To be Whole Again
Last Time
--
"We already have all the supplies with us, and it's been a long time since we have been able to spend time like this, if we do decide to visit tomorrow, we are sure to be surrounded and I kind of like the peace and quiet that this room provides," Daphne replied, continuing to run her fingers through his hair, before leaning down and capturing his lips in a quick kiss.
"I agree with Daphne. It has been way too long since we have been able to spend time like this together. Let's skip Hogsmeade this week, we can always go there anytime we want using those secret routes whenever we wish. Let us use this weekend to relax and go through fourth-year memories. After all, I want to know just whom you had taken to the Ball with you last time around, and if I should start finding ways to make them disappear this time around." Susan teased.
"My my, Ms. Bones, I wonder what your aunt would think about you trying to make a fellow classmate 'disappear' and sneaking out of the castle with her boyfriend." Harry retorted.
--
The Chamber of Secrets, Hogwarts, 9th October 1995
"Okay, so before my fourth year, the Weasley's invited me to join them at the 94 Quidditch World Cup, and you both are well aware of what happened after the match," Harry said and continued after getting nods from the two girls. "Mr. Weasley told us to run into the woods and stay there until he, Bill, Percy, or Charlie came to get us. As we ran into the forest, I realized my wand was missing."
"I had last seen it in the top box during the game and was kind of freaking out, hoping it had fallen out in the tent. After a while we all split up and lost each other, it was just Ron, Hermione, and I in one group and Fred, George, and Ginny in another. We found a clearing and decided to stay there when all of a sudden, we heard an incantation, and this green cloud shot into the air above us. We heard Apparition pops all around us and I realized a large group of Ministry workers were all pointing their wands at the three of us. I yelled 'Duck!', and about a couple dozen Stunners flew within inches of our heads. That is when Arthur realized it was us. Soon Bartemius Crouch Sr. was accusing us of sending off the Dark Mark-"
"Dark Mark? You said it was a green cloud." Susan asked.
"Well at the time I didn't know what a Dark Mark was; Anyways, Mr. Crouch was accusing us of setting it off and when we explained that it had come from the woods beyond the clearing, a couple of people went off and found Mr. Crouch's house elf Winky Stunned in the forest holding a wand. My wand," Harry added for emphasis. Daphne and Susan both had wide eyes.
"How did a bloody house elf get your wand?" Daphne asked, shocked that a house elf had stolen a wand.
"I didn't find out until the end of my fourth year, but I'll explain it now. Winky was supposed to keep someone hidden and that person was under the Imperius Curse but had been throwing it off easier and easier, so while I initially met Winky in the top box, she told us she was saving a seat for Mr. Crouch and she was afraid of heights; she kept her hands over her eyes the whole time. The mystery person was sitting in the empty spot next to her under an Invisibility Cloak."
"My wand was taken by this mystery person, not Winky. When she heard the Death Eaters attacking, she bound herself to this person and dragged him into the woods not knowing he had a wand. He sent off the Dark Mark with my wand, and because I am Harry Potter no one would listen to Mr. Crouch when he tried to accuse me of throwing it into the woods after conjuring it. Instead, when he realized it was his elf in the woods, the man she was guarding was probably there too and he gave her clothes and fired her. He said it was for disobeying him and leaving the tent, but we found out the real reason was for allowing the mystery man to escape their tent," Harry said.
"After we got back to the Burrow after the fiasco in the woods, a couple of days later we started school. We were introduced to our new Defense Professor retired Auror Mad-Eye Moody. One of the first things we saw him do was turn Draco Malfoy into a blonde ferret after he tried to curse me when my back was turned." Harry said, knowing full well that he might have escaped showing the memory of Malfoy getting punched, but he was not going to be able to continue without showing this particular memory.
"That was him?!" Both the girls shouted.
"Of course, where did you think I got the idea to turn him into a ferret from?" Harry replied.
"Harry, dear. We are not moving forward until you SHOW that memory. You are not getting away with just describing it to us." Daphne said sweetly while gliding towards Harry and latching onto his arm.
Harry laughed at this while he extracted the memory. Despite it being the fake Moody, it was still a cherished memory for Harry. It's not every day that your school rival gets turned into a white ferret and bounced around the hallway.
