore arise from his seat.
Harry let go of the cup, but he did not let go of Cedric. He held on as tightly as he could. He had to bring his body to his parents….
Just then, Harry felt something misty on his cheek. Astonished, Harry discovered what looked like a silvery substance that appeared to be a cloudy liquid or gas. Without thinking, Harry raised his wand and siphoned Cedric Diggory's last memory from his head. He was cold, and he was lifeless.
"Harry what happened?" it was Dumbledore, with a flash of shock in his blue eyes.
"He's back…Voldemort….he's back!" Harry cried, as reality soon hit him. "Peter Pettigrew…killed him…"
"It's alright, Harry, let go now." Dumbledore rested his firm grip on Harry's arms.
"I've got to bring his body back to his parents-"
"My SON!" Amos Diggory's cry echoed through the entire stadium. Harry soon heard heavy sobbing around him. He glanced to see that one of them was Cho Chang, a pretty Ravenclaw and Cedric's late girlfriend.
Feeling the heavy guilt inside him, Harry felt himself lifted with a clunk of woods beneath him.
……………………………………………….
"I'd like to see Harry in my office." Dumbledore said calmly. Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but Dumbledore calmly held up his long fingers. "After, he'll rest."
Harry didn't object. He still remembered Cedric Diggory's memory. What was it that he wanted him to see?
"Go along, Harry, I'll be there in a few moments." Dumbledore said.
Harry stared at him and Professor Snape, and unconscious Barty Crouch Jr. shivering on the floor.
Without answering, Harry left for his office.
"Er…lemon sherbet." Harry said. The great gargoyle leaped aside, and Harry climbed the stairs and opened the door to the circular room. There were shiny magical objects spinning about him.
Slowly, Harry walked towards the shallow stone basin at the back, also known as the pensieve. Remembering what had happened last time he was here, Harry slowly threaded Cedric's memory from his wand and let it fall into the basin. Taking a deep breath, he dove.
Harry landed on the soft grass with a small 'thud'. He looked about him, and noticed the sign that read 'Ottery St. Catchpole'. Harry then noticed a small handsome boy with dark hair and grey eyes sitting alone on the grass. He was twiddling a flower in his fingers, and he seemed to be no older than five years old.
"Cedric sweetie!" a woman who clearly resembled him enough to be his mother was calling from a house nearby. The house was not as shabby as the burrow, but it still kept a cozy environment within it.
Young Cedric looked up, and with a smile on his face, ran to his mother.
"Happy Birthday." Mrs Diggory said, "You're five years old now, Cedric." She said, handing him a toy broomstick. Harry noticed the astonished grin on Cedric's face as he mounted on the toy broomstick. He flew about five feet high off the ground around the entire house, cackling happily as their brown cat meowed and ran away.
"Thanks mother! Thanks father!" Cedric said politely, after dismounting. To Harry's surprise, the five year old Cedric was indescribably polite as he gave them each a kiss to thank them.
The scene blurred. Harry seemed to be now inside the Diggory's house, as he saw Mrs. Diggory lay out the plates and forks neatly using her wand.
"What time are they coming again?" Cedric asked nervously. He seemed to be about couple of years older than Harry had seen last time. He was wearing a clean shirt and black pants.
"In about five minutes, dear." Mrs. Diggory said. "Could you possibly help your father pull the weed from the garden, Ced?"
"Yes mother." Cedric replied, and scurried off outside. Harry followed him. He saw Cedric having a nice conversation with his father, Amos. Amos seemed less old, with less creases about his face. His hair was darker, more like the shade of Cedric's.
Harry saw Cedric's face brighten up, and turned his head to see that a man and a woman and their little daughter had suddenly arrived using a portkey.
Amos Diggory exclaimed and hurried to shake hands with the man and the woman, who both had black hair. Harry noticed Cedric's face blush as the little girl made eye contact with him. The little girl had shiny, straight black hair also, and was quite pretty. She smiled at Cedric. Cedric smiled back. The two kept their distance.
"Rio!" Mrs. Diggory exclaimed like her husband, as she dashed out of her house to greet Mrs Chang. Little Cho lingered behind her mother, lightly holding on to her waist. She was wearing a simple, blue dress.
"Thanks for having us, Amos." Mr. Chang said out loud. "Your place is quite extraordinary!"
"Ah thanks, Ken." Amos said, thumping him on his back. "Must say, we cleaned up a bit nicely…is that your little daughter? My Lord, she's a doll!" he said, as he bent down to face Cho. Cho blushed, and she smiled politely. There was a dimple on her right cheek.
