A/N: This is born from all of those stories that feel it necessary to make Harry and Cedric better friends, and then kill him off anyway. It always annoyed me that Harry's self-esteem was basically destroyed over something that was so up to chance. After all, Cedric's presence there, alive or dead, had little to do with Harry being able to get away. It wasn't like Cedric got in the way of the killing curse or anything.

Scenario 1:

Harry and Cedric each grasped a handle of the Triwizard Cup, and Harry felt a familiar jerking sensation in his navel. They portkey dropped them in the middle of nowhere (or a graveyard).

"Wands out, you reckon?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed, following Cedric's example.

Peter Pettigrew came wobbling over, his unattractive, chubby, rat-like form easily illuminated in the moonlight. He was carrying something in his arms that was radiating an evil so horrifying that both Harry and Cedric lurched away.

"Kill the spare," a very chilling and unfortunately familiar snake-like voice hissed from the bundle in Wormtail's arms.

"Avada Kedavra," Wormtail called, producing the deadly green light that headed straight in Cedric's direction. Too shocked to move, Cedric just stood there. Harry, however, unwilling to have another death on his conscience, leaped on top of the older boy and ploughed him to the ground.

"You can apparate, right?"

"No!" Cedric protested the idea. "I'm not strong enough to side-along, and I won't leave you here. That's You-Know-Who, right?"

"No, that's Voldemort," Harry snapped in exasperation. "Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself. "He wants me here for some reason; I'll be safe for a moment, at least. Apparate into Hogsmeade and get help, or neither of us will get out alive!" Seeing the logic in this statement, Cedric apparated away with a loud crack. Later, Harry managed to use the priori incantem forms of his parents and Voldemort's other victims and get the portkey and land back in Hogwarts, imparting the news that Voldemort had returned. Harry and Cedric were planning to split the prize money until Harry convinced his fellow Hogwarts Champion to invest in the future Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, and both never regretted their investment.

Scenario 2:

Harry and Cedric both reached out at the same time for the Cup, but somehow, Cedric was distracted by a passing butterfly. Harry, not realizing this, grabbed the Cup first, and was whisked away by the portkey. After landing and announcing Voldemort's return, Harry reflected that it was probably a good thing that Cedric hadn't grabbed the Cup with him, or else Voldemort would have probably killed him as soon as they arrived.

THE END

A/N: This sure does tell you what I think about Cedric's death, huh? I might do a series, with a bunch of alternate scenes for Sirius, too. And maybe Dumbledore, if I think of anything. The people that died in the final battle are unfortunately, probably dead for good. There would be too many ways for it to go wrong in a battle. But Cedric's death always bugged me, and so did Sirius'.