Enough With All Your Games – Chapter 5 – On The Train Home
Author's Note: Harry and Cedric are going to become really good friends in this story. I always imagined they would get close, if only they'd had more time to get to know each other. I hope this chapter (particularly the bit with the Dursleys) turns out to be funnier and more light-hearted than the last one. And finally, I just wanted to let you know that Voldy will very much be a threat and a prominent component of this story. On with the story!
The day after the Leaving Feast ended, Cedric Diggory sat on the Hogwarts Express, surrounded by friends: his dorm-mate and best friend Daniel, the ever-supportive Ernie McMillan and Hannah Abbott and Justin Finch-Fletchley, and of course, his beloved girlfriend Cho Chang, accompanied by her loyal friend Marietta Edgecombe.
"You all right, Ced?" asked Ernie.
He, Hannah, Justin, Daniel, Marietta, and Cho had all spent the first few minutes of the train ride telling Cedric he was totally in the right for stopping the Triwizard Tournament, and not to worry about any of the haters. Cedric had appreciated their show of support, even though it didn't do much for his mental state.
"Yeah, I'm all right. Thanks for the support, guys."
"Course! Least we can do! And next year, when you're Head Boy-" Ernie proclaimed.
"I haven't gotten a Head Boy badge-" protested Cedric.
"Well, Dumbledore'd be a moron if he didn't make you Head Boy," continued Ernie, "so next year, everyone'll come to their senses and be worshipping you like usual."
Cedric blinked confusedly a few times. "I wasn't aware they, ah, worshipped me at all." Sure, lots of Hufflepuffs looked up to him because he was a prefect who got good grades, did well at Quidditch, and was always there to lend a hand with anything from emotional struggles to tutoring. Before the abrupt end of the Triwizard Tournament, he was aware that most people liked him. But the word worship went a bit far, didn't it?
"Oh, please. They totally worship you," drawled Daniel. "Leader of House Hufflepuff – unofficial and otherwise – and the one who prevented the Dark Lord's nefarious return. You've got a bloody following, mate."
"I also have haters all over the Ministry and the Daily Prophet, and a bunch within Hogwarts. Remember that?"
Daniel shrugged. "Eh? Every religion faces heretics. We'll figure out how to dispose of 'em soon enough."
Everyone in the compartment started laughing despite themselves.
Cedric did laugh along with them, but after getting called a coward and a spoilsport and insane, he was getting a bit fed up, and he had to complain about it to someone. "A very small part of me wishes I'd touched that cup, just to prove a point."
"But that cup was a portkey to You-Know-Who!" exclaimed Cho, who was instantly horrified by the mere idea. "If you'd gone anywhere near him… What if you'd died?"
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't really mean it," said Cedric, instantly regretting what he'd. He tightened the one arm he had wrapped around her waist, while the other hand reached up to caress her face.
Cho kissed him sweetly, even though they were with other people and the feeling of her lips put him instantly at ease. He was glad to be touching the softness of her skin and smelling the sweet scent of her hair. How much would it totally suck, he wondered, if he died and couldn't ever see her again?
"It's okay, I know you're reeling," said Cho.
"And we're here for anything you need," added Marietta, with nods from Ernie, Hannah,
Daniel, and Justin.
"Thanks, guys," said Ced.
"Just don't die – that' rude," added Cho.
Cedric laughed despite himself. "Wouldn't dream of it."
In that moment, wrapped in the love of his girlfriend and surrounded by the support of his friends, Cedric came to a decision. He gently released himself from Cho's embrace and stood up. "Guys, do you mind if I go talk to someone for a bit? I'll be back in a while – definitely before we get to King's Cross."
Truthfully, Cedric didn't know how long this would take, but he knew he had to do it now. His friends and Cho nodded, so now that he had their approval, Cedric grabbed his broomstick out of the top rack and exited the compartment.
Cedric wandered down the Hogwarts Express for a while, peering into compartment after compartment, before he spotted Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger in a compartment. He knocked politely before Harry opened the door.
"Harry… can I have a word?"
"Sure?"
"Great. Bring your broomstick."
Harry nodded, gathered his Firebolt, and followed Cedric out of the compartment. Cedric led them both to a coupling between train cars, where they could both sit outside and enjoy the summer breeze.
