Okay so this is a little idea I had. The basic premise is that Cedric Diggory didn't die, and this is the story as told from his view, with a few twists. I don't want to ruin the mystery of it quite yet. I'm not sure about the format, I thought it would make more sense to cram three years of experiences in story this way. Still, it's all very experimental. I hope that you guys like it, but it's really just for fun! Happy reading! (Also I don't own any characters or anything. I would never presume to displease the great and powerful J.K. Rowling.)
PROLOGUE
It was the deep and throbbing ache in my left shoulder that dragged me back into consciousness. I grunted in discomfort and blinked my eyes several times in the dim room before examining the wound. I hadn't gotten a chance to really get a feel for how bad it was since I received it, Bellatrix Lestrange had kept me quite busy ever since. What with the torture and all that. I could see it clearly enough through the rip in my shirt, the tattered edges of the shirt were stained a brownish color from dried blood. My blood. I swallowed and eyed the sloppy bandages that were already red as well. It couldn't be too terribly bad, I was alive after all. For now. I raised my head to look around the room, it was suddenly clear that I was no longer at Malfoy Manor. I recognized this as a room in the dungeons at Hogwarts. This was not an encouraging thought, sure I probably still had plenty of friends here, but Snape was now headmaster. Any rescue attempts from the outside would probably be easily squashed, because Hogwarts was too well guarded and it would be way too risky.
I focused on the room, there were a few dark lumps that looked like covered furniture in the corner. There were several chairs to my right and I was currently slumped over in one of them with cords holding my arms firmly behind me. I was facing the door and to the left of it a dusty old mirror hung on the wall. I could see myself in it clearly enough to know I looked awful. My hair was in a state that would rival Harry Potters, and it had streaks of what I could assume was blood and dirt throughout that tainted the original dark blond color. My face was similarly streaked with filth, I could see a cut above my left eyebrow and a few more superficial scrapes over my right cheek. That must have happened in forest. I looked very gaunt, underneath the grunge my skin was pale and I could distinguish dark circles forming under my eyes. My eyes were still blue at least, they were the only thing that really looked like myself at the moment.
I was certain that the torture would resume promptly, the fact that I had helped Harry Potter and his friends escape from under their noses would be a big offense. They would assume I was in a position to tell them about his whereabouts. Fortunately to Hermione's genius I had no way of knowing where they might be. I'm sure they were safe though, and that's what mattered. However, I did have a secret to protect. Maybe it wouldn't change anything if it were divulged, or maybe it would change everything. That wasn't really what I was considering, I needed to protect her. After all, I probably owed her my life.
I heard footsteps growing nearer in the passageway outside, and soon I could distinguish the voices. I had become uncomfortably familiar with the voice of Bellatrix over the past few hours. The other voice I had known for many years now as being that of my Professor. Well, he was headmaster now. I watched the door and saw the shadow as they stopped outside it, still talking. I closed my eyes and focused on making out what they were saying, if I knew what their plan was maybe I would have a way to prepare for whatever came next.
"I still don't understand what happened Bellatrix," Snape's voice cut through the darkness.
"Snatchers brought Potter and his friends right to us!" Bellatrix snapped, "We had them locked away until that... elf interfered. We caught one of them though."
"I don't understand why the Dark Lord was not informed the moment you had Potter in custody..."
"We had no way of knowing Severus! The boy's face was all swollen up. Draco couldn't identify him," Bellatrix defended quickly, "But we mustn't mention that. Remember your vow Severus. Anyway, that is why we need to find out what we can from the one they left behind."
After a pause the door was unlocked and they both strode inside, "Draco says he is Cedric Diggory."
Snape moved forward and eyed me skeptically for a moment, "So it would seem. Mr. Diggory looks a bit worse for wear these days."
"He threw himself in front my knife, saved that bloody house elf!" Bellatrix sneered at me, "Suppose you think that's somehow heroic. Risking yourself for a servant! A slave!"
"I would assume, from what you told me, is motivations were more to make sure that the elf succeeded and getting the others away." Snape noted in his usual monotone, "Mr. Diggory grew up in our world, he is probably quite indifferent to the plight of the common house elf."
