This chapter is dedicated to catzetier. That was the nicest and most thought out review I've ever gotten.

So, we're moving on to Cedric's perspective. Funnily enough, I almost accidentally posted the doozy chapter. *laughs nervously* Definishly never did that before. Next week I'm posting on a cliff hanger, but I won't be posting the week after. No double post and I'm not being pissy. I just won't have time to update because I'm going away for five days and it's a place that frowns upon too much technology. I'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming in March.

Anyway, parts of this chapter are taken from Chamber of Secrets word-for-word. Not a lot, but a monologue or two and some plot. Can't make everything up. If I did, I'd write my own novel.

I hope you enjoy it. The next one is the doozy of a chapter. About 7500 words. I'm super stoked to share that one and the one after with y'all. It's taking all my willpower to prevent myself from posting it all at once. I'm sure some wouldn't complain.

I'm thrilled a lot of you are liking Cedric's snarky humor. We're going to see a lot more of Cedric's personality AND his faults in the next two chapters.

Reviews make me super happy. They make any author happy. But I hope the story makes all y'all happy too. I'm normally not one for long author's notes, but I felt this had to be said.

Cedric rubbed his burning eyes as he headed down to dinner. He hadn't intended to spend so long in the Room of Things, but it seemed to be a regular occurrence. His fingers were all cramped up, but he finally managed to get the portable radio to work without it exploding. What it needed was Arithmancy as well as Runes. He was pretty proud of himself, but at the moment was too exhausted to be excited. Besides, Hermione would be excited enough for the both of them at his achievement. He liked that about her.

Panicked sobs gained his attention and he walked faster. He seemed to be the go-to person for crying first-years and wasn't about to ignore one now. He rounded the corner and a small brunette slammed into his chest. Without really looking, she wrapped her arms around him as if she was just happy to see another person.

"Hey," he said softly, rubbing her back. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"The— The heir! He almost got me!" she wailed. "I'm a pureblood! This can't happen!"

"Did you see who it was?" Cedric asked, alarmed. "Or what it was?"

"N-n-n-no," she whimpered and babbled something shrilly.

"Shhh. Deep breath," he said. "Breathe with me." He took a deep breath and released it.

She sucked in a deep breath, released it shakily, then hiccuped. They repeated it a few times until she could speak.

"It got someone… Granger…"

No.

No, no, no.

Cedric gently moved the girl aside and ran in the direction the girl was running from. He rounded the corner and saw a body lying on the floor. His heart stopped, and he collapsed to his knees by her side. Hermione's eyes were wide open, and a determined look was on her face. It then occurred to him that she probably hid that first year's face from the monster.

His chest constricted, and his breathing became shallow. What if she had died? He just lost his mum… he couldn't lose his best friend, too.

Swallowing back the tears that threatened to spill, he brushed Hermione's bangs out of her face, searching for some sign of life in her eyes but found none. Not even the light from the overhead torch was reflecting in them. Almost as if they were merely doll eyes. What if the heir was coming back to finish the job?

"Help!" he screamed. "Someone?"

There was a loud crack! Cedric drew his wand and came face to face with a house-elf. She screamed and stumbled back, then looked at Hermione. Horror dawned on her face as she recognized the student.

"No!" she cried, wringing the hem of her tea towel. "No! No! No!"

"Snap out of it!" said Cedric urgently, grabbing onto her shoulders. "I need you to get Dumbledore. We don't know if the heir is nearby—"

The elf disappeared leaving the corridor and his hands empty.

"What is that?" the girl behind him squeaked, causing him to jump. He hadn't realized she was lingering behind him, afraid to be alone.

Listening carefully, Cedric heard more crying, but couldn't be sure where it was coming from. Reluctantly abandoning Hermione's side, he followed it to a solid wall across from a puddle of water. But how could crying come from here? Unless…

He pressed a hand against the wall and it turned out to be an illusion. Stepping through he found a small wooden staircase and a nook with a stained-glass window. It must've been facing out to a part where nobody could see it. Sitting on the stairs was a frail girl with bright red hair.

"Ginny? What are you doing in here?" he asked.

Ginny whimpered and shook her head. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she pounded her fists against her head.

"Hey, come on. The coast is clear," said Cedric, gently lowering her hands. Her distress came off her in waves.

Wordlessly, she followed him back into the hallway and looked near ready to faint. The brunette was still sniffling and trying brush away her spilling tears. Cedric didn't know what to do for her or for the other girl, which was absolutely frustrating. Their fear and anxiety filled the air like smoke which didn't help his nerves any.

