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Chapter Text

The maze was growing darker around Cedric as he pushed through towards the centre. Quietly he thanked his insistence on physical training for Quidditch helping him make it this far. His muscles ached, but he could still move fast.

Though not all the ache was from fatigue. Tremors still ran through Cedric from the Cruciatus curse that Krum had used on him. Krum! Viktor Krum, world famous seeker, had used an unforgivable curse on him. The very thought made Cedric feel sick. While he had known Drumstrang had taught the Dark Arts, to be at the wrong end of an Unforgivable was still unexpected. 

He whispered a Point Me charm, and kept running. He needed a left soon, or he was going to have to try to blast his way through the hedge. While Harry had done it to save him from Krum, Cedric was much bigger. He had tried it earlier in the maze, to no effect.

Like a miracle, the left he needed appeared as a gap in the hedge. He ran through it, and increased his pace as he saw the golden light ahead. He was so close! He heard a shout from behind him, and increased speed to the cup.

Suddenly his legs were swept from under him as he collided with something unseen. His wand went flying from his hand, and Cedric hit the ground with a thump. As he looked up, he could see the eyes of a massive Acromantula above him.

Fear thrilled through him as the giant spider’s fangs came towards him. He scrambled towards his wand, but it wasn’t easily in reach and he had no idea where it had fallen. He closed his eyes and waited for the bite.

He heard shouting, and opened his eyes to see spellfire. Cedric rolled to see Harry, youngest of the Champions throwing stunners at the spider. Cedric scrambled then, and by the light of a passing stunner spotted his wand in the grass. He grabbed it as a Banishment Charm passed close to him, and the clearing grew darker.

Cedric had lost sight of Harry, but the next stunner showed that Harry was in the spider’s mouth, high above the clearing. Cedric began throwing stunners upwards, hoping to free Harry.

It worked. Harry fell from the spider’s mouth, and the combined stunners made the Arcomantula collapse into the hedge. Cedric stood on shaky legs, and wobbled over to check on Harry.

Harry had landed hard. His leg was bleeding, and clearly broken. Despite everything, the Gryffindor smiled as Cedric came into view. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Cedric laughed then, a deep belly laugh that ripped through him despite the hours in the maze. Harry chuckled a little in response, wincing as he moved his leg. Cedric’s laugh died as he realised Harry wasn’t going anywhere. If they had been right earlier about Fleur going out, Cedric was the last champion standing. 

“Go on then.” Harry said. “Go grab the Cup, so we can all go home.” Cedric could see that it cost the younger boy something to say. 

Cedric shook his head. “That’s twice you’ve saved my life here. Three times, if you include the dragons. You should be the winner.” The words tasted like dust in his mouth, but Cedric knew they had to be said.

“I got tipped off about the dragons as well.” Harry argued, and Cedric could see fatigue on his face. “Just grab the cup, Cedric. I’m a sitting duck when that spider wakes up. I’d rather be somewhere else, thanks.”

Accepting his logic, Cedric turned to the plinth where the Triwizard Cup stood.

Where the Triwizard Cup had stood.

“Fuck” Cedric said simply. He was never really one for swearing, but these circumstances certainly counted towards extreme. He was sure the Triwizard Cup had been right there when he entered the clearing.

“What?” asked Harry, leveraging himself up on his arms. “Hey, where did the Cup go?”

“I don’t know,” said Cedric, his mind already trying to make sense of the puzzle. This was more Cho’s department, really, something for his Ravenclaw girlfriend to work out. He tried to remember what Ludo had said at the start, if there was a trick once they reached the Cup…

“Shit.” Harry said behind him, and Cedric turned to look at him. “My fault. I missed the spider with a Banishment Charm. It must have hit the Cup.”

Dimly Cedric realised the same. The light from the Cup had faded after the spell, so the cup must have been banished over the hedge into the maze.

“Accio!” he called, hoping he could bring the cup back. His charm worked, but he couldn’t see the light of the cup. Maybe it was warded against Summoning Charms.  “The Cup must be somewhere in the maze.”

“Fuck that.” said Harry. “Vermillious!” Red sparks shot from Harry’s wand into the air. Cedric wanted to protest, but he knew he couldn’t carry Harry around the maze to find the missing Cup. Better to ask whoever came in if they still had to find the Cup.

The hedges parted, and Professor Flitwick and Professor Hagrid walked into the centre of the maze. “Hello boys.” the diminutive Professor said. “What’s going on?” 

“I met up with one of your friends, Hagrid.” Harry said with a small smile. He gestured weakly to the Acromantula. “We Stunned it, but I think we’ve lost the Cup.”

“Oh dear.” Flitwick said. “We’d better go see what the judges want to do.”

“Careful with Harry’s leg.” Cedric said, as the large bearded man went to pick Harry up. “I’m pretty sure it’s broken.” 

Flitwick waved his wand, and Harry’s leg was quickly strapped to a conjured brace. Harry nodded in thanks, looking almost comfortable as Hagrid’s gentle hands picked him up as if he was a baby.

Cedric kept his wand out as he followed the other three out of the maze. He had no idea what the judges would decide to do.

Honset the Sphinx was good at waiting. She usually spent long years guarding whatever tombs she could, making up riddles to amuse herself. But even long years could pass between riddles, and even sphinxes could get bored. So when a group of wizards offered her a holiday of sorts to a distant land, she agreed without much persuading. She had to learn a new language, and make up new riddles in it, but she thought it worth the effort.

The one sticking point had been that she wasn’t allowed to kill anyone who failed the riddles. She’d argued against it, citing ancient lore and tradition, but the wizards had held firm. She was allowed to attack them, yes. Injure them, certainly. But kill them, no. She’d only relented upon hearing that they were testing cubs. No one wanted to kill cubs.

She had had two cubs to challenge this night. The first one had listened to her riddle, bowed then walked away. She respected his choice, and let him leave in peace. No doubt he would tell his cubs in turn how to respect her kind.

The second, smaller one had been bolder, or perhaps more desperate. She had watched him with amusement as he asked for the riddle repeatedly, and puzzled out the meaning. While the riddle she gave him hadn’t been one of her best, she followed the ancient ways and allowed him to pass.

Darkness had fallen, and true night had begun when a shining object bounced over the hedges towards her. Some sort of drinking vessel, she thought. She looked around with care, but there seemed to be no one else around. She padded over to the shining thing, looking at it with interest. Such things were usually valuable, to be guarded with care, and yet this one was just in front of her.

It was treasure, she decided, and should be protected as such. She reached out and gave it a bat with her paw. As soon as her paw came in contact with the treasure, it stuck to her paw insistently. She might have tried to wiggle it off, but felt a jerk inside her as it dragged her away.

Finally Honset and her new treasure were dropped into a dark shadowy graveyard. She looked at the shining treasure with new respect. It had been a century or more since someone had managed to sneak past her in such a manner. She hadn’t expected such cleverness from cubs. She respected intelligence in all its forms, so she was in no rush to return. Whoever had tricked her deserved to pass.

She was pondering if she could make a new riddle from this circumstance when she spied movement. A figure came shuffling into view, holding a bundle in rags. It smelled rank, as if it had not bathed in some time. Whatever the bundle was, it smelled worse, as if it were carrion. Human like her face might be, but she had many senses of feline nature.

After a moment's pondering, she decided she still had to fulfill her duty. This new human was a challenger, and she was to set him a riddle. If he answered correctly, she might allow him to take the shining thing as a reward.

“There are two sisters, one gives birth to the other, who in turn gives birth to the first.”

A simple enough challenge, and one she had given before. But these humans had such short memories that she could reuse riddles every few centuries and they wouldn’t know. 

The shambling figure stopped and looked up at her. “What?”

She smiled at the human. “Answer my riddle, wizardling, and I will allow you to take my new treasure. Walk away, and I will let you be. Answer wrongly, and I attack.”

The figure glanced past her at the shining thing, and seemed to recognise it. Good. He knew its value, then. He looked back at her and looked upon her with awe. Even better.

“Is the boy with you?” The challenger asked, trembling. Honset could smell its fear. Good. This one knew respect for her kind.

The sphinx smiled at the figure. “You must answer my riddle, first.”

“Kill it.” Hissed the bundle of rags. The smell of carrion got stronger as it waved a tiny arm. 

Honset yowled. She struck out with her paw, knocking the carrion thing from the other’s hands. Whatever it was, it was a threat. As soon as she touched it, she could feel the dark magic imbued in it. 

Without hesitation, she smashed it on the ground and squashed it under her paw. It was foul, and terrible, but Honset felt the moment the creature died. She looked at her gore spattered paw, trying to think of a way to clean it. She did not want to taste what was left.

The challenger had disappeared. Honset could see the small shape of a rodent disappearing among the graves. She had to fight the urge to chase it. She needed to protect the treasure. She moved over to the grass to wipe her paw clean.

From out of the grass came a snake. It moved nearly silently, and struck quickly. Honest felt the fire of the venom as the snake sank its fangs into her shoulder. She struck back, knocking the snake away into the grass.

Most snakes, she knew, would have slunk away to wait and see if she died. Not this one. It slithered over to her and struck again, managing a couple of wounds on her chest.

But she had been watching it this time, and was better prepared. A paw came down and she felt the crunch of bones as she pinned the snake. It wasn’t close enough to the head, however, so the snake still struck her a few more times before she was able to use her other paw to pin the head. A quick thrust and the serpent was dead.

But it was too late. The snake had struck true, and Honset could feel the venom burning through her veins. She sighed, but there was no one around to ask for help. The graveyard was deserted. 

This definitely wasn’t the holiday she expected.

Cedric followed the professor out of the maze. As soon as he cleared the last hedge, he was hit by a wall of noise. Despite the fall of night, no one seemed to have left the stands. People were shouting questions, but Cedric ignored them, following Professor Flitwick to the stage. 

“Hello boys!” said Bagman enthusiastically. “So who made it to the center first? And where’s the Cup?”

Cedric took one look at Harry, bleeding, exhausted and in pain and thought he’d better do the explaining. “We both made it to the centre at the same time. We fought a Acromantula there, and in the scuffle we sent the Cup to somewhere else in the maze. Considering that Harry saved my life, I’m happy to concede.”

“Don’t listen to the noble git. I sent up the red sparks, I wasn’t even supposed to be in the tournament in the first place.” The rush of words spilled out of Harry. “Cedric is a deserving winner.”

Ludo looked at them both uncertainly. “I think the judges might need to confer on this one.” With that, Bagman joined the other Heads and Fudge in a discussion. Dumbledore created a privacy charm around them, so no one else could hear what they were saying.

“Did Fleur and Krum make it out all right?” Harry said quietly to Flitwick. He nodded. “The other two champions are in the hospital tent. They are fine.” He looked a little nervous. “They seem to have both been Stunned.”

Harry looked at Cedric, and Cedric knew he was trying to work out what to say about Krum. Cedric nodded slowly. “I’m just glad they weren’t eaten.” Cedric said carefully. They could possibly wait to talk to Dumbledore about Krum using the Cruciactus curse.

The privacy bubble came down, and Bagman looked a little pale. He lifted his wand to his throat. “By a majority vote of the judges, we declare Cedric Diggory the Triwizard Champion! Congratulations Cedric!” Behind him, the other four judges were clapping, though none appeared enthusiastic about it. “We will have a presentation ceremony for him tomorrow, after the boys have had a chance to get some rest.”

A protest formed on Cedric’s lips. It was lost in the raucous cheers of the crowd, particularly the Hufflepuffs. A wave of fatigue swept over him, and Cedric wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep. He looked over at Harry, who had succumbed to the same fatigue and fallen asleep in Hagrid’s arms. A small puddle of blood had formed under Harry, and Cedric cursed himself. He hadn’t realised Harry was still bleeding.

“Hagrid!” Cedric said, stepping closer to him. “Take him to Pomfrey! He’s bleeding!”

Hagrid turned and strode off the stage, heading for the tent. Cedric hurried along beside him, taking three steps for every one of Hagrid’s.

Professor Moody was waiting at the tent door. “I’ll take him, Hagrid. Poppy is expecting him.” With a wave of his wand, Harry was lifted from Hagrid’s arms and floated into the tent. Cedric followed anxiously.

Inside, Cedric saw Fleur awake, with her family around her. Krum was still out on a bed of his own, with Pomfrey making notes on a piece of parchment. She turned and spotted Harry and Cedric.

“How bad is it?” She demanded, marching across as Moody lowered Harry onto a bed. 

“Acromantula” Moody said gruffly. To Cedric’s surprise Moody pulled a knife from somewhere and nicked Harry’s injured leg. He collected some blood in a vial, then cast a spell at it. “No venom, just bleeding.” The vial in his hand disappeared. Moody seemed almost disappointed by the result. He turned and walked out of the tent, his wooden leg thumping the ground.

Cedric found a bed of his own as he watched Pomfrey work on Harry. She muttered as she worked, and Cedric caught a few references to dangerous creatures, idiotic teens and brain dead Ministry officials. Potions flowed around her, and she gently tipped a Blood replenishing potion down his throat, careful not to let him choke.

At last she left Harry on his bed and came over to Cedric. “So, Mister Diggory, what are the issues you have for me?” Pomfrey said, already using her wand to take diagnostics. A red light lit her reading, and Pomfrey looked at it closely. “Mister Diggory, I have not seen a reading like this since the end of the war.” She peered at him intently. “Who used the Cruciatus curse on you, Cedric?”

“Viktor Krum”, Cedric said carefully and quietly, not wanting his voice to reach the other occupants of the tent. “Harry saved me. We were shocked, both of us. He didn’t seem the type.”

“There might be a reason for that.” Poppy said. “I think young Mister Krum was the victim of the Imperius Curse.”

Cedric stared at her in shock. “Who on Earth is using all these Unforgivable Curses? All we need is Harry to catch another Killing Curse, and we’ll have the whole set.”

Pomfrey stared at him, eyes hard. “Do not ever make such a joke, Mr Diggory. With Mr Potter’s luck, it will happen sooner or later.”

Suitably chastised, Cedric went quiet as the matron did her work. “Aside from the Cruciatus exposure, there were only minor injuries. I’ve healed most of them, but I’ll give you a Dreamless Sleep draught to take tonight. Do try to get plenty of rest. If you have any issues, come find me. Check in with me tomorrow regardless.”

“Is Harry going to be alright? And Krum?” Cedric asked. 

“Professor Moody has gone for the Aurors, hopefully they will help get to the bottom of this. I imagine they will want to interview you as well. But Krum and Potter will recover. I’ve had to vanish Potter’s leg bones, but he will be fine in time.” Pomfrey told him. “You can go, Cedric.”

Cedric, still shaking a little, left the tent. Almost immediately, he was surrounded by his parents, classmates and Cho. His father embraced him heartily, congratulating him for beating the cheating bastard. His mother swept him up before he could get an explanation. Cho gave him a passionate kiss, which had his friends whistling. He accepted congratulations from everyone. 

But mostly he just felt numb.

Barty Crouch Junior was quietly fuming. Months of work, wasted. He had watched the maze with his borrowed magical eye, trying to get Potter to the portkey. He had disabled traps, vanished creatures and taken out Krum and Fleur. 

But it hadn’t been enough. The Diggory boy had avoided him by chance, and made it to the Cup at the same time. If only Potter had been selfish enough to grab the Cup! But no, the noble idiot had tried to fight a bloody Acromantula! 

And caused the current crisis. The Sphinx had picked up the Cup, and was now in Little Hangleton! It was enough to make Barty scream, really. But Moody wouldn’t be screaming, so he must forgo the satisfaction.

The thunk from his wooden leg made a distinct sound as he approached the Hogwarts gate. It slowed him down, but he could hardly drop his disguise now. Fortunately Hagrid was busy with the Tournament, or else getting drunk. He passed through the gate and immediately apparated to the graveyard.

He had his wand out as he landed, but only silence greeted him. The large sphinx was motionless, and scanning with his magical eye revealed why. Nagini, his lords familiar, was crushed beneath her paws. But Nagini had killed the sphinx as well, as evidenced by the numerous puncture marks on the chest of the beast.

“Pettigrew?” He called to the darkness. “Master!”

A flicker of motion, and then Pettigrew stood near the corpses, changing from his rat form. “What the hell, Barty?” Shouted Peter. “What the hell went wrong? Where is Potter?”

“He fought a bloody Acromantula, Wormtail,” growled Barty. “Broke his bloody leg saving the idiot Hufflepuff. Where’s our Lord?”

“The sphinx squashed him.” Pettigrew said with resignation. “We have failed.”

For a long moment, Barty considered killing Pettigrew in response. Surely that was an appropriate reaction to the news that the long, carefully crafted plan had failed at the end. 

Pettigrew’s life was saved by the distinctive pop of Apparition. Since he wasn’t sure how much longer his Polyjuice disguise would last, he tapped himself on the head with his wand, feeling the disillusionment charm take effect. Pettigrew shifted back into a rat and scurried off into the graveyard.

“Department of Magical Law Enforcement! Do not move!” Came a shout.

Barty stayed still. It would be like Moody to test any Auror  he came across, since he had likely been the training officer for them. As he stood still, four people walked into view. Two were wearing the red robes of Aurors, while the others wore plain Ministry robes.

“Likely already absconded, Callie.” Said a wizard in a red robe. “I told you that it was a waste of time.”

The Ministry witch Callie said nothing, but lit her wand some more. It easily picked out the corpse of the sphinx. Callie turned to the first wizard. “Lachlan, if you call that beast a waste of time, I’ll eat my hat. A sphinx, of all things. I thought it would be the dragon smugglers again. Looks like it lost a battle against that snake.”

Lachlan the Auror turned to his red robed companion. “Nina, take Joe and scout for clues. Anything that looks magic, or might be admitted as evidence we’ll take back to headquarters. Let’s see who we’re dealing with.”

With the other two walking off towards the gate to Little Hangleton, Barty felt he could breathe a sigh of relief. Lachlan, whoever he was, was an idiot. The first thing an experienced Auror should have done was cast the human revealing spell, which probably would have picked him up. Instead, Lachlan seemed more interested in arguing with the witch from the Portkey Office.

“You want to drag me out here, then deny me jurisdiction, Callie. That’s not the way we work. Do I have to take it to your boss?” Lachlan argued, none too quietly.

Callie lit her wand, and quickly found the stone cauldron. “Lachlan, you bloody numbskull, look at this! Was this supposed to feed the sphinx?” 

With the Ministry foursome distracted, Barty carefully stepped across to the dead sphinx. With a wordless wave of his wand, he Vanished the remains of his master. It felt disrespectful, but Barty was sure that the Dark Lord would understand. The less the Ministry understood about what had happened tonight, the better. Since the Aurors had already seen the snake, it must be left in place.

Lachlan and Callie had started arguing again, and Barty thought it was a suitable distraction to try and make an escape. Carefully, he started picking his way up towards the house on the hill. Since his master had been using it as a base, it would make a suitable location to regroup and make plans.

A tremor ran through Barty, and he felt the eye pop out of his face. Shit. He’d not wanted to risk getting caught brewing more polyjuice, so he’d been rationing what little he had to make it to the end of the task. He clamped his mouth tightly shut as his body writhed, returning to its usual form. Moody’s wooden leg thunked onto the ground, but Barty was able to catch himself before ending up on the ground.

Unfortunately, the wooden leg attracted attention from the arguing pair. “What’s that?” Lachlan said, practically dragging Callie over to investigate the now visible leg and eye. Barty made the only choice he could, spinning on one heel and Disapparating. 

He smiled though. He was sure he had left quite the riddle behind for everyone to solve.

Cedric stood in the midst of a group of friends on the steps of Hogwarts. He had said his farewells to Krum and Fleur, and both had congratulated him on winning the Tournament. He stood back, letting everyone else see off the other schools.

He had officially been given the Triwizard Cup, after a team from the Ministry had brought it back from some little town in Yorkshire. Strangely enough, the Sphinx had been sent with it, only for it to be killed by a snake. He had been presented with his thousand Galleon prize, and promptly asked his father to put it in Gringotts. He would be responsible with his prize money.

Fudge had been the one to present the prize, after Ludo Bagman had vanished after the Third Task. He wasn’t the only one, as Alastor Moody hadn’t reappeared after he left Harry and Cedric at the hospital tent. Considering Barty Crouch was still missing, the judges were looking a bit thin.

Dumbledore had presented Hufflepuff with the House Cup, in a coincidence that had raised a few eyebrows. Cedric had asked Sprout about it afterwards, but she just shrugged and told Cedric to accept it. It had been over ten years since Hufflepuff had taken the House Cup, so she’d been happy about it.

He’d planned to ask Dumbledore, but as soon as the presentation was done, Dumbledore had departed Hogwarts for the continent. The Balkans had erupted into war, and the Supreme Mugwump was needed to negotiate between several different Ministries to prevent magic being used in the Muggle war. McGonagall had admitted that they would be lucky to get Dumbledore back by September.

The departure of Dumbledore had also caused chaos to the departing schools, with both Drumstrang and Beauxbatons waiting to receive confirmation that it was safe to travel before departing. So they were getting ready to leave at the same time as the students of Hogwarts.

Everyone had watched the seventh years depart across the lake in their graduation ceremony, which Cedric hoped to do next year. Most of the remaining Hogwarts students boarded the carriages. Only a small group remained to see off the other schools. 

Harry was in the thick of it. Fleur Delacour was talking to him animatedly, while most of the other French students were trying to nudge her in the direction of their carriage. Ron stood next to Harry with a vacant look on his face. Eventually Madame Maxine placed one overly large hand on her champions shoulder, and Fleur finally headed for the carriage

The departure of Drumstrang looked to be going about the same. Krum and Hermione were having an intense discussion, with a few of the Drumstrang students hanging around Krum. Cedric felt a moment of concern, as Hermione seemed to be getting agitated. She shouted something at Krum that was stolen by the wind.

