THE RIDDLE GAME
PART I - What You Don't Know Can't Hurt You... Maybe
The darkness echoed off the hallway's walls, and Cedric had the vague idea that this may be a trick. But then he did remember the Avada Kedavra Curse being cast on him, and he shook off his suspicions. And he was already forgetting the memory rules and all that 'crap' as he dubbed it in his mind.
"Just one foot in front of the other," Cedric squeaked to himself, and he started walking down the hall. Part of the way into the blackness, he carefully put his book into his left pocket and pulled his wand out of his right one. "Lumos!!"
His wand's tip glowed suddenly, and made the hallway look even freakier to Cedric than it was.
"Um... if anyone's there... uh... please don't pounce on me or anything!" Cedric squeezed out all of his courage and kept strolling down the tunnel. -This- He reminded himself, -is why I was not placed in Gryffindor.-
And then the surprise hole came. Right under him.
"YAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" Cedric fell through the gap he hadn't seen in the ground, and landed on something he thought was very familiar. Actually, it was some ONE very familiar, so he hurriedly got off. "H-Harry? Sorry! So sorry, I just... um, hell-OOO..."
But of course, Harry Potter couldn't see Cedric. He was looking right through Cedric's chest.
-Mortals can't see memories- Cedric cursed to himself. He looked up. He couldn't see from where on EARTH he had fallen from... but then again, who said he had fallen from somewhere on earth?
And then he saw the most blood-chilling thing that was possible at the moment. Voldemort. And Death-Eaters. And then he realized Harry was strapped to a gravestone. And that was his body -er- shell on the ground some distance away.
-I have to be imagining things- Cedric frowned, and found himself looking down horrified at a snake that had just slithered between his legs. Before even considering passing out, he watched the snake as it continued its circling around the crowd. -Oh man; that's some whopper! Thank goodness it didn't, like, rip my stomach out!!-
Cedric strolled out from the circle through which he estimated to be at least two Death-Eaters' empty spots that were right next to each other. He walked over to his body and leaned over to inspect it. Like Tom had said, it was very convincing. But... something was wrong with it. Something was missing.
It was a very hidden mark, which you only really noticed if you knew it was there, but Cedric, the REAL Cedric, had a scar on his lower lip. It was a pale white line that went down to split the lip symmetrically, which he had gotten as a toddler when he'd fallen on his face. He'd often looked in the mirror and remembered that even as a little child he had been rather clumsy.
The point is the shell didn't have that scar. Everything looked exactly normal, except for the scar...
-Maybe somebody will notice that I have a scar and this thing doesn't! Maybe somebody will figure out all of this and want to know where I REALLY am!!- Cedric thought to himself excitedly, but then again, it was a very little scar that was missing from his features and a very big story behind his disappearance. Nobody was going to notice... but just maybe they would. But no... but yes! -ARRGH!!-
Cedric watched the circle of Death-Eaters, Voldemort, the snake, and Harry for a while. (You can read details to find out what precisely happened to those people in the fourth book of HP, GoF). Just when Cedric was giving up hope of ever doing anything exciting in the memory form, besides watching several Cruciatus Curses (which he hated and squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears whenever the curse was cast), watching a duel between Harry and Voldemort, he saw their wands connect. After several moments of gaping, Cedric watched as Voldemort's wand regurgitated a form... Cedric himself! But it was hollow looking, and echoed when it talked.
While everyone was watching the wand spit out another person, Cedric studied the shadow of himself carefully that was inside the cage-thing. Turning slightly, the shadow looked at him. Cedric's heart nearly stopped beating as the face smiled in a way that reminded him of...
"Tom!" Cedric shouted, as the face's features twisted into Tom's face and winked at him. They quickly snaked back to Cedric's looks, and the shadow-Cedric turned to speak to Harry once again.
"Bring back my body to my parents," the shadow-Cedric said. Soon, as Harry's father's shadow-self told Harry to run, Cedric ran over to the Triwizard Trophy, and tried to pull it over to Harry. No matter how hard, long, or forcefully he tugged at it, it acted as though it were cemented into the ground. It wouldn't budge a centimeter, let alone an inch!
Cedric looked up and saw Harry trying to drag his shell back to the cup.
"Leave it!" Cedric yelled, but he knew Harry couldn't hear him. If only there was some way to get the trophy over to Harry. "Wait... the summoning charm, Harry! Use the summoning charm!"
Cedric couldn't help screaming as a curse went right through his nose and blasted the statue behind him apart, even though it didn't hurt him a bit. He also couldn't help screaming at Harry to use the summoning charm and pointing to Harry's wand, even though Harry didn't see him or hear him.
Right as Cedric was about to give Harry a nice hard kick in the butt, Harry did finally seem to have heard him, and used the summoning charm on the trophy, which Cedric managed to touch just as Harry did. A tug behind his navel told him he was going back to school... for now.
-Whatever's awaiting me at Hogwarts, it better not be as frustrating as this little episode was!- Cedric thought grumpily as he traveled back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with Harry at his side...
