Love's Labour Lost
ScarletSerpent
Disclaimer: Although this story follows the plot of the book/movie Goblet of Fire, the plot is my own. Everything belongs to Rowling and the producers of the movies. I am not selling it, or reproducing it for profit, I swear. I am not quite genius enough to work that out.
Summary: Harry Potter is fourteen and in a lot of trouble. When confusion and dark forces combine to make a daunting fourth year, who can Harry turn to as it all falls to pieces? The story behind the story, of a love that defeats evil, but even love cannot cheat death.
Reviewer Responses: Gwaihiril (Thank youuuuuu, having yours as the first review I got after updating really made me smile. I'm glad you think I'm doing a good job, so the Cedric and Harry at the end is for you.) ; ESP (You are going to be one of those thorns in my side aren't you:-) I mean that in the absolutely most loving way. I am reading it over again, that was a stupid mistake that I apologize for. My bad. And thank you for reviewing, even if I am a tad melodramatic.) ; wild wolf free17 (I'm glad you liked it:-) ; dairygirl ( I'm glad you liked the bit at the end, it made me smile. And, ooooh yes, our wonderful friend Ron will get his comeuppance...oh yes.) ; tmelange (Thank you for BOTH reviews, I'm glad you like it!) ; littleflower2004 (Ahh, you see, that was my predicament after watching the movie. I went out searching for some Harry/Cedric, and I bet you can guess what happened. I had to write one, it was calling to me. :-) I'm glad you like it so far! Thank you for the encouragement!) ; SpiffyMoogle (You know, I have a friend who gets reviews like that all the time, and you are my first. So thank you for the threats of mutation and other dire consequences! I am trying my very hardest on this one:-) Thanks for the, er, encouragement?) ; cleasmile (Your review made me smile, a lot. I have one person who mentioned the Summoning Charm bit, and they were not half as nice about it. Thank you for pointing it out, I did go back and fix it! I'm really glad that you like the fic, it was begging to be written! Thanks for everything:-) ; truthfulchaos (Thank youuuu! I'm really glad you liked it!) ; Lilas (Thank youthank you thank youuuuu! I totally understand being a new HP/CD fan, I was after I watched the movie too. It adds a whole new element knowing where its going, doesn't it? I'm really glad you like it!) ; MaireadInish (Thank you a billion! I will finish this fic, no matter what. I really love this pairing! Thanks again!)
A/N: I have an apology to make. I have fixed the error concerning the Summoning Charm being used before Harry used it. Sorry times one million! I know I'm not following book format, but I should at least know that much:-( Feeling the chagrin. But, I did fix it. So, thank you to ESP and cleasmile for pointing it out. My bad. On a different note,I have added another day in between Harry learning the charm and the first task, which I have so rudely pointed out in the middle of a chapter! Bad author, very bad. I hate it, but I never read the beginning authors notes, so ifhaving that reminder may avert certain reader's wrath, I will do it. Aaaand...
On with the show!
Chapter Three: Potter Stinks and Mad-Eye Winks
The badges appeared almost overnight, beginning with Malfoy and his cronies in Slytherin and spreading through the school like wildfire. It seemed that everyone wanted a piece of Harry's humiliation. They winked at him from the robes of Ravenclaws and Gryfffindors alike; even the most easygoing Hufflepuffs had donned the badges, every member of their house wearing one except for Cedric. Harry walked through a sea of them, head down so as to avoid having to look into the eyes of the people who once thought him a hero. Hypocrites.
The only good thing the badges had brought about was in potions class that morning, when Malfoy had finally gotten his comeuppance from the end of Harry's wand. Served the bloody bastard right for enlarging her teeth. He gritted his teeth, the dual curse and insult had served its purpose, Harry was feeling more alone than he had in weeks. It was one thing to blame Harry for this mess, but the bushy haired witch had nothing to do with it. At least Ron wasn't wearing one. Not that the other boy hadn't laughed at him over the whole ordeal, but he wasn't betraying him so overtly. For that, Harry was grateful.
