A/N: Spoiler Alert. Half Blood Prince.

I was just an ordinary wizard, going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Goblet of Fire chose me to represent Hogwarts in the Triwizard tournament. There I got in the way of Lord Voldemort and paid with my life. But that's not how it ended.

A raven came into my life and taught me of a new world. One as secretive and dangerous as the one I was raised in. The world of the Immortals.

I can never die unless someone takes my head and with it, my power. But if that ever happens, it could be the end of the Wizarding World. So now I must fight to survive until the day when there are only two of us left.

In the end, there can be only one.

I am Cedric Diggory. I am The Hogwarts Champion.

Chapter Four

A Reminder of Things Forgotten

August, 30 1997

"Watch him, watch him!"

Parry stood in my way, holding his arms out and trying to block me. Leo tried to snatch the ball from me, but I ducked beneath Parry's tall arms and dribbled till I reached the basket. I tried to do a lay-up but couldn't get enough distance. The ball bounced off the rim and out of bounds.

"Foul!" Parry cheered. "Yeah! You just been schooled!"

"Thank God it wasn't in English," I shot back. I grabbed a towel from the bench and dried the sweat off my face.

Parry and Leo did their victory dance before walking off the court. Father Liam patted me on the back.

"That was a good attempt at that lay-up shot," he said. He drank some water from a bottle and offered me some. "It could use a little work though."

"Well, I'm not making it a career," I said. I smiled to show him I was still in good spirits. "Anyway, it was good work out."

"I never thought I'd get you out here again after you injured your knee the last time."

"Like that'd ever stop me."

Liam sent a few parting words to Parry and Leo. Stay out of trouble say your prayers, that sort of thing.

I stuffed my towel into my duffle bag. This was the first weekend I had off in over a month and I was ready for a long shower, something to eat, and maybe taking in a movie.

Liam caught up with me as I walked off of the court, tossing the ball in his hand like he still had energy to burn. The court was located in a lot next to the church, where the shade gave kids a cool place to play.

"Looking forward to tonight's sermon?" I asked, conversationally.

"Actually Father Kelly is doing this one," Liam said. "I've got a Sunday School curriculum to review and fundraiser planning."

"Sounds like fun."

"All in the name of the Lord," Liam responded, crossing himself in earnest. "If you're interested in helping, we could use someone at the soup kitchen on-"

The presence alerted us to an approaching Immortal.

I was more than a little worried. We weren't technically on Holy Ground since we were outside the church. Liam never carried a sword and that left me to do the dirty work. In two years I had successfully avoided battles. I wasn't sure I could handle myself in a fight now.

Nevertheless, I reached into my bag, grabbing the handle of the sword.

"You should get out of here," I said.

"Relax," Liam said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "This place is too public. No one will challenge us here."

I was relieved to see a familiar face turning the corner.

"Amanda!" Liam said, happily. He handed me the ball and went to greet her.

She wore a new beige overcoat, which might have been frying her in this heat. The tight black stockings around her feet and the sneakers indicated she had been on one of her runs recently.

"What was it this time?" I asked, knowingly.

"That's for me to know," Amanda said, winking as she hugged Liam and then me. "The cops are none the wiser but I need an alibi just in case."

"And you figured I was good for that?"

"Well you're so innocent. Besides, Liam can forgive me for stealing and lying at the same time."

Liam laughed.

"A million Hail Marries couldn't cover half the sins you've committed love," he said. "You'll be happy to know that Cedric here has been handling himself quite nicely."

"No one's challenged you?" Amanda asked, surprised.

We walked to the curb where sunlight pounded the curb unforgivably. I took out my water bottle and chugged half of it before answering.

"I haven't been sticking around long enough," I answered. "Once I feel their presence I take off."

Amanda sighed, but looked at me affectionately.

"Well it looks like we'll need to get some more training in while I'm here. Do you need any money or anything like that?"

"I'm not a child Amanda," I said, shaking my head. "I get by all right."

"Well, he's been job hopping," Liam corrected.

I glared at him, wide-eyed. Hey held up his hands in defense.

