Title: In Memory of Diggory
By: FanfictioningFangirl
Summary: "Cedric had won. He had returned, and yet he hadn't." Mourning 21 years since the death of Cedric Diggory
Disclaimer: All credit for the Harry Potter series, the characters, the settings, the plot all go to J.K. Rowling.
In Memory of Diggory
Hannah Abbott sat still, her head bent.
The Hufflepuff Common Room was silent, unnaturally so. Not a soul dared to speak or move.
They said they'd taken precautions, made sure that there would always be someone present to watch. To oversee. That the age line meant something, that there wouldn't be any accidents, or deaths.
She squeezed her eyes shut and a single tear escaped from under her shut eyelids.
In her head, Hannah could still see Potter land on the ground with Diggory. She could still hear the sounds of her peers cheering for not one but two Hogwarts champions had won. The music that had started to play, the loud, badly tuned singing of their school song.
And then the questioning whispers as one by one each of them realised that something was wrong.
Cho Chang had screamed his name and pushed her way to the front. Cedric's father, Amos, had reached his son first and had held onto him, refusing to let go while his mother had simply sat on the ground, a little apart from the two as though stunned into silence. He was too young to be gone. Too young to be lying on thr ground, stilled forever.
One by one each of the Hufflepuffs had gone and looked at their senior, not bothering to hide their grief, their confusion, their regret. Hannah had stood apart, watching from a distance. It all seemed unreal. Impossible.
Cedric had been popular, there was no doubt about it. YEt, he had never been the kind of boy who due to his status looked down at others or bullied those lower down in the cycle.
He was kind to everyone. Loyal, hardworking, approachable.
She'd known him as a brother. Katie Diggory had been a close friend of her mother's and more often than not she found herself spending a day with Cedric.
She remembered the way he'd made her laugh and forget the pain when she'd scraped her knee at the age of three. She remembered the way he'd led her into the Hufflepuff Common Room, their Common Room, for the first time. SHE remembered the night before the third task when she'd wished him good luck.
Cedric had been one of them, there was no doubt about it.
He had been the best of them.
That's why they'd encouraged him to put his name in the Cup. That's why they'd cheered when his name had been drawn. She'd been amongst the many who'd worn the 'Support Cedric Diggory' badge, despite knowing that there was no way Potter (the 'fourth' champion) could have added his name.
She'd bounced on the balls of her feet as he's faced the dragon. She'd bitten her nails to the quick when he'd gone down the lake. She'd watched in anticipation, checking her watch every so often once he'd disappeared into the maze. Waiting.
Waiting for him to win.
Waiting for him to return.
And both happened, yet neither did.
What a twisted sense of humour fate had, giving them what they had wanted and yet bot quiet doing so. How cruel life could be, leaving the good and, if what Potter said had been true, returning to the bad.
They didn't return to their dormitories that night, and the next morning each and every one of the Hufflepuffs wore black. If they smiled it was in his memory, if they cried it was because now he was just that: a memory.
For Cedric Diggory had been the best of them. Everyone had loved him, and he had been good to them all. Yet, he was the first to leave them.
The first to be lost.
In years to come, in times of fear and despair when all hope was lost and new hope was found, Hannah never forgot Cedric. She never forgot his laugh, his smile.
And, during the Battle of Hogwarts, when Hannah was faced with a choice between what was right and what was easy, she remembered Dumbledore's speech- or the only part of it that she'd taken in.
She remembered Cedric Diggory.
A/N: I was just browsing on IG when I saw that Pottermore had posted about the anniversary of the final task of the Triwizard tournament... And of course, to me, that meant Cedric's death.
I know it's short and brief and quiet rushed but I really loved that guy...
hope you guys like it :)
[Updated]