"Ced, honey, come say hello to Cho." Mrs Diggory said, beckoning her son closer. Cedric immediately obeyed. "Hello Cho, how are you?" he asked, grinning. Cho grinned back.
"Well you kids stay here, Amos, fancy giving us a tour perhaps?" Mr. Chang said, lightly ruffling Cedric's hair. Mrs. Chang gave Cedric a nice smile, and walked into the house, linking arms with Mrs. Diggory.
Cedric and Cho were left alone outside of the house, shyly staring at each other.
"How old are you?" Cedric asked suddenly.
"Eight." Cho replied.
"I'm Nine." Cedric said. "You're really pretty." He told her.
Cho smiled once again. "Thanks." She said. "I really like your garden." Cho replied, bending down to look at flowers.
"My father and I pulled out the weeds just before you came." Cedric said. Then he picked a fresh violet. "Here, flower for you, Cho." He said, grinning.
"Thank you Cedric." Cho replied, blushing once again.
Cedric stood, proudly. "So you don't have any siblings, either?" he asked.
Cho shook her head.
"I don't either." Cedric said. "It's okay though, I like living with my parents. Maybe you can be my sister?"
Cho looked surprised. "Oh, that would be lovely." She said, smelling the violet.
The Diggory's old brown cat came out of the house. It walked towards Cedric and Cho.
"His name is Ollie." Cedric said, lifting the cat and holding it towards Cho's face. "Here Ollie, say hi to Cho."
Looking curious, Cho raised her small arm to pet it. The cat hissed, showing its claws and teeth. It missed her by inches.
Cho let out a frightened cry and backed off, falling on her behind.
"Bad cat!" Cedric yelled, letting the cat on the ground. "Sorry, he's not friendly, he's just old and extremely cranky, Cho-" Cedric had lifted his hand to pick Cho up, but Cho was already crying. There was a small bruise on her arm.
Cedric genuinely looked stricken. "Oh, Cho, I'm so sorry, here, I'll fix-"
"No!" Cho cried. She ran into the house, wiping the tears off her face.
Harry blankly stared as Cedric glared at the cat, and run hurriedly after Cho.
…………………..
The scene blurred once again, and Harry found himself on the Hogwarts Express. He was in the compartment with four girls who seemed to be first years. He noticed Cho among them, smiling and chatting animatedly with a girl with curly red hair. Her sleek hair was tied in a ponytail, and already, some beauty glowed about her face.
Suddenly, the compartment door opened. It was Cedric.
Cho stopped talking as soon as she met his eyes. Cedric looked surprised, but also happy. "Hello, Cho." He said.
"Hi Cedric." Cho replied. The red haired girl narrowed her eyes at her.
"Excited for Hogwarts?" Cedric asked. Harry noticed that he was already wearing his Hufflepuff Hogwarts robes.
"Very." Cho beamed, such in a way that made Cedric almost blush.
It seemed that Cho and Cedric haven't met each other after the cat incident, because Harry could feel the awkwardness between them.
"Well…" Cedric began, "I hope you enjoy the ride – see you at school, then." He said.
"Thank you Cedric." Cho said, waving goodbye.
Harry then found himself standing in the Great Hall. The first years were lined up before Professor McGonagall, waiting for the sorting hat.
"Chang, Cho!"
Cho was tiny compared with rest of the students. Nonetheless, she held her head high and marched to the sorting Hat and sat down.
Harry saw Cedric sitting at the Hufflepuff table, craning his neck to get a better view.
"Ravenclaw!" The hat cried. There was a flash of disappointment in Cedric's face, but he resumed so quickly and clapped that Harry wasn't so sure if he saw it.
Cho beamed and glided to the Ravenclaw table, happily greeted by Penelope Clearwater. She then looked at Cedric, who stared back at her, longingly. She quickly turned away, and started chatting with Penelope.
……………………………………
Another blur occurred. Harry was on the Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch. The grass was green as ever, and there were students dressed in blue. One of them was lying on the ground. It was Cho. Harry saw Cedric run out of nowhere, full of worry on his face. He was holding his book bag, and he rushed towards Cho. Harry stepped closer.
"Cho! Cho, are you alright?" Cedric shouted. Cho's eyes were half closed.
"Mm…" Cho uttered.
"I'll take her to the hospital wing." Cedric demanded, his face white. There was a tone of authorization in his voice.
And with that, Cedric slung Cho's arms around his shoulder and carefully carried Cho inside the castle.
Madam Pomfrey started making her usual fuss as soon as she saw Cho, almost unconscious.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Fell off her broom." Cedric said, not taking his eyes off of Cho.