"What's up?" asked Harry, even though he knew what Cedric probably wanted to discuss.
"Well," said Cedric, quietly clearing his throat, "I wanted to, ah, say thank you to you. For going along with waking Krum and for exiting the maze with me and everything on the night of the Third Task. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't."
"Are you kidding me?!" spluttered Harry. "I should be thanking you! You figured out there was something fishy going on with the Tournament and you put a stop to it! I would've faced Lord Voldemort himself, if it hadn't been for you!"
Cedric put a comforting hand on Harry's back. "I'm glad you're all right," he said.
"I'm glad you are, too. Something tells me you might've won the Triwizard Tournament if it'd gone on. Maybe you would've reached the Cup before me and Voldemort would've claimed you as a victim."
"What if you'd reached the Cup before me and You-Know-Who claimed YOU as a victim? Aren't you the one he's been trying to kill since you were one year old? The famous boy who lived?"
Harry groaned. "I have that I'm famous for that. I mean, I was only one when it happened."
"I was actually kind of envious," Cedric confessed. "I mean, everyone's always revered you. You've always been this great, brave, amazing hero. But after the Third Task, I realize heroism's not all it's cracked up to be."
Harry shook his head and sighed. "No, it isn't. And hey, I forgive you for being jealous of me. In fact, I was pretty envious of you this year, too. Because of Cho."
Cedric nodded, but otherwise stayed still. He'd seen the gleam of envy in Harry's emerald eyes, but he knew the boy wouldn't truly wish him ill.
"Last night just, kind of, clarified things for me, you know? I mean, you could've been tortured into insanity! You even could've died! I did like Cho, but not enough to wish you dead!"
"You're far too good for that," consoled Cedric. "And, you liked, as in, past tense?"
"Yeah, past tense. I had a thing for Cho, but seeing her with you the night after the Third Task, and then the following morning… It made me realize that you two share a really special bond. One that I never had with her, you know? And I want to find that connection with someone, but I don't think I'll find it with Cho, because she loves you."
"I love her so much," said Cedric. "And you deserve love too, Harry. I know you'll find it one day. Hell, you're only 14, almost 15, and you've already shown so much courage! Any girl – or guy, or nonbinary individual – would be lucky to have you, that's for sure."
"Thanks, Ced," murmured Harry.
"Is it true that you faced You-Know-Who TWICE? When he tried to steal the Sorcerer's Stone in your first year and when he controlled that Basilisk the year after?"
"Yeah," said Harry. "He's trying to come back to power, and I guess he's also trying to mess with my head now."
"His attacks aren't even close to over, are they?" asked a dismayed Cedric.
"Don't think so. Not like the Ministry's going to pay any attention."
"If you ever need help with anything… don't hesitate to ask. If it comes down to it, I'd be honored to help you fight him."
"Really?" asked Harry, agog. Cedric couldn't tell if the younger boy was horrified, confused, or touched.
Cedric draped an arm around Harry's shoulders and gave him an affectionate squeeze. "That's what friends do for each other, right?"
"We're friends now?" asked Harry. He seemed confused, but also the tiniest bit hopeful.
"Are you trying to tell me that after we saved each other Merlin-only-knows how many times, that we AREN'T?"
Harry's face split into a grin. "Good point." He turned to face Cedric and pulled him into a great big bear hug.
"Excellent," said an also-grinning Cedric as he and Harry split apart.
"Why'd you have me bring my broom?" asked Harry.
"Remember that Quidditch match last year that got ruined by the Dementors? Well, I hated that I didn't get to play against you fairly. Took all the excitement out of the match, you know?"
Harry's eyes narrowed, and his hand grasped his Firebolt just a little tighter. He was beginning to see where this was going.
To solidify his meaning, Cedric pulled a Golden Snitch out of the pocket of his robes. "So… how about a rematch, Potter?"
"You're on," said Harry.
Cedric released the Snitch and let it disappear into the air. "On my count: three, two, one…"
The two Seekers took off. They flew all over the Hogwarts Express, searching for the Golden Snitch. The train chugged along, but they could easily chase each other and still keep up with it.
