A/N: Here's another chapter. Enjoy:))

Chapter 82: End of year

"Have you packed yet?" I was sitting at the table eating some oatmeal when someone sat next to me, and, out of reflex, I dug my wand into their ribs.

"Oh!"

"Oh, sorry Cedric, I- never mind." I cleared my throat when I heard my hoarse voice, and turned towards him.

"No, it's ok, I shouldn't have been so sudden. "

"It's ok. What did you ask again?"

"I asked if you packed yet. You know, in two days the summer break starts."

"Oh, I haven't actually. I'll pack tonight I guess."

"Oh, ok. So who do you think will win the House cup this year?"

"Well, based on how many points Snape took from Gryffindor and McGonagall from Slytherin, I guess it's either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff."

"It would be fantastic to win this year. I only have one more year left at Hogwarts and I'd like to win the cup at least once while I'm here."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Umm, are, are you feeling better about what happened at the task? I mean, I know you made really good friends with her this year. It's beautiful to see kids from different countries so close."

"Well, actually we knew each other from when we were little. She sort of grew up in the Muggle world, and we went at umm, at the same school. We were best friends, and then she moved to another country and we couldn't really keep in touch. But I'm better now anyway. She would be really happy to know she died saving someone. She was a very brave person, you know."

"I'm really sorry that she died because of me, and-"

"Look, please don't blame yourself for that. It was Voldemort's order and Wormtail's doing. Besides, I'm the one who brought her there. You shouldn't fe-"

"Oh Cedric! What are you doing here? I searched for you everywhere! Not even your housemates knew where you were."

"Oh, Hi."

A girl threw herself at Cedric. It was like she appeared out of thin air. I recognized her. She had been his date at the ball and the one Harry wanted to go with. He's had a crush on her since last year. And she's been fawning over Cedric since her first year at Hogwarts. Sev said that in her second year, a potion blew up in her face when she left it unsupervised to talk to her friend about Diggory. It left a nasty smell and mark on the floor. I should know, I was the one to clean it. And that's exactly why I was not particularly fond of the girl. That and the fact that she was gossiping all day long with her friend Marietta about everything and everyone in the school. And now she was sitting not even a meter away from me. I clenched my jaw and smiled at her, rather forced, but I couldn't imagine her realizing that. Still, she was a Ravenclaw after all.

"Hello, I'm Selene. Cho, right?" I extended my hand, and she squinted at me, but eventually took it.

"Yes. You're the one who was in the lake, right?"

"Yep, that's me."

"Well, Cedric, I wanted to wish you good luck." She said, hugging him.

"Good luck for what?"

"Well, he and Harry got out of the maze at the same time, with the Cup, so there has to be a decisive task. Right?"

"Really? You realize that a girl died there, right? And she wasn't even part of the Tournament. You don't think that they still care about who won."

"Right. I guess they don't. Still, if they do, good luck." She slammed a kiss on his cheek, got up and left.

"What was that?" I looked after her confused. She really seemed much more normal from distance.

"She was much better before the second task. She was sweet and kind. But she started acting weird after that. Dunno why."

"Maybe she feels more important because she found out how important is to you."

"Maybe, but she became so annoying and talkative. And I think I now know more rumours and things like that than all the girls in Hogwarts together. She's changed far too much. But I can't bring myself to tell her."

"Cedric, I know you think you're protecting her feelings but you have to understand that if she finds out from someone else or later, she'll be even sadder. You should tell her and maybe she'll get back to how she was. I mean, she really likes you a lot."

"Maybe. I'll try. Thanks. What were you saying before she got here?"

"Ummm, I said you shouldn't feel guilty about surviving when she didn't. Really now."

"I have a question though. How did you get there? And what had You-Know-Who against you? And how did you c-"

"Look, I know it was a really weird situation and you're curious and everything, but I really cannot tell you. Sorry. Even though probably it's gonna be out soon. Gotta go. See ya." I got up and left. I just wanted to be alone for a while. For the past week I've been trying to forget what happened. Madame Pomfrey said that probably I would regain my powers after calming down, at least for a bit, but that could take some time. I spent quite a lot of time in my room, but I couldn't bring myself up to talk to the others. I tried one time, but I broke down in tears not even five minutes into the conversation. My friends were fine; they almost got over the shock of Voldemort coming back, and Harry healed fast with the help of Poppy.

As predicted, Hufflepuff won the house cup. Mostly because the Ravenclaws annoyed the teachers and that made them loose points, but no one was going to tell them that.

Two days later, I watched from the Astronomy tower the train leaving from the station. I was now mostly alone in the castle and didn't really know what to do. I mostly sat in the library, or learning potions to kill some time.

It was hard, but I had to get myself back on the track.