"We're going to stay put until a teacher comes alright?" he looked down at Ginny and found her staring at Hermione with owlish eyes, so he quickly stepped in the way. "She's not dead. It-It's okay. She'll be back in just a couple months. The mandrakes threw a giant party in greenhouse three, so they'll be ready near the end of May."

"Did you see the heir, Ginny?" the brunette asked.

Ginny shook her head and whimpered.

This was too close… Maybe he should take them to their common rooms.

"Are you a Ravenclaw?" he asked the first girl.

She shook her head.

"N-no. I'm in Slytherin. Astoria Greengrass." her lower lip quivered. "We're neutrals! We can't be enemies to Slytherin's heir!"

"I'll stay with both of you until the teachers come," Cedric promised.

Clamoring came from the end of the corridor and the teachers rounded the stairs. Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore were in the lead. Professor Vector, Professor Flitwick, Professor Burbage, and Professor Babbling took the ends of the corridor to ensure that students got up to their dormitories safely and didn't stop to gawk at the scene.

Professor McGonagall pressed a hand to her throat and made a low noise when she saw Hermione lying on the ground.

Professor Dumbledore looked at the three students, all signs of his eccentric demeanor gone, replaced with a wizened and grave old man. He folded his hands under his beard and stared them down.

"Did any of you witness what happened to Miss Granger?" he asked.

"No, sir," Cedric answered for all three of them. "I was heading down to dinner. Astoria said that she was with Hermione when the monster attacked."

"She hid my face, so I couldn't see," said Astoria. "When she fell, I ran away."

"I didn't feel well," Ginny whispered. "So, I was going to bed…"

"Miss Greengrass," said Dumbledore, looking her right in the eye. "Did Miss Granger make you privy to any information at all in the moments you were with her?"

Astoria shook her head. "Just that I shouldn't look— It sounded awful though! I was scared it was going to eat me…"

"Hermione!" two voices shouted.

Ron and Harry broke from the crowd. The former was awkwardly holding a giant tome in his arms.

"Mr. Weasley, may I see that book?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, sir. I don't know just how good it is—" he hefted it up into the old wizard's outstretched hands. "It's just on bloodlines. I dunno what she was looking up."

"Albus," said Professor McGonagall. "Perhaps we should—"

"Not yet, Minerva," he replied. "I know Miss Granger is your favorite student, but we do not need to close the school just yet. Perhaps somebody knows of the revelation she had at dinner… Mr. Diggory?"

He shook his head. "We talk about everything, but I haven't had a chance to see her the past few days. Any theories she had about it…" he tried to wrack his brain for anything she might have said, but his mind was clouded with grief and anxiety.

"Mr. Weasley? Mr. Potter?"

They shook their heads and looked a little guilty.

"We stopped listening to her theories," Harry admitted. "She kept changing her mind and she talks to herself a lot… just couldn't follow."

"Very well," said Dumbledore, suppressing a disappointed sigh. "Mr. Diggory, you are a trained duelist correct?"

"Sort of… I did Junior league and I practice every day—"

"It has become apparent that the Heir is no longer becoming picky about who they are attacking. Escort Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley to their Common Room. You are close enough to prefect according to Professor Sprout. Miss Greengrass, Miss Weasley, come with us to the Hospital Wing. I think a sleeping draught and some cocoa might be in order."

When the teachers were gone, Ron crossed his arms and looked at Cedric.

"We don't need a prefect."

"Good thing I'm not a prefect then," he said and moved on ahead of them, wand at the ready.

As they scaled the stairs to the seventh floor, Harry and Ron started whispering to each other. Cedric nonchalantly drifted back to eavesdrop.

"We need to see Hagrid," said Harry. "He must know something. He was there the last time the Chamber was opened."

"I'm going with you," said Cedric immediately.

Their eyes widened with surprise and they looked at each other. He was a bit surprised with himself as well.

"Please, she's my friend, too— my best friend," he said. "I can help you."

"How do we know you won't turn us in?" Ron asked suspiciously.

He shrugged. "Like Hermione always says: 'Snitches get stitches'."

They held a quiet conversation and finally nodded.

"We'll have to go after curfew," said Harry. "Meet us by greenhouse one at eleven."

Cedric nodded. "Got it."