Cedric’s fingers found his wand unconsciously, but Hermione was faster. Her right fist came up and met Krum’s hooked nose with a sickening crack. Krum stumbled backwards, and Hermione turned and fled, finding safety with Harry and Ron. Harry enveloped her in an awkward hug as she sobbed into his shirt, while Ron glared at Krum.

Krum regained his balance, and the remaining Durmstrang students fell in with him as they marched off to their ship, his nose streaming blood. Cedric was no expert, but it looked broken. Krum didn’t seem to care.

“That’s only going to fuel the rumours of a love triangle.” murmured Cho as she watched the scene from beside him. Cedric could only shrug, he hadn’t believed the Prophet for months. Still, he wondered what Krum had said to set Hermione off. She was usually a lot more stable than that.

With the visiting schools departed, the remaining students boarded the last few carriages. The three Gryffindors claimed a carriage, and Cedric chose to stand rather than invade the privacy of a distraught Hermione. They would be sitting for the train ride home after all. 

The whole of the carriage ride was his friends speculating on exactly what Krum had said to Hermione to earn him a broken nose. Most agreed it was some form of break up speech, which devolved into speculation of exactly how far Krum and Hermione had gone in their relationship. Cedric’s only observation had been that Krum had prepared his friends, so whatever he had said had been planned.

The surprises for the day didn’t end there. They were met at Hogsmeade Station by three people from the Ministry: two Aurors and a woman Cedric recognised as Dolorus Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary for the Minister of Magic. Cedric looked at the trio with a sinking feeling. His father had much to say about Dolorus Umbridge, but none of it was good.

“Hem hem.” Umbridge began. “Mister Potter, we have come to take you in for questioning about the events of the Third Task. Please surrender your wand.”

Harry had hopped out of the carriage ahead of Cedric, and stood frozen at her pronouncement. Hermione clung to his right hand, and Ron stood at his left side. None of the three made any moves to surrender anything.

Cedric came up behind them and put his hand on Harry’s shoulder in a sign of support. “Finally investigating, are you? A bit late, since the other schools have just left.”

Cedric could feel his friends fall in around him. He knew they wouldn’t have stood up for Harry by themselves, but they were willing to stand by him. It shouldn’t have made a difference, but it did.

Umbridge’s beady eyes narrowed, and she glared at Cedric. “Are you questioning the Ministry, Mister Diggory?” Behind her, the Aurors tensed, reaching for their wands.

Cedric made his eyes innocently wide. “I’m simply surprised that the investigation has taken this long to question us.” He ran through his options, but none of them looked good. At least once they reached the Ministry, Umbridge would be obligated to summon his father. “Harry and I will happily accompany you.” To match his words, he took out his wand and offered it to Umbridge.

“You misunderstand me, Mr Diggory. My interview is with Potter, alone.” Umbridge gave them a small smile, her eyes locked onto Harry. There was something predatory and unsettling in her gaze. “You are not required.”

For a moment Cedric considered insisting on going anyway, but he knew he had no reason to. He wasn’t Harry’s guardian, not a teacher, not a member of the Ministry. Despite his misgivings over Umbridge, the Aurors had to follow the law, at least.

He nodded to Harry. “Give them your wand. Go with them, tell them what they want to know. Send me a letter when you’re done.” A thought struck him, and he grinned despite the seriousness of the situation. “I’ll look after Hermione for you.”

Both Harry and Hermione blushed at the statement. Hopefully whatever Krum had done wouldn’t dissuade the two of them from their own relationship, if they were the only two left in the love triangle.  Accepting Cedric’s advice, Harry took out his wand and offered it to Umbridge, who took it for herself.

Things proceeded quickly from there. Umbridge had a chipped plate that was a Portkey, so the four of them touched the plate and vanished off to the Ministry. Cedric and his friends rushed to the train with their baggage, quickly loading it onto the racks. There was some minor confusion because of the extra trunk that was Harry’s, but a quick word from Cedric had them hauling it onto the Express. Hopefully Harry would meet them at the other end.

Two compartments next to each other were empty, so the two Gryffindors took one and Cedric’s group took the other. Cedric gave his friends an acknowledgement before he followed Harry’s friends, carrying Harry’s trunk.

Two worried faces looked up at him.

“I'm sure Harry will be alright.” Cedric told the younger students carefully. Talking to and comforting the younger students was one of the duties of a prefect, after all.

But in his heart, Cedric was worried. The appearance of the Aurors had him feeling nervous, and he couldn’t remember ever any student being pulled off the Express before. He knew Harry lived with Muggles, so it made sense to talk to Harry before he made it home. He left Ron and Hermione talking, and joined Kenneth Towler in a patrol. 

Cedric spent the rest of the train trip patrolling, accepting congratulations from people, and catching up with housemates. Cho and her friends were anxious about their OWL results, so Cedric spent some time reassuring them about their chances.

The train had pulled into King’s Cross before Cedric made it back to his own compartment. After a moment’s consideration, he shrank down Harry’s trunk as well as his own, putting both of them in his pockets. Ron Weasley took Hedwig, with the snowy owl looking disgruntled at not having Harry there. Ron promised to let him know when he heard from Harry.

His mother had come to greet him, and Cedric took her hand and Apparated home. While he had his license, having his mother there to help apparate home for the first time was appreciated.

It was after dinner that his father came home, looking grim. “Potter has been arrested, Cedric. There’s no need to worry anymore.”

“Arrested?” exclaimed Cedric. “On what charge?”

“Using the Imperius Curse on Victor Krum.” Amos said. “I knew he was shifty from the moment I met him last summer, it’s something you’ll need to work on as you get older. Not everyone is from Hufflepuff, you know.”

Cedric looked at his father, aghast. He’d known his father held a grudge against Harry for stealing Cedric’s thunder. It was still upsetting to hear him celebrating his ‘rivals’ downfall.

Cedric stormed upstairs. Hopefully he had a chance to help clear it all up before too long. He set Harry’s shrunken trunk next to the Cup to remind him.

Chapter Text

Two weeks later, he was still waiting for answers. After two shouted arguments between him and his father, Amos had flatly refused to discuss the matter any more. His mother had been more supportive, but still skeptical of Harry’s innocence. Two owls he had sent to the Ministry had returned with no reply. Another one sent to Harry directly had returned with the letter intact. Cedric wavered between anxiety over what was happening to Harry, and the guilt that he’d been the one to persuade him to give up his wand. He’d even written to Hermione once, but there had been no reply.

While he waited, Cedric compiled a list of questions about Harry and the Tournament. It was almost therapeutic in a way, to put quill to parchment and write his unanswered questions down.

Questions to be answered:

How did Harry’s name end up in the Goblet of Fire?
Why did Ludo Bagman disappear?
Why did Barty Crouch disappear?
Why did Alastor Moody disappear?
How did Harry learn about the dragons?
How did the Triwizard Cup end up in Yorkshire?
What happened to the Sphinx?
Why were the judges so eager to award me the Triwizard? 
Why did Harry ask Cho to the Yule Ball?
Why did Harry save Gabrielle?
Who Stunned Fleur?
Who put Victor under the Imperius and why?
Where is Harry?

Cedric looked at his list and sighed. The more he thought about the previous year, the more questions he had. The Triwizard Cup looked nice in his bedroom, but it definitely wasn’t worth all of this. The thousand galleons were nice too, and he was already working out how best to use them in the future.

If he could get past the guilt of winning the Tournament.

The Floo roared, and Cedric perked up at the mention of his name. His father was at work, and his mother had gone out to visit friends, which left him home alone. 

And he recognised the voice calling him.

“Cho!” He said, racing to the kitchen to see his girlfriend’s head bobbing in the green flames. She smiled widely at him, as if she’d just won her own tournament.

“Seven Outstandings, Cedric. E’s in Defence, History and Astronomy.”

Cedric smiled broadly at his girlfriend, “That’s great!” He smiled a little wider. “Do you want to come over? My parents are out for a bit.”

“Sure. But I have to be back in time for dinner.” Cho took his hand and came through the Floo. Once through, Cedric took Cho on a quick tour of the house, ending up in his bedroom. Once there, he and Cho took the chance for some decent time together.

His mother’s return ensured that he and Cho didn’t go too far, and once she was no longer distracted, Cho quickly found the questions Cedric had written out. 

“You know, you could probably answer a lot of these questions if you could just talk to Harry.” Cho said.

Cedric shook his head. “I’ve tried. No one knows where he is, or is willing to admit to it. For all I know, they’ve expelled him and he’s gone to live with Muggles.” A thought struck him. “But maybe we can ask the Weasleys. They live nearby, and we can get lunch as we pass through the village.”

Conscious of the idea that he had to return Cho on time for dinner, Cedric shrank his broom and put it in his pocket. He and Cho told his plans to his mother, and set off to the Weasleys. 

After a brief lunch in the village, Cedric and Cho approached the Burrow. The couple spotted two people on brooms behind the house, and waved. The two quickly flew down to meet them, becoming recognisable as the Weasley twins.

“Oh mighty Champion,” began Fred

“Hero of Hufflepuff,” continued George

“Defender of Great Britain”

“etcetera, etcetera”

“What brings you to our humble house today?” 

Cho looked at Cedric, and Cedric pulled out his parchment. “Nothing this year has made any sense. I was making a list of questions, and I thought I’d see if you could help me answer them.”

The twins looked at each other, then looked back at Cedric. “You don’t think Harry cursed you.” said Fred

Cedric shook his head. “I think I’d have trouble pulling it off. Harry’s almost three years younger and hasn’t sat his OWLs yet. And it doesn’t make sense that he’d curse Victor, then save me twice over.”

“Good.” George said. “This is not a happy house at the moment. That Senior Undersecretary woman came by and threatened to fire Dad if Mum sent any more Howlers to the Minister.”

Cedric felt shocked. “She sent Howlers to the Minister?”

Fred looked nauseated. “They sent Harry to Azkaban, Cedric. Mum marched into the Minister’s office to demand answers. Once she was escorted out, she resorted to Howlers.”

Cedric felt horrified. He’d known that using an Unforgivable was a life sentence, but he’d thought there’d be a public trial. “How? How do you know that?”

“One of the Aurors escorting him there let Dad know. Kingsley Shacklebolt, good guy. Other than that, there’s been nothing said publicly.” George said quietly.

“On the bright side, Mum has stopped suggesting that Gred and I find nice Ministry jobs.” Fred said with a fake smile.

Cedric looked at Cho, and even she was looking pale at the thought of Harry in Azkaban. He was only fourteen! Cedric wanted to scream, but he knew it wouldn’t do any good. 

Fred and George led them to a few scattered chairs at the side of the house, and Cedric took the chance to Transfigure one into a loveseat. Cho cuddled into him, and Cedric handed his list over and wrapped his arms around Cho. For a moment he wondered if they were all wrong, if Harry had used the Imperius Curse. But too many other things didn’t make sense. 

“We can answer a couple of questions, we think.” Fred said. Any hint of the twins usual mirth was gone, Cedric had never seen them look so serious.

“Bagman.” spat George. “He’s run, Cedric. He is deeply in debt to the goblins, and tried to get out of it by betting on Harry to win the TriWiz.” 

Cedric thought back to Bagman, how he had been extra friendly to Harry. At the time, he’d thought he was a fan of the Boy Who Lived, or he felt sorry for the young boy and wanted to level the playing field. But George’s statement made sense. Every smart wizard knew not to get in debt to the goblins, they had lots of ways of getting their gold back.

“How do you know that?” Cho asked, tucked in against Cedric’s side.

“He owes us money, from when we bet on the World Cup match last summer.” Fred grumbled. “He’s tried everything to avoid actually paying us. Since he’s gone, we’re out hundreds of potential galleons.”

“We’re not the only ones,” George added. “Lee Jordan’s dad couldn’t get gold off him either. Even Dad’s lost a Galleon. The goblins took everything he had, and it wasn’t enough.”

“I fancy the next time we see him, he’ll be mounted outside Gringotts.” Fred speculated. “His head, anyway.”

Cedric couldn’t argue with that. The fierce, proud goblins were very strict about money owed. Many children’s stories were about the dangers of reneging on a debt to them, or crossing them somehow. All wizardkind learned one thing about going into debt to the goblins: don’t.

“He probably would have voted for Harry to win then.” Cho mused. “It means Cedric had at least three of the other four votes.”

With a start, Cedric realised she was helping answer another question on his list. This visit was getting somewhere. “I wonder why they voted for me. Karkoff didn’t seem inclined to support anyone but Krum.”

Fred and George looked at each other. “Probably the age thing.” George said finally. “Bit embarrassing to have their Champions beaten by a fourth year, really.”

“With Rita’s article about Harry on the day of the task, Fudge probably saw the chance to deny Harry the win.” Fred added “You’re more photogenic than the scrawny, speckly git.”

“Why does he always dress like that?” Cho asked. “He dresses worse than the famously poor Weasleys. I thought he might have entered the tournament for the money.”

The twins looked uncomfortable. Cho was a nice girl, but she tended to speak without thinking a bit. Cedric gave her a nudge, to let her know her question had been a little impolite.

But George answered anyway. “He’s not poor. Harry, I mean. We saw the inside of his Gringotts vault a couple of years ago. More gold than I’d ever dreamed of.”

“He didn’t enter himself.” Fred said quietly. “We all thought so too at the start. Somehow, Harry had outsmarted the Goblet where we had failed. It fits with the other things he’s accomplished. But there’s no way he’d manage it by himself. I could see him, Ron and Hermione working together might have a chance. But Ron thought Harry had entered by himself, and Hermione would never break the rules like that.”

“Makes sense, when you think about it.” George chimed in. “Triwizard Champion gets gold and eternal fame. But Harry has lots of gold, and is already famous. Of everyone in Hogwarts, he’d be the last one to put his name in.”

Cedric caught the quiet change of subject from the twins. For some reason, they were reluctant to discuss why Harry was dressed the way he was. He considered pressing the issue, but they had other questions to ask. He pulled the list back to himself, to see if they had any other ones the twins might be able to answer.

But they were interrupted. “FRED, GEORGE WHERE, Oh, there you are boys.” Mrs Weasley said as she came around the corner behind Cedric. “You didn’t say we had guests, boys!”

Cedric half turned and gave Mrs Weasley a small wave. Her eyes went wide in recognition, then narrowed in suspicion. “Hi Mrs Weasley. This is my girlfriend Cho Chang, from Ravenclaw. We were just out for a walk...”

“He believes Harry.” Fred cut in. “They wanted to try and find some answers to the questions from the tournament.”

This changed Mrs Weasley’s demeanour completely. Her face offered up a soft smile that almost reached her eyes. “Well, don’t sit out here. Come on in. It’s too hot out here.”

Agreeing with her on the summer heat, Cedric followed Mrs Weasley into the Burrow. He was quite surprised to have a cold butterbeer pressed into his hands when he did so, and offered up his quiet thanks. Sitting at the large kitchen table, he pushed his list towards his host, waiting to see what she would say. 

Her lips pursed, and she glanced down the list. The twins had made a couple of notes on the questions they had tried to answer. He could see the disapproval over the Bagman question, but her chin began to wobble over the last word one of the twins had written on the paper - Azkaban

“I’d hoped Percy might know what happened to Barty Crouch, at least.” Cedric said, trying to distract Mrs Weasley from Harry’s fate. As Crouch’s assistant, Percy was probably the best placed to know if they’d ever found Barty Crouch

Mrs Weasley seemed to ignore the remark. “I’ll go and get Ron and Ginny, shall I?” And left the room and started climbing the stairs.

“Don’t mention Percy.” George said quietly “He believes the ministry. He got into a big fight with Mum and Dad about it.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t hear the shouting from your place.” Fred added. “I don’t think we’ve managed to get that volume from them.”

“I mean, Mum yells at the drop of a hat.” George said. “But to hear Dad yelling…Ginny was practically hiding under our beds.”

“We were all under your beds.” Ginny said, as she came down the steps. “Don’t say that your little sister was the only one hiding.”

Fred perked up as Ginny entered the room “Little sister! Cedric has asked for our help solving a puzzle for Harrykins” Fred took the list and passed it over to her.

Ginny looked through the list. Cedric could see she was emotional, but whether it was about any particular questions, or the situation in general he couldn’t say. The room was silent when Mrs Weasley returned with Ron.

Ginny went to Ron and indicated something on the sheet. With a glance around at the rest of the room, her eyes settled on Cho. “Cho, can you come with me? We might want to write Hermione as well. I have her address in my room.”

Cho frowned up at Cedric, but Cedric nodded. There was something they either wanted to tell him or Cho alone. He didn’t think he had anything to fear from the Weasleys, he’d known them for years.

As the girls disappeared upstairs, Ron sat down across from Cedric. “Harry had a bit of a crush on Cho. I don’t think he knew you two were dating when he asked her to the Ball.”

Cedric frowned. “He didn’t know? We’ve been dating since the start of October. How did he miss that?” It had been a big source of gossip since their first Hogsmeade weekend. He knew the Hufflepuffs had talked about it, and that the Ravenclaws had talked about it with Cho a lot.

Ron shrugged “I didn’t know, and I don’t think Hermione knew either. Harry doesn’t go in for gossip much.”

That made a certain amount of sense, Cedric realised. Harry had been on the wrong end of the gossiping castle multiple times. He wouldn’t be actively seeking out information on who was dating who. And Harry and his two best friends were in Gryffindor, who weren’t so invested in his and Cho’s relationship. Without Quidditch, there hadn’t been as much banter between the Houses as usual. 

“That means the hostages in the second task were Harry’s two best friends, the girl he had a crush on, and an innocent looking little girl.” George said quietly. “You probably couldn’t pick a worse combination for Harry if you tried.”

“Someone tried.” Fred said darkly. “Harry was the last to come back, remember? He would have gotten zero, if they hadn’t agreed that he had moral fibre.”

More sabotage, Cedric thought as he simply struck the question about Cho off the list. Did he only win this thing because no one bothered to sabotage him? 

His hand shook with remembered pain for a moment. Sabotage him enough, he should have remembered. 

The sounds of footfalls on stairs signalled the return of the girls. Ginny and Cho swept into the room, parchment in hand. “What questions do we need to ask Hermione?” Ginny said brightly, if a little too loudly.

Cedric looked around the room. The Welseys were invested, he realised. Harry meant a lot to each of them, and Cedric had given them purpose again. They still weren’t a happy house, but they were focused on helping Harry.

“We’re coming up with new questions, here.” Cedric admitted. “How did you end up in the lake as Harry’s hostage, Ron?”

Ron fidgeted as he answered. “Hermione and I got called to McGonagall’s office the night before the second task. Once there, we got marched up to the Headmaster’s office, where he explained that we would be hostages for the task. Dumbledore gave us a potion, said we would be in an enchanted sleep until we broke the surface of the water.” Ron shrugged. “I felt bad, because Harry didn’t know about hostages. Hell, he didn’t even know how to breathe underwater when I left him.”

Cho had slipped next to Cedric. “Harry was still working out how to breathe underwater the night before?” She asked

Cedric looked at Ron “How did he work it out in a matter of hours? And where did he get the Gillyweed from? I thought he must have bought it in Hogsmeade.”

Ron cracked a smile. “One of the house elves that works at Hogwarts used to belong to the Malfoys. Harry freed him a couple of years ago. Dobby stole the Gillyweed from Snape’s stores for Harry to use.”

The twins burst out laughing, and even Mrs Weasley smiled briefly. For a moment, everyone enjoyed the joke, had a laugh, and forgot why they were there.

Forgot that Harry was in Azkaban. 

The laughter, however brief, was a warm respite to a gloomy talk.

Cedric felt anxious to be out in the Muggle world. His mother and father had carefully made sure that he knew how to live and pass as a Muggle growing up. He knew how the currency worked, how to navigate the Tube in London, how to dress for every occasion. It had been crucial to his success in getting an O in Muggle Studies.

That didn’t mean he liked it. 

He could have simply taken the Knight Bus, but his father had always insisted that it was only for emergencies. And with a new fan following after his success in the Triwizard, taking the Knight Bus might have attracted more attention than he was willing to get.

He double checked the address on the envelope as he walked up to the door. It felt strange to call upon a girl he hardly knew, but the lack of response from owls had the Wesleys worried. Since he was seventeen, and couldn’t study due to his distractions from the previous year, he may as well make use of his time.

He knocked upon the door, feeling sweaty. It was a hot summer, everyone was sweaty, so he would have to forgo the cooling charms until he was safely back at the Leaky.

The door was opened by an older woman. Aside from a few of the wrinkles, she looked very much like the girl he had some to see. Cedric offered his hand. “Mrs Granger, I presume? My name is Cedric.”

The woman took his hand gently and shook it. “Cedric, is it? Not a common name. Scott accidentally created it by misspelling Cerdic in Ivanhoe.”

Cedric smiled. It wasn’t a particularly warm greeting, but it was a greeting to be expected from the family of Hermione Granger. “I don’t know if you’ve heard of me, I go to school with your daughter…”

“The Hogwarts Champion, right? I think she mentioned you a couple of times in a letter. Of course, it was a couple of your competitors she mentioned more.” Her face was guarded, and she did not smile. Cedric winced. Whatever Victor had said that earned him a broken nose, it hadn’t earned him any favours from Hermione’s mother.

“That’s kind of why I’m here, actually. There’s a lot of unanswered questions from this year, and I’m asking Hermione to see what she knows. There’s also a couple of things she deserves to know.” He pulled out his carefully prepared letter and handed it to her. “Is Hermione in? I’d like to talk to her.”

Mrs Granger took the letter carefully. “She has barely left her bed. Usually that’s because she’s reading. Now, it’s a struggle to get her dressed in the morning. Other letters are unopened, her homework isn’t done. It’s not like her at all.”

Cedric nodded. He’d been prepared for this. “Give that to her. If she refuses to read it, there’s three words on the back to tell her. I’ll wait.”