TO BE CONTINUED...
PART I - What You Don't Know Can't Hurt You... Maybe
The darkness echoed off the hallway's walls, and Cedric had the vague idea that this may be a trick. But then he did remember the Avada Kedavra Curse being cast on him, and he shook off his suspicions. And he was already forgetting the memory rules and all that 'crap' as he dubbed it in his mind.
"Just one foot in front of the other," Cedric squeaked to himself, and he started walking down the hall. Part of the way into the blackness, he carefully put his book into his left pocket and pulled his wand out of his right one. "Lumos!!"
His wand's tip glowed suddenly, and made the hallway look even freakier to Cedric than it was.
"Um... if anyone's there... uh... please don't pounce on me or anything!" Cedric squeezed out all of his courage and kept strolling down the tunnel. -This- He reminded himself, -is why I was not placed in Gryffindor.-
And then the surprise hole came. Right under him.
"YAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" Cedric fell through the gap he hadn't seen in the ground, and landed on something he thought was very familiar. Actually, it was some ONE very familiar, so he hurriedly got off. "H-Harry? Sorry! So sorry, I just... um, hell-OOO..."
But of course, Harry Potter couldn't see Cedric. He was looking right through Cedric's chest.
-Mortals can't see memories- Cedric cursed to himself. He looked up. He couldn't see from where on EARTH he had fallen from... but then again, who said he had fallen from somewhere on earth?
And then he saw the most blood-chilling thing that was possible at the moment. Voldemort. And Death-Eaters. And then he realized Harry was strapped to a gravestone. And that was his body -er- shell on the ground some distance away.
-I have to be imagining things- Cedric frowned, and found himself looking down horrified at a snake that had just slithered between his legs. Before even considering passing out, he watched the snake as it continued its circling around the crowd. -Oh man; that's some whopper! Thank goodness it didn't, like, rip my stomach out!!-
Cedric strolled out from the circle through which he estimated to be at least two Death-Eaters' empty spots that were right next to each other. He walked over to his body and leaned over to inspect it. Like Tom had said, it was very convincing. But... something was wrong with it. Something was missing.
It was a very hidden mark, which you only really noticed if you knew it was there, but Cedric, the REAL Cedric, had a scar on his lower lip. It was a pale white line that went down to split the lip symmetrically, which he had gotten as a toddler when he'd fallen on his face. He'd often looked in the mirror and remembered that even as a little child he had been rather clumsy.
The point is the shell didn't have that scar. Everything looked exactly normal, except for the scar...
-Maybe somebody will notice that I have a scar and this thing doesn't! Maybe somebody will figure out all of this and want to know where I REALLY am!!- Cedric thought to himself excitedly, but then again, it was a very little scar that was missing from his features and a very big story behind his disappearance. Nobody was going to notice... but just maybe they would. But no... but yes! -ARRGH!!-
Cedric watched the circle of Death-Eaters, Voldemort, the snake, and Harry for a while. (You can read details to find out what precisely happened to those people in the fourth book of HP, GoF). Just when Cedric was giving up hope of ever doing anything exciting in the memory form, besides watching several Cruciatus Curses (which he hated and squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears whenever the curse was cast), watching a duel between Harry and Voldemort, he saw their wands connect. After several moments of gaping, Cedric watched as Voldemort's wand regurgitated a form... Cedric himself! But it was hollow looking, and echoed when it talked.
While everyone was watching the wand spit out another person, Cedric studied the shadow of himself carefully that was inside the cage-thing. Turning slightly, the shadow looked at him. Cedric's heart nearly stopped beating as the face smiled in a way that reminded him of...
"Tom!" Cedric shouted, as the face's features twisted into Tom's face and winked at him. They quickly snaked back to Cedric's looks, and the shadow-Cedric turned to speak to Harry once again.
"Bring back my body to my parents," the shadow-Cedric said. Soon, as Harry's father's shadow-self told Harry to run, Cedric ran over to the Triwizard Trophy, and tried to pull it over to Harry. No matter how hard, long, or forcefully he tugged at it, it acted as though it were cemented into the ground. It wouldn't budge a centimeter, let alone an inch!
Cedric looked up and saw Harry trying to drag his shell back to the cup.
"Leave it!" Cedric yelled, but he knew Harry couldn't hear him. If only there was some way to get the trophy over to Harry. "Wait... the summoning charm, Harry! Use the summoning charm!"
Cedric couldn't help screaming as a curse went right through his nose and blasted the statue behind him apart, even though it didn't hurt him a bit. He also couldn't help screaming at Harry to use the summoning charm and pointing to Harry's wand, even though Harry didn't see him or hear him.
Right as Cedric was about to give Harry a nice hard kick in the butt, Harry did finally seem to have heard him, and used the summoning charm on the trophy, which Cedric managed to touch just as Harry did. A tug behind his navel told him he was going back to school... for now.
-Whatever's awaiting me at Hogwarts, it better not be as frustrating as this little episode was!- Cedric thought grumpily as he traveled back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with Harry at his side...
TO BE CONTINUED...