A/n: Here's the next chapter! I worked hard to get this up, and hopefully the fact that I put a bunch of my other fics on hold until further notice will help me update faster (at least, I'm hoping!). There was something I was going to say (I think it was importnat...) but I really can't remeber what it is. Lol, anyways, read on, and THANK YOU SOOOOOOOO MUCH to all my reviewers:D (Oh, and I think this chap is significantly longer than the last one!)

Chapter 6

By mid-afternoon, it was obvious that word of Cedric being paralysed had travelled fast. During breaks and even what was supposed to be class time, he received "Get Well" and "So Sorry to Hear" cards from students and teachers alike. It was also obvious that they had all been conjured up at a moment's notice. All had been enchanted to fly into the hospital wing and land on his night-stand, which on one hand was a nice touch, but on the other it just meant no one was willing to face him.

He, however, did not receive anything from Cho.

But it didn't dampen his spirits. Even a card from a small group of Slytherins (and Peeves, apparently) that blew a rude raspberry at him when he opened it, was not enough to make him feel any less happy. When he got that particular card, he just laughed and tore it up.

Finally, near the end of the day, the odd visitor trickled in. Most came to see Harry, and cast sympathetic or wary eyes at Cedric. He just beamed back at them, unsure why of why he didn't correct their thinking him paralysed.

One girl, a Hufflepuff named Rachel Lockhart - no relation to Gilderoy, which she had made quite clear in the past - sullenly and tearfully came up to Cedric's bed. She seemed thoroughly upset, and Cedric had quite forgotten what everyone thought until she spoke.

"I'm s-so s-sorry, Cedric..." Rachel gasped a breath and wiped her eyes. "I... maybe... " she choked on her words.

For some reason, Cedric couldn't help but laugh. Rachel looked, if possible, even more upset. "Oh, no. I wasn't laughing at you!" Cedric quickly apologized. "I was laughing because I'm not paralysed after all!"

Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillian, who were presently visiting Harry and trying to be inconspicuous about their eavesdropping, both snapped their heads to regard Cedric. Hannah's eyes went as wide as saucers.

"Y-you're n-n-not?" Rachel spluttered out, her tears seeming to begin drying almost immediately.

"Nope!" Cedric said, still grinning. He glanced briefly at Hannah and Ernie, who said a hasty good-bye to Harry and rushed out of the hospital wing.

"Really!" Rachel's face was lit up like a lamp. "Oh wow!"

She darted down the hall and Cedric called after her. "Wait a minute!"

She skidded to a halt. "Ya?"

"Make sure somebody tells Cho Chang, alright?"

Rachel nodded vigorously and was gone.

Cedric glanced over at Harry, who smiled widely and then drew his bed hangings around his bed. Cedric did the same, and it wasn't long before he'd dozed off again.

Cedric woke suddenly in the middle of the night, and could not think of what he'd been dreaming of. He lay awake for a short time wondering and trying to remember. It wasn't long before he gave up trying to figure out what he'd been dreaming about.

He turned onto his other side, and closed his eyes, but could not fall asleep. He turned the other way, onto his back, even his stomach, but just couldn't get comfortable or fall asleep. The tossing and turning was making him feel more awake, and really hated that.

Cedric had feeling in his thighs now, but not from the knees down, so tossing and turning in his bed to get comfortable was really quite difficult. He hated this feeling of nothingness from his knees down, as if he had no legs. He knew he wouldn't be able to walk for sure when it felt like there were no feet to stand on.

But more than he hated that feeling of having no lower leg, was being bed-ridden. The very fact that he couldn't get up and walk around was the most annoying thing in the world. He'd only been forced to stay in a bed this long only one other time. It had been when he was much younger, and had come down with a particularly nasty bit of the flu. It hadn't been as bad then, however, because he'd had no energy to get up and walk around.

Right now, more than anything, he desperately wanted to be sitting on a broomstick, zooming over the Quidditch pitch, eyes trained for the Snitch... wind rushing through his hair... brilliant green grass ... awesome blue sky... laughter... cheering...

He was almost asleep when a voice woke him up.

"No..."

Cedric pulled back his bed hangings and looked down the row of beds to the one Harry occupied. His bed hangings were open, and Harry's head moved to one side and back to the other.

"No... Stop! ...get away... get away... help..." Harry began moving back in forth in the bed. "Cedric dead... help... won't break it... Mom..."

Cedric wasn't sure what to do. Should he wake Harry up? But how? Cedric couldn't get out of bed.

"Harry?" he said. "Harry!"

Harry began thrashing in his bed and he suddenly yelled, "NO! HELP! V-V-V-" With one final yelp, Harry sat bolt upright, his spine straighter than a board. He panted and there was sweat visible on his face in the pale moonlight.

"Harry?" Cedric ventured timidly.

"Y-ya?" Harry's voice shook.

"Its ok. Its all over." Cedric said calmly and reassuringly.

Harry nodded slowly and seemed to clam down some. He took a few deep breaths and then whispered, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Cedric said, just as quietly.

There was a small silence before Cedric heard Harry's crutched rattling. He glanced over again and saw Harry on his crutches carrying his pillow as best he could. He hobbled over to the bed next to Cedric and cautiously plopped down. He smoothed out his pillow, and then slid under the fresh, smooth covers.

"What are you doing?" Cedric questioned.

Harry aid nothing for a moment. The, he took a deep breath and said shakily, "I- Ced? I t-think I need to... talk."

"Ok, what about?" Cedric quietly prodded.

"That night." Harry swallowed. He sat up in the bed.

Cedric nodded slowly and felt chills rip through him. The red eyes of that night seemed to blink in the back of his mind and then disappear just as fast.

"Dumbledore... told me, that if I could talk it out..." Harry swallowed again. "That maybe I wouldn't have as many nightmares. And it would help... keep me ...'at peace'."