Some two hours later, Cedric's hand closed around the Golden Snitch and he jumped off his broom onto the top of the Hogwarts Express, victory-dancing like a lunatic.
"Ha! I won! I won, I won, I won!" he yelled.
"Yep, you won one whole game out of fifteen," deadpanned Harry.
"With your record, Potter, that IS a victory. Ha! I win!" He skipped down the car of the train and jumped down onto the coupling where he and Harry had sat before. Harry followed and joined him there.
"Getting excited about not being dead last… You are SUCH a Hufflepuff," muttered Harry.
Cedric wasn't sure how to respond, so he just stuck out his tongue.
"But seriously, thanks for this. It was good to have one last flight before summer with the Dursleys," he finished gloomily.
"Your family?" asked Cedric.
"Technically," said Harry that conveyed a world of disappointment. "My mum's sister is a Muggle and she hates magic. She and her husband have hated me since I showed up on their doorstep, and my idiot cousin Dudley's no better. They bullied me a lot when I was little, and they never told me about the magical world. Hagrid had to come and get me in order to make sure I even got my Hogwarts letter, let alone made it to school."
Cedric couldn't help but recoil in horror. He'd been raised by parents who were nothing but loving and wonderful and supportive. He couldn't fathom what it'd be like to live without that, much less with people who hated him for his magic… "Why do you have to stay with them?"
"Because Dumbledore says so. When my mum died to save me, she put a protective magic over me. Dumbledore says that the magic works to help protect me if I stay with my family, and they're technically family. I can go stay with the Weasleys for a while each summer, but only after spending PART of it with the Dursleys."
"There's no one else in your family?"
"Well, there's my godfather. He's family. But Sirius has to stay on the run, so I can't exactly go with him instead, can I?" grumbled Harry.
"Sorry… what? Sirius Black?" gasped Cedric. "The one who betrayed your parents to You-Know-Who, blew up an entire street, slaughtered thirteen Muggles…"
"Nope, all that was Peter Pettigrew. Sirius is innocent. I met him at the end of last year. We got along great, once we found Peter Pettigrew and realized Sirius was innocent."
"Wow…"
"You know, the worst part of it was, it seemed like we were really going to prove Sirius was innocent. I thought I was going to get to live with him! But Pettigrew escaped, which is why you saw him with Lord Voldemort in my vision after the Third Task."
Cedric nodded. "Where's Sirius?"
"On the train. He's an animagus who disguises turns into a big black dog. We have to go separate ways once we get to King's Cross Station."
"He was with you in the hospital after the Third Task, right? He was the big black dog on your bed?"
Harry nodded.
"You must really miss him."
Harry had nothing to say to this, so he and Cedric enjoyed the fresh air in companionable silence for a few minutes.
"What if you and Sirius Black went with my family instead? We'd take you! And then you'd be with your godfather, right?"
"Are you serious?!" blurted Harry.
"Of course! You and your Animagus godfather can stay with us as long as you like, and then the Weasleys will get you and then we'll all go find a way to prove Sirius's innocence!"
"Thanks, Cedric, but I don't want to impose on your parents. Your dad probably doesn't want your Quidditch rival and a convicted murderer hanging around his house, even if just for a little bit. I don't think it'd work." Then, Harry got up and re-entered the train to return to his compartment.
When the cheerful red locomotive known as the Hogwarts Express pulled into King's Cross Station and everyone started to disembark, Cedric's eyes found Harry in the crowd. He was saying cheerful goodbyes to Ron, Hermione, and the other Weasleys, but something in his eyes seemed hollow and sad, and now that he'd mentioned the Dursleys and his poor godfather, Cedric knew why.
"You worry about him, don't you?" asked Cho, following Cedric's gaze toward Harry.
"I can't help it. He's like the little brother I never had. I already miss him. He says his relatives are a rotten bunch and he hates having to stay with them. I asked him to stay with me, instead, but he said he couldn't."
"That's too bad," sighed Cho.
They passed through the barrier to the Muggle world and Cedric was sure to escort Cho to her mother – who greeted him very sweetly – before looking for his own parents.