Mrs Granger waved him into a sitting room, and left to take the letter to her daughter. Cedric had barely taken a seat when there was a shriek, followed by the sound of running feet. Hermione Granger came out to the sitting room, her eyes open wide.

Cedric hadn’t had much to do with Hermione, but she did not look well. Her hair hung limp around her shoulders, she had dark shadows under her eyes. She looked pale and wan, and she looked thinner than she had a few weeks before. She was still dressed in her pajamas, despite it being close to lunch time. If they had been at school, he would have said something to his year mates and she would have been surrounded by supportive Hufflepuffs. Here, he was almost alone. He stood to meet her.

“Tell me you’re lying.” Hermione spat at Cedric, fury filling her voice. “Tell me it’s a trick.”

Cedric slowly shook his head, wary of upsetting the witch. “It hasn’t been made public, but one of the Aurors told Arthur Weasley. Harry is in Azkaban. They think he was the one who used the Imperius Curse on Victor.”

“Without a trial?” Hermione shrieked. “He can’t stay there! They will kill him!”

She broke down then, and Cedric suddenly found his arms full of a crying witch. His eyes met Mrs Grangers as she came into the sitting room, who seemed shocked to see her daughter crying. Both of them could do little until Hermione subsided.

At a pointed suggestion from her mother, Hermione disappeared to get dressed, while Mrs Granger prepared some cool, iced water for their chat. Cedric pulled out his parchment, preparing to ask Hermione some of the questions that bothered him. 

He’d added a question about who’d rigged the second task against Harry, and one about how Harry had found out about the Gillyweed as well. It was probably nothing, but asking questions might bring unsuspected answers.

Hermione came back into the room, and immediately demanded to know everything. Cedric went through a short summary of everything he and the Wesleys had discussed.

“Here’s my list of questions, do you think you can shed some light on any?” Cedric said, as he passed over his parchment. 

Hermione picked up a quill and absently chewed on it as she read over the questions. Mrs Granger came back in with a jug of water and a couple of glasses, then left the two teens alone, but Cedric could still hear her in the kitchen. 

Hermione showed no sign of hearing her mother, and indeed seemed surprised to see the water when she looked up. “I don’t know all of them, but I know a few.” She pointed to the last question. “Dobby didn’t just steal the Gillyweed, it was his idea. He’d heard Professor Moody and Professor McGonagall talking about different ways the champions could breathe underwater. Gillyweed was mentioned, so Dobby stole some for Harry.”

Cedric frowned. Moody had been the one to suggest he open the egg underwater, too. Had Moody just been trying to help them both?

Unconcerned about Cedric’s frown, Hermione went on. “Hagrid was the one to tell Harry about the dragons. Harry snuck out to see them under his invisibility cloak with him.”

Now that was interesting. Harry had said he’d seen the dragons. “Hagrid took him, you say?”

Hermione nodded. “I think Professor Moody might have helped, there. He had been talking with Hagrid beforehand.”

Moody again. Cedric was starting to become suspicious. “Moody was the one who told me to open the egg underwater. It sounds like he might have been trying to help both of us. Almost cheating, really.” 

Hermione looked upset, but kept going. “Leveling the playing field really. Victor knew the basics of the tasks before he even reached Hogwarts.” She swallowed, then gestured to his other new question with a shaking hand. “Victor was the one to try and sabotage Harry in the second task.”

Gently, Cedric took both parchment and quill from her hand, inking the quill and making a few notes. Hermione continued talking while he worked. “By knowing about the hostages beforehand, he spent some time before the first task working out potential dates for the Yule Ball. If you’d come highest, he would have asked one of the Hufflepuff girls you’re protective of. For Fluer, one of her friends at Beaubaxtons. For Harry, me, the only friend he’d had who’d stood by him.”

Cedric looked up at her, horrified. “He tried to give Harry an impossible choice at the bottom of the lake by asking you to the Yule Ball? Was it all a lie?”

Tears were streaming down Hermione’s face,as she nodded. “He only kept up the ruse after the second task to try and throw Harry off his game. He confessed it just before he left.”

“And you broke his nose. Well done.” If Krum had tried that with one of Cedric’s friends, he wasn’t sure Krum would have walked away so easily. If Hermione had told the Gryffindors, Krum might not have made it to the ship alive. Cedric admired her restraint. The last thing they needed was an international incident caused by a bunch of students beating up a famous Quidditch star.

After a short break to allow Hermione to recover herself, Cedric asked if she knew about any of the other questions. 

“Harry definitely didn’t put his name in, but no one knows who did.” Hermione said, as she read down the list. “No one has seen Professor Moody or Director Crouch, can’t help with that. No one’s told me about the Cup, or…” Her voice trailed off, and she sat thinking about something. Cedric let her think, and had a drink of water. 

“Harry hasn’t had the best of times at Hogwarts.” Hermione said slowly. “It seems that whenever something weird happens at Hogwarts, Harry is in the middle of it, usually because some holdout from the war is trying to kill him. That's why I believed him immediately about the Goblet, really.”

Cedric nodded along with Hermione. The last three years had certainly had an above average level of weirdness, even for Hogwarts. 

“But whenever Harry and I talk to a teacher, it tends to be dismissed. Often, it's a teacher that's the problem.” Hermione continued. “After four years, I think Harry no longer trusts the teachers to act in the best interests of students.”

Cedric picked up where she was going. “Harry believed that Gabrielle would be left underwater. He took the rhyme seriously.”

Hermione closed her eyes, trying to fight more tears. “After no one got him out of the tournament, can you blame him?”

Cedric understood. Worse, he understood Hermione’s reaction. “He’s going to believe that no one will get him out of Azkaban.”

“It's worse than that.” Hermione said quietly. She’d given up fighting tears, and just let them stream down her face. She choked back a sob. “Far, far worse. Harry’s Boggart is a Dementor. When they get close, he can hear the attack on Godric’s Hollow. His father’s death. His mother, pleading for Harry’s life. You-Know-Who laughing as she dies.”

Cedric stared at her. He knew his Boggart was his father, saying how disappointed he was. He’d made a sort of peace with that, accepting it as part of who he was. But Harry’s life took a whole new meaning to the word horror. To be continually surrounded by the thing you feared the most, hearing the death of your parents over and over again.

Cedric had known his questions, his quest was important. He hadn’t realised that Harry might have already gone insane.

“You’ve answered a lot of minor questions, but I’m afraid without any new information to confront Fudge with, my hands are tied.” Amelia Bones said with an exasperated sigh. 

Cedric put his head in his hands. “He can’t survive Azkaban, Madam Bones. If, and it’s a big if, he survives the dementors, he’s still surrounded by crazy supporters of You-Know-Who.”

Cedric hadn’t wasted time. He’d apparated from Hermione’s backyard to the Ossuary, where Susan and Amelia Bones lived, to try and see if there was a way to move Harry from Azkaban. His pleas fell on deaf ears.

“Your only other option is to appeal to the Wizengamot at their next meeting. With Dumbledore off trying to sort out the ICW mess in the Balkans, Fudge will take the chair, and will shut you down at every turn. That slippery bastard Malfoy will help him. Harry is famous, but too many people will believe Rita Skeeter’s article in the Prophet that Harry is dangerous." Amelia said softly.

“I wish we were at school.” Susan Bones, the other occupant in the room, chimed in. “We could call a Hufflepuff house meeting and brainstorm new ideas.”

It took a long moment for Susan’s words to percolate through Cedric’s despair. He owed Harry. Harry had saved him. He couldn’t leave Harry in Azkaban… He looked at Susan. “Why can’t we?”

Both of the Bones women looked at him. “Why can’t we call in every Hufflepuff who isn’t on holiday and ask what they think? Have a house meeting. They might turn up if I asked them.” Cedric said hopefully.

“We can have it here!” Susan said excitedly. “The house elves would be delighted to have more work to do.”

“I wouldn’t be able to be involved. If you intend to take it to the Wizengamot session in August, I would need to be seen as impartial.” Amelia warned.

Cedric nodded. Amelia had a vote in the Wizengamot, and if they were going up against the Minister, it might come down to a single vote. Amelia not being involved could mean the difference between success and defeat.

“We can probably limit it to the third year and up.” Susan said. “Do you think we should invite the Gryffindors?”

“For Harry? They’ll come whether we want them to or not.” Cedric said. “I’ll ask Cho, some Ravenclaws might be able to help with research.”

“Some of it will be legal research, though.” Susan replied. She looked hesitant, but spoke anyway. “We’re going to need Daphne Greengrass.”

Cedric understood the reason for her hesitation. Daphne Greengrass was the elder daughter and heir to Cyrus Greengrass, a prominent wizarding solicitor and a member of the Wizengamot in his own right. Daphne and Susan were friendly, both being female heirs, but Daphne hadn’t earned the Ice Maiden nickname due to a warm and welcoming nature. She was already in an apprenticeship to take on a solicitor role in the future.

“I can’t guarantee she’d be paid, but she might be willing to take it on for the experience.” Cedric said. “She wouldn’t be able to invite her father, though. He’s a fair man, and there’s not enough of them on the Wizengamot as it is.”

Susan nodded. “We’ll have to use Floo and Owls both to contact people. I can ask Hannah to help me.”

Cedric shook his head. “Save the owls for Muggleborns. Floo everyone with a connection, get them to send owls as well. You start on your year, then the third years. I’ll cover the upper years. You contact Daphne. Go yourself, maybe butter her up a little. I’ll ask the Weasleys, and let them handle the Gryffindors.”

Susan had pulled out a parchment and ink and was making notes. “When do you want to meet?” 

“Tomorrow.” Cedric said flatly. At startled looks from the Bones women, Cedric clarified. “The more prep time we have, the better. If we find out enough, we might be able to call for an emergency Wizengamot session.”

Amelia shook her head at that. “I wouldn’t place any hope in that. Everyone will resist being called back during summer break. Too many of them will have already gone overseas.” Amelia paused, then continued. “ I’ll see what I can do from work, but I can’t promise anything.” She looked hard at Cedric. “If anything goes wrong with my house while it is in your care, I will hold both of you responsible.”

Cedric nodded as he rose to leave. He had Floo calls to make.

Chapter Text

Cedric returned to the Ossuary the next morning. The house elves had been busy, freshening up a wing of the house for their use. They had a library, a sitting room, and a ballroom to work in. They’d set a start time for ten, and Cedric figured that he’d be early enough at nine thirty.

To his great surprise, he was far from the first one there. He’d expected Hannah Abbott, who frequently stayed over with Susan. Hermione Granger was a welcome addition, who had recovered from her previous malaise well enough to be already raiding the library. 

But the Weasleys had turned out in force, with Mrs Weasley already in the sitting room with her youngest four children. While Cedric had expected such a reaction, the Weasleys as a family were rarely early to anything. That they were here early showed how much they wanted to help free Harry.

Several other students had casually turned up early, mostly Hufflepuffs. He accepted their congratulations on winning the tournament, and brushed off their questions, promising answers once everyone had arrived. 

Cedric spent the next half hour walking the rooms, making small talk. Susan had taken over the parlour, where the fireplace was, and was redirecting incoming students to the ballroom. Cedric walked back and forth, calming nerves and encouraging people to be patient. 

Just before ten Daphne Greengrass came through the Floo, accompanied by her younger sister and her friend Tracy Davis. Cedric made a point to greet them himself, and escort them to the ballroom, where everyone else had gathered.

Cedric had never been one for public speaking, but he had realised that he had to be the one to speak. So when Susan came in the doors and gave him a nod, Cedric stood on a chair to see everyone. There was possibly a quarter of Hufflepuff house represented, which was possibly as much as Cedric could have hoped for on such short notice. Cho and her friends represented Ravenclaw house, and there were only the three Slytherins.

But fully half the students present were Gryffindors. The Weasleys must have been calling people well into the night to get such a turnout. Cedric spotted Neville Longbottom, Katie Bell and a few others he was familiar with. The students tended to group into house groups, but there was some blurring at the edges.

The room fell silent, and Cedric knew he wouldn’t get a better chance to speak. “Welcome, everyone,” he began. “At the end of last term, I became the Triwizard Champion. While I did my best, it is an honour of which I am undeserving.” 

Some mutterings started up in the room, but Cedric went on, raising his voice slightly. “I am undeserving of it because Harry saved my life two or three times over the course of the Tournament. If my wishes had been heeded, he would have been crowned Champion.”

The mutterings grew louder, and Cedric saw heads swivel, looking for Harry. Cedric knew he had to speak quickly, or risk losing them. “In the maze, someone unknown put Victor Krum under the Imperius Curse, seeking to sabotage the Tournament. Victor used the Cruciactus curse on me. Harry Stunned him, and saved me.”

Silence fell at Cedric’s pronouncement, and Cedric seized on it to present his case. “The Ministry has judged Harry guilty of using the Imperius, and sent him to Azkaban in response. I’ve called you here to ask for your help.”

Daphne Greengrass stepped through the crowd to get close to Cedric. “How was Harry found guilty? The Wizengamot hasn’t met since the Task.”

Cedric racked his brain, trying to remember exactly what Amelia Bones had said. “The Minister convened a special tribunal, which investigated and found Harry guilty. But given the speed of the investigation, there’s some big holes in their story. We need to find the answers to fill in the holes.”

Daphne said nothing, but Tracy was suddenly at her side, pulling parchment and quill from a bag. Daphne started writing on the parchment, “I will assist with this, but I will require a retainer. Fame only goes so far.”

Cedric winced. He had his Tournament winnings, but he doubted that a thousand Galleons would go far enough. He’d already set up a line of credit with Susan’s house elves to pay for refreshments. He couldn’t exactly deny Daphne the money, they really did need her expertise.

“We’ll discuss it afterwards,” he said to Daphne. He raised his voice to the room again. “For everyone else, we have a list of critical questions we need answered. If you know anyone who might have answers, please owl them and we can talk to them. If you have nothing to contribute,  you can always stay and complete your summer homework. We might be able to find a task for you later.”

“What if you’re wrong?” Came a call from the Hufflepuffs. “What if Potter did use an Unforgivable on Krum?” The Hufflepuffs parted to reveal his questioner as Zacharias Smith, who stood with his arms crossed, staring at Cedric. 

Cedric met his stare with one of his own. “I’m not wrong. Harry wouldn’t do it.” He wished he could think of some proof, some witty remark to calm people’s nerves, to refute Zach’s attitude, but he had nothing but his faith in Harry.

“This is a waste of time.” Zach snorted. “I’m leaving.”

Silence fell, and for a moment Cedric was afraid that Smith would lead an exodus, but everyone else watched as Smith left alone. Murmurs and rustling filled the room as people looked once more to Cedric. Cedric nodded to them all. “If you think you might know someone to contact, come talk to me. Otherwise, do some homework.”

Some laughter echoed from the various students, and most dispersed to various rooms. Only a small group remained: The three Slytherins, Cho and her friend Marietta, Hermione and Ron, and Susan and Hannah. They gathered around Cedric as he hopped off the chair. 

Cho spoke first. “Marietta’s parents work in the Department of Magical Transportation. We were going to write to them and see what we could get about the Portkey accident.”

Cedric nodded. “Good idea. Even knowing exactly where it took the sphinx might prove useful.” 

Cho and Marietta left, leaving Cedric with the group of fourth years, and Astoria. Tracy spoke next. “We’re going to need to have a research team. Legal stuff, Wizengamot records. I know what we need, but I can’t do it all myself.”

Cedric had realised this. “Susan, do you want to see who wants to volunteer? It’s a good place to start.” 

Susan nodded and left with Tracy, Astoria and Hannah. Cedric had expected Hermione to volunteer, but she stood, waiting for the girls to leave. As soon as they were gone, Ron blurted out “We know someone who might be able to pay for the legal stuff.”

Cedric looked at Ron sceptically. “A greatly wealthy someone who is fond of Harry?”

Ron fidgeted and looked at Hermione. “Yeah. If we can get hold of him, he’ll pay.”

Cedric looked between the two Gryffindors. “Who is it? Can we invite him here?” He was mildly surprised that Ron and Hermione hadn’t dragged him here, if he was so useful.

Ron looked at his feet, and Hermione looked darkly at Cedric. “This isn’t the first time the Ministry has sent an innocent man to Azkaban. He told us about it a few months ago.”

Given that Ron and Hermione had only met one prisoner from Azkaban, Cedric quickly worked out who they were talking about. “Sirius Black? I thought he wanted to kill Harry.”

Daphne looked up from her parchment, and suddenly looked very interested in the conversation. “And can he get hold of the money? He is on the run from the Ministry.”

Ron and Hermione started, and Cedric almost laughed. So focused had Harry’s friends been on helping that they seem to have missed Daphne’s presence. 

“He’s the one who bought Harry’s Firebolt, so yeah, he can access his money.” Ron said, after a moment to recover. Cedric had wondered who had bought Harry his very expensive broom; he had assumed it was a joint gift from multiple contributors, or some kind of sponsorship deal.  Harry was famous, after all.

“And he definitely doesn’t want Harry dead, he’s Harry’s godfather, he broke out of Azkaban to protect Harry.” Hermione said, in her matter of fact way.

Cedric looked at Daphne, and saw the same curiosity in her eyes. “Let’s find some more chairs,” Cedric declared. “I think this story might take a while.”

Minerva McGonagall usually enjoyed the summer break. With students away for a few months, she usually had the opportunity to catch up on her reading, engage in correspondence with a few friends, or even visit them if the chance arose. 

But with Albus dragged away to help solve the ICW’s Balkans crisis, the Headmaster's duties had fallen into her lap. Usually, she had the chance to talk to Albus before he left, and gain his insight on the many matters that must be dealt with. But he had gone with only a goodbye, and her owls had so far been unanswered.

Likewise, her owls to the Ministry about Harry had gone unanswered. To pull one of her students from the station at Hogsmeade worried her, and as such she hadn’t heard that Harry had made it safely back to Privet Drive. Either the people she was mailing had no idea about what was going on with Harry, or there was no answer. She had even written to Percy Weasley, her former Head Boy, who was yet to reply.

She set the automatic quill to prepare letters for all the students, and set off for the Headmaster’s office. She didn’t want to be seen as taking over from Dumbledore, but for a private conversation, there was no better place in the castle.

She came into the office to find the others already waiting for her. Filius, Pomona and Severus were sitting away from the Headmaster's desk, over in the sitting area. All three were reading, Pomona with the Daily Prophet, Filius with a book, and Severus with a letter. Each of them set their chosen reading material aside as Minerva took her seat, so the meeting could begin.

“Albus has not yet responded to any of my owls,” Minerva began, looking over her agenda. “While I’m sure we would appreciate his advice, we must proceed without him, or risk running out of time before the start of term.”

The other three nodded, none of them were new to their roles. Severus was the youngest, and even he had at least a decade of experience. Everyone in the room knew what they were doing, and aside from a couple of issues, she anticipated a smooth meeting, regardless of Albus’ absence.

The meeting proceeded as expected. Inventories of various supplies that would need to be replenished were supplied, and were assigned to the usual Professors. Severus would spend most of the summer brewing the more complex Potions for the hospital wing. Pomona would liaise with the house elves and make sure the food stores were replenished, since they were lower than usual due to the inclusion of the other schools in the Tournament. Filius would take charge of the castle and grounds, to make sure that everything was repaired, and they would have sufficient supplies of everything needed to house hundreds of children come September. Minerva would make sure that new Muggle-borns get their letters, and were introduced to the world of magic.

The first hurdle came, as anticipated, when the issue of staffing was raised. “Once again, we seem to have had our Defence professor go missing. I have reported Alastor’s absence to the Ministry, but they don’t seem to be taking it seriously.” McGonagall said.

Pomona looked confused. “Didn’t he disappear on the night of the third task? Looking for the Cup?”

Minerva nodded. “The theory from the Ministry is that he got lost in the maze, and ran afoul of one of the traps. The maze has come down, and no trace of him has been found.”

Filius chimed in “But all the traps were to be non lethal!”

“Regardless.” Minerva said, trying to keep the meeting on track. “His absence means that we have to replace the Defence Professor once more.”

“I would be willing to switch to the Defence role, of course.” Severus, of course, would use the opportunity to try and gain the Defence post. Minerva paused, actually considering the option. Albus had never been completely clear over why he had denied Severus repeatedly. And there were very few people willing to take on what was seen as a cursed role.

She shook her head slowly. “For the moment, we seek a Defence Professor. I am unwilling to make such an appointment in the Headmaster’s absence, since we would then be short a Potions Professor. If Albus has not returned or a new Professor has been found by the start of August, we can discuss it again.”

Severus inclined his head in acknowledgement, his expression unreadable. Minerva hoped that would be the end of it. Either Albus would return, or they would find a professor and the issue would become moot. She made a note to mention it in her next owl to Albus, and moved on to the last point on the agenda.

“Lastly, we need to appoint student leaders.” This topic was sure to generate lively discussion, hence it was last on the agenda. It was also the topic where her using the Headmaster’s authority was most likely to be challenged. She began with a simple question. “Who shall be our Head Boy?”

“Cedric Diggory” Pomona said immediately. “He’s been excellent as a prefect, a good mentor to younger students, Triwizard Champion. We couldn’t ask for better leader.”

Privately Minerva agreed, but still turned to Filus, wordlessly asking him for his opinion. He spoke quietly. “Roger Davies has been a good prefect, and has the better academic scores.”

Snape also added his choice without prompting. “Cassius Warrington is quite popular among the younger years. He would be a worthy addition.”

At this point, Minerva the Head of Gryffindor should have added a Gryffindor into consideration, but her options were few and limited. Kenneth Towler was her seventh year male prefect, and he was neither as popular or as academically inclined as Davis or Diggory. The Weasley twins and Lee Jordan were the other Gryffindor boys, and she definitely wasn’t putting any of them forward. So she kept her Acting Head hat on, and nodded to Pomona. “My inclination is Cedric Diggory. His humble nature and skills have certainly helped showcase Hogwarts this year. Unless there is a major objection, he is my choice for Head Boy.”

