Cedric's eyes slowly opened and he realsied he was in the afterlife. He was alone in the afterlife at that. He slowly sat up and realised he felt no pain. Perhaps this was some sort of heaven? After all the last thing he remembered feeling on Earth was blinding pain. His thoughts were broken when he heard a voice, though.
"You did the right thing, Cedric, dying for Harry like that," it said. Cedric looked up wide eyed and rather frightened. The voice simply laughed, "Oh, don't be afraid Cedric," she said. "You can meet all sorts of friendly people here, many of whom died for Harry," she spoke again.
"Who are you? And where is this place?" he asked as he slowly stood up and looked at the woman standing in front of him. He didn't remember ever seeing her before so the fact that she knew his name was rather alarming to him.
"I'm Dorcas Meadows. You don't know me but I was watching you in the TriWizard Tournament. I died ten years ago," she smiled, "But I died fighting for the Order of the Phoenix, my one passion in life. I don't know if your father has ever shown you any old photographs but I was probably in them somewhere," she smiled again. "A good man, your father," she added as she had known him from her time with the Order. "And as for this place? This is where everyone who doesn't opt to be a ghost goes to. Most of the Dark Lord's followers are kept separately to those from the Order, and from muggles of course. The three categories simply don't tend to mix well. I don't really think it has a name."
Cedric listened in awe, having expected nothing more to happen, "This is so cool!" he exclaimed, looking down from where they were and seeing his friends and family. "Can I go and talk to them?" he asked eagerly.
"No, Cedric. It's the one thing that's forbidden. Of course it does happen. The Potters have gone to see Harry on countless occassions. It's not advisable though. You never know if you'll be allowed in or if you'll be forced to remain as a ghost for all of eternity," she explained and Cedric nodded slowly. That was going to be hard. It was almost as if Dorcas understood immediately though, "They'll be here with you sooner than you expect. 50 or so years doesnt seem as long when you're here," she smiled reassuringly at him and he nodded. He supposed it would pass quickly.
"Thanks, Dorcas," he said to her with a small smile. "I do really appreciate the welcome and the explanation. Is there anywhere I have to go or can I do what I like?" he asked.
"You may do anything here. But once it's done, the excitement goes away so I wouldnt hurry to do everything," she smiled, "How about we just watch some of your friends and family for a while?" she suggested as she knew how hard it could be to get used to living without them. He nodded in agreement and they sat down on a bench which seemed to have been handily positioned there.
Cedric had already decided that perhaps death wasn't so bad. He had made a new friend already, after all. Sure, it would take some getting used to but it couldn't be all bad if they would all be joining him eventually, could it?