Cedric nodded again. "He told me that too." he said, his voice low like Harry's. "The more times we tell someone, the better we'll cope with it."

Harry nodded this time. "I want to tell Ron and Hermione someday, but I... I just don't feel ready. Like they..."

A very brief silence before Harry and Cedric said in unison, "Wouldn't understand."

They glanced at each and smiled.

"I know what you mean." Cedric said. "I feel like that too. You were there, you know what it was like. You know...exactly what it was like."

"I also think..." Harry started, and he seemed to be fully calmed down from his nightmare. "...that if I can... get it out... maybe I won't dream about it anymore."

"I hope so too." Cedric agreed. "Do you want me to go first?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't care."

"Ok."

Cedric then began his tale, starting from when he was hit with the curse. He described everything as best he could, including how he'd seen the strange gold dome before Harry had grabbed him. Cedric was sure to include how when they were retreating with the Portkey, he'd seen the burning red eyes and skeletal hand. He added that the eyes were what were haunting him the worst in his dreams. Since Cedric was only semi-conscious through much of it, and couldn't clearly remember much, his account was sure to be significantly shorter than Harry's.

Harry visibly shivered when Cedric had finished his story. "I saw the eyes too. Only on its owner's face. They were Voldemort's."

Cedric flinched. He'd never known anyone who could say the Dark Lord's name like that, and certainly hadn't expected Harry - one who has been face to face with Voldemort two other times - to say his name so calmly, and without stuttering.

Next, Harry began his account of that night, also starting with when Cedric was hit with the curse. Harry had felt excruciating pain seconds before Wormtail - the hooded figure - had sent the killing curse after Cedric. Wormtail had hauled Harry over to a tombstone and tied him there. Wormtail had cut off his own hand and added it to a large cauldron, as well as a bundle of rags with a being in it, bones from a grave beside Harry, and blood from Harry's arm.

With his own eyes, Harry had witnessed the return of Lord Voldemort.

Harry and the Dark Lord had duelled, and then something extraordinary had happened. Harry and Voldemort's wands both had a phoenix feather from the same phoenix in them. A golden thread had connected the two wands, the dome had formed and the Death Eaters were excluded from the dome. Inside, a flicker of Cedric's ghost had come out of Voldemort's wand, then melted away - Harry was sure Cedric was dead. After that, an old man, then Bertha Jorkins, the missing ministry worker, followed by Harry's parents. All the while, there was a very strange song, which indeed was the song of the phoenix.

Finally, Harry broke the connection and made a run for it, dodging curses the whole way, until he reached Cedric and the Cup. He grabbed on and they were transported back to Hogwarts.

Cedric thought that was the end of Harry's story, but it didn't stop there. Harry continued with more astounding information, all of which was news to Cedric.

Mad-Eye Moody wasn't really Mad-Eye Moody. He was Mr. Crouch's son, Bart Crouch Jr., working in league with the Dark Lord, who had intended to kill Harry if the Dark Lord didn't. The real Mad-Eye had been found locked in his trunk, kept alive only so Crouch Jr. could use his hair for a Poly-Juice Potion.

Harry finally finished, and understandably looked more drained and worried.

For quite a few moments, Cedric didn't know what to say. And he'd thought his experience had been horrible? He felt slightly ashamed and guilty. His nightmares were probably nothing compared to Harry's. After what Harry had been through, it was no wonder that he kept having disturbing nightmares.

"You know, when they brought you back up here, I still thought you were dead." Harry said, trying to shift the subject a little, sensing Cedric's discomfort.

"Really?"

"Ya, well, then Madame Pomfrey said you were unconscious and obviously lucky to be alive. She was real worried you wouldn't pull through."

"She was?"

"Well, you were asleep for 4 and half days straight!" Harry said, half-smiling.

"4 DAYS?" Cedric's mouth hung open in shock.

"Yup. 4 days. Cho - " Harry's cheeks flushed and he cleared his throat slightly, remembering that Cho and Cedric were dating. "S-she came in every day, but she cried, because she was worried you would never wake up."

Cedric, although feeling worse after Harry's story, felt better at the thought of Cho sitting at his bedside. He saw that Harry did look more relaxed, although his cheeks were still red from mentioning Cho.

Cedric half-smiled. "You saved my life, you know." he said quietly, changing the subject.

Harry shook his head. "No I didn't. I held onto your wrist because you needed to come back with me, alive or not."

Cedric shook his also. "No, you saved my life. You could've left me there. No one said you had to bring me back."

"If I didn't bring you back, what kind of person would I be?"

Cedric shrugged. "But the fact still remains: you brought me back and saved my life."

"Ced, I - "

Cedric put his hand up to stop Harry. "You know how stubborn I am, and you will not change how I feel about this, so don't even try."

He spoke so seriously, that when the two boys looked each other in the eye, it was suddenly humourous. They laughed, and it was the first time either of them had laughed in nearly a week.

"Friends, then?" Cedric stuck out his hand.

Harry grinned. "No. Close friends." he shook Cedric's hand firmly.

Harry snuggled down under his covers, and lay on his side. "I'll move my stuff in the morning." he said.

Cedric smiled and lay down aswell. "G'night Harry."

No answer.

"Harry?"

Cedric craned his neck so he could see Harry.

He was already asleep.

Cedric smiled, and soon followed suite, and he didn't have a nightmare.

A/n: Well? Whaddya think? I hope its not too boring,but I think it will get better... Gimme a reviwe, they sustain me. Just PLEASE remember, just no swearing, k? (I'm emphasizing the'please' b/c in one of my other stories, I've gotten rather slammed harsly and ya, they swore, and I'd just really appreciate it if you didn't. Thanks so much, and you can still tel me if you hate it, lol.)