Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

My Idol, My Brother, My Friend

By: ChoCedric

As Zacharias Smith sat in the Quidditch stands with his Hufflepuff friends, he was absolutely petrified. He was doing his best not to show it, but utter terror gripped at him. His best friend, his big brother, Cedric Diggory, was competing in the third task of the Triwizard Tournament tonight, and he was hoping desperately that nothing would happen to him. Tonight was the night that the winner would be decided, and Zacharias felt butterflies and all kinds of other creatures swoop around in his stomach.

The main reason why he was so worried about Cedric was that they had been best friends since very early on in Zacharias's time at Hogwarts. Cedric had helped him when he had been struggling in some subjects; Zacharias had almost failed his first half of first year. But with Cedric's help, he was able to get his grades back up.

Zacharias had also been able to share his thoughts and feelings with Cedric; the older boy was a phenomenal listener. Zacharias had had some real trouble emotionally, and Cedric had been there for him throughout it. This trouble had been because of his older brother, who had been killed tragically many years ago.

The year it had happened, the Smiths had gone to America for vacation with his brother, who was seventeen, whose name was Jake, and his brother's best friend, Michael Simmons. They had gone to the beach, and Zack and his parents had enjoyed swimming in the sea one evening, an evening when Jake and Michael had decided to go take a walk.

But Zack's evening of fun had been ruined in the worst way possible. A sobbing Michael had come back, levitating Jake in front of him, claiming that a dark wizard had killed him. Jake's face had been frozen in shock, his eyes wide open and staring into the night sky.

It had been the most traumatic and horrifying moment of Zacharias's life. His brother had been his role model, his idol, someone he had aspired to be, and he had been taken in an instant. It had been later discovered that it had not been a dark wizard that had killed Jake, but Michael himself. The sobbing and the grief had all been an act. Zacharias had never felt worse in his life; someone he and his parents had trusted with their entire beings had taken advantage of Jake and hurt him in the worst way he could possibly be hurt.

Of course Cedric was no replacement for his brother, but nevertheless, he had become like another brother to Zack. He listened to his problems and consoled him whenever Zack felt depressed about Jake. Merlin, how he missed his brother! He knew Jake and Cedric would have gotten along massively well. Cedric was the perfect Hufflepuff, so loyal and kind, and he was nice to every single person he could be nice to.

Zack had felt dread course through his entire being as soon as he found out Harry Potter would be competing in the tournament as well. At first he'd thought Harry had cheated his way in, but Cedric had convinced him that that wasn't the case. The older champion had explained that Harry had informed him about the dragons at the last moment when Cedric had had no idea what the first task was going to entail.

But still, Zack had fear emanating from him as he sat in the stands. His mind kept flashing back to Jake, his brother who would now always remain seventeen, the same age as Cedric. It was rumored that Harry was dangerous and a mental case, and what if Cedric didn't know him as well as he thought he did? What if Harry Potter, the child who had destroyed the darkest wizard in a century when he was only a year old, was a dark wizard himself?

Ludo Bagman's voice then boomed out over the crowd, telling everyone how many points the champions had. Harry and Cedric were tied in first place, and Zack had to admit that this made him a little angry. Why was Potter allowed to compete at all? Cedric should be given a chance to shine!

"On my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" Mr. Bagman called, and Zack looked at the terrifying maze that loomed before the champions. He prayed to every deity he could think of that his idol, his brother, his role model, his friend would be all right. He couldn't possibly take another tragedy like what had happened to Jake. "One-two-three!" Bagman called, and Cedric happily waved at the crowd before he and Harry ventured into the maze.

The next little while was extremely boring, for nobody knew what was going on in the maze. Zack's heart was beating a mile a minute, and the look on his face must have been discernible to the Hufflepuffs sitting around him, for they all shot him concerned glances. Zack knew that Cedric would probably be fine, for he was a strong young man that had gotten through many challenges, but he was still horribly frightened for his friend. The outcome he hoped for the most was for Cedric to come out of the maze, victorious, holding the Triwizard Cup above his head and waving it at the crowd.

