Anything that rings a bell belongs to JK Rowling

Chapter Thirty Five: War Cry

She glared at his grey eyes.

"Don't you belong downstairs?"

She was annoyed at being thwarted, she knew that secret passage, and she should have been prepared. He took a step closer, assaulting her with his scent.

"Where have you been?"

"I just wrote Transfiguration."

He ran a hand through his bronze locks in frustration and growled, "I mean for the last few months as you bloody well know!"

Ky rolled her eyes. Mi told her that Cedric had actually asked her where she was the day she was attacked; she told him the story about her helping Nessie like she was told to.

"Playing Mother Theresa to a bitch in high heels…or is it Florence Nightingale, I always get confused between the two-"

"I know that's a lie."

Ky laughed, not even denying it and continued walking. It's cute how he thought she would tell him the truth just because he asked. He grabbed her elbow, and she flung him off, "What business is it to you where I go and what I do Diggory. Hop on off to Chang; I'm afraid she might not know how to walk with just two legs."

Mi filled her in about how they were still dating, she was even the person that mattered the most to him for the second task. Ky made her way to the common room, hoping to find Ron and have a game of chess before Mi dragged her off to the library.

Unfortunately, it seemed fate was not on her side today, actually she was kicking her in the gut and pulling her hair. Ky heaved a sigh at the one person she wanted to see less than Cedric.

"Hello Kitten."

Ky ignored Nott and continued walking; he seemed to take this as an invitation. "That paper was just not challenging enough; I fear old McGonagall is losing her edge. Did you see the last question? I don't even think Goyle would have trouble with that. Then again Goyle still has trouble with which goes first, socks or shoes."

Ky continued walking. It was strange; Nott was not the chatty type. And he definitely wasn't one to seek out company. Yet for the past few days that she was allowed out and about, she would see him here and there. Maybe she was just being paranoid after what had happened. Or maybe just because she knew him now his face was easier to recognise in a crowd. Whatever it was, he was out of character.

"What's your deal?"

His smirk got wider, "I like girls."

"I don't mean like that Nott. I mean, what's with you always hanging around."

"Maybe I've always been there, you just haven't noticed me."

"That thought crossed my mind."

"What were your other thoughts?"

"That I'm just being paranoid."

"You're not."

She stopped, turning to look at him, "So you are up to something?"

"I'm always up to something Kitten. I believe this is your stop."

He mock bowed and walked off. He was so strange. Ky didn't have time to wonder about his strangeness because just then a hand wrapped around her arm from behind. The scream left her mouth instantly and her whole body seized up. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and the floor was shaking beneath her until it stopped shaking altogether and just turned black.

-x-x-x-

Ky opened her eyes and quickly closed them against the bright light. She sat up, shielding her eyes with her hand.

"Will you get your wand out of her face?"

"It's better than where you keep yours, up your…"

"Cease your bickering, she's awake. Bane?"

The light vanished and Ky saw Minnie's face swim in front of her. Linus and Len rushed into view, Len spoke first,

"Ky, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that. Are you OK?"

"Of course, she isn't OK! I knew she shouldn't have left her room. She didn't get enough rest. She's not ready to be waltzing around the castle. She shouldn't even be here. She should be home, not here. We haven't even found the sick fucker, that's it! She's coming home-"

"I'm not going anywhere Linus. Hogwarts is safe, I was just being silly reacting like that."

"Hogwarts is so safe that you got attacked!"

"I didn't get attacked in Hogwarts, I got attacked- "

"Stop this incessant babbling at once. Nobody is taking anybody anywhere. Linus, Bane is in the process of examinations, vacation starts in a week. And I cannot stress how many extra precautions we have been taking concerning her, nobody wants a repeat of…everybody is worried."

Minnie seemed to soothe Linus down with the concerned look she had on her face. He sat back down, and she turned to Ky, a steely look in her eye.

"Now Bane…I know you say you're fine- "

"Because I am."