Filius and Severus simply nodded at this. This had been probably one of the easiest Head Boy decisions in recent years. The Head Girl decision took far longer, but they eventually settled on Elsie McGregor, from Ravenclaw. Minerva was careful to guide the decision, rather than make it outright.

The sixth and seventh year prefects were all able and willing to continue, so the discussion finished on the new fifth year prefects. Minerva nodded to Filius to open the discussion with the Ravenclaws. 

“The Ravenclaws with the highest test scores are Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil, and I anticipate no issues with them taking on the role.” Filius said, after checking a piece of parchment. “They work quite well socially, and are good role models for the rest of the house.”

Minerva checked her own notes, but she had no issues with Filius’ choice. Each house put different influences into choosing their prefects, and the Ravenclaws first choice was for those who performed the best academically. She nodded, and both Severus and Pomona raised no objections.

Pomona offered up her own choices next. “Hannah Abbott and Ernie Mcmillan are my recommendations for the Hufflepuff prefects. They are the most popular among their peers, and are the best choices for the Hufflepuff prefect.” 

Minerva raised an eyebrow at this. “Not Susan Bones?” The choice of Hannah Abbott was a surprise. While the two girls were close, Minerva had thought Bones would have gotten the badge over Abbott. 

Pomona shook her head at that. “Hannah has a gentler touch with the younger years that will make her a better prefect. She will do well.”

The Hufflepuffs valued social abilities among their prefects, and it was shown in Pomona’s choice. Privately, Minerva would have given the badge to Bones, but while she as Acting Headmistress had the authority to override Pomona’s choice, she couldn’t say confidently that Pomona was wrong. She looked to the other two Professors, but they raised no objection to Hannah, so Minerva let the decision stand.

Also, because she knew the biggest fight was still to come.

“My choices are Draco Malfoy, and Pansy Parkinson.” Severus’ quiet voice stated, his eyes darting between his colleagues. Minerva noted the frowns crossing Ponoma’s and Filius' faces before she replied.

“Both Miss Greengrass and Miss Davis have better grades and fewer detentions than Miss Parkinson.” Minerva began in a challenging tone. “And Mr Malfoy’s attitude leaves everything to be desired. Nott or Zabini would be a better choice.” Anyone would be a better choice, really. Officially, Slytherin valued a combination of grades and social skills. Unofficially, purity of blood was also used as a ranking in Slytherin as well. Had the choice been hers alone, she would have picked Davis and Nott. Davis, because while Greengrasses grades are higher, the Ice Maiden didn’t spark any confidence from the younger years. And Minerva suspected that Nott shares Malfoy’s attitudes, but is far better at hiding it.

Filius and Pomona had taken the opportunity to chime in with their own recollections of Malfoy’s bullying and Pansy’s lack of empathy towards fellow students. Albus might have let both choices pass, but in his absence, both of the other teachers were feeling emboldened to challenge Severus. Severus listened to the criticisms in silence. Finally, when the others had fallen silent, he spoke. “Will my decisions be overturned?”

And that was the crux of the matter. While she did technically have the authority to overrule him, she had been trying not to, because Albus could always overturn her decision when he returned. Albus had always placed great faith in Severus, for reasons unknown. Minerva was also aware that she had a minor bias against Slytherin, for their many brushes with the Dark Arts in the last war.

But at the same time, she was Acting Headmistress of Hogwarts, and some standards needed to be upheld. Malfoy had spent four years strutting around the castle, threatening everyone with the wrath of his father. The boy was intelligent enough, but needed a major life adjustment.

“I will concede on Miss Parkinson, if you insist,” Minerva said slowly. “Though a personal visit to her would probably be in order, to make sure she understands that the badge can be taken away.” She looked Severus in the eye, to make sure her next point would be understood. “I will overrule Malfoy. Feel free to tell him that it is purely because of his attitude, it may help him shape up. If he does, he will be a good contender for Head Boy in the future.”

To her surprise, Severus smiled and gave a brief nod, as if nothing of import had occurred, and not the shaming of the son of his old friend. Minerva didn’t trust that smile. It usually meant that Severus was planning something.

“I suppose Theo Nott will be an acceptable prefect.” Severus said quietly. “I will deliver Miss Parkinson’s badge personally, along with your message.” There was the barest emphasis on your, a subtle reminder that her position was only temporary. Minerva quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She had expected Severus to appeal to both Dumbledore and the Governors. 

“Gryffindor will be well served by Miss Granger and Mister Potter.” Minerva said, hoping that her own choices would face little scrutiny. This meeting had run long, and she had more work to do yet. Gryffindor favoured those who took initiative and acted like leaders, and this year was her easiest choice ever.

Surprisingly, it was Pomona who raised the first challenge. “Hermione Granger hit Viktor Krum in the face at his departure, is that really the example we wish to set?”

Filius nodded. “The girl is at the top of her year academically. And her behaviour is usually exemplary. That hit was greatly out of character for her. I would be more comfortable awarding the badge with some kind of explanation, however.”

To her surprise, Severus remained silent. His eyes glittered maliciously, so she knew that he was still waiting to object to Harry. But she could deal with the objections to Miss Granger first. “I agree, it was greatly out of character for her.” She nodded at FIlius. “But since I am down to only three girls to choose from, I can take the time to consult with Miss Granger before giving her the badge. I am sure she had her reasons.”

Filius and Ponoma appeared mollified, so Severus pounced. “Potter has served more detentions than any other Gryffindor boy since his father was strutting around the school. Any other boy would be a better choice, even the idiot Longbottom.”

Minerva feels a flash of anger at Severus’ unjust persecution of Harry. Before she could reply, Pomona interjected. “Was any explanation ever found for how Potter ended up in the Tournament? Was he cleared of entering himself?”

Filius added his own thoughts. “And are you sure Harry will follow the rules? He does have a habit of breaking rules when it suits him. He usually does have his reasons, but someone else might be a better choice.”

Minerva forced herself to remain calm. She had known that after this year, advocating for Harry to be a prefect would be a tough sell. Pomona had asked similar questions throughout the year, annoyed at Cedric having to share the title of Hogwarts Champion with Harry. Answers were still as few as ever. “Albus put Alastor in charge of a quiet investigation. Alastor’s opinion was that Harry could not have entered himself, since he was entered under a non existent school. Alastor was of the opinion that a former Death Eater was trying to kill him indirectly.”

That reply appeared to mollify Pomona a little. She paused a little before answering Filius, to give the impression that she had considered his view. In reality, she’d prepared an answer already. “We can trust Potter to do what he thinks is the right thing, usually at great cost to himself. I cannot guarantee he will always follow the rules, but I can guarantee he will stand between other students and any perceived danger. Miss Granger does act as a stabilizing force on him, so I am happy with my choice.” 

 Minerva turned to Severus. “Your opinion on Harry is both biased and incorrect, Severus. It will be disregarded.”

Both Filius and Pomona looked shocked at Minerva’s statement. Severus simply smiled softly. “Considering that Potter is currently being charged with using a Unforgivable curse, and will likely end up in Azkaban, I doubt he will be here to take on a prefect role.”

Both Filius and Pomona began shouting, but Minerva was quick to draw her wand and silence them. She stared at Severus, trying to work out his expression. “What do you mean? Nothing has been said, there’s been no communication from the Ministry.”

Severus smiled smugly, clearly enjoying himself. “Potter was charged by the Ministry with using an Imperius curse on Viktor Krum. If he isn’t in Azkaban already, he will be taken there soon. Lucius Malfoy informed me over dinner a couple of nights ago.”

Minerva stared in horror at Severus’ face. Filius and Pomona had resumed asking questions, but all Minerva could think about was Harry, poor little Harry, surrounded by Dementors. He’d struggled so much with them last year, to the point where they almost cost him the Quidditch Cup. 

Finally she found her voice. “Get out,” she said, in a voice thick with anger. “Get out!” 

Severus stood to leave, that smug satisfied smile still on his lips. “Perhaps if you hadn’t gone so easy on him, we wouldn’t have this problem.”

Minerva looked at Severus. She had tried to deal with him fairly over the years, first as her student, then as a colleague. She had known that he was rough on the Gryffindors at times, and strongly favoured his own house. She had defended him from various parents as needed. But to celebrate a student going to Azkaban?

“How ashamed Lily would be at how you have treated her son.”

Whatever colour had been in Severus’ face left, and he turned and fled the office. The various portraits had joined in the shouting and questioning, from over behind Albus’ desk. Minerva sat dumbly, stunned by her own remark to Severus. It wasn’t until Filius held out a cup of tea in front of her that she realised that she was crying.

She took the tea with shaking hands, feeling ashamed. She had known Pomona since her own days in Hogwarts, and had worked for many years alongside Filius. She counted both of them amongst her closest friends. Yet she could have counted on one hand the amount of times she had cried in front of either of them.

“We have failed him.” She spoke softly, once the portraits had fallen silent and Filius and Pomona had ceased their own questions. It was all well and good for her to throw Severus’ old friendship with Lily in his face, but she honestly could not defend her own actions. “We have failed Harry Potter.”

Filius cleared his throat. “If Potter is truly guilty of using the Imperius curse, you can’t blame yourself, Minerva.” His voice sounded uncertain, quavering in the silent office. 

Minerva shook her head. “If Harry was desperate enough to use the Imperius, then we failed him. If Harry didn’t use the Imperius, then we have failed him by leaving him in the hands of the Ministry.” For a long moment, she contemplated turning Fudge into a large mouse, then chasing him in her cat form. But the thought brought her no joy.

Pomona asked quietly, “Is there some way we could confirm his location? He may have simply been exiled to the Muggle world.”

Minerva stood, already gathering her notes from the meeting. “I set the letters to write before we started. The new fifth year should be done by now.” A simple check of the address should tell them where Harry was.

Minerva set a quick pace back to her own office, leaving both Pomona and Filius to run to keep up with her. Severus had wisely made himself scarce, and they saw no one else before they entered her office.

Once inside, it was only the work of a few minutes to locate Harry’s letter for fifth year, though she scattered most of the rest of his year in doing so. Minerva felt her heart clench as she stared down at the words.

Harry Potter

Level One

Azkaban

The North Sea

Wordlessly, she passed the letter over to Filius. Pomona let out a gasp as she read it as well. “Why?”

Minerva shook her head and sank into her chair. She reached into her bottom drawer, pulling out her good whiskey. She didn’t bother with a cup, simply taking a swig from the bottle, before setting it on the desk. Her own words echoed in her ears. We have failed him. The whiskey burned, and Minerva felt ashamed. She very rarely drank, always anxious not to become like Sybil. But there seemed to be little other escape from her failures now. She was just contemplating another swig, or at least offering her guests a glass, when Filius made a noise.

Filius had taken it upon himself to pick up the scattered letters. The thirty odd fifth year letters had been scattered across the desk, with some falling on the floor. Filius began to carefully stack them into two roughly equal piles. Finally, he looked at Minerva. “Was there some kind of summer party going on? Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, not inviting the other houses?” He seemed a little offended on behalf of his house.

Minerva looked to Pomona, but her expression looked as clueless as Minerva felt. “Why do you ask?”

Filius flipped over one of the letters, and Minerva read;

Neville Longbottom

The Ossuary

Wiveton

Norfolk

Minerva looked at Filius, who resumed his explanation. “Half of the incoming fifth year are addressed as such. All to the Ossuary, where Susan Bones lives. Mostly Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, but a couple of Slytherins as well. What’s going on?”

Minerva didn’t speak, but looked through the stack until she found the two she was expecting: Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, both addressed to the Ossuary as well. She held them up to Filius. “At a guess, I would say that Harry’s friends have found out about his plight. They’re planning something.” She did not dare speak of what they might be planning. Please don’t let them break into Azkaban, she prayed to whatever god might be listening. She wasn’t sure her heart could take it.

Pomona had picked up one of the other stacks and was sorting through it. “It doesn’t seem like them though.” With a flourish, she held up a letter to Minerva. “This, I think, is your culprit.”

Cedric Diggory

The Ossuary

Wiveton

Norfolk

Minerva looked sharply at Pomona, as she continued. “Hufflepuff house rules usually involve calling a meeting to solve a problem. And I think Cedric would want answers from the Tournament as much as anyone. And we just nominated him for Head Boy.”

She looked out the window, but darkness had fallen. Minerva suddenly felt hungry, but looked back at her guests first. “I think tomorrow Pomona and I might go visit the Ossuary. It will spare the owls, at least.”

And might just help Harry Potter in the process.

The War Council was having its daily meeting.

Cedric was unsure as to when his group of leaders had become known as the War Council. He vaguely suspected the Weasley twins, but couldn’t prove anything. While he wasn’t planning a war with anyone, he couldn’t seem to find an alternative name. Everyone smiled, nodded, then went right back to calling it the War Council. It made him wonder just how much of a leader he really was.

“So I think we need to send someone to check out Little Hangleton.” Cho concluded. “Most of the obvious magical evidence would have been removed, but it's still an odd place to send a Portkey. We need to work out if it was an accident, or a sign of something bigger.”

Cedric nodded, making a note. “Older Muggleborns, I think. People we can trust to abide by the Statute.” Kenneth Towler was wandering around, Cedric thought. He’d make a good leader for this. “Four or five people, max.” 

Everyone nodded, and everyone’s eyes turned to Daphne. She took a sip of water, then began. “The Ministry seems to have skipped a number of steps with regards to the tribunal for Harry. Most of which we will be able to challenge at the Wizengamot. I have received authority to act as attorney for both Sirius Black and Harry Potter.”

A small smile crossed Cedric’s lips. Daphne had been happier once letters had been exchanged with Sirius Black and he had guaranteed payment for her services. As he thought this, Daphne pulled a letter from her bag, and placed it on the table in front of them. “I have another letter for Sirius, I’m hoping to give us new avenues to add to the suit.” 

At this, everyone promptly looked away from the table, fixing their gazes on various parts of the walls and ceiling. When Cedric looked back at the table, the envelope had disappeared. He was fairly certain that either Ron or Hermione now had the letter, and he was aware that before the end of the day, someone would duck out for lunch and have given it to someone else, who would give it to someone else, who would get it to Sirius. But the key point of the exercise was that no one knew for certain who was communicating with Sirius Black.

Daphne continued, “I’m expecting strong resistance, particularly from any Ministerial appointees. Dumbledore being absent from the Chief Warlock role will also be a big hurdle to overcome. I have a list of different avenues to explore to try and tilt any vote in our favour, but the odds are not currently looking good.”

Cedric looked around at the rest of the War Council, noting grim looks on everyone’s faces. In the sudden lull he heard the Floo flare, he tilted his watch to check the time and wondered who was running so late. 

Daphne had looked through her notes before she spoke again. “I have the research team looking into some promising precedents, but we are very hampered by the fact that we know nothing about what happened in the tribunal. Susan, do you think…” Daphne’s voice trailed off, and her eyes fixed on something over Cedric’s shoulder.

It was the silence that Cedric noticed next. The War Council had been meeting in the corner of the ballroom, and other students had been wandering in and out. Background noise from the room and the other nearby rooms was part of the Ossuary now, a fact which made Susan happy. So when all that noise disappeared, he noticed.

His back was to the room at large, but he was very aware that every single other member of the War Council was now staring behind him. Feeling very anxious, he turned around.

Professor Minerva McGonagall stood behind him. Standing next to her, looking quite dumpy next to the strict Scots witch, was his own head of house, who smiled on seeing him. Around the edges, students were filling the ballroom, coming to look at their two teachers who had crashed their summer vacation.

“Mr Diggory.” Professor McGonagall’s sharp voice cut through the silence, promising detention and the loss of house points if not immediately obeyed. “Would you care to explain why so many students are spending so much time at the Ossuary?” 

Cedric didn’t count himself as a brave man. He’d entered the Triwizard Tournament more out of house pride than any misplaced bravery. But with the whole room watching, he didn’t think he could back down.

“We’re working out how to get Harry out of Azkaban.”

Something shifted in McGonagall's face then, and Cedric felt like he was facing the dragon again. A muscle twitched in her face, then she spoke in her quiet, commanding voice. “Legally?”

For a moment Cedric was stunned, and he struggled to come up with a coherent answer. “Yes?”

She closed her eyes for a moment, and even in the silent room, he struggled to hear the faint “Thank heavens,” that escaped from her lips. She opened her eyes and was the firm Deputy Headmistress once more. She held out her hand, and Professor Sprout handed her an envelope. She then held it out to him.

“Congratulations, Mr Diggory. I consider it a privilege to hand you your new badge in person.”

Cedric took the envelope from her, and tipped the metal badge out into his hand. Head Boy. He’d hoped that his efforts might have earned him the badge, but he hadn’t counted on it. He held it up, and the room burst into cheers and applause. He pinned it to his shirt, smiling.

Professor McGonangall let it go on for a few minutes, before taking a chair. The applause died down, and Professor Sprout started handing out letters to everyone. The War Council reassembled, although Cedric conjured himself an extra chair. Professor McGonagall nodded approvingly as she asked for an update. 

They told her everything they had learned about the Tournament, and its various organisers. Cedric pulled out his first list of questions, and showed Professor McGonagall where they had started, and what they had learned from each other. 

Her first question was a surprise to Cedric. “Viktor Krum faked a relationship to try and gain an edge in the Tournament?” Her eyes were very firmly fixed on Hermione who shrank under the Professor's harsh gaze.

Cedric tensed, about to intervene, when Hermione recovered herself and said yes in a quiet voice. His eyes went wide when Professor McGonagall started speaking Gaelic to herself. He took a moment to look at the rest of his team, but they all looked as clueless as he felt. The pace and energy behind the words suggested that she was swearing, but no one was willing to ask her about it.

After a moment, she took a moment to pull an envelope from her coat, and dropped it on the table in front of Hermione. It made a distinct thunk as it landed. Eyes wide, Hermione pulled it open and pulled out a shiny new Prefect badge. 

“So what do you need?” McGonagall said quietly. “What will get Harry out of Azkaban?”

Cedric took charge. “We still have no idea who put the Imperius Curse on Viktor. But Hermione had the idea that since his magical eye could see through hedges, Professor Moody probably saw more than everyone else. He could have spotted anyone else in the maze. ”

Professor McGonagall shook her head. “Nobody has seen him since the night of the third task. I’ve searched the grounds, but he’s disappeared.”

Ron perked up at McGonagall’s words. “Did he take anything with him?”

McGonagall shook her head. “All his personal possessions are still in the Defence rooms. We checked through them briefly, but nothing stood out.” 

Hermione seemed to have caught onto Ron’s train of thought. “Do you think…” Her voice trailed off, and Cedric wondered exactly what secret they were keeping this time. The revelations about Sirius Black had shaken him a lot. He knew that Harry and Quirrell had a confrontation at the end of third year, and there had been the whole Heir of Slytherin thing in fourth year. Harry certainly seemed to have a knack for attracting trouble.

He really hoped he could get Harry out of Azkaban to let him attract trouble for Cedric’s last year.

Ron seemed to have talked Professor McGonagall into letting him and the twins search Moody’s possessions. The rest of the team seemed to verge from curious to apathetic over the issue. Daphne spoke up next. “I need the transcript from the tribunal. I need to know what evidence they had, what Harry said in his own defence.”

Professor McGonagall nodded. “I think it is past time I had a chat with Minister Fudge. Hogwarts does not fall under his jurisdiction, and the sentencing of Hogwarts students to Azkaban should have merited an owl at least.”

With that, Professor McGonagall stood to leave. Cedric stood out of respect, and Professor McGonagall nodded to him. “I expect you to earn that badge, Mister Diggory. We will get Harry free.”

Cedric nodded back to the professor. For the first time, he felt the stirrings of hope.

Chapter Text

The War Council was highly energetic when they met two days later. Cedric ceded the floor to Ron, as the boy looked ready to erupt with news. “We found Moody!”

The others all erupted into various questions, and Cedric simply raised a hand for quiet. Once everyone else had fallen silent, he gestured at Ron to go on. 

“It’s really weird. He was locked up in his own trunk, he’d lost weight and was unconscious. Someone had cut his hair, too. He hasn’t regained consciousness yet, they’ve transferred him to St Mungos.” Ron supplied.

“Someone impersonated Moody using Polyjuice potion.” Hermione said, cutting across a new round of questions. “The missing hair, the fact that he was kept alive. The only question is when the switch was made.”

Cedric thought over all his memories of the year, trying to work out when the best point for a switch would have been. He hadn’t noticed any changes in Professor Moody… “Could our imposter have been the one to Imperius Krum?” He asked the group. He was met with various shrugs and blank stares. He made a note to ask who knew about Aurors magical eyes next time he gathered everyone together.

“He’s got an Auror guard, so hopefully Auntie will work it out soon.” Susan supplied. “She’s trying to keep it quiet in case Fudge declares it to be part of the whole case against Harry and disappears him to Azkaban as well.”

Grim nods followed Susan’s pronouncement. If anything, this generation of Hogwarts students was going to be extremely disillusioned with the Ministry.

Cho pulled out a piece of parchment from a stack. “This may explain something from Little Hangleton. They found a magical eye and wooden leg among the random things in the graveyard.”

Cedric nodded. “So our imposter followed the Cup out of Hogwarts.” He turned to Kenneth Towler, who was sitting in on this meeting. “Did you learn anything else from your visit there?”

Kenneth shook his head. “Complete bust. Everything magical had been taken away. There’s an old house on the hill that I thought could have been a possibility, but we didn’t find anything there either. A local man disappeared last August, but there doesn’t seem to be any connection.”

Hermione sat bolt upright at Kenneth’s report, her face paling. “Was his name Frank Bryce, by any chance?”

Kenneth frowned, looking at her. “It was, actually. How did you know that?”

Hermione closed her eyes, looking ill. Ron looked at her quizzically. In a soft voice, Hermione asked. “Did any graves have the name Tom Riddle on them?”