Bellatrix sniffed, "Either way! I tortured him all night Severus. He won't say a word!" She moved closer to me, "It was suggested that we use a different tact to find out what he knows. He knows something Severus, no one without a big important secret would take the cruciatus curse for so long. There was a fear that we'd drive him mad before he ever told us anything useful."
Snape's dark eyes were eyeing my wound with distaste, "I'm still not sure why he's here. I have no more of the potion to compel him to tell us anything."
"Don't be modest Severus. You have a particular gift for delving into the mind," Bellatrix said impatiently, "That's what we want you to do."
"That is no easy request, especially when dealing with a particularly strong and determined mind," Snape said sharply.
"We have faith in you Severus," Bellatrix grabbed a chunk of my hair and jerked my head back, "So find out what secrets he keeping locked away in this handsome head. And show us."
She released her grip on me and moved away, "Take your time Severus, but do try to have something useful before Potter makes his next move. Draco will collect whatever you can get out of him." Without another word she turned and walked briskly out of the room, slamming the heavy door behind her.
Snape removed his wand lazily and did not cast right away. I was a little unnerved, finally he spoke, "I'm sure you have some idea of how to try and keep me out. Let's see how long you can manage it Mr. Diggory."
I got the strange sense that he was giving me time to collect myself, to attempt to clear my mind and put up the walls around what I needed to protect. How could that be, though? Why would Snape want me to hold onto secrets that could help bring about the downfall of his master? It didn't make any sense, but as I met his gaze I saw a hint of something there. Hesitation? I pushed that thought away quickly, it didn't matter. I had to protect my secret, I had to keep her safe. I had to give them all a chance to win. That is what I focused on in the long moment as Snape raised his wand, so that when he did cast, I was ready.
"Legilimens!"
CHAPTER ONE
This had always been my favorite time of day, I had almost always been an early riser. My mum always said that I rose with the sun, but it wasn't watching the sunrise that I enjoyed. Sure, it was beautiful with the blazing orange and pink streaks painting the sky. No, I liked this part, when the sky was still gray and was tinged with grayish purples and the first feathery wisps of pink. I liked it because the ground shone silver with dew and the cool mist hung in the air. I had always had a cheesy sense that this was the moment of promise, the deep breath before the day began. I knew this was a very romantic idea, I was usually much more practical about things. So I never mentioned this to dad, I knew he wouldn't really understand the whole idea. He was more prone to focus on the sunrise, that's what most people looked for.
"Here it is Cedric," He stopped and knelt to pick up a tattered old boot off the ground, "Yes, this is it."
I eyed the thing with interest, it was just a dirty old boot but I was struck with how clever it was. Why would a muggle, or anyone, want to mess around with a solitary boot with a broken shoestring and and the sole coming loose. I nodded and glanced around curiously, "Do you think anyone else will be using this one."
"Well I think the Weasley's for sure, they aren't too far from here. This will be the only one in their area," He replied and checked his watch, "Arthur will probably be nearby, it's almost time."
Sure enough it didn't take long before they saw a large group crest the hill opposite them. I recognized several red heads as my classmates, though there were others that were less easily identified in the dull pre-dawn glow.
"Over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we've got it!" Dad called and waved them over.
Mr. Weasley came over beaming and shook hands before introducing my father to everyone. I greeted them and most replied but I didn't really think much of the unusual silence from the twins. I recognized them all easily enough, of course the twins were closest to my age, and drew enough attention to themselves that you would be hard pressed to not know them. However, telling them apart was a different story. Then of course Ron, I had never really spoken to him but I had seen him around and he was just as tall and gangly as I remembered, and there was Ginny Weasley who was yawning and seemed quite disinterested in anything besides her bed. Hermione and Harry were also easy, I had probably had the most interaction with Harry on the quidditch field, but of course the whole school know of his exploits to do with the philosopher's stone and of course the chamber of secrets. Last years adventures were a bit more fuzzy. That's where the other came in, I couldn't quite remember her name. I knew that she was a fifth year and she was in Gryffindor, but until last year she hadn't really stuck out at all.
I tuned back in to the conversation in time to catch the introductions, "This is Louisa, friend of, well, the twins and Ron. This is Hermione, another friend of Ron's - and Harry, yet another friend..."
