By quarter to six that night, Cedric had left Gryffindor Tower. He and Oliver had spent nearly five hours discussing Quidditch and the future of Hogwarts. If the school was to close, then there wouldn't be any more House teams.

"Hello, there, Cedric," said the Fat Friar, who was now floating down the corridor towards the Hufflepuff Seeker.

"Good evening," Diggory replied, smiling. Jovially he swept past his House ghost, heading down a flight of steps to the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room. "Lumen Nocturne," he whispered.

Once he had stepped through the tunnel and into the room, which was lit by candles and a fire that was burning warmly in the fire place, he was confronted by none other than Professor Sprout. "Cedric! Where've you been! I was worried green about you!" The stout Herbology professor bustled hurriedly over to him.

"I --- Professor McGonagall wanted to speak with me," he stammered, forcing his brain to think quickly.

"What on earth about?"

"Quidditch," he replied. "What else? She told Oliver Wood and I that the game for the House Cup would be postponed. You know, not as to lose sleep over it and all."

"And she held you there all this time?"

"Yes," Cedric managed, boiling up another lie. "She wanted me to stay in Gryffindor Tower until she could return to bring me safely back here." Without having to speak another word, he went hurrying up to the dormitories.

Professor Sprout stood by the fire, dumbstruck. If Minerva did ask Cedric to stay in with the Gryffindors while she took care of administrative business, why didn't she inform her? She was there as well. It also brought suspicion to the Hufflepuff head professor as to why her House Seeker wasn't wearing his canary yellow Quidditch robes. However, she never did get the answers to her questions. The rest of the year finished with everyone in high spirits that Hogwarts would remain open and that the Chamber of Secrets was sealed forever, all thanks to one Harry Potter.

The last day of school fell too soon upon everyone, and the Great Hall bustled with excitement and sorrow that beautiful morning. During breakfast, the four House tables were filled with chatter as most of the students took the time, which was the result of all end-of-year exams being cancelled, to get their friends addresses and other such information for the school break.

Cedric, however, sat quietly at the Hufflepuff table, repeatedly burying his spoon into his bowl of now-cold porridge. He rested his head in the palm of his hand, supported by his elbow which had been propped on the table's top.

"Everything all right, Diggory?" Delilah Higgins, a fellow Fifth-Year Badger, asked as she sat beside him. "You look as though you've been petrified," she sniggered. Lucky for her, had anyone else heard, she might have been reprimanded.

"Er ---," Cedric said looking to Delilah. Removing his elbow from the table, he left it to rest by his side. "Quite all right, thanks." That charming smile was flashed in Higgins' direction. "Just thinking about something is all. Nothing you ought to be worried about," he reassured her.

"Right, then. Whatever it is, don't beat yourself over it. It's the last day before school break. Look excited, won't you?" With that said, Delilah rose from her seat at the House table and departed to speak with Cho Chang, a Ravenclaw friend of hers.

Cedric didn't really have anything to boast about. His plans for the summer would be the same as they always had: his father would take him and his mother on some nice vacation to a cabin that overlooked a lake. It would also be the furthest point from civilization and the only thing he had for entertainment was the monthly Quidditch magazine, Snitches Illustrated. Yet, it had now been two weeks and he hadn't seen or heard from Oliver. "Figures," he muttered to himself. "I knew it was too good to be true." Cedric gave a sigh and pushed the bowl of porridge forward and away from him where it suddenly vanished.

The rest of the day crept on slowly, and as it neared three o'clock in the afternoon, Wood wasn't to be seen. The Hufflepuff Seeker had by then resorted to walking himself up the changing staircase towards Gryffindor Tower. There he ran into Percy Weasley, prefect of that particular wing of the castle.

"Diggory?" Percy questioned, curious as to why he would find him there.

"Yes?" Cedric turned on heel to find the red head approaching him. Then an idea struck him. "Percy, would you happen to know where I can find Wood? You two are good friends, aren't you?"

The prefect eyed him questioningly, but only for a moment. After that he thought nothing else of the matter. "Sure," he replied. "'Just saw him heading down toward the Quidditch pitch."

"Thanks," Cedric called to Percy as he then ran down the flight of stairs toward the main entrance. Swerving in and out of crowds of students, he finally made it to the large, oak doors. Pushing one of them open, the Seeker slipped out into the warm, summer air.

It was beautiful outside. The sky was a bright blue, free of any clouds at all. The sun beamed down warmly, and glistened electrically off the black water surface of the lake. However, to Cedric's surprise, he found Oliver sitting in the shade of a tree by the bank. "Oliver!" He called aloud, trying to get the Keeper's attention.

Oliver turned his head in the direction of his name, and saw Cedric heading speedily towards him. "Hello, there," he said, once the Seeker had reached him. "Have a seat." Wood patted the grass beside him.

"I've been looking for you all day. Would you believe it?" Cedric said once he got himself comfortable, sitting Indian style beside the Gryffindor.

"You were? How come?" Oliver asked, looking away a moment to see bubbles creating ripples in the black, glass-like surface of the lake. There were endless amounts of creatures living in that water, and thus the Keeper rendered it silly to try and ponder what caused the disruption.

"Well, I haven't seen you for a while, is all," Cedric replied, briefly turning his attention toward the lake as well. Yet, when he looked back to Oliver, their eyes met as they had never before. There was a long pause as the two just stared into each other's minds. Finally, the moment was broken as Cedric glanced downward.

