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The fucking maze would be the death of him. Harry hated the Triwizard Tournament, he hated whoever put his name in the Goblet, and he even hated Hagrid a little because he was absolutely sure the spider he and Cedric had just killed was a spawn of Aragog. In short, he was having an incredibly bad time, and that didn't even begin to brush the surface of everything else! First and foremost: his aching thigh.
Harry winced, leaning into the nearby hedge as his leg buckled beneath him. He was relatively sure Acromantulas were venomous, but maybe not? The gooey substance leaking out the wound on his thigh and into his robes probably wasn't a good sign either way, but just because he was oozing a slight green sludge didn't necessarily mean it was deadly venom. Harry didn't think he was dying, but, then again, maybe it was a delayed kinda thing and he'd die very suddenly after a while of waiting? Oh well, nothing for it. Though, he was definitely going to kill Hagrid if he survived.
Harry looked over and saw Cedric stood a good distance away, staring at him with wide gray eyes, standing right next to the Triwizard Cup and yet not grabbing it like he should've. He was just looking at Harry with an extremely upset expression, which was stupid of him when he was about to win.
“Go on, then.” Harry said, gesturing to the glowing chalice on the pedestal. "Take the Cup. You're there."
Harry was surprised at the way Cedric looked between Harry and the Cup with indecision plain on his face. What was there to be indecisive about? Cedric was standing right next to the Cup, yet he remained frozen and unmoving.
"No." Cedric said, shaking his head. "You take it. You should win. That's twice you've saved my neck in here. It's only fair."
"That's not how fairness works." Harry said frowned, "That's not how it should work at all." Cedric had beaten him, really truly beaten him. His leg hurt, really really hurt, and his whole body ached from fighting that stupid spider. On top of that, Cedric was the one standing next to the Cup. He'd won, not Harry. "The one who gets to the Cup first gets the points. They win. And that's you. Seriously, I'm not winning any races with my damn leg."
"No." Cedric repeated, stepping firmly away from the Cup.
"Quit being so fucking noble." Harry snapped, "Just take it already, and then we can get out of here."
"But you told me about the First Task." Cedric countered, "I wouldn't've made it past the dragon if I'd been unprepared."
"I had help too, idiot. Someone tipped me off about the dragons; all I did was pass the information over to you as well." Harry said angrily, "And you helped me with the egg, so we're even anyway."
"I had help with the egg too, I didn't do that on my own either." Cedric replied quickly, "All I did was give you a hint, which barely compares to the blunt 'yeah no it's a dragon' speech you gave me."
"Doesn't matter." Harry tried to take a step forward, only to bite his lip against a sharp pain that shot up from his ankle. Great, so his ankle was fucked too? Brilliant. It just got better and better, didn't it?
"You should've gotten more points on the Second Task." Cedric pointed out, "You scored badly for taking so long, but you only did that because you were trying to save all the hostages. I should've done that too, but I didn't think of it."
"No, I was just an idiot who took that mermaid song too seriously." Harry countered angrily, "Just take the Cup already!"
"No." Cedric crossed his arms, then stalked over to stand right next to him, far from the Cup.
"This is ridiculous!" Harry would've thrown up his hands if he hadn't been clutching the hedge so hard, barely holding himself upright. "Hufflepuff deserves his victory. Gryffindor gets enough attention as it is, and besides, you're the Hogwarts Champion, not me."
For a moment the resolution on Cedric's beautiful face cracked down the middle as longing shone in his eyes, the shadowed with bitter determination fading ever so slightly. Harry had a single moment of hope that Cedric would take it and they could finally get out of the accursed labyrinth surrounding them, but then Cedric shook his head and sighed.
"No." Cedric said yet again, "We're both Hogwarts Champions, aren't we?"
"I'm not here by choice, we both know I didn't put my name is the bloody Goblet of fuck-up-my-life Fire." Harry muttered, "Fine, together then?"
"What?" The surprise on Cedric's face was almost funny despite how much pain Harry was in.
"We'll grab it together, alright?" Harry prompted, "It'll be a Hogwarts victory; we'll both get the points."
"You… really?" Cedric's eyes were wide and shining as Harry nodded.