As they entered the memory, they got right to the interesting part.
"You know your mother, Malfoy? That expression she's got like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?" They heard a little snarky Harry say.
"Oh, that's gold!" Daphne exclaimed while laughing.
"Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter?"
"Keep your fat mouth shut, then."
They watched as Harry turned and Malfoy got a mad gleam in his eyes as he drew his wand and a sickly brownish light flew towards Harry.
"Oh no you don't, laddie!" Moody shouted. Both the girls jumped at the sudden shout. After looking over at the fake Moody rush over, they saw he had his wand pointed at someone, moving to see who was at the wand end of Moody, they saw nothing but a ferret.
"Leave it!" Moody shouted again and they could all see Crabbe who had tried to pick up Malfoy. Daphne was grinning as she watched Moody, who blasted the ferret into the air and let it fall to the ground.
"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's backs turn. The stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do. Never-Do-That-Again-" he said as he bounced Malfoy with each word as an emphasis. Susan winced to some degree during each bounce and consequent squeak of pain from the little ferret. But she also was a bit disappointed when she heard McGonagall shriek and change Malfoy back.
"Teach—Moody, is that a student?"
"Yep."
"No!"
Harry watched as Malfoy gingerly sat up after being changed back, groaning in pain, with his face bright red and a part of him felt a little bad for him.
"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender's Head of House!"
"I'll do that then." Harry watched Moody's face as he heard Malfoy say the inevitable "my father" catchphrase.
Moody looked incredibly menacing as he said, "Oh yeah? Well, I know your father of old, boy... You tell him Moody's keeping a close eye on his son...you tell him that from me...Now, your Head of House will be Snape, will it? Another old friend," the disfigured old man growled with an evil glint to his eye.
Everyone watched as the trio started walking away and Harry chuckled.
"Don't talk to me," the memory Ron said. The girls looked at him strangely.
"Why not?"
"Because I want to fix that in my memory forever. Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret..." The trio laughed as the memory ended and they returned to the Chamber.
--
A whistle blew and they saw Harry as he entered, they also saw the Hungarian Horntail crouched by her nest. Her wings were half furled, her evil yellow eyes staring at Harry, a monstrous scaly black lizard, thrashing her spiked tail leaving yard-long gouge marks on the hard ground.
They watched Harry stand there and raise his wand and shout, "Accio Firebolt!"
"The youngest contestant, Mr. Harry Potter, has entered the enclosure! Why is he just standing there? Harry, do something! Oh! He has raised his wand and... Summoned a broom. I wonder if he realizes Dragons can fly too!"
The green, yellow, and blue parts of the crowd along with the foreign groups all laughed at the ridiculousness of the statement. All of Gryffindor and several other Quidditch fans of Hogwarts cheered, realizing that Harry was going to try and outfly a dragon. The other contestants were interesting, but Harry was an excellent flier and they were excited to see how he would do.
"Either you are insane or...nope, flying around a nesting mother dragon is pretty insane. There is no 'or' about it. My boyfriend is bloody insane!" Daphne said while shaking her head.
Susan despite her worry, was getting caught up in the excitement as well.
"And there's the broom, I sure hope the boy can fly or this could turn out bad! Medi wizards and Dragon Keepers keep a sharp watch on this one," cried Bagman.
They watched Harry swoop and swerve, and dart back and forth in front of the dragon's face.
"Whoa! She just missed him with her flames! Great Scott, he can fly! Are you watching this Mr. Krum?"
Harry flew higher and higher and then tried to dive but was blocked by a horned tail slapping him in the shoulder. The girls gasped loudly and in unison.
"Merlin! That looked like it hurt! That could lose Mr. Potter some points for that move, there. Oh! He is trying it again! Careful Mr. Potter, it did not work the first time, do not make the same mistake twice!"
Harry continued his annoying fly imitation and finally, the great, black lizard spread her wings and shot into the air at him. But, as the girls gasped, Harry dove, and faster than they imagined he grabbed the egg, and veered off over the crowd while the dragon was subdued.
"Look at that! Will you look at that? Our youngest champion is the quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds in Mr. Potter!" Bagman cried.
"Did that wound leave a scar?" Susan asked as the memory ended.