What are you doing? He thought, scolding himself. Won't you stop making absurd insinuations you crazy git? Oliver is nothing more than a friend. That's all this is, a friendship. Nothing more. Now get off it!

"Something wrong, Diggory?" Oliver asked, noticing the half concerned, half annoyed look on Cedric's face.
"Oh," the Seeker's thoughts cleared to focus on what was just asked of him. "No, nothing. I was just wondering, would you at all mind if I asked for your address? I reckoned that we might be able to keep in touch over the summer.. or something of that sort . . ." Cedric rolled his eyes over what he had just allowed his tongue to utter, thinking of how ridiculously stupid it may have sounded. At that point, he wouldn't have been surprised had Wood decided to decline.

"Not at all," Oliver said. "Under one condition, that is. That I get yours, too." A grin formed itself upon the Keeper's lips.

"O-Oh, of course!" Cedric fumbled, shocked Wood had accepted, let alone that he wanted his in return. Then he remembered something, and his hopes began to dim somewhat. "I-I just remembered that I don't have any parchment or a quill on hand. You wouldn't mind giving it to me during the feast, would you?" That was, if he could find Oliver again before tomorrow.

"Here," the Keeper retorted, "Use this." Oliver slid a hand into his pants pocket and retrieved a glass ball that was roughly the size of a large marble. It was filled with a swirling, white smoke. Handing the Remembrall to Cedric, he told him his address.

Taking the small, glass object, Cedric gave a smile. "Are you sure I can have this?"

"Absolutely," Wood replied. "I've got tons at home." With his hand, he rubbed the back of his neck with a goofy smirk. He felt mildly embarrassed, trying not to sound clumsy. "Thing is, you'll have to send me an owl with your address."

"Sure thing," the Seeker replied. "I'll be sure to . . . To keep in touch, that is!" The smile on Diggory's face brightened.

A few minutes later the school bell rang loudly across the grounds, signifying that the End-of-the-Year feast was about to begin. As the two of them stood, they walked back to the castle together. Students had begun to enter the Great Hall, however, most of them were all dressed in their pajamas. Oliver and Cedric soon parted ways, each heading to his respective House table as the feast began. It would last all night, and the students wouldn't bother to return to their dormitories.

They had all found it easier to sleep that night with the delivery of good news. Professor Dumbledore had informed them all that the attack victims were no longer petrified (thanks to Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout), that Hagrid was back from Azkaban Fortress, and that Gryffindor would again receive the House Cup. Naturally, the latter came of no surprise to anyone.

Once the Headmaster was finished, Professor McGonagall took a moment to stand, personally wanting to share a bit or more good news. "I wish to inform you all that, under unknown circumstances, Gilderoy Lockhart has chosen to resign as the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts." The cheers of students, as well as an applause that came from the staff table, filled the Great Hall. With that said, the Deputy Headmistress seated herself, wearing a rarely seen smile.

The night grew old, and as the House tables where magically whisked against the walls of the Hall, the students gradually fell asleep. Morning was announced as golden rays of sunlight poured in through the surrounding windows. It would be another flawless day.

By eleven o'clock that day the train landing had been filled with students, all of which wheeling their trunks and other possessions along behind them. The scarlet Hogwarts Express remained stationary on it's tracks, billowing thick plumes of gray smoke.

"All right," Hagrid bellowed. "S'time to get yeh on the train. It'll be leavin' soon. Come on!" As the last of the trunks were packed, the students began to board. Just as Oliver was about to step foot onto the train, he heard his name being shouted over the noise of his classmates.

"Oliver!" Cedric cried, weaving through a group of Ravenclaws to get to him. Hustling up to him, the Seeker stopped dead in front of Oliver. "I just wanted to.. Er.. say 'have a nice summer'."

"Right," Wood replied with a smile. "You, too. But . . . aren't you going to King's Cross?" There was a light expression of confusion on the Keeper's face. Most of those that attended Hogwarts usually to the train back to Platform 9¾.

"Oh . . . No. My mum and dad are here to get me. With my father working for the Ministry, it's only convenient and all. But . . . um, here! I wanted to give you this." Reaching into his robes, Cedric handed to Oliver a light brown envelope. "Well," he continued. "You best be going. Don't want them to leave without you."

"Right," Oliver replied, examining the envelope briefly before tucking it into the pocket of his own robes. "Well, hope to talk to you over the summer, Diggory." With a pat on the shoulder as means of temporary good-bye, the Gryffindor Keeper turned on heel to ascend the stairs onto the train. With one last smile, he disappeared to return the following year as a Seventh Year student.

As the ruby train pulled slowly away from Hogwarts, Cedric looked on. A part of him was bubbling with excitement, and another was filled with absolute dread. Once the Express was nothing more than a mere, black speck amongst the green country side, the Seeker headed in the direction of his mother's voice.

"Come on, Cedric," she called. "You're father's waiting."

Meanwhile, on the train, Oliver was sitting with Percy Weasley in a booth toward the back. Remembering the brown envelope that was given to him, he withdrew it from his pocket. Flipping it over, he saw his name, 'Oliver Wood,' written neatly in a deep blue ink. He then proceeded to open it with the utmost care, not at all wishing to inflict any harm upon the mint-condition parchment. Gently sliding out the contents, chocolate eyes read over the following message that was also written in blue:

Cedric Diggory
36 Gibsdale Lane
Bloomsbury


"What's that you have there?" Percy asked, looking up from a book he had his nose shoved into.

"Nothing," Oliver replied with a big smile upon his face. "Nothing at all."