Twenty-Nine:
Cedric did his best to remain composed, unwilling to show an ounce of genuine weakness to his competitors. He had been the first to arrive at the tent the tournament organizers had erected for the champions, Sprout happily leading him to the edge of the forest and wishing him a confident "Good luck."
He'd sat in silence, eyes focused on the dappled light that filtered in through the tent's colored canvas, the whole area dyed a reddish hue.
He thought it suitable, given how he was feeling right now. Surprisingly, there was very little fear, at least not for himself (for Harry was another question entirely), only a strange, visceral lust for violence. For whatever reason, he desperately wanted to destroy the creature he was going to face, to rip into pieces right in front of this crowd of onlookers. What a show of power that would be. No one would be able to deny his superiority at that point. They would see what he'd become. Everyone would see.
He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face as he tried to clear his mind of these invasive, violent thoughts.
He couldn't do any of that, of course. But, it was a nice fantasy.
Krum arrived at the tent not long after Cedric, settling onto one of the cots at the far end of the tent, looking even surlier than usual. Karkaroff followed him in, unsurprisingly, and muttered a few dark words in the boy's ear before giving his shoulder a squeeze and sweeping out the tent, glaring a Cedric out of the corner of his eyes as he passed.
This was the first time Cedric had ever been alone with Krum, and he suddenly felt the urge to do something mean-spirited as he looked at the pathetic fucking mouth-breather who had the audacity to also be a Triwizard Champion. He simply couldn't stop himself from speaking up, overcome with cruelty.
"Nervous, Krum?"
The boy looked back at him incredulously, surely the first sign of a modicum of intelligence on the Bulgarian's usually listless face. After a moment his expression closed off and he responded.
"No, are you?"
Cedric fashioned his face into the most innocent expression he could muster, twisting and pulling at the yellow and black jersey the game officials provided him.
"I- well..." he began shakily. "I shouldn't be." He said this in a quiet, shameful tone, ducking his head for full effect. "My father is actually the head of the DRCMC-"
Krum sent him a look of confusion at the acronym. What a fucking idiot.
"Er, sorry, the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. So, I mean- I've seen plenty of dragons-"
A lie.
"-but, y'know," he paused for an almost comical gulp, but Krum still seemed enraptured. "I've also seen plenty of what dragons can do. I- I- I've seen them raze entire buildings to the ground, with little effort. And I've heard my father describe them tearing powerful people- trained, seasoned, dragon tamers to shreds!"
The sight of the blood draining so rapidly from Krum's face was immensely satisfying.
"Yeah." he continued a bit bashfully, letting out a shaky chuckle. "I suppose I am a bit nervous."
"Do you tink de oder competitors know of de task?" questioned Krum in heavily accented English.
What? Why did he care? Cedric wondered. It's not like there's anything that could be done about it now. He should be worrying about himself.
"Surely they must." Cedric replied.
The Bulgarian nodded, looking down at the now shaking hands in his lap. Good, hopefully this would affect his performance.
Delacour flounced in barely a second later, her held high, though her lips quivered the slightest bit. Cedric wanted to say something to throw her off-kilter as well, but Ludo Bagman swaggered in before he could get a word in.
"Ah, there are my champions!" He boomed uproariously. He continued to natter on about something irrelevant and Cedric attempted to tune him out, utterly certain that nothing useful could ever come out of that loud mouth of his.
"Harry! Good-o!"
Cedric immediately looked towards the diminutive figure that had just stepped through the tent's entrance flap.
Harry looked smaller than ever, green eyes glassy and fearful behind his glasses as he hunched in on himself, clearly terrified of the upcoming event. Cedric sent him the most encouraging smile he could muster, and took some pride in the way the boy's shoulders relaxed the slightest bit.
"Alright, Diggory?" asked Harry as he made his way towards him.
"Been better." Cedric admitted. "You?"
The boy nodded in agreement, flyaway curls bouncing sweetly. "Been better." he echoed. "Not sure why they made these jerseys so tight, though."