"People who are fine do not scream when their brothers touch them." She took a deep breath and looked at Ky with such pleading eyes. "I'm worried about you. You've been through a traumatic experience and whilst physically you've got the all-clear, you haven't dealt mentally with this ordeal. You know I'm here if you want to talk."

Ky got off the chair, she was so sick of this. Everybody just wanted to harp on and on about this matter. Why can't they just give it a break, why can't they just let it go!

"I know that. And so are Mi and Mona and Pomfrey and Nonno and even Kinky! But there isn't anything to talk about! I was sick, but now I'm better. I don't even have a scar! So would everybody kindly please back OFF!?"

She turned away from Minnie's shocked face and ignored Linus and Lenzo. She was sick of that look. Like she was some wounded animal, she didn't need anybody's pity. What she needed was everybody else to just get over this so she can move on with her life!

-x-x-x-

Ky grabbed her broom and sped downstairs ignoring Ron's call on her way out. She took the stairs two at a time and charged out the front doors. She stopped only when she reached the quidditch pitch, or what was supposed to be the quidditch pitch. Now what stood there was a huge maze, she flung her broom on the floor cursing the damn Triwizard Tournament.

"You really shouldn't treat your broom like that. Toss it around like that again and I'll personally take it away."

Ky glared at the owner of the voice, spinning around furiously. She glared at his green eyes and moved her hand up in a diagonal motion; he dodged the jet of red light and cocked his eyebrow at her. He surprised her though by reacting quickly,

"aqua eructo"

"Impervius, ascendio"

Harry dodged the line of blue, and she realised what he was doing at his wand movements.

"impedimenta"

Ky lazily moved out of the way, which seemed to anger him.

"expelliarmus"

Ky dodged again, but it almost hit her.

"rictusempra"

He didn't dodge this time but erected a shield charm, weak but present, nonetheless. It held for a few seconds and then it broke, and the tickling jinx hit him.

Ky sent a subsequent stinging jinx as his shield disappeared and Harry fell to the floor dodging it, laughing like a crazy person.

He cast the counter curse quickly and he sent a tripping jinx at her. She executed a perfect shield charm and smirked at him. How do you like them apples Potter?

"fumos"

She squinted as dark grey smoke obscured her view; she turned quickly preparing for the sneak attack.

"Don't you know the basic rule of combat; don't ever turn your back to the enemy."

Ky felt his arm circle loosely around her neck, smart move; he remained in front of her knowing she would expect a sneak attack and turn.

Her wand was hanging loosely at her side, and she pointed it up, spraying water all down his front. He let go at the pressure she hit him with but unfortunately it wasn't before he cast a freezing charm on her.

Not the stop and stare kind but the cold kind, she shivered uncontrollably, and it was hard to get a good aim to hit him with. She quickly cast the counter curse, diving to the ground to evade his next jinx but her wand flew from her hand.

Fortunately, she sent a trip jinx just before that, which hit him and he fell to the ground, his wand falling out of his hand.

A singular moment where they stared at each other, the next they scrambled for their respective wands. He grabbed his first, but she had prepared her spell already.

"Ventus!"

Harry wasn't pushed back by a gust of wind as he erected a shield charm that defended the attack, but it wouldn't stay long enough to protect from her next spell, and she raised her arm to disarm him but then her own wand went whizzing out of her hand.

Harry's face mirrored her confusion as he stared at his empty hand…she looked to her left and saw a grim faced Sev standing there, three wands in his hand and an angry gleam in his eye.

"Unauthorized duelling is prohibited on school grounds."

"Lucky it's not unauthorized then." They both looked at her curiously; honestly, Ky was also curious as to how she was going to weave out of this. "Well-"

"We're practicing for the third task. I needed help and Ky graciously…Ky offered."

Sev sneered down at Harry with open distaste, "As important as we all know you are Mr Potter, it may come as a surprise to you, but you are just a student here so when I say something is unauthorized…it is so, seeing as I am the authority on such things. Twenty points from Gryffindor. Each. Proceed to your dormitories."

And with a swish of a cloak, he was gone. It looked like he disappeared, but it was just that his dark cloak blended too well in the night. Ky bent to pick up her broom, but Harry beat her to it. He cradled it cautiously, running his hand gently across the dark handle.

