Fires at Midnight (Cedric Diggory)

16 ~ Waking up to a Nightmare

As they flew through the enchanting sky, almost asleep holding each other, a mind numbing screech shattered their serenity. By the time they saw the beast it was too late!

A harpy had snatched away their broom causing them to descend rapidly to the stony earth but they held to one another as the ground rapidly came closer and closer.

As they hit the ground feathers went flying all around them as if a chicken ranch had just exploded but it was fast thinking on Cedric's part for using a charm to break their fall. "Thank goodness I've been training for the Triwizard Tournament!" Cedric stated half jokingly but the harpy above was no joking matter as it effortlessly shredded the broom high above their heads. It was horrifying as the creature locked them in her sights and came swooping down at them with talons reflecting the light of the moon. Her talons were menacing as she came closer and closer wanting to shred the travelers to nothing but ribbons.

The first victim to her razor talons was the dusty haired boy whom she easily tore into, ripping through the fabric of his shirt and slashed into his flesh bringing both the haunting sight of blood and metallic scent it brought with it. Cedric let out a painful yell as another talon lashed into his side causing more blood to appear almost instantly. The deranged bird let out another shriek echoing in their ears which was shortly cut off. Vixen had lunged at the creature to push it away from Cedric before it could hurt him anymore however this made the beast unhinged as it hectically began slashing at Vixen until it had a hold of one of her wrists and it began to take flight.

Cedric shouted her name and reached for her with a bloody hand and was able to grasp her free wrist which only lifted him off the ground with her as she screamed his name. The blood on him was horrifying and she could feel his pain causing her to snap away from hysteria. Forcing her mind to clear as her eyes connected with his.

"Let go!" she pleaded.

"NEVER!" he shouted back as held tighter to her.

"Trust me." She assured him.

He just stared into her pleading eyes for a moment before he released her with pain in his eyes for she knew he did not want to let go.

She turned her head back to the harpy and shouted a curse blowing the monster away and sending her plummeting back to the earth where she landed with a hard thud, knocking the wind out of her.

All she could think of was Cedric and before she could catch her breath she began to crawl to him as he laid on his back in pain. Just before she reached him a tiny salamander came into view and the sight made her so angry however she forced her mind to retreat back to the days events before she said the spell. Riddikulus" she yelled and the creature turned into a diricawl (dodo bird)

The salamander was a boggart with unknown intentions but now it was a distraction for the harpy as Vixen tried to help Cedric to a small cave where they could hide from her eyes but the action took more out of her than she thought but they managed to shelter themselves but for how long was a haunting reality.

Cedric held on to Vixen as if to tell her he would never let anything harm her but it was clear that this harpy's presence had shaken both of them and woke them up from their dream.

Vixen's skin began to crawl and heart ached as she felt Cedric's blood through her shirt. They both were wounded fairly bad and neither were in any shape to help each other as they grew weaker and weaker. With all the energy they had they hurried to the fast stream where they sank in and allowed the roaring current to take them away from the scene. Cedric still had his arms wrapped around Vixen as they floated down until they were shot into the black lake where Vixen weakly pointed her hand toward the lake, casting a spell which only appeared as a small blue wave in the lake. Octavia and Procella, the killer whales, hurried to the weakening humans and proceeded to take them to the shore where Cedric used the Avis spell to shoot a flock of birds into Dumbledore's office to get his attention.

"Hang on Vixy!" He pleaded as he held her hand in desperation.

For some reason Vixen didn't seem afraid or anything as she laid there clenching Cedric's hand as wands with the lumos spell came speeding toward them.

"Are you okay Vixy?" asked Cedric in a trembling voice before the others could arrive.

She nodded her head as she laid there limp as a log. "Cedric I'm sorry for how I behave. It is just I don't feel there is anything to fear. I do not fear pain, death, or destruction. I feel the pain but it does not hurt. I can tell you now that my only fear is losing you."

As soon as she finished her sentence she took a heavy breath as her eyes closed and she stopped breathing.

"Vixy!" whispered Cedric.

When she did not respond he shouted, "Vixen! Please wake up! Don't do this to me! Vixen wake up! Vixen please..." he pleaded with so much desperation that tears began to fall from his eyes. Tears of fear, tears of pain, and tears of heartache.

Dumbledore was the first one there as Cedric kept pleading Vixen to wake up. Madame Pomfrey leaned down and looked up at Dumbledore with a shocked look. "I cannot feel a pulse!"

Cedric was now hysterical as he began yelling and fighting desperately from Dumbledore, Snape, and Hagrid's grasps until Dumbledore said a spell that made Cedric fall unconscious and limp so they could tend to both he and his secret love.

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