On the morning of the third task, Cedric joined Hari at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. He looked calm, but his magic felt jittery. Hari's magic was jittery as well, and they shared a sympathetic look before trying to eat.
"Mr. Diggory, Miss Potter," McGonagall said as she approached, "The champions are meeting with their families now."
"Do I have to go?" Hari asked. Her nerves were on edge as she lowered her voice, "It's not like anyone's going to be there for me."
Cedric squeezed her hand under the table, and McGonagall's eyes fell for a brief second. "On the contrary, dear. You've got an entire flock," she gestured for the two of them to head out and tried to give Hari a reassuring smile.
Once in the tent, Hari was immediately pulled into a tight hug by Mrs. Weasley.
"Oh, Hari, it's so good to see you," she said before letting go.
Arthur came up next to give her an awkward dad-hug. Bill shook her hand, and Charlie pulled her into his side and asked her about the dragon minis. He was scolded by his older brother, and then Remus stepped out of the shadows with Padfoot.
"Moony," she whispered as she hugged him.
"Hey cub," he said into her hair. Hari though her heart might burst when she heard his term of endearment. That alone was going to make her cry. But she brushed the feeling away so she could properly greet her godfather.
She bent down on her knees and pulled him into a hug. She didn't care that she was hugging a dog, it was Sirius and she missed him. Their letters throughout the year had kept her sane. Since Dobby was able to provide instant, discreet delivery, they exchanged at least three letters per week. Remus' letters were always pretty short, mostly updates on the outside world and questions about her studies. Sirius was a rambler. He'd found that writing out his happy memories helped him hold onto them better, so he'd been filling out five to six pages a week of tiny script with stories of their school years. Stories of her parents falling in love. Stories about the first year of Hari's life, when they were all together.
"I missed you Padfoot," she whispered. He whined softly and jumped up to lick her face in response. "That's gross," she scolded him lightly and stood to join the others.
"How have you been, hun?" Mrs. Weasley asked, grabbing her hands.
"I've been alright," Hari said. "I think I'm about as prepared for today as I'll ever be."
"George mentioned in a letter that some old Ilvermorny students have been training you?" Bill asked.
"Yeah," Hari told him, "They've been great! I could probably pass the defense O.W.L. without any problem."
"I'm sure you could pass the N.E.W.T.S.," Remus praised her, and Hari looked away with an awkward smile on her face.
"Hari," Cedric called lightly. She turned and he was beckoning her over to meet his parents.
She pulled Remus and Padfoot along with her. "Hi," she greeted them, "I'm Hari Potter, and this is Remus and Padfoot."
"A pleasure to finally meet you dear," Cedric's mother held out her hand and Hari took it, moving on to shake his father's hand while his mother greeted Remus.
"A pleasure to see you again, sir," she told him. He didn't seem thrilled to be interacting with her, but remained polite.
"Professor Lupin," Cedric greeted enthusiastically. "Great to see you again."
"Remus is just fine, Mr. Diggory. I'm not your professor anymore, after all," Remus smiled at the boy and then leaned in ever so slightly, "I'm going to assume that you've already been given a speech in regards to Hari?"
"Yes, sir," Cedric laughed. "From Hermione Granger, Fred and George Weasley, and even Neville Longbottom."
"Well, then, I'll spare you from the one I had planned," Remus released his hand with a wink.
"What?" Hari asked, clearly out of the loop.
"Hermione caught on quite early," he said. "Cornered me in an empty classroom a few weeks before I asked you to the ball."
"She did?" Hari asked.
"The twins were the day after the ball, and Neville was only a few weeks ago – though, I don't think he planned it," Cedric laughed again and looked away.
"Should we take a walk, son?" Amos asked, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation.
"I'll see you before?" Cedric asked, and Hari nodded.
The champions met in a tent outside the pitch when it was time. Krum looked a little pale, and Fleur was whispering to herself in faster-than-light French. As soon as Cedric walked in they embraced.
"Sorry about my dad," he said.
"It's fine," she said. "At least he didn't insult me this time," she laughed.
They walked over to the other two to wait for their signal.
"Good luck," Krum said.
"You too," Hari replied.
Fleur and Cedric gave weak nods.