"Oh dear, she's too small to play Quidditch, look what this school is doing to students these days-"
Cedric grabbed Cho's hand. Cho's eyes opened, and looked into Cedric's grey pairs. "C-Cedric?"
Cedric nodded knowingly. "I'm here." He said urgently. "How are you feeling? That was a bad fall…"
"Not bad." Cho said, whimpering as Madam Pomfrey applied something thick and blue on Cho's heavily bruised arm and forehead. Harry saw Cedric's knuckles whiten as Cho dug her fingernails deep into his hand.
"This is pretty serious." Madam Pomfrey said, after an hour of constant applying. "You're going to need to go to St. Mungo's." she said finally. "The spinal cord is broken into pieces. Now, bending and growing bones I can do, but when the bone structure becomes complicated as these, I send them to St. Mungo's." she said. She hurried out to summon Dumbledore.
Cho looked pale, and Cedric seemed to be panicking.
"Ced…I…" Cho began. Tears swelled up in her eyes.
"It's okay, Cho, you'll be fine. The healers at St. Mungo's are brilliant. You'll be better in no time." Cedric said firmly, even though Harry didn't believe it in his eyes.
A moment later, Albus Dumbledore and Flitwick conjured Cho into the air.
"I'll take her, Albus." Professor Flitwick squeaked. Cedric looked at Cho's gliding body, looking exceptionally sad. He waved goodbye mouthing silent words, and Cho merely stared at him, tears of fear in her eyes.
………………………………………….
Another blur. This time Harry was in the hall on second floor of Hogwarts. He could clearly see Cedric and Cho talking. Something about them hinted to Harry that they were more intimate now; Cedric was no doubt growing into a young man. He was burly and tall, extremely handsome in the face with straight nose and chiselled features. There was a shiny prefect badge gleaming on his chest, perfectly polished. His head was leaning into Cho's, whose height was only up to his shoulders. Cho was undoubtedly very pretty, just the way Harry had remembered when he first met her in his third year. Her long sleek hair was silkier than ever, and her soft features and wide eyes were staring directly into Cedric's. It was hard to decide which of the two were better looking.
Harry walked closer to hear what they were saying.
"You're feeling better, then?" Cedric asked kindly.
"Yeah." Cho replied, her cheeks very rosy.
"Oh Cho…I was so worried about you!" Cedric said desperately. "When you didn't turn up to Hogwarts last year…I missed you so much, Cho. I mean it." He said. "I did have intentions to visit but-"
Cho surprised him by giving a tiny kiss on his cheek. Cedric seemed to turn red. Cho suppressed a giggle.
"I've missed you too, Cedric." Her voice was smooth and soothing and very innocent. Harry noticed they were holding hands.
"Well, good luck on your match next week…Gryffindor, is it?" Cedric asked.
Cho nodded. "Hopefully I won't fall off the broom." She said. "It's a wonder Roger still let me be on the team!" she said.
"Mm…" Cedric seemed to be thinking. "Well, watch out for Potter. He's a real good flier." He said finally.
Harry felt a weird jolt in his stomach as his name seemed important enough to be mentioned between these two.
Cho looked down at their hands. "I know." She said. "I saw him practise once. He's a very talented seeker." She said. Harry felt a rush of gratitude towards Cho.
Cho giggled. "Anyways…Snape's going to kill me if I'm late again. Hanging out with a prefect!"
Cedric smiled. "If you must go…I suppose." He said, trying to hide his disappointment. He reluctantly let go of Cho's hand. Cho turned bright red.
"Maybe I'll see you at dinner?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes, I'll finish my prefect duty as fast as I can and we can talk again!" Cedric said, sounding excited. Cho smiled one last time and left. Harry saw Cedric linger in his spot, watching her walk away farther into the crowd until her dark head was invisible.
……………………………………
Harry found himself outside of the Ravenclaw tower. There was a beautiful statue of an eagle, and the doors were decorated with stars. Cedric and Cho were holding hands tighter this time.
"Ced, be careful." Cho said in a worried tone. "Honestly, I cannot believe you entered the tournament just because I said-"
"Because you said you'd fancy seeing me compete? Cho, I know I did this for you, but I also wanted to prove myself to everyone…and me." Cedric broke off.
"Was it your father, Cedric?" Cho asked, concerned.
Cedric looked away. "Well…yes…he's a bit ambitious, for myself, being the only child I suppose he needs a decent son to look up to." He said..
"Oh Cedric," Cho hugged him tightly. "You're beyond decent. Cedric, you're the best boy I've ever known. Honestly."
