The Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges Forum
Challenge: Tell Me Their Life - HollyWrites
Character: Cedric Diggory
Word Count: 5,075
I hope you all enjoy it. This is my longest one-shot ever, and I'm kind of proud of it. Please whether you like it or not, review to tell me what you thing, please trying to keep flmaing to a minimum. Please enjoy the story, and hopefully how I interpreted Cedric
~:~
The town of Ottery St. Catchpole was very quaint and humble. You had the main muggle village, then beyond it were the Lovegood, Fawcett, Weasley and Diggory residences. But of course the muggles didn't know that. You see, the wizarding homes were not only well concealed by the hills surrounding them, but were also spelled so that only wizards or people who were invited would be able to find them. The Diggorys lived toward the West from the others, closest to the village.
Their home was a good size, made of mix matched colored brick. The front door was made of cherry wood, and the lawn surrounding was distinctly different from the grass surrounding it, which spread for miles. The lawn surrounding the Diggory home was a perfect shade of healthy green, the garden which was tended to by Florence Diggory had been featured in Witch Weekly on various occasions. The house itself was quite humble, neither excessively decorated or under furnished. You see, the Diggory's were quite comfortable, as both Amos and Florence had come from pureblood families.
The house was cheery, the walls all light colors (pastels, bright yellows, etc...) the furniture either wood or plush. It had that good homey feel to it, which Amos and Florence always wanted as they wanted it to be the perfect family environment. They dreamed of having a child, they already had the nursery done, and they waited and waited for Florence to finally become pregnant.
Then, in August of 1976, Amos came home to find Florence collapsed on the floor. He rushed her to St. Mungo's and was relieved Florence was in pristine health, and so was their one week year old baby. The two soon-to-be-parents were glowing with excitement, happiness and pride. It was weeks later that they discovered the child was going to be a boy, and they were to expect him early April. They immediately began to put the final touches on their son's room. Picking a name for the child was quite easy, the child was going to be named for his maternal grandpa who died 4 years prior, the middle name would be chosen the moment he was born. They believed the middle name would be reflected off what they saw in what would soon be their pride and joy.
Nine months passed and on April 12th, 1977, Florence's water broke. She was once again rushed to St. Mungo's and after hours of agonizing pain, Cedric Alistair Diggory was born on April 13th at 18 minutes after 2 in the morning.
The child was well loved, and spoiled growing up. He was always learning about magic, his family and the history of his people. He loved his toy broom, and by the age of seven he was very smart, polite, kind, and knew he wanted to be a seeker when he got to Hogwarts.
Though Cedric was smart, he never really knew much about muggles and never met one. That is, until the spring of 1985, only a few weeks before his birthday.
~:~
Ced had been out playing far out into the meadow, when he saw her. She was very small with legs so thin they look as if they could snap easily, long, straight brown hair, and eyes that looked like melted chocolate. She looked at him, moments after he began to gaze at her, and slowly waved to him. He awkwardly waved back, before running to her.
"Hi."
"Hi," her voice was soft, as fragile sounding as her appearance.
"I'm Cedric," he held out his hand to her. She looked at him, hesitating before reaching out her own hand to grasp his."
"Mellie." She smiled shyly. "Do you live near here? I've never seen you down in the village."
"I live out here," Cedric let go of her hand to throw them outwards, gesturing to all of the meadow.
"In the hills of Devon?" She giggled.
"Yah, I'm a mountain troll," he made a 'scary' face, which sent Mellie into louder giggles. "Want to play?" He asked her.
"Sure," she smiled, then abruptly reached out smacking him on the arm, "Tag! You're it!" She took off, running at a speed that didn't seem to be possible, looking at her almost-sickly thin body. Cedric stood in the same spot. Why was she running? About three minutes later, she was back by his side.
"You're supposed to run. Don't you want to play?"
"I don't know this game," Cedric muttered feeling stupid. Muggles were so odd.
"You are the oddest boy I ever met. Who doesn't know how to play tag?" She stated. When she got no response she sighed dramatically. "Well I tagged you, so your 'it', you have to chase me until you tag me back and then I have to try to tag you back. Then we keep going on and on."
