Chapter Text
PROLOGUE,
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As the Hufflepuff and Slytherin Quidditch match draws near, an air of excitement fills the pitch's stands, resonating even within the walls of the changing rooms where one last Quidditch team member lingers: Cedric Diggory is busy tugging the rest of his gear out of his locker— both anticipation and adrenaline coursing through his veins— when he feels a certain presence materialize behind him.
"Ready to get your own arse handed to you?"
Cedric can recognize that voice anywhere. He finishes tugging his shirt over his head before turning around, coming face to face with not only one of his closest friends but, to others, his biggest enemy: Katarina Manasse stands before him, arms folded.
His eyes rake over her body, gaze settling on the Slytherin crest adorning her Quidditch uniform, "Green really does look horrid on you."
"Oh, sod off," She chides, eliciting a soft chuckle from Cedric, who replies with, "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Came to talk to you." She shrugs.
"Right..." Cedric trails off, adjusting his gloves' straps, "About?"
"Puddlemere United scouts are here," Katarina leans against a locker, unable to hide her smile. "They already had a talk with my parents. If I play well, I might get recruited as their actual beater."
Without a moment's hesitation, Cedric rushes to embrace her. "You're kidding!"
Katarina had been drafted as Puddlemere United's reserve beater throughout the summer after they witnessed the amount of talent she exhibited in Quidditch over the years. And although Cedric didn't hear the end of it, he found solace in listening to her go on about her dreams, which makes him realize just how much the scouts' presence means to her.
Katarina giggles, "Well, it hasn't happened yet!"
"It will," Cedric pulls back, his eyes locking with hers as he reassures her with a heartful smile.
But in the dimly lit corridor leading to the Hufflepuff's changing rooms, a sudden crash startles the pair, and Katarina instinctively steps back from Cedric, pushing him away. Her heart rate spikes as she swivels around, looking for the sound's source, which turns out to be no other than a broom that happened to fall on its side.
After releasing a sigh of relief, she glances back at Cedric, feeling a tinge of regret swirling within her stomach. “I, er... I think I should leave."
Though accustomed to such reactions on Katarina's part, Cedric's shoulders sag as he forces a half-hearted smile onto his lips. "Right... The game's starting soon anyway."
"Right," Katarina mirrors, gradually backing away toward the exit. "Uh, good luck then."
With an awkward wave, he bids her goodbye before saying, "You too, Manasse."
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The match ends rather quickly, with Draco Malfoy capturing the snitch within the first 20 minutes, and the Slytherins waste no time in reveling in their impressive victory on the pitch.
But as Cedric lands, disappointment heavy in his heart, his ears catch the furious voices of his Hufflepuff teammates echoing just a few meters from where he stands. As the team's captain, Cedric promptly approaches them, brows furrowed in confusion, "What's the—"
"It was rigged!" Maxine O'Flaherty, the Hufflepuff beater, yells, "All of it— They've rigged it all!"
Cedric lets out a weary sigh, casting a lingering glance in the direction of the Slytherins across the pitch. He gnaws at his bottom lip, taking into consideration his teammate's words as he tries to come up with a justification for how fast his team had managed to lose, "The weather's quite bad today, we'll just have to—"
"It's not the bloody weather," Cedric's words die down in his throat as he hears his best friend speak up. Callum Lennox has never been one to resort to profanity or lose composure, yet as he stands before him, his face flushed red, Cedric realizes that his team's reactions may not solely rely on the bitterness of defeat.
"How can we be sure?" Cedric asks, an air of uncertainty still surrounding him.
"How can we be sure?" Blake Kerrigan steps in, his tone mocking. “Callum couldn't even see what was in front of him!" In a swift gesture, Blake directs Cedric's attention to the bloodshot eyes of the blond keeper, before continuing, "Our beaters couldn't hold their bats properly because of how heavy they magically fucking became mid-air, and it's a miracle we even managed to stay on our brooms because of how badly they shook!"
Cedric, having been too engrossed in looking for the golden snitch, had remained oblivious throughout the game. "But—"
"No," Blake shuts him down. "You were only spared because they're scared of her!"
Cedric frowns at the accusation, well aware that Blake is hinting at Katarina's unexplainable liking toward him. "That's a lie and you know it."
Blake opens his mouth to reply, but his words are cut off by Callum, who sees one of the Slytherin beaters pass by and seizes the opportunity to confront him, "You're a cheat, you know that, right?"
Sensing potential trouble, Cedric intervenes, "Don't get involved, Cal—"
"That's right," Mattheo Riddle interjects, deftly twirling the bat in his hand as he strides away. "Should shut the mutt up more often, would give all of us peace of mind."
The Hufflepuffs fall silent, the only sound resounding around them being that of Mattheo's departing footsteps as he hustles to join his teammates. But a voice pierces the stillness as Blake speaks once more, locking eyes with Cedric, "That's a lie, eh?"
"Would you— for once in your life, Ced— do something other than just watch them treat us like absolute shite?" Callum proceeds to say, his jaw clenched.
Sick of the accusations being thrown at him by his own friends, Cedric lets out a frustrated sigh before heading toward the changing rooms. Yet, inexplicably, his feet betray him, keeping him fixed in place just moments before he reaches the door.
He glances back at the Slytherins, an overwhelming sense of resentment swelling within him, and though part of him urges him to be the better person and walk away, another part is drawn to the idea of finally seeking revenge.
And the latter part wins.