It was a big risk to take. Cedric had never had a single detention and, with so many friends, it'd be hard to sneak away. Luckily, he'd been practicing his disillusionment charm and could make it last long enough for him to sneak out. As long as nobody was actively looking at him and he didn't pass in front of any portraits, he would be fine.

That evening, all the Hufflepuffs were sent to bed after marshmallows over the fire pit.

"You okay, Ced?" Red asked. "I know that Hermione's your friend."

He made a noncommittal grunt and closed the overhanging curtains, draping them as far as over his trunk. He still planned on rolling up his blankets for his feet.

For the first time in his life, he'd have to try really hard to be quiet. Mum always said he walked like a herd of Erumpents so he planned on walking on the sides of his feet rather than the balls. Before sliding out of bed he cast the disillusionment charm on himself, feeling like an egg was cracked over his head, and slid out the door as Adrian entered from the bathroom. No turning back now. Steeling his nerves, he kept along the wall and was relieved the balls of light in the torch brackets were kept low. The six prefects muttered to one another around the fireplace about shifts, so they were distracted enough for him to get to the tunnel. As he crawled out of the badger den, he realized it was a little too easy to leave the castle. No wonder Fred and George got away with so much. He was sure they had other ways too, but even so.

The moon was bright giving everything a near silver sheen and illuminated everything. He could even make out the outlines of insects crawling around the damp grass. Cedric removed his disillusionment and waited in the shade of greenhouse one, watching for Harry and Ron. The night air was frigid, and he stood there wracking his brain for a warming charm but all he could think of were Hermione's bluebell flames. Nobody deserved to be attacked but, Merlin, he wished it had been somebody other than her. Even thinking about that made him feel sick to his stomach. He hated that little part of him filled with anger, so he squashed it down. Turned it off, like a light. His mum wouldn't want him to lash out in times like this, so instead he was going to be a rock.

When his watch read 11:04 he heard Ron and Harry talking to one another, yet he couldn't see them.

Suddenly, there they were with a large cloak around them. He jumped back bumping into the barely open glass panel. His shoulder blade screamed in pain, but he ignored it.

"You have an invisibility cloak?" he whisper-shouted.

Harry nodded. "Come on. I think it's big enough for all three of us."

They maneuvered around so that Cedric was behind the two Gryffindors since he was tallest though Ron was rather tall for being two years younger. Once the hood of the cloak was up, they completely disappeared. It should have been a fun experience if the situation wasn't so horrible.

"What do you know so far?" he asked quietly.

"That fifty years ago, a prefect named Tom Riddle rid Hogwarts of some sort of monster that killed a girl. He got Hagrid expelled for it so we're seeing if he can tell us what kind of creature it was," said Ron. "And maybe if he knows where the Chamber is."

Harry knocked on the door of the hut and they were greeted with a crossbow to the face.

The man raised his bushy eyebrows. "What're you three doing out here? I thought yeh was… never mind. Come inside, quickly."

"What's that for?" said Harry, pointing at the crossbow as they stepped inside.

"Nothin' —nothin' —" Hagrid muttered. "I've bin expectin' —doesn' matter —Sit down —I'll make tea —"

He hardly seemed to know what he was doing. He nearly extinguished the fire, spilling water from the kettle on it, and then smashed the teapot with a nervous jerk of his massive hand.

"Are you okay, Hagrid?" said Harry. "Did you hear about Hermione?"

"Oh, I heard, all righ'," said Hagrid, a slight break in his voice.

Before they could even get a single question in, a knock came at the door. The boys threw the hood back up on the cloak and retreated to the farthest corner in the room. Hagrid answered the door and in walked Dumbledore alongside a wisp of a man in hideous attire, a lime-green bowler hat tucked under his purple pin-striped arm. What was Cornelius Fudge doing here?

Cedric tuned into the conversation. Or maybe it was more of an interrogation. Yes, they were planning on interrogating him too, but this was just cruel.

"It's a precaution more than a punishment," said Fudge. "Three muggle-borns and almost a pureblood?"

When Lucius Malfoy showed up, all three boys had to work hard not to gasp in shock. Cedric scowled at the man, wishing he could punch him then and there. Dad always said the Malfoys were the biggest muggle haters at the Wizengamot and had the most dangerous artifacts.

Not only were they taking Hagrid away to Azkaban for something he didn't commit, but Malfoy was here demanding that Dumbledore be suspended as Headmaster. Cedric really wanted to punch Lucius Malfoy in the face and wished he'd applauded Hermione punching Draco last October instead of stopping her. That man would just l-o-o-ove to see all muggle-borns wiped out, wouldn't he?

