Backfire

Cedric felt his entire body enter a state of hyperactivity, feeling the sweat forming in all possible crevices of his body, and the blood running through his veins. He was determined to win this. It was finally the end of the Triwizard tournament. He knew he could do this. If not for him, for his dad. And for Holland. He wished he could have given her at least one last goodbye before entering the last task, but that would just have to wait until after. He was glad that she was finally talking to him again, though their previous conversation was beyond confusing. The girl had actually told him to throw the final task, ditch it even. They'd spent months together trying their hardest for him to win, now that Cedric was so close, she somehow wanted him to do a complete hairpin turn and not even letting him try to win.

He wished he would have spent more time with Holland, but knew why that didn't happen anyway. He had to train on his own, missing Holland every minute of his lone trainings. Without the presence of his trusty tutor, he felt even more vulnerable and pathetic to even try with the last task. Cedric had barely slept the night before, not knowing what to expect. He just hoped that nobody would get hurt too bad, but he knew there'd be no point in receiving eternal glory if fighting for it had been so easy. He'd sat up from his bed, praying to whoever could hear, Merlin, Godric, maybe even Helga. He just wished he could do this final task right. He didn't pray for survival, he prayed he could get out there and come back with the cup, putting his own self and his ambitions first for once. Throughout the tournament, Cedric had really proven himself to be more than just the stereotypical, fluffy, too-good Hufflepuff. He had proved himself courageous and determined. The only other thing he'd proven to who it mattered the most to, though, was that he'd been a git. He knew that their last encounter that day didn't help with the situation either, but the fact that Holland seemed to be asking for something from him made him feel like he had a chance of winning her back. So Cedric forced his eyes shut, trying to get into deep focus, for he knew he needed all the stamina and strength he could muster to win this tournament, and the girl back.

He was now here, standing still at his entrance of the maze, Harry standing in front of his own. The sound of the band replaying a tune over and over as his fate awaited him. Cedric turned to scan the crowd one last time, smiling at his dad who'd been next to him, and trying to hide a frown once it's been confirmed once more that Holland wasn't there. He had a hunch that their encounter earlier that afternoon would have angered her. Cedric's stomach lurched in pain at the thought of Holland not bothering to see him off in the final task. Cedric forced himself to pull it together, determined that maybe he could surprise her by giving her the cup when he'd won. He smiled at the thought, then faced the maze before taking two deep breaths with his eyes closed, once they opened, he was shocked to have been faced with a sudden spark flying from behind him, making a popping sound. He looked behind him to see what was going on, immediately beaming at the sight of Holland, relief flowing through his veins. She'd actually come to watch, Cedric immediately smiles. If only he knew what had been on the girl's mind. But then he remembered what she might have been there for. Did she send that spark to slow him down? Cedric frowned at the thought. He needed to focus to prove to Holland that he didn't have to choose between the tournament and her, he could easily get both. He faced the front of the maze one last time before entering with an intensified level of determination coursing through his body.

"Okay," He breathes to himself. "Get in there, get the cup, get out, get the girl," He said to himself after he'd entered the maze. When he did, the entrance he'd gone through immediately closed off, leaves and branches rustling against one another as they shut out the band and the cheers of the audience, leaving Cedric alone with the eerie sounds of the Forbidden forest and the ever so slight footsteps from his fellow champions. Cedric began to walk, trying his best not to lose himself in the maze, as Dumbledore had said, and look for the cup.

After what felt like an endless struggle of fighting off giant blast-ended skrewts, Cedric found himself miserable and on the verge of giving up. He felt as if he had just been going in circles, coming across dead ends every path he took. Cedric decided to take a quick minute to breathe, jumping as the sound of a girl's scream, making Cedric begin to walk faster. He knew there were creatures they had to fight off in this maze, but the sound of Fleur made Cedric feel uneasy, the boy had to get out of there as quickly as he could. Then, a flash of red light illuminates the sky. Things didn't feel right, Cedric knit his eyebrows together in complete focus. He decided to avoid where the light had come from, knowing there might have been creatures there that gave Fleur a shock nasty enough to have her send the sparks. Cedric began to run once more, turning here and there. Then out of nowhere, the bushes began to morph into one, the path slowly closing in on Cedric. The boy began to run out of the path, breathing as he'd miraculously escaped it, and moving on to the next path.

