Disclaimer: Well, you know the deal. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Searching For Cho
The sun was not blinding him like it normally did but that was the least of his worries as his grey eyes stared at it. He couldn't look away. It was as if he was in a trance. He didn't know how long he had been outside but his body felt cold, terribly cold.
Shouldn't the rays of the sun warm him up?
He got up slowly…or…was he…up already? He wasn't sure. Everything confused him. He didn't even know where he was. His mind was fuzzy, vision slightly cloudy and his head hurt.
Or did it?
Cedric Diggory pouted. He was very confused.
He tried to stop the nervousness and the overwhelming feeling of panic that was sure to come. He calmly examined his surroundings, trees, grass and…was that the Shrieking Shack?
He was in Hogsmeade but he couldn't remember coming down from the castle to where he was currently standing. Besides, he would never willingly walk down to the Shrieking Shack. Cedric was terrified of it (secretly of course).
"Hello?" he called out nervously, fear obvious in his voice. "Is anyone here? Is this some sort of prank?" He imagined it had to be.
It had to be his teammates, mad about something or another. Had he scheduled a late practice again? He couldn't remember but his teammates would never leave him deserted and disoriented. It had to be…no! Those damn Weasley's! They must have knocked him out.
Again.
Fury filled Cedric as he started his trek into Hogsmeade. He didn't bother to look down at his school robes. He was sure there was dirt all over him. He muttered to himself how he hoped no one laid eyes on him. He never liked to appear disheveled (unless it was from a game of Quidditch) in public. Merlin forbid Cho Chang saw him! She'd never go on a date with him then!
His thoughts flitted to Cho and his thin lips formed a small smile. She was beautiful with her almond shaped brown eyes, long dark hair and just a few freckles that scattered her nose. You wouldn't even realize them from far away. He hadn't until their noses were touching when he got ready to kiss her for the first time.
They way she looked at him made his heart flutter. He never knew at the age of seventeen he could feel so strongly for a girl like he did.
He was pretty sure he was in love with her.
Cedric passed a group of students and quickly averted his eyes. He was a Prefect after all and the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain. He couldn't be seen like this. He was pleasantly surprised when no one said anything to him. They didn't even give him a small nervous glance.
"Good," thought Cedric. He would go back to the castle, change his dirty clothes and find the Weasley twins because he was positive it was the Gryffindors that had done something to him. Last time they had charmed a fly to buzz around his head all day.
Whatever they had concocted this time he had to admit was clever. His mind was still fuzzy and his body was still cold. Yes, whatever they did was very clever.
He walked noiselessly through Hogsmeade, passing several more students. None acknowledged his presence. They were all chipper, smiling brightly with rosy red cheeks. They almost seemed to burst with excitement and he didn't understand why. The girls giggled, the boys shuffled nervously with their hands in their pockets, blushes on their faces as they partnered off with girls.
How strange! He had never seen so many couples in Hogsmeade before. He also barely recognized any of them. Whatever the twins did to him…well…they were going to get it.
And then that's when he spotted one. A redheaded boy who was talking to a redheaded girl who Cedric had never seen before. Surely that couldn't be little Ginny Weasley? He sighed, another Weasley rule breaker. She was too young to go to Hogsmeade…wasn't she?
Forgetting his shabby appearance he angrily walked towards the two with a scowl on his face.
"Oi! George," he paused and corrected himself. "Fred! I mean…George! I mean…what did you do to me?" he shouted, standing next to the girl.
He was surprised to see the boy looked nothing like Fred or George. Sure he had the red hair and freckles but his skin was a shade darker than the twins and his eyes a different color. His looks reminded him of someone but he couldn't remember whom.
The two ignored Cedric, which infuriated him more.
"Hugo, there's nothing to be nervous about—"
"Rose, it's my first Valentine's Day," Hugo said nervously, "with a girl!"
Cedric paused. He was ready to yell at the Weasley who looked like a Weasley, smelled like a Weasley and acted like a Weasley. All signs pointed to Weasley but what the boy had said made him gulp.
It was Valentine's Day? His mind was still fuzzy and he tried to think but thinking only made his head feel worse. Why was he with imitation Weasley's when he could be celebrating at Madam Puddifoot's with Cho? He had a day of eye gazing, hand holding and snogging to get too!
"I'll just excuse myself," Cedric muttered apologetically. They ignored him and quickly started to walk in the direction that he was headed towards.
"You'll have fun. Just try to make sure confetti doesn't fall in your tea. Really makes it taste awful." The girl advised.
