Harry Potter.4 Apr 2026

“Oh, I am,” Cedric said easily. “I just hide it well. It’s the Hufflepuff way. We’re not brave like Gryffindors or clever like Ravenclaws. We just keep putting one foot in front of the other and hope the badgers are with us.”

It wasn’t a question.

“You didn’t put your name in,” Cedric added quietly.

“No,” Harry said. “I didn’t.”

Harry walked outside.

Cedric sat down a few feet away. He didn’t offer false cheer. He just said, “I watched my mum burn a scone once. Whole kitchen went up. Dad used a Hose Charm for an hour. After that, dragons seemed slightly less terrifying.”

Cedric stood up, took his empty mug back, and said, “Tomorrow, when that dragon looks at you — don’t think about winning. Think about flying.” Harry Potter.4

But for the first time all week, he didn’t feel alone.

“You’re thinking about running.”

He didn’t go there. He went to the lake instead. “Oh, I am,” Cedric said easily

The water was black glass. The Durmstrang ship sat moored like a drowned bone. Harry sat on a flat rock and pulled his knees to his chest.

Not because of the usual nightmares — though those had been worse lately, all flashing green light and high, cold laughter — but because of the dragon.

The night was cold and clear. The maze for the Third Task was just a low hedge of stakes and spells in the distance. But the dragon enclosure — invisible by day behind trees and enchantments — was marked by a faint orange glow on the horizon. We’re not brave like Gryffindors or clever like Ravenclaws

“Then you’ve already fought something worse than a dragon,” Cedric said. “You fought being thrown into something you didn’t choose. And you’re still here. That’s not luck, Potter. That’s spine.”

And when he finally crawled into bed, he dreamed not of fire — but of wind, open sky, and a broom handle warm under his palms.