"You didn't tell me in Confession. Outside it I'm not bound to any seals."

Before I could tell him what he could do with his seals and the confession booth, Amanda cut in.

"Haven't you paid attention to anything I told you?" She asked, as we waited at the bus stop. "What's going to happen if you need to get out of here in a hurry? You're not going to have any money for plane tickets, forged documents, housing-"

"Maybe I should just break into museums and steal things," I quipped. I turned to face them both. "Amanda, I'm fine. Liam, it's not job hopping. I do a few odd jobs for people here and there and I get paid for it. No one's given be a steady job yet because I look too damned young and I don't have a solid enough background to put on paper."

"Well, maybe you should consider going to college," Liam suggested. "Amanda knows people who can get you a convincing identity. You'd have four years of school to put down and you'd be able to get a decent job when you graduate."

I sighed. The bus pulled up and the door flung open.

"My education wouldn't get me in to any college."

"Oh your school of witchcraft again." Amanda said with her patented brand of condescension.

"It was called Hogwarts," I corrected her. "And I had a life before all this happened."

Without waiting for their response I climbed aboard and paid the fare.

I watched the city pass by, depressed from the argument with Amanda. They were only trying to help me. But they couldn't understand what it was like for me.

People filled the streets of Paris. Tourists, vendors, lawyers, shop owners, cops, doctors, and students went about their lives confident in their domination of the world. Beneath the liveliness and commerce of the muggle world, coexisting alongside our non-magical brothers and sisters, was the hidden and equally vibrant Wizarding world.

It had been two long years since I traded the wand for the sword. Amanda trained me to use the swept hilt rapier Methos gave me. She taught me conversational French and gave me enough money to get my own place and settle myself in the city of Paris. She even arranged with special contacts of her own to get me a halfway legitimate identification.

My name to the general public was Cedric Platter. If anyone gets curious, my family moved here from England when I was sixteen and I graduated from a boarding school. I've been living here ever since and now I'm looking for work wherever I can.

Well, it's mostly the truth. I spent one week sorting fish at a seafood market for fourteen francs an hour. Then for about three weeks I had a job working at a movie theater specializing in local and independent films. When that closed for renovations I began washing windows for local shops until someone called the cops and complained.

I returned to my place and took a shower. Then once I had some lunch and a long nap, I decided to take a walk. A quick look at my budget canceled any movie going plans, so I threw on my overcoat, secured my sword and went out for some fresh air.

I decided to go down to the Gare de Lyon Station to see if the janitors could use a hand, or if one of the concession stands had a job opening. The station was packed as usual, with commuters and travelers coming from all over Europe.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw something that no muggle was meant to see.

A mother and her daughter were navigating the crowds. The girl pushed a trolley loaded with a trunk and two suitcases. Her silk robes hung lazily from one of the suitcases, and when I caught a glimpse of crossed golden wands it confirmed my suspicions. A Beauxbatons student!

Keeping them in sight but trying to remain inconspicuous I followed them. They came to an empty marble wall between a bookshop and a lunch counter. The daughter kissed her mother on the cheek and disappeared through the wall. Muggles didn't see any of this of course.

I stood there, regarding the marble wall. The portal into a world I've abandoned for so long. Then I looked around, wondering if I was being observed.

"These Watchers…you've only mentioned them a couple times but I guess they watch us?"

Adam grinned.

"Very deductive. They observe and record our kind, but never interfere." Adam made quote signs with his fingers at the last part. "I was one of them for a while. It gave me a chance to steer them in the wrong direction a few times."

"When will I get mine?"

They'll be muggles though, I thought. Once I go into the portal they won't notice.

I approached the wall, being careful not to draw attention and went through.

The platform was crowded with students securing their luggage and climbing aboard the train to their own school. When Fleur Delacor told us about Beaubaxtons (and she told us whether we asked her or not) she mentioned that there were actually two trains that came from North and Southern France respectively. Students from other nations were brought in by the carriages drawn by abraxans.