It was at that point my dad cut him off, but I was too busy thinking to myself that I did actually remember that her name was Louisa Randall, to notice what he was saying. I remembered seeing her around with the twins quite often, she had been around Harry and his friends as well. It was last year that she seemed to really get close to Harry though, near the end of the year they had all been inseparable. She had gotten mixed up in whatever had happened to do with Sirius Black. I figured going through something so dangerous together would form a pretty strong bond. It was at this point that I realized what my dad was saying and I became decidedly uncomfortable.
"I said - Ced, that will be something to tell your grandchildren, that will.. You beat Harry Potter!" My father was a very proud dad, to the point of rudeness. I think he honestly expected everyone to have as high an opinion of me as he did, so he was pretty blind to the scowls he was getting from the Weasley twins, not to mention Harry's own stricken expression.
"Harry fell off his broom, Dad," I told him, "I told you... it was an accident..."
"Yes, but you didn't fall off, did you?" He laughed and clapped me on the back happily.
I ignored whatever he was saying now about me and watched Louisa Randall, I didn't want her to think I was very proud of that win. I had wanted a rematch, I really had. I didn't really understand what the Dementors were capable of but I had a feeling there was more to it than met the eye. It didn't seem fair that I probably only caught the snitch because Harry was busy plummeting to a near death. Louisa didn't seem to be paying attention to me though, she was trying to catch the twins' eyes. Mostly she looked amused. She was pretty, it seemed strange that I hadn't noticed before. She wasn't exactly a show stopping beauty, but there was something about her that was just... lovely. I couldn't quite figure it out though. She had a decent smile, but her mouth was a bit small. Her nose was straight but there was nothing extraordinary about it. Her hair was dark brown, it looked thick and silky so that was nice. She was fairly tall, at least for a girl, and thin. Maybe I was just seeing potential, she was only fifteen after all, she might grow up to be a great beauty.
Mr. Weasley had the good sense to cut my father off and check the time, soon we were all gathering around the old boot. Mr. Weasley explaining to Harry and Hermione what they needed to do. It took some doing to get such a large group around such a small object, but soon I had a finger firmly on the portkey, wedged between my father and Mr. Weasley. I was familiar with the sensation, but it still made me get butterflies in my stomach whenever we were jerked forward. When we landed I felt a small bit of pride that I was the only one of my peers to remain on his feet. Then I immediately felt guilty about it, I was seventeen after all, and several of them had probably never even heard of a portkey until this morning. I moved forward to help Hermione to her feet with a smile and glanced around.
For the first time I caught Louisa's eye and I knew instantly what it was about her that was beautiful. It was her eyes, they were chocolatey brown and famed in dark curling lashes. Now they sparkled with a hint of laughter that was so warm I figured she must have been good to have around when Dementors were near. The expression in them was so apparent and sincere that I figured everyone must know how she felt all the time.
She turned away from me and linked arms with the twins, "Both of you stop being sore about it. You still won the cup you know, besides. He did ask for a rematch. Even Wood said they won fair and square." She told them softly, "Besides, I have something that I think will cheer you both up." She pulled two brightly packaged toffees from her pockets and handed one to each, "Don't you dare tell your mother that I smuggled those out for you either!"
They beamed at her, "Lou, how did we ever manage without you?"
I smiled faintly, assuming the candies were some sort of mischief the twins had concocted. Of course their behavior was very bad, but I had always enjoyed their pranks. I thought they were kind of genius actually, it was just a different sort of brilliance. As we all walked I had a thought to thank Louisa for standing up for me, but the twins had engaged her in a hushed and seemingly hilarious discussion. By the time we parted ways with them to go to our own campsite it had slipped my mind completely. There was too much to do to get set up, and then I had to go around talking to people from school. I spent some time catching up with Cho Chang, Ravenclaw's seeker and a very pretty fifth year. We had spoken some last year and I had an idea that we might turn into more than friends. In all of the activity and the excitement of the match I soon forgot all about my encounter with Louisa Randall. I went to bed with shamrocks, snitches, and Cho Chang's smile in my thoughts.
"Cedric! Wake up, something serious is happening outside," My father shook me awake several hours later.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes, "What is it, dad?"
