Hello Dear Readers. Dear Sparkly Readers. Horrible person-Me. It has been so long since I have updated. I am shamed. -_- Well, not much else to say at the start of this. Just that I thank you for all of the support you have been giving this story, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

They watched the sun rise over the Black Lake, the colors so bright against the darkness of Harry's dreams. Nightmares. They were getting clearer and ever more horrifying, but in the wake of the morning light, Harry found he could breathe again.

Cedric walked back to the castle with Harry in companionable silence as had become their ritual over the past week. It was one of the things Harry loved about spending time with Cedric. He had warmth about him that put Harry at ease. He likened it to sitting before the hearth on Christmas Eve with a cup of cocoa and a good book to read. Silent, peaceful, and comfortable. That was how it felt around Cedric. Even when they did talk, it wasn't annoying like he found it to be with most anyone else (he blamed living a life of silence with the Dursleys for his general dislike of conversation). Instead, he found their conversations relaxing and gratifying. It somehow made Harry feel less alone.

He couldn't help the small smile that spread across his face. Cedric nudged him. "What's the smile about?"

"Just thinking about Hogsmeade. If you're lucky, I might even tell you the truth behind the shrieking shack."

"Well, now you've got me all kinds of curious. Is it really haunted?"

"Hmm, is it?"

"Harry."

Harry chuckled. "I'll tell you later."

"You'd better."

"Maybe." Harry winked at Cedric, feeling unusually playful, and took off for Gryffindor tower at a run.

"Harry!" Cedric called after him. He hated mysteries.

Breakfast was spent in relative silence, with Jason looking suspiciously back and forth between a grumbling Cedric and a smirking Harry. It seemed backwards. Harry was generally the grumpy one. He shrugged it off. "So are we meeting up with your friend after breakfast?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, he's not much into breakfast. Says it makes him queasy, so he'll meet us out front at 10:00," he glanced down at his watch, "which is still twenty minutes away."

"So, what's this Neville like, really? The only thing people seem to say about him is he's clumsy, a bit dumb, and awkward."

Harry scowled. Over the last two weeks, he had really gotten to know his quiet roommate, and he was sorry to think he hadn't done so sooner. Neville was quite intelligent and interesting when he wasn't busy being jumpy "That's ridiculous. I mean sure, when he's nervous he's a bit clumsy and starts to stutter, but he's very intelligent and decent and kind. People have no right, they don't even really know him. Just because he's a bit shy-"

"Chill, Harry. I didn't mean anything by it. In fact, that's why I asked about him. You can't trust rumors. I mean, if we believed everything that was said about you, Cedric here wouldn't be head over-hmph! Damn it, Cedric! Just because you have feet doesn't mean you're allowed to use them as weapons."

Cedric continued to eat his toast innocently.

Harry looked back and forth between the two of them, eyebrow raised, before moving on. They were always doing and saying strange things. He was becoming quite accustomed to the oddness.

"Hey, Neville."

Neville jumped in surprise and quickly turned to face Harry. He bit his lip nervously. Towering behind Harry were the two friends he'd briefly mentioned they would be going to Hogsmead with. He, of course, recognized Cedric, but he had never before realized just how tall and broad he was. His fellow Hufflepuff didn't help any. He was even larger. Neville just managed to squeak out a quiet greeting.

Harry chuckled and guessed what was making his friend nervous. "Don't worry, Nev. They're harmless. See," Harry began alternately tugging at Cedric's ear and poking him in the stomach, eyes wide and innocent, "Completely harmless." Jason chuckled as Cedric scowled lightly at his small friend.

Cedric lightly swatted at Harry's hands. "It's nice to meet you, Neville. This git next to me is Jason. Really, Harry. We get the point. You can stop now."

"It's fun."

Cedric rolled his eyes. "Poke Jason."

Harry pouted. "But that's not nearly as entertaining."

Cedric couldn't really begrudge Harry his moment of fun. He was so rarely playful. And it was cute…in a weird way. Never-the-less, he was beginning to bruise. He took hold of Harry's wrists and held them to his sides. "We ready?" Cedric dragged a frowning Harry towards Hogsmead with Neville and Jason following close behind.

The street was packed with the excited chatter of students. They were glowing with the prospect of a free day and the first task so close at hand. Harry and Cedric purposely tuned them out. The last thing they wanted to think about just then was the death trap they would be willingly walking into come Tuesday.

Their first stop was the small musty book shop beside The Hog's Head. Harry and Cedric immediately headed for the Defense section in search of a book they had been debating about a few days prior. Their friends leaned against the wall and watched as they looked. "The Dark Art of Defense by Prailey Prim, right?" Harry murmured.

"No. That one's horrible; it was The Dark Art of Defense by Drucilla Price."

"No, it's the other way around. I'm sure of it. I remember because I thought it was funny someone with the name Prim knew so much about the dark arts."

"If you're so sure, why did you ask?"

"I felt like it," Harry said simply.

"You're still wrong."

"Look, I'll prove it. Here's Prim's." Harry pulled the book off of the shelf and began flipping through the pages, looking for the section on dark rituals. Harry gave a light cough as he realized this book didn't have a section on dark rituals. It was, apparently, not the one they were looking for. He carefully slid it back into place, purposely avoiding looking at Cedric.

Cedric gave a dark chuckle as he pulled Drucilla Price's book off of the shelf, but it died quickly as he realized it wasn't the right book either. He cleared his throat. "Well, we were both wrong. It was definitely called The Dark Art of Defense, though. Wasn't it?"

"Yes?" Harry said hesitantly, no longer confident in his memory of the book.