Hugo groaned and Cedric hoped that confetti would fall in the boy's tea.
"Ugh," he said with disgust. "Confetti? Girls! Why did I agree to Puddlefoot's again?"
Cedric rolled his eyes. He sure did have the brains of a Weasley.
"It's Puddifoot's," Rose said, giggling at his mistake, "and it's because you fancy her. Besides, it's so romantic!"
"Chang," Hugo muttered, better be worth it."
Cedric came to an abrupt halt and turned to face the two who kept walking past him. "Hey!" he shouted angrily, he scrunched his nose and then flared his nostrils in what he hoped was a menacing way. "Do you mean Cho Chang?" he questioned.
They were walking as if they hadn't heard him. What was he? Invisible? He chuckled at the thought.
"What are you doing with my Cho!" he shouted.
He grumbled some more and stalked after the pair who stopped infront of Madam Puddifoot's. There was a long line outside and inside, the shop was filled with smiling girls and annoyed boys who kept shaking confetti out of their hair.
"Excuse me!" he shouted, walking towards Hugo. Enough was enough, Cedric would no longer be ignored. "You're being rude and I've kept my temper down long enough. Now, tell me why you're—"
But he didn't get to finish his sentence. Hugo's face filled with a bright smile and he reached his tan arm out as a girls voice greeted him.
"Hello…Hugo."
Cedric turned his head and stared at the girl with horror. She had similar physical features to Cho Chang but there were different aspects to her. That wasn't what shocked him though. He was standing infront of Hugo whose hand was going right through his body.
He didn't have time to ponder his predicament. He would have noted that the thought of being invisible no longer amused him.
-x-
For the second time that day Cedric opened his eyes and stared at the beaming sun. He felt colder than ever and miserable for reasons unknown to him. His head felt cloudy and all he could remember was that it was Valentine's Day.
He did not recall two redheads or his fright in Hogsmeade. Instead, he wondered why on earth he was standing in a cemetery.
He grumbled, wishing he had a warm wooly jumper and started to walk through the cemetery that appeared to be endless.
"Hello!" he shouted. "Is anyone here? Can anyone help me? Cho Chang, I'm looking for Cho Chang. We're supposed to be on a date…"
No one answered him. A breeze rolled by making the leaves on the trees shake and magnify the dead silence around him. He continued walking, past several headstones, hoping to find a way out or someone that could bring him back to Hogwarts.
Back to Cho.
He was starting to miss her terribly.
The leaves on the trees continued to sway and the sun shined on the headstones. He searched, squinting his eyes (even though the sun wasn't necessarily bothering him), trying to find one person in the cemetery.
He found it eerie as he walked. The silence and the breeze were giving him an uneasy feeling. He didn't realize that the leaves he stepped on didn't crunch underneath his feet. His head felt foggy and he had to blink several times to keep focus, his eyes finally falling on a man who was hunched over and placing a flower on a headstone.
Cedric cursed to himself. He had awful luck. Of course the man had to be on a hill. Quickly, Cedric made his way up the hill before the mysterious man could apparate and leave him stranded in the cemetery for the rest of Valentine's Day.
He coughed, trying to alert the man of his presence. He felt like he was intruding as the man stared at the stone, mumbling something under his breath. Cedric couldn't see his face and didn't want to get too close to the stone either. He kept his thoughts on finding Cho and being somewhere warm with her, a place they had once been together.
"Excuse me," he said, voice low. "Could you help me? I'm lost and I don't remember how I got here. It's Valentine's Day and my girlfriend will be terribly disappointed if I don't—" He didn't know what else to say. The man made no movement. It was as if he didn't hear him. Cedric swallowed, trying to push down the tears that were threatening to fall from his grey eyes.
All he wanted was for someone to bring him back to Cho. He wished the man would just speak to him. He was overcome with dread and counted to ten before he got too emotional.
He pleaded, "Please…help me."
This time the man jumped at the voice. He turned around quickly, black cloak billowing around him. Their eyes locked and Cedric's memory came back, like a wave crashing over him, as he stared at a very grown-up Harry Potter.
"Cedric?" he questioned, fear evident in his voice.
Cedric didn't bother to confirm his name or utter Harry's. Instead, he gulped as realization dawned on him and he whispered pitifully, "I'm dead, aren't I?"
Harry Potter didn't say anything. He was at a loss for words as Cedric Diggory looked down at the ground, at his feet. He wasn't standing on the ground.
He was floating above it.
-x-
It took one hour to calm the ghost of Cedric down. Another hour to calm Harry down and then one more for him to explain everything. It was nearing sunset and Valentine's Day was almost over.