"Get dressed, hurry!" He said simply and left the tent with his wand drawn. I pulled a sweatshirt on and tugged my shoes on quickly, not bothering to change out of my pajamas. I grabbed my wand and hurried outside, what I was met with left me speechless. It took several moments for me to be able to pull my gaze away from the sickening sight of the muggles writhing in thin air. Not to mention their masked tormenters who were tearing their way through the campsites. Everyone was screaming and running around in all the chaos.
"Cedric help people get into the forest and tell them to stay together!" Dad told me quickly.
"Dad, I can help!" I was of age, after all.
"That is helping!" He sighed at my expression, "You're still a student Ced, help people get to safety and leave the rest to the ministry workers all right?"
That made sense, though I didn't like how useless I felt. I nodded and just turned to start toward the tree line, "Everybody head for the trees! Stick together!" I shouted as I went and soon I was part of a large group of frightened witches and wizards as we fled the campsites. I paused at the edge of the trees and checked a few nearby tents to make sure no one was staying behind. I was looking inside a tent when I noticed Harry and his friends starting to the forest a good ways away. Well, that was good, they were all together and they had gotten to safety. I checked a few more tents, happy to find them empty. When I looked back I saw that dad was with several other ministry officials, that made me feel better. So I hurried into the trees wondering where Cho was, and if she had gotten out of the campsite all right.
My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a shout somewhere to my left in the distance. I hesitated only a moment before I started in that direction quickly, it was dark and maybe someone had gotten hurt while running through the trees. I ran several meters and paused to get my bearings. I paused at the sound of dead leaves crunching and crackling under someone's hurried footsteps. A figure came racing around a tree before I had time to raise my wand and crashed into my side. Whoever it was made me stumble to the side and we both shouted in surprise.
"Who's there? Ron?" A vaguely familiar voice asked suddenly.
I rubbed my ribs where a thin elbow had dug into them and raised my wand slightly, "Lumos! Louisa?"
"Cedric..." She blinked at the sudden silvery light and glanced around in the trees, "You haven't seen any of the others have you?"
"No, last I saw you were all heading into the trees together? What happened?"
"Well... it's a bit of a story. I punched Draco Malfoy and we all ran for it. Must have lost them. I think we lost the twins and Ginny a bit before that too." She sounded remarkably calm, but then I remembered she was used to being around the twins and Harry Potter, so this was probably just a typical night.
"Draco Malfoy...?" I asked when that detail clicked into place.
She rubbed the knuckles on her right hand absently, "He was being a prat. He called Hermione a... well he..."
"I can imagine," I sighed, that made sense, but still, I'm not sure if I had ever had the urge to punch someone in my life.
"Punching hurts, I don't know how muggles have entire sporting events around it. Very impractical," She said simply, and I recognized the laughter in her eyes, even in the darkness.
I laughed, "I'm sure it does. Come on, let's try and find the others. Probably not a good idea to be wondering around alone."
I turned and started in the direction I thought I had seen people going and we walked a while in silence, "Oh, I meant to thank you. For earlier, I think the twins were about ready to strangle me when you distracted them. Thanks for defending me. I know it wasn't a popular win for Hufflepuff, I really did want a rematch."
Louisa shrugged, "Don't worry about it Cedric, I know. You're Cedric Diggory after all."
"What does that mean?" I laughed slightly.
"Oh, well, you know. You're the Golden Boy. Probably future Minister of Magic or something. You follow the rules, you do the right thing, you're... shiny. Don't worry about that match tarnishing your reputation."
"I feel like I should be offended," I noted suddenly.
"Why? Nothing wrong with being all shiny and clean, metaphorically and physically," Louisa smiled at me, "I remember way back when I was like that... sometime around my second year when I fell in league with Fred and George I was forever altered."
"Second year? Wow you must be part of their covert operations," I smiled, "They seem pretty fond of you."
"Yes, I try to keep a low profile, but I do have a hand in plenty of their stunts. They're kind of brilliant you know. I think they are going to put Zonko's out of business." She told me, "Besides, I'm dating both of them."
I paused and looked at her in alarm and was met with that same laughing gaze, another joke. How had I never noticed her before, she was funny, and didn't seem like the quiet version of her I had always had in my head before. I liked her, I could see us being friends. She was different from most of the people I spent time with, but I guess they were shiny do-gooders like me. I smiled at the thought and shook my head.
"It behooves me to tell you that punching people isn't exactly keeping a low profile," I was catching on to the joking banter, "Quite the opposite."
