Published at 27th of June 2024 2:04 pm

Chapter 274: Ave Imperator

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14 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France

Cedric Diggory watched as the luxurious Beauxbatons palace slowly became nothing more than a small dot, as the Hogwarts Express, turned dragon, rose higher into the sky. He would miss this place, if only because of the elective classes, which he enjoyed immensely.

To be perfectly honest, Beauxbatons had shown him everything that was lacking when it came to Hogwarts, and the various criticisms against Dumbledore's policies regarding Hogwarts were starting to make sense. It was astounding just how many classes were missing in Hogwarts, and a testament to how screwed they would have been if it wasn't for Potter.

Cedric was, in his not-so-humble opinion, one of the better mages in the school. He was a good dueller; anyone would be after years of membership to Flitwick's Dueling Club. He was a good student, one of the best in his year, and his transfiguration skill impressed even McGonagall.

And he had achieved all of this without a family crest… The Diggory family was a recent one, being founded after the Statute of Secrecy was put in place. Aside from one of their members being the minister around a century and a half ago, they didn't have any noteworthy members, and especially no researchers.

Cedric had put everything he had into proving to the world that one did not need a family crest to become a great mage… That was a piece of conviction that had stayed with him for years and he decided to prove to everyone that it was true.

He worked as much as he could to surpass his classmates, becoming one of the more recognized students in Hogwarts… And yet, for all his hard work, he knew, deep down, that if it wasn't for Potter, he would have lost the first task of the tournament.

Cedric was the biggest fish in a pond, and now he found himself in an ocean. The Durmstrang students were better at duelling than him, the Beauxbatons students had a better grasp of delicate magics, the Spanish had more knowledge of curses and counter-curses than him, and the Nebelheim students had a grasp of runes that eluded him. The Italian students were better fighters, and that's not even mentioning the Greeks and their bullshit elemental magic.

He had been angry when Potter bailed on them and handed them the win for the first task… Cedric had tried to hide it as best he could, but he was seething in anger and jealousy. That was until he saw the replays of the task.

Instead of focusing on the Leviathan bullshit, and Potter's frankly insane fighting prowess, Cedric decided to look at his enemies' capabilities. The conclusion was evident. There was no way in hell they would have won without some kind of divine intervention.

Seriously, how the hell was he supposed to fight someone who could keep flinging lightning and darkness? Cedric thought that he would have had a good chance at winning on his own because of the fight near the end. After all, he and his comrades had ended up victorious against the Spanish, French, and Greek Champions… Of course, at the time, he didn't know about Potter's trap that took out the Spanish for them.

Without Potter taking care of half the champions on his own, they wouldn't have even had a chance at winning… Cedric could hold his own against one of them, maybe, but his teammates couldn't have.

Davies was an unreliable coward who no one with a functioning brain would count on in a fight. Angelina was a good Quidditch player and an adequate dueller, but she would have been taken out in less than a minute against a competent opponent. Lucien Bole was a surprisingly good dueller… Cedric didn't know what happened in the Slytherin common room, but apparently, Bole was some kind of enforcer or something…

Anyway, none of them would have won a fair fight against any of the other teams… If Potter hadn't been there, then they would have probably ended up embarrassing themselves.

Cedric had never really spoken to the boy aside from a few greetings. It didn't matter, though, Potter was infamous enough in school. Even before his monstrous talent was revealed, he was still known as the sole survivor of the fire of Godric's Hollow. An entire village had died, yet the boy, who was at the epicentre, had somehow survived, without so much as a scratch on him.

People hated him, some even blamed him for the attack. It was all mostly just envy and grief at the deaths of their families. Almost everyone had a relative living in the village, and it was a shock to see it destroyed, with all the residents perishing, especially after the celebration of the Dark Lord's destruction.

However, for all that the fire should have haunted the boy, it was probably the way he handled the boy who lived that set him apart from the other students. He seemed to not care, for the lack of a better world. People either worshipped Longbottom or hated him, but Potter just barely paid him any attention… Something that obviously grated on Longbottom's nerves.

Anyway, it was probably the humiliation of the Hogwarts tournament that really put the spotlight on Potter, especially after winning the first task while doing nothing. Seriously, the boy went out of his way to win the tasks with as little effort as possible, even tricking Cedric in both the first and second tasks…

The Hufflepuff didn't have it in him to resent the boy for that, especially considering the enmity he seemed to have with Dumbledore and the former headmaster's attempt at killing the boy…

Cedric knew deep down that Potter was the only thing holding Hogwarts together. His father, Amos, had told him all about the ICW's power plays and the fact that they wanted to use the tournament as a pretence to gain control over Hogwarts, and, more importantly, access to its library, which happened to be the biggest repository of magic in Europe.

Hogwarts, and more importantly, Britain, had shown the world that they could hold their own in a fight, but Cedric couldn't help but feel bitter about how Potter was solely responsible for that happening.

