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When Cedric winked into existence in the clearing outside the maze, he reeled back a step. The roar of the crowd hit him like a hammer blow, but it couldn’t distract him for long.Dropping the Cup, he staggered forward until he was face to face with Dumbledore, and tried to shout above the din. Some fragment of import must have reached Dumbledore’s ears, or maybe it was simply the earnestness of his expression. Whatever it was, the Headmaster quickly called for silence, and cast a hasty Impedimenta on a few eager students who were racing forward to grab the Cup.“Again, please, Mr. Diggory,” Dumbledore said politely, though his eyes were already hard with purpose.Cedric tried, as clearly as he could, to convey the necessary details in the shortest space of time. The Portkey, the giant cauldron, Harry’s collapse… “Then someone was shooting Killing Curses at me. Harry yelled at me to get back to the Cup, to bring help, so I did.”“You left him?” someone nearby shouted. “You bloody bastard!”A fist connected squarely with Cedric’s jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground. He blinked up at a boy being barely restrained from further violence. A red-headed boy, Harry’s friend, was being held back by his older twin brothers, who looked like they’d like nothing better than to give him a good kicking themselves.“Mr. Weasley!” Professor McGonagall snapped, though her own face was white and drawn. “Restrain yourself!”Cedric felt sure she would have had a lot more to say, had the situation been less dire. Dumbledore was already away, gathering a team of grim-faced rescuers around the Portkey.“You left him,” the boy repeated mulishly, still struggling against the hands that held him.Cedric’s face throbbed, and when he swallowed he could taste the copper tang of blood.“Leave it, mate,” one twin murmured. “Dumbledore’s going to get him back.”“He’s not worth it,” the other twin added, with a curl of his lip. The look the boy gave him made Cedric feel like something slimy and horrible had taken up residence in his stomach.Right then, Cedric’s father shoved through the mass of people and dropped to his knees at Cedric’s side. He obviously hadn’t heard what had been said by Cedric, Dumbledore, or the Weasleys, because he was beaming, and the first words out of his mouth were, “My boy! My boy, you won!”The second twin spat, narrowly missing Cedric’s foot, before both of them turned, pulling their younger brother away, but not quickly enough for Cedric to miss the look of pain and utter hatred in the fifteen-year-old’s eyes.***It was noon the next day before they allowed Cedric in to visit. Somehow, Madam Pomfrey had cleared the ward of the Weasleys. Cedric had discerned that they had become some kind of surrogate family to Harry, because besides Hermione Granger, no one else had been allowed in to see Potter since breakfast. Potter’s Muggle relatives hadn’t even made an appearance; something Cedric thought a little odd. He knew the parents of Muggleborns had visited the school in the past. Maybe they’d been and gone last night, after Cedric had gone back to his Dormitory and stared at the canopy above his bed for hours in lieu of sleep. That must be it.“Hi.” Harry’s voice was rough and hoarse. Cedric reached automatically for the glass of water on the bedside table, but Harry shook his head. “Not thirsty. It’s just damaged. The Cruciatus.”The fact that Harry could say that so simply, with the hint of a smile on his lips, made Cedric feel ill. Cedric lowered himself into a chair beside his hospital bed. What Harry said next made Cedric feel worse.“Thank you,” Harry said, the gratitude clear on his face. “Thank you for saving me. Thank you for being brave enough to run.”“I should have stayed,” Cedric said, and was surprised at how bitter he sounded. “I’m of age. I should have stayed and protected you, or taken you with me.”Harry shook his head. “They would have killed you. They tried. You would have died.”“You could have died, too,” Cedric retorted.“I did die,” Harry replied.Cedric went cold. They’d told him Harry had been injured. They hadn’t told him he was touched in the head. “You didn’t die, Harry. They brought you back unconscious.”“He tortured me for a while, first,” Harry said, casually, as though Cedric hadn’t spoken. “Then he made me stand up and face him. He cast the Killing Curse, and I wasn’t quick enough. I died.” Harry’s green eyes were bright, and suddenly he was smiling warmly, though he was staring at the ceiling above his head. “I died, and suddenly, I was in a place I’d never been before. A place I’d only imagined, or dreamt. A house I made up, when I was little. My parents were there.”There was a long pause. Cedric shifted uncomfortably.“They told me they loved me, and that they were proud of me. That I had a choice – I could go back, or I could go on, with them.”“And you chose to come back?” Cedric asked.Harry turned his head sharply toward Cedric, blinking, as though he’d forgotten he was there. “Yes,” he said eventually. “They’ll be waiting for me when I’m ready to go. They told me they would be. When I woke up in my own body again, Dumbledore had arrived and was fighting Voldemort.”