"Oh I gave up on that after last year," Louisa waved her hand dismissively, "Once you become friends with Harry Potter having a normal time at school is completely out of the question."
"So it would seem." I agreed and we stopped suddenly when a flash of green rose into the sky. Through the gaps in the trees overhead I watched as it formed into a skull, I felt Louisa grip my arm when the snake slithered out of it's mouth. I looked at her pale and horrorstruck expression, everything was cast in the eerie green glow of it. I had never seen one before, but I had heard about it. I knew what it was, from the look on her face she did to. Her eyes were definitely not laughing now, I watched as they hardened from fright into a strange determined look.
"Come on!" She kept a grip on my arm and pulled me along as she barreled through the trees toward the source of the Dark Mark. She released her arm only when it became clear that I was keeping up, though I didn't understand why we would want to possibly find out who had cast it. I couldn't let her just go alone, and she was fast. Way too fast for me to be able to keep up and express my concerns. A branch slapped my cheek as we barreled out of the brush into a small open space. I had time to register a bunch of minister officials, Harry Potter, and a house elf in the moment before several officials raised their wants and cast at us automatically.
"Down!" I gripped her shoulders and dragged her down to the ground with me, I ducked my head and felt a rock digging into my knee painfully. However the crackling of magic above my head was far more concerning.
"Stop! STOP!" I recognized dad's voice and silence fell, "It's Cedric! It's just Cedric. What were you thinking? You both could have been seriously hurt!"
I got up, brushing leaves off of my front and started to speak before Louisa beat me to it, "I'm sorry, it was my fault. I lost Harry and the others in the dark. When I ran into Cedric he was kind enough to stay with me. I saw the mark and... well I was really worried about the others, that something might have happened..." She said quickly and cast a quick wide eyed glance up at the mark, "Cedric was too much of a gentleman to let me run off alone."
Dad seemed satisfied, "That's my boy, but next time probably run away from the Dark Mark. No one was hurt here, thankfully."
"Did you catch who did it, dad?" I asked and glanced around at the odd assortment of people, no one really looked capable.
"Um, no, not yet." He answered awkwardly.
Mr. Weasley stepped forward, "Cedric why don't you come back to camp with us. The danger there has past, maybe between you and I we can keep track of these four." He tried to sound normal and genial but there was a definite strain in his voice.
Dad nodded his approval of the plan and said he would see me at camp. So I walked after Mr. Weasley and the others, trailing behind slightly. I saw Louisa move closer to Hermione and shoot her a questioning look, Hermione muttered something back that sounded like a promise to explain what had happened later. After that Hermione and Ron began arguing about the house elf he had seen. I remembered that Hermione was muggle born and probably hadn't had much interaction with house elves. It was just a fact of life in the wizarding world, but I guess it would be odd for muggles to grasp. As far as I knew house elves wanted to serve someone. Mr. Weasley had to assure several people that it hadn't been you-know-who who had conjured the mark. Then we walked quickly to their campsite. I stood awkwardly while they greeted everyone and the twins poked their heads out.
"We just saw Draco Malfoy, he had a bloody nose!" One of them announced.
"Yeah, that was me," Louisa told them tiredly, but seemed pleased with their reaction.
"Yeah Hermione stopped me or it would have been me," Ron grumbled but the twins didn't hear him.
"Brilliant! I love you," Fred told Louisa bluntly.
"Marry me!" George interjected happily.
Mr. Weasley shook his head, "All of you go inside and settle down. You're welcome to stay here with us Cedric..."
"I'm fine Mr. Weasley, I should go see if anything of our things were damaged." I told him and waved, Louisa looked back as she was entering the tent and gave a small wave as well.
I heaved out an exhausted sigh and turned to go find our tent, in a rush of adrenaline I had forgotten how late it was, or early more like. I was just ready to lay down and sleep for days. I got a few hours of sleep before dad came back, we got dressed and packed everything up before heading home, I knew he would be leaving straight for the ministry after we got back. We went mostly in silence, both of us too tired and confused to really have much else to say. It felt like it had been weeks since we had met Mr. Weasley at the portkey. So much had happened and I'd had very little time to mull it all over. I was still too tired when we got home to think too much about it, instead I just went to my room and fell into bed fully clothed.
