Flying under the Radar
Prologue: Sinking into Darkness
When a magical object causes you to travel as if sucked in by a tornado, you tend to remember well the feeling of the magical signature just before you picked up the said object. And the feeling he was getting now was the same as the one he felt during the Quidditch World Cup. The cup was a portkey.
"Cedric, let's take it together... On three, right?... One – two – three..."
It will probably take them to the infirmary so they could clean themselves and have their wounds mended before the ceremony.
"Note to self: Ask Cedric to teach you how to land gracefully with a portkey."
Falling face down into mud was not something he was expecting, and anything unexpected means possible mortal peril when it comes to magic-related matters.
Well, his luck was still with him. Twenty centimetres more and he would had had his head bashed onto a headstone.
"Graveyard... Just peachy... This means the 'Let's kill Harry Potter' grand finale for this year continues..."
"Let's see who's about to have their eternal peace interrupted:
R. M. Riddle
The Power of the Earth shall conquer Death
"Hmm... I guess it explains Tom's obsession with death. It must be hereditary."
"The earth of the grave seems to turn into liquid... I'm getting more and more stuck, like in a tar-pit!... I can't even cry for help any more with all this mud filling my mouth!... Please Cedric hurry up, I don't want to join mammoths and dinosaurs!..."
...
Cedric Diggory knew something was wrong with the portkey the moment he landed.
They were not at Hogwarts and he had landed on his arse, which for an experienced user indicates a hastily made portkey of low quality.
Turning to see how Harry was doing, he saw him sinking in mud. He quickly moved to help him, only to have his hand graze the cup lying in darkness on the ground and have himself pulled back to Hogwarts...
...:.
He hated everything about the place with passion. It reminded him too much of the asylum. Nevertheless, it was his family home and the perfect place to implement his plan.
After the Master's death, he had managed to fool Dr. Stewart into believing that his condition would be cured after a convalescence period – preferably under the care of the family.
Luckily, Harper and Hellsing had not destroyed the crates with the earth the Master had brought to the Exeter house.