DISCLAIMER: Anything that you recognize and have read before belongs to our beloved JKR, and I do not intend to use it for my profit except for scores in QLFC.
Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Round 7, as Beater 2 of Falmouth Falcons.
PROMPT: Pairing H.M.S. Remembered and Remaining (Cedric/Cho)
ADDITIONAL PROMPTS:
5. (word) brush
7. (word) tremble
9. (dialogue) "You're crazy." / "Were you ever under the impression that I was normal?"
WORD COUNT: 2200
Hugs to my beta's: Arty, Mal, Tigger.
Letting Go
The wind blew a silvering strand of her once thick, dark hair into her face as she looked at the waters that stretched to the horizon. The waves seemed to rise higher each time, slapping at the stones at the foot of the cliff she was sitting on. The rising sun with its brilliant, red hue could have enchanted anyone, but to her, it was just another laugh Fate was having at her expense.
The brightness of the day seemed to mock the darkness brewing within her; unwanted thoughts were clouding her mind, and no matter how hard she tried, there were no means to block them. She finally let her walls crumble and the darkness consume her—from both the outside and the inside. The moments that had led to this day played in front of her eyes. They were the things she had been trying to forget for so long, but today, she allowed her mind to torture her heart.
—ooo—
Cho sighed as she turned to Marietta, who shot her a sad smile.
"That's the seventh refusal, Cho. You've got to say yes to someone."
"Why can't he just ask me?" Cho asked, her glare cutting off her other friends' giggles. She shouldn't have been feeling this way, but even Marietta had a partner for the ball—which was just two weeks away—and Marietta wasn't exactly pretty.
"I believe he wants to," Violet said, gesturing to the Gryffindor table. Cho looked over to where she was pointing, and the raven-haired boy was indeed staring straight at her. Her pulse quickened, but she averted her gaze. Serves him right, she thought.
Sighing, she picked up her books and rose from her seat. Her friends followed, and soon, they were making their way outside.
Just as they crossed the entrance hall, her friends stopped to ogle at the Hufflepuffs who were passing by, which, of course, happened to be Cedric Diggory and his mates. Shaking her head, she started to move, but she stopped when she heard her name being called.
Cedric Diggory walked up to her and bowed. He held his hand out, and out of habit, she placed her own hand into his, trembling slightly when he brushed his lips on her knuckles.
"Cho, will you do me the honour of accompanying me to the Yule Ball?"
As if coming out of a trance, she stared at him hard. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her friends gasp. "N—" she began, but then held herself back. Deciding that she had already waited for the all-too-good Harry Potter for far too long, she gave him a brief nod.
With a wide smile, Cedric bowed and went away.
And then, all hell broke loose.
"What was that?"
"What did you just do?"
"What about Harry?"
"Did you say yes to Cedric Diggory?"
Cho twisted around to look at her friends. Grinning, she said, "Yes, I agreed to go with Cedric."
"B—but don't you like Harry?" Marietta asked.
Cho nodded, a smile playing on her lips. "Got to show him what he's missing, don't I?"
"You're crazy," Violet said.
"Were you ever under the impression that I was normal?" The smile on her face just grew as they all shook their heads.
—ooo—
The blazing morning sun glared at her from its reflection in the waters, as if saying everything was her fault. She was not supposed to fall in love with a toy, was she?
—ooo—
"Are you okay?" he asked as he swam with her to the shore.
Gasping for breath, Cho managed to nod. She was clinging to Cedric for dear life. Suddenly realising their proximity, she blushed.
Cedric helped her up. His friends handed him a towel, and he draped it around her. "You must be freezing," he said and pulled her inside the tent.
Cho thought of the previous night, when Dumbledore had told them what the second task was all about. Her first guess was that the old Headmaster wanted them to bring something which was dear to the champions, but never had she thought that she had to go down the lake for Cedric.
She was the most important thing to Cedric.
The thought had not left her all through the night. And as the tournament had progressed, she had realised that Cedric was important to her, too.
She smiled as Cedric fussed over her, handing her a goblet of tea. She smiled at him, finally realising the answer to a question which had been nagging at her for days: Yes, she liked Cedric Diggory. A lot.
—ooo—
She lifted a trembling hand to push back a strand of drenched hair. The sweat from her forehead mingled with the tears running down her cheeks as they fell onto the sand. The golden orb of light was at its zenith, but even the sun at its peak could do nothing to dissipate the darkness that had caged her heart. She choked back a sob—Cedric shouldn't have broken her heart like that!
—ooo—
Her heart stopped as her mind registered what the people around her were saying. Time froze, but she dragged herself to where Cedric and Harry had appeared. Her mind went numb as she reached him, taking in his broken form that lay sprawled on the ground. His grey eyes stared at her, unblinking, his wand still clutched in his hand. Cho let herself fall to the ground, tears spilling freely. Someone was speaking to her, but she could not make out their words. She closed her eyes, and memories of him came flooding to her.
No, he could not be gone.
Shaking her head, she crawled to where he lay. Grasping his hand in hers, she kissed it and placed her head on his chest. She remained there despite what the people were saying, until it became too much for her, and she fainted.
—ooo—
She closed her eyes to block out the harsh rays of the sun. The afternoons were difficult, but didn't they always hold the promise of a cool evening breeze?
