Forum Wide Competition: Week 6
Character: Cho Chang (Ravenclaw)
Missing Moment: Cho's reaction to Cedric's death.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and it's characters all belong to the wonderful J.K Rowling, who surprisingly isn't me. So I guess I don't own them.
Author Note: This is by far the hardest week for me because First POV and I don't get along. Despite that I'm pleased with the way this turned out and I know I tried my best. So I'm happy. Thank you to Dannii (another-picture) for beta-ing this :) Love you xo
Sometimes Heroes Don't Survive
-()-
Harry collapses face down into the mud, Cedric falling to the ground beside him. The TriWizard cup lays abandoned in the dirt. The crowd are screaming themselves hoarse, and I can barely hear myself cheer above the cacophony of whistles and trumpets blaring at the prospect of a Hogwarts victory. It no longer matters whether it is for Hufflepuff or for Gryffindor; it all equates to the same thing. Hogwarts have won.
Peering through the gaps created by the crowd, Harry starts to move but everyone's attention is drawn away from him to Cedric, who is still lying on the ground unmoving. Harry collapses back onto the ground closer to Cedric than before and I can see him shaking violently from here. An eerie silence descends on the previously jubilant supporters and the sound of Harry's crying is carried into the night. I just feel cold all over. My hands are shaking and I can feel my heart hammering nervously in my chest. I let out a shaky breath, I don't realise I'm holding.
Heads turn as Dumbledore leans over Cedric. I watch him slowly shake his head. As if in slow motion Cedric's father breaks away from the crowd and a thousand pairs of eyes are witness to him sobbing over his son's lifeless form. All around me people are starting to cry as the realisation dawns that Cedric is dead. Hot tears spill from my eyes and suddenly I can't breathe; I feel like I'm suffocating. Blindly I reach up and tear the yellow and black Hufflepuff scarf from around my neck; Cedric's Hufflepuff scarf which he gave to me just before the final task.
The world seems as though it's spinning wildly and my vision is blurred, the bright colours blend into one and everything goes momentarily black. Trying to breathe through my tears, I'm dimly aware of a hand squeezing my shoulder tightly. I turn blindly, coming face to face with Marietta. She never held a particularly high opinion of Cedric, but then she didn't think much of any of the champions. "I'm so sorry Cho," she says in my ear, concern etched on her face. Her words sound muffled even though she is beside me, and I just stand there numb. Marietta has disappeared into the crowd before I realise I never replied.
Harry is taken away by Professor Moody and Dumbledore has a tense conversation with Professor Sprout, before disappearing after them. The Hufflepuff house flag shoots out of her wand and Cedric's Head of House drapes it over his body. I notice that Marietta is back and she's brought Madam Pomfrey with her. I vaguely hear her instructing Marietta to take me up to the Ravenclaw dormitory and my head feels a million miles away from my body as I stumble on the rickety stairs leading down from the stands. My bones feel condensed to jelly, and I can feel my knees starting to buckle under the weight of my body, when we pass by where Cedric's body is. Knowing that he is under there makes my heart writhe agonisingly in my chest, every sense is screaming.
The air is stifling, choking me and I can't bear to be around the crowd. I break into a run and can hear people shouting after me. But I can't stop. I need to be alone. The castle is deserted and I slow down, struggling to breathe with a tightness encompassing my ribs. It eases momentarily and then I feel nothing.
-()-
I wake up the next morning to the sunlight filtering in through the blue drapes of my four-poster. For a brief blissful few seconds it is as if nothing has changed and I smile. Then comes the memories. Marietta finding me slumped in the corridor and taking me to bed and, Cedric.
His face swims to the forefront of my mind, and I feel sick as my eyes automatically train themselves on the moving photo on my bedside cabinet. Laughter lines are present on both of our faces as Cedric whirls me across the dance floor at the ball. Struggling to sit up I reach for the potion beside me; it burns my throat as it goes down but today I barely notice. Sinking back down into the pillows, I surrender myself to a dreamless sleep.
-()-
Dumbledore makes a speech at the leaving feast, just as he does every year. It's the first day I've been out of my dormitory since the day of the task. But today it is all different. The bright colours of the winning house are gone, replaced by sombre black drapes. The speech usually promotes inter-house unity but today it is in memory of Cedric. Everything is for him. The students of Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor are all listening intently. Out of the corner of my I see a familiar smirk fixed on Draco Malfoy's face and the rest of their house sit there looking disinterested. Anger rises in my throat at their ignorance but I look away from them and up at the enlarged photo smiling at me and waving. I feel choked up again and for what feels like the millionth time since that day, I can't believe he died. He was loyal, clever and a good person. He didn't deserve to go like this. He didn't deserve to go at all.
-()-
As the carriages draw away from the gates, I look back up at the castle on the hill. I've always enjoyed going home at the end of the year to see my family and entertain them with tales of the year before returning in September, but this time I just feel empty. I don't want to tell them about this year, I need something that's just mine. Because it's all I've got left of Cedric. We pull into the station and the Hogwarts Express is waiting on the tracks. I glance back again and feel further away than ever. It feels like I'm leaving a part of myself behind.
All of my memories of him are at Hogwarts; and I'm scared that when I'm not around them, I'll start to forget.