Ron gasped, but everyone else looked as confused as Cedric felt. Kenneth looked at her. “One of the nearest graves to the ritual site had the name Thomas Riddle. Is that close enough? There were more Riddles there, but we didn’t take many notes.”

Hermione opened her eyes. Her voice shook slightly. “This was another attempt to kill Harry. You-Know-Who’s original name was Tom Riddle, the man in the grave is probably his Muggle father.”

The War Council erupted in shouts. Cedric felt stunned. Lord Voldemort, champion of blood purity, was the son of a Muggle? That must have been one of the biggest secrets of the war, how the hell did Hermione know that?

“Dumbledore mentioned Frank Bryce’s disappearance to Harry after Crouch disappeared, comparing it to Voldemort’s original rise to power.” Hermione said quietly, after they had calmed down. “Voldemort has been growing stronger, and he obviously decided it was time to make another attempt at killing Harry.”

Cedric looked at Hermione, worried. “Could Peter Pettigrew be our imposter?” It would mean they were only looking for one person, and Ron had mentioned that they thought his former pet had returned to his old master.

Hermione and Ron looked at each other for a long time. “There’s someone else involved. They are the imposter, we don’t know who they are” Ron said at last.

“How do you know that?” Susan asked

Ron shook his head. “It’s a secret, and not ours to tell.” Ron didn’t look anyone in the eyes at this, and Cedric wondered whose secret it was. How did Ronald Weasley know secrets from Voldemort?

Daphne Greengrass shook her head. “It changes nothing. Even if we had proof it was Peter Pettigrew, it would be ignored.” She looked worried, which caused Cedric’s heart to sink. 

“Professor McGonagall has acquired for me a transcript of the tribunal that sent Potter to Azkaban.” Daphne began, indicating a roll of parchment in front of her. “On one hand, it’s worse than I thought it would be. A handpicked group of sycophants, led by that Umbridge woman and Lucius Malfoy, condemning Harry to Azkaban. Four of the witnesses are his son, his bookends and Parkinson, who all testified about how dangerous Potter is running around Hogwarts cursing people in the halls.”

Cedric frowned. “They didn’t ask any of the teachers?” They certainly hadn’t asked him, one of the supposed victims.

Daphne shook her head. “Anyone who might have offered a different view isn’t on the transcript. Not even Snape testified.”

Hermione looked at Daphne, her brows creased with worry. “What did Harry say in his defence?” 

Daphne looked around at everyone, making sure she had everyone’s attention. “He didn’t say anything. Nothing in the transcript suggests Potter was there at all.”

The group of students erupted into noise and shouted objections. Cedric quickly gave up trying to shout over the others, and waited for the noise to subside. 

Once the noise quieted down, Cedric looked hard at Daphne. “This is in our favour, yes? We can appeal to the Wizengamot?”

Daphne nodded. “But the transcript has bad news as well. Harry did use the Imperius curse during the third task. They have a record of all the spells he used in the Task, acquired through Priori Incantantem, and the Imperius is on the list.”

Hermione didn’t bother trying to argue, simply taking the scroll from in front of Daphne and starting to read it at high speed. Cedric looked around at the group, who were looking distinctly uneasy. Daphne continued. “This complicates our plans immensely. The Ministry can simply claim that Potter is a dangerous criminal, who was too dangerous to allow in the courtroom.”

Hermione had found the place where the spells were listed, and sat in a semblance of shock. Ron reading over her shoulder looked distinctly green. Cedric gently took the scroll from her unresisting fingers as Susan summoned an elf to help calm Ron and Hermione with chocolate.

He looked down over the list of spells. He supposed if someone had done the same to his wand after the task, it would look similar. Except he wouldn't have the Imperius near the bottom of the list.

Near the bottom of the list? His eyes read over the last few spells

Point Me
Point Me
Imperio
Impendita
Stupefy
Depulso
Stupefy
Stupefy
Vermillious

Cedric slammed his hand on the table. Everyone stopped and looked at him, and Cedric noticed that a small crowd had gathered around the table. He looked at Daphne. “How did they fake this?”

Daphne shook her head. “They had Auror Yaxley doing verification. There is no way to fake it. Not in front of the whole tribunal.” 

Cedric pointed to the parchment in front of him, a grim smile on his face. “They must have, the Imperius is a lie. If Harry had really used it, it would be further back up the list. At that point in the maze, it was down to me and him.” He scanned the long list of spells, and indicated a spot further up the list. “Here is about where Krum got Imperiused. This Reducto was used to blast through the hedge, and here is the Stunner that stopped Krum.”

The room burst into angry noise at this, and Cedric let them go. He was feeling pretty angry himself, at the Ministry, at the mysterious imposter who had used the Unforgivable Curse in the first place.

But he also felt cheated. He had been certain of performing well as Hogwarts Champion, that’s why he’d put his name in, despite only just being seventeen. He had done well in the first two tasks, and he felt he’d made everyone proud. The fact that someone had interfered in the tasks to grant him the win chafed against his sense of honour. He would have happily accepted a fair victory, even if it had gone against him.

There was a loud cannon blast, and everyone looked in surprise at Daphne Greengrass, who was lowering her wand. “Do you hear what you are suggesting? You are suggesting that seven people falsified evidence to put Potter in Azkaban.”

Ron argued back “You already said that they didn’t let him defend himself, or call any witnesses who disagreed with them. So they faked the curse on the wand as well. What’s the big deal?”

Daphne stared back at him, and Cedric wondered if he should intervene. He critically needed both of them, and if they were about to start throwing spells it could get ugly, very fast.

“The difference,” said Daphne flatly, “is that the actions to deny Harry the right to defend himself, holding a quiet tribunal to control the witnesses are actions which could be defended as being legal under the right circumstances. Falsifying evidence is a blatant criminal act.”

“Who is on the tribunal?” asked Susan Bones. “Could they have all worked together to imprison Harry?”

“Lucius Malfoy, Corban Yaxley, Dolorus Umbridge, Walden Mcnair, Constantine Goyle, Nicholas Parkinson, Dominic Crabbe.” Hermione read off. “Three Ministry employees, four members of the Wizengamot. I presume the four members are related to the four witnesses.”

Susan nodded. “Three fathers, and Nicholas is Pansy’s uncle.” She frowned. “All but Umbridge were accused of working for You-Know-Who after the last war. They definitely could have worked together.”

Cedric leaned forward, suddenly interested in the tribunal. “Could one of them have been our imposter? One of the kids could have gotten a hair off Moody.”

Ron was shaking his head. “Think about it. If one of them had been the imposter, they would have put the Imperius in the right place.” He turned to Hermione. “Remember what Bill said, after the riots at the World Cup. You-Know-Who’s former supporters probably have more to fear from him than anyone else.” He looked around at everyone else. “I think we’re looking at two groups of conspirators.”

Cho chimed up, from where she’d been silent for most of the meeting. “What makes you say that?”

“Different objectives,” said Ron. “You-Know-Who, Peter Pettigrew and our imposter are group one. They wanted to kidnap Harry and kill him. One of them probably sent up the Dark Mark at the Cup.” He waved to indicate the parchment in front of Cedric. “The tribunal is made up of the other Death Eaters, the ones who stayed out of Azkaban. They were the ones rioting and harming Muggles at the Cup. Harry broke Malfoy’s plan to purge Hogwarts of Muggleborns two years ago, and humiliated him by tricking him into freeing his house elf. I think they’ve taken the opportunity to remove Harry by sending him to Azkaban. Umbridge was either conned, convinced or Imperiused herself.”

Cedric thought about it, and supposed it had made sense. As much as anything did, really.

“Wait, Lucius Malfoy was behind the attacks in our second year?” Daphne replied. The usually unflappable girl was looking slightly disgruntled by the new revelation. It said something about the nature of Harry at Hogwarts that Cedric had to mentally calculate which year she was talking about. Heir of Slytherin, Chamber of Secrets.

Cedric sighed. “Before Ron and Hermione regale us with another story of Harry’s heroics, is there anything else?” He knew that everyone would be distracted until the full story was told.

The response was overwhelmingly negative. Cedric settled in for another tale of the adventures of Harry Potter.

In between the hustle and bustle of the Ossoury, Cedric found time to chat with Hermione Granger. “How are you holding up, Hermione?”

Unsurprisingly, Hemione had found herself a table in the library and piled it high with books. She looked up at Cedric from some ancient dusty tome. “Okay, I guess. It helps to have something to do.”

Personally Cedric wasn’t sure what could be gained from looking through the historic decisions of the Court of Heralds, but after listening to how Hermione had figured out the Monster of Slytherin when Dumbledore and generations of Headmasters had failed, he wasn’t about to argue.

He waved his wand to create a privacy bubble around them, before taking a seat opposite her. “I’d planned on spending a decent chunk of my winnings on Harry.” Cedric began. “He always dresses in clothes that are far too big. But the Weasleys say he’s got money. His godfather is Sirius Black, who has enough money to buy Harry a Firebolt while on the run from the Ministry.” Cedric focussed on Hermione, who was fidgeting and wouldn’t look him in the eye. “I know he lives with Muggles, but Gringotts happily changes money back and forth for a reasonable price. His skill in the tasks isn’t reflected in his school marks. I don’t want to ask you to break his trust, but I want to know how to help him.”

“You can’t,” whispered Hermione. “I don’t know how to help him.” With a defeated sounding sigh, she pulled out a book from her bag. Cedric read the title upside down easily enough. ‘A psychological study of antisocial behaviours in abused children’. His first thought was that it sounded dry and boring, even by Hermione’s standards. Then he reread the last two words.

“Harry’s been abused?” Cedric spluttered out. Suddenly things started making sense. He’d never seen Harry go home for Easter or Christmas, even when the school was surrounded by Dementors. His gravitation towards the Weasleys, and their big loud family. The oversized, hand me down clothes. 

“He doesn’t put the effort into his schoolwork, because no one has ever rewarded him or congratulated him for doing well.” Hermione said quietly. “The worst was apparently before second year, where they locked him in his room and starved him.” She looked across at Cedric, face trembling. “I think the only reason he didn’t become an Obscurial is the fact that no one told him about magic before his Hogwarts letter.”

Merlin. Harry as an Obscurial would have destroyed London, easily. The Statute of Secrecy couldn’t have survived such exposure.  “Why didn’t anyone do anything?” Cedric said, horrified at the thought. 

“I don’t know,” said Hermione. She stared defiantly at Cedric. “Even his reckless behaviour on the Quidditch pitch makes sense, when you think about it. If he dies…”

“The pain stops,” said Cedric quietly. He’d seen Harry pull off things on a broom that Cedric wouldn’t have dared to do. He’d simply thought Harry had been brave. To say nothing of the fact that Harry would think nothing of charging after a fifty foot Basilisk alone.

“He was so happy last year.” Hermione said quietly “When Sirius offered to take him in. It was the biggest clue, really. A man who’s been in Azkaban for twelve years offers to become your parent.” She shook her head. “Anyone else who grew up in a loving family would have politely refused. Harry’s response was asking him when he could move in.”

“And then Snape and Fudge stuffed it up.” Cedric said. He’d never been on the wrong side of the Potions Master, aside from a snide few comments. But hearing how Snape had deliberately lied to get Sirius Kissed made him furious.

‘Not everyone is from Hufflepuff, you know’ His father’s words had never been more true. Cedric could taste bile in his throat.

“He doesn’t spend his money because he thinks anything he buys will be taken away.” Cedric said, answering his own earlier question.

“And possibly doesn’t think himself worthy of it.” Hermoine said softly. “It’s not like he worked for it. The only reason he has it is because his parents died.”

“He’s got you.” Cedric said quietly. “The only friend who stayed by his side.”

“He doesn’t want me.” countered Hermione. “He wants someone prettier, and he deserves it.”

Cedric allowed himself a small smile. It might not be spending half of the Triwizard money on Harry, but he could help Harry realise Hermione’s worth.

July 31st was a particularly grim day at the Ossoury. 

To mark Harry’s birthday, Cedric had called everyone together again. There had been a few changes in attendance, as people left to attend late summer holidays and more students had learned of the gathering and arrived. There had been an influx of Ravenclaws, who had delighted in the research to be done, as well as the help with summer homework. There were still only the three Slytherins, after word had spread about how Malfoy and his ilk had lied about Harry to put him in Azkaban. 

“To celebrate Harry’s birthday, we have cake and butterbeer.” Cedric began. “But as you eat and drink, remember that Harry is in Azkaban, and we need to get him out. The adults may have failed Harry, but he is still a student of Hogwarts, he is still one of us. He may be the consummate Gryffindor, but he has the intelligence of Ravenclaw, the loyalty of a Hufflepuff, the cunning of a Slytherin.” Small cheers rose as Cedric mentioned each house in turn, even if only Astoria cheered for Slytherin. 

“He has saved us from Dark Lords and Basilisks, and now it’s up to us to return the favour. He is the best of us, and we shall not fail him!”

Cedric hopped down from his chair, and walked the room. People were eating cake and drinking butterbeer, but for a party the mood was still somber. 

Professor  McGonagall had left Harry’s letter with him, so Cedric had pinned Harry’s Hogwarts letter to the wall, as a reminder of what they were doing. After some consideration, Cedric had put Harry’s trunk underneath it, figuring that it was safer here than at his fathers house. So it had sat there for the last week.

People had stacked birthday presents for Harry around it. Brightly coloured packages, sweets and chocolates surrounded Harry’s trunk. By Cedric’s reckoning, all his fifth year books were there. There were cards and letters to Harry, photos of him smiling and waving to everyone. It reminded Cedric of the celebrations after the demise of Voldemort, that he could barely remember. How many of these people knew the real Harry, he wondered. 

More importantly, how much of the real Harry would survive Azkaban?

 “It’s not going to be enough.” Daphne said to the War Council. It was a week before the Wizengamot meeting, and Daphne had finished laying out her plans.

“If Malfoy and Fudge and their supporters are set against Potter as we expect, then we won’t have the numbers to overturn his conviction.” Daphne said. “Unless we can swing a few more of the Ministry votes, or some of those Malfoy has in his pocket, we’re going to come up short.”

This was met with various exclamations, curses and noises from the council. Elsie McGregor, who had joined the War Council as a representative of the Ravenclaws, was quick to bring order to the table. “Do we have any ideas on how to persuade anyone?”

Silence fell over the table. Everyone looked defeated at the thought of losing, and leaving Harry in Azkaban, and Cedric couldn’t think of anything to help.

Ron snarled. “Malfoy has probably threatened to curse families again. They’re too afraid of him.”

Fear. One of the best ways to motivate people. Half listening to the despondent discussion, Cedric wondered what Lucius Malfoy feared. Voldemort, if Ron was right. Exposure, probably. 

Cedric slammed his hand on the table, and all eyes turned to him. “Who reads the Daily Prophet everyday?”

Elsie, Tracy and Susan raised their hands. Everyone else looked at Cedric, curiously. 

“Has there been anything said about Harry being in Azkaban? Even a small note?”

Cedric’s question was met with shakes of the head. Cedric put his fist on the table once more. “They are waiting for Harry to die in Azkaban. That’s why nothing has been said. Once he’s dead, it can be hushed up and ignored.”

This was met with gasps and wide eyes, but it was a testament to how the summer had gone that no one denied what Cedric had said. 

“What are we going to do?” Hermione asked, tears filling her eyes. She looked as if she was about to faint.

“We tell people.” Ron said, already rising out of his seat. “They can’t hush it up if everyone knows.”

“Wait!” Daphne exclaimed. She pulls out a thick black book, and starts flicking through it at high speed. “There’s something here…”

Everyone fell silent as Daphne consulted her book. Beside her, Tracy pulled out a couple more books, looking through them herself. She found something, set it open in front of her, and started looking through the next one.

Eventually Daphne and Tracy, after a quick discussion that involved several reference books, turned to everyone else. “We can run some sort of expose, but we need to be careful on the timing. If we anger the Ministry too much and too early, they can declare a state of emergency and dismiss all other business at the Wizengamot,” Tracy said. Her thick Welsh accent made it a little difficult to understand her. No wonder Daphne usually did all the talking. “We’d need to tell everybody possible the day before the meeting.”

“How do we tell people?” Said Elsie. “We can’t exactly take out an ad in the Prophet. They’d never print it.”

That seemed to stump the War Council. Cedric couldn’t meet anyone’s eyes, looking down at the table. Silence fell as they tried to consider ways of telling the entire population of Wizarding Britain in the space of a few hours. If only they could have printed something in the Prophet…

But the Prophet wasn’t the only printing press in Britain. There was another, just over the hill from home. Cedric’s head snapped up.

“Is Luna Lovegood here?”

Luna Lovegood hadn’t made it to the Ossoury, but she and her father were more than willing to help. With the help of a few hundred Galleons from Cedric’s account, they had a printing press they could use. Xenophilius actually seemed happy for an excuse to delay the publication of the Quibbler.

The War Council had argued back and forth about what exactly to publish. Daphne wanted as little detail as possible sent out, fearful of her planned moves in the Wizengamot being countered. Hermione wanted every charge, all their evidence described in detail. Ron argued against this, claiming that it would cost too much to print. Privately, Cedric agreed. He’d already made a big dent in his Triwizard winnings. He’d be lucky if he had any left by the time he went back to Hogwarts.

In the end, Cedric had come up with a single sheet of paper that laid out the basic facts. Harry was in Azkaban, sent there without a formal trial. No witnesses had spoken in his defence, and the Ministry was trying to hush it all up. They didn’t mention the fact that the Imperius was on the wand - Daphne wanted them to think they’d gotten away with it. They had included a couple of paragraphs about the challenges Harry had faced at Hogwarts, but omitted any mention of Sirius Black. 

They called on all of Wizarding Britain to stand up and defend Harry, since his parents were obviously unable to. Cedic hadn’t wanted to put that in there, but he’d been overruled. Susan had argued that they needed the emotional appeal to motivate people. Cedric had thought she was wrong, but conceded in the end.

The whole thing had been written under the simple banner of ‘Truth’. Cedric hadn’t wanted to link the Quibbler to this, he knew how well the Lovegoods were regarded. If fewer people dismissed the whole thing as a crankpot theory, then it was worth changing the banner.

So the day before the Wizengamot meeting, Cedric found himself trying to organise everyone. Rather than trying to owl their accusations all over Britain, Cedric made use of all of the Hogwarts students. He’d already arranged for a large group to go to Diagon Alley, and another to Hogsmeade. Each had a thousand copies of their news.

Most of the seventeen year old students had been assigned pubs, all the better for passing gossip and getting responses. A few had taken copies and were going off on their own objectives - Neville Longbottom was taking a few to one of his grandmother’s tea parties, for example. And the three youngest Weasley brothers had taken the biggest stack of papers, but refused to say where they were going. Cedric was mildly concerned, but only told them to be mindful of the Statute. 

“We need to tell as many people as possible,” Cedric repeated as they stood by the Floo. “Give the Wizengamot a reason to listen. But I imagine that as soon as they catch onto what’s going on, there might be Aurors out to arrest us. Avoid them if you can. We cannot trust the Ministry to follow the law. If need be, dump the paper and escape if you can.”

And that was the crux of the situation. They knew the risks if they got caught, they could very well end up in Azkaban next to Harry, with even less chance of getting out. Daphne and Tracy were waiting by the Floo, and if anyone needed emergency legal help, they might be able to help. But there were no guarantees.

But everyone had volunteered. No one wanted to be the one to let Harry down. The stories of what he’d done had bounced around the Ossoury all summer. Cedric found himself listening to a story about Harry and Ron sneaking into the Slytherin common room. He wasn’t sure if it was true, but he hoped that no one told Snape.

“Time!” Called Daphne. She and Tracy had insisted that no one could distribute anything until twenty three hours before the start of the session. Cedric was unsurprised to see the Weasleys through the Floo first, they had a plan. Hermione led her group through next, off to Diagon Alley. Elsie led her group off to Hosmeade, and there was Neville and Hannah off to different objectives of their own. Others followed, often carrying only a few of the papers, but still determined to help wherever they could.

And suddenly the Ossoury was quiet. Quieter than it’d been for weeks. There were still a few students around, mostly third years. The Slytherin trio weren’t willing to risk themselves the day before the hearing, and Susan Bones stayed to keep an eye on the house.

The first Floo message popped up fifteen minutes later, and it wasn’t anyone Cedric had expected. He’d thought one of the Weasleys would be the first to report back, or Hermione asking for more papers. A worried looking Hannah Abbott was a surprise.

“Cedric?” she said. “Can you come through? I started telling people, and now people are getting upset. Possible break of the Statute upset.”

Shit. Cedric thought. If there was one inviolable law of the Wizarding world, it was do not break the Statute of Secrecy. He had been very clear to the Weasleys not to break the Statute, but maybe he should have reminded everyone else. With a sigh, he grabbed Hannah’s hand and was pulled through.

He stepped out of the fire in a pub. A sign proclaimed it to be called the Stout Heart, and it was rapidly filling with witches and wizards. Most of them were dressed in Muggle fashions, but there were a few in robes. Most of them were gathered in a large group around the fireplace, and Hannah was trying her best to placate people, but it didn’t look to be going so well.

“Hi everyone”, Cedric said with a wave. “So what’s the issue?”

That may have been the wrong thing to say, as suddenly everyone glared at him. Finally one elderly woman with a shock of white hair jabbed a cane in his direction. “Is it true that Harry Potter is in Azkaban?”

Cedric nodded. “I have his Hogwarts letter. It’s addressed to Azkaban, and I have a report from one of the Aurors who took him there.” Technically Arthur Weasley had heard the report, but Cedric believed him. “He was sent there on flimsy evidence, and I, the only other person in the maze, wasn’t even called as a witness.”

This sent an angry grumble through the building crowd. Cedric waved them over towards the bar area. “How about I buy everyone a round and we talk about how we can help Harry?”

This seemed to mollify everyone, so Cedric led everyone over to the bar.