"No, Madam Pomfrey would never allow a scar to remain. She put Dittany on it right away," replied Harry.
"Good. I am going to have to apprentice under her I think, with the number of times you get hurt, and the trouble to attract day in and day out." Susan said, giving him an exasperated look, but a small smile did play on her lips.
"So, you said there was a difference in the aftermath as well?" Daphne prompted.
"I forgave the Gryffindors and went back to their tower," he replied, and Daphne just stared open-mouthed at him.
"No, I'm not joking. I wish I was, but I really was that stupid."
Daphne did not bother commenting, as her expression spoke for itself.
"Time passed, and I ended up somewhat reconciling with Hermione and Ron, even if our relationship would never be like it was before. I was once again hailed as a hero by Gryffindor, and I made peace with Cedric and the rest of the duffers, mainly because I warned him about the dragons a couple of days before the task."
Susan nodded approvingly but that nod lasted half a moment before she was throwing stinging hexes like it was no one's business.
"Duffers, are we? You were not saying that when your tongue was down my throat." Susan exclaimed, her words so crass, that they managed to get Daphne go speechless, before bending over laughing.
"Ok, ok, sorry! But you can not fault me for it! You remember how Hufflepuff treated me during the Champions selection night and the second year!" Harry defended as he continued dodging the hexes sent his way by an angry redhead.
Hearing this, Susan did calm down considerably and did in fact look guilty, because while she may not have taken part in any of the nonsense her housemates did, she did not discourage it back in their second year. Seeing this, Harry just walked up to her and pulled her in by her waist before continuing.
"I didn't get a date to the Yule Ball until the very last minute, mostly because I was too scared to approach anyone until it was almost too late. I finally ended up going with Patil, the Gryffindor one, and it was a complete disaster," he told her, cringing at the memory.
"At the end of the night, Cedric came up to me and gave me a hint about the egg, as a thanks for warning him about the dragon. I used his hint, but I figured out the poem myself."
"So, you already knew how to solve the egg before we figured it out together? Why didn't you, then?" Daphne asked, confused.
"I... I do not know. I just wanted both of your help, even if I did not need it. I wanted you both to be a part of it, and I wanted both of you to test yourself, to see that look in your eye when you have a brilliant idea, I just wanted to spend some time with the both of you."
Susan gave him a shy smile before refocusing.
"Fine, moving on..." she said, and Harry nodded.
--
"Stop poking me—"
"Dobby must poke Harry Potter, sir, he must wake up!"
"Harry Potter needs to hurry! The second task starts in ten minutes, and Harry Potter-"
"Ten minutes? Ten minutes?"
"Hurry, Harry Potter! You are supposed to be down by the lake with the other champions, sir!"
"Perky little elf, isn't he?" Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow.
"He may have been perky, and sometimes a pest, but he saved mine, Ron, and Hermione's lives. Gave his life to save several lives in fact," Harry said sadly as he bowed his head.
Daphne and Susan stared at Harry and saw a tear roll down his cheek and drip onto the floor.
"He saved your lives?" Susan asked.
Harry nodded, "And Luna, Dean Thomas, Mr. Ollivander, and a goblin named Griphook who had been held captive in Malfoy Manor's dungeons with us."
"I dug his little grave in Bill's garden with my bare hands," Harry said, though that will not be happening this time around, that is for sure.
Susan held his hand as she saw the determination in her boyfriend's eyes.
"Dobby-what've I got to do?"
"You have to eat this, sir! Right before you go into the lake, sir-Gillyweed!"
"What does it do?"
"It will make Harry Potter breathe underwater, sir!"
"Dobby, listen you sure about this?"
"Dobby is quite sure, sir! Dobby hears things, sir, he is a house-elf, he goes all over the castle as he lights the fires and mops the floors. Dobby heard Professor McGonagall and Professor Moody in the staffroom, talking about the next task... Dobby cannot let Harry Potter lose his Wheezy!"
"Wheezy?" Susan questioned.
"It was Ron."
That was all Daphne and Susan needed before bursting out laughing, Harry did not even try to stop them; he just sighed and rubbed his forehead.
They watched Harry jump up and begin sprinting out of the library and down to the lake as the memory faded and they arrived in front of the lake.
