A story retold again and again. A graveyard where it almost ends.
The traitor walks towards the grave. He raises his wand, under his masters chain.
Light dances across the walls. A single Muggle changed it all.
A House is made of Bricks and Beams,
A Home is made of Hopes and Dreams.
Duncan blinked open his brown eyes, rubbing them with his small fist. He was four years old with blond hair, which was sticking up in places from him tossing and turning in bed.
The little boy climbed out of bed, trying to be quiet so as to not wake his mummy. He didn't want to go back to bed, and if he woke his mummy she would make him go back to bed. Maybe there was something he could do that wasn't too noisy...
Grinning, Duncan grabbed the torch from his bedside table. He clicked the switch, squinting his eyes when the white light got him full in the face.
Duncan climbed back into bed, swishing the torch back and forth along the walls. This wouldn't wake his mummy. It wasn't noisy, but it was still very fun. Duncan giggled.
His eyes landed on the only window in his bedroom. Duncan hated that window. He hated it because it gave him a wonderful view of the graveyard out back. Duncan had always been afraid that, one night, while he's sleeping, monsters will come up from the graveyard and climb through his window, looking for little boys to gobble up. He shivered.
Duncan shone the torch at the window, to make sure there wasn't anything out there. Satisfied that nothing was about to climb through his window to get him, Duncan relaxed and continued playing with his torch, watching the light dance across the walls.
"Kill the spare."
Pettigrew raised his wand, his mouth opening to speak the spell that will take away a life. "Avada-" He was cut off suddenly as a white light shone through a nearby window and right into his face.
"Run!" Harry shouted, grabbing Cedric's arm and pulling him along. The two boys made a dash for it, a high pitched cry of fury echoing across the graveyard.
Spells were shot at them, but most of them hit gravestones instead of their intended targets. A Leg-Locker jinx hit Cedric right in the back, causing the older boy to fall to the ground. He scooted behind a large gravestone. Pettigrew didn't seem to realize he'd hit one of them. He was too focused on Harry.
Harry, who was momentarily distracted, was hit by a stunner. He felt Pettigrews hands grab him and began to drag him back to were he'd left the bundle of robes. Harry's eyes locked with Cedric's, who was trying desperately to undo the jinx so he could save the younger boy.
Pettigrew tied Harry to a gravestone, stuffing a cloth in his mouth so he couldn't speak. Harry realized that the grave belonged to a guy named Tom Riddle. Wasn't that Voldemort's real name?
The two boys watched, wide-eyed, as Pettigrew got out a giant cauldron filled with water, lighting a fire under it.
"Bones of the father..."
With a wave of his wand, the ground beneath Harry cracked and bone-white dust flew out and into the cauldron, causing sparks to fly.
"F-Flesh of the servant..."
Pettigrew raised a long dagger over his head. Harry clamped his eyes shut just as he brought it down. He heard Pettigrew scream, soon followed by a splash.
"Blood of the enemy..."
Harry's eyes snapped open as he felt warm breath against his neck. Pettigrew was inches from his face, clutching the dagger in his only hand. He pressed it against his forearm and cut into his skin, causing the boy to gasp. Pettigrew filled a small vial with his blood, before pouring it into the cauldron.
Both Harry and Cedric watched, as Pettigrew picked up the bundle of robes and dropped what ever was in it into the cauldron. Harry's scar twitched and burned. Let it drown... Let what ever it is drown...
But it did not drown.
Harry and Cedric watched in horror as a tall, skeletal, pale man (if it could be called that) emerge from the cauldron.
Lord Voldemort has returned.
"Robe me, Wormtail."
Pettigrew, who had curled up on the floor, clutching his stump and crying, scrambled to his feet and picked up the robes, throwing them over his masters head.
Blood red eyes locked with Harry's emerald ones. A sick, twisted grin spread across Voldemort's face and he stepped towards Harry. His scar burned and throbbed as he approached.
"Now, Harry." James Potter said. "Break it now!"
Harry raised his wand above his head, breaking the golden connection between his and Voldemort's wands. Intermediately, the ghost-like things went to Voldemort, slowing him down.
Harry ran. He didn't feel his body throbbing. He didn't feel the pain in his leg or his arm. Noticing Cedric still sitting by the gravestone (Harry guessed that the Death Eaters had been too focused on him and Voldemort to really notice him), Harry pointed his wand at him and quickly did the counter-curse.
The two boys began running towards the cup, Death Eaters hot on their tails.
"We're not going to get there in time!" Cedric yelled, as a spell tore the wing of a stone angel that was just inches away from his head.
"Then we'll make it come to us!" Harry yelled, narrowly dodging a jinx. He raised his wand, pointing it at the cup. "Accio, cup!"
Cedric grabbed his arm, just as there was a loud CRACK! and Pettigrew apparated behind them, in a desperate attempt to capture them. He threw himself at Harry, grabbing him around the waist, just as he grabbed the cup.
He felt a tug behind his navel and the last thing Harry heard was the sound of Voldemort's scream of rage before they were surrounded by a swirl of sound and color.