"So it's basically running."
"Yah." Before she could react, he reached out, tapping her shoulder.
"Tag!" He took off.
"Hey! No fair!" She took off after him.
They played for hours upon hours. Finally both out of breath, they sat under a large oak tree leaning against its wide trunk. They were both silent other than their gasping for breath. Once both had calmed down they looked to each other and began to laugh in unison.
"Mellie? Mellie!" A woman's voice yelled. It sounded frantic. Mellie jumped up.
"Oh," she groaned.
"Who is that? Who's calling you? What's wrong?" Cedric asked.
"My mum, she gets really nervous. I'm not supposed to go out far for a real long time. She protective of me."
"Mellie? Where are you?" Finally the woman's figure appeared. She was tall and thin with dark, thick messy hair. She spotted them. "Melanie!" She began to walk over.
"I should go," Mellie looked apologetic. "I had a lot of fun."
"Me too," Cedric said. "I'm glad I met you your a fun friend."
"Friend?" Mellie looked surprised. Cedric smiled reassuringly. Mellie smiled back, then to the surprise of Cedric she wrapped her arms around him. "Want to play again tomorrow?"
"Sure."
"See you Ced," Mellie smiled before walking towards her mother.
"Mellie! I was worried sick!"
"Sorry mummy! I was playing with my friend! Bye Ced!" She yelled waving towards to oak tree.
Cedric was already gone.
~:~
Two days later Ced was waiting under the large oak tree. Finally he saw Mellie in the distance.
"Where were you yesterday? You never came."
"Sorry Ced, I was getting a treatment."
"Treatment?"
"I'm sick, and to get better I have to go to the hospital a lot."
"Is it contagious?"
"No. But it won't go away," she said softly.
"I'm sorry," Cedric said trying to comfort her, very confused about what she meant. He brushed it off. "C'mon! Let's play!"
~:~
For the next two years, Cedric and Mellie played together all the time, or at least when Mellie was not at school or getting one of her treatments. The two were best friends, inseparable. Both grew, Cedric becoming more and more good looking, Mellie becoming more attractive as well, also becoming more outgoing.
When they were 10, they were both met with a great surprise. Ced had been relaxing under the great oak tree while Mellie picked flowers. She threw them up into the air, then screamed. Cedric's eyes opened immediately, the flowers were suspended in the air.
"What's going on?" She asked with fright. She tapped a flower, which still stayed frozen in air. Cedric laughed, Mellie turned to face him, the flowers falling into the grass. "This isn't funny!"
"No, but it's a huge relief! Now I can tell you everything!" Cedric said smiling.
"Tell me what?"
"You're a witch!" He laughed. Mellie's face turned from perplexed to cross.
"What an awful thing to say!" She huffed crossing her arms.
"No! It's okay! Because I'm a wizard!"
"Right," she scoffed.
"It's the truth! And I can prove it!" Cedric focused on a purple flower stuck on one of the oak tree's branches. It slowly floated in a spiral down into Mellie's hand. There wasn't a single gust of wind. Mellie stared in shock.
"H-how?"
"We're magic!"
Cedric told her everything.
~:~
"Oh! We should be getting our letters anytime now!" Cedric said smiling. Mellie didn't smile back. Ced frowned, Mellie had been looking rather ill in the past few weeks, but still managed to smile, but today there was no sign of happiness on her face. "You okay?"
"I feel like that's all you ever ask me anymore," Mellie said quietly.
"I'm sorry..." Cedric apologized.
"It's okay..."
"Maybe I wouldn't be so worried all the time if I actually knew what was wrong with you." Mellie glared.
"I'm fine Ced." Cedric let out a bark.
"Mel, in the three years I've know you you've never been okay. You're always in and out of the muggle hospital, what's wrong?"
"You wouldn't understand Ced."
"Just tell me," he begged. Silence made the early spring air become cold. Finally she answered.
"I have this thing called acute promyelocytic leukemia. It's a kind of cancer." Cedric looked confused. "It's a really bad disease that is in my blood and bone marrow. I'm always in the hospital for transplants, which is when I'm given organs when mine begin to fail, or I need blood or marrow."
