A/N: After everything they all went through, I felt like it was only fair that I should try to tell the stories of those still alive. This is supposed to be at least slightly inspirational, with each of the chapters leaving things slightly uplifted. And I think this chapter is actually a lot longer than the others will be, but I had to establish Cho's and Cedric's relationship before I could write them in a way that seems feasible. And finally, I couldn't find my copy of Goblet of Fire, so I hope this chapter is overall accurate. If there are any mistakes, I apologize.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, my precious Fred would make made it through all seven books. Oh, and if that last sentence wasn't a clue, don't read this if you haven't read DH. The upcoming chapters are spoiler-heavy.

And now whatever way our stories end,
I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend.
For Good, Wicked

He asks you out three weeks after you realize he likes you. He smiles confidently when he pulls you away from your friends, and the words pour out of his mouth like he's been rehearsing them for days (you wonder if he has been). He doesn't stumble, or croak, or look as though he might vomit on your shoes. He says he's had a crush on you for a while, and asks if you would be interested in going to the Yule Ball with him. For a moment you don't move or breathe. It seems ridiculous that something like this should happen to you, but you don't spend time debating a good thing. You say yes.

It takes almost no time for your life to become something out of a page of someone else's book. Suddenly there's a boy who waits for you after class, who teases you about being so emotional, who kisses you for luck before each Potions class. You try not to think about things like He Who Must Not Be Named, or The Boy Who Lived, or borrowed time, because those are thoughts for the paranoid. Harry Potter has defeated the Dark Wizard twice since he's been in school, you see no reason why, if He rises again, as the whispers would indicate, Harry shouldn't win once more. He's a fantastic wizard-everyone thinks so-and you comfort yourself by thinking that even if you should ever come face to face with You Know Who, someone would be there to save you.

You're not the hero, and you know that.

So you spend your evenings with Cedric, and smile broadly when he mentions that he wouldn't mind if you wanted to come meet his family over summer holiday. He tells you one of his uncles has four arms due to a transfiguration accident, and you laugh loudly, enjoying the familiar sound, and accuse him of lying. He finds a way to silence you straight away.

One afternoon Luna Lovegood wanders into the Ravenclaw Common Room and tells you that Professor Flintwick needs to see you. You think it has something to do with your Charms essay, but when you find the professor he's standing with a couple of the other teachers, the youngest Weasley boy, Hermione Granger, and a pretty little girl. He tells you not to panic, that nothing will happen to you, and that he's just going to make you sleep for a few hours longer than you might have anticipated.

When you finally wake up, Cedric is trembling from head to toe, running his hands up and down your arms, and he asks if he can talk to you later. He wants to tell you something important. So when night falls, and there's a gentle tap on the door to your Common Room, you let him in. You've taken care to look as nice as you can with short notice, because there's a small voice in your head saying that you should dress up.

Then he takes your hand in his and he recites the merpeople's song to you.

"Something that you'll surely miss," you repeat, not sure exactly of what you're hearing.

And then he says it, words tripping on words. He loves you. Your heart soars, your head pounds, and you're saying it right back without a second of misgiving or fear. It should seem ridiculous, and when you tell your friends later they waste no time in pointing out just how ridiculous it is, but to you it makes perfect sense. Perfect sense that if a girl like you can date a popular seeker than there is no reason why he should not love you after just knowing you a couple of months.

In the time before the last task you see very little of other people aside from Cedric. He helps you study for finals, teasing you for having to take them at all. You jokingly retort that you can't all be too famous to work, and he laughs. You're reminded again of how perfect the relationship is, how happy you are. Every so often you feel twinges of guilt when you see Harry walking the halls, but they don't really compare to the excitement you feel when you think about what your future is going to hold. You're with Cedric now, and you can't make yourself feel really bad about it.

And then he and Harry come crashing out of the maze and the world stops spinning.

It's Professor Sprout that actually tells you the news, just minutes after she's finished speaking with his parents. You hear the words, you know what she's saying, but it doesn't sink in. This is ridiculous, you can't talk to the Professor right now; you need to go find your boyfriend. He's just won the Triwizard Tournament. He's going to want to buy you a butterbeer, or a new broom or something. You gently tell your teacher this, and she pulls you into an embrace that knocks down the walls of denial. You cry until you can't stop.

Summer comes and you're not sure at what point you stopped answering your bedroom door. You keep it locked, and although there's no reason why your mother couldn't unlock it with a simple charm, she respects that you need time alone. She tries so hard to understand, but she can't.

You start a half a dozen letters to Harry to thank him for bringing back… For what he did, but you never get further than the greeting. You want to be certain that when you finally do talk to him that there is no resentment in your voice that he lived and Ced didn't. Cedric wouldn't want you to be angry with Harry. He would want you to be strong.

"I love you," you tell the picture of him that you have propped up on your bedside table. He responds by pulling the you that is in the picture into a deep kiss. A deep kiss that you can still feel, months later. For hours you watch the two of you laugh and dance in the snow. You lay back and think about the boy you loved and make him a quiet promise that you swear to keep.

"If I ever meet…" Your voice fails in the darkness until you clear your throat with the strength that Cedric possessed. "If I ever meet Voldermort, I'll go down fighting."

And for a moment, you feel peace.