Chapter 16: When Faced With Darkness
Cedric braced himself for the impact; as his feet slammed into the ground he widened his stance, preventing himself from falling altogether. His instincts were screaming. He stumbled, however, and lost precious moments drawing his wand. He had not had his hand clenched around the wood of it for half a second before-
"Expelliarmus!"
-it was wrenched away.
And then he had a real reason to panic.
He was standing in a bare, dark stone room, illuminated only by the flickering torches set into the sconces along the side of the wall. There was a door on the farthest wall from him-the only promise of safety-but he knew instantly he had no chance of reaching it.
Standing between him and the door was Healer Romilda, one hand pointed her wand at his chest and the other holding his wand captive..and she was smiling maniacally. There was a fire in her eyes that was nothing short of terrifying. Even as Cedric watched, the features of her face began to shift, the Polyjuice wearing off, revealing...a face he had only seen in news clippings and nightmares.
Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Awww," she said sweetly in a sing-song voice, "Little itty bitty Ceddy is scared."
Cedric was sure his feet were actually glued to the floor. He could not move, could barely breathe, couldn't form any coherent thought. There was only fear. Paralyzing fear, unlike anything he had faced before.
Distantly, he wondered if he would live long enough to see Harry again.
HARRY!
Surely, he only had a matter of seconds. Somehow, he found his voice.
"Aperta voc-"
"Crucio!"
The scream tore its way physically out of his chest, cutting off any hope he had of finishing the incantation. White hot pain exploded in his nerves. The world around him, all thought of anything beyond that stone room, fell away. Life was nothing but agony.
Cedric's legs buckled beneath him and he fell roughly to the floor. There he lay for an amount of time he could not determine, writhing in pain. Distantly somewhere Bellatrix was cackling, clapping her hands together like an excited child.
At least...it's not Harry...
When the pain finally subsided he could do nothing but force himself to breath for several moments. His vision was swimming with stars at the edges. His muscles were twitching and trembling unconsciously, shaking with the after tremors of the Cruciatus curse.
"Aperta," he forced himself to speak, his voice choking on a sob. "Vocem…"
"Lingua furantur!"
Cedric opened his mouth to speak again, but no words came again, only a broken moan of pain. Bellatrix was laughing. He could make sound, but he could not force any word of any language out of his mouth. A fresh wave of panic sprung out of his chest.
"Pesky things, soulpendants are," Bellatrix said softly. "Don't worry Ceddy, we'll call your boy along soon enough. He is, after all, the point of all this. And how wonderful that will be! Tell me, do you think my lord will be merciful? I rather hope not." She leaned over him, smirking. "But you and I have so much time to get to know each other before then."
A memory of the graveyard flashed through Cedric's mind-a memory of Harry. He endured the pain, the darkness, and still he rose. He fought.
Fuck off, Bellatrix. You can't have him.
Cedric forced a hand under him, pushed himself up, determined to stand and fight this. Bellatrix laughed, watching him struggle. Just as he was getting his feet under him, just as he was raising his chin to look her defiantly in the eye, the witch raised her wand.
"Crucio!"
It was pain beyond anything he had experienced or endured, pain beyond anything he had thought it was possible to survive. Surely his bones were splintering? Surely his organs had burst? Surely he was dying. His eyes were rolling back in his head, he was wavering on the edge of unconsciousness...he wanted to black out...did he want to die?
At least it's me, not Harry.
Somehow, amidst the agony, he felt the warmth of the pendant resting against his skin. That point on his sternum, that little patch of skin no larger than a galleon...didn't hurt. And Cedric thought of the stone transfixed by magic to the center of it and he knew he did not want to die.
He thought of Harry, and he wanted very much to live.
I don't want to die! I don't want to die...
When the pain finally dissipated it left him gasping for breath, crying, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Bellatrix was silent for a long moment, the only sound in the large room was Cedric.
"Oh, isn't this fun, Ceddy!" she said finally, her voice high and thin. "My master will be so pleased! I wonder if I can break you before we have to go."
