Chapter Three: The Incident With the Squid

The Hogwarts Express finished pulling into the station at Hogsmeade. Inside the train students began to push and shove their way down the corridors of the train. In one compartment Draco Malfoy was blinking and looking around confused. Cedric Diggory gazed down and smiled. "It's good to see you're awake. You had people worried."

A frown replaced the smile as Cedric realized that Draco was not acting right. He might have been awake but he was acting if he had been Confunded. The Confundus charm could make a person act bewildered and confused. Draco's confusion however, did not come from said charm.

Draco's mind was filled with memories, two sets of memories to be exact. One set was whole and complete, the life he had lived as Draco Malfoy. The other memories were fragmented, the lifetime of Edmund Pevensie. If the memories had not been so broken, Edmund's personality and worldview would probably have taken over. The Edmund set of memories did have more than fifteen years of life experience over Draco's. As things were, a battle, a great struggle was going on in Draco's mind. It wasn't two minds. It was one; one mind struggling with two deeply held, and in certain ways, completely contradictory belief systems.

Cedric Diggory was utterly unaware of this. All he knew was that Draco sitting in a seat, starring off into blank space. Cedric snapped his fingers. He waved a hand in front of Draco's face. There was no response. The corridor outside the compartment began to go quiet as almost everyone else got off the train.

One of the people first off the train was Harry Potter, followed by Neville Longbottom and Ron Weasley. Harry saw Hagrid waiting a few feet away.
"Over here Harry," Hagrid gestured for him to come. A lamp was in Hagrid's other hand. "Firs' Years this way!" Hagrid shouted loudly, "C'mon firs' years! Follow me! Watch your step! Firs' Years this way!"

Back on the train Joe Summers, Cedric's best friend moved through the corridors looking for Cedric. He found the right compartment and looked in. "Cedric come on!"

"I can't just leave him here," Cedric said referring to Draco.

"We're going to be late!" Joe pointed at a watch on his wrist. "If we don't get a move on we'll miss the carriages. I don't want to walk to Hogwarts! You remember what happened to the last guy who did that, two years ago. The feast was almost over by the time he arrived! He was laughed at by half the school! Worse still he got detention and house points taken, and it wasn't even the first day of classes yet!"

Joe leaned against the doorway. "I'm not dealing with that! I'm not getting in trouble on the first night back. I don't want any unnecessary problems. I don't want anything troublesome! "

Cedric stared at Joe with an expression of disapproval. "You don't have to hang around but I'm not leaving him." Cedric grabbed Draco's arms and pulled him up. Draco stood looking as unresponsive as before. Cedric pushed Joe aside. He dragged Draco down the corridor then down onto the platform outside. A still complaining Joe followed him the whole way. Cedric ignored him. The crowd of first years on the platform gathered around the very large and unmistakable figure that was the groundskeeper Hagrid.

"Anymore firs' years?" Hagrid asked in his booming voice. The groundskeeper turned around and began moving away.

Cedric let go of Draco. Draco just stood there. Cedric tried to push him toward the other first years. This didn't work. The other first years followed Hagird down the path to the lake. Draco just stood there.

"Come on!" Joe said, "You're going to miss the carriage!"

"Then I'll miss it!" Cedric said. He let out a long sigh, imagining the ribbing and teasing he would receive for arriving late to the castle. He took Draco's hand again and followed the first years. The path was narrow and dark with trees lining either side of it. It was steep. Cedric had to careful guiding Draco. It was far too easy to trip and stumble.

"Just 'round the bend here," Hagrid said, "Yeh'll see Hogwarts for the firs' time. Just a sec now." Most of the first years made various sounds of awe and delight as the narrow path ended near the edge of Hogwarts Lake. On top of a mountain on the other side was Hogwarts Castle. With its many tower and turrets and windows lit against night, it was a very pretty sight.

This particular view of the castle was not one Cedric had seen often. He might have enjoyed it more if he hadn't been surrounded by a bunch of eleven year olds. As it was, Cedric felt conspicuous and embarrassed. He took a deep breath and pushed forward through the crowd of younger students, dragging Draco with him as he went.

"Hagird! Cedric shouted dragging Draco forward.

Startled, Hagrid stopped moving less than a foot from the lake. "Who's that? Yer not one of the firs' years."
"No," Cedric said feeling slightly nervous. He had not spoken more a few words to Hagrid during the three years he had gone to the school. Hagird was, according to long held rumors, a half giant. While Hagrid was not a bad sort, most giants were. Hagrid was not a teacher, so Cedric had never much reason to speak to him until now.

