Chapter 10.5- Doom Days

XXXXXXXX- CEDRIC DIGGORY

“Fucking Cwn Anwnn. You know I went to the library immediately after the task to research the damn things. They’re dangerous Cedric. You were right to leave the field when you did” Henry said with a scowl ointment his face. Cedric’s own dace was not much better, he knew. He wore his practiced smile on his face easily but behind it laid a maelstrom of emotions. The daily prophet and a host of other international papers dat strewn around them in their own corner of the common room. He’d joined the tournament to gain some personal notoriety for himself that he could spin into a job at the ministry and then one day into a run as Minister of Magic like Eldritch Diggory before him. And now the first task was over and done with and the only paper that hadn’t basically used him as a footnote was the Daily Prophet.

The Mediterranean Manifest had even managed to spell his name wrong the one time they bothered with writing it out. The others might not have made the same mistake but they might as well have. Even Krum with his terrible performance had more time dedicated to him than he got. Cedric knew why of course. He had been perfectly ordinary. Delacour had used charms work that was complimented by the Headmaster of Hogwarts himself. Krum had shown off an exceptional level of skill and understanding of the dark arts. He’d even lost his wand in his refusal to surrender. Potter had….well Potter had outshined them all. From the second he felt the hairs on his arm rise up from that first bolt of lightning he’d nailed the beast with, he’d known that the Harry Potter in the arena with him was a far cry from the boy he’d met during the summer.

The Boy who lived had proven himself worthy of the legend that surrounded him. He called forth magic that Cedric did not truly understand, but even the magic Cedric did understand was still impressive. Transfiguration was his favorite discipline. McGonagall said he was a once-in a-generation talent. That his work was astounding. He wondered what she said about Potter’s then. Three years his younger and far more capable. That transifiguration to turn the ground to quick sand. Even the snakes he made and then transfigured to stone. Those were all things Cedric could understand, and that made it worse. It meant he knew just how difficult they would be to pull off.

“A wise choice, for sure. Let Potter and his Gryffindor sensibilities spend his time fighting a creature that’s a registered Wizard killer” Delphine said, adding her own two-cents.

“I signed up for this, guys. I put my name in the goblet. I can’t just be giving up”

“You were clearly lied to. We all were. We were told that they made the tasks safer to avoid repeating the tragedy, but a hellhound? That’s not any safer than what they used to do before. You signed up under false pretenses. It’s perfectly reasonable for you to pull out now” Henry continued.

“You guys don’t believe in me” He said in sudden realization.

“No, no. We do believe in you. It’s just that we’re scared and worried. This thing is different from what we expected. And the other champions- they’re something else.”

“Even Potter?” He asked despite himself.

“Remember what Moody said in class? He said none of us would be able to cast the killing curse even if we tried our hardest. I looked it up. It’s true. The Killing curse is real dark magic. You have to mean it. It takes loads of power and even more intent. Potter cast it with ease yesterday. I keep going over it in my mind. The wand movement, the look on his face, the way he said the incantation. It couldn’t have been his first time using the spell. That means Potter’s a dark wizard. That explains why he was able to do so well. Remember the story of Morgan Le Fay? Dark magic can turn a regular wizard into something extraordinary” Delphine said, making her points in that way she always did that made it difficult to argue with her.

“You can’t think the Boy Who Lived is a dark wizard, Delphine. He killed you-know-who” Marcus finally spoke.

“By reflecting a killing curse. He’s the only one to have ever survived it. We still don’t know how he did it. We don’t even know what effects it could have had on him as a person. Magic always leaves a trace. There’s no magic darker than the killing curse. Imagine the kind of trace that would have left on him” Cedric could feel the words entering him and taking root in his mind. They were so easy to believe. Probably because he knew he wanted them to be true. That was why he stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“On a walk. And Delphine, please for the love of magic, stop saying that” He said, grabbing his things and moving away. Maybe he ought to seek Cho out in the library.

A/N; Last bit