The story has been updated, so I apologize for any inconsistencies.
Prologue
It was nearly after hours. Cedric Diggory, a handsome young lad for his age, left swiftly from the library, book in hand, to return to the Hufflepuff common room. He had practically poreless, alabaster skin, with lightly air brushed, rosy cheeks. His thick eyebrows matched his well groomed hair. A slender figure and elegant height gave him the advantage for a quick yet smooth pace down the dark corridor. The last thing he wanted was to be caught returning late.
He had been studying for one of his electives, Ancient Runes, and a particular set of symbols from an ancient culture so old it was practically myth, kept him intrigued. A single secret letter, written or said, could be used for casting spells. The book described the past race of people depicted as nearly immortal with magical artifacts and technology of their own. Whatever happened to them piqued his curiosity.
As he rounded a candle lit, stone walled corner, something caught his eye, something he did not expect. A flash of platinum blonde in black, billowing school robes disappeared behind an unfamiliar door. He could recognize the slicked back hair of that Slytherin anywhere, but he could have sworn he had seen him leave for his own common room not too long ago. Perhaps his mind played tricks on him as he spent too much time in the library.
The door remained an enigma, almost beckoning him to come forward. Cedric surveyed his surroundings to make sure he was alone, only the moving portraits, snoring on the walls kept him company. The handsome Hufflepuff carefully pursued, curiosity wrapping its coils around his will once more. Cedric slowly opened the door to find a very large, yet very cluttered room filled with odds and ends that appeared to have been dumped there. Cedric encroached further into the strange environment, mesmerized by the collection of items. He saw no trace of Malfoy, only dusty old furniture, mirrors, chandeliers, books, candles, glass, cauldrons, tapestries, pictures, jewelry, anything an old magical home or edifice might have forgotten clumped on top of each other, forming large piles of junk everywhere nearly touching the ceiling.
Spaces on the dark floor without any items allowed for thin paths to wind around the mounds. Cedric felt uneasy as the room stood deathly quiet and still, only dust particles floated in the light. Cedric was about to call out for someone when he heard the door to a cabinet creak, and an even stranger sound followed. A sound just as weird as the mysterious door and the mysterious room. A sound he had never heard before, a digital noise, producing a ghostly, orange rectangle large enough for a person to pass through, and indeed a person did. A person, cloaked in a hood of green, black and gold holding an obscure contraption in one hand. Hiding in one of the old cabinets, the blonde haired Slytherin peaked through the crack in the cabinet door. Fearful, Malfoy believed himself caught by a dark wizard, and clutched the trinket he had stolen around his neck. His breath labored in the dark while the cracked door shined a harsh, bright light, severing half his face. Cedric furrowed his thick browns and whipped out his wand.
"Who are you?" he demanded. The figure's face remained unseen. It put away it's bit of machinery to draw two very long daggers from within it's dark robes. Cedric narrowed his eyes, honing in on something surprisingly familiar. Symbols on the hilt of the dagger resembling those in his Ancient Runes book.
"What do you want?" Cedric ordered, backing towards the door with his wand pointed at the hostile. Then, the figure reversed into the orange rectangle, weapons still in hand and disappeared. The ghostly portal shrunk itself down into nothing. Malfoy leaned slightly forward from his place of hiding, peering more into the crack just as confused as Cedric. Suddenly, the blonde haired Slytherin saw it return behind his Hufflepuff counterpart. The figure shot out from the glowing orange doorway, and forcefully shoved the dagger into Cedric's back.
"Aaah huh!" Cedric gasped in pain and disbelief, dropping his book. Malfoy inhaled sharply in shock as if he too had been stabbed, and slapped a quick hand over his mouth to prevent any further sound from escaping. He leaned away from the bright crack of the cabinet door further into the comfort of its darkness. The hooded figure slipped the sharp dagger out from the warm home, spilling fresh blood on the floor. Cedric stumbled forward and collapsed on the ground. Malfoy scrunched up his face in a hidden grimace. With what strength he had left, Cedric held on to his wand and flicked it upward on his side.
"Ex … pelliamus," he managed to say with great difficulty, forcing the cloaked figure back. It crashed into one of the piles of rubbish, dropping one of the runed daggers, and causing the junk to collapse in upon themself. The obscure contraption flew from its cloak and the orange portal flickered. Cedric winced painfully as he attempted to move but the pain was too great. The pink color in his cheeks faded from his face to match the rest of his alabaster skin. As a last ditch effort before the assailant could collect themselves, he cast another spell at the door from whence he entered.
"Bom … barda … maxima," Cedric gritted through the pain. A strong orb shot out from the end of his wand and exploded upon the door, creating a gaping hole in the stone wall where it once stood. Malfoy clapped both of his hands over his ears from the noise. Cedric took in a raspy breath as the figure emerged from the rubble with the bloody dagger. From the floor, Cedric prayed someone had heard the noise and pointed his wand at his attacker once more. The cloaked figure launched the blade in his direction.
"Ahhhh!" someone screamed.
A boy with a lightning bolt scar, woke violently from the dream. He gasped for air in a cold sweat, lying helplessly in his bed as if he was one the wounded on the floor. He gripped at his chest, searching for where the imaginary blade might have landed. A soft snoring from his red headed friend brought him back to his reality. The boy reached for a pair of circular glasses and placed them on his face to ensure he really was in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. He hoped that the vivid dream he just had, was nothing more than that … a dream.