Cedric Diggory vanishes from the parking lot of Ollivander's convenience store on a cold January evening, leaving nothing but a yellow plastic bag with a two liter milk container, a pack of Oreo cookies, a tube of mint toothpaste, and a month's supply of durex invisible ultra skin condoms. The surveillance camera shows nothing except the impossible: one minute he is there, and the next he isn't. Only the plastic bag lies forgotten on the dirty street.
The rumours are on fire.
Some say he was kidnapped by the Russian mafia because he had debts to pay off.
Some say he dropped out of college because of his father's high expectations and started working as a stripper down in Leeds.
Some say he was in jail because he violated a restraint order from his ex girlfriend that alleged him of being a stalker that crept into her bedroom at night.
Rumours, rumours, and more rumours, that only get extra incredulous as time passes.
Hermione believes exactly none of them.