Memories of the Heart || Harry Potter x Reader

Y4 ~ Until Next Time

The crowd erupted into cheers, their jubilant cries rising like waves, completely unaware of the tragedy that had just unfolded on the edge of the maze. Triumphant music blared from the enchanted speakers, its melody almost mocking the dark reality beneath the fireworks that lit up the night sky. The sweet scent of crushed grass lingered in the air, blending with the faint acrid tang of smoke from the maze's torches.

Harry stood frozen, his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath. His scar burned fiercely, and his hand instinctively pressed against it, but his gaze remained fixed on Y/N. Y/N collapsed onto her knees beside Cedric's lifeless body, her trembling hands clutching his bloodstained robes as if holding him tighter could pull him back.

"No, no, no!" she wailed, her voice raw and broken, echoing into the growing quiet around them. Tears streamed down her face, soaking into the fabric of his shirt as she buried her face against his unmoving chest.

"Cedric, wake up! Please!" Her hands moved to his face, grasping his face delicately like he was a piece of china that might shatter at any moment. "You can't do this! You can't leave me—Cedric, please!" Her cries grew louder, more hysterical, until her throat burned from the force of her sobs.

Harry stood nearby, his own tears streaming silently down his face, his scar still burning like fire. He wanted to comfort her, to do something, but he was frozen in place, the weight of everything crushing him.

Y/N's sobs tore through the night, raw and broken, each cry wrenching out of her like it might shatter her entirely. Tears streamed down her face, soaking into Cedric's robes as she buried her face against his chest, as though her sheer presence could will him back to life. The world spun around her, distant and cruel, a cacophony of noise that felt like it didn't belong to this reality.

"No!" Fleur Delacour's voice pierced the celebration, her sharp cry freezing the crowd mid-cheer. Her pale face was ghostly under the flickering torchlight as her hands flew to her mouth. She took a hesitant step forward before collapsing to her knees, shaking her head in denial.

The cheering dwindled, confusion and alarm rippling through the stands as silence descended. All that could be heard was the heart-wrenching symphony of Y/N's anguish, Harry's labored breaths, and Fleur's muffled weeping.

"Harry! Y/N!" Dumbledore's voice cut through the chaos as he approached, his long strides purposeful but weighed down by the sorrow etched into his face. He knelt beside them, placing a hand on Y/N's trembling shoulder.

"Tell me what happened," he said softly, though his voice carried the authority of someone who already feared the answer.

"He's back!" Harry shouted, his voice hoarse with emotion. "Voldemort's back! Cedric... Cedric asked us to bring his body back. We couldn't leave him there."

Y/N raised her tear-streaked face, her voice barely a whisper through her sobs. "We couldn't save him. We couldn't stop it. He... he just wanted to come home."

Dumbledore's face darkened, his hand resting briefly on Y/N's shoulder, grounding her. "You've done all you could." he said softly, his voice a mixture of sorrow and reassurance.

"He didn't deserve this! He didn't deserve any of this!" Y/N screamed, her voice breaking. She clutched Cedric's face with both hands, her thumbs brushing his cold cheeks. "Cedric, please... come back. Please..." Her voice dropped to a whisper, the fight draining out of her as fresh tears streamed down her face.

Dumbledore's own eyes glistened as he placed a hand over hers. "Y/N," he said gently, his voice almost breaking. "He is home now. You've done all you could. He's home."