Cedric had yet to celebrate it.
"I don't remember anything," he said mournfully. He kept replaying the information Harry had given him inside his head and was staring at his headstone with regret. He felt like the chiseled 'Cedric Diggory' and the date, 1977 – 1995, were mocking him.
Harry removed his spectacles and pinched the bridge of his nose. After the initial shock (where he fell to the grass, overcome with the urge to vomit) he calmly accepted the fact that the teenage ghost of Cedric Diggory was floating before him. Stranger things had happened in his life before.
For years, Harry dreamt about Cedric. He dreamt about him surviving or coming back as a ghost, but had accepted long ago that Cedric had no unfinished business. His schoolmate would not come back and he would not be haunting Harry of all people. This conclusion was accepted mainly because of Dumbledore.
He made a mental note to visit Dumbledore's portrait and point out that he was once again wrong about something.
"I don't remember dying," Cedric whispered.
"What do you remember then?" Harry questioned. He was afraid to delve into the topic of Cedric's death. Though it was quick, the day still haunted Harry, weighing him down with guilt.
Cedric wrinkled his nose. "A maze…a cup…"
Harry nodded. "The Triwizard Tournament."
Cedric grinned and nodded his head. "Yes! Winning the tournament. My parents must have been so proud."
"We both won…" Harry mumbled to himself.
"But how did I die?" he asked, floating around Harry.
A chill filled Harry's body and he sighed, letting his fingers pull at the blades of green grass underneath him.
"Vol—," at the 'V,' Cedric yelped and gave Harry a nervous look. Of course he wouldn't know that Voldemort had been defeated. Harry smiled sheepishly, muttering an apology. "Sorry. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
Cedric shook his head. He still couldn't remember dying. Couldn't remember Voldemort coming into power. He wondered what it felt like.
"So," he said, a finger to his chin, "why am I here?"
Harry had been silently wondering the same thing. He nervously figured that wherever Cedric had gone he must not have liked it after all these years and was coming back to haunt him. It was a childish thought but Cedric hadn't actually been able to grow up. Harry kept having flashes of Cedric alive. The ghost still had the same features yes, the same mannerisms but the last time he saw him he had been gripping his cold lifeless body.
He didn't understand why, after all these years Cedric was here right now but he had the feeling it had something to do with an Asian girl they had both been smitten with. It was his best guess since the ghost kept mumbling her name after he found out he was…well, a ghost.
"I'm not sure," he said, trying to play dumb. "Why are you here?"
Cedric grumbled to himself. As an adult Harry Potter had not really changed. He was still not a good conversationalist.
He furrowed his brow at Harry's question and tried to think. His mind was clear now. The confusion was gone. The same thought kept entering his head and would not go away so he went with it, feeling foolish as he poured his heart out to Harry.
"Cho, we celebrated Valentine's Day before…" He let his sentence trail off and sighed happily at her name. "I kept thinking about her. I think…wherever I was before…I'm not sure where I was before but…I showed up in Hogsmeade. All I remember is wanting to see her. I wanted to go someplace where we have been together…"
Harry paused. He was about to say something but was starting to quickly connect Cedric's thoughts.
"She comes here Cedric," he whispered," to visit you."
His eyes fell on Harry's soft green ones.
"She v-visits me?" he questioned sadly. Millions of thoughts raced through his head. He could imagine Cho crying over his death. Cho unable to move on and visiting him every day. "Will you take me to her?"
Harry nodded. "I was wondering when you were going to ask me that."
-x-
It was easier than Harry had expected, traveling with a ghost that is. He himself apparated after explaining very carefully to Cedric to think of the address Cho lived at. He had materialized before Harry's eyes and stared sadly at the cottage that was before them.
It was homely. He could tell it was something Cho would have wanted. There were wind chimes that tinkled lightly outside and checkered red curtains inside to block out the sun.
The two walked to the back of the house with Harry squatting in the bushes. They could see into the kitchen and Cedric's heart would have stopped beating if he wasn't dead already. He caught himself from gasping out loud and Harry found himself pleasantly surprised, admiring the innocent wide-eyed look of the teenage ghost.
Cho was more beautiful than he remembered. Even as a mature woman he found all the things he loved about her in her features. Her brown almond shaped eyes were wide and her body, he could tell, was shaking from laughter. He found himself wishing he could hear her from outside.
"Do you think I could go in?" he asked Harry. He felt like he would be intruding and had never entered a house without permission. Harry was the closest thing to a guardian for him right now.
