Author's Note: This is dedicated to ChoCedric for challenging me! I would like to thank my beta, davros fan, for being patient with me when I was too sick to write this fanfiction. And to The Lady Arturia, thank you for providing me your wisdom when it comes to proper SPaG errors and for telling me how it was a good fic, as well as what I should improve next time around. I would also like to thank roseusvortex, Story Please and Temporal Knight for giving me great advice to improve my writing style, and for being so friendly towards a newbie writer. Please read and review if you have anything to say!
Challenge: Write a one-shot fanfic in which we see Cho Chang's reaction on the day of the Third Task. Cho and Cedric have to have been in love for this challenge to work.
Cold by ValkyrieAce
In the Quidditch Pitch,
Cho stood by the seats closest to the entrance of the maze, the spectator seating area overlooking it in such a regal manner that it should have been impossible for anyone to disappear without caution or notice.
But when the night was almost upon them, Cedric and Harry did disappear. And it didn't seem like it was a planned exit, judging by the look on the Minister's face.
Cho shivered and rubbed her arms to get rid of the goosebumps. A few minutes ago, the mood of the crowd was lively and vibrant, with voices echoing their support for their school's champion. Now, without having to look around, she could tell that the majority of the crowd had fallen silent.
It was too silent.
'I hope you're okay, Cedric...' Cho thought, urging her thoughts to reach Cedric somehow.
Suddenly, Harry appeared with Cedric, the rustling of leaves being the only sound in the entire pitch. The gold of the Triwizard cup shone brightly in his left hand, while his wand was clasped tightly in his right. He had his arm around Cedric's torso, as though Cedric was unconscious, holding onto him feebly. Something was wrong.
The crowds erupted into claps and cheers, many people standing to get a good look at the new champions, only to stop, hesitating, after seeing the look on Harry's face.
Cho's blood froze when her eyes met Harry's. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy, his tears flowing freely down his face and his glasses hung haphazardly on his nose. He looked so... haunted. He was the epitome of despair.
'What... happened?' Cho thought, worriedly.
She felt her heart almost stop as her eyes flashed over to Cedric's face. His face was paler under the moonlight, his lips were turning blue, and his eyes were open but still.
Unblinking.
Realization hit her like a train wreck.
"No..." she whispered, the words leaving her lips in puffs of air. Everything around her stopped for a split second. She knew what this meant. Cedric was dead. Her Cedric, her sweet, loving boyfriend, was gone from this world forever.
The love of her life was not alive anymore.
Vaguely, she was aware of Headmaster Dumbledore calmly walking towards Harry, the twinkle in his eyes fading as the severity of the situation set into the crowds around them. Minister Fudge matched his stride, squaring his shoulders at the unexpectedly dark turn of events.
She could hear Amos Diggory yelling at the Minister to let him see his son, his brave son, as he tried to break through the barrier of people holding him back from the tragedy. Cho could feel the cold on her skin as the Headmaster pried Harry's crying form off of Cedric's body.
"I couldn't just leave him there!" Harry cried out. "He just wanted to go home!"
"Silence!" the Headmaster commanded. The crowds around him hushed into a lull of whispers as the chill of the realization set into them. Everyone watched intently as Dumbledore looked for a pulse under Cedric's wrist, then whispered into the Minister's ear.
The Minister fidgeted with his hands before yelling out, "Cedric Diggory is dead!"
The crowd reanimated together, the lull growing back to indignant whispers and horrified screams. She watched as Headmaster Dumbledore levitated Cedric's body and ushered Harry to walk towards the castle with him, presumably to get them to Madam Pomfrey. Amos followed them silently with the Minister in tow, looking grief-stricken at the news of his son's death.
"No!" Cho screamed, "No, no!"
Tears fell in warm rivulets down her face as her knees lost their strength. She slumped onto the ground and sobbed uncontrollably.
She wanted to go back to the days when her day would light up at the sight of Cedric's smile. The days when she'd be over the moon to know that the hope in his eyes was there because of her. The days when they would study together and end up cuddling in Hufflepuff's common room.
She'd gladly die for another night of the Yule Ball. He'd confessed his love at the ball, and the smile on his face was forever etched into her memories. Her happiest memories...
She croaked out a weak whimper as the chills reached her bones. She cried silently until the tears wouldn't come anymore. She felt a hand grasp her shoulder, and looked over to see Professor McGonagall, who smiled sadly but kindly and offered a handkerchief. She accepted it and wiped her face clean slowly and blew her nose, before pocketing it to wash.
She pushed herself up and started to walk towards the castle, wanting to get to Cedric's side, to see him one more time. She could only hear Harry's words echoing in her mind.
He wanted to go home.
The funeral was solemn and filled with grief. Amos Diggory and his wife shed countless tears for the loss of their only son, their most important legacy. Many of Cedric's friends and Quidditch teammates attended to support his family. And in their midst was Cho, despairing over the love she never got to live out.
The grounds were empty now. Grey clouds filled the skies as a lone figure stood over Cedric Diggory's marble gravestone, their hands holding onto a bouquet of pink camellias and red chrysanthemums. The wind whistled through her hair as she laid the flowers down by his gravestone. Shuffling through her pockets, she pulled out a handkerchief and sat down, wiping off nonexistent bits of dirt neurotically.
"Hello, Cedric..." she choked, tears already prickling at her eyes, "I love you, and always will."
She pressed a kiss onto the cold stone and stood, patting herself to make sure the dirt didn't cling to her as the grief of his death did.
"I'm going to find out who killed you, and I will avenge you," she stated, determined.
She thought through all the different things that could have saved him. What if the Headmaster didn't allow Harry to be the fourth champion? What if Harry picked up the Cup when Cedric said so, instead of grabbing it together? What if this was a ploy by Voldemort to get to Harry, only Cedric was caught in the crossfire?
There were so many people to blame. But she would find the person who took his future away. She turned away from the grave and started to walk away, only to stop and look over her shoulder.
"They will die," she murmured softly before disappearing into the night.
Fin
A/N: Pink camellias means "longing for you," and red chrysanthemums means "I love you."