Harry heard a muffled snicker and then another, and someone's muted comment in response. Looking up briefly he decided that he wished he hadn't. A group of Hufflepuffs was gathered to his right, and fifteen Potter Stinks badges greeted his gaze. Hazarding a second glance at the group, he saw Cedric among them, his expression a mixture of apology and pity. Harry humphed, he didn't need anyone's pity, especially not the name of the person who's name was on the stupid badges in the first place.
Something niggled at the back of his brain when he saw him. Cedric hadn't immediately written him off. He owed the other boy for that much at least. Dragons. He looked back down at the stony path, gathering the much vaunted Gryffindor courage to brave a gaggle of angry Hufflepuffs. It sounded weak even to his own ears. Straightening his shoulders, he walked over to the group resolutely, with eyes for Cedric only.
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Poor Harry. Cedric hadn't been able to get the mantra out of his head since the day those infernal badges had appeared on the Slytherins' chests. He had begged his housemates to just forget it, Harry hadn't even wanted to be in the tournament. However, thanks to the never-failing Hufflepuff loyalty there they stood, on the robes of every house member. He hoped that Harry had seen that he wasn't wearing one. Nevermind that it would take an incredibly vain person to wear a badge that supported oneself like that. And incredibly bad sportsmanship.
He heard a whisper and a muffled snicker in return, and looked over at his housemates. Their gaze was fixed on the subject of his thoughts. Hearing the tone in the whispers that were gathering force in the group surrounding him, he attempted to quell them with a glare. His housemates were aware of, if confused over, his stand on the whole Harry Potter issue. This was all getting way out of hand. The younger boy looked up from his ever fixed gaze on the ground, regarding the group with a quick glance of confusion then understanding. His pace didn't accelerate, nor did it slow as he made his way past the group of his rival's staunchest supporters. For that, Cedric's admiration of the Boy Wonder went up a few notches. Then Harry paused, regarding him briefly, then lowering his head angrily. Cedric winced, his emotions were usually written all over his face, Hufflepuffs never generally had a reason to hide their thoughts. Harry, regarded the ground intently, seeming to have an intense inner struggle, then straightened resolutely.
Suddenly, Harry's gaze locked with his. Green with grey. He couldn't have looked away, and for the life of him he had no idea why. Harry's eyes never wavered from his, he ignored every sneer and snarky comment that came his way as he waded through a group of people who seemed to hate him. Once again Cedric was left wondering if this was how the boy looked when he faced Voldemort. If it was, then the boy was either raving mad or the bravest person he'd ever met. Cedric smiled vaguely at the other boy, his eyes were really remarkable. The most stunning shades of emerald and forest green, with just a touch of gold.
At the sound of the other boy's voice he shook himself from his reverie. He looked around at his housemates who were, by the looks of things, going to either attempt murder or at least scare the pants off of the poor kid. Laughing a little at the antics of his friends, reminiscent of the Slytherins, he agreed to talk to Harry alone. He wondered what on earth the boy thought he was doing, entering a veritable snake pit like this. Again, his housemates seemed to take on their most Slytherin qualities. Harry was talking, but all he could seem to focus on were those eyes. Heavens, those eyes.
Wait just a second. Dragons? What was Harry going on about? The first task! Dragons! Oh dear. Cedric watched the other boy go away after he had thanked him for the information. It absolutely smacked of cheating, knowing the first task. Then again, he supposed, the Triwizard Tournament had likely been played this way forever. He couldn't believe that everyone else knew though. What if Harry hadn't told him? He would have been screwed sideways without a hope of survival. Now he had the tools to possibly win this task. And it was all thanks to Harry. As he watched the receding figure of his so-called rival he marveled again at the character he had shown. Harry was more mature than most people gave him credit for. Even if he had hexed Malfoy earlier. Totally served the arsehole right.