As suddenly as it came, it stopped. Harry was lying face down in the grass, panting as his heart hammered against his chest. Cheers and clapping surrounded him, but it was soon followed by gasps of shock. Cedric tightened his hold on his arm.
Swallowing, Harry shakily pushed himself onto his knees, letting go of the cup. He looked around.
Cedric was sitting next to him, still clutching onto his arm. Pettigrew seemed to be in shock, looking around in horror. Harry knew what he was going to do before he did it.
He lunged, forcing Cedric to let go of his arm, just as Pettigrew shrunk down into a rat. He tried to run away, but Harry grabbed him, ignoring how his hands were getting clawed and bite.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked, looking at Cedric, who seemed to be in some state of shock. He drew in a shaky breath, nodding.
"Harry!"
Harry looked up to see Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid and Fudge walking towards them, along with a group of reporters.
"What's happened?" Dumbledore asked, taking in the pale-faced boys.
"He's back." Harry said, his brain slowly registering the fact. "Voldemort's back."
A hushed silence descended across the crowd.
"You-Know-Who?" Fudge said in disbelief. "Preposterous!"
"It's true!" Cedric said. "We saw it with our own eyes!"
Harry, who seemed to realize he was still clutching a squirming rat that was trying to claw his hands off, took out his wand and pointed it at Pettigrew. "Stupefy!"
The rat went limp.
"T-That rat," Fudge said. "It's an Animagus!"
"Peter Pettigrew." Harry said, handing the rat to McGonagall. "It's Peter Pettigrew."
"Cedric!" said Mr. Diggory, pushing his way to the front of the crowd. "That's my son! Cedric!"
"Dad!" Cedric said, scrambling to his feet. Mr. and Mrs. Diggory pulled their son into a hug, sobbing into his shoulder.
"Harry, stay here." Dumbledore said, before turning to the Minister.
"Potter."
Harry jumped, turning around to see Moody, who grabbed his arm. "Come with me. We're going to my office."
"But Dumbledore said-"
"Dumbledore will understand. Now come."
Moody pulled Harry to his feet and began marching him back to the castle and up to his office.
Harry awoke to shouting.
He sat up, putting on his glasses and looking around in confusion. He was in the Hospital Wing, Cedric and his parents not far away. Ron, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley and Sirius sat around his bed, all looking at Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and Fudge, who seemed to be in some sort of argument.
"The boy is an attention seeking liar!" Fudge yelled. "You-Know-Who can't be back! I will not stand for it!"
"There not lies!" Cedric shouted, glaring at the Minister. "I saw him return with my own eyes! If your calling Harry a liar, your calling me a liar!"
Fudge looked at the him, his eyes softening with what seemed to be pity. "Confunded. It's obvious the poor boys been confunded by Potter."
Cedric went red. "I am not confunded!"
Fudge ignored him, instead he turned to Dumbledore. "You-Know-Who died thirteen years ago! He's dead! He has not returned, he is not alive, he is dead!"
"He never died." Harry spoke up, startling everyone who had thought he was asleep. "He lost his powers and went into hiding."
"Lies!" Fudge yelled. "I will not stand for these preposterous lies! You-Know-Who is dead! Nothing can bring back the dead! I will not prepare for war, I will not associate with giants and werewolves, because this is just all one big lie!"
Fudge spun on his heels and began stomping towards the door, before stopping and walking over to Harry. Padfoot growled, his hackles rising. Fudge ignored him and sat a bag on the bedside table, before walking over to Cedric and doing the same.
"Your winnings." he said simply, before marching out of the Wing and slamming the door shut.
After a moment of silence, Dumbledore turned to the black dog sitting at the end of Harry's bed. "Sirius," he whispered, so Cedric and his parents wouldn't hear. "I need you to go and contact Remus and for you two to go and gather the old crowd. Can you do that?"
Sirius nodded, before hesitating, looking from Dumbledore to Harry. Dumbledore, seeing this, said "You will see Harry soon enough."
Still seeming unsure, Sirius put his paws in Harry's lap and gave him a big, slobber lick. Harry scrunched his nose in distaste. "Thanks, Padfoot." he said sarcastically, wiping slobber from his lenses.
Sirius barked, wagged his tail once, before jumping off the bed and trotting over to the door. He jumped up and turned the handle with his paw, before walking out.
Harry heard Mrs. Weasley mutter "That's one smart dog..."
Dumbledore then turned to Snape. "Severus, you know what I want you do to... if you are prepared... if you are ready..."
Snape nodded, looking a bit paler than usual. He turned around with a swish of his robes and walked out of the Hospital Wing. Dumbledore then turned to Harry and Cedric.
"Harry, Cedric, get some rest. It's been a long night."
With that, he left after Snape and Sirius.
"Take the rest of your potion, Harry dear." Mrs. Weasley said, handing Harry his Dreamless Sleep Potion. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Cedric's mother doing the same for him.
Giving a nod, Harry put the potion to his lips, only to jump when he heard a loud Bang!
All the heads in the Hospital Wing swung over to Hermione, who was holding a glass jar against the window. She blushed, capped the jar and stuffed it in her bag.
Deciding to ignore Hermione's actions, Harry downed the potion. He fell asleep almost immediately.