Cedric had been doing his best not to take too much notice of that, but with Harry so blatantly pointing it out, it was impossible to ignore.
The red and black shirt fit so tightly to Harry's torso it looked light a second skin, hugging his contours perfectly. If Cedric looked closely enough (and he most definitely was) he could even make out the barest outline of Harry's belly button in the fabric, the divet split just down the middle by the red and black panels.
"Yes, they are rather uncomfortable." Cedric managed to say after swallowing the saliva that had pooled in his mouth at the wonderful sight. "I suppose the spectators will be pleased though." He sent a pointed glance in Delacour's direction, her chest displayed in an almost unsightly manner. Delacour, apparently overhearing their conversation, simply rolled her eyes and shrugged. Annoyed, but clearly used to her body being on display. Cedric and Harry both winced sympathetically.
"Alright, enough chatter!" said Bagman unnecessarily loudly given the small space they were occupying. "Now that we're all here, it's time to fill you in! When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag" - he held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it at them - "from which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different - er - varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too..."
Cedric withheld a sigh. The fact that this man was in charge of anything, let alone an entire ministry department was surely proof that there is no higher power.
"Ah, yes.. your task is to collect the golden egg!" Bagman looked smilingly at each of the competitors, but no one seemed to react to his words; Cedric certainly wasn't anyway, he was far too busy processing this new information.
So all they had to do was retrieve an item? Well, that was certainly easier than Cedric had been anticipating, he'd been under the impression that they'd at least have to incapacitate the beast.
He cast a glance in Harry's direction. The boy seemed to be equally lost in thought.
Well, this could be quite good. Harry would likely excel at this task, given how small and speedy he is.
Cedric would have to reevaluate his game-plan, however. The conjunctivitis curse would likely be a bad idea since the dragon could potentially destroy the egg in its confusion. He could, perhaps, distract it, but it would take quite the distraction to draw a paranoid broodmother away from its eggs long enough for him to swoop in. Binding it would not be a bad idea, though obviously a simple incarcerous certainly wouldn't suffice against a dragon. He would have to cast a vinculum curse if he wanted to subdue a creature of that size.
Cedric frowned thoughtfully at this. It wasn't a bad idea, but vinculum is a somewhat dark curse; the judges might not take too kindly to his usage of it. Not to mention it required a fair bit of power. If he didn't get it on the first try the magical depletion would be too great for him to reattempt it.
'All the more impressive,' he thought.
Before he could ponder the subject more Bagman reappeared through the tent entrance (Cedric hadn't even noticed him leave) with a small, velvet bag in tow. Motioning the champions closer he opened the neck of the sack.
"Ladies first," he said, offering it to Delacour.
She put a shaking hand inside the bag and drew out a tiny, perfect model of a dragon - a Welsh Green. It had the number two around its neck and Cedric could tell, by the fact that Fleur showed no sign of surprise, but rather a determined resignation, that she had indeed been aware of the nature of this task.
The same held true for Krum. He pulled out the scarlet Chinese Fireball. It had a number three around its neck. He didn't even blink, just sat back down and stared at the ground, his face still a concerning pallor from his talk with Cedric.
Cedric's eyes narrowed as the bag was offered to him. Only the Short-Snout and the Horntail were left. The Horntail is certainly the more hazardous of the two, given it's aggressive nature and numerous razor-sharp spikes. However, the flame would be Harry's main concern since he would be mostly at a distance on his broom. The Short-Snout's flame range is much longer than the Horntail and much hotter.
'I'll go for the Short-Snout, then.' Cedric decided, just as Bagman gave the sack a prompting little shake.
Cedric reached in and pulled out the less spiny of the two, breathing a sigh of relief when he did, in fact, see the tell-tale bluish-gray scales of the Swedish Short Snout, a small number one tied around its neck.
'Fuck, I'm first.'
As expected, Harry pulled out a Hungarian Horntail, which stretched its wings and bared its minuscule fangs, the number four around its neck rattling with the movement.
