trans_9 | Spared [Open]

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"Reducto!"

Cedric had found a spot in the grass of this strange city's park from which to work on his spellcasting, starting with some target practice. He'd pushed back the sleeves of his plantsuit as far as was possible and made long movements with his wand, alternating between creating fast streams of bubbles and shooting them down. The almost childish game of bubble-popping was a simple diversion from the stream of thoughts that was flowng just as fast, one that hadn't stopped since the moment he realized he was alive: I'm about to die. It was hard to comprehend, when it seemed like his life had been going so well just hours ago.

Yet these Ohm had thrown everything off balance. Cedric had gone straight to Stacy to ask for his memories restored, as he'd never rest until he knew the truth of what happened. It had been just as hard to remember as that unicorn princess had predicted. Sure, the curse that was meant to kill him had been thrown off by another attack, but he'd heard awful yells. Harry's. When the sedation had worn off and he'd opened his eyes, he'd had to struggle not to scream.

That was what had happened to disrupt the course of history. For now, he had been given days, weeks, maybe months or a year or two to live, that long until he left this crew behind and met his fate. People had talked about their worlds being restored after the war. The Ohm were supposed had something that would fix things as they were meant to be, and 'meant to be' was his death. If he didn't die during the war, he'd be meeting his end immediately afterward. Time couldn't be changed, not even with a Time Turner. It had to happen.

Cedric was living on borrowed time. No one knew how long it would be until they won. They were going to win, he was sure. A small selfish part of him hoped that it would last a while, that he would have time to finish his unfinished business and learn more, but that was unfair. He couldn't allow the needless deaths to hang over his conscience any longer than necessary. The countless innocents killed during the Ohm's attack needed to live, not him. Billions of lives resurrected in exchange for his death, that was fair. He was the spare, not them. No matter what his father said or the Goblet decided, he wasn't special in the eyes of the universe, was he? He was just...

The spare who had been temporarily spared. A bubble waiting to be popped. Pop, pop, pop went the bubbles as his wand moved more precisely. If this was all the life he had left, he might as well do it right.

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It sounded like a daunting task, but perhaps he'd have a clearer mind away from the Hogwarts dungeons. "It's all right, Professor. Of course you've worried about other things, but I'll help. Do we know how the stone effect happened in the first place?"

That would be the first step.

"From what I understand, it is part of their nature, the way they sleep. That is why it must be a potion, we cannot take it away permanently, and we don't want him relying on wizards to be able to enter the state or deny it as he chooses."

Lupin had done little more than think on this project for most of the weeks prior; the only thing stopping him from achieving it was not knowing how to achieve what he intended.

Cedric took note of all this, trying to think on every potion ingredient he knew. It'd be so much easier if he still had his book of herbs! Professor Sprout had definitely taught him quite a bit about Herbology, so maybe he could think of something...stone sleep...stone...paralyzed...wait!

"Professor, is the effect similar at all to petrification? Like what the basilisk did in fourth year? We used mandrakes to cure that, so they could be an ingredient...if we could find and grow them."

Lupin nodded. "That had occurred to me, but if there are any mandrakes in the Hydroponics area, I haven't been able to find them, so I've been forced to seek out other substitutes. So far that has not gone well, though I have the help of a friend or two who are better with Herbology than I am."

"It's true," Cedric couldn't help but laugh. "Almost every Hufflepuff's best marks are in Herbology. Our common room's full of plants---there was one I watered every morning, it liked to curl around our fingers."

Realizing that he was off on a tangent, he pulled himself back to the subject at hand and grinned. "We've learned some of the common properties of plants with certain effects. I should be able to figure out some of what the plants we have here are capable of."

He wasn't an expert, by any means, but he was ready to try.

"Then I shall need to introduce you to one of my friends in question," he said. "She maintains a garden in the Hydroponics area and is helping me look after a few plants of my own. Aconite, primarily, just in case."

Cedric grinned easily. Oh yes, he'd love to talk to someone who owned a garden! "I'll talk to her as soon as I can. What's her name?"

"Alastirra," he said, "and you'll find her quite easy to recognize, as she is a a foot or two taller than I am and purple-skinned, though a quite lovely person for all that." Better to warn Cedric now than have him taken by surprise when he first met her.

"Oh! Well that's all right, then." Cedric shrugged. "I don't have a problem with differences, I've already talked to two unicorns. There isn't much further to go, is there?"

He was going to be just fine. Somehow. Eventually. "But honestly, thank you. I think I'm going to be all right."

Well, if Cedric wished to believe that talking unicorns were on the far end of the strangeness spectrum, Lupin would allow the ship life to gently disabuse him of the notion. "I'm glad to hear it, and I'm at your disposal if you need anything."

He considered for a moment, then added, "By the way, have you learned to Apparate?"