"Why doesn't the hospital just cure you?"
"As of right now, there is no known cure. And even if there was, I don't think my parents would be able to afford it." She whispered. Her eyes filled with tears. "I'm dying slowly Ced. I don't know when, but it will happen. I don't know how long I have." Tears streamed down her face, Cedric was in shock.
"What? No," he shook his head. "You won't, you can't."
"There's no definite cure! I don't how long I have, I may have decades, or just a few years, but it's the truth."
"They'll find a cure," Cedric insisted. "They have to, because you gotta come to Hogwarts with me next year and-"
"My parents would never allow me," Mellie shook her head, her tears still not reaching her voice. "Their to protective, and my treatments..."
"Do you want to go?"
"What?"
"Do you want to go to Hogwarts?"
"Y-yes of course, but-"
"Dumbledore comes to muggleborn's homes to explain magic to their parents. He'll persuade them. I'll ask my parents to come to! Mellie you have to go. Especially now. You need this experience!" Cedric said, trying be confident in his own words. Mellie just shook her head and cried. Cedric pulled her in, hugging her, him trying to force back the tear that began to leak out of his own eyes. Then sun may have been out, with the sky being cloudless, but this was the gloomiest day ever.
~:~
"No! Absolutely not!" Moira Greere shouted. "Are you insane?" The Greere's living room was packed tight, with Moira and her husband Corey standing, Mellie on the couch, her knees tucked under her chin. The Diggory's sat in straight backed chairs looking incredibly uncomfortable. Albus Dumbledore sat in the deep red arm chair, looking calm at Moira.
In the last five hours everything about magic had been explained to the Greeres, what the world was like, and how their daughter Melanie was indeed a witch. It took a while, but Moira and Corey now comprehended that magic existed, and Dumbledore understood Mellie's condition. What Moira and Corey failed to understand was that Mellie had been offered a seat at a school for magic. In Scotland.
"She can't go! What if she gets sick? We can't just parade back and forth between countries. She needs to be close to a hospital that can help her! I need to be with her!"
"Mrs. Greere, I understand your concern, but this is an amazing opportunity for young Melanie."
"No! An amazing opportunity for Melanie is getting her treatments so that she can continue living!"
"Mom, please," Mellie begged. She closed her eyes willing for this all to be over.
"Mr. and Mrs. Greere, I assure you, with a case like Melanie, if she ever needed to be taken out of school for a medical problem, it would never be an issue. Just contact us in advance, and I'll bring her here to you personally."
"At anytime? Wouldn't she be behind everyone else? How will she catch up?"
"The teachers at Hogwarts are incredibly understanding, they will work with her to keep her up to speed. I also have faith in your daughter, she seems to be a bright girl, who will study hard. And I have no doubt young Mr. Diggory will help her as well." Dumbledore's voice remained calm. Moira's face was beet red. It was quite scary.
"Moira," Corey put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Thank you erm, professor for coming, my wife and I will consider your offer. If you give us an address, we will contact you with our response?"
"In the wizarding world we use the owl post, I'm afraid we don't use postal men."
"Bring the letter to us, we will make sure that it gets to Dumbledore," Florence spoke out, Cedric gave his mum a grateful half-smile. Corey nodded to her.
"We'll be in touch," Corey replied. Dumbledore and the Diggorys bade goodbye, heading out the door. Mellie followed them.
"I'm never going to get to go," she whispered miserably.
"You will," Cedric promised, squeezing her hand.
"I hope."
~:~
"My god! It's so beautiful!" Mellie smiled her face pressed to the glass. Ced laughed.
"It's all just hill, same like Ottery St. Catchpole."
"Still..." Mellie smiled. "I can't believe this! We're almost at Hogwarts!"
"What houses do you lot want to be in?" Amelia a girl who sat with them asked.
"That's easy, we're going to-"
"-be in Gryffindor." Two redheaded twins, Fred and George stated. They both lived in Ottery as well.
"How do you know?" Cedric questioned them.
"Our whole family's-"
"-been in there."
"What about you two?" Amelia asked.
"I suppose Hufflepuff," Cedric said. "My whole family's been in there, and Hufflepuff's don't get the recognition they deserve."