Cedric tuned out her words, somehow managed to focus on the wand held in Bellatrix's opposite hand. He couldn't speak but maybe, just maybe if he could reach it...he knew some wordless magic. Could he fight her off? Probably not. But maybe he could call for help, break the spell preventing him from speaking? It wasn't likely, but he had to try.
"How do you want to die?" His own words echoed back at him. He refused to lay down and take whatever fate these people saw fit to hand him.
Again, Cedric forced a hand underneath him and pushed himself upwards, forced his feet underneath him. Bellatrix led him to his feet, smiling bemusedly at him. For a moment they both stood still and silent, Cedric staring at his wand hungrily. He lunged for it.
Bellatrix cackled as he stumbled forward, leaping out of the way and leaving him off balance. "Crucio!"
Cedric fell. He screamed and cried, for all the good it would do him now.
At least it isn't Harry.
"Oh Ceddy," Bellatrix said sweetly as she finally released the curse. "Is this what you wanted?" She leaned over him, waving his wand across his field of vision. Cedric, despite knowing it was pointless, tried to reach for it. Bellatrix smiled, snatching it out of his reach. She looked at it for a moment, as if appraising it for it's value, then she turned back to him. "Pity, it's not very interesting, is it? I don't see much use for it…" Bellatrix held his wand in both hands, grinning mischievously, and flexed it. "And we can't have you getting your grubby whittle fingers on it, now can we?"
NO! Merlin, have mercy! Please! No…
Cedric had always thought, ever since he was little, the breaking of a wand must be a dramatic thing. A tool capable of channelling so much power, of reworking the fabric of reality around it, surely would not snap like a common piece of wood? Surely there must be a thunderclap or something to mark the end of such an object? But there wasn't.
Cedric's wand snapped like any other piece of thin wood, the sound hollow and short. A thin white mist poured out of it, but there was no indication of the power he had wielded with it in his hands. He did not want to believe it, could not make himself believe it.
My wand! My wand…
It was a sort of emotional wound that tore into him as if snapped, only it didn't really hurt, it was just...numb. Hollow. A cavity opening in his chest, a nothingness where once something precious had been.
Bellatrix chucked the pieces at him, and he felt tears streaming down his face. Suddenly he found it difficult to breathe, Bellatrix was kneeling on his chest, constricting his lungs, holding down his arms roughly. Somewhere he found the energy to fight, to struggle against her hold, but it was useless really.
"Oh Ceddy," She said softly, drawing a thin silver knife from somewhere on her person. "We have to be sure our suspicions are correct, you see."
The knife traced a path along his left arm, tearing into his flesh. Cedric whimpered in pain, clenching his teeth to avoid giving her the pleasure of hearing him cry out. She worked the point of it underneath the red cloth covering his wrist, and with a switch movement pulled back, severing the fabric Harry had once so lovingly tied around him, revealing the soulmark.
Bellatrix traced it gently with the tip of a finger, then pinched tightly, her nails digging into the center of Harry's initials. "Ugly things, soulmarks," she remarked absently, as if commenting on the weather. "So... personal . But you care about this , don't you Ceddy…" she leaned closer as she spoke, the wind of her whispers brushing against his face.
From somewhere else she drew out a round, flat, smooth stone, slightly larger than a galleon, and pressed it against his soulmark. She muttered a curse he did not hear, and the stone began to slowly heat up. All the while she never broke his gaze, her smile never wavered.
It reached the point of being uncomfortable, and then it was burning and a whimper escaped him. And when it reached the point of burning it did not cool down for even a second, it continued to rise in heat. When it began to dig into his flesh, Cedric screamed. Eventually, he was sure he could feel it scraping against the bone of his wrist.
At least it's not Harry.
Time ceased to hold any real meaning. It could have been minutes or it could have been years for all Cedric could tell. Each fresh scream seemed to delight Bellatrix more than the last. And yet still, Cedric endured. He thought of Harry, and let that thought ground him when nothing else could.
Bellatrix left him eventually, dancing as she swept out of the room. He lay weakly against the cold floor, drenched in sweat and tears and his own blood. He could not have attempted to stand and walk to the door if he tried, let alone run like escaping would require him to.
