Chapter Ten

The Stranger in His Own Land

The evening air was cooler in the narrow streets. It was strangely empty, save for a few people here and there. I was equally stunned to discover that many of the shops were closed. At first I thought it was just the lateness of the hour. After all, this was the first time I'd been here at night.

Ollivanders, normally a warm and friendly place, stood empty and dark, glaring suspiciously at anyone who walked by. Gringotts had all sorts of strange magical security devices that I'd never seen in my living days. That would be a problem since I had no Wizarding money. I might have been able to exchange my Muggle currency, but the Death Eaters took that from me.

Signs warning people of potential Death Eater threats were posted in various places. Posters warning of the dangers of "You-Know-Who." I picked up a pamphlet that was blowing in the wind. Protect Yourself! Remember Security Questions! Learn hexes and charms to protect your families against threats.

The world had become a darker place since I left it. Or maybe it had always been this dark and I just didn't notice before now.

Something new caught my eye. It was a shop at 93 with a poster in the window. It read:

Why Are You Worrying about You-Know-Who? You should be worrying about U-No-Poo- the Constipation Sensation that's gripping the nation!

Perhaps it was the pure boldness of it. Or maybe it was the fact that I escaped death for the third time in my life, only to find that where I'd run to wasn't much friendlier. But I couldn't help but laugh. I looked at the sign.

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Est. 1997.

"So they finally did it," I muttered, shaking my head in disbelief.

This shop had been a dream of Fred and George Weasley for sometime. On the Quidditch field we were mortal enemies, but during the school days we got along all right all right. Many Hufflepuffs were unwitting victims of the twins and their experimentations.

During our second year they instigated what teachers would call the biggest inter-house prank war in the history of Hogwarts. It was a war that cost both houses the House Cup, but we managed to win, at the very least some strong bonds and friendships.

The store was still open and I was about to go in. But I stopped suddenly. I was supposed to be dead now. Everyone in Hogwarts would expect it for that matter. And if Rita Skeeter was still in the business, anyone who read the papers would know of the death of a Ministry worker's son.

There were also the warnings. The pamphlets explained that Death Eaters used poly juice potions to infiltrate homes and sensitive areas. Not that they could accomplish much by pretending to be a dead guy, but it was still something to be careful about.

Fred and George would probably have a good laugh at it of course. As Wizards went, you couldn't get more laid back than the Weasley Twins. Even with Voldemort on prowl and stronger than ever they could still make jokes.

If there was any better way to get back into the Wizarding world, it was by talking to them. But I needed to do it slowly. If I walked right into their store and someone else I knew was there alarms might go off. And Azkaban was not a place I wanted to spend eternity.

I went to the Leaky Cauldron, thankful to find it was still there and found a table in the emptiest corner of the tavern. I found one of the pamphlets on Death Eaters and wiped it clean with a charm. Then I borrowed a quill from the serving maid and ordered some water.

This will be something of a shock. But trust me. Meet me at the ice cream parlor as soon as you're able.

Signed,

The Hogwarts Champion

It was short and to the point. The signature would rouse some suspicion. But I was counting on their sense of humor to keep them from calling the Aurors.

The bartender was kind enough to let me use their fireplace to send the letter. Then I only had to wait.

Half an hour went by and I wondered if I'd wet myself before they came. I thought about just leaving the tavern and watching from a safe vantage point. But then I caught a glimpse of the trademark red hair.

It was only one of them. George, I think though I was never good at telling them apart.

The tavern was empty accept for the bartender and he spotted me easily. He wore silk black robes which flowed as he crossed the pub, reminding me of someone out of an old vampire move.

"No bloody way," he said. His hands were on his hips and he looked at me with a mixture of amusement and astonishment. "Cedric Diggory. You know I made a bet with Fred and I think I just lost."

"Hey George," I said, grinning awkwardly. "This is going to take some time…"

"Ah, not to worry," George held out his hand. "When an old friend comes back from the dead it's a time to celebrate."

I took his hand. Something in his tone should have warned me off, but I was so elated at seeing a close friend after so long that I didn't notice it.

"Why don't you come back to the shop with me?" He said. "Fred'll have a bloody heart attack when he sees you."

"Sounds great."

As we got up to leave George told me all of the major changes that happened since I left. Most of it I all ready knew, but I was happy to hear it from a familiar face. I was so happy that I didn't notice George leading me down an alley between two closed shops.

"What's going on?" I asked, warily.

"Well it's funny you should ask," George remarked. He pulled his wand out and pressed it into my back. "Because I was wondering the same thing."

He forced me to turn around and put my hands up. I backed away slowly, cursing my stupidity. I drew my wand.

"Expelliramus!" I shouted.

George was knocked back.

"Levilicorpus!"

The spell took me by surprise. I spun around and saw Fred standing behind me. His eyes widened as it failed to work.

"What the hell are you?" He demanded.

"He's a bloody freak is what he is," George said, having recovered from my attack.

He was back on his feet now, wand in hand.

"Will you both calm down!" I shouted. "I can explain everything."

"Oh we know you can," Fred said.

"To the Ministry of Magic." George added. Fred joined his side, keeping his wand pointed at me.

"I think they offer a reward for capturing scum like you…Death Eater."

"I'm not a Death Eater!"

"Bollocks." George said. "Stupefy!"

When the spell didn't work I said, "That's going to get pointless after a while."

"Some protection charm you got there," George said, unimpressed.

"Must have cost a fortune. It must be Malfoy." Fred guessed. "Only the Malfoy's would be sick enough to disturb the dead."

I ran my hand through my hair. Things weren't going quite as I expected.

"Look, I can prove it." I said. "In our third year you went into Hog's head and stole an entire bottle of twenty-year old jasperwine. Remember, you two drank the entire bottle and me and Lee Jordan helped you get back to Hogwarts when you couldn't walk. You puked all over Filch's shoes."

"Nice shot," Fred responded. "But Marcus Flint was there as well as I recall. Weren't you Marcus?"

"I say we have a little fun with him first," George said.

"Oh, for god's sake."

I pulled out my rapier and cut into my wrist. Blood sprayed and the twins were shocked into silence. I dropped to my knees in pain, but held my wrist out for them to see.

"For the last time," I said as the Quickening healed the cut. "I am not a Death Eater. It's me, Cedric Diggory."

The twins exchanged glances and lowered their wands.

"But Harry brought your body back," Fred said.

"Everyone saw you were dead." George said. "We all saw your body. Your parents…"

"I know." I said. I wiped some sweat from my brow. "Like I said, there's a lot I have to explain. I knew you'd have a hard time accepting it, so I sent you the letter instead."

"Yeah well, when we read it George thought it might be from Potter. But I had to bet against him just for the fun of it."

George snickered. Then Fred snickered. Soon they roared with laughter and I joined them. This night was probably one of the worse nights in my life, but the laughter was welcome again.

"So," I said when we were calm again. "You guys finally got that shop up and running."

"Yeah, it's doing all right considering." Fred said. "Why don't you come back with us?"

"For real this time," George added as an afterthought. "And we can even get another bottle of jasper wine to celebrate."

"That sounds like a good idea," I said. Then as an afterthought, "for real this time."

There was another riot of laughter as they lead me back to the shop. It felt good to be back in my own world.