"Well, there you are!" said Bagman. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragons, do you see? Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right? Now... Harry... could I have a quick word? Outside?"
Harry and Cedric glanced at one another at the man's suspicious behavior, but ultimately Harry shrugged and mouthed "Good luck," before stepping outside of the tent with Bagman.
Cedric took what little time he could to savor the kindly wish from Harry, running the vision of his lips over and over in his mind.
Not even a full minute later a whistle sounded from the direction of the stadium and Cedric took a deep breath before marking his way out the tent, ignoring Krum and Delacour's stares as he exited.
Despite near deafening levels that the crowd's cheering had reached upon him entering the stadium, Cedric could hardly hear them, far too occupied with the sight before him.
The Short-Snout was situated at the other end of the rocky, uneven enclosure, crouched low over her clutch of eggs, her wings half-furled, her glittering, yellow eyes fixed unblinkingly on Cedric. It hissed and revealed rows and rows of sharp teeth easily the length of Cedric's forearm.
Never had the Hufflepuff seen a beast so large. Textbooks simply couldn't convey the horrific nature of a dragon, Cedric realized as he tried desperately to draw air into his lungs. He felt himself grow dizzy. This was too much. How could anyone possibly expect him to fight such a creature? He was going to die. He was going to be burned alive while the entire school watched. Harry would surely think him a-
No.
He shook his head, expelling his racing thoughts. He needed to clear his mind. This was no time to panic.
His feet finally moved from where they'd been planted to the ground and he slowly stalked around the edge of the enclosure, keeping eye contact with the behemoth as he proceeded.
As soon as he got too close, the dragon hissed and shot a small plume of fire as warning. But even still, it remained crouched over the eggs.
'I'll have to draw her away from them before I incapacitate her.' he thought as he moved back a bit. 'But, I need to conserve my magic if I want to even hope to cast a successful vinculum.'
He sighed and steeled himself. This was going to take more bravery than he was sure he possessed.
Whatever. He wanted to win. He ran.
"Merlin! He's taking the beast head on!" Yelled Bagman as the crowd took a collective gasp.
Cedric continued to ignore him, running straight towards the dragon, keeping his eyes affixed on her mouth, waiting for any sign that it might open.
The dragon let out a growl in the back of its throat then opened its jaws. Cedric immediately ducked into a roll, narrowly avoiding the jet of fire that erupted from the creature. Despite not catching on fire, he could feel any exposed skin on his left side sting a bit from the heat roiling off the white hot flames.
He paid no mind to the pain, however, and backed up the moment he made it back to his feet, grinning as he saw the broodmother following him, abandoning her post over her eggs. She flapped her wings, but didn't lift off the ground, instead choosing to scrabble over the rocks on her scaly arms and legs, leaving deep gouges in the ground from her sharp claws.
She screeched and let out another jet of fire that again Cedric just barely avoided, ducking behind a large boulder. The second the flames stopped he popped back around the other side of the boulder and aimed his wand at the creature, making sure his feet were firmly planted and his stance unwavering as he shouted "VINCULUM!" with all his might.
He could instantly feel a harsh yank at his magical core, the spell calling for an inordinate amount of magic to subdue a creature of this size and strength, but it held true as glowing, malignant-looking, purple chains erupted from the tip of Cedric's wand, snaking toward the dragon and winding it's way around her body. The beast fought valiantly, twisting and flapping in an attempt to get away from the offending bonds, but she was ultimately unable to escape as the chains slowly but surely twisted around her, binding her firmly to the ground, unable to even lift her head or open her jaws.
"Great Scott!" Bagman's voice boomed across the stadium, distinctive even over the maddening cheers of the audience. "What a feat of magic!"
Cedric let out a short exhausted sigh before breaking into another run towards the eggs, making sure to keep a wide berth from the dragon; even though she could no longer breathe flames from her mouth, she could still shoot some through her nostrils, though at a much shorter distance.
