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RYDER & ROSALINE
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Jun 25 2008, 03:48 PM
Post #1
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Unregistered
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[size=2]What if Cedric never died and the Dark Lord was vanquished before Harry’s fifth year?[/size]
[size=3]1994[/size]- The feeling of being watched swept through Harry. Chills ran down his spine. “Someone’s coming,” said Harry, his body tense. A figure emerged from the darkness, striding easily towards them through the graves. The way the short figure walked and held his arms gave Harry the impression that he was carrying something. As his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting Harry saw what looked like a baby, held gingerly within the folds of the hooded figure’s cloak. Agony unlike any Harry had ever experienced before shot though his head. “Cedric, hide! Hide!” Harry whispered through clenched teeth as his knees buckled beneath him, “They’ve already seen me, but I don’t think they’ve noticed you yet!” Normally Cedric would never hide from danger and let someone else go alone, but the agony Harry was in as he spoke made Cedric’s survival instincts kick in. The boy dove behind a far gravestone just in time before the short figure had reached Harry.
Lord Voldemort had risen again. But little did he know that when Harry Potter had escaped that night, there was another witness to his rebirth. Cedric Diggory.
Harry and Cedric felt the impact almost immediately as their faces slammed into grass. A whirlwind of sound screamed into their ears. Voices were everywhere, footsteps, cheers… but the two boys remained rigid on the ground, waiting for it all to pass. A pair of hands sized Harry and turned him onto his back. “Harry! Cedric!” He opened his eyes to meet a pair of piercing blue ones staring back down at him. The sky was already adorned with stars, and all around him people were smiling and celebrating Cedric and Harry’s victory in the tournament. Harry could feel the ground beneath him tremble with their footsteps. He slowly unlatched his hands from the cup, allowing Dumbledore to heave him to his feet. The scene around him swam in and out of focus.
“He’s back,” Harry whispered. “He’s back.”
“Who’s back? What’s going on? What’s happened?” The outline of Cornelius Fudge bounded into Harry’s view. It looked white, horrified.
“Voldemort,” Cedric breathed, “Voldemort is back,”
With Cedric Diggory as witness, Harry Potter’s account of Lord Voldemort’s return was never questioned by the ministry. Dolores Umbridge never interfered at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Dumbledore’s Army was never formed. Harry Potter was never lured to the Ministry at night in order to obtain the prophecy, and Sirius Black never died. The Ministry backed Dumbledore and Harry from the beginning and with the help of Cedric Diggory, now famed for his escape from the Dark Lord, the Ministry began to plan out a course of action.
Cornelius Fudge stormed around the Headmaster’s office, his face becoming an attractive plum color that Harry associated with his uncle. “There is no way that Voldemort has created two Horcruxes let alone seven, Albus, this theory of yours is positively outrageous,” Harry remained seated in Dumbledore’s armchair, staring dazedly out the window towards the clear blue sky. He wasn’t bored. This beat spending his summer with the Dursleys by far.
“I know this must sound a bit far fetched, Cornelius, but I can assure you that this is more than simple speculation,” said Dumbledore, pressing the tips of his fingers together. Across the room from Harry sat Cedric Diggory, lounged across a separate arm chair and gazing distractedly out the window in a similar expression to Harry’s. The conversation, however exciting it might be, has been running in the same circle for the past few hours.
“The Ministry will not be sent on a wild goose chase! I refuse to be made a mockery of!” the giant plum roared.
“Then I am afraid we are at an impasse,” Dumbledore spoke calmly.
Fudge crossed his arms over his chest in defiance, “Do you think it’s wise for the Order to work separate from the Ministry?”
“The Order will do what it has always done, Cornelius,”
“And what is that?”
Dumbledore smiled, “The right thing,”
“Good day, Albus,” Fudge said with clenched teeth, a vein in his forehead throbbing angrily as he turned on his heel and stalked out the door.
“Good day, Cornelius,” Dumbledore answered him, still smiling.
And so, the Ministry and the Order worked separately, and it wasn’t long before the entire wizarding world was being divided between the two.
