Marauders - Always - Part One

CCI: Declan's Funny Turn

As the judges were making their marks for Cedric, Oliver Kent had a very strange thing happen indeed. He had been sitting and eating that bloody pretzel Declan brought around, tearing it up and manically chewing out of nerves through the entire battle between Cedric and the dragon. He remembered looking over at Declan at one point, hiding his face in Declan's shoulder (when Cedric was on fire, when Oliver was sure Cedric wouldn't make it) and Declan had been saying, "No it's okay Oliver, look - he's alright now!" But when Cedric's time in the task was over, Declan wasn't there.

It was like he had simply vanished.

Oliver got up, his knees like jelly from the relief of his nerves. He had to get down there to see Cedric Diggory.

He wished Declan was there - he didn't fancy going alone down to that medic tent, where he already knew Walter Grant was. Declan would have been the perfect distraction, the perfect amount of snark to put Wally off while Oliver focused on Cedric... but wherever Declan had one off to, Oliver didn't have time to find him.

Oliver hadn't realized until Cedric - the poor boy - was fighting for his life, literally on fire on the ground in the ring, just how much Cedric had come to mean to him in only a few weeks. Every heart string that Oliver had kept safely from attaching to anyone else besides Colin for all of these years, in a sorry attempt to protect himself from that sort of pain, had, at some point, attached themselves to Cedric Diggory. All on their own. But he realized it now and he felt clammy and dizzy and -- Merlin, he had to get down there and see the boy was alright with his own two eyes.

He wasn't the only person rushing for the tent, either. Cedric's real parents were up and rushing from the stands the moment the dragon had been stunned, and Cedric saw Herbert Fleet launch himself over the seats and sprint out of the seating area as well.

Oliver was halfway up the stands, however, when he ran into Declan Alectric. And here is the weird thing that happened: Declan was carrying those two pretzels and four butterbeers just the same as he had been when he made his way into the stands before Diggory had begun his task. But this time, Declan's hair seemed the wrong shade, as though he were struggling to keep it blue, and his face was pale, his hands shaking slightly and he was trying at catching his breath, as though he had run here. Oliver looked him over with confusion.

"Declan?"

"Oliver!" he said, trying at his usual bright tone, he forced a smile and his hair brightened. "I got us refreshments for the big event. Where are we sitting? About to start, isn't it?" He looked over Oliver's shoulder then and saw the dragon handlers woeking to get the Swedish Short-Snout out of the enclosure and others to reset the nest and prepare for the next Champion's battle.

"Oh no. I'm late. I - I'm sorry, Oliver."

"You alright?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, uh. Yes of course. I'm splendid! I'm sorry. I'm a bit off my game, I've just... had a funny turn. That's all," Declan said.

"I see," Oliver said, "Look, Declan, I have to get down there to see Cedric."

Declan nodded. "Alright."

"Are you coming with me?" Oliver asked. "I'd really like it if you--"

"No I - I'll catch you up," Declan said in a tone very much unlike Declan.

Oliver hesitated, then, "Look let's talk about whatever this is at the Inn tonight, alright? Talk later?"

When Declan nodded, Oliver pushed around him and rushed off up the stands.

Declan stood there for a few moments, watching blankly as the trainers finished resetting the enclosure for the next champion.

If Oliver thought Declan's vanishing was odd, it was nothing compared to how weird it had been for Declan. Nothing of the sort had ever happened to him before in his entire life.