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Here is chapter 29. Only one left before the end of Volume I !
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I hope you like this one. I should post the next chapter soon - with some news.
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wildest dreams
VOLUME I


CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE


The silence in the Great Hall was deafening. Never had I seen such a quiet Leaving Feast, in my six years at Hogwarts. Understandably, of course. It had been a few days since, but my heart still felt heavy. I hadn't even known him. I couldn't possibly imagine the pain his family and friends were going through right now. Just thinking about it made my heart ache.

The castle had been very quiet these past few days. There had been no celebrations. Everyone was either in mourning, or respecting the ones who were. Well, truth is – we were all mourning Cedric, in our own way. The day after the task, Dumbledore had asked everyone to leave Harry alone, and not ask him any questions. When I had seen him in the Gryffindor Tower that night, he was very quiet, and very pale. I wanted to tell him that he wasn't alone – but I hoped that he knew that already. The twins and I spent the next days making sure no one would bother him. If we saw someone giving him the wrong look, they would receive a good old Sardine Hex from one of us. It was the least we could do, I thought.

I looked around the Great Hall – the usual drapes representing the House Cup winner had been replaced by black ones. I also took a look at our table. I had never seen the Gryffindors looking so grim. I smiled softly at Angelina, who looked more tired than usual.

"The end of another year" suddenly said Dumbledore.

I turned to him. I was curious to see what his speech would be – would he mention Cedric at all ? His eyes glanced at the Hufflepuff table, who was horribly quiet. There you could see many pales, tired faces, and red, hollow eyes.

"There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight. But I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here, enjoying the feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand, and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory."

I followed as everyone stood up and raised their glass. I felt horribly sad, still having difficulties to grasp what had happened.

"Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities that distinguish Hufflepuff house. He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play."

I nodded – that was very true. In Quidditch, he had always been very diplomatic – not like us.

"His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came out."

I stared at Dumbledore, dreading the words he would say.

"Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."

I already knew, but the words still made me flinch. Ron had told me and the twins a few days before. That was, to me, the worst part of all – because of what it meant. That You-Know-Who was back. The thought sent a chill down my back.

"The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so – either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory."

Dumbledore, I thought, had never been more right.

"There is somebody else who must be mentioned in connection with Cedric's death. I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter. Harry Potter managed to escape Lord Voldemort. He risked his own life to return Cedric's body to Hogwarts. He showed, in every respect, the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this, I honor him."

We raised our glasses to Harry. I took a moment to look at him. He was so young, and yet he had endured more than some people ever would in their lives. I had always had respect for Harry, but now my admiration was stronger than ever.

"The Triwizard Tournament's aim was to further and promote magical understanding. In the light of what has happened – of Lord Voldemort's return – such ties are more important than ever before."

Without even thinking, I searched for Nik in the crowd. We had had our misunderstandings, it was true, but we still had shared something.

"Every guest in this Hall will be welcomed back here at any time, should they wish to come. I say to you all, once again – in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided."

I finally spotted him, sitting at the Slytherin table. His eyes met mine. I smiled at him, hoping he would see it. He returned my smile, nodding his head. I promised myself to go and talk to him before he left. There were still things unsaid between us, after all.

"Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open. It is my belief – and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken – that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you in this Hall have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst."

I found George's hand beside mine. I liked knowing he was right there, beside me.

"Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."

I let out a soft sigh as everyone started to stand up and make their way back to their dorms. How heavy this all felt. I knew Dumbledore was right – that dark times were ahead of us. And I knew that we wouldn't be left alone, but it still scared me. Cedric was gone – many people had lost a friend. I was terrified at the idea of losing mine. What if it had been Harry, or Hermione, or Ginny ? What if it had been Fred ? George ? The simple thought of losing any of them made me feel sick. I shook my head. There was no use of thinking about those things now. I had to keep my head up. Constant vigilance, as a certain professor – who proved himself to be a Death Eater, but well – would have said.

I spent the rest of the morning packing – I never did it until the last minute. I didn't really want to leave Hogwarts. I was excited to see my uncle again, of course, and go with him to South America for a few weeks, but leaving Hogwarts always made me sad. And I only had one year left after this one, too. There was no words to explain how I would miss this place. It was like home, after all. To all of us.

I made sure to go downstairs before the Durmstrang ship left – when I got to the lake, I was worried that I had missed Nik, and that he was already on board, but luckily, I spotted him on the dock.

"Nik !" I shouted.

Fortunately, he heard me, and turned around. I waved at him, before making my way to the dock. He met me halfway, frowning.

"Hey" I said simply.

Should've thought about what I wanted to say beforehand.

"Hello, Addy. I'm sorry about your friend."

I didn't bother tell him he wasn't my friend – because as Dumbledore had said, Cedric's death had affected all of us. But I didn't want to talk about that to Nik.

"Thank you. Listen, I… I feel like I owe you an apology."

"For what ?" said Nik, frowning.

I shrugged.

"For being an idiot ?" I suggested with a smile.

Much to my surprise, he smiled, and shook his head.

"You are not an idiot, Addy."

"Well…" I insisted.

We both laughed. I searched for the right words.

"What I want to say is… Even if it didn't work out, I'm still happy I met you, and that I got to know a little bit. You're a good person – I wanted you to know that."

"Thank you, Addy. You're a good person too."

He looked really sincere as he said it. I smiled, feeling very much relieved.

"Can I… hug you ?" I asked, smiling.

"You can" he answered, chuckling.

And so I did.

"Travel safe" I told him when I pulled back. "And write to me, if you want."

"I will. Goodbye, Addy."

"Goodbye, Nik."

I watched him as he walked back to shore and boarded the ship. After I watched it disappear into the black lake, I got back to the castle, joining the others at the train station, feeling ten pounds lighter. I was glad I had decided to go and talk to him. It really was a good thing, closure.


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