Cedric worked up his courage then pointed at Draco. "I think someone hexed him. It's that or a head injury. He's been acting very strange." Cedric spent the next few minutes telling Hagrid what he knew of the events on the train.

Behind Cedric the first years were whispering and speaking softly. A number of different little conversations occurred. The topics varied greatly.

"I still say Ceddy is cute," Leanne Spinks said to Lavender Brown. The two girls giggled softly.

"Draco is a no good traitor," Vincent Crabbe whispered to Goyle. "If he doesn't get in Syltherin then I say we beat him up."

"He's a Malfoy," Ron said to Harry, "I've heard a lot of bad things about them from my dad. If someone cursed him, I bet he deserved it."

"I h-hea-rd," Neville stuttered, "th-that his gr-gra-grandfather w-was a Grindelwald sympathizer."

Ron snorted. "Probably more that."
"Grindelwald?" Harry asked.

"A Dark Wizard," a girl's voice answered. Harry recognized the voice as that of the bushy haired girl he encountered earlier. "He was imprisoned," she continued, "at the end of World War II. I suppose if you want to oversimplify things, you could call him the thirties and forties equivalent of You-Know-Who. I read a chapter on him and his followers in Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

"Who asked you, Miss Know-it-all?" Ron said sarcastically.

Harry stared ahead a Draco. It was hard to see him clearly. The sky was cloudy covering the stars and moon. Harry wasn't sure what he thought of Draco. He seemed very odd, even a bit crazy. At the same time, Harry didn't think Draco was bad. Annoying and strange maybe, but bad? No. He couldn't explain it though, and he wasn't foolish enough to tell Ron and Neville this. His new friendship with them was too fragile, too new, to trust them much.

Harry had always been a misfit. For his entire life, he had had to be careful what he said and did. If he didn't then people would treat him more strangely than usual. He had never been treated like a normal person. Even when he was careful, he still got unexpected reactions sometimes. Jaws would drop and brows would raise. And even when kids didn't act this way, Dudley and his gang bullied them into giving up on Harry. No matter what Harry did, he had never had friends for long.

What Harry didn't know, dear reader, what Harry couldn't see, was the look in his own eyes. There was at times an authority, an aura about him of someone much older. There was a quality about him, a sheer confidence, like that of a great leader, a general, a king. Kids, not knowing what they were seeing, often tried to avoid him. Even the grownups he had met, ordinary middle-class muggles, were unnerved by him.

Harry had hoped the Wizarding World would be different for him. Standing by the lake, he still hoped this. Hagrid had not treated him oddly. But Harry remembered the reactions of the Weasley twins and the other older boys he had met on the train. He knew too, how wizards reacted to his very name. He was famous, he was respected for something that happened on the night his parents died. It was something he didn't remember doing. It was something he wasn't even sure he did. How could a fifteen-month old baby stop an evil wizard? How could he ever lead any kind of normal life, if everyone in the wizarding world believed this?

The deepest desire of Harry's heart was to fit in. He wanted a place to belong. He wanted friends. He wanted people to care about, people who would care for him in turn and accept for who he was. Part of him feared this would never happen.

The clouds parted shining moonlight on the lake. The light showed the boats more clearly. Seeing them caused a louder chatter among the kids. Hearing this reminded Hagrid of his duties. "I don' think I'm the one you should be telling' this to Cedric," Hagrid said, "Yeh'll need to be talkin' to Dumbledore later." He held up a hand as if to say stop. He looked around and raised his voice. "Right! Firs' years! Everyone to the boats! Four to a boat! Careful now!"

Hagrid put a hand on Draco's shoulder. "I'll take him with me. Keep a eye on him an' all." Hagrid raised his other hand scratching at his head. "I think maybe yer better ride in one of the boats, Cedric."

"No thanks." Cedric wasn't about to ride in a boat. It was awkward enough being late. It would be absolutely mortifying to ride in a boat with the first years. He wasn't about to damage his reputation that much.

"Yeh'll miss the feast if you don'," Hagrid said, "You might get lost. It's my job as staff ter see ter the safety of the students of which yer one." Hagrid lifted Draco as if he weighed nothing. He placed him gently in a boat.

Cedric backed away. "I'll take the long way around to the castle."

"No, you don't," Hagrid said, "You might get lost. You might wander too near the Forbidden Forest. No one is expectin' you at the gates. Anythin' could happen. In you go."