“Cedric, why are you helping the Ministry?” Harry asked. It had been a month since the meeting in Dumbledore’s office and already Harry was seeing Cedric’s name appearing all over the Prophet. “Are you really leading the Ministry’s search for Voldemort?”
Cedric squared his shoulders and looked Harry dead in the eye, his face as serious as stone. “Yes, I am. Is that a problem?”
“Didn’t that meeting with Dumbledore mean anything to you? Dumbledore knows what Voldemort is up to, and the Ministry refuses to believe it. They’re arresting innocent people and manipulating the public into thinking the Order is going about this all the wrong way. How can you support that?” said Harry, his voice growing steadily louder as his temper flared.
“The Ministry is our only hope, Harry. We can’t all try to be heroes and do things on our own. Dumbledore’s theory is shaky at best, and the Ministry is taking action. The only reason why the Prophet is saying that the Order is going about this the wrong way is because it’s true,” Cedric answered in hard tones, his eyes cold.
Harry glared at Cedric, “Well then, I see you’ve chosen your side,”
“And you’ve chosen yours. I only hope that you don’t end up regretting it, Harry,” said Cedric as he walked away.
That summer the Dark Lord was vanquished but not with any aid from the Ministry. Harry Potter and Dumbledore worked side-by-side on the mystery of the Horcruxes; and when the time came, Harry Potter set out and defeated Voldemort once and for all, proving Dumbledore right. Shamefaced, the Ministry refused to admit they were wrong.
And although the war was over… a new one was just beginning…
[size=3]Eleven years later… 2005[/size]- Harry cradled his first born son in his arms as he stared upon the familiar face of Cedric Diggory. “Minister… what a surprise,” Harry said as he opened the door farther, “Come in,”
Cedric strode into the room with a sense of authority that Harry had never seen him wear before. The years had changed Cedric. His back was held straighter, his clothes gave the impression of value, and his eyes were harder. “Do we need such formality? We are old friends,” the man said, removing a hat from his head.
“Are we, Cedric?” Harry said, his voice low, “You can’t expect me to believe this surprise visit is for old times’ stake,”
At this Ginny Weasley bustled into the room, “Harry? Who was it at the do… Oh! Minister!” The tone she used when she said ‘Minister’ made it clear that her opinion of the Minister was less than pleasant. “I’ll just take James off your hands, Harry. We’ll be in the next room if you need us,”
Cedric waited until they were alone before continuing the conversation. “I had thought your feelings towards me would have changed over the years, but obviously I was mistaken,”
“Indeed,” Harry responded, “Why don’t you drop the small-talk, Cedric, and tell me why you’re really here,”
The Minister made a face that was between frustration and disappointment before taking a deep breath. “My sources tell me that you have recently become head of the Order,”
“My sources tell me that you have recently become Minister,” Harry responded curtly.
Cedric nodded, “And as Minister it is my duty to make it known to the Order that the Ministry under my supervision will no longer stand the Order undermining our authority,”
“Undermining your authority? If the Ministry did things right the first time the Order wouldn’t have to step in. It’s not our fault the Ministry can’t do its job,” said Harry angrily.
Cedric’s jaw tightened and he put the hat back on his head, “All I’m saying is that I’d be careful if I were you. I’m in charge now and I’m not going to be as lenient towards the Order as previous Ministers have been. I don’t want to see you getting hurt,” he said tightly.
“Is that a threat?” said Harry.
The Minister shrugged his shoulders as he opened the front door, “I’d just be careful if I were you,” he repeated.
As the years passed, things between the Order and the Ministry only got worse. The lines became clearer and soon the “good side” was divided between Rouge (The Order) and Bleu (The Ministry). Twenty-two years later the battle still rages on, worse than ever. But now it’s full fledged war. Meanwhile, rumors of a Death Eater rebellion have started to circulate. Though it's not surprising, considering how everyone who didn't choose to side with Rouge or Bleu (death eaters included) have been living in poverty and oppression; with the wizarding world in chaos, how can the supposed "good side" defend themselves against a revolution?
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12:49 PM Nov 26
