Fall from Grace

Old Scars

Chapter 6

Old Scars

The Morning sun warmed Harry's face as he stepped out of the castle. It was a beautiful day and Harry felt happy, extremely happy. There was a slight breeze carrying a crisp fall fragrance around and Harry felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and smiled at the handsome teen, "Found you, love," Cedric Diggory said, smiling.

"So you did," Harry said, giggling. Cedric slid his hand into Harry's. "So, what should we do today, love?" Cedric asked.

"I don't know," Harry said, "It's a good day out, why don't we just go for a walk for now?" Cedric agreed and they walked away from the castle door onto the grounds. As they walked down the sloped field, Harry smiled proudly as he held Cedric's hand. He couldn't believe that he was finally doing it! He finally had Cedric's hand in his! The fifteen, soon to be sixteen, year-old smiled as they walked softly. Cedric's hand felt so warm against his, so right as their fingers interlocked. Harry stared out at the distance.

The Black Lake seemed to shimmer in the sunlight and they walked towards it silently. "It's a beautiful day," Harry said again, looking up to Cedric, smiling.

"Not as beautiful as you, Harry," Cedric said smoothly, smirking as Harry's cheeks blushed. They moved to the edge of the lake and Harry couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic. "Do you remember the last time we were here?" he asked.

"Of course I do," Cedric chuckled. "I asked you to be my boyfriend. It was two years ago, silly."

"Yeah," Harry nodded, smiling. "Right before the Yule Ball." He felt hands on his shoulders and leaned back against Cedric's embrace. "It was amazing," Harry continued as they stared at the lake. "I didn't know the music, but you taught me how to dance on the fly, it was very fun. We should do that again soon."

"Yeah," Cedric breathed.

Harry smiled and was about to look up when something caught his eye. There was a ripple in the water. It was small, just a few circles, but then the ripples appeared again, and then again, as if whatever was causing them was moving. The creature was moving in an odd pattern, always diagonal in one direction before shifting to another, as if it was moving in a never-ending loop of S's or down a curvy path. The ripples of the water broke, and Harry saw hints of green. "Cedric do you see that?" he asked, but Cedric did not answer. The creature was close to the shore now and broke the surface with only a soft hissing.

"No," Harry breathed, squeezing his eyes shut, "Cedric close your eyes!" He couldn't believe it, it was impossible, but somehow the basilisk was in front of them. The hands on Harry's shoulder tightened. "Cedric, close them!"

"By Harry, why would I ever fear my creature?" a cold voice chuckled. Harry gasped as he was spun around. His eyes opened by reflex and he saw Tom Riddle smirking down at him, looking exactly as Harry remembered from the diary. Harry screamed and pushed away Riddle. He stumbled forward as Riddle let go and fell.

Carpet met him and Harry looked around, confused. He wasn't at the Black Lake anymore, he wasn't even at Hogwarts. Instead, he was in the Dursley's living room. He blinked around confused and caught his reflection in a hanging mirror. He was eight! Harry only had a second to process what was happening before the door burst open and Uncle Vernon stomped in, his face purple with rage. "BOY!"

The eight-year-old Harry cowered as Uncle Vernon rampaged towards him, each step acting like a miniature earthquake. The first blow stung, and Harry fell to the ground from the force of it. Uncle Vernon grunted and kept on the assault, punching anywhere he could reach on Harry's body. From behind him, Harry heard Dudley cheering his dad on while Aunt Petunia just walked past them. "You. Think. You. Can. Be. A. Little. Freak. In. My. House!?" Uncle Vernon seethed, accenting each word with a punch. Bruises appeared too easily on Harry, and he could swear that he could taste blood.