Cedric shook his head. "I really don't think so."
"Do yer want me to carry you the way I did Young Malfoy?" Hagrid asked. His voice was soft for him, but still too loud. A good number of first years laughed.

Cedric glared at Hagrid but the damage was already done. Because of Hagrid's words there would be more laughter and rumors at Cedric's expense. He thought about missing the feast. He really didn't want to do that. He thought about the embarrassment of being lifted by the half giant. Even more so, he didn't want that. Reluctantly, he climbed into the boat. Hagrid climbed after him. Cedric found himself and the catatonic Draco squeezed in. There was no space. The boat sunk lower in the water than any of the others.

In another boat, Harry sat with Neville and Ron. The bushy haired girl introduced herself as, "Hermione Granger." To the dismay of both Ron and Harry, she followed them into the boat.

With all the first years in the boats, the boats took off across the lake. Cedric stared down at the water which too close for comfort. Hagrid didn't even seem to notice how low the boat was. It wasn't that Cedric didn't know how to swim. It was what he knew was down there that bothered him. The Hogwarts Lake was famous for exotic magical creatures. There were merfolk and other things swimming down there.

One of those other things raised a tentacle out of the water. It was the giant squid. The tentacle came a little too close to the boat where Cedric was. There were ooohs and ahs and gasps and shouts coming from the other boats. Hagrid looked at the squid. "Awe. Isn' that sweet?"

"Sweet?" Cedric croaked, his mouth dry from fear.

"He's just saying hello," Hagrid said.

Cedric couldn't believe this. He had heard it from other students that Hagrid liked dangerous creatures the way most adored cats and dogs. Until now he hadn't really believed it.

Another tentacle came up from the water. At this moment Cedric discovered something awful. It's very strange but true that you never know how you will react to something until it happens. The bravest of men can turn out to be cowards; and the most cowardly can turn suddenly brave. This sort of reaction isn't consistent either. At the sight of the second tentacle, Cedric panicked. He jumped. He grabbed the person nearest to him, which was Draco. Draco was still non-responsive. Draco was about as limp and resisting as a rag doll. In a tangle of limbs, Cedric and Draco fell overboard.

The abnormally low sitting boat raised right backup the moment the boys' weight was gone from it. "Don't be panickin' now! Don' panic!" Hagrid yelled. It was words that came just a little bit too late.

As the water soaked Draco, he came out of the daze. His mind still wasn't finished with its struggle; but the instinct to preserve his body was currently stronger than anything else. Everything after Draco woke up on the train until now, was like a dream. It was like he had just woke up. He had woken up in the water. He yelled and thrashed, splashing water around him and Cedric. Draco began to sink. He took Cedric down with him.

"Stop!" Hagrid yelled in a commanding tone. All the boats ceased their movement, going still in the water.

Cedric took a deep breath just before his head went under. He held his breath as long he could. He tried to break free from Draco. He fought to get up above the water but he couldn't do it time. Cedric thought he was going to drown. Then suddenly a tentacle wrapped around him and Draco, raising them up above the water. Under the light of the moon he could that Draco wasn't breathing. The squid dropped them into a different boat. There were four girls in this boat; all of them shrieked.

The squid had saved Cedric's life. Draco was a different matter. He had breathed in the water. Cedric didn't have any knowledge of healing spells. Yet he did know muggle first aid. He had spent a lot of time when he was younger hanging around a squib uncle who worked as a paramedic in the muggle world. Cedric knew what he had to do. There was no choice. Cedric laid Draco as flat as he could in the crowded boat. He tilted Draco's head. He put his mouth over Draco's. He breathed into Draco's mouth in two quick breaths.

"Gross!" one of the girls said, "Stop that! Stop kissing him! Draco is mine!" The girl was Pansy Parksen. She was a pureblood. She was a girl who fancied herself in love with Draco. Her face was ugly like a pug's. Her hair was short and dark. She was as ignorant as anyone could be about non-magical things.

Cedric only knew that she was being a nuisance, distracting him, so he ignored her. He pressed his hands up and down on Draco's chest thirty times. Pansy began to hit Cedric's shoulder. "You leave him alone!" she shouted. The boat began rocking.

"Do you want him to die?" Cedric said quickly, "I'm trying to save his life! If you don't stop hitting me, I'll throw you over board!"

