**Disclaimer** I do not claim to own anything that's not mine (J.K. Rowling wrote these amazing things before I could even dream of them). I do claim my main character, Dee.

The summer flew by after that. Cedric and I spent most of our time together. We grew to be great friends and there was chemistry between us, but we both shied around it if it got in our way. The summer was nearly over when Da showed back up. I was coming down from my bedroom when I heard voices arguing quietly downstairs in the hallway. I peeked over the banister to see Da and Mr. Diggory arguing.

"But she's getting along great here. Surely she doesn't need to leave. She's Cedric's only companion other than his mother and I." Mr. Diggory insisted.

"I'm sorry, but Deirdra must come away with me. I have some important things I need her to keep an eye on." Da replied.

"What sort of things?" Mr. Diggory asked with an attitude.

"The sort I don't care to elaborate on." Da calmly replied.

"But I know you promised her the choice to accept your little assignments." Mr. Diggory retorted. Da was starting to get mad. I could see it in his icy blue stare.

"Mr. Diggory, I am the girl's father. I value her life more than anyone. Please do not assume that, the summer spent with you gave you any say over her whatsoever. She will have the choice, but I am confident she will choose to come with me." He stated firmly. A movement caught my eye. Looking towards the doorway to the library, I saw Cedric peeking out. Our eyes met and he looked worried. I smiled grimly at him. I invisified and made my way downstairs and stopped in-between the two men. I made myself visible again causing Mr. Diggory to startle and Da to smile.

"Quit the arguing. Let me decide for myself." I said tartly and looked to Da expectantly. He raised his eyebrows at me.

"Can we talk somewhere more private?" He asked. I shook my head no. "Alrighty then, hmm…" He took a moment, tugging on his beard absently, while thinking. "The carrots are buried in a new patch and I'd like you to go watch over them." He said cryptically.

"Your important assignment is gardening carrots?" Mr. Diggory shouted. I smiled.

"My Da sure does keep an amazing garden. He's always taking good care of it, but these carrots seem to attract bugs and varmints that would love nothing more than to devour them." I explained to Mr. Diggory. Then I turned to Da. "I'll go."

"When can you be ready to leave?" He asked.

"WAIT just one minute! You can't just up and leave. What about Cedric?" Mr. Diggory interrupted. Both Da and I turned sharp blue eyes on him. Looking back and forth between us, Mr. Diggory smiled nervously and backed up a few steps. "I mean, we will miss you so much. How can you up and leave us so suddenly? Please stay." He added quickly in kinder tones.

"Mr. Diggory, I will miss Cedric as well as you and Mrs. Diggory very much, but I have to go. I promise I will visit when I can." I said softly.

I headed to my room to pack. Being here, I'd gained a lot of possessions. As I was finishing folding my clothes, my books stacked themselves by author, alphabetically in my trunk. As I piled my clothes in next to them, a knock on my door startled me causing me to bump the pile of books. They avalanched, spilling all over the bottom of my trunk. I turned to see the culprit. Cedric stood there.

"Sorry." He said, gesturing towards my trunk. "I just wanted to talk to you before you left." I smiled sweetly at him.

"It's okay."

"So, um, I'm going to miss you." He said, trying to force a smile but not succeeding.

"Cedric…" He moved close to me and pulled me into a hug. After a few moments he leaned back from me but didn't let go. We were so close. He's my first real friend. It hurt to say goodbye not knowing when next you'll see them. He licked his lips slightly and suddenly his face was moving towards mine. My heart started to pound and my mind fogged up. As his lips came close, I felt conflicted but unable to move, trapped in a fog of conflicting emotions. But when his lips connected to my cheek, I felt relief.

"Be careful, wherever you're going. If you die, my heart will crumble too." He whispered in my ear as he embraced me tightly again. Suddenly the reality that I was leaving, my first true friend, hit me hard. I felt like someone just sucker punched me in the gut. Tears pooled in my eyes, but I buried my face in Cedric's chest to hide them. I couldn't start getting soft about leaving people. This is how my life has always been, alone, with few to worry about leaving behind. My life sucks…

***I really hope you guys are enjoying my story. Thank you for adding me to your alerts and favorite's list. I am writing my butt off whenever I can. Need to get writing some more cuz I'm catching up to myself with my publishing on here. Thanks for Reading, PLEASE Review. It always brightens my day to get reviews. Also, any questions or suggestions are welcome. I will consider the suggestions and possibly answer your questions if I don't think it's going to ruin anything that's to come in the future of the story for you. Also, any typos or mistakes you catch, feel free to point them out. They drive me nuts and I always spell check and double check with editing it before and after posting and fix it so it doesn't bug my readers also. =) Enjoy!