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Harry smiled to himself, settling into a chair in his common room. He felt better having told Cedric about the dragons. Afterwards he had cornered Ron and given him a firm piece of his mind over the whole dragon bit. Not that it appeared that Ron had given a shit, he and Seamus had gone off chatting like best pals after his pronouncement. What a bloody lot of tripe. Harry grumbled to himself, muttering as he contemplated the many ways to castrate said bullheaded Gryffindor, and his Irish cohort. The autumn wind whipped his hair into further disarray as he walked around with his customary bowed head.
Dragons. Good God. He had finally gotten down to wondering what in Gods name he was to do about a dragon. Hermione had dragged him down to the library every night of the past week, searching for a way to subdue a dragon, almost entirely without avail. Dragons were an ancient species and behind every old creature, there were years of evolution and defensive magic. He rubbed his eyes wearily, late nights in the library. So this was life without fun. Life without Ron. He shook the thought from his head. Who needed that stubborn git anyhow? He had managed to turn almost all of his house against him.
Speaking of people who were against him, Harry couldn't help but stifle a laugh as he replayed the image of a white ferret, bouncing along to the tune of Professor Moody's wand. He sighed. There was nothing better than having one's enemy shoved down the pants of his large crony in the form of a small weasel-like animal. His day had improved tenfold after that. Professor Moody had clued him into a way to defeat the dragon. Quidditch. Of course, Harry was almost entirely invincible on broomstick, barring the presence of dementors. At least, that's what he was told. He blushed a bit at the thought.
"Harry!" a girl's voice came from somewhere to his right. He turned to see Hermione rushing headlong towards him. She glanced warily around the common room, and lowered her voice to a whisper, "Have you gotten any more ideas on how to beat the dragon?"
He smiled and said one word, that brought their entire night down to one simple spell, "Quidditch."
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A/N: I hate people who stick authors notes right in the middle of chapters, so I am a complete and total hypocrite. This part is impossible in the book, as the night he learns the Accio spell is the night before the first task. However, as this is my story, I'm adding another day between them, so I can stick this bit in. Okay? Apologies for the interruption.
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Harry groaned, looking down at his potion that had turned a rancid yellow. This was what came of having no friends, not that he didn't like Neville, but the boy was hopeless in potions. He glanced over at Hermione, who was mouthing something about a feather or maybe it was heather, either way, it was too late to tell. Standing beside her was Ron, who had a smirk on his face to rival a Malfoy; if Harry's looks could kill, Ron would have been face first in his perfectly colored potion. A rank odor began emanating through the room, and suddenly Professor Snape was behind him, peering over his shoulder into the cauldron. Harry winced as the professor glared down at him, at least when he was with Ron their potions didn't reek of rotten eggs and sour milk.
"Well done, Mr. Potter," Snape began, his sarcasm crawling up the back of Harry's neck. He looked down his crooked nose at Harry, and then Neville. "Day before jitters, Mr. Potter?" he snorted with undisguised disgust, "Pack up your things, you will be joining me for a detention, to remake the potion correctly. Mr. Longbottom, your presence will not be required at this detention as I doubt you could make the potion correctly even with your wits straight." At Harry's plain ire, he simply narrowed his eyes, "Seven o' clock one week from tonight, Potter. Do not be late."
The utter lack of sympathy that he received for his detention the day before his task was discouraging. Even Neville seemed to have turned against him, undoubtedly upset about Snape's comment on his potion-making skills. Hermione said that he should have been minding his potion in any case, so it was really his fault that he had the detention in the first case. Although, she had said that Snape was being, rather 'excessive' in his reprimands. Harry snorted, excessive? The man had it out for him, and it was grossly unfair. Ron would have understood. Except that he had stood there, laughing at him silently from behind his cauldron.
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The night before the first task found Cedric wandering the halls of Hogwarts. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was nervous, incredibly nervous. At least he knew what the task was. That wasn't much of a comfort actually, he thought, considering he had to face a dragon. Honestly. Good God, he was thankful Harry had told him. Not that it made sleeping at night any easier, but there was still the planning time. Valuable plannin... His thoughts were cut off by a whooshing noise, as a pillow whizzed by his head. He froze, certainly it wasn't natural forpillows to be floating like that in empty hallways. No, not floating, it had flown right by him. Before he could whip his wand from his robes he heard a muffled noise and the pillow was suddenly gone. Quite gone. Muffled noises came from the place where it had disappeared.