Because again he knew, deep down, that they would have lost horrendously if he hadn't wanted that Diary… It just felt wrong to have the fate of a country beholden to the whims of a single person.

Speaking of the last Potter, the boy was sitting on the other side of the compartment, reading an old book… The Greengrass scion was sitting next to him, reading a tome of her own. They honestly looked like those old married couple that were just comfortable staying silent.

It was odd that the two weren't a couple…

The headmistress had asked them all to just spend more time together during the trip. Apparently, she hadn't liked the fact that they had all sat in different compartments…

Honestly, all this caused was an awkward silence and blatant staring at Potter. Deciding to break the ice, Cedric spoke up, "So, Potter, is that Flamel's infamous diary? I thought they said that they couldn't open it…"

It wouldn't have been surprising if he could open it. Frankly, that boy was pretty much bullshit…

Thankfully, the young Slytherin answered with a neutral tone, "No. I was able to copy a nice chunk of the Beauxbatons library in the last couple of weeks. This is a book about advanced enchanting that I've been putting off reading."

"Wait, you're allowed to just copy a library?" Angelina Johnson exclaimed.

"There are no rules about it, so there shouldn't be any trouble," the boy calmly replied.

"What about the anti-replication wards?" Cho Chang, a particularly cute fifth-year student, asked.

The last Potter tilted his head, "What about them? I came up with a spell that bypassed them when I was in my first year, but it was kinda slow. I was able to streamline it a bit since then."

That simple reply just stunned them into silence. Seriously, spell creation as a first-year… What the actual fuck!

Unfortunately, Roger Davies was the one who ruined the mood, "So, where's Flamel's Diary? Were you not able to open it or something?"

"No, I just sold it."

"To whom?" Cedric asked, feeling surprised.

It might have been a trick of the light, but Cedric saw the boy's lips turn into an almost imperceptible smile for a fraction of a second, "Dumbledore. He really wanted a memento of his mentor, and he made me an offer that I just couldn't refuse…"

Well, that sounded bad. Everyone knew about the fact that Dumbledore and Potter hated each other with a passion. Did the former headmaster threaten him or something?

Deciding to change the subject, Cedric spoke up, "So, are you excited for the second task?"

The boy just shook his head, "Not really. I'm not interested in competing unless there's a worthwhile prize to claim…"

That froze the entire room, "YOU'RE NOT COMPETING!"

"There's no need to shout… And yes, I am not going to participate in the task. Although, it might be interesting to see other people competing. Now that I think about it, I have pretty much competed in every school competition so far…"

"You can't not compete!" Cho Chang protested.

"I'm pretty sure I only have to participate in one task… So, considering I just won the previous one, I believe I've done my part. Also, I don't think it would look good for the school if I just kept winning every task. The tournament would be kinda ruined, and I'd anger a lot of people…"

The Weasley Twins, who had been silent during the trip, were cackling in amusement at the boy's statement, "You're right, Potter. Leave some glory for the rest of us, huh."

"Stop encouraging him, you idiots," Angelina Johnson exclaimed.

And so, the room devolved into an animated debate on whether or not Potter should compete. The boy himself didn't seem to care one bit and just went back to reading. However, this little conversation just made Cedric rethink things.

It was completely within Potter's rights to decide against competing. No one could really force him to do anything as long as he didn't break any rules, and he hadn't. But, that also meant that Hogwarts' safety net was gone.

His thoughts were interrupted by the metallic dragon finally flying underneath the clouds, letting him take his first glimpse of the Accademia Arcana Italia.

The campus spread out impressively, with the organized feel of a Roman legion's camp. Tall walls of dark stone, worn smooth by time, were topped with battlements decked out with statues of mythical warriors and creatures, each one intricately detailed. Right in the centre, there was this huge building that looked like an ancient Roman basilica. It was really imposing. The giant bronze doors were engraved with epic tales of magical battles and triumphs, catching the early morning light and making the whole place shine with a warm, golden glow. On each side of this main building, there were symmetrical towers with sharp angles and lookout spots, all set up more for defence than for study. All in all, this felt more like a military base than a school, although considering the academy's reputation, that was not really surprising.

As he watched the splendour of the school before him, Cedric couldn't help but dread the fact that Potter was not going to compete. As much as he would have liked to deny it, the school needed him.

However, if the Potter scion wouldn't help them, they would have to settle for Cedric… As much as the idea was daunting, Hogwarts needed a hero, and outside of Potter, there was no better candidate.

He didn't even know what the task would be. Apparently, it would be announced during the welcome feast. But, whatever it was, Cedric would have to train and learn as much as he could. He would win the second task. For his school. For himself…

He would rise to the occasion, for his school, for his own sense of pride… and perhaps, to silence the doubts that haunted him.

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