"If somebody wanted to find anythin'. I'd suggest fer them to follow the spiders," said Hagrid. "That'd lead 'em right. Oh! Somebody has to feed Fang, too!"

Cornelius Fudge gave Hagrid an odd look and Cedric could swear he saw Dumbledore look right at him and wink. After that, the men were gone, and Fang was scratching at the door, howling and whining for his owner.

"We're in trouble now," said Ron hoarsely. "With Dumbledore gone there'll be attacks every day now."

"What does he mean 'follow the spiders'?" Cedric asked.

"A couple months back, we saw a line of spiders leaving the castle," said Harry. Ron just shuddered.

"I bet they're all gone by now," the redhead said, brightening up at the thought.

Cedric got an idea. "Not all of them. Come with me."

Invisibility cloak back on, the three boys went back to the castle and to Professor Sprout's storage closet. There were rows upon rows of work gloves, garden shears, pots of all sizes and shapes, bags of fertilizer, mulch, and plant food. Particularly…

"Aha." Cedric ducked out from under the cloak and grabbed the jar of live spiders used to feed the small carnivorous plants. The big ones were fed mice and frogs.

"Don't bring that under here!" Ron squeaked. Harry shushed and elbowed him.

"I won't let them go until after we're in the clear," said Cedric. He noticed a smaller jar full of bioluminescent algae and grabbed that too.

Gripping onto the jars tightly, Cedric followed Harry and Ron, careful not to step on their heels. It was not an easy feat since his feet decided to grow before the rest of him. Somehow, they made it back to Hagrid's hut without getting caught or raising suspicion. There were a couple of close calls with Professor Sprout and Filch, but luck seemed to be on their side. Just to be safe, they let Fang out to go with them. If anything, he could warn them of oncoming danger.

"Ready?" Harry asked.

"No," Ron moaned. "Can't we follow the butterflies instead?"

Cedric nodded, sprinkled the bioluminescent algae on the spiders, and let them go.

"Good idea," said Harry. "Ron and I probably would have just waited until we found some."

"Thanks." he drew his wand. "Lumos."

Harry cast the same spell with his wand. Leaving the cloak at the cottage, the three boys trudged into the forest, following the glowing spiders. Fang ran around them and sniffed the ground but didn't stray any farther than ten feet. Hopefully he wouldn't try to eat the spiders. It was a difficult trek as they clambered over tree roots and rocks. Luckily, the moon was nearing full, so they wouldn't have any trouble with werewolves, but could see at least some of the forest that wasn't covered in canopy.

"D'you reckon there are actually werewolves here?" Ron asked.

Cedric shook his head. "Nah, they're wizards just like you and me most of the time. I highly doubt they'd want to make their home in these woods. Maybe Fenrir Greyback would, but from what— from what Mum said they just want to live their lives. Besides, it's not the full moon. The worst a non-transformed werewolf can do is just make a person more aggressive and give them a desire for rare steaks."

"You sound just like Hermione," said Harry a little sadly.

Cedric sighed through his nose. It was just until May when the Mandrakes were ready. She'd probably want him to keep Harry and Ron in line for her.

Fang barked loudly, the deep sound echoed throughout the forest, scaring the three boys. Following it was another sound. It was big and seemed to be rather clumsy. While Ron and Harry bickered over whether or not to keep quiet, Cedric was running a list of spells through his head while simultaneously trying to find what was making those sounds. Wolf? No, bigger. Maybe a centaur?

Bright lights flashed on making them shield their eyes. Fang yelped and nearly landed in a thorny bush.

Was that?

"What's Dr. Granger's car doing out here?" Cedric asked, remembering the Ford Anglia from when Hermione last visited him in Ottery St. Catchpole. Come to think of it he didn't see it when he visited her.

"They sold it to my Dad and he made it fly," Ron answered.

"Apparently, he made it sentient too," said Cedric, noting how it greeted Ron like a large turquoise Fang. Honking and revving as it rolled forward and back.

"The forest turned it wild," said Ron, running his hand along the scuffed side. "I wonder—"

The boy's eyes widened, and he let out a high-pitched whimper as he stared at something ten feet above their heads. A wet clicking sound caused the hair on the back of Cedric's neck. He slowly looked up and saw silver ropes glistening in the moonlight. Fang whined and cowered as close to the car as he could. Balancing along the ropes were hundreds of spiders the size of horses, each one with eight spindly hairy legs doing too many things at once.