One turn to the left, and he's met with Harry Potter and Viktor Krum. The scene before him was unsettling. Viktor was holding up his very illuminated wand and pointing it at Harry. Cedric immediately grew protective, not wanting the boy to be harmed in any way.

"Get back!" He told the Gryffindor, pointing his wand at Viktor. The Bulgarian's eyes were an unusual color, as if they'd been glazed over. Cedric quickly, without hesitating, stunned Viktor before he could utter another spell towards Harry. "Expelliarmus!" Cedric cries, the Durmstrang student falling to the floor. Cedric grew angry, he didn't know why, he just did. He immediately grabbed the boy's wand as he stumbled away from him, raising his wand and pointing it at him, about to teach him a lesson before he felt his torso being pushed aside.

"No, stop it, Cedric! He's bewitched!" Harry cries, not wanting the Hufflepuff to do anything he'd regret.

"Get off me!" Cedric grunts, pushing Harry off. He was seething. He could have been with the cup by now if it weren't for that bonehead. Cedric had no idea what's gotten into him, angering him so much at Viktor. Maybe all that running and skrewt stunning made him irritable, especially since he hasn't spoke to anyone it what felt like hours. Then he remembered, he had to win. He had to do this. For Holland and Amos, his father. The two then turn their heads, stiffening at the sight of the glowing cup. The two eye each other for a moment, before making a run for the blue trophy. The two had been trying to hold the other back as roots from the bushes grab at the boys, eager to finally end the tournament as a winner. With that, he tried to run off whilst being entangled with Harry as the two fought for dominance on the way out of the path. Cedric felt himself pulling towards the ground, the boy yelping in pain as he struggled to escape from the grasp of the enchanted roots that clung onto his limbs. Harry not paying his attention to his rival, kept running. Cedric grew scared, feeling the roots pull him further and further into the grass bushes, they were taking him away. This was not the way he imagined the night would end, his entire body on the floor as he writhed against bewitched vines.

"Harry!" He begged, the roots reaching his neck. "Harry!" The boy had now completely lost the ability to move his limbs as they've been entangled in the roots, his wand no longer in his grasp. Harry tried to ignore the cries of his fellow wizard, eyeing the enamoring cup. Cedric cried out in pain as he knew he was a goner, internally wishing for Harry to grab the cup already so that the vines could finally let go of him. After a moment, Harry decided to run back to the Hufflepuff to help him out of the roots' grasp, surprising himself and Cedric. "Reducto!" The boy cried, the roots breaking apart and freeing Cedric. Harry goes over to the boy and help him rid of the roots' remnants, the two let out breaths as they'd finally escaped it.

"Thanks," Cedric said, chest heaving as he eyed the roots that were now crawling back underneath the hedges. The two now stood still, catching their breaths. If Harry had acted a second later, Cedric couldn't imagine what would happen to him. Maybe he'd have lost, he'd be brought back to the crowd as second, and Holland would be cradling him in her arms as she'd tell him how worried she was. Now that Cedric's thoughts were back on Holland, he was seriously considering losing. Not solely for the purpose of making Holland happy, but Harry had indeed been so noble and selfless the entire tournament, he simply deserved to win more than Cedric did. While Cedric was in the middle of his internal debate, Harry spoke up.

"No problem." Harry grunts casually, as if the two were simply chatting and not at all on the hunt for a certain cup. Cedric let out a shallow breath, eyeing the ground where he'd been writhing against just seconds before.

"For a moment there, I thought you were going to let it get me," Cedric confessed, recalling the feeling of the roots against every inch of his body, and how hopeless he'd felt calling after Harry.

"For a moment, so did I." Harry admits, not able to look at Cedric in the eye. Cedric simply shook his head. Moments ago, he himself also seemed to have lost sight of his own self when he was so ready to curse Viktor Krum into oblivion for almost attacking Harry.

"Some game, huh?" Cedric says, not believing how quickly their personalities had changed so quickly once they'd entered the maze. Then suddenly, winds began to blow hard, the sound of rustling trees and whistles of the air as bushes on each side of them began to close once more. The maze must have known that there were people in front of the cup and had to take matters in their own hands for the tournament to finally end. Cedric finally looked at Harry, his decision final. He could sleep at night knowing he lost fair and square, knowing it was more important giving the cup to someone who deserved.