"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One... two...three!"
Daphne laughed as the other three champions took off into the water while Harry took a few seconds to remove his socks and shoes before finally shoving the wad of Gillyweed tentacles into his mouth and chewing wildly.
"Bet that tasted great," sniggered Daphne.
"Oh, it was amazing...like chewing octopus' legs," Harry replied while Daphne laughed loudly and Susan grimaced at the thought.
"Whoa!" Susan gasped as they were plunged into the lake with Harry's memory. "Now this is something you don't see every day."
"Agreed," Daphne mumbled as she stared around and took a deep breath. "It's strange to look and feel like we're underwater, but still be able to breathe and move freely."
For a long while they simply watched Harry swim around.
Soon enough they saw Harry twist suddenly when a Grindylow grabbed his leg. Two more of the water creatures showed up while he fumbled in his billowing robes and he finally pulled out his wand and pointed it. He opened his mouth and a large bubble escaped while a stream of boiling water hit the water demon.
They all floated along with him.
"How are you getting on?" asked a voice behind them. Hearing a human voice so far underwater made Daphne and Susan jump slightly and swivel around to find Myrtle.
Susan giggled when she saw the memory of Harry try and shout the ghost's name resulting in a large bubble again.
"You want to try over there! I will not come with you...I do not like them much; they always chase me when I get too close..."
"Finally," said Susan as they all saw the Mer-Village.
They saw that Harry was headed towards what was probably the village square and they could see four people tied to the tail of a large stone merperson. As Harry neared the square, he was slowly followed by a large group of merpeople carrying spears.
"Oh, that is so eerie!" Susan said as she saw the captives and a steady stream of bubbles escaping their mouth as they breathed in and out. She kept imagining herself in their place.
"We do not help," said a very large merman with a laugh at Harry when he shouted bubbles again.
They watched as Harry found a sharp rock and hacked the weed ropes away from Ron. Finally, Ron floated serenely, drifting a tiny bit in the flow of the water.
They saw Harry turn around and start to hack at Hermione's bindings as well.
"You take your hostage. Leave the others..."
Harry shouted another bubble with a look of anger on his face.
"Your task is to retrieve your friend...leave the others..."
"Harry, do you recall what you were saying? It is a little confusing when we cannot understand you," Susan said.
"Ah, I believe right at that point I was saying, 'She's my friend too!' and 'I don't want them to die either'," Harry replied.
"Ah, even when fourteen you just had to have the noble Gryffindor save people thing going on for you," Daphne mumbled.
They saw Cedric swim up with a Bubble Head charm on his head and shout, "Got lost! Fleur and Krum are coming now!"
Soon after they all noticed the merpeople panicking and darting out of the path of a part shark part man swimming towards the group of hostages. Susan shrieked and gasped as they watched the shark's head start, attacking Hermione's bindings. Harry swam forward punched the shark man's shoulder and handed him a rock.
A few more moments of waiting before they watched Harry swim forward, and snatch up the rock Krum had dropped. The mermen surrounded Ron and Gabrielle and Harry shouted at them as he pulled out his wand.
"I just said, 'Get out of the way! You've got until three! One...two," Harry stopped talking when they all scattered and he was able to swim forward to retrieve Gabrielle and Ron.
The memory faded away as they saw the memory Harry pull Gabrielle and Ron with him to the top.
--
After filling the Pensive once again, the trio filed up to the bowl and entered the memory.
There was a quick clip where the four champions were told that Professors McGonagall, Moody, Flitwick, and Hagrid would be patrolling the edge of the maze in case they needed assistance. The next part faded in and they could see the full stands around the maze while Ludo Bagman spoke to the crowd.
"Tied in first place, with eighty-five points each Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter of Hogwarts School! In second place with eighty points. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute! And in third place Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons Academy!"
A whistle sounded and Harry and Cedric entered the maze together.
"See you," Harry said to Cedric. They all followed along with Harry for several minutes until Cedric ran into the scene. Susan and Daphne chuckled at Cedric's description of the Blast-Ended Skrewts before running away again.
Unexpectedly, the memory of Harry turned a corner and was facing a Dementor. He shouted the Patronus charm and then realized that it was not a real Dementor. After casting the Boggart repelling spell he continued onwards.
