When One Monster Meets Another Monster – Part 2
Cedric deflected the slash and took a step back.
Percy didn't give him time to recover his stance.
Riptide came down from above again.
CLANG!
The black bow stopped the sword once more.
Cedric twisted the bow to knock it aside and regain some distance.
But Percy immediately stepped back into his guard with a horizontal slash. Cedric managed to block it, though the impact pushed him another step backwards.
"Not so comfortable anymore, are you?" Percy said with a smile.
Cedric didn't answer.
He simply followed every movement of Riptide, though for an instant his eyes searched for one of the arrows scattered around the room.
Percy understood what he was trying to do.
Then...
He lunged again, giving Cedric no chance to recover the distance and grab another arrow.
He remembered the movement Elara had used that time.
The position of her feet.
That thrust.
Percy copied it purely on instinct.
It was a fast, fluid movement. For a moment, it seemed as though Percy's speed had suddenly increased. He appeared right in front of Cedric with a thrust aimed straight at his stomach.
Cedric managed to raise the bow and block the tip of the sword with its centre. Even so, the impact forced him to give up ground.
Percy smiled.
"Got you."
He pushed harder while twisting his wrist, making the sword slide towards one side of the bow.
Cedric lost his balance for barely an instant as he tried to deflect the blade, but Riptide grazed his stomach and tore open the side of his robes.
Percy spun around and disappeared from in front of Cedric, moving into his blind spot with another piece of footwork.
Cedric's eyes widened.
He hadn't expected Percy to suddenly change his fighting style.
Percy appeared at his side, Riptide tracing a clean slash towards his shoulder.
Cedric barely had time to raise the bow and block it.
Percy didn't stop his attack because, in theory, Riptide couldn't harm a mortal.
The worst that could happen was Cedric seeing the sword pass straight through him and getting a good scare.
Which was exactly what Percy wanted.
Cedric seemed ready to take the hit.
He pulled the tip of an arrow from his sleeve and struck directly towards Percy's chest.
Damage for damage.
But before the sword could touch his shoulder, a voice came from outside, stopping both of them instantly.
"Did you hear that?" a voice called from outside as several footsteps approached.
"Cedric, are you in there?" someone asked while pounding a fist against the door.
All three boys inside the room turned their heads at the same time as more footsteps drew near and worried whispers began to spread outside.
Cedric let out a small sigh.
Taking advantage of Percy's distraction, he kicked him in the stomach and sent him stumbling back several steps.
With a flick of his foot, he made his wand jump into the air and caught it.
Percy straightened while holding his stomach.
That guy was still hiding plenty of tricks he hadn't shown yet.
Cedric raised his wand over his head, making Percy take a guarded stance.
But instead of attacking, Cedric murmured:
"Reparo."
Magic swept through the entire room at once, as though everything were rewinding in fast motion.
The beds began rebuilding themselves.
The broken boards returned to their places.
The arrows pulled themselves out of the walls.
The drawers slid shut again.
Even the shattered flowerpot reassembled itself, and the feathers floating through the air returned to their pillows.
Everything happened in only a few seconds.
Tyson looked around in complete amazement while Percy watched Cedric in confusion.
Cedric didn't say a word.
He simply put away his wand and walked over to the wardrobe, giving it a kick.
A secret drawer opened, and Cedric dropped the bow and quiver inside with one simple movement.
Then he calmly straightened his robes.
Just as...
BANG!
The door burst open.
Summers, Stebbins, and several other Hufflepuff students came rushing in, nearly tripping over one another.
Everyone looked around.
The room was spotless.
Only Cedric, Percy, and Tyson were standing there.
Summers blinked.
"...Percy Jackson?"
Cedric smiled with the same kindness as always, as though the Cedric from a moment ago had been a completely different person.
"Sorry. Percy seemed interested in seeing our rooms to find out whether they were the same as Gryffindor's, so I was showing him around our dormitory. That's alright, isn't it?" he asked with a friendly smile.
Stebbins, confused, simply said,
"Yeah, of course, but... how did he get in? I mean, when? I didn't see him come through the common room."
Cedric seemed to think for only a moment.
"He came in with me. Were you distracted again? You didn't even see me arrive either, did you?" Cedric replied as naturally as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Well... that's true. I didn't see you come in either," Stebbins admitted at last, accepting the explanation almost immediately.
The other students didn't seem to have many objections.
Even if Percy was currently the subject of some dangerous rumours...
He was with Cedric Diggory.
A few of them looked at Percy suspiciously for wanting to see their dormitories, but they didn't say much.
They still trusted Cedric's judgement.
Cedric, meanwhile, looked back at Percy.
"It was fun showing you around, but I think it's getting a bit late. You'd better head back to your tower before your brother starts worrying," he said with his usual smile, though for a brief moment it didn't seem to reach his eyes.
Percy noticed.
He stared at Cedric for several seconds before nodding.
"...Sure," he replied suspiciously, never taking his eyes off Cedric.
But seeing the other students watching them, it was obvious he couldn't do anything.
Just as he was about to turn around...
He saw Cedric slip something inside his robes.
The mask.
Percy immediately searched through his own robes.
It was gone.
"When...?" Percy let out in surprise.
"Lose something?" Cedric asked with that same smile.
Percy stared at him and clenched his teeth for a moment.
"No. Nothing," he finally answered.
Percy hadn't even felt the moment Cedric took the mask back.
"Thanks for the tour. Next time we can pick up where we left off," Percy said with a competitive smile.
"Maybe another time," Cedric replied calmly. "Oh, and by the way... if you happen to run into Ernie on your way out, remind him curfew's about to start."
Percy simply nodded before walking away in a foul mood, Tyson following behind him.
He hadn't managed to discover what that mask was hiding.
But he wasn't leaving empty-handed either.
He had discovered something far more interesting.
Cedric Diggory was probably one of the most dangerous students at Hogwarts.
And no one seemed to suspect it.
"Bye, Cedric," Tyson said as naturally as ever.
"Take care," Cedric replied with the kind smile everyone at Hogwarts knew.
Only after the two of them disappeared through the doorway...
Summers frowned.
"Cedric..."
Cedric looked up.
"Yes?"
"...You're bleeding."
Cedric lowered his eyes.
To his stomach.
Right where Percy's sword had grazed him.
A thin line of blood was slowly beginning to soak into the fabric of his robes.
Cedric simply pressed a hand against the wound.
"...I must've hurt myself during broom practice."
Stebbins laughed.
"Training for the team again?"
Cedric smiled naturally.
"I have to practise if I want to earn a spot."
"You'll definitely make it."
"Yeah."
"You'd make a great Seeker."
Cedric merely let out a quiet laugh in response and discreetly continued pressing the wound beneath his robes.
It wasn't very deep...
But it was there.
Looking toward the direction Percy had gone, his smile disappeared for the briefest moment.
Then, with his other hand, he partially pulled out the mask and looked inside it.
The small green snake-shaped key was still there.
Only then did he let out a slow sigh before putting it away again.