Harry Potter: Dragonborn comes

"An Invitation to Violence"

Cedric stood with absolute calm in the middle of an ordinary square, perfectly visible to everyone, while he brought to his mouth a handful of snacks he had bought a little earlier. Around him, several people recognized him immediately. Some approached shyly to ask for an autograph or a few words, and he offered them a patient smile before resuming his walk.

He could have vanished in an instant using Apparition or disappeared into the Floo Network. But instead, he chose to walk, step by step, with deliberate tranquility out of town, as if he were issuing an invisible challenge to anyone who might follow him.

His expression remained serene, but in his gaze there was a silent alertness. Every time his eyes swept over the alleys, the rooftops, and the shadows between the houses, it was as if he registered every tiny detail.

"Well… you certainly took your time," he said suddenly, stopping in the middle of the road. His voice rang out clearly in the warm afternoon air. "I've been wandering around for hours… just to see who would dare to show up."

He slowly turned his head, and his golden gaze fixed on a small cluster of trees not far away.

From the gloom emerged a tall man, his brow furrowed and jaw clenched. He didn't say a word. He simply raised a hand in a silent signal.

Two more figures appeared at his sides, closing a semicircle around Cedric.

"So…" Cedric inclined his head, his tone a feigned calm. "Are you the ones Fudge sent… or did Voldemort send you?"

At the sound of that name, all three of them flinched as if they'd just been struck across the face. Surprise and fear flashed across their features like a whip crack.

"Fudge, then," Cedric concluded softly. Without taking his eyes off them, he brought a hand to his belt. Slowly, he drew his wand and, in the same motion, pulled out a slender dagger, its runes sparking with blue electric discharges. His expression turned as cold as steel.

"If this is an assassination attempt… I hope you're ready to die."

"A… assassination?" one of the men stammered, his voice cracking with nerves. His fingers trembled as he tried to raise his wand. "W-we don't want to kill you, kid… just… just rough you up a bit. We were paid for that… nothing more…"

"Shut your damn mouth," growled the one who seemed to be the leader, shooting him a furious glare.

"He's got a dagger! He looks dangerous. I don't want him sticking me with that thing," the other protested, taking a step back.

"He's just a brat," insisted the leader, trying to sound confident.

"But he beat four Aurors. He was in all the newspapers…" the third man murmured, swallowing hard.

"That was an exaggeration," the leader snapped brusquely, though his voice cracked more with every word. "You know how newspapers are… anything to sell copies…"

"Actually," Cedric interrupted, his voice suddenly sounding from behind them, "it was exactly the opposite."

The leader froze. His eyes went wide as he tried to turn, but before he managed it, he felt a dry impact at the base of his skull.

The other two tensed, raising their wands, but Cedric had already vanished. A second later, a spell exploded into the second man's chest, launching him into the air before he collapsed unconscious in the grass.

The third, completely terrified, spun in place and began firing curses at any shadow that moved. Suddenly, he felt a cold edge pressing against the skin of his neck.

"If you move, you're dead," Cedric whispered, his voice as sharp as a blade. "Tell me who paid you."

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything! Just don't hurt me… it was only to scare you, I swear," the man squealed, dropping his wand as his shoulders shook with fear.

Cedric let out a sigh, disappointed.

It was then that he heard the dry crack of an Apparition. A few meters away, a woman with pink hair appeared in a flash, looking around until her eyes settled on him.

"Well, handsome… seems you're more dangerous than I thought," Tonks said with a grin as she surveyed the two unconscious idiots.

"They're thugs hired by Fudge to scare me," Cedric replied, a slight note of irritation in his voice.

"Perfect," Tonks replied breezily. "They'll come in handy… unless they'd prefer to end up in Azkaban, of course."

"I'll tell everything, I swear!" the man sobbed, not daring to move an inch.

"Looks like we've just secured a nice bargaining chip," Tonks commented with satisfaction, pulling out a pair of shackles that began to float toward the bodies.

"Let's hope our little friend here left enough traces to tie this to Fudge," Cedric said calmly, sheathing the dagger and wand.

"The problem is, he'll probably be suspicious again. We'll have to let one of his plans succeed… to throw him off," Tonks replied quietly as she scanned their surroundings.

Suddenly, both of them tensed. Without a word, they vanished and reappeared several meters away, just as several green curses struck the ground where they had been standing.

"Well… looks like the real ones have arrived," Tonks said gravely, eyeing the hooded figures beginning to surround them.

They all wore black robes and Death Eater masks.

"Damn… I said his name," Cedric muttered, frowning. "Well, to be honest, I thought it didn't work. Professor Einar tried it several times, but they never showed up."

"They'd have to be stupid to go anywhere near Einar," Tonks replied, jaw tight. "They surely know exactly where he is at all times… and no one with a brain would try provoking him."

Cedric drew a deep breath as the five Death Eaters raised their wands in perfect unison.

"Looks like we've caught two little lambs," one of them sneered. "You should have run when you had the chance. Now that we've raised anti-Apparition wards… you'll regret it."

"Run?" Cedric tilted his head, his gaze turning so cold it chilled the air. "We were waiting for you."

In a single motion, he unsheathed his dagger again.

Mocking laughter burst out among the Death Eaters.