"I'll see you soon?" asked Cedric. "I know I don't have a thousand galleons to spend taking you on a fancy vacation, but…"
"I'll see you soon and we'll still have fun," said Cho. "In the meantime, you should go get Harry."
"He said he HAD to go stay with the Dursleys."
"Are you seriously going to just let him get away with that?!"
It was like she'd flicked on a light switch in his brain. "Merlin! That's an excellent point!" He intended his last kiss to be short, but she was so very lovely and clever and distracting that the last kiss ended up being very long.
When he'd seen Cho off on her way, he realized that Harry was already sulkily departing the station with an odious walrus of a man who must be his uncle.
Then, Cedric felt something wet touch one of his hands. It was the wet nose of a large black dog. "What do you say, Sirius?" he asked it quietly as he gave its ears a gentle scratch. "Should we find a way to help Harry?"
The dog gave an eager "Woof!" of agreement.
It was another beautiful summer's day when the Hogwarts Express deposited Harry Potter at King's Cross. He supposed that Privet Drive would be hot and leafy, its flower beds a riot of color when he arrived there that evening. The thought gave him no pleasure at all.
After he crossed the magical barrier to King's Cross, he saw Uncle Vernon waiting impatiently for him. Sighing, he parted ways from Ron, Hermione, and the Weasleys.
"There you are, aren't you, boy? Hurry up now," spat Uncle Vernon.
Harry spared himself the effort of responding and followed Uncle Vernon to the car. It was going to be a long drive.
Petunia Dursley and her husband Vernon prided themselves on three things in life: (1) their perfectly normal lives which were utterly and totally devoid of any freaky business, (2) their son Dudley (who some might consider rotten and spoiled, but those people were clearly freaks too), (3) their impeccably spotless house (which Petunia would clean until it perpetually smelled of Windex), and (4) their impeccably manicured lawn.
Even as the summer grew unbearably hot and dry, and even as residents of Privet Drive were instructed not to water their lawns, Petunia Dursley made sure gardeners came every week to properly fertilize and trim the barren patch of dead grass that lay before their houses. Tradition had to be maintained.
Of course, the "normalcy" pillar of their lives was on the verge of being disrupted yet again when Petunia's freakish little ingrate of a nephew showed his face at Privet Drive – which he'd probably be doing in 10 or so minutes, blast it. Petunia was sipping a glass of lemonade on the porch and enjoying the last shreds of normalcy.
Petunia Dursley was burst out of her reverie when a ramshackle Jeep pulled up outside her house and a tall young man maybe a bit over Dudley's age got out. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and looked perfectly nice – obviously not freaky. He was athletically built and very handsome, with bright gray eyes and wavy brown hair. This boy was the kind of bloke she'd fancied before she'd settled for the likes of Vernon Dursley.
The young man waved a hand. "Hello."
"Why, hellooooo! Who're you?" asked Petunia, in a voice that she hoped didn't sound too squeaky.
"Hi, I'm Cedric, and I'm waiting for a friend. Do you mind if I wait here? He shouldn't be long."
"Oh, of course," she hastily replied as she got up and hastily thrust a hand in his direction. "I'm Dudley's mother, Petunia Dursley. You can call me Petunia."
He shook her hand gingerly and then took a seat on the opposite side of the porch from where she'd been sitting.
"Can I get you some lemonade?" she asked, gesturing to her glass.
"Water's fine, thanks."
She bustled inside to fetch a glass of water and handed it to him directly. "So, how did you two meet and become friends?" she asked, wondering how Dudley hadn't mentioned he'd such a polite, good-looking friend before. Clearly, her darling Diddykins, darling as he was, was being an oblivious git.
"At school. Of course, I'm a few years ahead of him, but we met through a competition we were in together. We had to compete against each other at first – did you know my friend is an absolute badass? I mean that in the best way – you should be really proud."
Well, judging by his muscles, the boy had clearly met Dudley through boxing. She wondered which competition specifically brought them together. "Oh, we most definitely are!" she trilled. "We're so very proud of our darling son Dudley! Do tell me more about how you two got to know each other, please!"
Cedric didn't seem to respond to this, preferring to sit and sip his water. Then, when the glass was nearly empty, Petunia saw it refill right there in his hand. No – the glass didn't refill itself – it was clearly a trick of the heat waves and the light. Was this normal?