The moment he scooped up the golden egg the crowd went wild.
"Look at that!" came Bagman's commentary as a few dragon tamers rushed onto the field to deal with the Short-Snout. "Diggory is setting the bar mighty high! How in Merlin's name will they top this?"
Cedric basked in the cheers and adoration as he made his way towards the exit. Feeling positively blissful despite the burning he felt all along his left side.
Just before he stepped out of the ring, he turned back to take in the sight of his victory. His own grey eyes met the dragon's pained and enraged yellow gaze. She snarled and bared her teeth to the best of her ability as they made eye contact, flames shooting from her snout in her anger.
Cedric couldn't help but grin as he tugged at his magic, watching gleefully as the bonds tightened even further, slamming her firmly back to the ground.
What a sight she made; a powerful, majestic creature brought to heel by the might of Cedric's own magic. Truly at his mercy. If he so chose, he could easily suffocate her, right here in front of the entirety of Hogwarts. He resisted the sharp desire to do exactly that, and instead recalled the curse with a flick of his wand, then entered the first aid tent.
Professor Sprout stood just inside the entrance, grinning proudly up at him. "Amazing show, lad!" she congratulated, patting him firmly on his uninjured side. Before she could continue to praise him, Madam Pomfrey bustled over, nudging Sprout out of the way and tutting all the while.
"Dragons!" the woman exclaimed in a disgusted tone, lips curled into an ill-fitting sneer. "Every year they bring in some new horror to terrorize my students with! What will it be next?" Despite her vitriolic tone her hold was gentle as she twisted Cedric's arm to and fro, inspecting it closely.
"Though, I must say this is a minimal injury for someone who's just tussled with a Short-Snout." she admitted begrudgingly. "How does it feel, then?"
"Not bad, really." Cedric admitted. "Feels more like a particularly nasty sunburn than anything."
"Good." she nodded decisively and began to rub some sort of thin, yellowish liquid on his arm and face, making the pain immediately recede to almost nothing.
"Oh, yes that cleared the redness right up, Poppy." commented Sprout. "If he's well enough then we ought to take him out to be scored."
Cedric was reluctantly released from Pomfrey's clutches and ushered back into the now dragonless enclosure. Now that the Short-Snout had been taken away, he could see where the five judges were sitting - right at the other end of the stadium, in raised seats draped in gold.
"Good job, Ced!" said a panting voice to his left. Cedric glanced over to see Jona smiling up at him, pride glittering in his eyes and he gave the taller boy a firm pat on the back. "Sorry it took me so long to get down here; I was seated all the way at the top of the stands."
"Thanks, Jona." Cedric replied, just as the first judge - Madam Maxime - raised her wand into the air. What looked like a long, silver ribbon shot from the tip and twisted into a graceful figure eight.
"Not bad!" said Jona as the crowd applauded. "I was expecting a bit higher though, maybe she took points because that spell is on the darker side of the spectrum."
Crouch was next, and spelled a nine into the air just above his head.
"That's more like it." grunted Sprout. "A proper score."
Next, Dumbledore. He too put up a nine. The crowd was cheering harder than ever.
Bagman followed after with a seven.
"Seven?" Hissed Jona incredulously one Cedric's left while Sprout scoffed, "What like he could do so much better against a dragon, then?"
Cedric simply shrugged, already steeling himself for the bullshit that Karkaroff was certainly about to pull.
"SIX?!" Jona and Sprout exclaimed in unison. Cedric however let out a sigh of relief, he was expecting no higher than a five from Karkaroff. Perhaps he'd appreciated Cedric's use of dark magic.
"Lets go to the stands." said Jona as he dragged Cedric out of the arena. "Hopefully we can find some seats closer to the front. I'm sure folks would be happy to make space for you after that performance, Ced."
Cedric just hoped they'd still be impressed with him after Delacour and Krum's trial.
A/N: Sorry not as much Cedric/Harry interaction in this chapter. There should be a bit more in the next, though.