“Still here, Mr. Diggory?” Madam Pomfrey asked, bustling into view with several ominous looking bottles. “It’s time for Mr. Potter’s potions. You’d best be on your way. I believe the Headmaster wants to see you?” She raised an eyebrow.Cedric took the hint and made a hasty exit. The gargoyles leapt aside when he spoke the password (Choccoballs), and he rode the stairs to the top, where he knocked politely and waited.A convicted mass murderer opened the door.***“I apologise for any alarm Sirius’ presence may have caused,” Dumbledore said a short time later, when Cedric was safely seated in a squishy armchair with a cup of milky tea and several gingernut biscuits, “but as his pardon will likely not be officially granted for some months, I could not forewarn you. As he is Harry’s godfather, I felt it fitting that he be here.”“His pardon, sir?” Cedric asked, before he could help himself. He felt it was safer than the rather stickier question of how Dumbledore knew where to contact Sirius Black in the first place.“I was framed,” Sirius said bluntly, his tone resentful. Despite his somewhat shabby attire, Sirius sipped from his teacup with delicate, effortless grace; the indelible stamp of upper-class breeding.“Indeed,” Dumbledore concurred, with a gentle incline of his head, “and fortunately, Mr. Diggory, your quick actions last night yielded us substantial evidence of Sirius’ innocence. Several eyewitnesses including the Minister for Magic saw Pettigrew, Sirius’ alleged victim, at Voldemort’s side. Though Sirius will have to remain in hiding for some time yet, he has already begun correspondence with an attorney who believes he has a strong case for acquittal.”“Thank you,” Sirius said.Cedric was unable to do more than give a short, polite nod in response. “So it’s true, what Harry was saying? It wasn’t just a few Death Eaters? It was real?”Cedric’s tone must have come out sounding more disbelieving than he had intended, because Sirius stiffened, and Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. “Regardless of what has been reported by certain members of the press, Harry is not given to telling tall tales,” Dumbledore said with gentle reproof.Cedric flushed. “No, of course not, sir. He just seemed... distracted. He said some rather odd things.”Sirius noticeably relaxed a little, and Cedric felt relieved. While he didn’t actually think the man would have drawn a wand on him, he seemed touchy, which really wasn’t that surprising given he’d spent twelve years in prison and another two on the run. Dumbledore smiled. “Ah, yes. I believe Madam Pomfrey has prescribed Mr. Potter a number of potions to speed his recovery. However, none of them would be likely to make him lose his grip on reality.”“He said he died,” Cedric confessed, “and that his parents gave him a choice to come back.”Sirius flinched and took a large mouthful, staring down at the carpet, but Dumbledore only beamed and nodded, his eyes twinkling behind their half-moon frames. “And for that sacrifice, the entire world will come to be grateful to him,” Dumbledore said enigmatically.Before Cedric could formulate any response to such a bizarre statement, he found himself being shown to the door.“I need not emphasise to you, Mr. Diggory, that the details of these conversations, both with Mr. Black and myself, and with Mr. Potter, are to be shared with no one? Likewise, that no one must know about Mr. Black’s visit here? Your discretion in these matters is not only appreciated, but is advisable, given the current climate.” Dumbledore tapped a long finger on the banner headline of that morning’s Daily Prophet: HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED RETURNS! Ministry Advises Calm, Caution.“I understand, sir,” Cedric answered.“Thank you for what you’ve done; for myself, for my godson,” Sirius thanked him again, shaking his hand firmly. Leaning a little closer, he added, “Just watch out for yourself, at school. Harry’s friend, Ron... He’s a good kid, but he’s angry, and those twin brothers of his aren’t too impressed with you either. They should cool off over the summer, but until then... Just keep your friends around you.”Cedric’s jaw tightened. He swallowed, and gave a little nod, and stepped onto the staircase downwards.***Despite Sirius’ warning, the last few days of the school year passed with no retribution. Harry was out of the Hospital Wing several days before the Leaving Feast, back with his circle of friends. His housemates gathered around him, both as adoring fans and bodyguards, but he seemed a little distant from them, and his voice remained scratchy and brittle.Cedric quietly broke up with Cho three days after the Third Task had gone so horribly wrong. Though he gave her gentle, self-deprecating reasons for wanting to part, the truth was that he couldn’t bear her adoring looks and constant comments that implied she thought he was some kind of hero. For two days she moved about Hogwarts with a glum expression and red eyes, before appearing to shake out of her stupor.Walking the length of the Hogwarts Express at the end of term, he caught a glimpse of her, seated with a gaggle of Gryffindors. Right next to Harry, who seemed a bit dazed, but pleased with his good fortune. Even as Cedric watched. Harry blushed shyly, and Cho smiled. Smiled at Harry the same way she’d once smiled at him.No, Cedric wasn’t a hero. If he was a hero, he would have stayed, rather than run. Even if that had meant he’d died.