Numbly, he found himself staring at the angry red burn that covered his left wrist. The stone had burned several layers into his skin and muscle...he could see bone...only one corner of the Triquetra was even visible anymore. He could not feel the fingers of his hand properly, the sensations in his left arm ended in a homogenous ball of pain. Blood was pooling around it.
Distantly, he knew as the skin grew back the soulmark would too. But Cedric somehow doubted he would live long enough to see it healed.
"Turn over your papers," said Professor Marchbanks from the front of the Hall, flicking over the giant hourglass. "You may begin…"
Harry found it very difficult to focus, no matter how many times he reread the questions the words seem to muddle together as nonsense. Exhaustion was dragging at his eyelids, at the hand that held his quill, pulling him back. It was a fight just to stay awake.
Think, Harry! You saw these notes this morning! He buried his face in his hands, while all around him quills scratched out never-ending answers and the sand trickled through the hourglass at the front…
He was walking along the cool, dark corridor to the Department of Mysteries again, walking with a firm and purposeful tread...The black door swung open for him, and here he was in the circular room with many doors, through the second door...Once again he was in the cathedral-sized room full of shelves and glass spheres...When he reached number ninety-seven he turned left and hurried along the aisle between two rows…
Two Death Eaters stood there, an unconscious, battered body levitating between them...wearing Hogwarts robes. A Hufflepuff tie.
A voice issued from his own mouth, a high, cold voice empty of any human kindness, "Wake him for me Lucius. Let him have his voice back, Bellatrix."
"Rennervate."
"Finite Incantatem."
They dropped the body without any pretense, letting him fall roughly to the ground. The boy got his hands under him, looked up defiantly...Cedric Diggory was not yet completely broken. Pity, he had hoped to have Potter see Cedric begging.
Maybe he would.
"Take it for me, Cedric," He spoke again, his voice cold. "Lift it down, now...I cannot touch it...but perhaps you, his soulmate, can…"
"Go to hell!" Cedric shouted, his voice hoarse.
"Crucio!"
Cedric let out a scream of pain, attempted to stand, but fell back, writhing. Harry was laughing. He raised his wand, the curse lifted, and Cedric groaned and became motionless.
"Lord Voldemort is waiting…"
Very slowly, his arms trembling, the young man on the ground raised his shoulders a few inches and lifted his head. His face was bloodstained and gaunt, twisted in pain, yet rigid with defiance…
"You'll have to kill me."
"Undoubtedly I shall in the end," the cold voice said. "But first...You think you have felt pain thus far? Think again...We have hours ahead of us and nobody to hear your screams…"
Cedric looked up, his gaze never wavering, and spoke, very quickly, three words.
"Aperta vocem meam!"
Somebody screamed as Voldemort raised his wand again, somebody yelled and fell sideways off a hot desk onto the cold stone floor. Harry hit the ground and awoke, still yelling, his scar on fire, as the Great Hall erupted all around him. Numbly, he wrapped his fingers around the pendant...the steady thrum of magic in it was frantic, panicked, pained…
"Stay away Harry, please! You can't save me. Contact the Order, get help if you can! Don't rush after me, I'm just bait. If...if this is goodbye...I love you. I will always love you."
CEDRIC NO!
Distantly, he realized the professor was talking to him.
"I'm not going...I don't need the Hospital Wing...I don't want…"
He was gibbering, trying to pull away from Professor Tofty, who was looking at him with much concern, and who had just helped Harry out into the entrance hall while the students all around them stared.
"I'm-I'm fine, sir," Harry stammered, wiping the sweat from his face. "Really...I just fell asleep...Had a nightmare…"
He asked if Harry was going to finish the examination, Harry could only shake his head. The professor suggested he go to bed.
"I'll do that," Harry said, nodding vigorously. "Thanks very much."
He waited the second when the old man's heels disappeared over the threshold into the Great Hall, then whirled around toward the marble staircase…
"Harry?" Gavin's voice nearly startled him out of his skin.
Again he turned, seeing Gavin and James walk towards him from the entrance hall, "Gavin, James, what are you doing here?"
"Thought we'd come get you after your exam and go greet Cedric together," James explained. "He should be along any minute now really. You alright mate?"
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Gavin added.