Fortunately, Dudley was walking back to the porch right now.
"Ah, and where was my darling Diddydums off to this afternoon?" crooned Petunia, scurrying to meet him with a big kiss on the cheek that Dudley seemed reluctant to take.
"At the, gym. Working out," he replied smugly.
"You call smoking cigarettes and beating up little children in the park working out?!"
"Who're YOU?!" asked Dudley.
"Why would you accuse my son of such foul behavior?!" squawked Petunia.
"Mrs. Dursley, I saw him smoking and beating up younger kids as I drove past him in the park. And Dudley, I think you need a new hobby."
"I thought you were my Dudley's friend!" protested Petunia, choosing to ignore what Cedric said about her son's behavior.
"I was waiting for Harry!" said Cedric, throwing his hands up in the air.
"Why, you stupid tattle-telling pretty boy! I bet you're a freak like Harry, too!" Dudley lunged at Cedric, fists clenched and aiming for his face.
"AAH!" shrieked Dudley as Cedric jumped out of his porch chair at the last minute, grabbed Dudley by the wrists, and somehow twisted them so Dudley was flat on his back.
"Out, I say! OUT!" screeched Petunia.
Harry spent the entire drive home wondering how long it would take for someone – say, the Weasleys – to collect him from Privet Drive. He would be counting the days until he could leave, if only he knew how many days there were. So instead, he spent the entire drive silently wondering if he should've taken Sirius to stay with Cedric and the Diggorys instead. If Sirius could stay a dog, then nobody would even have to explain to Cedric's parents what he was doing there! Wait, why didn't he think of that sooner?!
When Uncle Vernon parked the car at #4 Privet Drive, Harry got out to a wonderous sight indeed: Dudley sprawled on his back on the porch while Aunt Petunia attempted to swat a rolled-up newspaper in the direction of… Cedric. She was swatting at Cedric. What was Cedric doing here?!
Harry ran out of the car to ask Cedric what was up, but the older boy saw him, ran for him, picked him up in a great big bear hug, and swung him around before Harry could even get to the porch.
Cedric set him down. "Good to see you, Harry."
"Ced? What are you doing here?!"
"You didn't seem remotely happy to spend your summer here. And since you've spent all of, I don't know, thirty seconds of the Dursleys' house, I think that qualifies as spending PART of your summer with them, don't you?"
Harry burst out laughing. Just by showing up here, Cedric was becoming one of his very best friends, and this summer was clearly going to be better than he could ever have hoped for.
"So… can I kidnap you?" asked Cedric.
"Is it a kidnapping if I want to go with you?"
It was Cedric's turn to laugh.
Harry was about to ask where Sirius was, when Dudley ran off the porch yelling, "I'll get you both!" with his fists raised. Harry wasn't sure what to do about his idiotic bully of a cousin. Should he use magic? Should he not? Would Cedric do something again?
And then Harry's questions were all answered when a giant black dog leaped over top of him and tackled Dudley to the ground.
"Why, you beastly mongrel!" yelled Uncle Vernon, yanking a windshield wiper off the front of his car and trying to attack the dog with it.
Vernon Dursley did not get far. The dog grabbed the wiper in its teeth, threw it asidem, growled ferociously, and took a few steps in Vernon's direction – which was all it took to send BOTH Uncle Vernon and Dudley cowering back to the house.
"Okay! Let's get your trunk and your owl, and then we'll be off!" said Cedric, grinning brightly
The dog, happy with its victory, started up-ending all the flower-pots on the Dursleys' front porch, making Harry laugh. "Come ON, Sirius! We've got to get going!
Cedric got Harry's trunk out of the boot Uncle Vernon's car and then went back to get Harry's Firebolt and Hedwig in her cage. But before Cedric could finish loading the Jeep, Uncle Vernon built up just enough outrage to try and charge them down one more time.
"You abominable, disruptive FREAKS! Why, I'll-" Uncle Vernon launched a fist at Cedric's face.
But Cedric twisted it around, sending Uncle Vernon sprawling on his back, just like Dudley. "Seriously?" he asked.
"Unfortunately, yes," sighed Harry with a shrug. "Now, can you, ah, please finish kidnapping me?"