"I'll remember, sir," Cedric grinned. He was grateful to have someone looking out for him, really. This would be a scary place to adjust to alone.

At that last question, he ducked his head in embarrassment. "No, sir. I was eligible to take the course and test, but I neglected it for prefect duties and preparing for the Tournament. I thought I couldn't spare the time, as you can't Apparate or Disapparate on Hogwarts grounds---so it wouldn't be useful. I'd planned to study in my seventh year."

"Quite sensible," he said. After all, many witches and wizards didn't bother with the art at all, finding it unreliable. "It is particularly dangerous on this ship and I thought a warning might be necessary if you had."

That surprised him. Cedric sat up a little straighter, wondering. "Why? Is it enchanted against Apparition?"

"No, but we are not in normal England. Whenever the ship travels..." He waved an arm, attempting to formulate a decent explanation. "The space you intend to be at is never exactly the space it is when you get there. You are guessing at best. I've done it, but only at short ranges and in extreme circumstances."

"Oh, right. We're in a moving vehicle, that does make sense. But you can still apparate on a planet's surface, right?"

Cedric really wished he could. He probably could've made more time for Apparition studies if he'd worked harder.

"It's more complicated than that. Whatever we are moving through out there, which you really ought to take a look at through the dome on the observation deck someday, I might add, is something in which Apparition does not work properly. From what I hear tell that is true of all sorts of different magics which Apparate a person from one place to another." Why this was, he had no idea, but he certainly had felt its effects. Luckily, combat Apparition remained feasible.

"It does work quite well when the ship is not moving, however. If we have a period of time where that's the case, I'll gladly teach you."

Cedric couldn't quite make sense of all of it, but he had the general idea. So it wouldn't be safe here.

"I'd be grateful. But wouldn't we have to impose on a medic's time as well? I heard about the splinching incidents from some of the students in my hear who did attend. It wasn't pleasant."

He considered this, then said, "I think, with preparation, I should be able to handle any unfortunate events. I have some skill with healing spells, and more serious splinches are as much Transfiguration as anything, which I am better at."

Some consideration was definitely required. Cedric did not want to find himself bleeding to death across the hallway because he'd made some mistake. But he also knew that Professor Lupin was competent, and he trusted a wizard more than anyone else to understand and heal a splinching.

"All right. I've met one of the medics and I've learned how to call them just in case. I'm not scheduled to die just yet."

Lupin, about to say something else, paused, then frowned slightly as he crossed his arms.

"You mustn't think that way, Cedric."

Cedric shook his head, his voice soft when it finally emerged. "Why not? It's..what's the phrase? Gallows humour. Something to get me through all of this with a clear head."

"If meeting Harry and Sirius showed nothing else, it is that the rules we understand, of any sort, don't apply about this ship," Lupin said. "Harry comes from a time after you did, Sirius and I before. How that happens doesn't make any sense, but it does mean that, if we win this battle and all is put back as we hope it will be, things will not necessarily proceed as they did. Cedric, I won't pretend it is possible that you will return and be killed, but it is not a guarantee."

Cedric looked up, and his expression wavered, but he couldn't quite bring himself to believe that it could be possible. That he could survive, have a seventh year, deal with that horrible Professor Umbridge, reunite with his family, graduate, go on with the career he'd wanted. Certain death was so much...surer, less messy.

"My life isn't over yet, I suppose," he said slowly, thinking hard on something. "All of this is an opportunity. I already promised Harry we could get to know each other better, and I won't back out on that."

He just wasn't so sure about the others.

"No, it is not. You're in danger here and I won't pretend otherwise, we have suffered one loss that I know of on a mission. But... you are too young to have lived through the war," he said, solemnly. His eyes had drifted to a place far away, not seeing anything but memory. "When Voldemort and his Death Eaters were on the loose, death was more likely on any given day than it is now, here. Many people lived in fear and resignation, believing they could do nothing.

"But I don't think that's your nature," he said, abruptly focusing on Cedric again. "You are going to die, tomorrow or at the end of this ship or decades from now, it will happen eventually. That was true before you came on this ship, or before you even started Hogwarts. But you are alive right now, that is also undeniable."

Cedric bowed his head, listening with a heavy heart. He only knew of those times from his parents' stories, the explanations for why certain people didn't have their parents. And according to Harry, the war had resumed right after he'd died. Yes, this was his first time fighting in these conditions.

He was here, and therefore he had a purpose. That was enough for Stacy, and it would be enough for him. Cedric lowered his fingers to his wand, determination overtaking his thoughts. "I'm fighting. Some...well, some say I shouldn't, to give myself longer to live. But we have no idea whether that would work, for a start, and it's not right. People are depending on us."

He'd gotten back into the 'fighter' mode, completely glossing over the issue of his reluctance to make new friends, but that would be forcibly addressed in time. Several people would demand it.

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