"Yeah, really." Harry sighed, "We've helped each other out evenly, right? You won't take it, and I won't take it, so all that's left is to take it together."
"Alright." Cedric grinned brightly, "I can do that. Here, let me help you." He took a step forward and wrapped an arm around his shoulder to support him, and together they limped around the spider's corpse to stand before the pedestal on which the Cup sat.
"One - Two - Three!" Harry reached out and together they each grabbed one handle.
Immediately they both gasped as there was a great lurch. Harry crumpled in on himself as his feet left the ground; his ears filled his wind; his eyes blurred with more colors than he could comprehend; the only thing he could feel was the Cup in his hand and Cedric's grasp on his arm.
When he landed Harry cried out as his leg gave out on him. He landed on his backside, winced, and looked up at Cedric. Somehow he'd kept his feet, which didn't surprise Harry. It was completely in character with Cedric's perfect… well, everything. It was a little annoying, actually, that he seemed to be completely perfect.
"Where are we?" Harry asked, allowing Cedric to pull him to his feet. Cedric's arm snaked away his waist so Harry leaned into him slightly for support.
"I don't know, but we're a long way from Hogwarts." Cedric said. Harry resisted snapping at him for stating the obvious.
The mountains were gone. Hogwarts was surrounded by rolling mountain hills so large they stretched on for miles; Harry could not see a trace of them in any direction, which meant they'd traveled a really long way. Instead they stood in a graveyard, surrounded by overgrown plants that covered the many headstones, smothered by unruly dark green. Off in the distance Harry could see the outlines of a far off church and an old Manor atop a small hillside.
Cedric looked down at the Cup that laid on the ground where they'd dropped it, then looked back at Harry. He looked as confusion and unnerved as Harry felt.
"Uh, I don't suppose they told you it was a Portkey?" Cedric asked. Harry shook his head.
"No." Harry said bitterly. Fact was, nobody told Harry anything. It was an unfortunate trend in his life he couldn't seem to get rid of. "It couldn't be a part of the Task, could it?"
"I don't know." Cedric scowled down at the Cup again, "Figures they'd pull something like this–" Cedric kicked the Cup a bit angrily, but the moment his foot made contact they were both spinning again. Cedric was tugged by the Portkey and Harry was dragged along with him because Cedric was holding him by the waist.
They both went tumbling into the fucking void again, colors and wind whipping by, and not even Cedric kept his feet when they landed. They both fell flat on their backsides, slamming into the ground at an extremely unpleasant speed.
Harry's ears were immediately filled with noise and lights as they were surrounded by a cheering stadium of what looked like every person on the goddamn planet. Harry hated crowds, even more so when they were a screaming mob.
"I'm so sick of Portkeys." Cedric groaned as he let go of Harry and pushed himself to a seated position.
"Tell me about it." Harry muttered; he dragged himself up as well with a wince. "Are we done? Did we do it?"
"I think so." Cedric blinked, obviously just as disoriented as Harry was as they both looked around. "We're back at the start of the maze." Harry realized Cedric was right.
The tall hedges of that stupid fucking maze were on their right, the deafening crowd on their left. The stands went up and up and up, faces blurring and voices melding together in the mess of it all. Harry tipped his head back and saw the stars were out; it made him smile.
"Ah, Harry!" Ludo Bagman ran up to them with a bright smile, near luminescent in his face when he reached him and Cedric. "Mr. Diggory! How excellent, you've returned with the Cup! Oh, this is marvelous! We have our winners, it would seem."
"Cedric wins." Harry said, immediately pointing at the boy at his side. "Undisputed. I was just tagging along for the ride."
"That's not true!" Cedric exclaimed heatedly, "He saved me, I wouldn't've made it at all if not for him."
"He reached the Cup first." Harry said as Dumbledore also approached. "Seriously, it was Cedric."
"You said we'd take it together." Cedric glared at him, "And that's what we did. We won together. Hogwarts won." Harry sighed heavily, then shook his head.
"Whatever." Harry said finally. Cedric scowled at him.
"Well, up up up!" Bagman enthused, "We've got to announce your win!" Cedric brushed himself off to climb to his feet at that, making Bagman beam at him. When Harry didn't move, Cedric blinked for a moment before he knelt back down, face clouded with concern.
