For Cedric

But you are with me, even in death, and I am grateful for your company.

I'm facing the man who stole you from me. My wand is clutched tightly in my sweaty palm and I wish I was anywhere else than where I currently am. I see you. I've been seeing you since the day you went away.

Voldemort's eyes are glowing red and malicious as his upper lip curls into an evil smile. So different from the other smiles I know. So different from your crooked one. My heart is in my throat, but it's not the pleasant stuttering I used to have when looking at you. This time, my heart is heavy as lead and full of dread. Anger. Despair. Pain. I miss you.

Voldemort says something, and I distinctly remember to reply. You stand next to him, grey eyes so full of the life you were robbed of.

"Fight, Harry," you whisper, "fight for me,"

I hear you, loud and clear. That's why I'm standing here, in the Great Hall, to day. To fight. For you.

I say it, out loud, as I raise my wand against my deadly opponent. It's just a whisper, something that's only meant for my own ears. Words of courage, strength and justice. Words of love.

"For Cedric,"

Voldemort's body hit the floor before I even have time to blink. People cheer as they hug and touch my stiff frame. You stand out in the crowd, keeping your distance. But I see you. Like I've always seen you. Like I will be seeing you later tonight.

"I love you,"

You nod and smile, the adoration and pride evident in your grey orbs. I wish you were real, and not a fragment of my own twisted imagination. I wish you'd looked at me like you do now when you were still alive. But you never did. In fact, you barely looked at me at all. We didn't know each other.

But here you are, in death. Not the real you, not even close. But you're mine, and I'll take what I get. When you are concerned, I have no limits. I had none when you were breathing, and I have none now. That's never going to change.

And I give everything I have to meet up with you in the night. Every last trace of sanity is wiped away when you hold me. Any logic I ever possessed slips away when our lips meet. I am crazy, but at least I'm yours.

And now, you're here in my victorious moment. Like you'll be on Ginny and mine's wedding day. Like you'll be when she gives birth to our first child. I have to let you go eventually. But for now, there's only one thought in my mind, and that's the thought that has led me here today. To this very moment.

"For Cedric,"