—ooo—
Disillusioned, Cho snuck out of the Great Hall after Harry. She was not going to let him go if there was still any chance that she could have him to herself. She drew her wand and wordlessly cut small slits in the soles of his shoes, going all the way up to his feet and painting the floor with beads of his blood. He would probably hide under his Invisibility Cloak soon, and she could not chance losing him.
Silently, she followed him as he made his way to the Headmaster's office, choosing to wait outside as he entered. After around a quarter of an hour, he came back, and her chest clenched when she saw the fear in his eyes—the fear of death.
She followed him out of the castle, her resolve faltering slightly when he entered the Forbidden Forest. Was he going to sacrifice himself?
The blood trail was no longer visible, so she relied on the sound of twigs and leaves crunching under his feet. If he'd been paying attention, he would have heard her, but he was too preoccupied.
She halted as he removed his Invisibility Cloak. She moved around to stand a few feet away from him as he pulled a Snitch out of a pouch around his neck and kissed it. She stared at him and the Snitch as the latter opened to reveal a black stone. He turned it around in his hand and began to speak to people he called 'Mum' and 'Dad'. Cho had read The Tale of the Three Brothers enough times to know what it was. It was the Resurrection Stone.
Harry draped the cloak over himself again, walking in the direction of voices. She trailed after him, pausing only as he removed the cloak once more and dropped the stone. From ahead, she could hear more people, but her mind was whirring. Why run after Harry when she could have Cedric back?
She picked up the stone, and, slipping it into her pocket, she made her way to the castle, her wand lighting the way.
—ooo—
Cho never used the stone that was in her possession. I am not ready, she told herself. But deep down, she knew Cedric would not approve. After the war ended, she moved to the Muggle world. She tried dating Muggle men, but things never worked out. Until one day, while reading the Daily Prophet, she came to a decision.
The war had left many orphans, and Cho Chang decided to adopt one of them.
It was not an easy affair, but finally, she got a baby boy. He was the son of a Muggleborn girl who had been molested by some Death Eater and left alone to deal with the pregnancy. The girl had died during labour.
She decided to call him Cedric. With baby blue eyes and a tuft of brown hair on his head, he was now Cho's source of happiness—her hope in the darkness. His giggles brought a smile to her face, his laughter a remedy to the old wounds.
His first steps, his first words, his delights—everything was etched into her mind, as if repainting the wall of her memories.
"Cedric!" she cried, running after the giggling boy. "Come here!"
"Butt-ew-flies," the two-year-old said. He ran barefoot in the yard, pausing by the flowers to stare at the beautiful creatures.
"Don't hurt them," she said in a low tone. Cedric paused and turned to her, his innocent eyes melting her heart. He smiled cheekily at her, and, plucking a flower, he ran back to her and placed it in her hand. "They awe pwetty, the butt-ew-flies," he said. He hugged her, "And you awe pwetty."
The smile that graced Cho's face could have lit up the whole world.
—ooo—
The smile that had spread across her face with the onset of a breeze slipped off when she remembered what the evening signified. Closure of the day and welcome of the next dawn. Holding her breath, she wondered what the coming night had in store for her if she lived to see it.
—ooo—
Cho was sitting on the sofa, watching television—the Muggle world had its perks—when she heard the screech of car-brakes, a cry, and then, silence. Her heart pounded against her chest, her mind immediately jumping to the worst conclusions, but her feet dragged her to the door, which was wide open. Her breath caught in her throat as she ran outside, barefoot.
A scream escaped her lips when she saw the scene in front of her. A burly man was stepping in front of the car, where lay her little Cedric, lifeless. She crawled over to him, old memories coming back in a flash. The man was saying something, but she paid him no heed.
Pulling out her wand from the waistband of her jeans, she tried to heal his wounds. The International Statute of Secrecy could go to hell for all she cared—as long as her son lived. Her lips muttered spell after spell, which she had learnt in the short time she had worked at St Mungo's before she moved to the Muggle world. But in the back of her mind, she knew it was all futile.
The sirens wailed as an ambulance arrived. She let the man assist her as the medics put her son on a stretcher. Someone helped her into the ambulance. People were speaking, but her gaze was fixed on the small boy who lay across from her. She just wanted to look into his blue eyes, hear him call her 'Mummy'. Apparently, that was too much to ask for.
They took him inside the Intensive Care Unit as soon as they reached the hospital. She was asked to wait outside, but each second felt like a century to her.
Her heart shattered as a man in a white coat came to her, a sad look in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Miss Chang, but your son was brought dead—"
He continued to speak, but she could not make out what he was saying. Just one word rang through her ears.
Dead.
"A boy is dead."
"They say the Diggory boy is dead."
"Your son was brought dead."
"Cedric is dead."
Cho clasped her hands to her ears as the voices echoed in her head. Falling to her knees, she cried—cried for her love, her son. She cursed the Almighty for taking them away, but no one heard.
"Miss Chang, I'm really sorry," the driver of the car—the one who had killed her baby—said. "I know it won't do anything for your loss, but I really am sorry."
Sucking in a breath, Cho asked, "Can you do me a favour?"
The man nodded.
"Take me to the beach."
—ooo—
The stars appeared in the sky above, twinkling merrily, mocking her despair. She pulled out the locket which held the key to her happiness. As she opened it, a black stone fell into her hand. Closing her eyes, she turned it around in her hand thrice, and a voice spoke to her.
"Let go, Cho," he said.
—ooo—