Il faut que je t'aime

Silent

He has never known the Castle so quiet. All the time he was here at school there was some sort of noise – students in the corridors, murmurs from classrooms and common rooms, people in portraits talking and shouting to each other, Filch and Mrs Norris on the prowl, the ghosts, Peeves. Tonight even Peeves is silent.

He hurries down the Grand Staircase and through the Entrance Hall. He sees no one. He might be the only person in the place. He runs through the silent grounds, averting his gaze from the Quidditch pitch with the high hedges surrounding it, trying to concentrate on what he has to do. As soon as he is beyond the protective wards around the boundaries, he can Disapparate and find his father. Dumbledore was adamant. You Know Who is back. They need to mobilise the opposition to him as quickly as possible.

He is trying to concentrate on what he has to do so that he does not have to think too much about what happened earlier. Harry appearing from out of the maze with Cedric – Cedric's body – in his arms. And Harry's story of the graveyard, the Death Eaters – and You Know Who returning. He is old enough to remember the first war. Although his parents tried to shield him from it, it was impossible for him and Charlie not to understand some of what was going on. And now it is beginning again…

He barely knew Cedric – he met him at the Quidditch World Cup briefly, but that was all. But it angers him that someone who was young and brave and – hell – just in the wrong place at the wrong bloody time - should be blasted out of existence like that.

And Harry – he's only a kid, younger than Ron for Godric's sake. He shouldn't have had to go through that. No one should have to go through what Harry had been through today.

He barely remembers the existence of the other Triwizard Champions – Viktor Krum and the French girl. He cannot prevent himself from thinking about Harry and Cedric, however much he might like to, but the others are irrelevant. He has no thoughts to spare for them.