"There are only three other books here with the same title. It has to be one of them." They each took a book and began flipping through pages again. Ultimately, it was the last book they picked up called The Dark Arts of Defense by Branilla Weaver.

"See!" Harry jabbed at the ritual's description, "The Unicorn blood has to be taken on the night after the full moon, not before."

Neville leaned toward Jason and whispered, "Why exactly are they looking up this ritual?"

Jason shrugged. "They're always doing shit like this. They have these little spats about whose right and whose wrong about certain spells and potions and try to prove each other wrong. It's fairly entertaining. When it's not disturbing, that is."

Zonko's was not Harry's favorite shop. It was loud and crowded. Harry did not like loud and crowded. No doubt his father was rolling over in his grave. But Neville and Jason had agreed upon it as the next stop and he could not bring himself to argue when they had said nothing about the two hour long stop at Blatherly's Books and Things.

Thus, he roamed.

The shelves held countless items that served little purpose. He had trouble understanding the fascination his peers found in these trinkets. In his first year at Hogwarts, he had been ecstatic to finally have the opportunity to collect such knickknacks, but the novelty quickly wore off and the items were left at the bottom of his trunk. He had often wondered if it was because he had never had toys as a child. Perhaps that had affected his perception of entertainment.

Never the less, there were quite a few fascinating items in the small shop. He plucked a palm sized thing off of a shelf that had a vibrant lime green glow to it. It was spherical with a flat bottom and at first glance, Harry would have sworn it was a paperweight. A very fancy glowy paperweight, but a paperweight none the less. However, upon closer inspection (and an examination of the label) Harry discovered it was a Voice Carrier. That could be useful. You could whisper in someone's ear from across the room with one of these objects. Yes, there were definitely a few items of interest in Zonko's.

But it was still loud and crowded.

So long as he was here though, he may as well purchase a couple Voice Carriers.

They stopped for a brief lunch at The Three Broomsticks before strolling along the path towards the Shrieking Shack… Well, Neville and Jason were strolling. Cedric was dragging Harry by the hand to the dilapidated building, excited to finally hear the truth behind the myths. There was so much guesswork surrounding this place and he had always wondered about it. None of his research had turned up evidence of an actual haunting, and yet even his mother had told him of the nights she would hear the horrifying shrieks coming from the dwelling. It had scared her in her younger years at Hogwarts. And finally, Finally!, the mystery would be solved.

Unfortunately for dear Cedric, Harry refused to tell his story until Neville and Jason had joined them at the fence. The young champion received great pleasure from watching Cedric dance around in impatience. Their friends certainly were taking their time.

Harry couldn't hide the small smile that spread across his face when he had three eager boys waiting for the story behind the shrieking shack. He was the smallest by far, but it was his audience that appeared childlike in there wide eyed expectation.

"You all remember Professor Lupin, right?"

Cedric's dreams were peaceful. His mind's eye was filled with emerald green and shy smiles.

Around two in the morning, however, Cedric's restful night of sleep was disturbed by a harsh prod to the head. He opened his eyes slowly. The image of a man hovering over him slowly came into focus. He was startled into full wakefulness when the sight finally registered, and he opened his mouth to yell out a warning to his roommates, but he found himself silenced.

There was a twisted smile on the strange man's face, and a demented gleam in his eye. His face was hollow and his skin pale. Cedric knew this face. It had been in the papers a number of times the year before. A mass murderer who had escaped maximum security at Azkaban was hovering above him and he had no way of calling for help. Cedric had never been so frightened in his life.

"Hello, Diggory," Black said. "I've heard much about you. Harry seems to have grown rather attached." Sirius crawled onto the bed beside Cedric and rested his wand's tip on the boy's wildly beating heart. "I hope you know that my godson does not trust easily, and neither do I. Terrible things can happen to traitors, you know." Sirius' grin turned malicious. "I enjoy punishing traitors. Keep it in mind, Diggory, and treat my godson well." Cedric gave a jerky nod. "Good boy." And then he was gone, but Cedric remained frozen to his bed, trying his best to process the event.

Cedric pulled Harry into an abandoned classroom the following morning. Harry sat on one of the desks and watched curiously as Cedric shifted nervously from one foot to the other. When he began absently pulling at his lip, Harry gave up his patience. "Cedric, spit it out."

He jumped a bit and gave a nervous laugh. "I had a strange visitor last night. Or maybe it was this morning. It doesn't matter. He should not have been in my dorm, hovering over me."

"Hovering? Who?"

"…Sirius Black."

Harry snorted. "He would."

"He would?" Cedric squeaked.

Harry smiled brightly. "Yes, he would, and did apparently."

"But …why? And why aren't you freaking out?"

Harry hopped off of his desk and patted Cedric comfortingly on the shoulder. "Last night, you met my Godfather. Don't worry, though, he didn't commit any of the crimes he was convicted for. As for why he broke into your dorm, he probably thought it would be fun. The man gets bored so easily."

"So, he's… and you're okay, with him that is."

"Yep. Now what did he say to you?"

Cedric sagged into a chair and blew out a deep breath. "He basically threatened me. Said I should treat you well or he would punish the traitor."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Did he now? How tame."

Cedric snapped his head up to stare wide-eyed at Harry. "I thought you said he was innocent!"

"I never said he was innocent. Just that he wasn't a mass murderer. And he's not a traitor either. He hates traitors."

"So I gathered," Cedric said weakly.

"Don't worry, Cedric. I'll tell him not to break into your dorm room anymore."

"Will he listen?"

Harry shrugged. "Possibly."

And that's a wrap. Not for the story, just the chapter. Poor, Cedric. He has so much left to learn. I'm planning to start the romance in the next chapter that will not take me as long to write… hopefully. Thanks for being such loyal readers.

Tweena