Love Is In The Air: The Angelic Witch And Draco Malfoy (Book 4)

Cedric's Return

Heroneka felt Cedric's body slam hard into the ground with her on top; her arm still holding Cedric around the waist; the smell of her blood on his robes filled her nostrils. She felt lifeless and fell sideways, away from Cedric's body. She had closed her eyes while the Portkey transported her, and she kept them closed now. She did not have any strength to move at all. All the breath seemed to have been knocked out of her; her skull was still burning so badly she felt as though the sky above her were swaying like the upside-down deck of a ship. She wanted it to stop, to die, and sure enough, she was dying. Her hand was still clutched tightly in Cedric's hand. Her chest felt cold as the front of her shirt was ripped off. Her scar on the chest was still burning, blood tricking out of it.

A torrent of sound deafened and confused her; there were voices everywhere, footsteps, screams... She remained where she was, her eyes partly opened.

"Heroneka!!"

She heard William's distant voice.

Then a pair of hands picked her up, making her sit, supporting her back.

"Let her lay... Let her lay..." She heard Dumbledore's voice.

And William hastily laid her back on the ground. Everything seemed blurry. William had taken off his coat and covered her bloody body with it.

"Harry! Harry!" Dumbledore was pulling Harry up, crouched over him, making Harry look at him.

The dark shadows of a crowd of people pressed in around them, pushing nearer; Heroneka felt the ground beneath her head reverberating with their footsteps.

"She is dying!" Dumbledore said at once. "We must get her out of here, William! Now!"

William was trying to get Cedric's hand off Heroneka's. But it was no use. Their hands were frozen and locked together, unwilling to let go of each other.

Heroneka could see the blurry outlines of the maze. They had come back to the edge of the maze. She could see the stands rising above her, Harry and Cedric, the shapes of people moving in them, the stars above.

Harry let go of the cup, but he clutched Cedric to him even more tightly. He raised his free hand and seized Dumbledore's wrist.

"He's back," Harry whispered. "He's back. Voldemort. "

"What's going on? What's happened?"

The face of Cornelius Fudge appeared upside down over Heroneka; it looked white, appalled.

"My God - Diggory!" it whispered. "Dumbledore - he's dead!"

The words were repeated, the shadowy figures pressing in on them gasped it to those around them... and then others shouted it - screeched it - into the night - "He's dead!" "He's dead!" "Cedric Diggory! Dead!"

"We must take them away, William!" Dumbledore commanded him. "Take both of them away!"

Heroneka was beginning to close her eyes.

"There hands are stuck together, Albus!" William gritted his teeth. "I can't pull them apart!"

"Harry, let go of him," she heard Fudge's voice say.

She could hear Harry crying. His hand suddenly grabbed the two hands of Cedric and Heroneka that were stuck together. But her eyes were shut now. Every sound around her was beginning to echo.

"No!" Harry cried throwing himself on top of them, hugging them, crying hysterically.

"Harry, you can't help them now. It's over. Let go."

"Cedric wanted me to bring him back," Harry muttered. "He wanted me to bring him back to his parents..."

"That's right. Harry... just let go now..."