𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 | Harry James Potter x Reader

YR 4 ☆•°~'* 15

A/N - Last chapter for the fourth year :')

❈🌠➵9¾♌ ⚯ 🗲━━━━━★. *･｡ﾟ✧⁺

Y/N felt herself slam face-first into the ground. She could smell the grass, this familiar scent... They were back home...

A torrent of sound deafened them. They could hear loud cheering, footsteps, but Harry only held onto Y/N, one arm tightly wrapped around her, and the other holding Cedric's body and the Cup. 

'Harry! Harry- Y/N?' 

The voice of Albus Dumbledore brought Y/N back to full consciousness. She turned over with difficulty, and Dumbledore turned Harry around as well. Harry dropped the Portkey Cup, and clutched Dumbledore's wrist.

'H-He's back,' Harry whispered. 'Voldemort's back...'

'What's going on? Dumbledore, what's happened?'

Cornelius Fudge appeared at their side, looking down at Y/N and Harry, then his eyes landed on Cedric and he gasped.

'My God - Diggory!' he whispered, appalled. 'Dumbledore - he's dead!'

The words were repeated, shadowy figures were pressing in on them, echoing those words, shouting them. 'He's dead!' 'He's dead!' 'Cedric Diggory! Dead!'

These words caused Y/N pain beyond pain. She stared down at Cedric's face, and it stared without seeing, the stars of the night sky reflected upon his eyes. 

'Harry - Y/N, let go of him,' said Fudge's voice, and he tried to prise Harry from Cedric's limp body, but Harry wouldn't let him go.

Then Dumbledore's face came closer, and he whispered gently, 'Harry, you can't help him now... It's over, Y/N, let go.'

'He wanted me to bring him back,' Harry muttered. 'He asked me to bring his body back... I couldn't leave him, not there...'

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

Dumbledore bent down and raised Harry from the ground, and Y/N felt herself being raised too. Her head swam as she focused on the shadowy figure that had picked her up. 

Severus Snape's face was pale as he looked at her - not into her eyes, but at the side of her face, which was still bleeding freely. He pulled out his wand and placed it over the injury without touching it, and he murmured something under his breath. 

Y/N couldn't hear him well; all the screaming and shouting was confusing, making her head ache painfully. She wanted to sleep and not wake up... Perhaps it was all a nightmare, and the third task had not begun yet...

Snape lowered his wand and Y/N felt the side of her face. It was no longer bleeding, but she could feel a fresh scar.

'Let me through - let me through -'

Amos Diggory was pushing through the crowd, trying to reach them. He gave a shuddering gasp and collapsed at the sight of his son's dead body.

'That's my son!' he wailed, clutching Cedric. 'That's my boy! My boy...'

Cedric's mother was right behind him, and she looked like she was about to faint. Y/N looked away from the scene; it was too painful... It hurt, but Y/N wasn't feeling her feelings properly... She had gone numb.

She looked around for the one person she cared most to see - to hold at the moment. But he wasn't there...

Then she saw them. Moody, the fake Moody, had his arms around Harry and was dragging him away from the scene. Y/N looked around for help - but Dumbledore was speaking to Fudge rapidly, McGonagall was consoling Mr and Mrs Diggory, and Snape was draping his cloak over Cedric's body and helping Madam Pomfrey pull him onto a stretcher.