The air was tense. The crowd had seen something unexplainable. Even Dumbledore didn't know what was going on. Harry and Cedric had just reached the Triwizard cup together, and, all of the sudden, they vanished.
There was only five minutes of nervous talk before the lost champions returned. But something was wrong. Harry wasn't there.
"Where is Harry, Cedric? Where is he?" Dumbledore asked the boy. He mumbled something. Immediately he beckoned Moody over to him to discuss what Diggory had said. The crowd was dead silent. Together, he and Dumbledore ran off into the night and the Minister of Magic took over ruling of the tournament.
"We will announce the winner tomorrow at the feast. Please, everyone return to your dormitories and remain there," Fudge ordered, unsure of what was going on. The students and visitors did as they were told, and filed out of the stands. Hermione and Ron walked together, scared for Harry's life, hoping, just hoping that Dumbledore could bring him back.
Instead of trying to sleep, they sat in the common room with Fred and George around the fire. The pain of not knowing what happened to harry ate away at them. Even the twins couldn't make light of tonight's events. By morning, staring into each other's blank, tired eyes, they concluded he was dead. None of Harry's Gryffindor friends could eat at the feast, and Cedric had been bed-ridden from shock.
When Madame Pompfrey and Amos Diggory led his son into the Great Hall, and sat beside him at the Hufflepuff Table, Dumbledore called everyone's attention. Cornelius Fudge proceeded to the pulpit, where he began the customary speech about Cedric and how brave he was for the Triwizard Tournament. Amos helped his son to the front of the hall to receive his prize.
"I give you eternal glory." As Fudge said this, Cedric sank to the ground, shaken by tears. "What is it, boy? You won!"
"I-I don't deserve this," Cedric said, stifling his tears and standing up. "Harry Potter died protecting me from You-Know-Who. He's the one who deserves this." Whispers went through the crowd. Harry Potter dead? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named killed Harry Potter?
Hermione, Neville, the Weasleys, and the Gryffindor quidditch team hung their heads weeping. Their conclusions were true. Voldemort had finally killed the Boy Who Lived.