"And what are you going to do with that, boy? This is a wizard's duel," one of them roared, raising his wand. "Avada Kedavra!"

Cedric rolled across the ground with feline agility and lifted his wand.

"Aura of Stendarr!"

A flash of radiant light burst around him, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. In the midst of the glare, there was a whistling sound slicing through the air.

"Uugh!" one of the Death Eaters groaned before collapsing with the dagger buried in his chest.

The brilliance faded, and the weapon flew back into Cedric's hand, which he caught with icy composure.

"Damned—!" screamed another as Tonks raised an improvised wall of earth.

"This way!" she ordered, taking cover.

Cedric dashed behind the barricade just as spells began hammering it in rapid succession.

"...I still haven't mastered this... but..."

"Conjure Flame Atronach," he said in a firm voice.

Beside him, a dark portal tore open with a deep roar, as if an abyss had ripped through reality. From within emerged a towering creature, a demon wreathed in living fire that bathed the clearing in orange light. Without hesitation, the atronach bellowed and unleashed a torrent of flame toward the Death Eaters.

Instantly, two of them redirected their wands to focus all their attacks on the creature. Curses and jets of water streaked through the air, exploding against the demon's blazing form.

"I see you're pretty good," Tonks called from behind the wall, peeking out just enough to grin.

The atronach suddenly turned, confused by the conflicting orders, and blasted a wave of fire in her direction.

"That's what I meant," Cedric sighed, sheathing the dagger and drawing a short sword with a dark blade. As he raised it in a guard position, his figure began to blur until he was nearly invisible.

One of the Death Eaters kept conjuring fiercely, sending blasts of icy water that finally pierced the atronach's burning chest. The demon let out a shriek and exploded in a cloud of embers.

The other two focused on breaking down the wall of earth that separated them.

"Bombarda Maxima!" one of them roared, his voice charged with hatred.

The barricade exploded in a burst of stones and dirt. Tonks rolled aside, raising a magical shield that sparked under the impact of several spells.

"Crucio!" another screamed as Tonks dove left again, barely avoiding the crimson bolt that grazed her arm.

"Bombarda!" she retorted, firing an explosive curse that one Death Eater deflected easily, smirking in contempt.

Meanwhile, the wizard who had destroyed the atronach was breathing hard but kept his wand aloft. His companions looked equally hardened—their coordination revealed they were no common thugs.

"Avada Ke—"

That Death Eater never finished the curse. A gush of blood spilled from his mouth as he looked down, horrified, and saw the tip of a sword protruding from his chest. Cedric materialized behind him, one hand steady on the hilt.

The other two turned at the same time to strike, but Cedric looked up, his eyes blazing with ruthless determination.

"Firestorm," he whispered.

The ground beneath his feet ignited with a deafening roar. A blast of flames erupted outward in all directions, hurling the two Death Eaters through the air. The one he had stabbed was caught in the inferno, motionless, as his body was consumed beyond saving.

Cedric pulled the sword free and stepped back, staggering. The magic was burning through his veins, draining every last scrap of strength.

Tonks threw herself at him and knocked him to the ground just in time, as a green bolt of light skimmed their backs. Together, they rolled behind a fallen tree.

The two surviving Death Eaters struggled to their feet with unsteady movements. Their cloaks were smoldering in tatters, and their masks had melted, revealing faces twisted with hatred.

"Damned brats!" one screamed in a broken voice, raising his wand to cast a spell brimming with fury.

But before he could conjure anything, a beam of light struck him square in the chest. The impact flung him several meters back, slamming him into a tree trunk with a dull thud.

The last Death Eater stared wide-eyed at the scene. Suddenly, without thinking, he turned and bolted, blood streaming from cuts all over his body.

Three spells, fired from different directions, hit him in the back almost simultaneously. His body jerked like a ragdoll before collapsing onto the grass. No one could tell whether he was unconscious or dead.

"You got here just in time," Tonks said with a sigh, rising from the ground. Her eyes fixed on the figures emerging from the trees.

Mad-Eye Moody advanced with his heavy gait and a face set in grim lines. Beside him walked Remus Lupin, Frank Longbottom, and Alice Longbottom. Alice was the first to reach Cedric, beginning to trace healing charms over him, though he wasn't badly hurt physically—his problem was magical exhaustion.

"You did well," Moody said, inclining his head in approval as he approached the unconscious Death Eater he'd personally felled.

The other bodies, charred beyond recognition, no longer moved. Remus and Frank began stuffing them into an enchanted trunk to remove all evidence before any witnesses arrived.

Cedric looked over the battlefield. The smell of blood and scorched flesh mixed with the smoke. A knot rose in his throat, and he bent over, vomiting into the grass.

"First time?" Moody asked in his grave voice, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

"Yeah… obviously," Cedric replied, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, revulsion in his eyes.

"You did well—held off the disgust until the end. If you'd started vomiting mid-fight, you'd be dead," Moody said without a trace of irony.

"I have a good teacher," Cedric muttered, though he immediately wondered if that was something to be proud of.

"Come on," Remus said, approaching with a weary sigh. "Let's see what we can get out of this bastard."

While they bound the only living prisoner, the others continued their work with grim efficiency. When everything was cleaned up, they left in silence, before anyone else dared to come near.