DISCLAIMER: Still not JKR.
Ew. I have a French project and exam on Tuesday. NOO. And on the 4th I have another project due. I haven't even started researching for it and my partner for the project is camping this weekend and doing something else next weekend. AHH.
TODAY IS ELOISE MIDGEN AND THE YULE BALL'S ONE MONTH ANNIVERSARY!
ON TO THE STORY!
Chapter 21
"Don't you ever feel lonely?" I asked Julien.
"Yes. Every day that my boyfriend's not with me."
"I thought so."
"But we'll be together again," he smiled. "It will just be a while until then. But I would wait decades for him."
I smiled sadly, feeling bad for my friend. "What's his name?"
"Raoul."
"You will only be waiting a few more months, though," I said reassuringly.
"They will seem like centuries," he stated.
"Yes, they will. But you have friends here."
"Yes, I do."
We linked pinkies and smiled.
"But while these months may seem like centuries to you, they'll go by too quickly for me," I shook my head sadly. "I'll miss you."
"We WILL keep in touch, though," he said firmly.
"These things," I started, "These things just fall apart."
"What do you mean?"
"Connections. We can't control if we keep in touch or not. It just HAPPENS."
"We still have five more months."
"If you said we had five more YEARS I wouldn't be satisfied. It would be a deadline looming above our heads. And you want to see Raoul again."
"Yes," he whispered.
Memories don't last. They can exist an indefinite number of hours. An indefinite number of days. Of years. They will all slip away eventually, leaving you with something that you can try to grasp at, but not quite get to. I had a feeling that our relationship was going to be another forgotten dream.
XvX
Time passed.
I went on dates with Colin and hung out with Julien. Hannah and Justin were happy together. In fact, EVERYONE was happy. So I guess I could say that we all lived happily ever after, but actually now that I think of it not ALL of us did. I handcuffed Ernie to Malfoy. I couldn't help it, and it is REALLY not my fault at all. ERNIE is the one who had them. Filch has now put magical handcuffs on his list of banned items. Too bad that no one would ever find out that I was the one who first started the trend. The Weasley Twins handcuffed Filch to Mrs. Norris, but that only made him angrier. I don't think they'll come off for a while…
XvX
Happy ending? Cedic Diggory DIED. A weird kind of gloom spreads, infecting everyone. I CAN'T STAND IT. It poisons everyone. Colin is depressed and I can't stand to look at Hannah or Justin. They've barely said a word to each other.
XvX
I caught sight of Mr. Diggory and I wished I hadn't. The anguish and desperation on his face was nothing to what I felt.
I started crying and then felt two arms envelop me. Julien. I cried harder because he was leaving.
I was never going to see him again.
XvX
It affects us all in different ways. Death, I mean.
It can make some people grateful. It can turn other people suicidal. It can make other people rejoice. And It can make other people brooding and surly.
It could have happened to anyone. And I disgust myself for being happy that it wasn't me. But it was a Hufflepuff who died. It was a Hogwarts STUDENT. It was a wizard. It was a person.
I look outside now and wonder why everything can look bright. The sky is bright blue with those damned fluffy clouds. I turn away, but I don't want to. The brightness hurts my eyes and I yank the curtains around my bed.
Looking at anyone else I can see a reflection of myself. Squinty-eyed students are everywhere. I can't get away from them. Cho Chang doesn't eat. She doesn't sleep. I can see it in her eyes. She's as scared as the rest of us. It could have been anyone. Hannah and I have stayed in our room whenever we could. We sleep all day. When we wake we find food left out for us by the house-elves. They just keep working. Can't they see that it could have been them?
Dumbledore calls us to the Great Hall. How can he look that calm? I want to break him. He talks. How can he TALK when this has happened?
He talks about how Cedric Diggory was such a GOOD Hufflepuff and how he valued fair play. When Voldemort can cheat, how will we ever win being fair? He said that by not telling us that Voldemort killed Cedric, he was insulting Cedric's memory.
But by telling us that Voldemort had killed Cedric, he was igniting the fear that everyone had started to feel.
XvX
We watched the Beauxbatons leave. Hannah had told me that Julien didn't like goodbyes, so therefore there wouldn't be a goodbye.
That was all right with me.
XvX
Colin found me hiding in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He tried his hardest to convince me to come out of there. I yelled at him.
He just shrugged it off and said very softly, "It takes true pain to experience true pleasure." He left.
I realized that those words went along with what Dumbledore had once told me.
"The other day I was helping the house–elves down in the kitchen cut a turkey. I cut myself – by accident of course. It hurt a lot. After the pain went away I realized that my finger felt better than it had before I had cut it."
When would I get to experience the true pleasure half of the deal, though?
This chapter is dedicated to my amazing friend, scholarlydimwit. I never would have kept writing without you. I will miss you so much and think of you always. Keep in touch and always do what seems craziest because sometimes it actually turns out okay. I don't want this to turn out with me sending you cards for holidays and you regretting not ever writing to me when these cards come to you. I won't be like that girl who still does that and makes you feel guilty. I will really miss you. I think I already said that. But I really can't think of anything to write. I'm crying too much. I love you and I'm really sorry that sometimes I can be annoying and idiotic, but that's just me being human. I'll miss you forever. Email or call me whenever you can.
I may write an epilogue. But just in case I forget, I'd like to thank the following people (in alphabetical order).
angel718 (Yes, I love writing about people who no one really thinks about. It's really fun and I have a chance to bring originality out!)
Cherrypie00 (I guess Eloise Midgen and the Yule Ball is kind of original. But the love triangle part has been used billions of times.)
Enchantingelana (THANKS FOR STICKING WITH THE STORY AND REVIEWINGGGGG!)
EvilLittleNerd1981 (For being awesomeful! YOU NEED SWEDISH FISH!)
Friendly Legolas Sporker (Eloise Midgen and the Yule Ball is CUTE? Well, I guess it sorta is…)
Glitterpaw Of Thunderclan (Yes, you must reread the books. I'm rereading them right now!)
HazelWish (Thanks for telling me not to change Eloise. Though, I think I did change her and her personality… SORRY!!)
IH8Abbreviations (For giving my story substance. Without you the Justin/Hannah/Ernie thing wouldn't exist.)
Kore-of-Myth (For giving great advice.)
Lillie Lyana (Thanks for saying that I have a lot of talent! I can't believe the story is just about over!)
MatoakaWilde (For being one of my first reviewers!)
MegaBellatrixFreak (Good luck with your story! I hope it's really long!)
Scholarlydimwit (For being an amazing friend and keeping me from bashing myself when I only had two reviews.)
TheNightimeSky (Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket/Never let it fade away. MUST WATCH MOVIE FOR THE THOUSANDTH TIME!)
ThePurpleKiwi (My personality is like ELOISE'S?! –gasp- ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I love Eloise and everything, but in real life I'm nothing like her.)
Wildx.xAngel (For being one of my first reviewers!)
THANK YOU ALL FOR READING AND REVIEWING. YOU'RE WONDERFUL!
-R