"Oh! Harry." Cedric said, "We need to get you to the Hospital Wing. You're hurt!"
"Uh, yeah, sure." Harry nodded, "That sounds good." Harry still didn't think he was dying of Acromantula venom, but the sizable slice to his thigh really was killing him. Cedric put an arm around his waist again, pulling him up as Harry hopped haphazardly on his good leg.
"But what about the scoring?" Bagman exclaimed, boyishly worried. "You'll miss your win being announced!" Harry resisted the urge to say something along the lines of 'fuck your ceremony bullshit' only because Dumbledore was standing right there and he probably wouldn't approve.
"I'll take you." Moody stepped in from the side and grabbed Harry's arm roughly, "Come, let's go."
"Wait, I'll go with!" Cedric exclaimed, "It's my fault he's hurt in the first place."
"No, you stay." Moody ordered, scowling at him firmly.
"But–"
"I said no, Diggory." Moody snapped heavily. Cedric blinked in surprise at the harshness of it. "Accept the win, Harry needs rest."
"Alastor, might I escort Harry?" Dumbledore proposed mildly.
"I am perfectly able to walk him to the Hospital Wing myself, Albus." Moody sneered at him a bit, then Harry being half dragged behind the Professor, limping and wincing as his useless leg burned.
"Wait, Professor–"
"What happened? In the maze." The demand in Moody's voice was surprising, which didn't help Harry's mood.
"The Cup was a fucking Portkey." Harry said, barely keeping up with Moody's pace as he was yanked by the wrist.
"And?"
"And we landed in some kind of graveyard, I guess."
"A graveyard? What happened then?" Moody's wooden leg steadily went clunk clunk clunk against the stone as they walked, and it was slowly but surely giving Harry a horrid headache.
"Cedric got mad and kicked the Cup." Harry said, "Then we ended up back here. Not sure what the graveyard was about, but Dumbledore'll probably explain."
"You didn't see anyone?" Moody asked intensely. Then they reached his office and Moody shoved Harry into a chair.
"Why aren't we in the Hospital Wing?" Harry asked with a wary frown, "What're we doing in your office?"
"What was in the graveyard?" Moody demanded. Harry blinked in surprise at the anger on his face.
"Nothing?? It was empty." Harry said, confused to hell and back. "Look, did we skip a part of the Tournament? Were we supposed to stick around and get our asses beat again? Because I'll not fucking apologize for it. Cedric kicking the Cup was the best outcome for us."
"No, that is not the best outcome!" Moody spat, "You were meant to end up there and stay… After all the work I've done you and Diggory have gone and messed everything up!"
"What're you talking about??"
"Diggory wasn't meant to go with you. I was patrolling the maze, clearing obstacles for you. I Stunned Miss Delacour as I passed her; I put Krum under the Imperius Curse so he'd finish off Diggory, but I had not anticipated you'd sabotage your own win to save him." Moody was leering at Harry, leaning over the chair with intense eyes, "I've made do, working around your independence, but your stupidity has gotten in my way yet again! You just had to bring Diggory along because of course you did. Leave it to a Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor to pull some mad scheme to ruin my perfect work!"
"Professor, I don't understand." Harry could feel dread pooling inside him, but he didn't know why. It was only Moody, but none of what he said made any sense. He was an Auror! Dumbledore's friend!
"So close, I was so close…" Moody seethed, "But if I deliver you to him, yes, he'll forgive me. My mistake won't matter if I take you to him myself… My efforts weren't in vain if my master is brought back in the end. I will be honored above all the others!"
"Your master?" Harry did not have a good feeling, seeing as it sure as shit wasn't Dumbledore he was speaking about. But who else would he serve? Unless–
"My Lord…" Moody whispered, a harsh rasp that made Harry cringe. "The Dark Lord lives, and I will be the reason he returns. I've failed thus far, yes, but imagine how I will be rewarded when I bring him you! The very thing he wants most… he will spare me, yes. The others mean nothing! Cowards who dared to don their masks at the World Cup but fled at the sight of the Dark Mark. Fled because they do not admire the Dark Lord as I do… none of them deserve mercy. I will enjoy watching my Lord torture them with me by his side."
