The title is a line taken from Dylan Thomas's poem "And Death Shall Have No Dominion". I own none of the characters, of course.
24th JUNE 1995. HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
05:30 BST HUFFLEPUFF CELLAR – 6TH YEAR BOYS DORM
"And in fourth place, having failed to complete the task…Cedric Diggory." All around him people were turning their backs and throwing their "Suppport Cedric Diggory" badges to the floor in disgust. On the podium, he could see Potter raising the bag containing 1,000 Galleons above his head. Harry looked over to Cedric and gave a sympathetic smile that looked remarkably like a smirk.
A girl's voice behind him. 'Harry asked me to go to the Yule Ball with him, you know, but I'd already agreed to go with him. Oh well, win some lose some.'
'Cho?'
She turned to look at him, and shrugged. 'It isn't the winning; it's the taking part that counts – apparently. See you around, Ced.'
His parents walked past, ignoring him. 'Well, that was a waste of a day' he heard his father say.
He sat up, eyes staring and breath coming in ragged gasps. The dream – nightmare – had come back.
Pale dawn was filtering through the ceiling lights as he brought himself under control and he looked around the room he had grown up in. He had grown and matured; his chin had stiffened and his chest expanded. He stood on the threshold of adulthood and would walk into it with his head held high.
He was already a prefect and Quidditch Captain. Next year, perhaps, he would be Head Boy. By tomorrow he could be the Tri-Wizard Champion. It was an excellent start to his CV.
In a year's time, he would leave this room and join the Ministry, as his father had done before him. There he would consolidate the successes he'd achieved at Hogwarts. Perhaps…
Behind the rugged good looks and boyishly ruffled hair, behind the body honed by Quidditch, there was another Cedric Diggory. This was the Cedric Diggory who had first slept in this room as a small, lonely, quiet boy. A boy who had stepped onto a train with his father's words ringing in his ears. 'Make me proud, son. Make me proud.'
He fell back on the pillow. If he was lucky, he could get another two hours sleep. Two hours of hopefully dreamless sleep.
07:00 RAVENCLAW TOWER – 5TH YEAR GIRLS DORM
Cho awoke slowly and savoured the comfort of her bed, her eyes still closed. Her OWL exams had finished yesterday and she thought she had done well enough; as a Ravenclaw she had not expected to find them particularly challenging, and so it had proven. She was confident that there would be at least six at "O" and the rest at "E"; plenty enough to take the NEWTS she needed.
It was over for the year and she could relax, except…
Cedric! She shot up in bed, all thoughts of sleep forgotten. Today was the day; the final challenge. Today was the day when her boyfriend would become the Tri-Wizard Champion, she had no doubt about that.
He was tied in first place with Harry Potter, but she wasn't worried. Harry was quite sweet, and a good Quidditch player, but only a boy. Ced had two years more training in magic; he knew the spells that would be needed to get through the maze, Harry didn't.
Krum could be a threat, but he seemed a bit one dimensional. His approach so far had been very direct, lacking in subtlety, and Cho thought it would be needed today. It would take brain as well as brawn to succeed.
As for the girl, Fleur, well…she looked to be a choker if ever there was one. Cho was surprised she was still allowed to compete. Let's be honest, she hadn't actually completed the second task.
No, Ced – her Ced – was the clear favourite, and tonight she would sit by his side at the Feast, bathing in his glory. Who knows, perhaps some of that first prize might find its way into a present for her.
She must be up and ready to meet him when he arrived for breakfast. He must look upon her as the real prize today.
08:00 THE GREAT HALL
The Hall was never silent at meal times. Always, always there was a background hum that grew as time progressed. Today the noise was there, but different. It was struck through with tension and excitement; similar to that before a Quidditch match, but different. Today, it was not one House against another, but one School – their School – against the rest.
Cedric walked through the doors and a cheer went up. He was the one, he was their champion. Yes, so was Potter, but have you read the papers today? He's mad, they say, and Dumbledore might withdraw him. Back Diggory, he's the one for us.
Cho stood and walked towards him, the eyes of every girl in the room on her. She smiled at him. 'Hi!'
'Hello. You're up early.'
'I wanted to be here for you. Can I have breakfast with you?'
Ced looked around the room; people didn't normally swap tables, no matter what. 'Yeah, I'd like that, might help settle my nerves.'