"Stupid pillow, stupid stupid charm, damn it," he heard, as he stepped towards the invisible pillow. He reached down tentatively.
"AAAAHH!" An invisible mass came hurtling from the ground, knocking him over completely and landing on top of him. Cedric opened his eyes cautiously, afraid that one of the ghosts had taken on an invisible form, or something more sinister. What he saw had him stifling a sudden outburst of laughter. Harry Potter was staring at him, wide-eyed in complete shock. Actually, Harry Potter's head was staring at him, although he couldn't see the rest of him, he certainly could feel the other boy's weight.
"OmigodI'msosorryCedric, Iddntseeyouthere," Harry was up and would have gotten farther if he hadn't tripped on the edge of the cloak that had kept him invisible. He landed in a mass of raven hair and semi-invisibility that had him looking as though he had one leg, one arm and half a head. It was really the most adorable thing Cedric had ever seen.
Cedric lifted himself off the floor, brushing off his robes discreetly, and made his way over to the fallen boy. "Er, Harry?" he ventured, crouching down to make sure the other boy was okay. One eyelid opened warily, revealing a glimpse of Harry's emerald gaze, before shutting again, as if denying the reality of the situation. Cedric's mouth twitched when it opened once more and he heard the boy sigh wearily. Cedric reached down as the boy attempted to turn himself around, "Don't try, you're hopelessly twisted up in this... Invisibility Cloak? Merlin, do you know how rare these are?" Cedric's eyes became round with comprehension.
The other boy sighed sullenlyagain, "Yeah, I know."
Cedric had to fight a smile again. Poor Harry. "Let me help you out with that," he offered, and between the two of them the cloak became a mass of shimmering silver and Harry became whole.
A blush crept its way up Harry's neck as Cedric helped him up, "Thanks for that."
"No problem," Cedric replied, a smile playing across his lips. His gaze wandered to the pillow on the ground, "Inventing a new type of pillow fight?" he wondered aloud, raising his eyebrow at the embarrassed boy.
Harry looked at the pillow, quickly averting his gaze from Cedric's, "N-not exactly, no." he replied. "Practicing the Summoning Charm."
Cedric's other eyebrow joined the first, "In the middle of the night in an empty hallway?"
A slight smile crept onto Harry's face, "Yes, well, the first task is tomorrow morning, you know."
Cedric's mind worked furiously, how on earth could he use the Summoning Charm... oh, right. "Your broom, eh?"
Harry looked up, surprised, "Yeah, spent most of last night figuring it out with Hermione."
"Good idea, really," Cedric said, regarding the pillow intently.
"Hermione came up with it," Harry replied, still basking a bit in the older boy's praise. It was nice to be appreciated for something, anything would do these days. He stifled a yawn, wondering what time it was.
Cedric's head snapped up at the sound. "It's past midnight, Harry.You really ought to get a bit of sleep. Dragons tomorrow and all."
"Yeah, I guess," Harry replied reluctantly. "Well, goodnight then." He turned around, and picked up his cloak and pillow.
"Night, Harry," Cedric's smile widened a bit as he saw the hesitancy of the other boy's steps. "Oh, and Potter?"
Harry turned around, something hopeful in his eyes. "Yeah?"
"Good luck tomorrow," Cedric replied with a wink, and turned to go.
Harry's jaw dropped, and after a moment he remembered to reply, "You too!"
Both Harry and Cedric made their way to bed with smiles on their faces, despite the gloom that lay in the day ahead.
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A/N: So, this is up a little later than I had intended, but its still Sunday. I blame the flu, grandparents and a little bit of laziness on my part. :-) Or maybe a lot of laziness. So, thank you all those who reviewed, it makes my day so much better when I read them. Please continue to give me encouragement, or at least reply to what you're reading if you don't like it. I'm a big girl, I think I can take it. :-) Thanks again! Hope you liked it!