Disclaimer: This is based upon J.K. Rowling's series of novels, Harry Potter, mostly drawing from the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
A/N: I can't thank you guys enough for the reviews! I really enjoy them, and truly, they make me want to write more. And if you actually sign in, I can give you a review reply! Isn't that a nice thing? So please review when you're done reading. I love feedback! Hope you like this chapter Sorry, this chapter's been done a long time. It's just with seven APs, I've been a tad stressed with all the testing. I've had to drop some things. There will be more updates. Please forgive me for all the time this took to get out. Oh and I redid this chapter. It's new and improved! Please Read and Review!
Chapter 5: DangerFor one more moment, darkness prevailed, with only the stars shining dimly over the countryside. Suddenly, there was a spark. Instantly, light emerged once more, signaling the start of what was sure to be an interesting day.
The Sun slowly peeked over the horizon, its light flowing over the rolling hills of the countryside, the rays jumping over the lush green oaks wavering in the crisp breeze, the leaves dancing in the Sun's light. The sunlight ran past the singing yellow-chested larks and their children in their homely nests, swam over the Weasley's weedy garden full of gnomes, through a glistening dew-covered window, and finally found its way into Harry's room. The rays shimmered on Harry's face, warming him as the sunbeams danced on his cheeks. As the light intensified, Harry couldn't help but stir. He opened his eyes to the sun, and paused for a moment, his bright green eyes sparkling in the sunlight. A smile jumped onto his face.
He was happy. Today was the day—the day when he would get to return to Hogwarts. And returning to Hogwarts meant one thingCedric.
There was nary a moment when Cedric wasn't on his mind. Ever since the World Cup, since that night they had spent together, Harry couldn't help but think about him. There was the odd moment when his mind wandered elsewhere, when he was preoccupied with other things, like playing Quidditch in the vast field in back of the house or trying to moderate a skirmish between Hermione and Ron, but aside from that, it was all Cedric. Cedric always seemed to come back to mind. And it made Harry happy that he would be able to see Cedric somewhere, anywhere, outside of his daydreams today.
He quickly slipped out of his pale, worn pajamas and into his school robes. Once he was ready, he ran down to the bustling kitchen. He saw that he was the last one awake. Ron had actually woken earlier than Harry for once.
"Hey Harry," said Ron, sitting at the table. "I'm surprised you're up so late. We've got to get going for school."
"Oh, really Ron. You're lucky you're up. If I hadn't thought about it, you probably would still be in bed, snoring. But you of course had to wait to pack until the very last minute," remarked Hermione. She looked towards Harry. "But he's right you know. We're leaving in just a few minutes. Hope you're all packed."
"Yeah, I am," answered Harry, sitting down. Hermione looked at him.
"You know, you look pretty happy today," said Hermione.
"Yeah, unusually happy, what've you got on your mind?" asked Ron.
"N-nothing," stammered Harry. "Can't a bloke be happy to go back to school?" he added, struggling to avoid Cedric. Harry hadn't mentioned anything about him yet, and wasn't going to start now. At least not yet.
"What are you looking forward to the most?" inquired Hermione, only mildly interested in the conversation. Her eyes slowly wandered back to huge book she was reading: The Subtle Nuances of Sustained Transfiguration.
"Just getting to see Hogwarts. And the rest of our friends," said Harry.
That wasn't a complete lie, he thought to himself, smirking.
"Well, you can't leave here without a good breakfast," interjected Mrs. Weasley as she placed a stack of pancakes swimming in syrup in front of Harry. He made quick work of the stack of flapjacks, and soon enough, Mrs. Weasley, the twins, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Harry were on their merry way to platform 9 ¾.
cHcHcHcHcHcHcHcHcHcHcHcHcHcHcHcH
Hermione, Ron, and Harry stepped onto the train and commenced their search for an empty compartment. They strolled down the narrow pathway, past giggling gaggles of girls. As they walked by, Harry could swear that he saw someone at the center of the group of girls. It only took a moment to recognize that face. Cedric.
"Can you believe that all the girls are fawning over him like that?" asked Ron, rolling his eyes. Hermione glared at him.
"You're just jealous Ron," she replied coolly, taking a quick glance at Cedric. Ron steamed.
"Harry, support me on this one," said Ron. "I'm not jealous!" Harry didn't answer. He was too…preoccupied.
"Just stop," said Hermione, turning away.
"How could I be jealous of that twit?" asked Ron, his cheeks reddening. Harry snapped out of his trance.
"Name-calling now? Mature, Ron," said Harry.
Did that sound protective? Harry asked himself. He looked to Ron to see a response. All he could see was an emotionless stare.
"Fine," remarked Ron. He followed Hermione into an empty compartment nearby. Harry followed suit and sat down. He stared out the window, not eager to be confronted by Ron.
"Do you have any idea what the rumors have been about? The ones about Hogwarts this year?" inquired Hermione, struggling to break the awkward silence that had settled over the room. Ron shrugged.
"No idea" replied Harry, at least displaying a tad more effort than Ron. Hermione smirked.