"I...uh, follow me," Harry muttered, taking off at a run.
"What's going on Harry?"
"We need McGonagall!" Harry shouted back as they pelted up the stairs and hurtled along the corridors. As he ran, he focused on the pendant as his neck and spoke the incantation to activate it.
Hold on, Cedric, he thought firmly. Help is coming. Just hold on. Hold on. Please. I need you, I love you, you cannot leave me, not like this...
They burst through the double doors of the Hospital Wing like a hurricane, causing Madam Pomfrey, who had been spooning some bright blue liquid into a patient's open mouth, to shriek in alarm.
"Potter, what do you think you're doing?"
"I need to see Professor McGonagall," gasped Harry, his breath tearing in his lungs. "Now...It's urgent…"
But Professor McGonagall was not there; the damage of four simultaneous stunners had required she be sent to St. Mungo's. Harry felt dread sink into his stomach and rest there solidly. Terror was rising inside him.
There was nobody left to tell. Dumbledore had gone, Hagrid was gone, and now Professor McGonagall too...the mirror!
He turned to Gavin and James, "Find Ron and Hermione and bring them to Gryffindor tower," he said quickly.
Gavin raised his eyebrows, "Harry, what's-"
"There's no time!" Harry shouted, "Please, trust me! I'll explain at the tower!"
"Okay…"
Harry made it to the tower in record time, tearing through the common room to the dormitory and taking the mirror out from where it was hidden…
"Sirius Black."
The mirror remained unchanged.
"Sirius Black!" Harry repeated...for all the good it did. "SIRIUS BLACK! REMUS LUPIN! ANYBODY!" His voice broke, the sound of Cedric's screams ringing in the back of his mind, a sob escaped him. "Anybody! Sirius Black! Please, somebody help!"
No one appeared.
Logically, he wanted to say they were just looking for Cedric, that everything was fine. But after that vision, after the state he had seen his soulmate in-nothing was fine anymore. Even if the Order was looking, even if nothing additionally horrible had happened, the Order had no idea where to look.
Minutes later, he was facing Gavin, James, Ron, and Hermione. He led them along numbly, peering through doorways, and at last found an empty classroom into which he dived, closing the door behind them the moment they were inside it. He leaned against it, facing them.
"Voldemort's got Cedric."
"What?"
"How d'you-"
"Saw it. Just now. When I fell asleep in the exam," Harry said, numbly holding up the pendant. "And Cedric spoke through the pendants."
"But...but where? How?" Hermione said, her face white.
"Why?" Gavin added, looking like he was close to throwing up.
"I dunno how," Harry said, distantly aware tears were fighting their way out his eyes. "But I know exactly where. There's a room in the Department of Mysteries full of shelves covered in these little glass balls, and they're at the end of row ninety-seven...He's trying to use Cedric to get whatever it is he wants from in there...He's...he's torturing him. They're gonna kill him."
Harry found his voice was shaking, as were his knees, and the tremors had returned to his hands. He moved over to a desk and sat down on it, trying to master his emotions.
"How're we going to get there?" he asked them.
"G-get there?" Ron said, clearly hesitating.
"Get to the Department of Mysteries, so we can rescue Cedric!"
There was a long silence. Harry could not understand why they were all staring at him as if he had grown a second head.
"Harry," Hermione said hesitantly, "How would Voldemort and Cedric even have got into the Ministry without being seen? The building is filled with Aurors!"
"An Invisibility Cloak, or something!" Harry shouted. "Anyway, the Department of Mysteries has always been completely empty whenever I've been-"
"You've never been there, Harry," Hermione said quietly. "You've dreamed about the place, that's all."
"Excuse me," James said suddenly, "would one of you explain what the bloody hell is going on like...normal people…"
"Harry has…" Hermione grimaced. "Dreams about-"
"Visions," Harry growled. "Not dreams Hermione."
Hermione inclined her head, " Visions about Lord Voldemort's actions."
"They're not normal dreams!" Harry insisted, standing up and taking a step close to Hermione. "How d'you explain Ron's dad then, what was all that about, how come I knew what happened to him?"
"He has a point," Ron said quietly.
