A/N: I don't own Harry Potter. This story was for a challenge by annaisadinosaur, "The Deepest, Darkest Secrets".

Cedric Diggory POV:

That woman. Why must she have so much to hold over me? It's like every secret I've ever had, no matter how small, is a weapon she can use to lash at me. Her past is mine, our fates are inevitably intertwined. Whenever I push her away, she just comes back for more. More grief, more suffering, more of everything. I've tried so hard to bury my past, but every time she sends a bloody owl for me it brings back the pain, bloody and fresh. Bellatrix Lestrange, previously one of the Dark Lord's most trusted advocates, refuses to leave me alone. On the eve of my ninth birthday, my father led me into his room and sat me down on the bed.

"We need to talk," he said. There was a hint of remorse in his tone, but was overwhelmed by shame and fear.

"What is it, dad?" I asked him. I had never seen him so serious before- he was always such a jolly man- and it worried me greatly.

"Do you know who your mother is?" he asked. I shook my head, and that's when he told me all about Bellatrix. At the end of his story, he pulled out an envelope from his back pocket. "She gave this to me the day before she left, and told me to give it to you when you were older." he handed it to me, his eyes downcast.

When I got back to my small room down the hall, I ripped the envelope open quickly, eager to see what it said. That was the day when my entire life changed.

Cedric,

Yes, it's your dear old mummy Bellatrix. Wondering why I've left you and your pathetic father? Simple: I've moved onto bigger and better things. There was a cause I believed in, and I wanted to lend as much help as I could. You cold understand that, couldn't you? That cause, as you might've figured out, is helping the Dark Lord seize control of the magical world. With his leadership, there would be no more wars based around magic. No filthy mudbloods to bring us down. The wizarding world has so much potential, don't you think? I've joined a cause called the Death Eaters, the Dark Lord's followers. I've had the honor of speaking with my master, and he said that he'd gladly welcome a new young recruit into our army. If your father ever lets hold of his grasp on you, feel free to join our cause.

Let me just inform you that- if you choose to accept my offer- you will be destined for great things. I imagine you are a strong, intelligent boy as all men of the noble House of Black are. Currently, the Death Eaters are trying our best to bring our Lord back into power. By the time you receive this letter, we have no idea how far along we will be in our plot to conquer the wizarding world. If all goes according to plan, then you shall be under our control by now. I do not plan on coming into contact with you again, unless you choose to accept my extremely generous offer.

Bellatrix Lestrange

P.S. Don't show this letter to your father. He knows too much as it is, and there's no hope of him joining our side by now anyways. And if you do show him, trust me: I'll know about it.

Of course being a young boy at the time, I was horrified. I had no intentions whatsoever of joining the Dark Side, regardless of what my old hag of a mother had to say about it. I worried for both my father's sake and mine. That night, I was burdened with terrible nightmares of crimes I knew the Death Eaters committed. But in each and every one, I was there. I was the one burning down houses, or torturing a young muggle girl, or shooting the Dark Mark up into the sky for all to see.

That's when I decided to become the opposite of my mother. Even though I knew it unlikely that anyone would ever find out my secret, I wanted to erase any and every part of her from me. While she was awful and cruel, I was kind to everyone I met, no matter how much I resented them. Instead of doing horribly and just getting along by threatening classmates into doing my homework for me as she did, I tried my hardest and got top marks in all of my classes. While she put in as little effort as possible in her school days, I worked hard and had an undeniable thirst to be the best in my class. And I got my wish.

Last month, I received my first letter since the one I received when I was nine from that horrible woman. It came attached to the leg of a tawny and white owl, nothing nefarious-looking about it at all. The piece of paper was in an envelope identical to the one I had received so many years ago.