It took Cedric an embarrassingly long time to work out that he was in Godric’s Hollow. Once he’d worked that out, the village’s insistence on helping Harry made sense. This was the traditional home of the Potters, who had lived and died in the Hollow for centuries. They were not about to let the Ministry take the last Potter away without a fight. 

 Hannah had been dispatched to collect her grandfather, Lord Abbott, who sat on the Wizengamot. The old lady with a cane was Bathilda Bagshot, who complained about Fudge’s great grandfather also lacking in morals. After hearing that, Cedric tried to avoid her attention. He didn’t want to know what she thought of his forebears.

Once Lord Abbott turned up, Cedric explained everything. How Harry had saved him in the Third Task, and subsequently been arrested. He skipped over the issues with Sirius Black, only mentioning that they had uncovered some other concerning irregularities they planned to bring up. 

“So, you’re trying to drum up enough support to hinder both Fudge and Malfoy, and make the idiots on the Mot think twice before following along like sheep.” Said Lord Abbot. His sharp blue eyes had Cedric nailed to the floor.

“Yes, sir,” Cedric said automatically. He focussed on the man before him. “Getting him a fresh trial isn’t enough. We need to get Harry out of Azkaban, he can’t survive long in there.”

This statement reignited the angry grumbling among the crowd. They were clearly unhappy by the thought of Harry in Azkaban. For a moment, Cedric was afraid they were about to storm the Ministry.

Lord Abbott took charge. He split the villagers up, getting most to start writing letters to the Ministry, and the various Wizengamot members. Others he started sending to make Floo calls to known allies. Cedric thought most of the people he was calling on might have already heard, but he supposed it did nothing to hurt rally support.

Cedric found himself spending the next few hours repeating the story to newcomers and answering questions. His money pouch ran empty at some point, but the bartender didn’t seem too upset, and waved off Cedric’s offer of later payment. Finally he escaped through the Floo back to the Ossoury.

The difference between the two locations was startling. Godric’s Hollow had been grim and somber, with angry undertones that made him worry. The Ossoury had an almost festival atmosphere, with students filling the ballroom excitedly, trading stories of their day.

The centre of attention was on the Weasley brothers. The twins were standing on a table, regaling the crowd with a story. Ron was nearby, offering Hermione a butterbeer. From what Cedric could see, most of the students were back.

He touched Susan’s elbow. She turned, and Cedric was able to pull her back into the parlour, where it was quieter. “Have we had any issues? Anyone caught by Aurors?”

Susan shook her head, her eyes bright. “I think the Weasleys saved us the trouble. No one else was ever in danger, and those three made it back”

Cold fear pooled in his belly. “Where did they go?” Cedric had thought the twins might have plastered Malfoy Manor in their papers, just to annoy Lucius. There had never been any love lost between the Malfoys and the Weasleys, and that was before Lucius had tried to kill Ginny.

“They hit the Ministry.” Susan said, in breathless excitement. “They sent the Truth to every desk in the Ministry, plastered the Fountain of Magical Brethren with copies. I think they even managed to get into the Department of Mysteries.”

Cedric’s exclamation of shock attracted Ron and Hermione. Ron offered his butterbeer in an imaginary toast as he walked over. “So, do they have the charm of making thousands of paper planes on the OWLs? Because I’d ace it.”

“Are you insane? You could have been arrested!” exclaimed Cedric. He had known that the Weasleys were dedicated to the cause of freeing Harry, but this went beyond anything he’d expected. 

“Nah, I mostly hid in Dad’s office.” said Ron. “Used that as a base to send out most of the papers. The twins were basically a big distraction, but they had an Invisibility Cloak. Plus I don’t think security ever worked out there were two of them. They were under identical glamours.”

He’d wondered all along if setting the Weasley twins loose was a good idea. Only tomorrow would see if it had been.

Chapter Text

The day of the Wizengamot meeting dawned. Cedric dressed in his best set of robes, though he was careful to wait for his father to leave before exiting his room. The tension between the two had been tight all summer, and the peace had only been kept by Cedric’s long days at the Ossoury. 

He nodded to his mother, then Flooed to the Ministry before his mother could notice what he was wearing. Stepping out of the fireplace, he walked calmly towards the lift. He was too nervous to eat breakfast, so he may as well arrive early.

Despite the hour, the Atrium had a large number of people in it. Aurors stood guard along the walls, a highly visible presence to keep order in the Ministry. Considering the chaos the Weasleys had probably caused the previous day, Cedric wasn’t surprised. He was a little disappointed not to see any copies of the Truth about, but Fudge probably had Magical Maintenance working through the night to fix it.

Finding a lift, Cedric crammed in with several strangers. He waited patiently until it ended on level one, then walked calmly to the meeting chambers. None of the members had arrived yet, but the public gallery was filling fast. Spotting Daphne and Tracy, Cedric took a seat next to them. Both had scrolls of parchment in front of them, and were reading them, occasionally making notes. 

Finding himself aimless, Cedric closed his eyes to wait out the next hour and a half before the Wizengamot began. 

He was jolted awake by Daphne. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but he hadn’t slept well the night before. As he woke he noticed that the Wizengamot was now mostly assembled, although there were still a few empty seats. The public gallery was full, with more people standing around. Hermione had turned up at one point, and was now sitting next to Cedric, reading a book. As Cedric looked around, Fudge walked in, followed by Umbridge. Both looked harried, and neither looked happy, scowling at everyone.

A deep chime ran through the room, and the last few members of the Wizengamot scurried to their places. Fudge took the Speaker’s chair, and glared at the public gallery. Cedric wasn’t sure if he was glaring at anyone in particular, or just disapproved of so many people watching in general. The only other time Cedric had watched the Wizengamot, he’d been ten, and except for he and his father, the public gallery had been empty. It made for an interesting change.

“We call the summer session of the Wizengamot to order.” Called a young witch, dressed in formal robes. “In the absence of Chief Warlock Dumbledore, Minister Cornelius Oswald Fudge has the chair. We will now call the roll.”

As per protocol, she read out the names of the forty nine members of the Wizengamot. Only Dumbledore and Barty Crouch were absent, to Cedric’s mild surprise. Although Cedric figured the previous day's letter drop had probably motivated most of the members to turn up, if only to see what was going on. 

Once the roll had been called, Fudge called each of the Department Heads to present their reports. Since Fudge was chairing the session, Dolorus Umbridge presented the Ministry report. Amelia Bones followed with the Department of Law Enforcement report, and each of the other offices reported in turn. Cedric was surprised to see that his father presented the Creatures report, he wasn’t usually the one to do so. 

Most of the seven reports touched on the Tournament, in some way shape or form. Both the International Cooperation and Sports and Games report were presented by deputies, and the Sports and Games report was ridiculously short - Cedric had written longer essays for his OWLs.

Cedric’s leg shook nervously as Fudge announced that Bagman had resigned, and a brief vote confirmed his deputy, Elliot Smith as his successor. Cedric vaguely remembered him being some sort of Gobstones champion, but he had never enjoyed the game at a professional level. He wondered if the goblins had caught Bagman, and if he’d actually resigned.

At last, with the reports dispensed with, Fudge moved on. “In the light of this current emergency, I move…”

Whatever Fudge was going to move was lost in a shouted, “Objection!” from right next to Cedric. Daphne Greengrass stood, and lit her wand while shouting. 

“The Speaker cannot simply declare an emergency and push aside other business on a whim. I have three petitions before the Wizengamot that need to be dealt with before the Minister can move on to new business."

It was time. Cedric followed Daphne and Tracy to the floor, trying not to shake too much. He felt vaguely sick, and wondered if his lack of breakfast had been such a good idea. As he sat next to Tracy on a bench, she pulled out a shrunken desk and calmly restored it to original size. Daphne took the floor, all eyes on her.

“Hem hem.” This was Dolores Umbridge. “The Minister does have the power to declare an emergency and shuffle the agenda accordingly, young lady.”

“Senior Undersecretary Umbridge, you are mistaken.” Daphne countered. “The Minister can only declare a state of emergency more than twenty four hours before the beginning of the session. Since he only declared the emergency,” here she checked her watch. “Twenty hours ago, the session must proceed according to the agenda.”

There was a large murmuring from both the members and the public gallery at this, and Cedric felt more eyes on him. He could feel his father’s gaze from where he sat, but he resolutely stared straight ahead.

Fudge leaned over and had a brief discussion with Umbridge, then looked back at Daphne. “Surely, in the interests of public safety, we can dispense with your petitions to the next session, Miss Greengrass.” Fudge sounded almost pleading as he said this. “All those who vote to…”

“Excuse me, Minister.” Cedric recognised Griselda Marchbanks, one of the OWL and NEWT examiners. “I believe Solicitor Greengrass is correct. We cannot simply dismiss her petitions because they are inconvenient."

Cedric was momentarily distracted by Tracy, who carefully counted out three Galleons from a bag and placed them in a small pile on a far corner of her desk. Cedric wondered what she was doing, but then Fudge spoke.

“Fine. Let’s get this over with quickly. How much do you want, and from who?”

Cedric caught Daphne showing Tracy a fist behind her back before she spoke. “Given that all three of my petitions name Cornelius Oswald Fudge as a defendant, I call for a change in Speaker.”

The murmuring broke out into open conversations, among both the members and the public gallery. Cedric simply tried to control his breathing and remain calm. This was a lot different to a Quidditch match. The nerves were worse, the stakes were higher, and here he was almost a spectator.

“Excuse me!” Umbridge didn’t wait for the noise to die before she spoke her objection. “The Minister cannot be sued for official acts of the Ministry.”

Daphne countered this masterfully. “I highly doubt the Minster’s actions were official, Senior Undersecretary. But he will have the chance to prove me wrong.”

This caused a large amount of shouting and arguing from the two groups of people, the public and the members. Several members of the Wizengamot lit their wands to speak. Fudge waved to the members, and Lucius Malfoy stood to speak

“Does Miss Greengrass have standing to remove the Speaker as such? Is this really necessary?”

This triggered a new wave of comments and shouts, and a few more wands were lit. Without waiting for Fudge to acknowledge her, Amelia Bones stood. 

“As Minister Fudge is standing in for the Chief Warlock, he is governed by the same standards. In the event of a conflict of interest, he is obligated to stand aside as Speaker. Solicitor Greengrass has it correct.”

Fudge scowled at her, but another wizard stood and spoke. “I move for Cornelius Oswald Fudge to stand aside as per protocol.” Cedric recognised Lord Abbott as he spoke.

With that, the many shouts of ‘seconded’ obviously persuaded Fudge that his cause was lost. “Dolores, come take the chair please. Let’s get this over with.”

Cedric was almost deafened by the shouting from both the members and the public gallery. It took Amelia Bones five minutes of shouting to bring the Wizengamot to order. An elderly man stood without prompting.

“I believe that, in the event of both the Chief Warlock and the Minister for Magic being unable or unwilling to chair the session, the Wizengamot must elect its own temporary speaker.”

“Thank you, Lord Ogden.” said Madam Bones. “I call for nominations for a temporary Speaker.”

While the Wizengamot argued, Daphne walked back to the desk. Tracy pulled out a simple goblet, and filled it with water. Daphne drank it while waiting. 

Eventually, Lord Selwyn was elected to be the temporary Speaker. Cedric looked at Daphne anxiously who gave an imperceptible shrug. They had discussed many options for who could replace Fudge if they could unseat him. Cedric had been hopeful of Bones or Ogden being in the chair, but knew that this was unlikely. They had managed to keep Umbridge or Malfoy out of the chair, but Lord Selwyn was an unknown quantity.

Lord Selwyn was quick to take the chair, and called the Wizengamot to order. “Now girl. Present your petitions.”

Daphne returned to the floor, unrolling a scroll as she did so. She looked across the members, and called out. “Lord Malfoy. By what right do you sit as a member of the Wizengamot?”

This caused a definite stir, but it was silenced as Lucius Malfoy stood, a smile on his lips. “My son Draco is the designated heir for House Black, so I sit on his behalf. When he has completed his education, he will take up his Lordship and his seat.”

Cedric supposed it said something about Draco’s attitude. No wonder he had always acted entitled. Even if he barely passed his OWLs, he would still sit on the Wizengamot no matter what.

“And how did this come about?” Daphne asked quietly

Malfoy showed a moment of concern before he replied. “My son is the only male heir possible. So I have sat in his seat since the demise of the last Lord Black.”

Something Malfoy had said had provoked a reaction from a few members, and Tiberius Ogden lit his wand to speak. But Daphne got in first. “My clients are the current Lord Black and his designated heir. They have proved their claim through blood and magic. They are petitioning the Wizengamot for redress.”

This caused a few shouts from members and the public. Lots of people looked at Cedric, trying to work out how he could be either Lord Black or an heir. Cedric simply watched Daphne, refusing to engage with anyone. 

After all, that was his role as a decoy.

Selwyn brought order to the chamber again, and Tiberius Ogden stood. “Wasn’t the Malfoy boy Arcturus’ designated heir? How could someone else claim the Lordship?”

This caught Lucius flatfooted, and he stared intently at Daphne, sparing a glance at Cedric. “My wife and son are the Black heirs. Minister Fudge confirmed the succession.”

Daphne cut in before the noise could rise again. “Lord Ogden, you are a noted scholar of the Wizengamot. In the event of Arcturus Black dying without a designated heir, what would happen to the Black Lordship?”

Silence fell as Lord Ogden replied, looking hard at Minister Fudge. “The Ministry has no role in the succession. In the event of an unclear succession, the Court of Heralds should have been convened to accept petitions from all eligible members of the Black family.”

“Was this done so, to your knowledge?” Daphne said calmly. 

“No. As Lord Ogden I would have been summoned to sit upon it.” Tiberius Ogden looked scandalized that this had happened.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the Wizengamot, I have accepted a temporary position as a vassal of House Black.” Daphne said, slipping an ornate dagger from her sleeve. “This signet dagger I present as proof of my bona fides. Currently, I have a greater right than Lord Malfoy to sit in that chair.” She presented it to Lord Selwyn, who inspected it. 

“I call for the Court of Heralds to be convened to settle the issue, and all eligible members of the House of Black summoned to swear fealty to the new Lord Black. My petition also asks that Lord Malfoy and Cornelius Fudge be investigated for fraud against the Wizengamot.”

This was met with shouting from all sides. One or two people were calling for Fudge’s resignation. Supporters of Malfoy were calling Daphne a liar and worse. Others were arguing that the Diggorys had no claim on the House of Black. 

Which was true. Cedric was a pureblood. But there were purebloods, and there were purebloods. Cedric’s great grandmother had been a Muggleborn, so despite being descended from a Minister of Magic, Cedric would forever be seen as less than those who had no known Muggles in their family tree. People like Malfoy.

It really offended his sense of fairness.

Eventually, after a couple of cannon blasts from his wand, Lord Selwyn brought calm to the room. He looked sternly down at Daphne. “I trust you are aware of the penalties for bringing a false suit before the Wizengamot, Solicitor.”

Daphne nodded, as if Lord Selwyn had complimented her dress. “Of course, my lord.”

Lord Selwyn looked over the Wizengamot. “Lord Malfoy, are you able to produce anything to prove your claim as clearly as Solicitor Greengrass?” 

Lord Malfoy stood, and as his eyes met Cedric's, his face sneered at him. Clearly Cedric wasn’t worth his attention. “My son is the only possible heir, Lord Selwyn. The claim will be proven false.”

“Not so.” said Daphne. “House Black is one of our oldest families. As such, women are eligible to inherit.” Daphne waved towards Lucuis. “Your wife is the youngest of three sisters, Lord Malfoy. Bellatrix Lestrange is ineligible to inherit, because she was sentenced by the Wizengamot to Azkaban, but Andromeda or her daughter could claim the lordship ahead of your wife and son.”

A shocked exclamation came from the doors. The bright pink hair marked one of the Aurors there as the daughter in question. Cedric remembered Tonks well enough. Inwardly, he smiled at the misdirection. A very Slytherin thing to do.

Lord Selwyn looked like he was sucking a lemon. “We shall put it to a vote. All those accepting the petition to convene the Court of Heralds to decide the Black Lordship, please light your wands.”

After a count, the scribe declared that the motion had passed. Cedric held his breath as Lord Greengrass stood. “So as not to preempt the ruling of the Court of Heralds, Lord Malfoy should be stood down from the Wizengamot.” 

To Cedric’s surprise, there was less shouting this time. Most seemed to accept Lord Greengrass's statement as the natural order of things. A chorus of ‘seconded’ rang out from the members.

Most was not all, however. Lord Parkinson stood to protest. “Lord Malfoy has served ably and well for years. To force him to stand down is a disgrace, and this whole petition is to smear his noble name!”

Tiberius Ogden also stood, without waiting for Lord Selwyn. “The Greengrasses have the right to it. Lord Malfoy should have never sat on the Wizengamot without either his wife or son claiming the Lordship. If he has indeed committed fraud, then it is to the shame of him and any who defend him!”

Cedric felt comforted by the fact that Tiberius Ogden spoke so firmly in their defence. Daphne still had two petitions to present, and it must have been tiring to speak so eloquently for so long. Cedric hoped that she had taken some sort of stamina potion, because the third petition was the most important.

Lord Ogden’s fierce rebuttal shut down any others who wished to defend Malfoy, and a quick vote confirmed Lord Greengrass’s motion. Lucius Malfoy gracefully yielded his seat, and took a seat on a bench usually reserved for witnesses. Cedric smiled softly. One down.

Lord Selwyn looked down at Daphne. “Are your clients satisfied?” His tone made it clear that he was running out of patience.

“My clients have two other petitions, both involving miscarriages of justice.” Daphne said, as she picked up a second scroll. With an elegant fingernail, she broke the seal and called out to the Wizengamot. “I charge Bartimus Crouch, Millicent Bagnold, Albus Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge with violation of the Wizengamot Charter of Rights in the matter of Sirius Black. They involve, but are not limited to: deprivation of liberty, destruction of property, defamation, denial of a trial, unjust persecution and failure to appoint legal counsel.”

As Daphne spoke, Tracy diligently pulled out several stacks of Galleons from her bag. At the announcement of each charge, Tracy set a stack of four galleons on the desk, to join the dozen or so that were already there. Cedric helpfully moved the third petition so it wouldn’t get covered by coins.

Predictably, this announcement led to a new outbreak of shouting, from both the public gallery and the members. Fudge, in particular, seemed to be red faced and screaming for the arrest of Daphne, Cedric and Tracy. Cedric’s father had begun screaming back at the Minister, much to Cedric’s surprise. Cedric checked, but the Aurors hadn’t moved from their station on the doors. Tracy’s only reaction was to pull out three more coins to add to the collection on the desk.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Fudge is still standing as the noise dies down. “You children don’t know what you’re talking about.” He spat as everyone else fell quiet. “I was there! I saw the madness of Sirius Black, firsthand! I saw the destruction Black wrought with one curse!”

“Perhaps, for the Wizengamot, you could repeat what you saw the day Sirius was arrested, Minister.” Daphne said, her steely voice echoing through the chamber.

Fudge looked taken aback for a moment, but told his story. He had been the junior minister in the department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes in 1981, and had been one of the first on scene. How he had to deal with twelve dead Muggles, massive property damage and a laughing Sirius Black. How the biggest piece of Peter Pettigrew they had found was his finger.

Once he had finished, he fixed Daphne with a hard gaze. “Sirius Black is a madman. If you know where he is, tell us and we will send the Dementors to Kiss him. It’s what he deserves.”

Daphne returned Fudge’s gaze with a hard one of her own. “I cannot tell you where he is. I don’t know. But tell me, Minister. Did you testify at Sirius Black’s trial?”

Fudge opened his mouth to speak, probably to automatically confirm her question. Then his mouth closed, almost comically.

“Anyone else?” said Daphne, and there was an undercurrent to her voice. It sent a shiver down Cedric’s spine as he heard the anger in her voice, the cold fury of the Ice Maiden. “Did anyone else attend the trial of Sirius Black?”

Silence fell across the room. No one wanted to attract her attention. 

“The petition is because there was no trial. Sirius Black was condemned to Azkaban, to serve out his life surrounded by Dementors with no chance to defend himself, in gross violation of every law, every Charter our country has ever produced.” Daphne sounded quite disgusted as she spoke. It was the most emotion Cedric had ever heard from her.

“Hem hem.” Dolorus Umbridge spoke up, rising to speak to the room. Cedric glanced at Lord Selwyn, but the man seemed to have given up controlling the room. 

“If your petition is about the failure of the Ministry to provide Black a trial, then Minister Fudge can bear no responsibility for it. He was not elected until long afterwards.” Dolorus Umbridge explained, sounding quite patronizing. The too sweet tone in her voice made Cedric’s head ache. A few people joined in with murmurs of assent.

“Cornielus Fudge is not listed in the petition because of his actions in 1981.” Daphne said. “Minister Fudge is on the petition because of his actions on the night of the sixth of June last year.”

Fudge, predictably, objected. “I was only trying to protect people from Black! The made up story that Peter Pettigrew was alive was madness! The children were Confounded!”

Daphne focussed on Fudge. Cedric almost felt sorry for him. “And of course, you know this because Madame Pomfrey, the Mediwitch, confirmed this by testing her patients. You were in the hospital wing at the time. The truth would have been known in minutes.”

Fudge looked around awkwardly. “Well, no.”

“You took all the wands that had been at the scene, and tested them until you found the one that cast the Confoundus.” Daphne continued, sounding as if it was the only reasonable thing to do.

“Ummm, well I didn’t know which wand was used…” Fudge trailed off.

“So when faced with a situation where you had three witnesses telling you one story, and one telling you another, you chose to believe the one because he made more sense.” Daphne said calmly. “Rather than calling in the Aurors to investigate and get to the truth.”

Words seemed to have failed Fudge. He simply spluttered incoherently. No one seemed willing to come to his defense. Even the public gallery had fallen silent at the ruthless way Daphne had torn the Minister for Magic apart.