"Okay, fine," Hermione said tiredly. "Let's say this vision is accurate."
"It is! He spoke through the pendant!"
"Then contact Sirius!"
"I tried!" Harry cried, "No one's answering in the blasted mirror!"
"Who's Sirius?!" James demanded. The three of them fell silent, looking apprehensively towards James and Gavin. "Sirius...Black?"
"...yes," Hermione said slowly. "Do you trust us?"
"Cedric's in trouble. Do we have a choice?" Gavin said frankly. ". Why do you need to contact Sirius Black?"
"Because he's innocent, my godfather, and probably the only one who can get help to Cedric besides us," Harry said slowly. "But Hermione, we need to get moving now! We don't have time!"
"By why, why on earth would Voldemort want to use Cedric to get the weapon, or whatever the thing is?" Hermione persisted.
"I dunno, there could be loads of reasons!" Harry yelled. "Cedric's my soulmate, there is a magical connection between us, maybe that has something to do with it."
"Harry…" Hermione's voice was strained, "Have you ever...have you considered that...well, Voldemort knows you, Harry! You have a saving-people-thing! He knows you'll go after Cedric."
"So?!" Harry demanded, "It doesn't matter if he's done it to get me there or not! Cedric told me to stay away but…" His voice cracked. "I can't Hermione! You didn't...You didn't hear him screaming…"
James took a deep breath, and looked at him squarely, "Cedric would die to protect you, Harry. You can't-"
"I can!" Harry spat, whirling around. "You think I wouldn't die to protect him, just as much?!"
Again, there was silence.
"You don't know…" Harry said weakly. "What this is like. I -I know that Cedric, right now, is in pain. I could see it in the vision. I could feel it in the pendant. He's my soulmate! I'm not...I'm not going to abandon him. Not ever."
"I'm with you, mate," Ron said quietly.
Hermione sighed, rubbing her temples, "And of course I'm not leaving you two idiots alone."
"We care about him too, Harry," Gavin said softly. "If you're going to the Department of Mysteries, I'm coming too."
What about Kayla? Harry thought, and realized at some point the young witch had entered the rapidly expanding sphere of people he cared about. And somehow that made sense.
"Gavin, your sister-"
"Has people that will look out for her if I don't make it back," Gavin said firmly.
James nodded, "And of course I'm coming."
The classroom door opened. The five of them whipped around. Ginny walked in, looking curious, closely followed by Luna, who as usual looked as though she had drifted in accidentally.
"Hi," Ginny said, uncertain. "We recognized Harry's voice-what are you yelling about?"
"Harry…" Hermione said slowly, "Harry, they can help. We need to contact headquarters and see if there's anyone there who can help."
"But-"
"Harry, I'm begging you, please listen! If there's no one from the old crowd we can get to go after him, then I swear I will not try to stop you, I will be with you every step of the way."
"Cedric is being tortured NOW!" Harry shouted. "We haven't got time to waste-"
"But this is most likely a trap and getting ourselves all killed won't help him!"
Oh, right.
"How're we gonna do that?" James asked quietly.
"We'll have to use Umbridge's fire and see if we can contact him," Hermione said, looking terrified. "We'll draw Umbridge away, but we'll need lookouts, and that's where we can use Ginny and Luna."
"Number twelve, Grimmauld Place!"
His head began to spin as though he had just got off a fairground ride. He kept his eyes screwed shut against the whirling ash, and when the spinning stopped, he opened them to find himself looking out upon the long, cold kitchen of Grimmauld Place.
There was nobody there. He had expected this, yet was not prepared for the molten wave of dread and panic that seemed to burst through his stomach floor at the sigh of the deserted room. Where was Sirius? Was there another attack? Was he in danger too? Where were Amos and Thea and Remus?
"Sirius?" he shouted. "Sirius, are you there? Remus? Amos? Thea? ANYONE?"
Kreacher the house-elf finally came creeping into view. He looked highly delighted about something, though he seemed to have recently sustained a nasty injury to both hands, which were heavily bandaged.
"It's the Potter boy's head in the fire," Kreacher informed the empty kitchen, glancing at Harry oddly triumphantly. "What has he come for, Kreacher wonders?"
