Return of the Unicorns, Chapter 12
Note: While Chapter 9 was from Amos Diggory's perspective, Chapter 10 was from Sirius Black's perspective, and Chapter 11 was from Remus Lupin's perspective, this chapter will be from Natalie Diggory's (Cedric's mom's) perspective. I'll get back to Hope's perspective quite soon, but for now, I'm enjoying jumping around a little.
It was a crisp November evening and Natalie Diggory was settled on her living room couch reading an extensive volume on unicorn legends. The coffee table was strewn with the remains of a takeout dinner, a half-finished bottle of red wine, and two glasses.
Noticing they were both done eating, Amos waved his wand to clear away the remains of the takeout.
Meanwhile, Natalie turned a page in her book. "Amos, the more I read of this, the more intriguing it gets… did you know that the unicorn Bucephalus once made the ground melt into lava under his very feet in order to drive away a horde of enemy giants?"
"That's crazy!"
"Yeah – and it just gets stranger and stranger."
"No kidding – I just finished reading a legend about a group of 7 unicorns that reincarnated repeatedly to jointly rule the Farrell Islands for over 1,000 years."
"Curioser and curioser. One does come to wonder how many of these legends are even true."
"I mean, we already finished the Ministry's data and statistics on unicorn populations and those didn't really have much to say," sighed Amos. "I feel like an utterly worthless twat-waffle," sighed Amos.
"You're not a twat-waffle, it's just that other people in your department ARE," consoled Natalie.
"Still, I think it may be time for me to make a career change. Maybe I should switch to tracking unicorns exclusively? If I'm lucky, I might even meet them and ask them what's going on."
Natalie wasn't sure how to respond, but before she could say anything, an owl rapped at their window. Amos got up to fetch its letter, which was from the Ministry of Magic.
He opened it and read it, his expression growing more and more worried by the second.
"Natalie… I fucked up," he admitted bluntly.
The look on his face told her immediately that whatever he'd done, he honestly hadn't meant to cause any damage. "What happened?" she asked.
"The other day, Cornelius Fudge's assistant Percy Weasley told me he was sorry about the accident that killed Cedric. I told him it wasn't an accident, and he coldly told me he was sorry that grief had my view of the truth that his death was an accident. And I just yelled in his face demanding what investigation they'd even based it on."
"Honestly? I would've done the same." She reached out to take his hand and give it a reassuring squeeze.
"But because of what I said…" His voice was trembling now, his eyes staring at the letter in renewed horror. "The Ministry has decided to start an investigation, beginning with the exhumation of our son's body."
Natalie could only stare at him blankly, as if she didn't understand what he'd said.
"Natalie, I am so, so, so, so sorry for this. I can tell them to cancel our son's exhumation. I'm sure I can make it stop. I owe it to you."
Natalie thought this over for a second.
"No, don't cancel it," she replied. "Maybe once they realize that an Avada Kedavra curse killed him, they'll finally come to their senses. And we need them to come to their senses."
"Are you sure? You can change your mind. I'll make them stop even if I have to stun them all myself."
Natalie pulled her husband in so she could hold him. Maybe he needed to cry. Out of the two of them, Amos did most of the crying and his emotional state was more fragile. Natalie was the one who could put a calm front forward. Come to think of it, she wasn't even sure why she could keep her act together so much of the time – because inside, she was furious. Maybe she was just somehow going numb to the outside world.
Maybe that was why she didn't mind her husband's frequent breakdowns: he was the only one who understood exactly what she was going through, even if he showed his grief in a completely different way from her. He was the only one who believed everything she said, who didn't think she was crazy – and she knew she was doing the same for him. They were each other's only safe port amid a rapidly brewing hurricane.
So, even knowing what the coming events might do to her, she gulped nervously and replied, "I'm positive."
The next day, Natalie and Amos Diggory arrived early to their son's exhumation. They both wanted the Ministry to come to its senses about the return of Lord Voldemort, or at least about how their son's death had transpired, but they still awaited the exhumation with dread. What kept them there was that they wouldn't ever abandon their son, even if he was dead and they just wanted to see that his corpse was respected as the Ministry conducted its investigation.
The couple wondered if the Ministry workers charged with starting the exhumation would notice the wildflowers growing all over or the extra inscription that a mysterious unicorn had left on the tombstone. But when the Ministry workers arrived, they barely even took note of the wildflowers before they began their magic to unearth Cedric's coffin.
Natalie trembled and Amos's hands curled into fists. Couldn't these people be even a little less brutally efficient?
Apparently not.
"Right, we'll just open the casket before you to ensure that there's been no tampering with it. Then, we'll get it back to the Ministry for an autopsy and investigation," said one of the two wizards, a middle-aged wiry wizard with stark gray hair named MacLaren.
Wait, there was going to be an autopsy? Their son was going to suffer the indignity of having his dead body chopped open?! Natalie clapped her hands over her mouth, too nervous to speak.
"What the Hell?! You didn't mention an autopsy!" protested Amos.
MacLaren just ignored them. "We have the un-sealing code for the coffin that was placed upon it at the funeral. We will be able to determine whether the coffin has been tampered with since and then open it." He flicked his wand at the coffin once. No tampering. Then, he flicked it again, nonchalantly opening the lid. Natalie stared at the man's impassive expression, agog. How could the man be so heartless?!
But then, all at once, MacLaren, his assistant, Amos, and Natalie actually looked inside the coffin. It was empty.
"I can't be here right now," gasped Natalie. She turned on her heel to run back to their house, grabbing her husband's hand on the way. And then, because she had to get out of eyeshot of MacLaren that much sooner, she joint-apparated them into the living room.
She sprinted to her desk, looking for something, but she found another letter on top, one that might answer her most pressing questions. She ripped it open and devoured it, hoping with all her might for what it might say, what it might mean.
"What is that?" Amos asked.
"It's a letter from the magical portrait-painter, letting us know that for the third time in a row, they've failed to conduct the magic to animate the portrait we commissioned of Cedric."
"How is that possible?!" he exclaimed, frustrated. "Our son was killed with magic, which is what you need to animate a portrait! How is it not working?"
Natalie paused a moment, not sure if she should share her idea. It was insane. But on the other hand, it was the only explanation for the unicorn, for the vanishing of Cedric's body, for the inability to produce a magical portrait of him. "Well, the portrait process wouldn't work if he was alive. Perhaps, reborn somewhere?"
"What?" he whispered, not seeming to quite get it.
But Natalie knew exactly what was happening.
Her eyes jerked to a photo of Cedric on the wall, where he was grinning as he caught the Golden Snitch in victory. A picture which became blurry as her eyes filled with tears. She finally allowed herself to truly give in and cry as she uttered the half-choked words, "Oh, Cedric… Welcome back, sweetheart!"