If you saw Cedric Diggory walking down the halls at midnight on that night, you would've thought you were seeing a ghost, and technically, that's all he was. He felt dead as a doornail. His eyes lacked all glimmer of life, his skin was pale, he moved silently and quickly with inhuman grace. No one would've recognized him.
He didn't even really pay attention to where he was going. He only knew that he had to keep his feet moving and that if he didn't, his mind would go back to paranoia, and that was the last thing Cedric wanted.
And then, without realizing it and as soon as he reached the courtyard, he closed his eyes, knowing the route he now wanted to go by heart, kept walking, and sang (the guitar background filling his mind like water into a glass),
"This shining city built of gold,
A far cry from innocence,
There's more than meets the eye round here,
Look to the waters of the deep -
A city of evil...
There sat a seven-headed beast,
Ten horns raised from his head,
Symbolic woman sits on his throne,
But hatred strips her and leaves her naked,
The Beast and the Harlot...
She's a dwelling place for demons,
She's a cage for every unclean spirit,
Every filthy burden makes us drink
The poisoned wine to fornicating with our kings,
Fallen now is Babylon the Great...
The city dressed in jewels and gold,
Fine linen, myrrh, and pearls,
Her plagues will come all at once
As her mourners watch her burn -
Destroyed in an hour...
Merchants and captains of the world,
Sailors, navigators, too,
Will weep and mourn this loss
With her sins piled to the sky,
The Beast and the Harlot...
She's a dwelling place for demons,
She's a cage for every unclean spirit,
Every filthy burden makes us drink
The poisoned wine to fornicating with our kings,
Fallen now is Babylon the Great..."
Cedric had now opened his eyes and was dancing down the halls, keeping in time with the guitar solo he had memorized the summer when he was 13, when Muggle music had ruled his world. He didn't care if anyone saw him - Cedric had given his whole heart and attention to the music.
"The day has come for all us sinners,
If you're not a servant you'll be struck to the ground,
Flee the burning, greedy city,
Looking back on her to see there's nothin' around,
I don't believe in fairytales
And no one wants to go to Hell,
You've made the wrong decision,
And it's easy to see...
Now if you wanna serve above
Or be a king below with us,
You're welcome to the city
Where your future is set forever...
She's a dwelling place for demons,
She's a cage for every unclean spirit,
Every filthy burden makes us drink
The poisoned wine to fornicating with our kings,
Fallen now is Babylon the Great...
She's a dwelling place for demons,
She's a cage for every unclean spirit,
Every filthy bird and makes us drink
The poisoned wine to fornicating with our kings,
Fallen now is Babylon the Great..."
When it was over, he was exactly where he wanted to be - the Astronomy Tower.
Cedric looked through the telescope in the tower at the stars. In that telescope, each star shined like a thousand suns, burning through the night sky like a match on kerosene. The tower had always been his secret haunt. Diana didn't even know that it was one of his favorite places to be (she would've made fun of him for it - she always said astronomy and divination was for loons).
All the different constellations seemed to interlace, forming one web of figures and stories, threatening to burst the sky at the seams. Cedric could already see the two he always looked for. Libra and Leo. Both were a little dim, since it was March, but whatever. He found them, nonetheless.
He payed a little more attention to Leo this time, though. That constellation, a lion roaring at the moon, was the one he related to Diana. In the Zodiac, the lion's secret desire was to be a star and the life pursuit was to lead the way. Fire, the Sun, peridot, and vibrant energy.
Cedric chuckled a little as he looked through the telescope. "Yep, that's definitely her in a nutshell."
Libra was his sign - the scales. Air, Venus, opal, an unsteady pysche. In other words, his mood could swing at a moment's notice. The secret desire was to live an uncomplicated life and to be consistent.
And now, he payed attention to which planet was the brightest.
"Oh Christ," he muttered.
Aries - as in Ares, Greek god of war and all hateful feeling - was brightest, and the closest constellation to it was the one that Cedric didn't want to see.
"Draco the Dragon."