"Go ahead," he said. His voice was slightly pushy and it made Cedric tense.
Before he could even think about following Harry's advice, a small boy ran into the kitchen.
"That's her son," Harry confirmed. That's when Cedric realized the small diamond ring on Cho's finger.
"I don't want them to see me," he said, losing his nerve. She had a life now. A husband. A child. What good would it do him to see her happy without him?
"So don't let them," said Harry. He took this as his clue to leave and slowly started to walk away from the window and towards the woods at the back of the cottage. He could no longer see the ghost but he knew he would enter the house.
Nervously, Cedric entered the kitchen, going right through the red wooden kitchen door. He was careful to stay behind Cho and her son. He knew they couldn't see him but he wasn't ready to completely face her.
Cho smoothed her pink blouse and nervously fingered a strand of hair that had fallen from her bun.
"Mummy," her son said with a big toothy smile. "Can I have my surprise now?"
Cho nodded and scooped up her tiny son. Cedric followed the two into another room and paused in surprise. The room had been transformed for Valentine's Day. It looked, Cedric mused, just like Madam Puddifoot's.
There were round white tables decorated with lacey napkins. There were frilly covers on the seats and a golden cherub hovering over one table.
The small boy squealed and clapped his hands together. He had to be around the age of five. Cedric couldn't help but smile at his carefree reactions. He remembered the first time he had visited Madam Puddifoot's. He was secretly in awe of all the confetti and the pink. He had never seen so much pink in his life and he secretly enjoyed the cherubs that threw pink confetti on the couple.
"Happy Valentine's Day Cedric," said Cho.
Cedric jumped. Had she seen him? Heard him? He braced himself and tried to respond, different explanations raced through his head. He would apologize first for coming into her house without her permission. He would—
"Happy Valentine's Day, Mummy!" The boy shouted. He ran towards a heart shaped frilly covered chair.
Cedric paused. She had named her son after him. If he could blush he would have. If his heart could beat it would have, rapidly, as if it wanted to burst from his chest.
Cho took a seat opposite her son and started to pour him some tea.
"Today your sister is in this exact place with her first valentine."
"She's at Hogwarts," the boy said with a pout," I want to go to Hogwarts too Mummy!"
Cho laughed but stopped at the glare her son was giving her. "In a few years you'll be there Cedric and then you'll get to bring a girl out for Valentine's Day too."
The boy wrinkled his nose. "Girls are icky Mummy! Except you of course."
She laughed and nodded her head in agreement. "Of course," she said, reaching her hands out to grab his tiny ones. "She sent a gift—"
"For me?" he questioned, interrupting her with happiness. "What is it Mummy? What is it!" he hoped it was a chocolate frog or something else that was magical. They rarely had magical things since his father was a Muggle.
"In the kitchen."
The boy jumped off of his chair and ran into the kitchen, the pink, the confetti, and the hearts that filled the room forgotten.
Cho sighed, taking a sip of her tea and then placing the cup down. Her hands stretched out on the table again, this time she played with the pieces of confetti and smiled at the empty seat opposite of her.
Cedric Diggory floated infront of Cho, invisible to her. Slowly, he placed his hands towards hers, careful not to actually touch her body. He didn't want to give her a chill.
"Happy Valentine's Day Cedric Diggory," she whispered. Cho smiled sadly at the thought of her first valentine.
She thought of the nervousness that had filled her body from her head all the way down to her little toes. The way she couldn't stop herself from smiling. She had felt so lucky. Cedric Diggory, he was older than her and he had chosen her. She could barely speak to him when she met him in Hogsmeade. She thought she was going to burst from excitement. She had giggled at the way he shook from his own nerves and how he fumbled over his words, presenting her with a cheesy single rose that at the time she guarded with her life. He hadn't minded the confetti falling into his dark brown hair.
Cedric smiled at Cho. Warmth filled his body for the first time that day. Even though he couldn't touch her, even though she was married to another man and had children, her love for him was still strong.
"Happy Valentine's Day Cho Chang," he whispered. It was, in Cedric's opinion, the best Valentine's Day he had ever celebrated.
Author's Note: So, what did you think? The entire first half came to me the other day but the ending was really what I struggled with. I wanted just the right amount of fluff and I wanted it to end happily for Cedric. He finally got to celebrate Valentine's Day with the only girl he ever really got to know. Aw, he's so cute. Thanks so much for reading! Oh and when Hugo says 'Chang' it is as the daughters first name. Don't forget to review! This was for the 'Valentine's Day' challenge by the way on HPFF.
Final Edit: 18 July 2012.