As they walked out onto the pitch, Hari could see the crowd going wild. She couldn't make out anything in particular, it was just chaotic white noise. Her heart was pounding in her ears and the light was harsh. Cedric grabbed her hand and interlaced their fingers as they went to stand in front of the entryways. Once everyone was stopped, Bagman began some mundane explanation that Hari couldn't hear.
Instead, she looked over to Krum, who was on her left, and held her hand out to him. He took it after a brief hesitation. Cedric followed suit by offering his hand to Fleur. And after entering the maze, Hari watched Krum move to take Cedric's hand as the hedge closed around her.
The maze itself hadn't been that difficult for Hari. After encountering Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts, she heard Cedric scream. A blood curdling scream that had her running in his direction. She helped him up after stunning Krum.
"Bloody hell," he said.
"He was imperiused," Hari said. "Better send up sparks."
They stuck together after that. After a boggart, a obscenely smug Sphinx, and sending up sparks for an incapacitated Fleur, they were the only two left. Upon reaching the cup, Hari and Cedric fought off an acromantula – which Hari did gleefully in revenge of her twelve-year-old self – then they had bickered about who should take it before agreeing to take it together. A tie for Hogwarts and Ilvermorny, Cedric had joked, even though her leg was bleeding profusely and his hands were still shaking.
When they arrived in a graveyard, Hari knew something was wrong. "Wands out," she whispered. "Someone's coming."
"Kill the spare," a voice called.
"Avada Kedavra!" called another voice.
"No!" Hari screamed and jumped in front of Cedric without thinking about the consequences, pulling her left arm over her chest to block the spell. Her arm covered itself in the silvery scales gifted to her by Asha, and the green spell bounced off of her arm and went into the ground. The arm fell to her side, devoid of all feeling.
"Hari!" Cedric yelled.
She turned around and pushed him away from her, summoning the cup to him as her scar began to burn. She saw him disappear and fell to the ground in pain. Her scar had never hurt this bad, and Hari knew she was screaming but she couldn't actually hear herself through the pain. It was so much worse than the last time, but it was also the same. It felt like something was trying to claw its way out of her. So she focused as much as she could, and she pushed. Blinding pain filled her entire body as her scar burst open and a disgusting black vapor was thrust out in the direction of the other people. Hari didn't have any time to process what had happened as she faded into unconsciousness.
When Hari woke up, she was tied to a headstone. That, in and of itself, isn't exactly a good sign. But she was also graced with the view of Peter Pettigrew preparing a potion in an obscenely large cauldron. Her left arm was still numb and was hanging limply at her side; the eye under her scar was swollen shut once again, and that side of her face felt stiff under dried blood.
Pettigrew was chanting, she knew he was, but she couldn't focus her mind long enough to make out what he was saying. He approached her at some point and she saw a quick flash from a knife just before closing her eye, and when it opened it again, a figure was emerging from the cauldron.
He looked horrible. His skin was almost white and his face lacked definition. His eyes shined blood red and only slits remained where there should be a nose. He knelt beside a wailing Wormtail, and summoned his followers through the dark mark. Flashes of black signaled their arrival. She realized that he was speaking to her after a short crucio cleared her ears out.
"Sorry Tom, I wasn't listening," she said slowly, still feeling a little woozy. "You look awful, by the way."
"How dare you address me that way! Crucio!"
The second cruciatus lasted longer than the first, but was still only about a second. Horrible, yes, but manageable. Her limp arm kept twitching, but at least she couldn't feel it. Tom let her down off the headstone and she fell to the earth.
"What's wrong, Tom?" Hari asked after coughing up half a lung. "Were you expecting more people to show up?" She looked off to the side to find a meager crowd of Death Eaters. Less than twenty, though she couldn't be exact. Tom crucio'd her again just for fun.
Hari pushed herself into a sitting position up against the headstone and ripped a part of her shirt off, transfiguring it into a sling and shoving her numb arm into it. Tom was monologuing to his followers, not paying her much attention, which she'd use to her advantage. She dug her good hand into the soil, and wriggled her feet down into the mud, burning off her shoes slowly, as to not arouse suspicion. She needed to be as connected to the Earth as possible if she was going to tap into its magic. She could just barely feel the pulse and gently began drawing it into her, replenishing her magical core in a matter of minutes while Tom was distracted. The grass around her withered as she drew in more power, but Tom and his little friends were still preoccupied. With her head and ears finally cleared, she could listen to Tom ranting.