Cedric points his wand toward the curly-haired Slytherin, muttering what he recalls to be an incantation for a bone-breaking spell.
Mattheo averts his gaze, and Cedric witnesses arms encircle the back of his head, right where his nose would have been had he not turned around. These arms, currently hugging the Slytherin boy, are coated in golden bracelets, which causes Cedric's heart to sink.
They belong to Katarina.
Panicking, Cedric instinctively jerks his hand back, attempting to alter the course of the spell, but it proves futile; the curse has already left his wand's tip.
He hurriedly attempts to cast a counter spell, but the anger fueling the original spell is proven to be far too strong. Instead of halting it, the counter spell only serves to intensify the chaos caused by Cedric's bone-breaking spell. Sparks of light are sent hurtling in all directions as the curse makes its way to Katarina, spreading it even further across her hands and deeper into her skin.
Mattheo's grip on Katarina tightens instinctively as he feels her jerk back, a mangled groan escaping her lips. The once lively chatter on the pitch dissipates at once, causing a knot to form in Mattheo's stomach. He pulls back, coming face to face with Katarina, whose body he now feels limply leaning into him. It is as he spots her, mouth agape, with a tear running down her reddened cheek that anxiety washes over him, "Rina? Rina, what's the matter?"
She remains silent, but the answer to his question becomes evident as he feels a certain liquid trickling down his neck, right where her arms rest. His left hand leaves Katarina's waist, stretching behind him to explore the liquid's source, and as he brings it before his eyes, bile rises up his throat: Crimson blood drips from his fingertips, staining his emerald uniform.
Katarina takes a step back, releasing her grip on Mattheo, which puts her mangled hands in view. A heart-wrenching cry escapes the back of her throat. Blood seems to spurt everywhere, and her broken bones protrude through torn skin, exposing the raw and damaged muscles beneath.
It is only upon seeing the severity of her injury that the pain seems to settle in, consuming every inch of her body.
Silence blankets Katarina's surroundings as the Quidditch players around her take in the sight of her bloodied hands.
"Rina..." Mattheo pleads. "Rina, look at me."
His attempt, though ineffective, inadvertently captures someone else's attention. Theodore Nott detects the concern in his best friend's voice, and, having been occupied with congratulating the younger members of the Slytherin Quidditch team, swiftly turns around. He catches Mattheo's eye, who, without saying a word, shares a panicked look with him. Theo remains clueless, but as he spots the blood oozing from Katarina's skin when she backs away from Mattheo even further, his face falls.
"Get a teacher," Theo's voice trembles as he nudges the Slytherin seeker near him, Draco Malfoy, towards the stands. Draco's gaze, however, remains focused on the gruesome scene before him, rendering him motionless, and it takes yet another forceful shove from Theo to jolt him into action. "Go, now!"
Spectators in the stands strain their necks to catch a glimpse of the unfolding events on the pitch, confused as to why the Slytherins, despite being winners, seem nowhere near happy anymore.
"What's the matter?" Lorenzo Berkshire, one of said spectators, asks, turning toward a younger pureblooded Slytherin by the name of Pansy Parkinson sitting to his right. Blissfully unaware, she offers a shrug in response.
Just then, Draco Malfoy rushes up the stands and hastens towards the higher seats occupied by the teachers, accompanied by Marcus Flint, who follows closely behind.
As opposed to Malfoy's panic-stricken expression, Flint's face is contorted in anger— his hands clenched into fists at his sides— but Lorenzo catches the way his facade falters. While Marcus Flint has always been known for his short temper, never before has he shown a hint of fear. And right now, he has. Reacting quickly, Lorenzo leaps to his feet and intercepts Flint before he gets too far, gripping his arm firmly. “What in Merlin's name is going on?"
"Someone's fucked us— that's what's going on," Marcus seethes, pushing past Lorenzo, who remains just as clueless up until he turns his attention back to the pitch. He spots Theo hurrying to Katarina's aid, catching her seconds before her knees buckle under her weight.
"No..." He whispers, his feet instantly carrying him to the pitch where Katarina's potential Quidditch career as the youngest chaser for Puddlemere United vanishes before Cedric's eyes.
The gravity of her injury is evident, casting a shadow over her dreams which, as a beater, will inevitably leave her with no choice but to step away from the sport for a few months, at the very least.
As her blue stare finds him, her eyes travel down his body, zeroing in on the wand nestled in his hand.
The pain in her eyes no longer seems physical.
The subtle shift in Katarina's expression does not escape the notice of Mattheo Riddle, one of the Slytherins kneeling by her side. As he follows her pained gaze and catches sight of the wand that shattered her hands held firmly in Cedric’s grasp, a wave of emotion overtakes him. Without hesitation, he rises to his feet and strides towards the Seeker, his fist connecting with the Hufflepuff's face in less than a heartbeat. The latter takes the punches, remorse piercing his heart as he realizes how his thoughtless spell, laced with childish pettiness, has managed to completely destroy Katarina's dreams.
The Hufflepuff trio and Katarina's three Slytherin friends have always had a liking to causing problems and sending hexes flying each other's way, but Cedric has managed to accidentally take it to another level, becoming the first to cross a line that drew blood.
As green clashes with yellow and professors hurriedly run down the stands, Cedric drowns out the surrounding commotion, his focus captured by something else entirely.
Katarina would usually eye her friend's actions with disdain if she were to catch them taunting the three Hufflepuffs— yet, now, she does not.
Her eyes shine with pride instead, sending a chilling realization running up Cedric's spine.
He lost her.