"Not even the ones that buy you chocolate and ask you out for fancy dates?" Cedric asked with an amused look on his face.
Cho rolled his eyes. "Those boys. I don't even know- what, what are you doing, comparing yourself with them?!" Cho said, hugging him tighter.
Cedric rested his chin on her head. He said nothing.
"Cedric, those girls, I've seen them, they're going crazy over you." Cho said with a sigh. To Harry's surprise, Cedric smirked.
"What girls? There's not one girl that is half as good as you, Cho. You know that." He sighed.
There was a moment of silence and two of them embracing.
"I can't believe Harry Potter also got picked." Cedric said suddenly.
"I-I feel bad for him." Cho said.
Cedric looked at her.
"I don't know, I suppose, he's not sure of what he's getting himself into. And oh, that boy's been through so much trouble already!" Cho said.
Cedric looked nonchalant. He let out a small 'hmm'
"But," Cho began. "You're my true champion. Show them what the Diggory can do. I believe in you." Cho said brightly.
Cedric stared into her eyes and all of a sudden, he embraced her into a tight, passionate kiss.
They stood like this for a long time.
Then, there was another scene shift.
Harry was at the Yule Ball. It felt very odd watching himself trying to dance clumsily with Parvati. He tried to ignore it, and instead focused on Cedric and Cho. Harry remembered how hard it was to watch them dance last year.
Cho and Cedric were again in a tight embrace, waltzing slowly to the song.
"Cho," Cedric asked.
"Yes?" Cho replied.
"Can we go out somewhere…private?" he asked.
Cho silently nodded. The two went outside, and stopped near the fountain. Harry saw Cho's eyes widen as Cedric kneeled to the ground, and took a silver box out of his pocket.
"Cho-" he began, "Will-will you marry me?" he said.
It was hard to tell whether Cho was smiling or crying. "Oh Cedric!" she cried. There was a moment of pause.
"Yes, Cedric, I will marry you!" she exclaimed, throwing herself at him. Cedric grinned widely, and took out a silver ring from the box. "I-I love you, Cho." He said. "I'm ready to spend my entire life with you, really, I-I do." He stammered, as he put the silver jewel around Cho's finger. Then they stared into each other's eyes for a long time. Then they kissed.
There was another moment of blur.
Cho was wet, Cedric was wet and shaking and looked horrified. "Are-are you okay?" he asked, hastily putting the blanket around Cho's body.
"I-I'm fine," she replied, her teeth chattering. Harry heard Cedric mutter about how 'reckless' and 'stupid' this second task was.
"You could have drowned, for all I know, if I never found you-"
"You heard Dumbledore, he wouldn't actually let us drown-" Cho began. "Cedric honestly, I'm just proud that-"
"But you have no idea how it's like seeing you down there. Pale and lifeless, with only proof of your life are those bubbles coming out of your mouth…" Cedric hugged Cho tightly.
"Ced – honestly, you're tied in first place with Harry!" Cho exclaimed, upon hearing Barty Crouch's booming voice. Harry saw himself, also wet, to be embraced by Hermione and Ron.
"C'mon, I'll take you to your common room." Cedric said, wrapping one more blanket around Cho. She hugged him tightly around his waist.
…………………..
Another Blur. Harry was now at the Quidditch stadium, where he had been at only few hours ago. Cedric was wearing his Hufflepuff coloured uniform, his wand at the ready. "Cho, I'll be fine." He said.
"Cedric, please do becareful, I have an awful feeling about this task." Cho pleaded. "Please, I don't care if you don't win anymore, I just want you to be safe." There were tears in Cho's eyes.
"Cho, calm down, what could be so different about this task? It's just the final…where all the tension builds up….I'll be fine, I'll be back for you. I promise."
Cho numbly placed her hand on her stomach. "Ced, I think I might be…"
"Champions over here please!"
"….pregnant." Cho whispered. Harry was dumbfounded, and he could tell Cedric was, also.
"Wait, what? Pregnant?" Cedric asked, simply shocked.
Cho nodded.
Cedric placed his hands on Cho's shoulders. "Cho, whatever you're thinking – I have no thing to regret, and neither should you, and if you are pregnant then…" Cedric pondered. "Then let it be. We'll raise it together. We'll get married this summer." He said.
"Ced, don't you understand? You have to be safe! If anything happens.."
The scene blurred once again, and Harry found himself back in Dumbledore's Office. Albus Dumbledore stared at him through his spectacles.
"Have a sit, Harry." He said.
I hope you like it!!! Please review, it means SO much to me!