Silver Hourglass

Love's Consumption Chapter 39

Harry felt himself slam flat into the ground; his face was pressed into grass; the smell of it filled his nostrils. He had closed his eyes while the Portkey transported them, and he had kept his eyes closed now. He did not move. All the breath seemed to have been knocked out of him; his head was swimming so badly he felt as though the ground beneath him was swaying like the deck of a ship. He could feel something moving underneath him, up and down, it took Harry a while to realize that it was Cedric. He was still alive, he's not dead!

A torrent of sound deafened and confused him; there were voices everywhere, footsteps, screams. ...He remained where he was, his face screwed up against the noise, as though it were a nightmare that would pass. ...

"Harry! Harry!"

Harry finally opened his eyes and looked up, seeing Albus Dumbledore. Harry let go of the Cup, but still held onto the unconscious Cedric. "He's back! Voldemort, he's back," Harry whispered.

"What's going on? What happened?" Fudge's voice asked, appearing upside down over Harry; it looked white, appalled.

"My God—Diggory!" it whispered. "Dumbledore—he's dead!"

"No!" Harry said, looking shocked, still feeling Cedric's breathing. "He's unconscious!"

"Harry, let go of him," Fudge's voice say, and he felt fingers trying to pry him from Cedric's body, but Harry wouldn't let go. There were gasps and whispers around him as people were exclaiming that Cedric was dead.

"He's not dead! He's not!" Harry yelled.

"Come on sonny, come on," Professor Moody's voice growled as he roughly pulled Harry from Cedric. His magical blue eye looked at Cedric's body and grumbled to Dumbledore, "Heart's still going, get the boy to Madame Pomfrey. I'll bring Harry to my office."

Professor Moody silently brought Harry to his office. "You'll be alright now...drink this. ..." Harry heard a key scrape in a lock and felt a cup being pushed into his hands. "Drink it ...you'll feel better ...come on, now, Harry, I need to know exactly what happened. ..."

Moody helped tip the stuff down Harry's throat; he coughed, a pepery taste burning his throat. "Voldemort's back Harry? You're sure he's back? How did he do it?"

"He took stuff from his father's grave, and from Wormtail, and me," Harry said. His head felt clearer, his scar wasn't hurting so badly, but still the events seemed a bit fuzzy to Harry. He could have sworn that there were others there besides him, Cedric, Voldemort and his followers, but he couldn't remember who.

"What did the Dark Lord take from you?"

"Blood," Harry said, raising his arm. His sleeve was ripped where Wormtail's dagger had torn it. Moody let out his breath in a long, low hiss. "And the Death Eaters? They returned?"

"Yes," Harry said, "Loads of them...I don't know how Cedric and I got out—"

"How did he treat them?" Moody asked quietly. "Did he forgive them?"

Harry then remembered something very important and said "I have to tell Dumbledore! There could be a Death Eater in Hogwarts! Voldemort, he mentioned it—"

Harry tried to get up, but Moody pushed him back down. "I know who the Death Eater is," he said quietly.

"Karkaroff?" Harry said wildly, "Where is he? Have you got him? Is he locked up?"

"Karkaroff?" Moody said with an odd laugh, "Karkaroff fled tonight, when he felt the Dark Mark burn upon his arm. He betrayed too many faithful supporters of the Dark Lord to wish to meet them...but I doubt he will get far. The Dark Lord has ways of tracking his enemies."