Suddenly, Zack saw red sparks fly into the sky. His heart almost stopped; was that Cedric who needed help? Was he hurt? Was he ... Zack didn't even want to think about it.

But before long, he realized it was Fleur Delacour who was hurt, for she was being carried out of the maze. She was placed in the stands with her other classmates, so now it was just Viktor Krum, Cedric, and Harry in the maze. Many people in the stands went crazy, yelling the name of the champion they wanted to win.

After a few more minutes, more red sparks flew into the sky. Viktor was next to be carried out of the maze, and Zack felt a mixture of joy and terror sweep through him. It was down to Cedric and Harry now. Harry had better not pull any funny business, he thought to himself. He'd better protect Cedric if anything happens.

And suddenly, there they were. Harry and Cedric were at the center of the maze, battling a huge acromantula. The crowd whooped and cheered in fright and delight as they watched the two contestants, plus the humungous spider, battle. Finally, with a joint effort from Harry and Cedric, the spider fell to the ground and didn't move again, for it had been stupefied.

Then, Zack saw the two champions' mouths moving and he knew they were having a conversation. The looks on their faces made it seem as though they were having an argument. What is the problem? Just take the cup, Cedric! Zack thought to himself. But he knew in his heart that Cedric was too noble for his own good, and too fair. He would let Harry have the victory, he just knew it.

After about a minute, he saw Cedric helping Harry limp towards the cup. I knew it, thought Zack. He's going to let Harry take it.

But then, both boys seized a handle of the cup, and a flood of emotions roiled through Zack. They were taking it together. As much as he was disappointed that Harry was sharing the victory, he'd learned an important lesson from Cedric today: you couldn't always be selfish. Cedric had reached out a hand to Harry, and the two of them were sharing the Hogwarts victory.

Cedric and Harry's smiling faces shone in the moonlight, and Zack stood up, ready to congratulate his idol, his brother, his friend. But all of a sudden, there was nothing in the spot where Cedric's handsome visage had been, and Harry was gone too.

And it was at that moment that Zack felt his stomach sink to the ground. He'd known it all along; something terrible was going to happen. He heard a buzzing in his ears, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He couldn't even hear the roar of the crowd as people shouted and screamed, wondering what in the bloody hell was going on.

After a few seconds, the buzzing disappeared, and Zack sank back down into his seat, but his heart was still pounding against his ribcage in a terribly anxious fashion. He looked at the faces around him and saw a mass of confusion. Albus Dumbledore's voice resonated over the hubbub, trying to calm everyone down, but Zack knew that this was out of everyone's hands. Had Harry planned this? Had Harry taken Cedric somewhere, somewhere dangerous? Oh God, he thought, once again praying. Oh God, please don't let something happen to Cedric.

Minutes passed, with still no sign of either champion. Zack felt tears burn his eyes, but he angrily blinked them back. No, he thought to himself. Harry is going to come back with Cedric, and he'll be safe and alive. Just you wait.

THUMP!

Suddenly, the two boys materialized at the edge of the maze. Harry was gasping, bleeding, and looked totally done in, as though something earth-shattering had just happened. And Cedric was lying very, very still.

But the déja vu and horror didn't strike Zack until he looked into Cedric's gray eyes. The eyes which had shown so much compassion and warmth and helpfulness were now blank, empty, wide open, and staring. He had the same look of profound shock on his face that Jake had worn all those years ago.

Nausea roiled in Zack then. His head was pounding and his hands had gone clammy. "No, no, no, no, no! This can't be happening!" he heard someone screaming until their throat was raw, and it took him a moment to realize it was he who had done it.

Albus Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge came running over to the two champions, and within seconds, screams pierced through the night air, screams of horror and sadness and disbelief.

"Dead! Dead! Diggory's dead! Dead! Dead! Cedric Diggory! Dead!"

It was at that moment that Zack ran. He was going to kill Harry Potter, murder him with his bare hands. Another brother, dead. Another role model, gone. Every time Zack tried to run, people stopped him, but adrenaline pumped through his system so hard that he was able to push the hands away. "Zack! Zack!" he heard his Hufflepuff friends yelling, but he paid them no mind.