They started walking towards the castle; the only thing stopping her from wrenching the broom out of his hand was the look on his face. He was in his element, engrossed in the workmanship.

"You're very lucky to have brothers who did this for you."

Ky laughed a hollow laugh at that. How rich, he dare bring her brothers up in conversation after all the things he said!

The confused look dropped quickly from his face, "About that, I should probably apologise."

"It's not necessary."

"It is. I am sorry. I didn't mean what I said."

"When does anybody? Hardly anybody means what they say, we hide behind words like a shield, the less truth in them the stronger the shield…it should be the other way around. We feel protected by lies and half-truths. I do not care whether you meant or did not mean what you said, you said it. Potter. The doubt went through your mind and fell off your tongue and that to me is truth."

"So, you never doubted a thing in your life?"

Ky turned and looked at him, "Of course I doubted things. Lots of things…but never people. You know how I told you once that I name people in my head right off the bat…well I don't just name them. In that first few seconds of meeting somebody, I have already decided to call them friend or foe. You always wondered why Mi and I had got close so quickly, it's because once you get the label out of the way you don't have to work too hard to achieve the name itself. Treat a friend like a friend Potter, a foe like a foe."

Harry shook his head, "People are not black and white, you can't just judge them so simply, if there's anything I learnt from school it would be that."

"Did I say anything about black and white? Good or bad? That's your problem Potter; you speak like a six-year-old. Bad people need friends too."

"Malfoy has enough friends."

"Malfoy has no friends, and let's stop pretending that little soirée we had was about Malfoy." Harry's face took on a wary expression quickly, "You had those doubts in your head long before the Ball."

"No, I didn't."

"Oh, please Potter, you were practically quoting Ginny verbatim."

"Exactly!"

Ky frowned at him, "I didn't think those things. I wanted to hurt you for betraying us, for…" His eyes drowned in the intensity he was trying to convey. "I repeated everything Ginny had said. They were never my doubts. I just wanted to hurt you for…hurting…us."

Her eyes narrowed, "So, you've never wondered where I was that night."

"Of course I had. I wondered where you had gone, but that's only in my nature. At the same time though, I didn't suspect you were up to any of the stuff Ginny claimed you were up to. I always appreciated that you never pried into my business, and I wanted to return the favour. I have a feeling something happened that night, but I also know that if you needed me to know you would tell me."

"That's not like you, you're usually a snoop."

"No, I'm not. I only delve into secrets that I think could be threatening. I know you're not a threat."

"You shouldn't be so sure Potter, you got your butt beat back there, and I would think that's pretty threatening."

"Don't be so sure, I had a trick up my sleeve."

"Just admit defeat."

"Let's just call it a draw."

"I don't do draws."

"Too bad because that's what it was…I'm sorry about you getting hurt as well."

Ky froze, how did he find out about it? He frowned at her wary stance.

"It was never my intention to harm you. I didn't expect the spell to hit the bracket and-"

Oh, he was talking about their duel the night of the Yule Ball. "It's fine, no harm, no foul."

"You did get harmed though."

"True, let me abridge my previous statement, no scar, no foul. By the way, why now?"

He looked at her and then down to the floor, "Well you didn't want to speak to me those few weeks. And honestly, I didn't deserve to speak to you. I hurt you and I was so embarrassed and angry at that. It was easier to just not talk to you, not deal with the guilt. Plus, I thought that's what you wanted."

"You didn't answer my question."

Green met grey, his cheeks flushed pink, and there was a solemn expression on his face. "I saw you run out of the common room just now…I know that you weren't with your brothers these past few months. I know something happened to you that made Hermione go into a state that I've never seen her in before. I know you were sick. Or hurt. Hermione let it slip that you were in the hospital." He dropped his eyes to the floor, "I don't blame you for not telling me…I don't deserve it." His voice shook, "I've been an awful friend. I feel terrible, Ky. I hate that…that I've made it that I can't be trusted with your secrets. But I want you to know… that I care. I care about you. And this friendship. If there is anything, anything at all…."