"After tonight, the only thing people will say about Hari Potter is that she begged for death. And I, mercifully, obliged," Tom laughed, a real I'm-a-villain cackle, and the present Death Eaters chuckled forcefully.
Her head was still fuzzy when Tom threw her wand at her. She almost laughed, she didn't need a wand to destroy him, but she'd use it.
"You've been taught to duel, yes? On your feet, Potter," Tom commanded.
Hari got up slowly, trying her hardest not to fall back down.
"First, we bow to each other."
Hari didn't move; she was clutching her wand in her good hand and staring into those disgusting eyes, but made no move to bow.
"Come now, Hari," he said, his tone darkening with each passing second. "Dumbledore would be ashamed at your lack of manners. Bow to death, Hari," he laughed darkly.
When she refused again, he hit her with the imperius curse, but Hari threw it off with practiced ease, "I only bow to people who've earned it," she spat.
Tom snarled and sent his first curse at her. Something purple that sent shivers down her spine even though it didn't touch her. Not many of Tom's spells hit her. In fact, the only spell that ever landed was the cruciatus. He wasn't taking this seriously. Part of her was relieved. The other part was pissed.
Hari pulled roots up that wove around his bare feet, but he kicked them off quickly. He was casting in parsel, which surprised Hari a little bit, but she could see the benefit. His spells were smooth, and his followers were cowering. So Hari started casting in parsel too. One Death Eater actually fainted. She would have smiled if Tom hadn't crucio'd her for it.
After the fourth torture spell, she conjured a dozen throwing stars and threw them at Tom. Two hit their mark, drawing the madman's blood. The rest embedded themselves in the Death Eaters. This seemed to be the final straw for Tom, so he upped his game.
"~Avada Kedavra!~" Tom yelled.
"~Avada Kedavra!~" Hari replied.
Two green spells met in the middle of the graveyard, and a golden dome surrounded the two of them. An old man emerged from Tom's wand, looking confused. Then Lily Potter emerged, instructing Hari to hold the connection and wait for her father. After James arrived, they told her that they were proud of her and that they loved her. Then they rushed towards Tom, and Hari called for Dobby.
Dobby and Hari appeared in the middle of the infirmary with a soft pop.
"Hari!" Cedric yelled as he ran over to her and pulled her off of the ground and into his arms. "What happened?"
"I'm sorry," she cried, "I'm so sorry, I-," Hari was interrupted by tremors that shook her whole body.
Cedric held onto her the entire time, whispering in her ear until the tremors subsided, "It's okay, I've got you. I've got you, you're safe now. You're safe."
"Had to get you out of there," she whispered, lifting her hand up to brush his face with her fingertips, just to be sure he was real.
"I'm going to move you into a bed now, Hari," Madam Pomfrey said softly. Hari nodded and let herself be levitated into a bed. Cedric joined her as Pomfrey sent diagnostics at her. "How long were you under, dear?" she asked softly.
"Um," Hari had to think for a minute, "it was seven times … the first two were short, only about a second each… but they got longer the more angry he got. The last one was at least… twenty seconds."
Madam Pomfrey nodded stiffly and went off to fetch potions and salves for her wounds as the doors opened, and a gaggle of adults swept into the hospital wing.
"Cub!" called out a familiar voice.
Hari sat up and let the tears flow freely down her face, "Moony!" she called weakly, holding her arm out to find him. He pulled her into a tight hug as Padfoot whimpered nearby.
When they separated, Padfoot jumped on the bed and Hari wrapped her arm around him, letting her head droop and fall into his fur. She felt Cedric begin to rub her back and Padfoot growled at him.
"Be nice, Padfoot," Hari scolded him lightly, "I'm keeping him."
Padfoot's growls softened as Madam Pomfrey returned. "I need to take a look at your forehead, Hari. The wound's grown again."
Hari nodded in agreement and lifted her head up, "Something awful came out of it," she said nonchalantly.