As he ran blindly to where his adopted big brother lay staring at the sky, he saw Alastor Moody dragging Potter away from the scene. His chance for vengeance quashed, Zack felt even more ill. "Stop! Stop!" he screamed at Moody, but the Auror did not pay him any attention, continuing to lead Potter away. Zack was too far away and too slow for Moody, so he got away. Zack felt blind rage rush through him as he knew he wouldn't be able to deal with Harry tonight.

As he ran faster and faster to where his idol was still staring at the stars, he saw Cho Chang point her wand at Cedric, screaming, "Enervate!" Zack knew it wouldn't work, for he had seen that look in Jake's eyes and no amount of enervating woke him up. Cho was screaming, sobbing, holding her boyfriend's hand, looking into his staring eyes and begging him to blink, to move, to look at her, to do anything. And of course, Cedric didn't stir.

As Zack's eyes gazed around him, he heard whispers of conversation as well as screams and sobs and yells of "Dead! Dead! Dead!" punctuating the air.

"Did you know that Potter was saying You-Know-Who killed Diggory?" someone muttered.

"Yeah, how can You-Know-Who be back, though?" someone else said through tears.

"MY SON! MY BOY! MY CEDRIC! NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Zack heard Mr. Diggory scream, and with that, he couldn't take it anymore. Trust Potter to make up a cock-and-bull story about some dead dark wizard, a dark wizard who'd been dead for thirteen damn years, coming back to life!

He let out a pure, animalistic scream of anguish and ran away from the scene of his idol's cold body, his eyes still staring, the look of shock and vulnerability still adorning his face. People tried to console him as he ran, but nothing got through to the distraught Hufflepuff. Puffing, panting, and gasping, he ran back into the school, not realizing that he had tears streaming down his face.

He didn't know how he got through the next few hours; they all seemed to be blurred together into one huge blob. He sat miserably in the Hufflepuff common room, surrounded by crying girls and numb boys. The leader of their house had been brutally snatched away, their champion, their hero. But he was more than that to Zack. He was a dear, dear friend.

At around two in the morning, Zack snuck to the hospital wing. As soon as he got there, Madame Pomfrey greeted him with a sympathetic look. He expected her to be angry about him being out of bed after curfew, but after the events of the night, she didn't seem to care.

Zack was led to a private room, and as the door opened, Madame Pomfrey gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Go in there and say goodbye to him," she said softly. "I know you two were very close."

As Zack walked into the room, he saw his friend lying on the single bed, wrapped in a white sheet. His eyes were closed now, no longer lifeless and staring. Mr. and Mrs. Diggory, who were by their son's bedside, took one look at him and told him that he could have some alone time with Cedric. "He talked about you a lot," said Mrs. Diggory tearfully. "He said you were like his little brother."

At this, Zack felt his eyes fill with tears again. He was on the brink of despair; this same situation couldn't be happening again! And another story about a dark wizard, was this how Zack's life was going to turn out? Having the people he loved the most leave him and the survivors saying it was a dark wizard's doing?

When Mr. and Mrs. Diggory left the room, Zack bent down and touched Cedric's hand. God, it was so cold! He didn't look peaceful at all; he still looked horrified and fearful.

All sense left Zack then. All the grief, the anger, the hate, the rage, the despair came to the surface, and he quickly cast a Silencing Charm. He then began to pound on Cedric's chest, screaming at the top of his lungs, "HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME? WHAT DID POTTER DO TO YOU? NOT YOU TOO! YOU WERE MY BEST FRIEND! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! HOW COULD YOU DESERT ME LIKE JAKE DID? I HATE YOU!"

He yelled and hollered until his throat was sore; then, spent, he collapsed by Cedric's side, his head in his hands, letting the tears fall nonstop. He knew, from that moment on, he'd always be an embittered person. Too much tragedy could change you, and Zacharias Smith would never, ever be the same boy again. And he'd never give his heart fully to anyone again, like he had Jake and Cedric. It wasn't worth it, if it kept being broken. Not worth it at all.