"Anytime," answered Cedric. He, Harry, and dog-Sirius quickly got in the Jeep and Cedric pushed a button so that the car could magically drive itself off.
"Is this your magic car?" asked Harry.
"Nah, it belongs to Mr. Weasley. After you left, I met Sirius and we decided to come get you. So we apparated home with my parents to drop off my stuff, and then we apparated to The Burrow to borrow the car, and then we flew here to get you! Bloody brilliant car, isn't it?"
The Jeep had a smooth coat of paint and a bunch of dents on it (whether those were due to it being a second-hand car or Mr. Weasley having trouble learning to drive it, Harry couldn't tell), not to mention it made odd noises when it started up. But Harry agreed – it was a brilliant car.
They made it a couple of blocks when they passed another car: a baby-blue Bentley convertible, which had its top down so that you could see it was being driven by a pretty young woman with spiky pink hair. When she looked at the Jeep, she slammed on the brakes. "Cedric Diggory? Harry Potter? What're you two stinkers up to?"
Cedric stopped the car in deference to her questions.
"Uh… the Auror Office might think I'm too much of a coward, but I'm kidnapping Harry."
"Oh, blast it," sighed Tonks. "Ced, the entire Auror Office currently hates the Minister of Magic for being an idiot, and there's a petition going around to admit you to the Auror Office, anyway. What with the Minister's attitude, it probably won't get far, but we wanted to make a statement. Anyway, those of us at the Order of the Phoenix think you'd be an especially excellent addition to our department and we're mighty put-out, that's for sure."
"Who's she? And what's she doing here?" asked Harry.
So Cedric parked the Jeep, got out, and introduced Harry Potter to Auror Nymphadora Tonks. "It's just 'Tonks,' she clarified. Call me Nymphadora, and I'll turn you into a bouncing ferret like that Death Eater imposter did to Draco Malfoy, yeah?"
Harry smiled despite himself. "But wait, what're you doing here?"
"The Order of the Phoenix told me that we're to get you. I'm delivering a letter that the Dursleys have won Surrey's best-kept lawn competition, and they're invited to a celebration. That way, they'll be out of the house when we come pick you up in a month and a half."
"Well, the Dursleys are jerks and I'm kidnapping Harry now, so I guess you don't need to deliver the message," said Cedric.
"I could deliver it just for fun? A nice little prank?"
And that was when Harry knew that he and Tonks would get along just fabulously. "You should do it! Oh wait, what if you magically transported an invitation about the lawn thing to their mailbox, and then showed up to Privet Drive, pretending to be a health inspector for cleanliness? You'd drive my aunt BONKERS!"
Sirius woofed excitedly.
"Pleasure to meet you, Harry. And you're on. Say, do you know where you could hide to watch this little prank?"
"If we hide under my Invisibility Cloak and Sirius keeps his head down, I bet we can watch the whole thing!" said Harry.
Fifteen minutes later, Petunia was shrieking at the top of her lungs and booting Tonks out of the house, too.
"You can't just dismiss me! I'm a health inspector! Really, all you need are some easy, simple adjustments!"
"Why, you-" Petunia uttered a number of words that, were it the case that she was a witch and expletives had magical power, would've exploded the whole block.
"I'm just trying to say, you really ought to consider letting a healthy amount of mess into your lives! It's a proven fact that your home will be happier if you let it get more disorganized! Messiness is good for you!"
"I'm suing the government for your atrocious behavior! You'll be out of a job before this hour is over, you mark my words, you silly girl!" yelled Petunia.
"You know, that yelling can't possibly be healthy, either. Are you getting enough sleep at night? Coping with your stress properly?"
"OUT!"
Harry and Cedric were doubled over under the Invisibility Cloak with their hands covering their mouths to try and contain their overpowering paroxysms of laughter.
Tonks must've seen their footprints in the grass because she stopped right next to where Harry and Cedric stood and muttered, "I swear to Merlin, the air in their house contains more Windex than breathable oxygen. I really should've used a bubble-head charm," in their direction.
It was all they could do to stay quiet, and if the Invisibility Cloak had been visible, then you would've seen it vibrating with yet more stifled laughter.