I Do Not Sleep
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A/N: This is Cho's story, her feeling after Cedric's death
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All belongs to JKR and her publishers.
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Cho idly arranged the flowers at the grave. It was Christmas, and despite the cold and snow, she had come here. She needed to be with him today. It had been 6 months yet for her, it felt like 6 centuries.
Cho was glad that the Diggories had chose to bury Cedric at Hogwarts. It meant she would always be near by, always passing him whenever she went out in the grounds. He laid by the Whomping Willow, guarded by the Willow's savage branches.
Cho read description on the tombstone again. She had read it so many times before, but she read it again.
Here lays
Cedric Amos Diggory
Cherished son on Amos and April
Loyal friend
"Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God" Mathew 5:9
"When at dawn the morning sun shines, down on Earth and Hope I give you."
I am here. I promise. Love, Cho
She had engraved the last two lines herself. She did the charms and everything. Peacemaker. That was what Cedric was. He was always the one He never hurt anyone in his life. He would gladly put a his life in place of a friend's, even an enemy. But Cedric had no enemy, he was loved by his fellow students, he was the honor that Hufflepuff house cherished.
Yet someone so cruel had taken him away from her. Why him? Of all people, why him? Professor Dumbledore had told her the whole story, he thought she deserved to know. It had plagued her with nightmares for a month. He would have lived, if he had just leave the cup to Harry Potter. He needn't take it with him. But Harry, with his Gryffindor nobility, had insisted.
Yet she couldn't blame Harry. She just couldn't. She knew, he had been through a lot. He had watched Cedric die after all. And she owed him for bringing Cedric's body back.
The sound of laughter turned her head towards the castle. Everyone was celebrating. Everyone was happy. Except her. In the matter of one hour, all the happiness, the light, the color, the meaning in her life had been wiped clean. She didn't know why she lived and he was dead. It didn't seem to have a point. She didn't understand how she had carried on. But she had.
The sound of someone approaching made her turn again. Who would bother her now? Why couldn't they leave her alone? Why did every just feel their place to try to comfort her when she didn't want them to?
It was Harry.
He did not speak, he just looked at her. He offered her no words of comfort, he just looked at her. Then he spoke,
"I read something in a book once," he hesitate, but when she didn't say anything, he went on, "my friend Hermione should be proud of me, she spends all her time in the library." He gave a dry laugh at this that does not reach his eyes.
Cho nodded.
"I've met her. Very clever. She should have been in Ravenclaw."
Harry nodded. He looked at her for permission, and when she nodded, he read,
"Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there.
I do not sleep."
Tears immediately sprung to his dark lashes, but he went on. Cho could feel tears prickling at the edge of her own eyes.
"I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle autumn's rain."
By now, the tears were flowing freely down his cheeks, unchecked. Cho could feel tears down her own face, but made no move to wipe them away.
"When you awaken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft star that shines at night."
There was a catch in Harry's voice as he stopped for a minute. Then, when he had found his vice again, he finished, reaching over to squeeze her hand,
"Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there.
I did not die."
Then, as sudden as he had came, Harry went. He headed back to the castle, not without squeezing her hand one last time, and gave her the most sincere look she had received.
But Harry's appearance had comforted her, much more than any words had. The poem made her realize, he would always be here for her, she would always have his love. Always. And he would always have hers. Forever.
Feeling much more relieved, Cho followed Harry's wake back up the stone steps into the Great Hall.
FIN
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A/N: Plase, reviews...