"What about you Mellie?"
She didn't want to say that she wanted to be in Hufflepuff because that's where Cedric would most likely end up so she just shrugged. "I dunno, I know I won't be in Slytherin because I'm muggleborn, and Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff all seem all right to me, so whichever. What about you Amelia?"
"I think Ravenclaw, I like to learn." All of a sudden the door of their compartment slid open. There stood a boy with dark hair, he was wearing robes with blue and brown lining, an emblem stitched on the chest had a raven on it. He had badge next to the emblem, it read 'Prefect'.
"Hey you lot, we should be at Hogwarts in 20 minutes, I suggest you go change into your robes." Mellie turned to Cedric.
"We're almost there!" She squealed.
~:~
"Diggory, Cedric" McGonagal's voice said impassively. Mellie squeezed his hand, smiling encouragingly. He walked up the 3 steps, and sat on the stool. The old hat was placed on your head.
"You seem to be strong of heart and mind. Very loyal and protective. A hard worker. A thinker. You would do well in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff..." Cedric was unsure if the hat was talking inside his head, or if it was out loud. Honestly, he hoped the hat had magic that allowed it to speak inside his head, he'd rather not have the whole school hear the hat's debate about what house he should be sorted into. "You have patience, a surprising attribute especially in an adolescent. Perhaps you are not so much of a Gryffindor, they are to pushy and blunt. So Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. Decisions, decisions... What is the stronger quality in you? Your brain or your heart?"
"Hufflepuff..." Cedric whispered in a tone so soft that it would be more likely to hear a butterfly's wings then his own voice.
"Hufflepuff? Are you quite sure? You do have a mind that would be well suited for a Ravenclaw... I will choose what I know is best. I suppose that that would be HUFFLEPUFF!" Cedric got off the chair, his heart pounding from anxiety. He slowly broke out into a huge grin as the Hufflepuff table cheered and others across the hall clapped politely. He took his place at the long table that the Hufflepuff's sat at, multiple people people shook his hand or clapped him on his back. It felt like hours until Mellie was called up.
"Greere, Melanie." She seemed to shake a bit in fear as she made her way to the stool and the Sorting Hat was placed upon her head. Cedric couldn't help but wonder if looked the same as he was called up. Less than a minute later, the Hat's voice called out:
"HUFFLEPUFF!" She all but ran to the table, squeezing between Cedric and the girl who had been sitting next to Cedric, her face pale. She gave him a weak smile.
"You okay?"
"Bit of an anxiety attack back there. Better now, I think," she forced a bigger smile.
~:~
Three years passed and Cedric was doing beautifully just as the Sorting Hat predicted. He did well in almost every class. But really, who need Divination to be successful in life? He was not only smart and like by his teachers, but also by many of his peers. He was a bit of a golden boy.
Mellie was getting by for the most part as well. She was in and out of school every few months because of her... predicament. That's what they called it. A predicament. It was obvious that Mellie found it not only a barrier but an embarrassment. Like it was the annoying sibling that always made a fool of you. Cedric had come to understand what the disease meant for Mellie, but he also felt she shouldn't let it hold her back. This was their time, and seeing as her life was apparently ticking away she should stop worrying about how much a bother it was and try to embrace life, live it while she still had a chance to enjoy it.
It was obvious how much she cared about people not knowing what wrong with her, and the teachers, Dumbledore and Cedric did all they could to keep it from leaking out. It pained her to know that people could find out about her predicament.
But the thing was, it pained Cedric more to see his best friend dwell on it so much.
But other than the predicament, Cedric and Mellie loved school, working hard to stay on their a-game.
It was halfway through their fifth year when things took a turn for a worse.
~:~
"And Diggory has caught the snitch! At 520 points to 270 Hufflepuff wins!" The Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Gryffindors cheered while the Slytherins for the most part sulked or boo'd. The two teams descended towards the ground, dismounting when they were only inches above the sandy pitch. He let his team mates carry him off towards the locker rooms still pumped from their continuous winning streak.
After showering and changing, they all headed back towards the school, where a party in honor of their victory would take place in their common room.