"You're a fucking Death Eater." Harry realized suddenly, but even as he said it he did not want to believe it. Mad-Eye Moody was an accomplished Auror, a Professor, Dumbledore's trusted friend… he hated Death Eaters with a passion! It made no sense at all.
"I will be the only one standing at the Dark Lord's side when he returns, me - and me alone." Over Moody's shoulder Harry caught sight of three smudged figures growing larger in the Foe-Glass, but Moody did not see them. He was too immersed in his speech to notice. "All that's left to do is bring you to him myself…"
"If it was that simple, why not do it earlier?" Harry blurted out. His wand shoved carelessly in his back pocket seemed to burn as he realized it was too far away - he didn't stand a chance if Moody tried to cast at him.
"Because I did not want anyone to suspect me." Moody grinned cruelly, "I used every ounce of cunning I had in me to plan this; I pulled the strings because I knew my Lord would be impressed by my efforts. Unfortunately you've forced my hand." He broke off angrily, drawing his wand. "Now all I've left to do is bring you to him, and he will forgive me."
"Wait–" Harry fumbled for his wand a split second too late; he would've been toast if the door hadn't very suddenly fucking exploded.
"Stupefy!" Red flash in Harry's vision as Moody was blasted off his feet and hit the floor hard. Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape stood in the doorway. For a moment, Harry understood why Albus Dumbledore had the reputation of a fearsome wizard powerful enough for even Voldemort to avoid, possibly even truly fear.
The rage on Dumbledore's face made Harry cringe almost instinctively. There was cold fury openly lit in his blue eyes in place of his usual twinkle, and the gentle smile he always wore was gone also, replaced by a firm angry line tight with ire. Dumbledore stalked over to Moody's unconscious form and kicked him over with one foot to show his face, then glared at him.
Snape was examining his own scowling face in the Foe-Glass, but McGonagall was immediately rushing to Harry's side and hovering worried hands over him as she examined at his injured leg.
"Come along." McGonagall whispered softly. Harry thought for a moment that she looked as though she was on the verge of tears. "The Hospital Wing, come now…"
"No." Dumbledore's voice was sharp enough to cut glass. McGonagall frowned, her bottom lip trembling.
"But Dumbledore, look at him! Oughtn't we get him to Madam Pomfrey first? Honestly the state he's in–"
"He will stay, Minerva, because he needs to understand."
"Actually I'd love to go to the Hospital Wing." Harry interrupted as Dumbledore opened his mouth to say more, "I'm tired and I can't feel my goddamn leg and I'm going to pass out if I sit here much longer." That probably wasn't true, he could stand a little more of Dumbledore's bullshit if he absolutely had to, but Harry didn't care that he was exaggerating just a little.
Sure he didn't like that Moody was a Death Eater, but Harry had been threatened so many times he was completely uncaring as to why he'd somehow joined the dark side. Honestly, Harry just wanted to get Moody out of his sight. Also, McGonagall looked extremely concerned and Harry thought maybe she'd not be if she escorted him to the Hospital Wing.
"Dumbledore, I really must insist." McGonagall said, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Explanations can wait for later." Dumbledore looked from McGonagall's face, half in tears, to Harry, angry and tired, then back again. He sighed.
"I suppose so." Dumbledore said finally, "However, both of you, please do not think badly of Alastor." He scowled down at the man on the floor, "This is not Alastor Moody, but an imposter. I knew so the moment he denied my request for you to stay, and I followed."
"Well that's just excellent." Harry said, exhausted and more than a little irritated. "Well, good luck with the Death Eater in disguise, I'll happily hear all about his horrid motivations later. Professor?" He looked up at McGonagall. With a wobbly smile she helped him up.
"Until later, then." Dumbledore said to Harry. He offered the Headmaster a tired but acknowledging nod in return before allowing himself to be helped along through the castle towards the Hospital Wing.
Whatever happened, Harry was glad for Cedric's temper. Somehow he felt it had saved him from something, but maybe Harry was just tired and paranoid. Oh well, maybe life would hate him less in the morning.