Soon they watched as he came to a golden mist.
There was a scream from the other side and Harry shouted, "Fleur?" When he stepped into it the world around them turned topsy-turvy.
"Whoa!" Susan shouted. Both the girls screamed and grabbed hold of Harry. Several moments after the world had turned it was back to normal and Harry was on the ground panting.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Daphne asked.
For several minutes they followed Harry through turn after wrong turn. Finally, he found a new path and began to trot along it. Rounding a turn, they all came face to face with a menacing scorpion-like creature. The girls jumped as they had not seen the Skrewt before.
"That...is a Skrewt," Harry said casually.
"IMPEDIMENTA!" shouted Harry, just as the beast halted inches from him. Susan and Daphne let out the breath they had been holding as they watched Harry run in the opposite direction.
"At least, you had SOME sense of self-preservation." Daphne teased.
"What are you doing? What the hell d'you think you are doing?" shouted Cedric in the distance.
"Crucio!" they heard.
They floated along while Harry ran through several paths before he blasted a hole in the maze wall. They saw Krum holding Cedric under the torture curse.
"Stupefy!" Harry shouted. "Are you alright?" he asked as he helped Cedric up off the ground.
Soon enough the two Hogwarts champions went their separate ways. Harry wandered and they all followed him,
"A live sphinx," Susan breathed, her fascination for magical creatures showing.
"Yeah, this part wasn't so scary," Harry said with a small grin.
"You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me," said the sphinx.
"Not unless you can answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess let you pass. Answer wrongly attack. Remain silent will let you walk away from me unscathed."
"Okay, can I hear the riddle?"
They listened to the riddle and then listened to it repeated. They were all silent as they watched Harry loudly try to work through the riddle on his own.
"A creature I wouldn't want to kiss...a spider!"
They watched as the sphinx stepped to the side and allowed Harry to pass with a smile.
The younger Harry ran through the maze with the large group floating along behind him. Suddenly, they all spotted the Tri-Wizard Cup gleaming in the distance at the end of the path they were on.
Just as suddenly, Cedric came into view running full tilt to the cup. They all gasped as a giant figure loomed over the path heading straight for the oblivious Cedric. "Cedric! On your left!"
The battle with the giant spider only lasted several moments. Harry remembered feeling it lasted much longer, but when the two boys shouted "Stupefy!" at the same time he realized that only about thirty seconds had passed.
"You're hurt," Susan said, worriedly.
"Yeah, but this isn't the end yet," Harry said quietly. She gave him an odd look before returning her eyes to the scene playing out in front of her.
"Take it then. Go on, take it. You're there."
"You take it. You should win. That's twice you've saved my neck in here."
The argument went on for several more moments before Cedric physically walked away from the Cup towards Harry.
"Both of us."
"You did not do it this time around. Why is that?" Daphne questioned, her Slytherin side not agreeing with sharing the trophy.
"You will see." Daphne frowned as she watched Harry sigh.
"We'll take it at the same time. It is still a Hogwarts victory. We'll tie for it."
"You-you sure?"
"You're on. Come here."
"On three, right? One-two-three-"
The girls gasped as the two boys disappeared and the memory changed abruptly to that of an old, overgrown graveyard. "Is this the graveyard where you were portkeyed off to?"
"Little Hangleton. The graveyard where Voldemort's father is buried, and where...well, you will see," Harry finished ominously.
"Someone's coming," Memory Harry said.
The trio's attention was quickly drawn to the memory of Harry who cried out in pain as he grasped his forehead and dropped his wand when he fell to his knees. Harry closed his eyes to avoid seeing what he knew was going to happen.
"Kill the spare," they all heard a high, cold, and horribly familiar voice say.
"Avada Kedavra!" was the response and everyone gasped as Cedric's body slumped to the ground. Harry slowly opened his eyes and stared at his old comrade's body, his dull, lifeless eyes staring up at nothing. The previous panic he had been feeling was gone and a sense of finality settled about him. He watched with a steely glare as Pettigrew yanked Harry to his feet and dragged him away to the gravestone.
--
AN
So, that was the chapter.
I was in the mood for another cliffhanger.
--
Next up
The remaining graveyard scene and fifth year.
Take Care
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