1996 - ginny weasley

chapter 27

It was very late at night. I held only a small candle, and walked swiftly and silently through the halls in a robe, careful not to be seen or heard.

I reached the Gryffindor common room and whispered the password. Instead of heading up the left staircase, I went right.  Up to the seventh floor, into the second room. As I suspected, Harry was staring out the window into the sky, the rest of his dorm asleep.

I talked him into going downstairs, and we both sat on the sofas.

"Look if you're here to yell at me again you should just-"

"Be quiet and let me talk this time please," I said.

He went silent and I started to explain.

"Harry, you were the only one with Cedric that night. Fleur and Viktor were in the stands. You came back with his body. I need you to tell me what the hell happened to him. Don't spare any details, I just want to know."

Harry looked surprised that I wasn't yelling at him. 

"Violetta, don't make me do this," he whispered.

"Please, I need to know. It's the only way I'll ever get close to moving on," I begged him. I never thought I would beg Harry Potter for anything.

"He got trapped in these branches, and I was going to leave him, but I didn't. We decided to bring back the cup together. You see, the cup was a portkey, Violetta."

"A portkey? I don't understand, Dumbledore wouldn't-"

"Dumbledore didn't. It was some death eater in disguise at Hogwarts. It took us to this graveyard, and it was a setup. Voldemort was there. Him and Peter Pettigrew. They just, killed him with a flick of their wands like he was meaningless scraps. It was terrible," Harry explained.

I tried to hold in my tears. I couldn't begin to imagine what was going through his head that night.

"So, Voldemort is back. Does Dumbledore know?" I asked, wiping my cheek. Cedric was gone and I had to start trying to get over him eventually.

"Yes, but the students don't. The ministry doesn't believe us. We need proof and then we can start preparing. There's going to be a war, Violetta. It's going to be bad, really bad," Harry said gravely.

This news was more serious than some silly relationship or scandal. Voldemort was back. He was no longer some fallen soul. And he was coming for Hogwarts?

"Thank you for telling me, Harry. And about that fight, I'm really sorry. I wasn't thinking and-"  

"It's okay. We were both angry and it was in the moment. I wanted to say sorry for trying to interfere with your relationship. I don't know what was going through my head this past year. It's like I was possessed or something. But, we are broken up for good now," Harry said, looking at the ground.

So they did break up. Ginny's kiss was not an accident.

"I hope we can have a regular student-to-student relationship now. I'm off to bed now, goodnight."

I finally knew the truth about what happened. I could finally heal in peace.

It was Christmas day. I put on a black skirt with a dark green sweater. I slipped on the necklace Cedric had given me as an early birthday present before the tournament. 

"In case anything goes wrong in there,"  he had said. 

It's crazy to think things he said like that turned into a living nightmare.

It was sunrise. Most of Hogwarts was alseep. I set out on the journey to the courtyard, through the flowers. I picked some flowers on my way, and climbed up the large hill. Somehow the magic in the field had allowed the flowers to grow even in the winter.

There he was. Cedric. Well, his grave. It looked untouched. 

I walked up to it and kneeled down, placing the flowers.

"Merry Christmas Ced," I said, already beginning to cry. I felt like I had come in contact with his spirit. I poured my heart out to what would appear to the air from another's point of view. But to me it was like talking to him as if he was standing right there.

"Everything's just so different without you. I can't breathe knowing you won't ever look at me and kiss me again. I want to heal and feel what I felt when I was with you. I know I can heal eventually and I will never forget you or how you changed my life. But I think I'm falling for Ginny again. I've known forever that she was my true soulmate. I could never face that when I was with you because I was so in love with you. I know in my heart I will always love you, but I want to be happy again. I hope I have your blessing up there to move on."

The sun began to rise slowly out of the sky as if to signal his approval.

"I love you so much Cedric. I'll visit you again sometime," I whispered, planting a kiss on my fingers and touching his name engraved on the polished stone. 

I walked back to the castle, wiping my tears with the tail of my sweater.  I saw a figure standing in the distance of the field. It was a man, a bit old, but not a student or teacher.

He walked closer, and I realized it was Amos Diggory. 

"Oh, hi Violetta. Were you up visiting Cedric?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, I just came to say Merry Christmas. It's nice to see you, Mr. Diggory, how have you been holding up?" 

I felt so bad for him. Losing a boyfriend was hard, but I couldn't imagine losing my own son so soon.

"I'm not doing too great. He was just so young. It's crazy how long it's already been since he died. How about you?" he replied with a sniffle.

"I think I'm getting better. I miss him so much. Well, I better get back to the castle. Christmas breakfast will be starting soon. Goodbye Mr. Diggory, it's nice to see you."

"Goodbye Violetta, have a nice holiday," he said, shaking my hand before I returned back to the castle.