"Oh, shit!" Cedric shrieked as the spiders came for them and picked them up by the scruff of their shirts. He was pretty sure Ron passed out from fear by the time they made it to a hollow covered in spider webs.

The spider holding Harry dropped the boy to the ground and spoke in a voice that sounded like that one kid in Hufflepuff that had braces and slurped when he talked with the added clicking of pincers.

"Aragog!" The acromantula shouted. "Aragog, come see what we have."

The biggest fucking spider Cedric could have never imagined crept out of the shadows. Its unseeing eyes were milky white, and its hair was gray. It must have been very old. Obscenely old.

"What is it?"

"Men," said the one holding Ron.

"Is it Hagrid?" Aragog asked almost hopefully.

"We're friends of Hagrid!" Cedric shouted and was immediately dropped to the ground. He tried to stand but his legs might as well have been made of jelly. "He was taken to Azkaban and told us to come see you."

"Y-yeah," Harry stammered.

Aragog clicked his pincers and the sound echoed around the hollow. Cedric was fairly certain he would have wet himself if he hadn't gone to the bathroom before leaving. Right now, he was sweating and shaking so violently it was a wonder how he was still holding his wand with an iron grip.

"Can you tell us what happened last time?" Harry asked, not faring much better. "Last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened?"

"But that was years ago," said Aragog fretfully. "Years and years ago. I remember it well. That's why they made him leave the school. They believed that I was the monster that dwells in what they call the Chamber of Secrets. They thought that Hagrid had opened the Chamber and set me free."

"And you . . . you didn't come from the Chamber of Secrets?" said Harry.

"I!" said Aragog, clicking angrily. "I was not born in the castle. I come from a distant land. A traveler gave me to Hagrid when I was an egg. Hagrid was only a boy, but he cared for me, hidden in a cupboard in the castle, feeding me on scraps from the table. Hagrid is my good friend, and a good man. When I was discovered, and blamed for the death of a girl, he protected me. I have lived here in the forest ever since, where Hagrid still visits me. He even found me a wife, Mosag, and you see how our family has grown, all through Hagrid's goodness. . . ."

Aragog had never attacked anyone out of respect for Hagrid, Cedric concluded. His brain unhelpfully remembered that female spiders were bigger than male spiders. Aragog was male. His wife was probably there somewhere behind him two or three times his size. The thought made him feel faint.

"So, you do know of what's in the Chamber," he said somehow finding his voice even though it cracked horribly.

"We do not speak of it! It is an ancient being that we spiders fear," Aragog hissed. He settled tiredly and backed into his dome while his family crept forward. "You were foolish to come, friends of Hagrid. I cannot deny my children fresh meat."

Harry raised his wand. "Arania Exumai!"

The spiders closest to them were blasted out of the way, but there were just too many skittering closer and closer. Even with Cedric repeating the spell it wasn't enough. Ron was too petrified to help, not that anyone could blame him.

And then, a long, blaring sound— the most beautiful sound in the world— blasted through the clearing as the Ford Anglia slammed through the spiders and opened its doors. Ron grabbed Fang and Cedric fired spells left and right as he dove into the front seat.

The doors slammed shut once everyone was in and the car accelerated without prompting. All the boys could do was hold on tight while the car jostled around to get out of the spiders. It slowed to a stop about half a mile away and they all sighed in relief. It was short lived as a spider jumped out of nowhere and grabbed Ron through the broken window. All three boys screamed, and Fang howled.

"Arania Exumai!" Cedric shouted pointing his wand at it.

The spider squealed as it shot back and skittered away. Cedric stuck his arm out the window and fired a stinging hex effectively sending it back into the forest whence it came.

"Fucking hell," said Ron.

Harry and Cedric nodded in agreement. The Hufflepuff wiped the sweat from his brow and tried to slow his breathing as the car drove them back to Hogwarts. Somehow it knew the widest path, breaking off twigs and undergrowth in its wake, jostling its passengers. When it was out of the forest, it stopped so suddenly it nearly threw everyone through the windshield. The doors opened, and an invisible force shoved them out onto the grass. Fang ran to Hagrid's hut with his tail between his legs, probably never to return into the forest again.

"Follow the spiders," Ron squeaked. "Hagrid is mad. What did we even learn?"