She nodded, snapping away from the pull of his eyes, of Harry.

Ky realised she had taken a few steps towards him and that realisation scared her.

What was she going to do? Hug him and when he reciprocated, freakout at him like she did with Lenzo, and put their friendship in a worse state than it was in already.

She felt her lip quiver and she could feel hot tears in her eyes and she spun around embarrassed, rushing up to the common room and heading straight for the dorm, an unsettling feeling gnawing in her tummy at the tremble in Harry's voice.

She climbed into her bed fully clothed and used all her strength to stop the tears from falling, forcing herself to sleep instead.

-x-x-x-

…he knelt before her, slowly slipping the mask up. He kissed her knee, then her thigh. He pushed her legs apart and she looked down, willing the strength to shine in her eyes. He reached up and took off the mask.

Ky shot up from the bed and started reciting the multiples of seven in her head. She was at 231 before she managed to breathe at a normal pace. She didn't know if she had screamed but she had cast a silencing charm around her bed before she went to sleep.

This had become a ritual.

She hadn't had a proper night's sleep from the time she woke up from her mental vacation. Ky lay back down on the bed, angry that the dream plagued her so. But it made sense, the bastard wasn't caught yet. It's just her mind trying to get some clue to help them figure out who it was. She gave up on sleep and pushed the blankets off her.

Ten minutes later Ky was in her potion's lab. This incessant shaking was becoming bothersome. She dropped the Ptolemy onto the floor in frustration. She knelt down to pick it up and stopped. She stared as the blood red substance oozed across the floor of her potion lab.

Flashes of blood-soaked shirts, of blood on little house elf fingers. Blood dripping onto the shiny floor. Blood on long wrinkled fingers. On hands that were gentle. Blood turned to tears. Tears from different faces. Nonno, Linus, Lenzo, Mi, Minnie, Mona, Fil. So many tears. Tears at a pale face that looked like death, of purple lips, of closed eyes. Tears at the slow rise of her chest, at the soft beating of her heart.

Tears in her hands. She closed her fists and watched the liquid squish out.

Ky heard a sound behind her, she turned and looked up. She must look a sight; his sallow face went from annoyance to shock before he could even blink. But nothing scared her more than what happened next.

Sev dropped down to the floor and pulled her to his chest. Holding her tightly in a hug, stroking her hair and muttering in his deep baritone that everything was alright. Ky didn't realise she had been bawling, blubbering Godric knows what into his shoulder…

She was not OK.

-x-x-x-

Ky walked out of the Charms exam half an hour early. Fil smiled at her, and she winked back. She started up the nearby stairs and stopped as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Ky didn't scream or faint like the last time. She was always of the opinion that crying was a sign of weakness, and she was still a believer of that. But she must admit that after what felt like an hour of shedding tears onto Sev's shoulder last night, she felt better.

Lighter.

Ky turned around and felt all the stress coming back.

"What do you want?"

Ky didn't get a response; instead, she was pulled to his chest and held in a rough hug. She tried struggling out of it but then stopped, feeling the calmness from this morning come back. Cedric let go and looked down at her, his eyes filled with unshed tears.

"St Mungo's! Six weeks in St Mungo's. You're sick?"

Ky looked up quizzically, "How did you find out?"

"My mum's best friend is a receptionist over there. I tried to find out on my own where you were those three months because I don't believe that story about fiancés and motor vehicle accidents, so I finally worked up the nerve to ask my dad to check around the Ministry. I received his reply this morning at breakfast, said that checking files was not necessary, that mum mentioned that Dumbledore's granddaughter was in St Mungo's, that I shouldn't tell anyone because Dumbledore wanted it kept quiet but why? What happened?"

"Why do you care?"

He ignored her, "Are you OK now. He couldn't find out what you were in for… but six weeks! Where were you for the last seven then? What happened?"

Ky pushed his hands off her and he looked hurt, "I repeat, why do you care? It's really none of your business and-"

"If it concerns you, it is my business."