She smiled and took his arm, laying claim to her territory for all to see. 'What nerves? This is your day, Ced.'
They went to the Hufflepuff table and people made room for them. Diggory was probably in the only House that would allow such a blatant invasion of their space. People even smiled at her and said Good Morning.
Cho took immediate charge, asking what he wanted to eat and drink, getting it for him and encouraging him to eat just a little more to build up his strength for the task ahead. Her job, as she saw it, was to make today as smooth as possible for him. He needed every advantage she could give him.
They saw Professor Sprout bustling towards them, and she gave Cho a quick smile. 'Cedric, you are to go to the Chamber off the hall once you've eaten. Your parents are here.'
'My parents? Is…my…dad…here?'
'Of course! They've been invited to watch the task this evening, and you can spend the day with them! Off you go!' She bustled away as Ced turned to Cho.
'I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting this; I thought we could spend some time together.'
'It's OK. They are your parents.' She hesitated for a moment. 'I've never met them, have I?' She looked at him hopefully.
He thought long and hard. His parents – his dad. It had to happen sooner or later. 'OK, wait outside the main doors for me.' He gave her a peck her cheek, causing some first year boys to blush, and some third year girls to swoon, and was gone.
He poked his head out of the door a few moments later, but it was only to shout something to Harry.
09.30 HOGWARTS GROUNDS
'So you're the lucky girl who's captured our Ced's heart, are you? He's always had an eye for the ladies, just like his dad! I suppose you had to beat off all the competitors?'
Cho had only known Amos Diggory for a few moments, but had already classified him as a bampot, but he was Ced's dad so she would do her best to get along with him. She gave him a rather watery smile.
'It wasn't like that at all, dad. I asked her to the Yule Ball, and she kindly agreed to go with me. We've just taken it from there.'
They walked on for a while with Amos pointing out various features in the grounds; most of which had some kind of romantic association for him. He appeared to have dated twice the number of girls who were actually at the school at the time. Eventually, both Cho and Cedric stopped listening. They were brought back to the present when Amos abruptly changed subject. 'You're Chinese, are you?'
'So people keep telling me.'
'You don't sound it.'
'I was born in Falkirk, so was my mum. Dad comes from Hong Kong.'
'Ah, you're frae Bonnie Scotland then?' asked Amos, in a ridiculous accent.
'Och aye the noo, ye ken.' Cho upgraded him from bampot to gomeril.
'Do you have sweet and sour haggis on Burn's Night?' He laughed at his own joke; nobody else did.
She had to get away before she said something she regretted; she didn't want them thinking she was a Bessie.
'Ced, I want to see Professor Flitwick about my NEWT options; I'll see you at lunch, yeah?'
Ced gave her an apologetic look and she turned and walked back up to the school building. She'd really wanted to spend some time with him today, helping him get ready for the task, to focus on what lay ahead of him. It was what she did before a game of Quidditch; some of her friends called it "getting in the zone", but how could she do that with the ramgunshoch havering away at her?
12:30 THE GREAT HALL
Lunch was more a buffet than a sit-down meal, as end of year exams were still going on all over the castle. Cho was waiting for Cedric when he eventually trailed in behind his parents, looking bored. His father was still blethering on about…something.
'Come on Ced, lets get you something to eat' said Cho, with a sympathetic smile on her face. 'I've been doing some reading in the library; you want complex carbohydrates and plenty to drink, but not too much protein.'
He smiled at her. 'What does that mean in English?' He glanced over to make sure his dad wasn't listening. 'Or even in Jock-ish, hoots mon. Sorry about him, he doesn't mean any harm.'
'It's OK; I've got an aunt who gets drunk at parties and tries to do a fan dance. Her kids have stopped turning up. You want lots of brown bread, not much meat, some fruit and plenty of water. I'll help you choose.'
They crossed to the table, Ced looking longingly at the pies and pasties laid out. He helped himself to some salad and rolls. 'What should I do this afternoon?'
'I think we should go to the library, maybe run through a few spells, and then you should try to have a sleep for an hour or so before the feast tonight. Unless you've got other plans?'
'No. I don't fancy trailing round the grounds again. I'll tell them to occupy themselves. You don't want to be with your friends, or anything?'
'No. I want you to be the champion. We can hang around with our friends all summer once this is over.'