Cedric,

Hello, dearie. Mummy's been missing you terribly. Why do you never write me? It's as if you're avoiding me. But I know a sweet boy like you would never do that. How am I, you ask? Well, it certainly has been hard work assisting the Dark Lord in takeover of the magic world, but mummy's strong. I know that you're thinking about going to Dumbledore right now with this letter in hand, but we both know that you won't do that. Even though mummy has made some decisions in her life that you don't deem "suitable" for yourself, that doesn't mean that I can't tear apart your life at the raise of a finger. Let's say that I know exactly where your father is right now, and have no qualms about using him to get you to do what we would like. Now let's just keep this little exchange between you and me, shall we? Good little boys make nothing but their mothers happy.

I am aware that you've entered in your school's Tri-Wizard Tournament. Let me just tell you that you will receive the honor of partaking in this tournament. Only one will succeed, though, and that one most definitely will not be you. The Dark Lord and I have a plan, one that you will have a very big role in. You will receive further correspondence with me, and in those letters there shall be instructions on what you need to do. Unless you would like to face the wrath of my master and I, you will follow all directions given to you by us. Let's just say that if you don't give us what you want, there will be very painful consequences for both you and your beloved father. If you do as we wish, the Dark Lord will reward you graciously, and I might be willing to take you back as my son into the House of Black. Let's not disappoint mummy, all right boy?

I would recommend that it be not in your best interest to reply to this letter. I don't think that your headmaster would appreciate that very much and we must keep you in this school for our plot to succeed. Also, do not inform any of your worthless little friends about this exchange. There are more than a few rats in your group of acquaintances, and we will not risk years and years of planning of this plot to be foiled by a group of seventh-year Hufflepuffs. I will be in correspondence with you soon.

Bellatrix Lestrange

The day I received that horrid letter was the week after I entered my name into the Goblet of Fire. I was sitting at the breakfast table with three or so classmates, and was startled into silence when I read it. A few asked me if I was alright, because the display of shock on my face was probably evident, but I managed to shrug it off and rushed back to my dormitory to reread the letter and puzzle everything out.

I already knew that Bellatrix Lestrange was my mother, of course, but we had extremely little contact in my entire life. My father told me stories about her, the treacheries she committed, when I was young, so I never had any desire to meet her. This letter was so out-of-the-blue, and had no precedent whatsoever.

For some strange reason, receiving her letter made me a little bit pleased. I suppose that everyone has a connection to his or her mother, no matter how vile the woman is. And after going all of my life without ever hearing from her, I guess it felt good to know she still thought about me, even if it was just to inform me about the role of pawn in her demonic game of world domination. She was my mother; I was her son. Even though I still resented her wholeheartedly for abandoning me at birth and turning to the "Dark Side", I just felt… fulfilled, strangely enough.

But she was completely correct in her letter. She said that she knew I was contemplating going to headmaster Dumbledore, which I was. And I would've went up and told him everything if it wasn't for the threat she made. I knew enough of my mother to know she kept her promises, no matter what the stakes.

Tomorrow is the ceremony of drawing names of students from the Goblet of Fire to decide who will participate in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. If my mother wasn't lying, my name will be picked as representative of Hogwarts. How she knows that I'll be picked, I have no idea and honestly have no desire to know how she was informed of that ahead of time. I worry that she was telling the truth in her letter, and also about what it is they want me to do. They know that I would do anything to keep my father safe, so they chose the perfect incentive.

Although I know that letting anyone know of my… erm, predicament will result in so much hassle from everyone around me, and more than likely abandonment from my friends and peers, why do I want to tell someone so badly? It's like a great weight is on my chest, and letting someone know would lift the weight off, providing me with a bit more comfort in my life.

Well, I suppose that there's nothing I can do now but wait. Wait for tomorrow when they draw names out of the Goblet of Fire, wait for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's rise to power (which I believe will happen sooner or later, no matter what the wizarding world does to prepare), and just wait for life. There are always more experiences in store and no matter if they're good or bad, life will go on. Whatever happens to me, existence will still continue. And what does one small life matter to the universe? We're all just side effects in the end, and I accepted a long time ago that there's nothing we can do about it. So for now, I suppose I'll take life as it's thrown at me, and just live.