Don’t Do What Diggory Did

by · Published · Updated

by Andrew Lee

“He had been starting to quite like Cedric – prepared to overlook the fact that he had once beaten him at Quidditch, and was handsome, and popular, and nearly everyone’s favorite champion. Now he suddenly realized that Cedric was in fact a useless pretty-boy who didn’t have enough brains to fill an eggcup.”

-Harry Potter’s thoughts about Cedric Diggory, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Cedric Diggory. What can we say about Cedric Diggory? He had it all going for himself; things were on the up and up. He led the Hufflepuff Quidditch team to victory against Harry and the Gryffindor team during Harry’s third year. He was quite popular among the student population; he was selected to be the Hogwarts champion for the Triwizard tournament. He even managed to get a girlfriend, Cho Chang of Ravenclaw. This was Cedric’s big mistake, in fact the largest mistake that he would ever make. When Cho Chang said that she would go to the Yule Ball with Cedric and not Harry something changed that day, a change for the worse.

Ever since his third year Quidditch match against Ravenclaw, Harry was quite taken by the Ravenclaw seeker Cho Chang. He felt things he had never felt before: her smile made him go red, he was at a loss for words when trying to talk to her, and she was pretty. In fact, Harry was quite prone to spilling things when she was near. It is quite possible that she was Harry’s first crush; and that Cedric Diggory had to come in and swept her away from him.

Harry had very few enemies: Voldemort, Snape, the Malfoys; and it was at that moment he added Cedric Diggory to that list. Now, for those of you keeping score: Harry 4, Harry’s enemies 0 (well, 1, but that doesn’t really count). Harry so far had managed to defeat or hold off all his enemies’ attempts at killing him. Now let’s take a quick look at how he’s managed to survive. He basically turned Professor Quirrell into dust, cut up a basilisk, turned Riddle into mulch, Expecto-patronoused the Dementors back to Azkaban, kept Snape in the same job for the last four years, survived the attack by Lord Voldemort when he was a baby, foiled the Malfoys on numerous occasions.… But what to do with poor Cedric?

Should he embarrass him in front of the entire school? Perhaps an “accident” during next year’s Quidditch season? Maybe he could ask Dobby to arrange something. No, that was all too easy. Harry had to remove Cedric, the only person that was standing in his way to being with Cho Chang. And to remove him, he would have to kill him. Now, this isn’t to say he really wanted to kill him in public; no, Harry would never admit to that. But, it was his subconscious desire to kill Cedric that would push him to Cedric’s untimely demise.

Now Harry is quite a peaceful person; he would never really want to hurt anyone. He never really wanted to kill Quirrell; it was the power of his parents that prevented Quirrell’s attack from injuring Harry. He was injured to within an inch of his life during his fight with the basilisk; Harry wanted to die, but Fawkes revived Harry, giving him time to summon all his strength to kill the basilisk. Harry never really wanted to stop them, but look at it this way: Quirrell and Voldemort had become one. Harry wanted revenge for what Voldemort did to his parents. If that meant killing Quirrell, so be it. His parents’ strength allowed him to do it. The basilisk was a powerful beast, but Harry managed to defeat it, to avenge Hermione who was in the hospital because of the basilisk. You see, when pushed too far, Harry can defeat his enemies with overwhelming power and force. Just ask that pile of dust that was Professor Quirrell.

But, what about the Malfoys and Snape? Why aren’t they dead or as defeated as Harry’s other opponents? Easy, they don’t listen to Harry. They ignore him. They may mistreat Harry, but deep down, they couldn’t care less what happens to the boy-who-lived. Well, Snape could be the exception, but there is something from his past we’re missing.

Now back to the subject at hand, Diggory was Harry’s mortal enemy after the Yule Ball. Now Diggory, the trusting person that he is, still liked Harry (since Harry did give him the hint about the dragons) and was willing to listen to him. As you will see this would lead to Cedric’s demise.

You should notice that Harry does have the ability to predict the future, whether by crystal ball, imagining it (what he says does come true), and by his dreams. Harry has a dream where he emerges from the Triwizard tournament as the winner, and there is Cho Chang waiting for him. This dream would become the basis for Harry’s subconscious to begin the plan to eliminate Cedric Diggory.

Harry knows he was entered in the Triwizard tournament under false pretenses. Harry knows that he wants to eliminate Cedric Diggory. Harry knows he’d like to have a relationship with Cho Chang. Harry knows that the final task in the tournament is the last possible attempt for the conspirators to take his life. So when Harry and Diggory reach the cup at the same time, despite his dream where he emerges as the lone winner, he offers to ‘share’ the victory. Subconsciously, Harry knows that this is the last chance of whoever was trying to kill him, to do so. Harry also knows, in reference with his dream, that he will emerge the winner. So, by ‘sharing’ the victory Harry not only wins the tournament, he would also remove Cedric Diggory. And Cedric foolishly accepts, and after they both grab the cup, BANG!!! Next thing you know, Cedric is dead, Voldemort comes back and Harry is the winner of the Triwizard tournament. Afterwards there’s Harry, a victim of an evil plot, and Cedric Diggory, dead, killed by the same evil group. No one would suspect the truth, and poor innocent Harry gets away with killing Cedric. And what about Cho Chang? There’s Harry, all ready to swoop in and comfort her from her devastating loss. Harry 5, Harry’s enemies 0.

Let this be a lesson to all of us. Never, ever, get on Harry Potter’s bad side, and then listen to things that he says. Inside that sweet looking exterior lays the workings of a well planned killing machine. Give Harry a reason, and poof! You’re Flobberworm meat. Look what at happened to Cedric Diggory. Don’t do what Diggory did.