Eventually, Lord Selwyn seemed to remember that he was supposed to be in charge of the Wizengamot. “Solicitor, what does your petition call for? Compensation?”

“My client wants his name cleared and his freedom restored.” Daphne said. “It’s not an unreasonable request, under the circumstances.”

“Point of order!” Shouted Lord Parkinson. “We cannot simply let Sirius Black roam free because of some mad story!”

The Wizengamot started shouting, some in support of Lord Parkinson, others calling for an investigation. The public gallery joined in the chorus, with their own interpretations of what should happen. Cedric listened hard, but no one was willing to simply let Sirius be. Daphne took advantage of the chaos to walk over to the desk.

Daphne always took great care to look carefully manicured. Never a hair wrong, always well done up. Only the summer of working with her gave Cedirc the experience to see how the long Wizengamot session had worn on her. A few hairs had escaped her ponytail. There were a few more creases in her robes than there had been when they started.

Tracy immediately produced a potion, which Daphne gratefully drank. She followed this with a goblet of water, and waved her wand over herself. The creases smoothed out, and the hair nested itself. Cedric had a brief mental image of a warrior preparing for battle once again. It was a fair comparison.

A few more cannon blasts were required to bring the Wizengamot to order. To Cedric’s mild surprise, Amelia Bones stood, glaring at everyone until silence fell.

“Clearly,” she began, “There have been many mistakes made and opportunities lost with regards to Sirius Black. The thought that one of our own was sent to Azkaban without a trial is a horrible one. But so is the thought of a potential murderer and traitor walking free.”

She looked around at the Wizengamot to make sure she had everyone’s attention. “I move that the Kiss on Sight order be rescinded, and a trial scheduled, however late it might be. The Department of Law Enforcement will investigate, and Sirius Black will receive justice, one way or another.”

The vote here was not a unanimous one, but a majority voted with Bones to grant Black a trial. Tellingly, Fudge abstained rather than commit to a course of action. Worryingly, Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle voted with Bones for a trial. Cedric’s stomach churned uneasily. Harry would never forgive him if his godfather was executed.

Lord Selwyn nodded at Daphne. “Thank you, Solicitor. You are free to go.”

Daphne picked up the third petition from the desk in front of Cedric. “I have one last petition to present, Lord Selwyn. Another miscarriage of justice, I am afraid.”

“Surely you aren’t going to blame the Minister for his predecessor’s actions again.” Dolorus Umbridge had risen once more in his defence, looking quite smug. That simpering tone of hers made Cedric want to hex her.

“No, Senior Undersecretary. I’m going to blame him for yours.” Daphne said, carefully breaking the seal. “My other client is Harry Potter, and I am charging Minister Fudge, you, Lucius Malfoy, Lords Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson, Auror Yaxley and Walden McNair with several violations of the Wizengamot Charter of rights. They include, but are not limited to: right to present a defence against charges, right to counsel, a right to an open trial, a right to question all witnesses, and a right to call witnesses in their defence. Since none of these were adhered to, he should not be in Azkaban.”

Daphne practically had to shout the last word to be heard, such was the noise from both the members and the public gallery. Almost everyone was shouting now, and Cedric couldn’t work out who to listen to first. Minister Fudge was calling for their arrest again. Lord Parkinson was demanding that Daphne recant her slanderous words, or face a deformation suit. 

The public gallery had quickly devolved into simple calls for justice for Harry. Cedric suspected that Hermione was a major influence there. It certainly seemed more orderly than the members, who had resorted to screaming at each other.

Tracy interrupted his musing to hand him a pile of galleons. He set them on the desk in front of him, wondering what the point she was making with them. The whole desk was now covered in piles of gold, except for a small section in front of Tracy where she diligently kept notes. When Fudge called for Dawlish and Shacklebolt to arrest them again, Tracy simply made a note and added three more galleons to the desk.

Lord Selwyn had been shouting for order, and eventually gained it by threatening to eject the next person who spoke out of turn. Silence fell, and everyone looked awkwardly at each other, waiting to see who would speak. Lord Selwyn broke the stalemate himself.

“Solicitor Greengrass, I assume you have not spoken to Harry Potter to take his case?”

“I have not,” confirmed Daphne. “But I have been retained to act on his behalf.”

“Without speaking to Harry Potter, you do not have standing to bring his case before the Wizengamot.” Lord Selwyn said, seemingly reluctantly. “Your petition is dismissed, Solicitor.”

Cedric’s mouth dropped open, and the public gallery burst into loud curses. Daphne lit her wand and stared at Lord Selwyn, waiting for him to let her speak. He nodded.

“I think you will find, as I have all the appropriate documents signed by his guardians, that I have full power of attorney over Harry Potter.” Daphne said, and Cedric could hear the anger in her voice. “Should I add your name to the petition, Lord Selwyn? For denying Harry Potter his rights?”

The public gallery started making angry comments, and Lord Selwyn decided that this was not the hill he wanted to die on. Tracy had pulled out another Galleon, but Daphne waved it away with a subtle hand signal.

Cedric could see that more members were interested in the gold covered desk now, and Daphne spoke to put everyone out of their misery. “I have an interesting pay scale with Lord Black,” she said casually. “For every charge against my clients, and every obstruction of justice that is tried, I receive one Galleon. My assistant counsel has been keeping track.”

Cedric looked down at the desk in front of him. There were easily two hundred Galleons on the desk. Every single one represented a violation of the law, or an obstruction of justice. Cedric looked at Daphne, filled with realization. For someone who had grown up as the daughter of a lawyer and expected to be one herself, so many violations of the law must be infuriating. Today was the most emotional he had ever seen her. 

The stacks of gold seemed to silence most of the Wizengamot. Cedric supposed it might seem intimidating to some. It wasn’t the thousand he’d won for the Triwizard, but still nothing to sneeze at.

Lucius Malfoy, however, did not seem so intimidated. He lit his wand, and rose when Lord Selwyn called on him. “Perhaps I can save the so called Lord Black a few Galleons, Solicitor Greengrass. And help clear up this misunderstanding”

Cedric was mildly surprised when Daphne accepted that, and even more surprised when she had him sworn in as a witness. Daphne was very professional as she began asking her questions.

“Mister Malfoy,” she said. “You were a member of the tribunal charged with investigating and pressing charges in relation to the use of Unforgivable Curses in the Third Task, yes?”

“I was, yes”

“How were its members selected?”

“Minister Fudge asked me to find a few people to fill the tribunal. I believe Senior Undersecretary Umbridge asked a couple of Ministry officials to make up the numbers.”

“You asked Lords Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson. Why?”

Malfoy shrugged casually. “It didn’t seem an important role. Lords Crabbe and Goyle have asked for a greater role in the Wizengamot previously, I thought this was a good opportunity for them. Lord Parkinson overheard me asking them and volunteered.”

“I would have thought Madam Bones might have been your first choice, Mr Malfoy. As head of the DMLE.”

“She is a busy woman. And Senior Undersecretary Umbridge had asked Auror Yaxley already.”

“Who investigated the task?”

“Senior Undersecretary Umbridge and Auror Yaxley did the initial investigation. Once they found the Imperius on Potter’s wand, they brought it before the tribunal.”

“What defence did Potter offer for the Imperius being on his wand?”

“Mister Potter was quite vocal in arguing his innocence. Claimed he didn’t use the spell. But the evidence was plain to see.”

Cedric could see what everyone meant about Lucius Malfoy. He was as slippery as they came. If he hadn’t known otherwise, he might have agreed with him.

Daphne seemed taken aback. “Harry Potter argued his innocence himself? In front of the tribunal?”

Malfoy adopted an innocent expression. “I did suggest a lawyer, but he was insistent on arguing for himself. You can probably drop some charges off your list, and save Lord Black some gold.”

Cedric was surprised when a small smile crossed Daphne’s lips. “I will add one charge of perjury to the count, against Lucius Malfoy. Would you like to keep going? There is some lovely goblin made jewellery I have my eye on.”

“Objection!” Lord Selwyn called out. “What proof do you have about this?”

“A certified copy of the transcript of the tribunal,” said Daphne calmly. Tracy produced the copy, which she waved towards Lord Selwyn. “Harry Potter says nothing in his own defence. The charges stand.”

Cedric could see the flash of anger on Lucius Malfoy’s face. Clearly he didn’t appreciate being caught in a lie. Realising that Daphne knew more than he’d realised, he kept his mouth shut. Daphne’s next couple of questions yielded only silence.

Daphne didn’t seem to be too disappointed. “I request that the witness be treated as a hostile witness, and given Veritaserum to ascertain the truth.” She looked expectantly up at Lord Selwyn. 

“Objection!” came the expected shout from Lord Parkinson. “Lord Malfoy is a member of the Wizengamot, and as such is immune to being given Veritaserum as a witness!”

“I thought we’d established that Lord Malfoy isn’t a member of the Wizengamot.” said Daphne calmly, “as his eligibility to hold the Black seat has been called into question.”

Cedric could see the realisation cross the faces of the Wizengamot. How Daphne had played them beautifully, first discrediting Malfoy, then pinning him on the stand. Her father in particular beamed with pride. Most of the others looked at her with awe. Cedric was sure that whatever happened, Daphne’s future career was assured.

Most was not all, however. Lord Selwyn called the Wizengamot to order. He cleared his throat. “Solicitor, you must agree that Lord Malfoy was acting as a member of the Wizengamot, and is therefore eligible to its protections.”

“I must agree to nothing.” Daphne shot back. “But with a witness who is refusing to answer questions, who has lied under oath, I have no recourse but to demand that he be subjected to Veritaserum.”

Lord Selwyn called Lord Nott, an older man with legal experience to consult with. Daphne joined the consult and an intense discussion began. The rest of the room watched as the three argued under a silenced bubble. At one point, Daphne came over and Tracy handed her a scroll of parchment. Daphne marched back over to the two men, looking concerned.

“How do you always know what she needs?” Cedric murmured to Tracy, his eyes on Lord Selwyn and the two lawyers. 

“Lots of practice,” Tracy replied in her lilting Welsh accent. “And we may have a few hand signals.”

Cedric nodded. It was a very Slytherin thing to do, to work out a set of hand signals so they could communicate silently. He suspected the Weasley twins had something similar. He’d have to ask them at some point.

The bubble came down, and Daphne came back and sat down, holding her scroll of parchment. She looked tense, and Cedric began to get worried

Lord Selwyn stood. “We have agreed that since Lord Malfoy was acting as a member of the Wizengamot at the time, he should have some protections. So Lord Nott will ask Solicitor Greengrasses questions while Veritaserum is used.”

“We’ve lost.” Daphne’s words were almost silent, but Cedric could just hear her. “The bastards will never ask any of the hard questions. Nott will ask the easy questions, Malfoy will give simple answers, and they will present it to the Wizengamot as a fait accompli. We’ll be lucky if they review the case next session"

Cedric watched as an Auror dosed Lucius Malfoy with the required three drops of Veritaserum. Nott asked a couple of questions, but Cedric couldn’t hear over the pounding in his ears.

They couldn't lose. Harry was depending on them. Harry couldn’t survive more months in Azkaban. But Cedric could see that Daphne had been defeated. The slight fall of her shoulders, the slump in how she was sitting. She had played the game well, but came up short against the other Slytherins.

Cedric pondered the odd thought for a moment, wondering if lack of sleep and food was making him silly. The Wizengamot was a very Slytherin place to be, everyone jockeying for advantage. Hufflepuffs were more fair. Ravenclaws would have had a Mot where everyone looked up old laws to see who was right.

What would Gryffindors do?

The answer came to him, and his fingers found his wand. He leaned forward, listening to Malfoy answer about how he had honestly thought his son was the only heir to the Blacks.

Nott paused for a moment before asking his next question, and Cedric struck. Silently, he cast Sliencio on Lord Nott as he leapt to his feet. 

“How was the Imperius curse faked on Harry Potter’s wand?” He shouted across the room, hoping desperately that this would work.

The murmuring grew, but not enough to obscure Malfoy’s answer. “Auror Yaxley used it on the wand, and we adjusted the transcript to make it look like it had happened in the maze.”

People broke out in gasps of shock, but Cedric shouted his next question, seeing the Aurors coming towards him, desperate to get more of the story out. “Why? Why throw Harry Potter in Azkaban?” It was the one question they’d never worked out. 

“We had to!” The words came from Lucius Malfoy. “The Dark Lord has been growing stronger! He will never forgive those of us who turned on him! If we could throw Potter in Azkaban, we could prove that we were still loyal to him!”

The Wizengamot exploded. The noise was such that Cedric was nearly deafened. He flinched away as a bright violet light streamed past him, and found himself tackled to the floor as more wizards went for their wands. A rainbow of colours streamed above him as Cedric’s head hit the floor. He blinked up dumbly as his head throbbed.

The lights stopped, and the noise became discernible as individual voices before Cedric was let up. Only when he was standing did he realise that his father was the one to tackle him to the ground.

“Cedric Diggory!” Shouted Lord Selwyn. “For contempt of the Wizengamot…”

“SHUT UP!” Lord Abbott was on his feet, but so was most of the rest of the members. Cedric spotted Lords Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson slumped over in their chairs, but they were the only ones. “Do you not understand our peril?”

Most of the voices fell silent at this, though the public gallery had dropped to an angry murmur. Lord Abbott continued. “We have now a confession that Solicitor Greengrass is correct. Touch the Diggory boy, and you won’t make it out of the Ministry alive”

Cedric felt a bit annoyed at being called a boy - wasn’t he of age? But he thought he’d let Lord Abbott keep talking. He seemed to have mucked it up when he’d talked. And his head hurt.

“We must set our house in order, and undo this injustice. Madam Bones, what can we charge these criminals with?” Lord Abbott said.

“Fraud, perversion of justice for a start.” replied Madam Bones. She gestured, and the Aurors moved to take the four Lords from their seats. “I will add the other members of the tribunal to the defendants.”

She indicated, and a burly, bearded Auror hauled a spluttering Umbridge to her feet. This seemed to galvanize Fudge. “You can’t do this! Dolores is a member of my staff!”

His exclamation was probably a mistake. Suddenly, every eye was upon him. Fudge seemed to shrink when he realised that he was very much the centre of attention.

“I call for a vote of no confidence in Minister Fudge.” Cedric couldn’t see who the speaker was, but a dozen voices from the members shouted ‘Seconded!’ 

Even Lord Selwyn could read the writing on the wall. “Minister Fudge, do you have anything to say against the motion?” 

Minister Fudge stood and began spouting his accomplishments as Minister for Magic, Cedric ignored him. He returned to his chair next to Daphne and Tracy. Daphne almost had an amused smile on her face. His father sat down next to him, keeping his wand out.

“...and this motion has happened because a minor incident has been blown all out of proportion.” Fudge concluded. “So set this aside, and my Ministry will properly investigate and prosecute everyone involved.” 

“Thank you, Minister Fudge.” said Lord Selwyn. “All those in favour of dismissing Minister Fudge from office, please light your wands”

Silence fell as the Wizengamot voted, and Cedric was stunned. As far as he could tell, nearly every wand was lit. Somehow, without meaning to, he’d brought down the Minister for Magic.

Even Lord Selwyn seemed taken aback by the scale of the vote. His call for those voting against had only one supporter: Fudge himself. His hand was shaking as he held his wand. He looked around, but no one met his eyes. Without waiting for Lord Selwyn to announce the results, he stood and sat on the witness bench next to an immobile Lucius Malfoy.

“As per procedure, the senior most Department Head will assume office as a temporary Minister until a fresh election is held.” Lord Selwyn announced. “Madam Bones, are you ready to take the oath of office?”

“No, I am not.” Said Amelia Bones. She was frantically writing on a piece of parchment. “If I could beg for a moment's indulgence…” 

She took another minute to write out what she wanted, then thrust the parchment towards a nearby Auror. “As my last act as Head of the Department of Law Enforcement, Auror Dawlish, you are hereby authorised to remove Harry Potter from Azkaban with all possible speed.”

Dawlish took the parchment from Amelia Bones and left the Wizengamot Chambers at a run. The public gallery burst into raucous cheers, and even some of the members joined in. He could see Hermione crying in the gallery, and she wasn’t the only one. This was what it should have felt like to lift the Cup. Cedric felt he could weep with jubilation.

They’d won.

Chapter Text

September First was a Friday, but his father had taken the day off work anyway. It was Cedric’s last time to catch the Hogwarts Express.

His father had been very apologetic over the last week, but also highly supportive. They’d had a long conversation after the Wizengamot, which basically boiled down to the fact that his father had believed too many of the stories about Harry, and made too many assumptions about him.

The fact that the people in charge couldn’t be trusted was a hard lesson to learn. He’d never expected to have to teach that to his father.

He’d wanted to visit the Burrow to see Harry, but he’d been busy being interviewed by the Aurors about the maze and everything they’d learned. Plus Cho had demanded a couple of dates. He’d kind of neglected her over the summer, but she’d been understanding. Mostly. At Hannah's suggestion, one of those dates went to Godric’s Hollow, where they ate and drank for free. He couldn’t have afforded it otherwise.

Cedric stowed his trunk in the prefect’s compartment. He and Elsie had the responsibility to look after the prefects, so one of them had to be in the prefect’s compartment at all times. With fifteen minutes before the train departed, he walked along the platform, encouraging students to board the train, and talking briefly to parents. He caught the sight of the photographer from the Prophet taking his picture, and it was all Cedric could do not to scowl as his picture was taken.

The Prophet had spent the last week going over everything that had happened at the Wizengamot multiple times. Cedric had been the subject of a profile piece that had espoused his leadership abilities, magical skills and ability to get all four houses of Hogwarts to work together. It had concluded that he was very likely to follow in Eldritch Diggory’s footsteps and become Minister for Magic. It had less than subtly hinted that his name should be submitted in the upcoming election.

Cedric hated it. This sort of fame was the sort of thing Harry hated, and Cedric quickly realised why. Everyone had an opinion, and no one seemed interested in any kind of truth, or was actually willing to ask Cedric if he wanted to be Minister for Magic. Even his father had dropped a subtle hint or two about Cedric working his way up Ministry roles.

Cedric spotted Harry as he came through the barrier. He was very firmly in the middle of the Weasleys, and only Hermione helped break up the sea of red hair. Even Bill Weasley had joined in to escort his younger siblings to Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

The Prophet photographer had spotted Harry, and moved to try and take a photo. Before Cedric could move to intervene, one of the twins disarmed the cameraman. The camera burst open on the platform, exposing the film. The cameraman's scream of dismay was lost in the sound of the train whistle. 

“Everyone on board!” shouted Cedric, moving between the Weasleys and the reporter. He glared at the reporter and the cameraman, who decided that perhaps they didn’t need an interview with Harry Potter after all. 

Seeing that everyone was boarding as ordered, Cedric reboarded near the prefect's compartment. Cho had staked out the next compartment down, since she wasn’t a prefect. Cedric gave her a little wave before heading into the prefect’s compartment. He paused for a moment as the train set off. The prefect’s compartment had to be manned by either the Head Boy or Girl at all times, so Cedric expected to spend the entire trip here. He still had a Transfiguration essay to finish from his summer homework.

Since he’d Apparated to the station, he was already dressed in his Hogwarts robes. Elsie had done the same, so they were ready with badges on when the prefects shuffled into the compartment. 

Cedric was surprised to see Harry and Hermione walk in holding hands. He hadn’t had much chance to catch up with either of them, but he knew Hermione had visited the Burrow. Cedric raised an eyebrow, and Hermione blushed, but smiled. Cedric felt his heart lift at the thought of the two of them together. His plan to sponsor a few dates between the two had taken a big hit, as his Triwizard winnings had been spent over the course of the summer. Harry still looked a bit pale, but otherwise seemed okay.

The other big surprise was the last person to enter. Rather than Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass strode into the prefects compartment, the prefect badge displayed prominently on her robes. She took a seat next to Theo Nott and calmly waited for the meeting to start.

“Welcome, and welcome back for another year at Hogwarts.” Elsie began. “Congratulations on all being selected as prefects of your house. It is a huge honour, and a great responsibility.” She looked over her notes, which were more extensive than Cedric’s own. “Cedric and I will be your Head Boy and Girl, and are responsible for coordinating and leading you, as well as liaising between you and staff members.”

Elsie looked at Cedric expectantly, and Cedric glanced down at his notes. Patrols, right. “We will be setting up a schedule for patrols that will happen after curfew. We also have the responsibility for the train, so we will conduct patrols for the rest of the journey.”

He focussed on the group of fifth year prefects. “Fifth year prefects are given responsibility over the first years. Tonight, after the Sorting, you will be responsible for showing them to their common rooms, the dorms, and about the castle.”

Hannah Abbott nudged Hermione, who spoke up. “Do we have to start tonight?”

“Yes,” said Elsie. “How else will the first years know where to go?” Cedric thought the response was a little harsh, but the question was an odd one.

“Actually, I thought we could start now,” said Hermione. “Start talking to the first years before they’re sorted.” Everyone’s eyes were now upon her, but Hermione kept going. Probably why Hannah had nudged her into talking. “We saw over the summer how effective the four houses can be when they work together. If we can get them working together before they’re sorted, it will be easier in the future.”

Cedric looked at Elsie and considered the idea. It was a novel idea, certainly. And he was a bit curious to see if the spirit of inter-house cooperation could continue. He had planned to ask for an inter-house common room to be set up, so everyone could hang out like they had over summer.

“We could probably double up on a patrol or two, to give them a chance.” said Elsie, who seemed to be in favour of the idea. 

“Four of you,” Cedric decided. “One from each house. Go through the compartments, talk to the first years, get to know them. The rest of us can cover.” 

He’d expected a groan or two from the older prefects, but they nodded. Elsie handed out slips of parchment with the planned patrol schedules to the seventh and sixth years while the fifth years discussed everything between themselves. The sixth and seventh years left, followed by Elsie, which left Cedric with the fifth years. 