"Where's Sirius, Kreacher?"
The house-elf gave a wheezy chuckle. "Master has gone out, Harry Potter."
"Where's he gone? Where's he gone, Kreacher? " Kreacher merely cackled. "I'm warning you! What about Remus? Or Thea or Amos? Mad-Eye? Any of them, are any of them here?"
"Nobody but Kreacher!"
"Where have they gone?" Harry yelled at the elf. " Kreacher, has he gone to the Department of Mysteries? "
Kreacher stopped in his tracks, "Master does not tell poor Kreacher where he is going."
"But you know! Don't you? You know where he is! Can you bring him here? I have to talk to him!"
There was a moment's silence, then the elf let out his loudest cackle yet. "Master is hunting for smoke! He does not know where to be going! Kreacher and his Mistress are alone again!"
And with that he scurried away.
"You-!"
Harry felt a great pain at the top of his head. He inhaled ash and, choking, found himself being dragged backward through the flames until, with a horrible abruptness, he was staring up into the wide, pallid face of Professor Umbridge.
"You think," she whispered, bending Harry's neck back even farther, "that after two nifflers I was going to let one more foul, scavenging, queer little creature enter my office without my knowledge? I had Stealth Sensory Spells place all around my office doorway, you foolish boy. Take his wand," she barked at someone he could not see, and he felt a hand grobe inside the chest pocket of his robes and remove his wand. "Hers too…"
Moments later there was a commotion outside and several large Slytherins entered, each gripping Ron, Ginny, Luna, and-to Harry's bewilderment-Neville. All four of them had been gagged. Gavin and James were nowhere to be seen, they had been in charge of setting off the distraction, and Harry hoped they had managed to get away.
"Clearly, it was very important for you to talk to somebody. Was it Albus Dumbledore? Or the half-breed, Hagrid? I doubt it was Minerva McGonagall, I hear she is still too ill to talk to anyone…" Umbridge looked positively delighted at that.
Harry found he was so filled with anger and hatred the tremors were no longer from panic.
He was shaking with rage.
"It's none of your business who I talk to," he snarled.
"Very well," she said, dangerously sweet. "I offered you the chance to tell me freely, Mr. Potter. You refused. I have no alternative but to force you. Draco-fetch Professor Snape."
Malfoy stowed Harry's wand inside his robes and left the room smirking, but Harry hardly noticed. His thoughts were whirling...he was wrong, there was a member of the Order left who could help Cedric. Snape.
"You wanted to see me, Headmistress?" Snape said, looking around at all the pairs of struggling students with an expression of complete indifference.
"Ah, Professor Snape," Umbridge said, smiling. "Yes, I would like another bottle of Veritaserum, as quick as you can, please."
"You took my last bottle to interrogate Potter," he surveyed her cooly, "Surely you did not use it all? I told you three drops would be sufficient."
"Surely you can make more!"
"Certainly," Snape's lips curled. "I should have it ready for you in around a month."
"A month? I wish to interrogate him! I wish you to provide me with a potion that will force him to tell me the truth!"
"I have already told you," Snape said smoothly, "that I have no further stock of Veritaserum."
Snape looked back at Harry, who stared at him, frantic to communicate without words.
Voldemort's got Cedric in the Department of Mysteries, Sirius needs to know so they can find him, he thought desperately. Voldemort's got Cedric-
Umbridge was shrieking to Snape then, dismissing him. Snape gave her an ironic bow and turned to leave. Harry knew his last chance of letting the Order know what was going on was walking out the door.
"He's got Cedric!" Harry shouted. "He's got Cedric at the place where it's hidden! Padfoot needs to know!"
Snape had stopped with his hand on Umbridge's door handle.
"Padfoot?" Professor Umbridge looked eagerly from Harry to Snape. "What is Padfoot? Where is the nasty Diggory boy? Where what is hidden? What does he mean, Snape?"
Snape looked around at Harry. His face was inscrutable. He could not tell whether he had understood or not, but he did not dare speak more plainly in front of Umbridge.
"I have no idea," Snape said coolly.
Harry's heart sank; it didn't appear Snape was going to help them. They were on their own.