If Only//Harry Potter [4]

22

Before Autumn could even think, she heard more voices. But, they were familiar — the good kind of familiar.

She set off towards Harry's voice, thinking she was near the maze. Within seconds, she saw Harry and Cedric, looking around in curiosity. 

"Harry!" Autumn ran up to the boy and wrapped her arms around him.

"Autumn? What are you doing here?"

"Long story: Matt's fault, not dating anymore and he's kinda evil. Met my dad. He's evil, too." 

Autumn turned around and faced Cedric. He looked scared as he looked at Autumn, like he didn't know what to do.

Autumn slowly walked towards him and enwrapped him in a hug. "I'm sorry." She said softly.

"For what?" Cedric said, hugging Autumn back.

"I hated you for no reason. It wasn't me, my feelings were being forced by some charm from my necklace that Matt gave me. I really wish we can start over. But either way, I'll explain it to you later, but we have to get out. Now."

"Why? What is this place?" Cedric asked, looking around.

"I've been here before." Harry said, lurking about the graveyard.

"It's a Portkey. Harry, the cup is a Portkey." Cedric said in wonder.

"Cedric! We have to get back to the cup. Now!" Harry shouted as he clutched his scar and hissed in pain.

"What are you talking about?" Cedric asked.

Autumn ran over to Harry, seeing if he was okay. But instead, she saw a dark figure looming in the distance. It seemed to be carrying something in its arms. 

"Cedric, go to the cup. Now!" Autumn yelled, agreeing with Harry. If the cup was a portkey, it should take them back somewhere.

"What is it?" Cedric asked, walking over to the other two.

"Get back to the cup!" Harry screamed as he doubled over in pain. His scar burned more intensely and more painful than ever before. Autumn tried to comfort Harry as well as keep an eye on the figure, but it felt impossible.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Cedric asked bravely.

Autumn gasped as the figure walked into the moonlight, allowing the three to see his face. It was Wormtail, smiling evilly. "Cedric, get away from him!" Autumn shouted.

"Kill the spare." A dark voice said from the blanket Wormtail was holding. 

With no hesitation, Wormtail held his wand up and said a haunting spell. "Avada Kedavra!" 

It was almost like everything froze. Wormtail had his wand pointed at Cedric and a bright green emitted from the end. The green light slowly made its way from the wand to Cedric. 

Autumn heard someone scream. Maybe it was Cedric. Maybe it was Harry. Maybe it was her. She didn't know. All she knew was that Cedric flew back as the green light absorbed him. Then, he was dead.

"No! Cedric!" Autumn ran towards Cedric, checking for a pulse she knew wasn't there. 

"Cedric!" Harry cried out, but before he could move, Wormtail waved his wand at Harry, moving him like the Imperius Curse does. 

Wormtail pushed him back towards a statue, the statue surrounding around him, making sure he couldn't move. 

Autumn sat with Cedric's body in the distance. It appeared like Wormtail didn't know she was there. She looked down at his blank face and didn't stop the tears the dropped from her face to his.

"Do it! Now!" The scrawny white figure in Wormtail's arms shouted. 

Wormtail turned towards a cauldron filled with boiling water. He held the white figure into the air above the cauldron, then dropped the creature into the water. Worm tail pointed his wand at the ground below Harry's feet and pulled a bone from the ground. "Bone of the father. . . unwillingly given." Wormtail dropped the bone into the pot and Autumn could only watch as it burnt up in the liquid.

Wormtail put the wand in his jacket pocket and pulled out a knife. "Flesh of the servant. . .willingly sacrificed." He held both of his hands over the cauldron, then forced the knife down on his opposing hand.

Autumn grimaced as Wormtail shrieked in pain.

"And blood of the enemy. . . forcibly taken." Wormtail slowly looked up from the pot and towards Harry. The same knife that he used to cut off his own hand, he put in Harry's forearm.

Harry screamed as the knife tore his skin.

"The Dark Lord shall rise. . . again." 

Harry screamed in pain as his scar began to burn.

The cauldron that contained the weak figure now caught aflame and molded into a figure, one that Autumn nearly gasped at. It was Voldemort, now in a form of his own. 

Voldemort slowly moved his hands around, touching his body in remembrance of how it was thirteen years ago, before Harry had nearly killed him. He slowly walked towards Wormtail, who was in awe of seeing him again.

"My wand, Wormtail." 

Wormtail, using the only hand he had left, opened his jacket pocket to retrieve the wand. He bowed as he handed it to him.

"Hold out your arm." 

"Master. Thank you, master." Wormtail praised as he held out the arm that used to have a hand.

"The other arm, Wormtail," Voldemort breathed out, looking quite annoyed.

Wormtail looked disappointed, but held out his other arm. Voldemort lifted the sleeve and pressed his wand into a tattoo of the Dark Mark on Wormtail's arm.

Thunder sounded in the air and the Dark Mark, the one that everyone had seen at the World Cup, was now in the sky. The serpent and skull floated in the air like clouds and Autumn got an aching feeling in her gut.