Harry was right in saying that he shouldn’t blame himself, but Cedric still wished that he could have done more to help. Alas, he’d done all he could. Voldemort’s power was on a level he’d never personally witnessed before. Dumbledore was powerful too, of course, but he never displayed what he was fully capable of to his students. It was shocking, though, that Harry had been able to hold him off for as long as he had–whether or not the wand was responsible for it.
“I thought I was going to watch you die,” Cedric spoke, the events that played out that night still clear in his head. If he was any good at art, he could draw or paint what he had seen with little details included. The Death Eaters who had surrounded him had done some damage to him, and had indeed left him with a scar, but not like Harry’s. It was one that was easily hidden by clothing, for it was on his chest that the injury had been inflicted. All the while, he’d been so desperately wanting to get to Harry, who was dealing with the Dark Lord himself.
Before he could begin to answer to Harry telling him about withholding information from Ron and Hermione, nearby footsteps interrupted them and Harry had pulled his invisibility cloak over his head. Where had he gotten that? Cedric made a mental note to himself to ask him about it later, for they were quite rare and hard to find. Right now, he wished he had one too. Once the Hufflepuff’s spotted him, they would surely come running over. Though more on the quiet side, he didn’t mind the crowd. As of late, however, he wasn’t quite feeling up to it and would rather be alone. Harry was the one exception.
Just as he was preparing to deal with the hoard of students that would be coming around the corner, Cedric was tugged back by his arm and the cloak was partially flung over him. He was quick to react and pull it the rest of the way over, doing as Harry said and crouching down. It seemed odd, being able to see everything while knowing that nobody could see him or Harry. “How often have you used this? I imagine it’s been rather helpful to you,” he said, his voice quiet and ceasing altogether as the Hufflepuff students began to pass by. Cedric kept close to both Harry and the wall, waiting for the seemingly endless train to stop. There were mentions of his and Harry’s names among the chatter, but there were a lot of smiling faces and laughter that very much so contrasted their own conversation.
“Perhaps we should go somewhere a little more private to talk,” he finally said once the Hufflepuff’s were out of sight. He could still hear them, but they were growing quieter by the second. “You’ll still need your cloak for where we’re going.” The prefects bathroom; a place Harry would be familiar with after Cedric had allowed him access to it during the second task. It had a lock on the door and was the perfect place to ensure nobody would sneak up on them.
Harry’s time in the hospital wing had mostly been a blur of taking potions to heal his wounds and sleeping. If Cedric had been in there at all, Harry wouldn’t have known.
He remained perfectly still, heart pounding in his chest, his shoulder squashed against Cedric’s. He watched the Hufflepuffs pass by, most of them in good spirits due to term winding down. He tried not to listen to chatter about his name, but luckily much more seemed to be on their minds.
“It’s an heirloom from my father… you wouldn’t believe how useful it’s been.” Harry mumbled, footsteps overlaying his whispers. “It’s how I get around the castle at night without Filch knowing.”
One might argue that he shouldn’t be sneaking around at all, but it seemed he always had a reason. Trouble always found him. There was always some reason to break the rules, some grand noble one. He wished he could ignore the tug to act, but that just wasn’t who he was.
“Okay.” Harry didn’t much feel like eating anyways. Usually when he skipped meals, Ron or Hermione would save him something, but that wasn’t even what he was worried about. He felt too sick to ever eat again. It was hard to believe just last summer that was his greatest concern when it came to his cousin’s new diet.
“But we need to take a detour first.” Harry knew they were thinking of the same place, but getting into the Prefect’s bathroom and back out again would be hard without the map. Luckily, he trusted Moody’s office to be exactly how they’d all left it when rescuing the real Moody. His map would likely still be in Moody’s desk, and his office unoccupied.
Harry pulled his cloak back over his head and started back down the empty hallway. At the corner, he peered around the edge and saw the next corridor was empty. With breakfast getting on, they shouldn’t run into too much trouble.
Outside Moody’s office, Harry listened for any noise from inside, but heard nothing. He took out his wand and tapped the knob, unlocking it. He only then needed to open the door a fraction and point his wand through.
“Accio map…” He had a slight fear that the map might be unable to be summoned, or that Barty Crouch had hidden it somewhere after taking it. But there was slight rustling on of parchment on the desk and the map came soaring out from underneath a pile on the desk and into Harry’s hand.
Relief like he hadn’t felt in days spread through him, a contrast to the gloom he’d been feeling. Harry tapped the map with his wand.
“I solemnly swear I am up to no good.” He muttered, and then Hogwarts bloomed like ink spreading through the page. He located Cedric and himself, as well as Ron and Hermione in the Great Hall. The path to the bathroom was clear.
“Okay, the coast it clear.”
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