Emma Potter

116: Lord Voldermort returns

I felt my feet slam into the ground;my leg gaveway, and I fell forward; I let go of Harry at last. Harry raised his head. 

"Where are we?" he said.

I shook my head. Harry then turned to me eyes flashing "what are you doing here?"

"I knew about the cup. . ." I gasped, my scar starting to tingle "you--you were in the maze and obviously  no one was going to believe me. So--"

"So you decided to follow me and risk yourself." Snapped Harry. 

"No." I corrected "I followed you because we're stronger together."

Cedric shook his head. He got up, pulled me to my feet, andthey looked around. 

We had left the Hogwarts grounds completely; we had obviously traveled miles — perhaps hundreds of miles — for even themountains surrounding the castle were gone. we were standinginstead in a dark and overgrown graveyard; the black outline of asmall church was visible beyond a large yew tree to their right. Ahill rose above them to their left. I could just make out theoutline of a fine old house on the hillside. 

"How'd you know this isn't part of the task?" asked Cedric

"Because my scar burned and a voice in my head told me." I said. Cedric stared. 

"Wandsout, d'you reckon?"

 "Yeah," said Harry.

 We pulled out our wands. I kept looking around me. I had, yet again, the strange feeling that we were beingwatched.

 "Someone's coming," I said suddenly. 

Squinting tensely through the darkness, I watched the figuredrawing nearer, walking steadily toward them between the graves. I couldn't make out a face, but from the way it was walkingand holding its arms, I could tell that it was carrying something.Whoever it was, he was short, and wearing a hooded cloak pulledup over his head to obscure his face. And — several paces nearer,the gap between them closing all the time — I saw that thething in the person's arms looked like a baby . . . or was it merely abundle of robes? 

Harry lowered his wand slightly and glanced sideways at Cedric and me.Cedric shot us a quizzical look. We all turned back to watchthe approaching figure. I tucked my wands in my robes, reachable if needed, and hidden. 

 It stopped beside a towering marble headstone, only six feetfrom them. For a second, Me, Harry and Cedric and the short figuresimply looked at one another. 

And then, without warning, my scar exploded with pain. Itwas agony such as I had never felt in all my life; my wand slipped from my fingers as I put my hands over my face; my knees buckled; I was on the ground and I could see nothing at all; my headwas about to split open. Harry fell beside me. 

 From far away, above my head, I heard a high, cold voice say,"Kill the spare." A swishing noise and a second voice, which screeched the wordsto the night: "Avada Kedavra!" 

A blast of green light blazed through my eyelids, and I heard something heavy fall to the ground beside me; the pain inhis scar reached such a pitch that I retched, and then it diminished; terrified of what I was about to see, I opened my stingingeyes. 

Cedric was lying spread-eagled on the ground beside Harry. Hewas dead.

 For a second that contained an eternity, I stared intoCedric's face, at his open gray eyes, blank and expressionless as thewindows of a deserted house, at his half-open mouth, whichlooked slightly surprised. And then, before my mind had accepted what I was seeing, before I could feel anything but numbdisbelief, I felt myself being pulled to my feet.