"What was that, Hari?" Dumbledore asked.
Hari looked towards him in surprise, unaware that he had come in with Remus and Padfoot, "Something came out of my scar. As soon as I portkeyed Cedric away. It hurt a lot, and the thing was black. Then I passed out."
"What else happened?" he questioned aggressively.
"Albus!" Madam Pomfrey scolded. "Now is not the time!"
"I'm afraid this is of the utmost importance," Dumbledore responded gravely.
"Just take my memory," Hari said, already annoyed at the whole thing. When no one responded, Hari continued, "If you seriously can't wait until the bleeding stops to question me about Tom, just take the damn memory!"
A wordless conversation played out amongst the adults and then Dumbledore stepped forward to extract the memory. When it was done, he, Remus, and Padfoot went to leave.
"Not Padfoot," Hari called out, and Padfoot came to her bedside, whining softly. "Please," she whispered and caressed his face, "I don't want you to see." Padfoot relented and jumped up onto the bed, sniffing her numb arm and wriggling his way close to her.
Madam Pomfrey was bustling about, healing her wounds and shoving vials into her hands. "No stitches this time," she commented.
"Really?" Hari asked.
"It's closed up nicely," she confirmed. "It will scar, but it's already thinner than it was before."
"Don't worry," Cedric whispered, "It looks wicked."
Hari chuckled and leaned into him. At some point he'd joined her on the bed, but she wasn't sure when that had happened. He sat behind her with a leg on either side and was rubbing her back again.
"What happened to your arm, dear?" Pomfrey asked.
"Killing curse," Cedric supplied, and everyone in the room gasped. "It was headed for me, she stepped in front of it and it… well, it bounced off."
"S'been numb ever since," Hari confirmed.
"You stepped in front of the killing curse?" Amos Diggory said slowly. "To save my son?"
Hari, who hadn't realized he was there, looked up with confusion, "Couldn't let him die, could I?" she said. "S'too pretty."
Cedric chuckled, and the vibration reverberated through Hari's chest. She started to chuckle herself when another wave of tremor wracked her body.
"Ah!" she groaned and Cedric held her tighter.
"It's alright," he whispered, "I'm right here, I've got you."
When the tremors ceased Snape was at her side and forced a potion past her lips. "You foolish girl," he said softly, voice devoid of malice.
"Ced needs it too," she said. "Viktor was imperioused…"
"I've already had some," Cedric said into her ear.
"Promise?" she asked.
"Promise," he nodded.
Snape put his hands on Hari's shoulders and forced her to look at him, "I have never been more proud of a student than I am right now," he said softly, and Hari's eyes widened. "The Dark Lord was foolish tonight. He was arrogant, and he underestimated you. He will not make that mistake again."
"I know," Hari nodded.
"We'll begin your training when you've healed," he said, leaving no room for comments or questions.
"M'kay," Hari nodded again then leaned back into Cedric.
"Cub," Remus said, coming up to her bedside. He was crying, which made Padfoot whine. "You did so good, I'm so proud of you."
"Did you see Mum and Dad?" Hari asked with her head nestled in the crook of Remus' neck.
"They're proud of you too," he replied.
"Remus," Dumbledore called. "Preparations must be made."
"I'm not leaving her," he replied without letting go of Hari.
"The others must-,"
"No!" Remus yelled, releasing Hari and rounding on the headmaster. "You've failed her for the last time, Albus! Make your own preparations, we're staying with Hari." Remus turned his back to Dumbledore, who pulled his lips into a tight, disapproving line, but said nothing more.
Hari woke up in the early hours of the morning and raised her head to find Sirius, still in the form of Padfoot, resting besides her on the bed, while Remus slept in an armchair nearby. Cedric's bed had been moved closer to Hari's. She wasn't surprised to find him awake.
"Hi," she said weakly.
"Hi," he smiled.
"You still want this?" she asked, feeling confident that he would respond positively even though her heart twinged in anticipation of the opposite.
"More than ever," he replied, scooching closer. The beds were only a few inches apart, but it felt like miles. Hari scooted closer in return, and their hands met in the middle. They were found a few hours later in the same position, each with a smile on their sleeping face.