Attendants helped new students while the older ones milled around the platform, chatting animatedly. There were snippets of French, German, Spanish and a few thickly accented English speakers but these were rare.

Someone ran into me on their way through the portal and I quickly stepped out of their way.

"Montre où vous êtes, retard stupide allant!" the boy shouted.

"Désolé," I replied.

I made my way towards the benches, near the ticket booth. An attendant approached eyeing me suspiciously.

"Monsieur? Are you 'ere with a student?"

"Er," I tried to think of a good excuse for being here. "Yes, sir. My brother is transferring here from-er…Hogwarts."

"Ah," the attendant nodded. His tone softened and his look was more sympathetic. "Such a terrible tragedy what happened zere. I understand eet has been closed down for safety concerns."

"Safety concerns?" I asked, confused.

"Yes. Do you not know zat ze-" The attendant took a cautionary glance before speaking in a whispered voice. "Death Eaters attacked ze school last year. Zey got in somehow and murdered ze headmaster in cold blood."

A chill ran down my spine. But I had to act like I knew all this, or the attendant would become suspicious again. Quickly I regained my composure.

"Yeah, it was tragic," I said, trying to keep the emotion from my voice . "Terrible, terrible tragedy. We were all taken by surprise."

The attendant looked at me oddly. I suppose he thought a student of Hogwarts should be more emotional about the death of one of the greatest headmasters to grace its halls. He left me alone without another word and I sank into the bench.

Dumbeldore dead? I thought. How could the Death Eaters have gotten in to the school in the first place?

The world began to spin and I had to rest my head in my hands to keep from hitting the cement. I sat there, reeling from the news as students boarded the train. I was there for a good amount of time, till well after the parents were long gone and the last of the attendants were gone.

The presence broke me out of my stupor and I got to my feetA man was standing in the entrance of the portal.

"Methos?" I asked, uncertain.

"No," the man answered.

As he came closer I could make out more of his features. Broad-shouldered and a wide chest, with long black hair that came to his shoulders, his face seemed hardened and chiseled. His eyes were fierce and his hands, though empty, seemed fidgety. He wore a leather jacket, dark jeans and black dress shoes. He reminded me of some of the sketch artists you see in the parks and on the streets.

There were a few feet between us when he stopped.

"Wizard?" He asked, curious. His voice was deep with an accent I couldn't place.

"Yeah." I said. "You?"

"For some time now. May I ask what school you are from?"

"Hogwarts, in Scotland."

"Ah yes. I remember Hogwarts. Durmstrang was founded at the same time."

"You went to school there?" I asked, making small talk while I checked my exits. There were the tracks that possibly lead outside, but where they lead exactly was a different matter entirely. The portal into the station was my best bet, but the man blocked my way.

"I was there for the first Triwizard tournament," he answered, smiling proudly. "My name is Radu Demonez."

"Cedric Di-Platter."

"Pleasure to meet you," Radu said. He bowed slightly. "It's an honor to meet another of my own kind, if you know what I mean."

"I didn't think there were any others."

Suddenly I didn't feel right about having my back to the wall, so I slowly began edging my way towards the platform. Radu's eyes followed me. He kept his distance and didn't make any aggressive moves. But it was clear I didn't want my back to him either.

"I know of a few others," Radu said. "Do you remember your first death?"

"A while back," I answered, deliberately vague.

Radu nodded.

"Mine was a wonderful time," he went on. "It was the year of the very first Triwizard Tournament. We held it at my school and it was the first time most of us had seen wizards and witches from other schools.

"I was one of the first students to place my name into the Goblet of Fire, and I was chosen to represent my school.

"It was my finest year. I was the youngest of twelve brothers, who had all ready gone to Durmstrang and brought such honor to our family. But I was always a disappointment somehow. I could not master charms quickly enough, or my potions always exploded and I damaged equipment. My father made it clear with every letter he sent that I was a disgrace to the Demonez family.

"That year I proved them wrong. I was the most worthy, I was the Durmstrang champion. During the year we completed the task, I expected a letter from my father. I wanted to make him proud and I knew the tournament would please him. But he never wrote to me."