“So Daphne," said Cedric casually. “You’re not who I expected to see with that badge.” He’d known that the badge should have gone to Pansy Parkinson, and nothing had been said about it changing. 

“Funny story.” said Daphne, looking more relaxed than Cedric had ever seen her. “Pansy cornered me on the platform, gave me the badge, told me she didn’t want it, and ran away. I thought I should at least represent Slytherin until we get to Hogwarts.”

Nott snorted. Cedric thought about it for a moment, then realised it made sense. Slytherin house tended to be big on reputation, connections, among the whole purity of blood thing. Daphne was just as pure blood as anyone else, and her skill at law had just brought down the Minister for Magic. 

Plus knowing she was in favour from the new Lord Black, had probably tipped the scales. No one in Slytherin wanted to be the favour collected. The Blacks had a fearsome reputation. Cedric wondered how long it would be before anyone realised Sirius Black was Lord Black.

“Keep it.” Declared Cedric. “I’ll square things with the Headmaster when we get to Hogwarts.” 

“We think it should be Daphne, Hannah, Anthony and I to talk to the first years,” said Hermione. “I think Harry would be too distracting, unfortunately.” Cedric nodded. Harry could probably do with a quiet trip. Hogwarts was going to be interesting. 

“Harry can stay here with me, I think,” said Cedric. “I have an essay to complete, and I’m sure he does too.” Hermione and Harry both gave Cedric grateful smiles. 

Theo Nott scoffed. “So Potter gets a prefect badge and then gets out of his duties. Special treatment for the celebrity.”

The other seven rounded on Nott, but it was Harry who retorted. “Unfortunately, my summer island vacation didn’t give me a lot of time for homework, Nott.”

“We can form a patrol group and go together, Theo.” Ernie offered. “You, me and Padma.” Nott seemed to consider that for a moment, then nodded. He’d probably worked out that if he was going to attack Harry, everyone else would back Harry. It was smarter than anything Malfoy had done.  The seven other prefects left, leaving Harry and Cedric alone.

Cedric sat down at a table, and pulled his half finished Transfiguration essay out. He still had to write out about the exceptions to Gamp’s Laws, so he started writing out about food. He’d left Transfiguration until last because it was one of his strongest subjects.

“Thank you.” Harry said quietly. “Hermione mentioned that you were the driving force behind getting me out.” Harry hesitated for a minute, then sat down next to Cedric. He pulled his trunk up next to him for easy access.

Cedric looked up, temporarily distracted. “You saved my life, Harry. I think that cancels out getting you out of Azkaban.” He considered his next words. “And I don’t think friends need to count favours.” He smiled at Harry encouragingly.

Harry seemed to be a little taken aback at the idea. “Friends?”

“We did fight an Acromantula together,” Cedric reminded him. “It’s the sort of thing which helps make friends.” His smile grew larger. “Hermione told me something about a mountain troll?”

Harry blushed and looked at his toes. “Yeah. Back in first year.”

Cedric wondered when Harry had noticed that Hermione was growing into a pretty young woman. The Yule Ball, probably. Maybe he should suggest another Ball this year. The girls would love it. “So, friends help each other out. How’s your homework coming along?”

“I’ve done History of Magic, and Potions.” said Harry. “Sirius wrote me a note, but Snape won’t accept it, and Binns won’t read it. Basically it says I spent the summer in Azkaban, please excuse my lack of homework.” Harry seemed oddly happy about that. Cedric made a mental note to keep an eye on the situation with Professor Snape. Some of the things Ron and Hermione had said were worrying, if not downright disturbing. Snape had a reputation as a harsh taskmaster, but from what Harry’s friends had said, Snape was little more than a bully to Harry.

Cedric frowned. “You’re doing a lot better than I expected.” He’d been worried about Harry for most of the summer. To see him casually joking about his summer was more than he ever could have hoped.

Harry shrugged. “Sirius taught me a trick. If you can hold onto the thought of being innocent, it helps stave off the dementors. It’s not a happy thought, so they can’t take it. Plus the guards put me right next to their room, so the dementors didn’t bother me much.” He sighed. “I’ve had worse summers, really’”

“Did you get to see him?” Cedric asked. From what he had gathered, Sirius actually seemed to care about Harry. Cedric was glad somebody did. That comment about having worse summers than Azkaban worried him.

Harry shook his head. “He sent me a letter. He’s still negotiating his surrender to Amelia Bones, but everyone knows now that the trial will be quick. The DMLE has only Fudge’s recollections as evidence.” A wry grin spread across his face. “If you can find out when the first Hogsmeade weekend is, he’d appreciate it. He was talking about throwing the biggest party since Voldemort fell.”

One of Cedric’s earliest memories was of that night. Being carried by his mother and father, everyone singing, dancing and partying. If Sirius was going to try to top that, Cedric was definitely going to attend.

“You have OWL’s this year.”  Cedric said. “What subjects do you think you need help in?”

Harry fidgeted. “I’m fine, really. Hermione keeps us on track.” 

Cedric frowned. “You’ve missed most of your summer, Harry. If half of what Ron and Hermione have said is true, you spend more time saving us all from Dark Lords and monsters than actually doing schoolwork.” That wasn’t quite true, but Cedric was trying to hammer the point home. “Let us - all the students of Hogwarts - help you, for a change.”

Harry still looked uncertain, so Cedric played his trump card. “If you don’t, I’ll just ask Hermione. You know she’ll jump at the chance.”

Harry groaned, rubbing his eyes with his hands. “Fine,” he said, setting his glasses back into place. “Potions I could definitely use some help in. I wouldn’t mind a bit of help in Transfiguration - Dad was a prodigy apparently, so I should at least try and get better than an Acceptable. I’m crap at Divination, and I always fall asleep in History.”

Before Cedric could reply, they were interrupted by the trolley witch. Harry jumped up, and bought a range of food. Cedric watched with bemusement as Harry bought some of everything, and offered Cedric his choice of things. 

“I’m good, Harry,” Cedric said, pulling out a marmalade sandwich. He’d already spent far too much money this summer. It was ironic, really. He had won the tournament, and then spent all the gold from it fixing the mistakes of the organizers. Oh well. He didn’t want to be rich anyway.

“Cedric,” Harry said in a serious tone. “Friends share. Are we not friends?” Harry was struggling to keep a straight face as he pushed a Chocolate frog his way.

Cedric burst out laughing. “You win,” he said at last, taking the frog. Taking a bite, he looked at the card. “Ptolemy. That’s rare.”

Harry’s face lit up. “Ron’s looking for that one! Can I give it to him?” Cedric handed over the card, chuckling. His chuckles faded as he wondered if Hermione’s book on abused children mentioned an overwhelming eagerness to please others.

“You know, If you think you’d struggle with Divination, you can always sit the exam for Muggle Studies as well,” Cedric suggested. “Most Muggleborn do, although some have gotten into trouble for arguing with the exam paper.” He smiled encouragingly at Harry. “You’re not exactly a Muggleborn, but you should have enough knowledge to make it worthwhile.”

Harry nodded slowly. Maybe Cedric was starting to get through to him. “Is it hard?”

“No, I can give you my notes as well.” Cho had borrowed them for her own Muggle studies Exam, but she should still have them. “I did get an O in Muggle studies, so they’re good notes.” He gave a small cough. “Potions I can’t really help with, but I’m good at Transfiguration, Charms and Defence.” He would ask around about a Potions tutor. Elsie might be up for it.

Harry gave a small laugh. “I’m pretty good at Defence, but it’s hard to tell sometimes. He might be a crazy escaped Death Eater, but Barty Crouch Junior was a good teacher.”

Cedric dropped his quill in shock. “Barty Crouch Junior? Who is he?” He hadn’t heard of the man. Presumably a son of Barty Crouch. And had Harry called him a Death Eater…

Harry shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “He’s the guy who impersonated Moody all last year. Amelia Bones is still trying to work out how he got out of Azkaban.” Harry looked uncomfortably at the closed door. “Don’t tell anyone, though. Sirius was planning on using Moody as a surprise witness in his trial.”

Cedric nodded. “We had worked out that there was an imposter, just not who it was.” He’d been hoping Ron was wrong, that it had been Peter Pettigrew instead. Now it was confirmed there were two people working to bring back Voldemort. “What was he in Azkaban for?”

Harry leaned in close. “He was with the Lestranges. They tortured Neville’s parents into insanity.” Harry’s face was grim, hard. “According to Madame Bones, Pettigrew and Crouch ambushed him before the start of term last year. We’ve never actually met the real Mad-Eye Moody.”

Cedric’s shock was interrupted by the return of the seventh year prefects. Harry gave Cedric a significant glance, and returned to his essay. Cedric took the hint and returned to his own. What were the other exceptions to Gamp’s Law’s again? It was hard getting back into study mode after discussing such things. No wonder Harry had trouble with his marks. 

“Any issues, Cedric?” called out Warrington, the Slytherin prefect. He’d expected some pushback from the Slytherins, given his appointment as Head Boy, and the summer hangout excluding most of their house. But the Slytherins hadn’t said much. It was mildly concerning, really.

“Not even any lost firsties.” said Cedric. His first trip as a prefect had had Dementors searching the train, and plenty of lost and panicked first years. It had certainly been eye opening. 

“I was expecting Malfoy to turn up.” Harry said casually, still working on an essay. “He makes a point to visit and offer some sort of threat or mockery during every train trip. He must be annoyed that I missed our last train ride.” Harry pulled out his Transfiguration book, and started flicking through it. Evidently he thought McGonagall might not accept the ‘I spent my summer in Azkaban excuse.’ Very wise, in Cedric’s opinion.

“Malfoy?” Snorted Warrington. “He’s sulking at the other end of the train. Daddy being in custody has put him in his place.” He looked appraisingly at Potter. “I thought they said you've been in Azkaban?”

Harry tensed, and Cedric thought he’d better step in. “He was.” Cedric said flatly. “Your boy Malfoy lied his arse off to put him in there.”

The compartment got tense, and Cedric spotted Kenneth Towler fingering his wand. Most of the other prefects stopped what they were doing, and focussed on the impending confrontation. Warrington looked around, and seemed to recognise that he was on the wrong end of the angry room. “Peace,” he said, holding his empty hands up. “There’s been a lot of rumours around, and apparently someone didn’t invite Slytherin house to a big party over the summer.”

“We invited some Slytherins,” Cedric offered. “But after hearing how Malfoy and his cronies lied, we thought it best to keep things discreet. How many of your house would have sold out our plans to Malfoy? Quite a bit of our plans relied upon surprise at the Wizengamot session.”

Cordelia Avery, Warrington’s female counterpart, nodded as she came and sat down opposite Harry. “The prevailing attitude in Slytherin is to support winners.” Her bright blue eyes flickered back and forth between Harry and Cedric. “But given everything, what would it take to include Slytherin in this new spirit of inter-house cooperation?”

Cedric looked at Harry, who seemed confused. Cedric supposed that if most of his interaction with Slytherin had been with Malfoy, Snape and the Quidditch team, the idea of helpful Slytherins might be a bit too much for Harry to deal with. “Keep Malfoy in check.” Decided Cedric. “He’s spent the last four years being a general pain in the butt. Show everyone that he doesn’t represent Slytherin, and we can work together.” He couldn’t exactly ask the students to deal with Snape.

“Deal,” Cordelia said. “We can work with that.” She looked out at the darkening sky. “We’ll be there soon.” This spurred everyone to pack things up, and Cedric looked ruefully at his still incomplete Transfiguration essay. He’d have to finish it after the feast. “Get your robes on Harry.”

Harry had just finished putting away his own essay. He pulled on his robes as instructed, and the prefects started moving out to corral the students. Harry and Cedric were the last ones out.

“Ready for another year at Hogwarts, Harry?” Cedric said with a smile. Because whatever happened this year, Harry would not be alone.

Harry grinned as he rode in the carriage down to Hogsmeade. While it had been a strange start to the year, he was happy to get out of the castle and visit Hogsmeade. For once he wouldn’t have to worry about the first years, and could spend time with just himself and Hermione.

After a few pointed suggestions, Harry had asked Hermione to accompany him to Hogsmeade for their first official date. Cedric had made a few suggestions about what girls liked to see on dates, but Harry had asked Hermione who had simply said that Harry could take her to the bookstore before Sirius’ party.

Sirius’ trial had happened in the previous month, and he’d been cleared of all charges. Moody’s recollection of seeing Pettigrew and Barty Crouch Jnr attacking him, plus sworn statements from Harry, Ron, Hermione and Remus Lupin had all proved that Wormtail had survived and confessed to being the Potter’s Secret Keeper. The Ministry had charged Sirius with being an unregistered Animagus, simply to save face, but Sirius had been released due to time served. Surprisingly, Rita Skeeter had been dragged in straight afterwards on the same charge. Hermione and Daphne had worked it out and told Madam Bones. 

Harry’s last month at Hogwarts had been different. Although he still had a few nightmares from his time in Azkaban, he was mostly okay. What had been different was the amount of people who took the time to come up to him and wish him well. Considering that he’d spent most of his time at Hogwarts as a pariah, having everyone asking after him was a new experience. Apparently all it had taken to truly unite the houses of Hogwarts was for Harry to get thrown in Azkaban.

This wasn’t limited to the students. Even the teachers seemed to have taken their time to make sure he was alright after his summer. Professor McGonagall had stunned everyone by hugging him in his first lesson back. He’d had tea with Professor Flitwick, who’d told him stories of his mother. Even Snape had ignored Harry, which had to be considered an improvement. Only Kasper Strudelhaven, the new Defence Teacher, had treated him like everyone else. But given the man’s thick accent, Harry wasn’t sure he’d read about his incarceration. He also wasn’t sure what Dumbledore had thought, given that the man had appeared for the Opening Feast then disappeared to help with the election.

The carriage slowed, then stopped. Harry hopped out and held out his hand to help Hermione down. Ron and Neville followed, then split off to head for the Three Broomsticks. Harry followed Hermione to Tomes and Scrolls, where they spent some time looking through the books. Harry had intended to buy her a book of her choice as a late birthday present, but Sirius had told him to hold off, as he had something better in mind. Harry was slightly concerned, but figured he could always come back tomorrow if Sirius was playing some kind of prank.

After leaving the bookshop, Harry and Hermione headed over to the Three Broomsticks. Already the place was a sea of Hogwarts students, as word had spread of Sirius’ plan to throw a party for everyone who’d helped take down Fudge and free Harry. Sirius was waiting outside for the two of them

“Harry!” Shouted Sirius, as he drew Harry into a hug. Harry submitted eagerly, happy to have someone else hug him. Hermione hugged him all the time, but there was something different about Sirius’ hugs. A greater feeling of being protected, perhaps. And after both of them had been in Azkaban, they were more than willing to help each other feel free from that awful place.

Hermione was given her own hug, then Sirius led them inside to a small table. It was in a small alcove, so the noise level made it easier to hear each other. Madam Rosemerta put three butterbeers on the table before leaving.

“Right,” said Sirius. “I’m going to have to deal with that lot in a moment, but we can talk briefly. I’ve filed for formal custody of you, and formally adopted you.” He held up a hand to forestall questions. “I’m not asking to be called Dad, as we both know James deserves that more than I. But I’ve got a lot of gold I need to keep out of some less than deserving hands, and you’re going to help me do it.” He pulled out a ring and put it on the table in front of Harry. “This ring denotes you as my heir. Keep it safe, and wear it on formal occasions.”

As Harry slid the ring on his right hand, Sirius turned to Hermione. “I went to one of Harry’s old friends to get your birthday present. We all know he hasn’t had any chance to go shopping in months, but she was happy to pass this on. Happy late Birthday from both of us.”

Sirius pulled out a small book, and tapped it with his wand. It regrew to full size, and was now a large tome. Harry could make out the words in gold on the front: Hogwarts, A History. 

“I’m pretty sure she already has that one, Padfoot. It’s her favourite book.” Harry said, already trying to remember which books she’d shown interest in back in Tomes and Scrolls. It looked like he’d have to pick up something else after all.

“Not like this,” Sirius said as Hermione opened the book and gave a gasp of surprise. “It’s a first edition, unabridged copy signed by the author, Bathilda Bagshot. She used to have tea with your parents when you were hiding in Godric’s Hollow.”

After seeing Hermione’s eyes filling with tears, Harry had to concede that Sirius was right, that it was a good present. Hermione gave Sirius another hug, and gave Harry one as well. Harry didn’t feel he’d done much to deserve it, but it was a good hug.

“I’m going to go start the party, and give out a few more gifts.” Sirius said. “Keep an eye on the Map, any sign of either of those two Death Eaters and you sound the alarm, okay? I’m not losing you back to Azkaban or worse.”

“Don’t worry.” Harry said. “We mostly use the Map to cheat on our prefect patrols. See who is out after curfew, find the lost first years. If we see Pettigrew or Crouch, we’ll go straight to a teacher.” No way was he going back to Azkaban if he could avoid it.

Sirius nodded, then stood. He picked up a butterbeer, then walked over to a cordoned off area where a small stage stood. He hopped up on it, and addressed the crowd “Good afternoon!”

Immediately, the crowd of Hogwarts students fell silent and turned towards Sirius. Harry took a long drink of his butterbeer, and pointedly nudged Hermione with the last one. She ignored it in favour of her book. For some reason, she’d put her gloves on to turn the pages.

“For those who don’t recognise me” Sirius paused as the room laughed. “My name is Sirius Black. We’re here today to celebrate the work of the students of Hogwarts in freeing both me and Harry Potter from Azkaban.”

The room erupted into cheers, and Harry saw a few people look at him. He raised his glass in unspoken thanks. Sirius took a swig of his butterbeer, and kept talking. “So today, I’m covering the butterbeer for all Hogwarts students. If you want food or something stronger, you’ll have to get it yourself.”

More cheers rang out at this, but Sirius held up his hand for quiet. “There’s a couple of people, however, who deserve a little more recognition. Is Daphne Greengrass and Tracy Davis here?”

There was a shout over to Harry’s right, and the two girls walked over to the stage. Sirius waved his wand and a set of shallow steps appeared, which the two girls climbed. “For all their legal work, the agreed upon sum, plus some lovely goblin made earrings I had in a vault.”

The room burst into excited mutterings and retellings of how Daphne had challenged Lucius Malfoy to keep lying under oath so Daphne could afford some goblin made jewelry. Harry had heard the story from Hermione, so he drank more of his butterbeer while he waited for it to die down. The two girls were happily putting the earrings on. Sirius helpfully conjured a mirror so they could look at themselves. They shook hands with him again before they left.

“Fred, George and Ron Weasley.” was Sirius’ next call, and the girls disappeared into the crowd as the three redheads came forward. “For covering the Ministry of Magic in paper, and causing general mayhem, I would like to offer my support in any future joke shops that might come about. Also, a new Cleansweep for Ron, as he did most of the work.”

The cheers were more interspersed with groans and talking than before, but the twins looked ecstatic. Ron was already cradling his new broom like a baby. Harry was fairly certain he’d find it in Ron’s bed tonight. He loved Quidditch, but not like Ron.

“And last, but not least, Cedric Diggory.” Sirius announced. There was more applause, but it grew quiet as Cedric took to the stage. “I am given to understand that you spent all your Triwizard winnings getting Harry out of Azkaban. So here’s another thousand galleons in case you need to do it again.”

This was met with cheering and applause, as well as laughter. Harry felt a flush of relief. Cedric had confessed that he’d spent all his gold to get Harry out of Azkaban in one of their study sessions. He’d felt so guilty that Cedric had spent so much trying to get him out. Hermione had pointed out that Harry would have done the same, which had stopped him pouting.

“And as a birthday present, from Harry and I”. Sirius paused for dramatic effect. “Your very own Firebolt! Harry wanted me to hold off until after the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Quidditch match, but that’s months away.” More laughter and cheers filled the room as Sirius handed Cedric a Firebolt. Cedric looked at it in awe. That didn’t stop Harry mouthing ‘traitor’ to Sirius. Sirius laughed back at Harry as Cedric took centre stage. 

“Everyone has thanked me,” began Cedric. “But I did nothing alone. Even in the tournament, I had the help of my friends and housemates, and especially Harry. Afterwards, when we were trying to get Harry free, I had the help of all the willing students. We have entered a new era of cooperation between the houses of Hogwarts, and I look forward to seeing everything we can accomplish together.”

With a slight bow, Cedric left the stage. Sirius stepped back into the centre. “Now, to really kick off this party, I present… Stubby Boardman and the Hobgoblins!”

He waved his wand, and a Disillusionment Charm fell to reveal a group of older looking wizards on the stage behind him holding musical instruments. They started playing a song that Harry hadn’t heard before. To be fair, his whole exposure to wizarding music had been at the Yule Ball last year, so they were bound to have lots of music Harry hadn’t heard.

Since he was here on a date, he turned to Hermione, “Do you want to go dance,” he asked her, holding out his hand. Hermione looked at Harry, looked back at her book and then back at Harry. “Okay”, she said softly, her face lighting up as she shrank her book and put it in her pocket. She took off her gloves and followed Harry out to the dance floor, her hand in his. 

By the time they made it to the dance floor, the song had changed to something slower, so Harry took Hermione in his arms and held her to him. Cedric and Cho had joined the other couples filling the dance floor, and Cedric gave Harry an encouraging smile as he spun by. Sirius was making some sort of gesture to Harry, but Harry ignored him as enjoyed the dance with Hermione.

He knew that Wormtail and Barty Crouch Junior were still out there, trying to restore Voldemort. They would probably try and kidnap or kill him again. But for the first time since he’d walked into Hogwarts, he felt supported. He had his godfather, free and willing to help. He had a slew of people who had given up their summer holidays to help him when he needed it. He had a new friendship with Cedric, who seemed determined to stand up for Harry. He had Ron and the Weasleys, and he was closer to Hermione than ever.

He might not have won the Tournament, but he was happy.