SUMMER RAIN
Written by Ice Dragoness
All Harry Potter characters and the HP universe belong to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, Warner Bros., etc. I claim no rights.
Cho Chang sighed as she stared out her window, which was currently being splattered by tiny raindrops. The rain pelted the window in a hypnotic rhythm.
It had been over two months since Cedric had died.
I miss you so much, Cedric, she thought sadly as she touched the window with her right hand and sighed. Her dark hair brushed up against the cold window as she leaned some of her weight on it. I wish you could come back.
Cedric Diggory had been her boyfriend. Two years older, handsome, Hufflepuff Seeker, and a Hogwarts Triwizard Champion, she had been astonished that he had shown even the slightest interest in her.
When he had asked her to the Yule Ball, she had been flattered beyond belief. As he had continued to show interest in her, she had grown from being flattered to falling head-over-heels in love with him.
Cedric had always had the ability to make her stomach flutter with butterflies every time she laid eyes on him. Just with a few words, he could coax her out of depression, or a bad mood.
A month before school ended - the third task of the Tournament - was when Cedric had died. Murdered by the Dark Lord, so Dumbledore said. He had asked for a toast to the dead boy, and she had stood up, crying. She could still hear the headmaster's voice ringing through the Great Hall.
"There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight, but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here, enjoying our feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand, and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory . . . Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities that distinguish Hufflepuff house. He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about.
"Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort. The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so - either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory.
"Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."
So she had saluted Cedric with her goblet. Cedric, her love.
But later, she had saluted Harry Potter, too. Harry, her friend.
Harry had brought back Cedric's body. Apparently he had died from the Avada Kedavra curse, one of the three Unforgivable Curses. If Harry survived, why didn't Cedric?
She had been inconsolable after Cedric's death. Nothing and nobody could understand the pain she was going through. One day, he had been bright and cheerful and nervous about the third task all at once. The next day he had been dead, lying on the ground. Wiped from existence like a figure erased from a drawing.
With her other hand, Cho slammed her fist against the windowsill in a rage. It's not fair! her heart cried. He died! But we were supposed to live happily . . . ever . . . after . . . Her thoughts trailed off once more.
Slightly calmer now, Cho sighed as she removed her hand from the window. The light drizzle of rain had ceased, and the sun was shining through the gaps in the gray clouds. She smiled a little weakly. Maybe that's the way my life should be, she thought hopefully. But Cedric will always have a special place in my heart, she vowed.