I reached into my coat and gripped the hilt of the rapier.

"I guess he had an image of me in his mind. The worthless failure of a son that he didn't want, and my gaining an honor as high as champion of my school destroyed that image. I was a failure at being a failure."

Radu started laughing. It was a cruel, insane laugh that echoed throughout the platform and brushed my spine like the fingers of a banshee.

"So the night of the Third Task, I realized I could please no one besides myself," he continued, still giggling. "I made my way through the maze, hexing and cursing everything that attacked me or got in my way. Then I saw the cup in the center of a clearing. It was down to me and the student from your school, Hogwarts and I was in the lead."

I swallowed.

"But it wasn't enough. I reached the maze through fairness and skill. The cup was meant to be in my hands. MINE!"

Radu seethed. His eyes fixed on me like an angry predator.

"He killed you," I said. "The Hogwarts student killed you, didn't he?"

"The Killing Curse," Radu said in response. "Only then it was not yet considered unforgivable. The Hogwarts Champion robbed me of my prize and my life."

"I'm sorry." I said, sympathetically.

"Don't be." Radu was calmer now. "I walked the earth for seven hundred years, wondering if I'd ever be able to avenge myself. And then, someone approached me with a wonderful offer."

Radu held out his wrist and pulled back the sleeve, revealing a tattoo of a green skull with snakes coming from the mouth. I'd seen this mark once before. It once flew over the fields at the Quidditch World Cup three years ago. The mark of the Death Eaters!

"You work with…You-Know-Who?"

"Lord Voldemort," Radu said the name with reverence. "Has been my master since the day he returned from his weakened existence. When I came across him he barely had a form. He clung to a parasitic lifestyle, living off the blood of unicorns and grafting himself to the bodies of other living creatures. Recognizing me for what I was, he promised me the one thing I wanted, in exchange for my loyalty: The Triwizard Cup.

"Through contacts working within the school, our Dark Master learned that the Triwizard Tournament was being reinstated a century after it was discontinued. I could have the victory that was stolen from me.

"The night of the Quidditch World Cup I drank with my fellow Death Eaters in celebration of his imminent return. It was there I sensed the presence of one of us, only at the time, he was not yet one of us."

Blood rushed to my face. I remembered that night perfectly, running from unseen danger as the Death Eaters made a sport of terrorizing anyone they could find, wizard or muggle.

The Dark Mark flew high over head. Dad told me to run to the safety of the woods while the adults handled this.

"It's dark out here!" Someone screamed.

I held out my wand.

"Lumos."

In the distance I could see Harry Potter, the Weasley kids and other students from Hogwarts running in one direction. Sensing comfort in familiarity I ran to catch up.

"Impedimenta!"

I was knocked onto my back.

"Argh!"

My wand fell to my side, illuminating a space beside me. I saw the legs of a man dressed in black robes.

Gripping my wand I tried to sit up. Pain from where I landed on a rock rippled through my body and I fell back.

"Aren't you an interesting one?" The man asked. His face was concealed behind a mask as he raised his wand.

"Please, don't hurt me!" I begged. "Someone help!"

"Don't worry. You'll thank me for this in time." The man raised his wand. "Avada-"

"Protego!"

The Death Eater's wand was knocked from his hand and he staggered back. A wizard approached, wand raised.

"You like picking on kids, scum?"

The Death Eater picked up his wand again and took aim.

"Avis!"

A flock of birds flew from the wizard's wand, fluttering around the Death Eater and blocking his view. They startled him enough to make him forget his attack and he disapparated.

The wizard knelt beside me.

"Are you badly hurt?"

"I don't know."

He helped me sit up and when I winced again, he did a charm to lessen the pain.

"You'll be all right with a bone re-growth potion," he said, conjuring a stretcher beneath me and carrying me to safety.

"You were going to activate me, weren't you?" I said, dropping the pretense. This guy knew everything about me and there was no hiding it.

"I would have made you my student," Radu said. He reached into the back of his coat and pulled out a halberd. "But now you are worth so much more to me."