"Ced! You did great!" Mellie fell into step next to him, she was beaming at him, he smiled back.
"Thanks Mel."
"Yes Ceddikins you were wonderful." Cedric knew who it was before he even turned around.
"Thanks Flint, didn't know you were a fan," he shot back.
"Ced, not worth it," Mellie murmured.
"Yes Ceddikins, listen to your mudblood girlfriend and don't play with the big boys," sneered Marcus Flint.
"What did you call her?" He growled. Cedric may have been considered the 'golden boy'. It only proved he was worthy of the title because of one of his attributes:
He hated racists of any sort.
Luckily, before he could do anything that deserved a (or multiple) detention(s), Professor Sprout walked by.
"Don't start anything boys. Diggory, Greere, don't you both have a party to attend? Same goes for you Flint, go off to your friends. There is no fighting of any kind to be done in this school." The boys stared each other down, before walking off in separate directions.
Entering the common room, people cheered. The room was filled with mainly Hufflepuffs, but some Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were scattered as well.
"Congrats Cedric," Cho Chang smiled at him. Cedric smiled back, his chest feeling odd.
"Ced, she likes you!" Mellie whispered in his ear.
"Mellie don't be stupid," he laughed before actually getting a good look at her. "Mel, your skin! It's so pale, are you okay? Maybe you should go to Dumbledore-"
"Thanks mom for your concern, I'm fine," She rolled her eyes.
"You sure?"
"Brilliant, just peachy."
About 20 minutes later there was a scream. Cedric had been talking to a few of his quidditch mates the that horrible scream erupted. The people in the cramped common room had formed a wide circle. By the time Cedric pushed through Professor Sprout was already next to Mellie's unconscious body.
~:~
A month later Mellie was back in school. She was a lot paler all the time, and left the school a lot for frequently for hospital visits. People may had not known that she had cancer, but the rumors that formed were much worse. But things got even worse as the months passed.
"Ced, go talk to her." It was a Hogsmead trip, and the two were sitting in the Three Broomsticks drinking cool beverages. Every once in a while Cedric would glance over to where Cho Chang sat with her friends.
"I don't like her," Cedric insisted. The two had been having this constant argument for the past two months.
"Ceddie, if you like her. Go for it; before someone else asks her out," Mellie insisted.
"I'm good," Cedric argued, polishing off the last of his drink. "Let's go." Mellie snorted and took a final gulp of the drink. She began to cough. "You okay?" She nodded. They left the tavern, beginning to walk back up the path towards Hogwarts. Mellie continued to cough. "Mel, are you okay?"
"I-I'm fi-fine," she struggled to talk as the cough got worse and worse. She coughed into her hands, and when her head moved away from her hands, he saw they were coated in blood.
"Mellie!" He began freak out. "What do I do? How do I help?" She kept spitting out more blood.
"Hos-pih-talhhhh," she choked out, "Dum-bul-door," she fell onto her knees, more blood coming from her mouth. She then dropped to her stomach.
Her body convulsed.
~:~
Cedric didn't see her for the rest of the school year. He had to wait four long months, his mind full of worry and dread. His time was split between studying half-assed for his OWLS, and worrying over his sickly friend.
The end of the year didn't come soon enough.
He returned home to his parents and Mellie's.
That was his first visit of the many he made to the muggle hospital where Mellie was.
He was shocked, confused and a bit frightened by all the needles and wires connected to her. He was more unnerved by the strange metal boxes that emitted odd noises and flashed with lines and bars as well as the unidentified fluids in plastic bags that were being but into Mellie.
Another thing shocked him. In four months, Mellie had lost all her hair. That long, wavy brown, down-to-her arse hair was all gone. So were her eyebrows.
He didn't know how to react.
The Greeres half explained, half sobbed out what was going on with Mellie. Her time was running short.
He spent every waking moment with her. His summer was clockwork.
Wake up, pick at breakfast, meet the Greeres at their home, drive to the hospital, stay with Mellie, go home, barely eat dinner, sleep.
A lot of the time Mellie was asleep. She was very weak.
Mellie was his only concern, Mellie was his life. She always had been, but now it was severe. She could be taken from him at any moment. He didn't know what to do. He felt so helpless.
