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By the time he reunites with his parents, Cedric's palms are bleeding from where he'd dug his fingernails in. Kept inside school pockets, he tries to not stare too long at their faces in case he got any ideas about betraying Dumbledore and telling them everything.
"We've only got one shot at this, my boy. One shot to avert a war."
A hatch of unnerving stillness clamps over his emotions like before a big Quidditch match.
"You'll do alright out there, Ced," his father thumps his shoulder. "No need to worry. You've always been a survivor, ever since a little boy and climbing those darn trees of yours. Given your mother and I quite a fair bit of scares you have, so you better come out spotless tonight."
It was useless.
Too much.
Too much to think about.
Cedric focuses on his breathing, the expanding of his rib cage and sensation of air flowing in and out of his lungs.
He contains a flinch when his mother palms his forehead in slight concern.
"Bit clammy. Are you feeling alright, dear? Not getting sick are you?"
"Nonsense," his father hoops an arm around Cedric and yanks him tight against him. "He's just a bit tense, aren't you son?"
Cedric nods quickly, listening in on Mrs Weasley's loud pampering of Harry across the chamber and sounds of deep Bulgarian mixed with elegant French.
"If you're sure," his mother frowns. Delicate hand retreating and he fights the desperate urge to reach out and take it. "Remember, you can always quit early if you're not feeling too well. No amount of prize money is worth damaging your health, dear."
"You need to act like before. Everything up until the Third Trial must stay the same so there will be no surprises. Diverging from the past could dissolve the future into chaos unless we contain it."
A mere two hours ago, Cedric revered Dumbledore for his gentle wisdom and capacity for boundless power. The man was an amazing strategist. A true genius of both academia and Defence Against the Dark Arts. He could stop a crowd with his mere presence. Inflict fear into enemies and always had greater intentions than everybody in the room. He was a good man.
Cedric couldn't have ever imagined that he would loose all admiration for his old Hero when it was him being a pawn in the man's 'greater intentions'.
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Cedric spends the afternoon tethered to the past. Following what little he could of the previous Todays' echoes of lost conversation and footprints.
Walking along the empty grounds, watching and listening to his father and mother talk nonsense of their years at Hogwarts, Cedric by all means isn't calm. But if he tried hard enough to not think about it – then he could breathe without struggle.
All too soon it's Lunch and he's forced to re-introduce Cho.
She pulls him aside just as his father engages his friends in a dramatic speech about how capable Cedric is and that they're lucky to have him as Champion. He's almost thankful to not relive the embarrassment when he realises that this did not happen.
"Ah, Cho," Cedric lets go of her hand as they're in the hallway. Getting a bad feeling about this. "I don't…I think we shouldn't leave so sudden…" Her small hand cups his cheek and she has to stand on her tippy toes to kiss him. It was a small peck, but has Cedric leaning into it. Desperate.
He doesn't know if he'll ever be able to do this again.
She makes a tiny sound of surprise and ends it by stepping back, thumb brushing his cheekbone.
Slight concern in her smile, Cho giggles. "Are you doing alright there, Cedric?"
Lying was never a thing between them, and Cedric dearly wants to keep it that way.
"Just tense about the Tournament is all," he bends low to peck her forehead. Hand running down soft black hair and twirling a bit between his fingers. She leans back again, staring up at him bemusedly.
Distantly, he could hear Dumbledore scold him about timelines and how the fate of the world rested in his hands not his pants, but realistically what could a small snog with Cho possibly change?
"Sounds like you're skating on the thin line of truth," her palm slides down to wrap around him in a hug. Head tilted awkwardly to keep sight of him.
As though if she looked away he would disappear.
Cedric could still see her tense excitement from the stands. Cheeks painted in mini Hufflepuff flags and waving a banner with his name and tacky bubbling love hearts painted onto it.
He had waved, turned, dashed into the maze.
And died.
Cedric clutches Cho against him so close that the top of Chos's head quickly becomes damp with his breath.
Please, he pleads to the universe.
"Cedric? Ced, what's wrong? You're worrying me."
Please.
I don't want to die.
"Nothing," he attempts a chuckle but it come out as a quivering breath instead. "I'm just really worried, Cho. What if it doesn't go the way I want it to?"
For a long moment, Cho is silent. "Then you get back up and continue on with your life."
Cedric doesn't understand those words, because she didn't understand his.
"Sounds simple."
Some late students walk past them into the Hall with curious glances. Reminding him he shouldn't be gone too long. Cedrics' fists find themselves in his pockets once again.
Cho steps away, bemusement now complete concern.
"Whatever you think's going to happen, it won't," she assures. "Mad Eye Moody himself is keeping watch over everything. You'll be safe. Well, safe as you can be at least." Her half-smile forces him to make one back.
It comes out wrong.
"I suppose you're right, the teachers will be there."
"I…guess?" Cho cocks her head. "Since it's the last trial I suppose some will supervise if it involves charms and creatures? But why would they keep watch with an Auror?"
Cedric internally curses at her brewing curiosity. "Just a thought, is all."
"No," Cho says in a low tone. "You said it with absolute certainty. Why would the staff be keeping eye over you. Is the last task that dangerous. So dangerous that you would actually doubt yourself and stare at me as though you're going to…"
Cho really is an amazing Ravenclaw.
Cedric looks at her fondly. Hand warm on top of her head. "Don't worry," he reassures, feeling the tiniest bit stronger now that he's said it to her. "I'll get back to you safely."
Whatever it takes, he promises.
Cho scowls, "You better. Or I'll kill you."
