House: Hufflepuff

Class: Transfiguration

Standard

Prompts: [Song and Lyric] Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi - "Well time can heal but this won't"

Word Count: 1,073

Cho sits next to Cedric as they watch the clouds pass by. It is a peaceful day and just the two of them. Rita Skeeter wasn't trying to interview Cedric and no one was trying to bother Cedric. The last task of the TriWizard Tournament is just around the corner. Maybe that's why everything has been a bit peaceful. Everyone is giving the victors a chance to get ready for the last task, seeing as it is the next day. Cho didn't know what the board was planning on doing for the final challenge. She just hopes that it's something simple —unlike the other ones— and that Cedric doesn't get injured. Or worse, die.

Cho shakes her head, not wanting to think about the possibility of Cedric dying.

"What are you thinking about?" Cedric asks Cho as he lightly squeezes her hand.

"Just wondering what the final task will be. I hope that it's nothing dangerous. Well, dying dangerous I mean. I just... I don't want to lose you," Cho admits as she looks at her boyfriend.

"Don't worry, Cho. I'll be fine. I did make it through the other two challenges."

"For the first task, you were burned by a dragon. The second, you had to rescue me from mermaids."

"The third task is a maze to the cup," Cedric tells Cho. "We got to see the maze. Although it is still growing and all."

"Oh. Do you know what is in the maze?"

"No."

"Ok. Well, good luck. You're going to need it if you're going to beat Potter," Cho says as she shifts slightly.

"Actually, I was thinking about letting Potter win."

"What?! Why?!" Cho shouts as she sits up. "You deserve to win! Potter wasn't even supposed to be a victor."

"I know. But hear me out," Cedric says as he sits up.

"What reason could you possibly have to convince me that letting Potter win is a good idea?"

"He's proven himself as a victor and—," Cedric starts to say.

"But so have you! You got the egg. You figured out what the second task was supposed to be before Potter did, and you didn't cheat to get your name in the cup."

"Cho, look—"

"And what would your father say? Did you tell him your stupid idea or are you not going to tell him?" Cho continues. "And what if someone heard that you let Potter win? What if Rita heard you say that? She would use that against you —but your father— as well."

"Cho—"

"No. I won't hear a word of it."

Cho abruptly stands up. She turns around and storms away from her boyfriend, leaving him there baffled and confused.

Please don't be an idiot, Cedric. Just take the win and come back to me, Cho thinks as she reaches the castle. She walks in and heads towards her dorm, wanting to be left alone for a bit.

Cho sits on her bed, hugging her knees. Her eyes are all red and puffy from crying her eyes out. Her hair is a mess and she's still in her clothing from yesterday.

Cedric is dead. Cedric is dead, and it's her fault. Oh, if only they didn't have that...that stupid argument the day before. Maybe Cedric would still be alive. If only she had listened to him. Maybe things could have been different. Oh, how she misses him.

If only, if only she knew about the storm to come. She could have warned Cedric about the trap and, and...Fresh tears sprung at the thought of the trap.

Of course, You-Know-Who set a trap for Potter. Because of that, because of him, Cedric is dead. Cedric wouldn't be in that place if he just let Potter win. Oh, if only she had listened to his reasoning behind having Potter win. It's all her fault!

Cho chokes on a sob as she buries her head in between her knees.

She's the worst girlfriend ever! She didn't listen to her boyfriend and now he's dead!

"Cho? Are you alright? Do...do you want to talk about it?" her roommate, Evelyn, asks her.

Cho feels Evelyn sit on the edge of her bed. She slowly lifts her head as she looks at her.

"Oh, oh, Evelyn! I-it's all my fault! If I'd only listened to Cedric. T-then h-he would—" Cho sobs as tears stream down her face. "I-if only I had told him my worries! If I had just swallowed my pride and told him! I...I hate him! I hate that he left me. A-and look at me! I-I'm a mess. A-a bloody mess!"

She sobs as she puts her head back in between her knees.

"Cho...Listen, it's not your fault," Evelyn whispers softly as she scoots closer to her, wrapping an arm around Cho's shoulders. "It's You-Know-Who's fault. Do you think Cedric would want you to blame yourself for what happened? It was out of your control, trust me."

Evelyn stays by Cho's side for the rest of the day, not wanting her to be by herself during one of her toughest moments. One of the other girls, Amber, brings them food from the Great Hall for dinner. She smiles sadly as she hands Cho her plate.

"Thanks," Cho whispers softly as she starts to eat.

For some reason, all the crying —and the emotional breakdown— had made her hungry.

Cho is glad for Amber and Evelyn. Even though they couldn't understand what she's feeling, they're there for her. And it's something that Cho needs right now. Some patient company that is just there for her. They know she doesn't want to talk about it. They also know that she will talk when she's ready. It will just take time.

Well, Cho thinks bitterly, time can heal but this won't. It never will. Her guilt was never going to leave her. It would haunt her till the day she died.

Cho curls up in her bed. Maybe, maybe a nap will help her. Yeah, a nap sounds like a great idea. Cho then closes her eyes and slowly falls into a Cedric-filled dream.