~:~
Cedric was leaving for Hogwarts soon, Mellie was staying at the hospital. He spent his final day before leaving.
"Ceddie,"
"Yeah?"
"Go on a date with Cho this year,"
"Yeah, you'll plan my outfit for me."
"I'm serious. You guys like each other, go for it. You deserve to be happy." Cedric disagreed. He didn't deserve to be happy while she was rotting away. He couldn't be happy without her. "Promise me you'll try. You need to be happy."
"I can't be happy without you Mel." He murmured, he pressed his lips on hers. It felt like forever, leaning over her body which was situated in a wheelchair. She pushed him away.
"No Cedric," tears filled her eyes. "You can, we can't. Please go out with her, promise me!"
"We'll talk about this at Hogwarts, you'll be back in no time, the doctor's will help you, and you'll get better." Cedric said. Mellie shook her head. Both were crying.
"Ced, you gotta get home, you need to be ready early tomorrow."
"I'll write to you, you'll be back in no time."
"Bye Cedric."
"I love you."
~:~
Cedric felt like he was dead on the train. His head banged against the glass window he leant on has the train shook down the tracks. He didn't hear the people in the compartment. He couldn't hear anything.
He couldn't feel anything.
~:~
Mellie died September 13th.
~:~
Cedric worked in class. He studied. He even played quidditch. But he didn't talk, or at least he did rarely.
People understood. Dumbledore had given a speech about Mellie the day after her death, explaining her illness, how she was a successful student, she would've had a bright future a head of her.
But she never got a chance for it to happen.
People tried to comfort Cedric, he never pushed them away, but her never confided in them either.
He was numb.
When Summer came, he had discovered the Greeres had moved away. To America. They had left him something.
Mellie's locket. It was bronze, with blue lining. A picture of a two of them from when they were twelve was in it. Mellie had never let him see the picture, he wished he never had looked.
Never the less, he never took it off.
~:~
Throughout that miserable summer his parents tried to cheer him up. His pain was killing them, like how Mellie's had killed him.
He decided to put his best foot forward. He put on a fake smile, became more cheerful to please his family.
He went to the Quidditch Cup with his Dad, the Weasleys and Harry Potter. The way he acted, no one who didn't know him would probably recognize his pain.
Then school came, his friends persuaded him to put his name into the cup once the Tri Wizard Tournament was revealed. He knew the risk, he embraced it. Maybe if he died he would be able to see Mellie again.
He was desperate to be with Mellie, and he though about all those times she tried to persuade him to go out with Cho Chang.
And so he did.
He kissed her, they went out. They did it. He even took her to the Yule Ball.
He tried to pretend she was Mellie.
She didn't come close.
~:~
Then the final task of the tournament came. His parents hugged him, whispered words of encouragement.
He entered the arena.
He beat down every obstacle. The obstacles were Mellie's disease. He had to terminate them. And then he go to the cup. That bright silver chalice that glowed with blue light. He and Potter both grabbed it. He felt like his belly was being pulled inward. Everything was spinning. He was so dizzy. He landed in the dirt. Foreign voices chattered quietly, Harry called out to him. Cedric tried to get a bearing of his surroundings.
He was in a cemetery.
"Kill the spare!"
Bright green light came towards him in what felt like slow motion. It hit him square in the chest.
~:~
Everything was so... bright.
He looked at his hands, they were translucent, he could see through them. He was confused. But then he realized.
He ran through the stark nothingness.
"MELLIE! MELLIE!" He roared out.
"Cedric," the voice was so soft and light, it lacked imperfection. He searched for the voice's owner.
In the distance he saw a figure. He ran to it.
"MELLIE!"
The woman who stood before him looked about 17, not 15 like when she died. Her hair was long and brown once again, it seemed to flow like hair that was submerged in a pool. Her eyes were chocolate brown and they were lidded heavily with long dark lashes. She was tall and curvy. Perfect. As he always saw her. Her locket was around her neck.
"Mellie..."
They kissed.
And kissed.
And kissed.
They didn't stop, it seemed to go on forever.
But that didn't really matter.
They had all of eternity.