1 | Sunlight ➙ Cedric Diggory

Chapter Twenty Two

"Harry, have you lost your mind?!" Matthew exclaimed out of frustration and worry. "You can't accuse a teacher like that and you certainly can't drag my cousin into danger."

"I'm not accusing! I know Snape is trying to steal the stone!" Harry exclaimed back. The boys had low tones to their voices while they snapped at each other, in case Professor Snape decided to come back around the corner and interrogate them some more. The man had just walked away before Harry declared the group would be going down the trap door tonight to save the Philosopher's Stone.

"How do you know? Did you ask him?" Matthew snapped at the younger boy, not bothering to keep his voice down anymore.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about this here." Cedric pointed out, putting his hands in between the boys to try and separate them.

"He's been limping. It looks like he was bit by something a lot bigger than an owl." Harry stated matter-of-factly, ignoring Cedric.

"So you think that three-headed dog got to him?" Matthew asked with a slight scoff.

"Look, we read about Flamel. And after what happened to Harry in the forest, it would be really bad if Snape got his hands on the stone. You can either help us or not." Hermione interjected, stepping between her best friend and her cousin as they bickered.

"I'm down to help. It'd be six against one, if it really is Snape." Toby spoke.

"Yeah, six kids against one Professor." Matthew sighed heavily as he stepped back from Harry. "Fine, we'll help. But Harry Potter if anything happens to my cousin, worse will happen to you."

Harry nodded in understanding. "We'll meet you outside the Hufflepuff Common Room." The boy stated while Matthew grabbed the elbows of Toby and Cedric, telling them to come along.

"You better bring that cloak of yours." Toby called over his shoulder as the three Hufflepuffs made their way down the corridor.

Just as Harry promised, he, Ron, and Hermione were all standing outside the Hufflepuff Common Room with the invisibility cloak draped over them. The trio were standing shoulder to shoulder, squished under the cloak. It seemed to shimmer in the dark corridor as Harry stepped out from underneath it. Matthew was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, Toby was admiring the magical item, and Cedric was glancing between Matthew and Harry with a nervous expression etched onto his features.

"Are we all going to fit?" Matthew asked as he pushed himself off of the wall.

"If we walk close together, yes. We only need to wear it until we get to the third floor." Harry replied.

Toby pulled at the cloak, allowing the silky material to fall between his hands. "Harry, I'm pretty sure this was your father's. My mum told me about James Potter and his nightly walks around the castle."

Harry nodded in response as he held the cloak above his head, waiting for Cedric and Matthew to walk underneath. Cedric stood taller than the other students so he had to slump his shoulders to ensure everyone's feet were concealed. Matthew was hesitant to walk underneath but would rather be with his cousin than apart and worried about her.

"Is everyone ready?" Harry asked from under the cloak. The six students were all crammed together with no free space between any of them. Cedric stood in between Matthew and Toby with Ron, Harry, and Hermione in front of them. There was a chorus of 'ready' among the students before they slowly started making their way towards the third floor. Luckily, the cloaked kids didn't run into anyone wandering the corridors and successfully arrived at the large wooden door that shielded the three-headed dog known as Fluffy.