Ky never wanted to slap somebody more in her life. He stood there with such conviction in his words. What the hell?

"Look Diggory I need to-"

Ky stopped talking as the wind was knocked out of her. He lifted her onto his shoulder caveman style, walked a few steps back and threw the door open and dumped her in a chair. Thankfully the classroom was empty. Ky opened her mouth to scream at him, but he covered it with his hand. She bit down as hard as she could. He wrenched it away, waving it furiously, "You bit me."

"I'm a bitch."

He looked at her as if she was mad.

"A bitch…a female dog…dogs bite…" Ky explained in logical order. She sighed and she made to stand, and he pushed her back by just invading he space, stepping well passed her comfort zone. Ky really couldn't deal with this right now. He leaned on the arms of the chair and hovered over her. She fingered her bracelet, reminding herself that this was just Cedric.

"Firstly, I rather you call me Apple than Diggory. Secondly, I don't care about your say in the matter but what happens to you is my business. And thirdly…I care because I care. I was the one that bared myself to you; you were the one that walked away like a coward."

Ky pushed at his chest, but he didn't move. "I'm not the one that wouldn't wait and listen!"

"There was no need to; you had made up your mind. You couldn't defy your friends for me…but for Draco Malfoy?"

"I didn't defy my friends for him. It was just a date! Barely even that. There was no holding of hands or dancing. Unlike you! How long after confessing to me did you run off to Chang?"

"A few hours."

That struck her, well enough for her panic at his closeness to be channelled into disappointment. She felt like such an idiot. She was still nursing a soft spot for him and yet here he stood confessing that it took mere hours to get over her. Ky shoved at his shoulders, but he held steady.

"I wanted to hurt you. I wanted to make you feel what I felt. Betrayed and ashamed." He dropped down to his knees and was eye level with her, his grey eyes as clear as crystals. "I wanted you to get jealous…I was wrong. I never want you to hurt. I never want you to feel pain…I never want to be that reason."

"But-"

"Cho is my girlfriend. I asked her to be the night of the Ball when I saw you come in from the dungeons…. with Malfoy's coat...your hair…I made myself like her which I must admit was not hard. She's sweet and kind and uncomplicated."

Ky made to stand again, and he pushed her back down, she didn't need to hear what an angel Chang is.

"But I couldn't. I'm living a lie. I kept telling myself that it was the right thing to do; I was crazy to like you. You didn't feel the same, you didn't want me, and you didn't care. She cared. She's loyal and doesn't make me want to rip my hair out of my head. But…every major step I made with her was because I was trying to get your attention. I tried to ignore it, but that's the truth. I couldn't ignore it on the twenty fourth of February. When I dove into that water…it was you I was looking for. When I walk into the Great Hall, it's you I look for. When I walk passed a classroom, it's you I look for."

"Why are you still with her then?" Ky whispered so softly if he wasn't near, he wouldn't have heard her.

"I'm selfish. I thought with time she could help me get over you. I realise that's impossible now."

Ky looked at him confused, "This morning when the owl came, when my father's letter was delivered…my heart stopped. It felt like it stopped for moments. I can't tell you how long I sat outside that classroom waiting for you, needing to see you. To see that you were OK. Ky…I could date Cho for years…forever… but it would never get me over you. I was an idiot for thinking it would. I'm in too deep. I couldn't get out if a hundred men tried to pull me up…I fell in the day I met you. I don't want to get out."

Ky looked into his crystal eyes feeling overwhelmed, remembering Harry's trembling voice last night, and his persuasive emerald.

Ky had feelings for him, of course she did.

Though, they didn't know what happened to her. She was far from alright.

Was she ready to have a boyfriend? Was that what he was asking for?

Cedric moved his hand up to stroke her cheek and she flinched, her back straightening at the fast movement.

That was her answer.

She wasn't.

She jumped up with speed and ran out of the room, not looking back at the damage she had done.

A/N: Thank you for reading this chapter - lots of elements in here. Do you have a favourite interaction? I quite enjoyed crafting Harry/Ky duel.