a/n: for the 2nd Annual Write Me a Romance Competition. i don't listen to MCR, but i really like the quote at the end. ^.^ enjoy!
Carve a smile out of flesh and leave fingerprints of blood.
"Today we mourn the loss of Cedric Lucas Diggory."
The funeral was two weeks late. Mr and Mrs Diggory had put it off as long as possible, working with the Aurors trying to make sense of their son's death. Not his death: his suicide.
Of course, it wasn't officially classed as suicide. The public knew Cedric Diggory's death to be an accident; the fault of no one. How would 'suicide' reflect on Mr and Mrs Diggory, respected as they were in the Ministry of Magic and the Wizarding community? No, it wouldn't look good at all. How much effort did Mr Diggory have to put in to get it classed as an accidental death? Nearly everything he had, probably.
"Beloved son, brother, friend and fiancé."
He proposed to me exactly two months ago. Down by our tree, the elfish willow (so named because it was the smallest tree for miles around, but we loved it all the same) with the low, sturdy branches and the drapes of greenery concealing us, isolating us from the rest of the world in our bubble of happiness. The tiny pocket of the world where nothing and no one mattered except each other. There was a stream by the tree; shallow and so clear you could see the delicate colours and details of the plants lurking beneath the surface. We went paddling in there sometimes, or just lay on the bank with our feet dangling in the water, fingers entwined, foreheads barely touching. Never in winter, though. The water was always much too cold in winter.
The tree looked beautiful in the snow.
We talked about anything and everything under that tree. The people we knew. Our time at Hogwarts. What we were going to do with our future. Never, though, about us as a couple. I didn't even know he loved me until he got down on one knee and presented me with the most beautiful silver ring. I didn't remember saying yes, but I must have, because he slid the ring onto my finger with shaking hands, and then he smiled at me, and I had never seen him so nervous and relieved at the same time.
I think that was when I knew I loved him.
"Today we mourn the loss of Natalia Sophie Hampton."
That had been about one week ago. I wasn't even sure why I was invited to the funeral of a young woman a few years older than me, as I'd only met her once. The experience hadn't even been pleasant, but her parents seemed oblivious and must have wanted as big a turn out as possible. Cedric spoke of Natalia Hampton on only a few occasions. She was a Muggle girl, who'd caused Cedric nothing but pain for most of his childhood. Having grown up around Muggles as well as children from Wizarding families – Mr and Mrs Diggory thought this a beneficial experience for their son, for some reason – Cedric's accidental magic wasn't likely to go unnoticed. Natalia Hampton had been the instigator of all the taunts and rumours, the group leader whenever they decided to gang up on him. At first, they were relatively harmless, schoolchildren acts – calling him names, leaving him out of games, purposefully ignoring him. Not very serious, but things a five-year-old takes firmly to heart. As they got older, however, things turned physical and more violent. Stones would be thrown at him, the stones increasing in size as the amount of people on Natalia's side did. He'd be pushed over in the street and targeted in rough games, even when he wasn't playing and trying to keep out of the way. And the more of this there was, the more accidental magic Cedric caused. He couldn't help it: Natalia and her gang were riling him up, making him snap. Anybody would, but it turned into a never-ending cycle before he knew it.
Until Cedric was eleven, a few days away from going to Hogwarts for the first time, and Natalia trapped him alone. She took out a small, sharp stone from her pocket and, pressed into him so he couldn't escape, began to cut his arm. She carved out the word 'freak' in his flesh. An everlasting memory, a wound that would be a reminder to Cedric every time he glanced at his arm.
And she laughed and walked away.
Over the years, his scars faded and now the five hideous letters were barely noticeable. Barely noticeable, but not invisible. I didn't know how on earth he'd managed not to let his parents or anyone else find out about the incident. Maybe someone had found out. If they had, then they were a very good friend.
Was it really a coincidence that Natalia died the day before Cedric took his own life?
"Beloved daughter, sister and friend."
Killer.
Because that's what you were, Natalia Hampton. A killer. A selfish bully who thought of no one, much less the victims you hurt beyond repair with your words and your cruel acts. Were you scared of him? Did you act out of terror? You didn't need to be scared of him. Cedric was nothing but good, honest and true, all the way until the end. And you killed him. You made him take his own life.
But not before he took yours first.
I found him at our tree, a necklace of rope around his neck. He looked so peaceful in death. So perfect. Nobody understood why he hadn't used an Unforgiveable Curse. It would have been quicker – painless. Then again, nobody understood why he'd killed himself either.
After his funeral, I went back to the elfish willow tree without telling anybody. The rope hung in exactly the same place as where we'd stood when he proposed to me. I stroked it gently, marvelling in the power of such a humble item. Then I kissed it, thanking it for saving his life, and removed the piece of paper from the tree.
Years ago, we found a small hole in the tree trunk, perfect for hiding things in. We'd since taken to writing letters to each other when we couldn't meet or things couldn't be overheard, hiding the letters in the hole and wedging a rock in after them to block the entrance. My fingers curling around the paper, with the rock on the ground at my feet, I feasted hungrily on the last message he ever left me.
I regret everything except you.
And like we'd planned everything from the start, like the solution was written in stone, I knew exactly what to do. Suddenly, it seemed as if I'd waited my whole life for this moment.
Leaving the letter discarded on the grass, I picked up the rock that had hidden it and smiled. Carve a smile out of flesh. Where had I heard that before? Perhaps it was in one of Cedric's poems he used to write…
Carve a smile out of flesh.
It was so obvious what I needed to do. Hadn't he wanted me to do this from the start? The hint in the poem… the letter… some would say it wasn't much to go, but I knew better than them. Cedric wanted me to join him. And join him I would.
The rock was sharp enough. I knew what the procedure took. I knew it wouldn't be quick, nor would it be painless… but I wasn't afraid. It hadn't been quick or painless for Cedric either. He was waiting for me, now.
One long cut across the neck. It was harder than I expected. I pushed down a scream as the pain tore through me, shaking fingers gripping the rock for dear life as I dragged it to and fro across the fragile skin, ripping a jagged line through it. Or perhaps 'for dear death' was more suitable. I wouldn't allow myself to cry out in pain. This wasn't an act of pain; it was an act of love. Why was it taking so long? The cut needed to be deeper, deeper. Tears streamed down my face as I focused on nothing but the blurring words on the letter, desperate to feel warm blood beneath my fingertips… desperate to the see the poisonous red stain my skin.
And finally, it was over. After what seemed like hours, I knew I'd done enough when blood began to bubble up through my lips, which tugged into a smile when I realised there was no going back now. How long would it take from now? Minutes? Cedric, stay with me while I die, I thought. We'll be together soon.
I lay crumpled on the ground, the rock in one hand and the end of the rope in the other, feeling the life seep out of the wound in my neck. A bloody smile carved out of flesh. I would die with a smile on me somehow, even if they found me with my lips pursed together.
The world started to spin and turn black, and my lips desperately found the letter one last time. I kissed it tenderly, blood spilling over onto the thin paper.
"Didn't I tell you, Cedric?" I whispered, my words making no sound but knowing that he could hear me. "Didn't I tell you we'd live together for eternity?"
Before my eyes flickered shut for the last time, I saved one last glimpse of the elfish willow tree in my memory. The willow tree we would forever be immortal under.
"Today we mourn the loss of Hannah Penelope Abbott."
How wrong we were to think immortality meant never dying.
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