Cho's Requiem
By *Rave* Kitty


"Dead! Cedric Diggory! Dead!" Harry Potter had just re-arrived with the Triwizard Cup-and a dead body. It was soon realized that it was Cedric's body.

The headmaster watched Moody drag off Harry Potter, gave quick, grim orders to Professor Flitwick then quickly ran off. Flitwick shook his head grimly as he made his way up to the stands. This was going to be difficult, to say the least. The headmaster knew best.

Cho was still celebrating with her friends, thinking Cedric had won, when Professor Flitwick approached her. She blinked, confused already. "Yes, Professor Flitwick?" She frowned.

"Er, Miss Chang, I need to speak with you.. Follow me." Flitwick ignored the two girls behind Cho, who stared at her with wondering curiosity, and avoided looking directly at Cho. The entire school knew of Cho and Cedric's relationship-they had marketed it pretty well during the Yule Ball. Hopefully Cho hadn't gotten too attached to Cedric.. Flitwick shook his head and began to go down the stands, heading towards his office.

Cho blinked, following the professor. What could this be? she asked herself, going through the list of possible felonies there could be against her. There were few.. unless.. no, they wouldn't alert her if Cedric won.. he'd tell her himself.. What, then, could it be?

Flitwick unlocked the door(the doorknob slightly lowered for his advantage)to his office, then entered, calling after him for Cho. He turned, then began to pace, looking at Cho piteously as she entered. Cho blinked at Flitwick, frowning. "What was it that you wanted to tell me, Professor?" Going through the list of crimes again, she was drawing a blank.

"Err, the headmaster wished me to tell you that.. that Cedric Diggory died. During the Third Task." Flitwick stopped pacing, then stopped, the piteous look crossing his face again.

Cho couldn't breathe; she tried but no air came in. Light-headed, she was light-headed, she must have heard wrong. Cedric couldn't have died. He won the tournament, right? Her heart pounded, though it really should have stopped-she wasn't breathing, she couldn't breathe, there was no air to breathe in this world where people who were so cared about died, she needed to breathe. Breathe. She caught control of her senses, and she felt dazed to say the least. For a complete moment there was nothing but silence, and then it hit her-hit her like a Bludger to the chest. Cedric was dead. Professor Flitwick wouldn't lie. Cedric was dead and there was nothing she could do.. dead.. he was dead! The force of the realization came with the aftershock-the tears.

They hit her so hard as she bit her lip, swallowed, trying to force them back, but to no avail; she began to sob, cry, her mind spinning off in denial of it all. All a trick, all a lie. He can't be dead, he won the Cup, and the ten thousand Galleons were his, and he would take her shopping afterwards.. Cho was eventually pulled out of the room by Flitwick(with help from Marian and Monique, who eventually had sought her out).

She didn't sleep that night. Lying awake, she wondered how-the professor hadn't told her. Had Harry Potter killed him- could he really have killed him? who could really kill another human being? what kind of person? Harry was such a seemingly decent person.. of course, that's not what Rita Skeeter said, but she was a crackpot anyway.. who did it, then? Who? Krum? Who?....and why?

Golden sunlight poured into the Ravenclaw girls dorms, and the birds were singing outside. It was a beautiful June morning. All of this was lost on Cho. She stared at the hangings around her bed, eyes red with crying and dull from lack of sleep. Gone, he was gone.

Will I ever sleep again? she wondered as she was dragged out of bed, and almost in an automatonic way she put on her robes and headed down to breakfast with Marian, Monique and the rest of the Ravenclaws. Everyone was quiet, but who would be loud at a time like this?

She stared around the table at breakfast, then along with the others, looked up as Dumbledore began his speech.

"The end," he said, "of another year." Cho followed his eyes to the Hufflepuff table, and they were
as, if not more quiet than Cho herself. She was watching their saddened expressions when suddenly she heard his name- "raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory." Dumbledore continued.

The dam cracked again, and she couldn't help it. The tears poured down her face as she lifted her glass silently, thinking harder than ever-Cedric, wherever you are, I hope you're seeing this. It's all to you, Cedric.. you won't have died in vain.