"Go!" Cedric says, knowing this was happening because somebody needed to grab the cup already. The two begin to run, stopping right before the cup and looking back to see how much time they had left. As they'd finally stopped before it, Cedric thought more about how Harry really deserved to win some. He remembered how he was in the second task, thinking about the time he'd saved Gabrielle even though he didn't need to, the moment not too long ago when it was Cedric himself saved when he was clearly a rival, and of course, his friendly warning about the first task. "Go on, take it. You saved me, take it!" Cedric urged.

"Together," Harry decides, Cedric nodding eagerly. A small part of him hoped that maybe the two of them could win, they were both from Hogwarts anyway. He had absolutely no problem with sharing the cup with Harry. With the bushes meters away, the two began to count until three. "One, two, three!" The boys grab it simultaneously, the world around them whirring around as they were finally on their way out of that dreaded maze and back to where their friends and family were.

The boys drop on the ground with a grunt, the cup being a few feet away from them as it was dropped it when they'd landed. Wherever they were was eerie and quiet, not too different from the maze.

"You okay?" Cedric asks as he got back up on his feet. He looked around him, tombs and statues made of stone surrounded him. There was fog creeping around their feet, getting goosebumps at the sensation of the cold dancing around the exposed skin of his ankles.

"Yeah, you?" Harry responds as he stood up, himself. Harry was now taking a look at where they were. Realization slowly made its way to Harry as he walked around. Cedric as walking around and examining the place himself to realize that Harry was looking more panicked by the second.

"Where are we?" Cedric asks, knowing where they were but wondering why the cup had even brought them there. He walked back to the cup, eyeing it in amazement as he realized it was a portkey.

"I've been here before," Harry finally spoke out, looking around suspiciously.

"It's a portkey." He breathes. "Harry, it's a portkey!" He calls out to the boy who was still too busy looking around. Cedric was ecstatic, cheeks pink like they always were and his hair all sweaty, victory still rushing in his veins as he and Harry had finally survived the Triwizard tournament. Or so he thought.

"I've been here before." Harry repeats, "In a dream." He continues, putting his hand forward to touch the tombstone that lay before him. Tom Riddle, 1905-1943. Realization dawns on the specky boy, knowing what they were doing there. "We have to get back to the cup." He says urgently. Cedric knits his eyebrows together, not seeming to follow. "Now!" Harry says.

"What are you talking about?" Cedric finally felt scared since they'd left the maze, as if he had just taken a hundred steps backwards and was about to relive the entire Triwizard tournament. Harry then let out a yell, holding his scar in pain. As he did, a large cauldron that they did not even notice that was next to them lit up, fire crackling underneath it. Things turned dark once more, and Cedric didn't like it. Cedric frowned in confusion, wondering what was going on with Harry.

"Harry, what is it?" He asks, wondering why the boy appeared to be in so much pain. He was clutching onto his scar, and Cedric wondered how often he'd get sudden jolts of pain like so. Cedric didn't know what to do, simply watching Harry hold onto his scar and waiting for him to say something. Once Harry had spoken, he let out words that caught Cedric off-guard.

"Get back to the cup!" Harry says once more. Why would Harry want to go back to the maze when it'd be much safer for them to stay here? From a small shelter, a figure emerges cradling a pale looking child. As they looked nothing but suspicious, Cedric grew protective over the boy he was with.

"Who are you, what do you want?" Cedric demands, both hands on his raised wand as he was ready to fire out any spell on any person who dare lay a finger on Harry. Cedric had no idea where they were, why they were there, and who these people were, but as the younger boy was in pain, he couldn't let anything happen to him. He was determined to get back to the forest with Harry in his side as they both hoist up the chalice. He found himself feeling courageous, never expecting in a million years to be able to talk to such creepy, suspicious looking figures in a creepy, much more suspicious place.

"Kill the spare," Cedric jolts as he heard the little creature hiss in a high, coarse voice. Cedric couldn't think for long, he had to act quick. He immediately sprints towards them, falling before rolling on the grass as the figure yelled, "Avada kedavra!"

"No, Cedric!" Harry yelled out. The boy refusing to believe that the Hufflepuff that lay before him was now dead. The flash of green light was now something Harry could never take out of his mind. Harry couldn't look at the figure, he'd failed Cedric.

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