"It sounds pretty exciting, from what Mr. Weasley and Bill have told us at least," remarked Hermione.
"That's true," admitted Harry.
"How exciting could it be?" said Ron.
"Why can't you at least pretend to be enjoying spending time with your friends?" asked Hermione.
"Maybe because both of you don't even care what I think," said Ron.
"How can we listen to you when you're attacking someone?" asked Hermione. Harry nodded.
"You're my friends…you're supposed to listen to me," said Ron, trying desperately to support his logic.
" And as you're friends, we're obligated to tell you when you're being thick-headed," said Hermione.
"I'm not being thick-headed," said Ron obdurately.
"You sort of are," replied Harry, still staring out of the window. He watched as they entered a shadowy tunnel and the room was filled with darkness, the dim yellow light of the cabin providing a simple but eerie light. Just as Hermione was about to speak…
A scream came from the head of the train. It sounded as though someone was hurt. And all of the sudden, the train halted, throwing Hermione to the floor. It only took a moment for her to shake off her tumble.
The darkness disappeared as she muttered lumos, bathing the room in a quiet white light. She slowly rose to her feet and held her wand towards the door. By now, the whole train had gone completely dark. She walked towards the door and slid it open, peering outside to see if she could surmise what had occurred. She stood there for a moment before speaking.
"Come on you two," she said. She waited for Ron and Harry to stand up, but they just sat there. She turned her wand back towards the room, their faces shining dimly in the wandlight, and she looked at them.
"We have to investigate. Something is not right," she added. Harry nodded silently and curtly stood up. Ron followed him and Hermione out into the eerie hallway. When they had first entered the train, the hall had sounded with laughter and was alit with golden sunlight, but now, fear hung in the silence left behind by the scream, and darkness seemed to pervade even the dim wandlight. Harry saw a few of the dark compartments light up with the lumos charm. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the door to his side had slid open, and a face suddenly appeared in the doorway, seemingly floating in midair.
"Harry?" the nearly bodiless head asked. Harry peered closer.
"Neville?" replied Harry, now squinting. "Is that you?" The head nodded.
"What're you doing in the hallway?" asked Neville. Hermione saw it as her duty to reply.
"We're investigating that horrid scream. Do you want to come with us?" asked Hermione. She didn't wait for an answer. "Good, we can use all the help we can get, most likely. Who knows what stopped the train."
"Won't other people take care of it?" said Neville.
"Then why hasn't the train started again?" asked someone from inside Neville's cabin, in response to his question.
"Ginny?" asked Ron. The girl opened the door completely and came out into the hallway.
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," she remarked with a smirk. Hermione pushed ahead.
"Great. We'll need your help, too. Now let's go," responded Hermione, huffing ahead. Harry followed her to the front of the car, followed by Ron. It took a moment for Ginny to convince Neville to come with them under threat of an unbearable bat-boogey hex.
As they trudged to the head of the train, their progress was soon halted when a door abruptly slammed open. Before anyone could react, Ron suddenly slid to the floor as he was struck by a red light. It only took a moment to identify who had cast the spell.
Harry stared into the cold grey eyes of Malfoy, and without thinking, quickly tore out his wand.
Before Malfoy could even insult them, Harry shouted, "Petrificus totalus," and Draco fell backwards into his compartment, the door sliding shut behind him. A dull thud sounded as the his head hit the floor behind the closed door. With Malfoy out of the way, Harry spun around, only to see a stunned Ron.
"Enervate," said Hermione, watching Ron shake off the stunner. "Are you okay, Ron?" she asked, offering her hand. Ron took it and righted himself.
"Bloody brilliant," he answered, still sour at Hermione and Harry.
"Harry, you really shouldn't have attacked Malfoy like that. You could easily be exp—"
"You know as well as I do that that was just a reflex to Malfoys attack. Which was also completely uncalled for. If anyone is getting expelled, it should be him," fumed Harry. Ron smiled, but seemed slightly ticked off that he had been stunned when this had happened. Hermione did not seem amused at all.
"Yes, I know, but Snape would never allow for that. And if asked, Malfoy would lie about the confrontation," replied Hermione, not affronted in the slightest. Before Neville or Ginny could insert their two Knuts, a scream came from the head of the train once more.
"We better go," said Hermione. Everyone nodded as she led the way to the head of the train. As the group walked towards the head of the train car, the darkness slowly halted, as orange-hued light filled the cars.
As Harry approached the door leading into the head car, he heard a group of people screaming. He peered through the window to see a weary, frightened Cedric against a wall. As Harry looked up, he could understand the fear Cedric felt.
Cedric Diggory was corned by a vehement Hungarian Horntail that was about to strike.
A/N: I sort of rewrote this whole chapter to take the story in a direction more to my liking. Sorry about the first version. It was a… test run. Yes, that's it! Oh, and the cliffie, that's just some of my fun added in. I'm sorry about it, I really am. And I apologize about the extremely long wait for this chapter. I hope that it was well worth it, even if it was a little short. Next one should be out in a jiffy I think that I'll be able to put it up rather soon, at least. Until next time!Please Review! I love feedback on my stories.