The girl stopped. Cedric breathed into Draco's mouth again. Thirty more time he did the compressions. Just as he about do mouth to mouth again, Draco began to move. Cedric turned Draco over on his side. Draco coughed up water.

"What," Pansy asked. "did you do?"

"CPR," Cedric answered, "It's a muggle technique." He was amazed that it even worked.

The girl looked at him in disgust. "Muggle?"

"Yes," Cedric said sounding surprised. He was amazed that it had worked. His father had made fun of him once for trying learn to Muggle First Aid methods. He hadn't expected to ever need it. He hadn't even expected it to work.

Draco sat up coughing a little bit. He then glanced around. "Where am I am?"

"A boat," Cedric said, "That's the school up ahead."

Draco pulled at his robes. "What the- I'm soaked!

Cedric nodded. "We both are. You were drowning. I had to pump the water out of your chest."

"Cedric!" Hagrid shouted, his voice booming across the lake. "Everythin' alright?"

"Yes," Cedric shouted back, "I think so!"

"Alright then." Hagrid commanded the boats, "Forward!" The boats took off again.

"You saved me," Draco said.

Cedric felt a sudden chill at those word. It was a coldness that had nothing to with the dampness of his clothes. "No. It was nothing," he said hoping to stop something before started. "It was kind of my fault you fell in."

"Still you saved me. I'm your debt," Draco said. Draco was talking about a life debt. It was possible that Draco owed Cedric. For several reasons Cedric very much hoped not. Life debts are very serious things. A life debt binds one wizard to another. The Malfoys had always been an extremely dark wizarding family. The Diggorys had always had heavy leanings toward the light but had stayed as neutral as a wizarding family could.

"No. Again it was nothing," Cedric said, "It was entirely my fault. I panicked. I caused us to fall in the lake. There is no life debt. There is no bond between us."

Life debts depend upon a number of factors. One of those is the beliefs and feelings of the person saved during the moment he realizes he is indebted. Magic works always, at least in some small apart, around what one believes. Another factor is the circumstances that led to the person who was saved being endangered in the first place. By admitting fault, Cedric was canceling out the life debt.

The boats were still moving on course for Hogwarts. The boats were soon well over halfway there. The sight of Hogwarts was beautiful to Draco. "The castle," he whispered, "Cair Paravel? No. It's not. It's nothing like that. Still it's lovely."

Draco was himself. He was Draco Malfoy. At the same he had the pieces of Edmund Pevensie's memory strengthening him, making him more than his father's son. He still loved his parents. They were only the parents he could really remember having. They had always been such an important part of his world. At the same time, he knew he could not completely trust them, not yet, maybe not ever. His mind was still somewhat muddled. The two sets of memories were not quite settled in his mind. He needed time to think. There was so little he was sure of. There were so many questions that Draco had. He was only certain of one thing: he could not, he must not go to Slytherin.

"Heads down!" Hagrid yelled. Up ahead was a curtain of ivy sitting against the cliff. Hidden beyond the ivy there was a tunnel. Most of the students ducked along with Hagrid. The only exception was Cedric. It was only Hagrid who was actually tall enough that the ivy hanging over head would hit him. The boats moved smoothly through the dark tunnel until they reached a sort of underground harbor. All of the kids moved out of the boats on onto rocky, pebble covered ground.

Draco's foot steps were awkward and slow. While Draco was far more alert than he had been, he was still not acting in a way that anyone would consider normal. He was muttering a little to himself, thinking aloud without realizing it. "But magic here isn't the same as Narnia…" he said, "different world…bad magic but good also…not like…White Witch."

Cedric heard the fragmented words. He didn't understand what Draco meant. He did not think of this for long. His mind was more concerned with his personal failures. His panicking had almost cost the younger boy his life. His lack of courage had put them both at risk. If only he had remained calm then nothing would have happened. This understanding was like wound to him in both heart and mind. It was muggle healing knowledge that saved Draco; without it Cedric knew Draco would be dead. Without it a death would be on Cedric's hands.

Neither Draco nor Cedric had time to dwell too deeply in serious thoughts. Along with the other students, they followed the light of Hagrid's lamp up a rocky passageway. In short order, they were on the grass in front of Hogwarts Castle.

"Cedric! Young Malfoy! Ye'd better be up front with me," Hagrid shouted summoning the two of them to the front of the crowd. "Now, Everybody here? Good." Hagrid walked up a flight of stone steps with Cedric and the first years trailing directly behind him. Soon, very soon, Hagrid knocked on an enormous oak door, and the door opened.