Surprising himself, Cedric actually laughs.
.
Harry falls into step besides him with Fleur and Krum as they make their way down the stone steps towards the Quidditch pitch. Which, since sometime this month had been growing itself a gigantic, thick maze.
Nobody spoke, apart from the short one-sided conversation between Bagman and Harry.
In what felt like a second Cedric finds himself back in the past. Standing in front of a twenty-foot tall hedge and staring into an obscure opening. Behind him the entirety of Hogwarts is screaming and shouting behind him, silenced only by Bagman's voice. Besides him the other Champions were giving waves and anxious smiles to their friends and family.
Cedric doesn't bother.
"That's strange," Harry whispers to him. "Professor Dumbledore isn't here."
That's because he's at the Cup waiting for him.
"Odd," Cedric chooses to agree.
"So…" Bagman's voice ruptures his eardrums. Cedric curses, silent or aloud he isn't sure and readies his stance. "On my whistle, Harry and Cedric! Three – two – one -"
He blows.
Quick as a spell, the two burst towards the mazes' opening.
Rounding onto a path, he strangely realises that this time he's in front. Foregoing any pleasantries last spoken, Cedric casts a Lumos and pulls out a small sheet of parchment from his pocket.
It was a fine-lined overhead shot of the maze, dotted red line of ink blotching in the direction towards the Cup. A separate dot of Yellow was him while bubbling purple were creatures. Dumbledore had handed it to him in nothing but a simply spoken two worded spell. For the man's gentle cruelty, Cedric can't deny the grudging awe he felt to be in his presence.
Following the line, Cedric watches in crushing dread as it got shorter and shorter. The creatures and plants he comes across don't attack, merely ignore him. Likely out of orders.
What felt like hours but must be minutes, Cedric hears a glass-shattering scream then silence. It makes him stop, twisting around and ducking.
Red glows past.
Funny how he almost forgot being tortured.
"Ha!" Cedric laughs, which shows just how drugged up on adrenaline he was. "You thought – "
"Crucio crucio crucio crucio" Viktor advances towards him in a mad ramble. Milk eyes wide with vicious glee against flickering crimson.
Cedric hisses, curse after curse forcing him to cancel his Lumos in sheer panic and adopt his Quidditch skills.
Darkness swallows air and he's forced to duck again. Red zooming over like a manic firefly.
Apparently, Bulgarians fight old school.
Viktor leaps at him.
It's low, shoulder impacting just above the hipbone and Cedric's on the ground before he's able to cry out any obscenities. Wand skittering away, Cedric goes to shove the bloke off when a hand out of darkness grips his throat and forcing him back down.
His hand squeezes.
Viktor's choking him.
In a blind moment of panic, Cedric lies there complicit before realising his airway was literally being crushed to nothing.
Cho's face pops into mind and Cedric growls.
Fist undercutting against a jaw, Viktor's grip slips. Allowing Cedric space to jam an elbow into his sternum hard enough to leave Viktor gasping and time to shove him off.
In haste, his hands rummage blindly across the grass for his wand. Brushing against the hedge, he hears vines curls inwards. Charmed to not attack him.
…Oh?
A muscular body slams against his back and tips him forwards.
Using the unexpected momentum, Cedric awkwardly summersaults and sends Viktor careening into the hedge.
For a long moment, Cedric just sits in the darkness listening to Viktor strain and grunt against the relentless vines.
"I hate this," he mutters, taking a breath and committing the next three minutes to palming the ground in search for his wand and map.
.
His throat is starting to bruise ugly both inside and out by the time he's at the Sphinx. The catlike creature steps aside, tail flicking him upside head as though annoyed. Similarly, the giant spider snaps its pincers. Venom almost spitting him in the eye.
Finally, the gleaming Triwizard Cup resting on a stone platform comes into view. Along with Dumbledore and a group of mismatched people, some were faculty members – Professor Flitwick and...Snape? – while others were just unassuming and new.
"Um…" his slightly shaken gaze sweeps across them before resting on Dumbledore. "Sir?"
"You looked to have had some difficulty getting here, Mr Diggory," Dumbledore doesn't take the opening to explain. Which probably meant whatever he's seeing is 'confidential'. "Did the map prove itself troublesome?"
"Oh no," he breezes. "Just imperio'd Krum again."
Flitwick makes a distressed sound.
"I see," Dumbledore accepts the easy dismissal. "How long ago did this occur?"
"Ten or so minutes ago," Cedric runs a hand through his hair. "Didn't really count, sorry."
"Then the rat has moved," a dark, elegantly robed man says. "He's finished whatever business he had here. We should leave now before he gets suspicious."
"Or fetches Mr Potter himself," Mad Eye startles Cedric who hadn't even noticed the man was behind him.
"Indeed," Dumbledore nods and gestures Cedric forwards.
Sensing hesitation, the robed man gives him an encouraging look. "The moment we are portkeyed there, one of us will apparate you back to Hogwarts. As an Auror, I give you my word I will do everything in my power to make sure you get back to your family safe."
Maybe it was just the adrenaline wearing off, but Cedric chooses to believe him.
In two quick strides he along with seven others are crowded around the portkey.
"Ready?" he checks.
At Dumbledore's nod of confirmation, he takes a studying breath.
I'll see you soon, Cho.
He clasps the Cup just in time to see Mad Eye 'accio' something dark and red towards them.
Someone gasps, "Is that – "
And suddenly they're all jerked up by the navel from an invisible meat hook and sucked away.
Hogwarts disappears.
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