"That Hagrid is innocent and whatever is inside the castle is scary to those things," said Harry.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Ron asked his voice cracking.

"Are you coming, Cedric?" Harry asked draping the cloak around him and Ron.

"No, I can make my disillusionment charm last long enough for me to get back," he replied, smiling weakly as he cast the charm.

"Alright."

Cedric watched their footprints in the grass and shook his head as he heard them still discussing just what happened back there. Chameleon with his surroundings, he made his way back to the castle. Glad he wore his older pair of shoes that were starting to peel at the soles, he ditched the mud-covered trainers in a closet and ignored the cold biting the soles of his re-darned socks.

By the time he made it back to the Common Room, the adrenaline had dissipated, and he was shaking horribly once more. Oh, Merlin, Morgana, and Gandalf…

Charm worn off, he dashed into the nearby bathroom startling awake the prefect who was supposed to be watching guard of the Common Room.

"Cedric?" Sam Samson asked. "Oh, damn."

Cedric had emptied the contents of his stomach all over the bathroom floor just a foot away from the toilet. Ugh, why did he have to have the tuna casserole at dinner? He'll never eat it again. It looked exactly the same going up as it did going down. Tasted the same too.

"I'll go get a house-elf to clean this up and um… you should see Madam Pomfrey," Sam continued awkwardly.

All he could do was nod and flop onto his side against the stone floor. He was never going to be able to touch a spider again. Which is going to be a problem because there were a lot of them in the barn back home.

Professor Sprout, wrapped up in her dressing gown, came in and helped Sam take Cedric to the Hospital Wing. Neither questioned why he wasn't in his pajamas or why there was mud on his pants. Perhaps they were too distracted by how green his face looked and avoiding any puke that threatened to come up.

"Not another one?" the mediwitch cried, exiting her quarters.

"No— thank heavens," said Professor Sprout. "Cedric here just got sick all over the bathroom floor."

Madam Pomfrey sighed in relief and got an anti-nausea tablet. "Here, put this under your tongue. I'll get you some pajamas."

Once he was put in the blue-striped hospital pajamas, Madam Pomfrey made sure he got to bed. He counted himself lucky that she nor anyone else didn't question why his clothes smelled like the forest. Or maybe the house-elves just took them before anybody could think to question it.

The Hospital Wing was really creepy at night. He could see the silhouettes of all the petrified bodies, but the only breathing he could hear was his own and…

He sat up suddenly, ignoring the way his stomach lurched, when he saw something moving at the side of Hermione's bed.

"Who's there?" he rasped.

There was a squeal and a clatter. Cedric drew his wand.

"Lumos."

A tiny creature with bat-like ears dropped the wooden meat mallet it carried and raised it's hands defensively.

"Rikki was only tryings to protect Miss Granger," he squeaked then burst into tears.

"Shh, please don't cry," said Cedric. "I'm sorry I upset you."

"You is too kind," Rikki sniffled.

"Please, go back to guarding them," he said and smiled encouragingly. "You're doing a great job."

The elf saluted, picked up his mallet, and went back to marching along the beds.

Cedric sighed and extinguished his wand light. His stomach was still uneasy and he was still shaking but he forced himself to close his eyes eventually falling into a fitful sleep full of dreams that left scattered images in his brain unable to connect in any way that made sense.

Except for the last one. He dreamt that Hermione and his mum were having tea in the parlor of a small house that he always wished he lived in rather than the large Manor. He kept trying to go over to join them but his feet were glued to the floor and the more he called out the more his tongue seemed to be stuck to the roof of his mouth.

His mum finally took notice and smiled. She stood up and walked over to him the closer she got the more he had control. She held out her arms for a hug and just as he reached for her his vision was flooded with light.

"Mum?" he asked.

"No, Mr. Diggory," said Madam Pomfrey, pressing the back of her cool hand against his forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever," she continued. "What happened? Did Lockhart get a hold of you?"

"No, ma'am," he said and thought of a lie. "Ate too much at dinner, had a nightmare, and it wasn't a good mix."

She sighed. "I understand. Tensions are running rather high now, aren't they? Go ahead and get dressed, I'll have a patrol come by to take you to breakfast."

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey."

Cedric sat up and ran his hands down his face, then shuddered. He could still hear their pincers clicking. He dressed quickly behind a curtain and looked around at all the Petrified students. They wouldn't be freed until May, the week before finals. Hermione was going to go batshit.