Diggory Is A Loser

32- Hide And Seek

After running into the forest the first time she wanted to get away, Celia knew that it was not a wise thing to do.
So this time she headed somewhere that she felt safe; the owlery.
She found her favourite spot and immediately collapsed into it, after running all the way there from the Quidditch pitch.
Once the adrenaline had worn off, Celia had time to process what had happened.
Cedric was dead, and she was never going to see him again.
Although she had made up with her brother, she couldn't help but think about all the times she had said horrible things to him. Like the one time she had told him she didn't care if he died in the tournament.

Celia pulled her knees up to her chest and began to cry.
Her day had started off so well, but everything had gone wrong.
With Cedric dead, Celia knew her life would never be the same again.
She wished that things could go back to how they had been before the tournament. But she knew that there was no way to turn back time.

****
"Miss Diggory".
Celia looked up and saw Dumbledore kneeling beside her.
She looked over and saw that the sun had begun to rise in the sky, signaling a new day.
She hadn't even realised that she had fallen asleep, until the headmaster had awoken her.
"Hello Professor" mumbled Celia.
"Everyone is rather worried about you. Several people thought you might have run back inside the Forbidden Forest" admitted Dumbledore.
"I'm never going back in there again... How did you find me?" Questioned Celia.
"I asked Harry if he had any idea where you might have gone, since the two of you are rather close now, and he said you often like to hide in here".

"Is Harry O.K?" Asked Celia.
"His physical injuries were easily fixed by Madam Pomfrey" answered Dumbledore.
"Good... I guess it's the emotional injuries that take longer to heal" sighed Celia.
"You show such maturity for someone your age, especially given what happened last night"
"He is really dead, isn't he?"
"I'm afraid so"
"How did it happen?"
"I don't want the whole school knowing just yet. But you deserve to know the truth. However, I think Harry plans on telling you himself, once he is feeling a bit better and has been released from the hospital wing".

"Why him? Why did Cedric have to die? He was the nicest person ever, so why was he chosen to die?" Questioned Celia.
"There are some questions I cannot answer. The world works in mysterious ways. I often find myself asking similar questions, when terrible things like this happen" admitted Dumbledore.
"It should have been me that died. If the world needed a Diggory sibling to die, then it should have been me. I'm the useless one. It would have been better for everyone if Cedric had been chosen to live instead of me" replied Celia.
"Thinking like that is no good for anyone. Besides, you know full well that your brother would not have let you sacrifice yourself for him. He was too noble to let anyone take a risk on his behalf".

"Are my parents still here?" Asked Celia.
"No, they left a few hours ago, taking your brother's body with them" informed Dumbledore.
"Good. I have no intention of facing them" admitted Celia.
"You can't hide from them forever"
"So everyone keeps telling me"
"You must return home for the summer, since you are not yet 17, so you cannot live alone"
"Even if I go home, no one can make me talk to my parents. I will stay in one part of the house, and them the other"
"What you do when you go home is up to you".

"What happens now, with the tournament and everything?" Quizzed Celia.
"Harry was declared the winner by the Minister and given the prize money. After that he tried to give the money to your parents, but they refused to accept it, saying that it belonged to him. The foreign students will stay a little longer, before returning to their own schools" answered Dumbledore.
"Well then, you should probably get going as I'm sure you have things to attend to" replied Celia.
"Won't you come back down with me?".

Celia shook her head, "If I go downstairs everyone is going to look at me. They're going to whisper mean things about me or try and console me, neither or which I want".
"You can't stay hidden in the owlery forever" Dumbledore said softly.
"I know that, but I can hide up here for now. Harry knows where to find me, when he's ready to talk about what happened" replied Celia.
"Do you want me to send you up something to eat?"
"No, I'm not hungry"
"I don't want you to waste away up here-"
"I said, I'm not hungry".

Dumbledore sighed and got to his feet.
"Very well, I shall leave you alone, as that is what you want. But I find that in these situations, it is good to talk to someone" he admitted.
"Yeah, maybe for you. But I don't have any friends to talk to" replied Celia.
"You say that a lot, but I don't think it is true anymore. You have become so used to saying that you don't have any friends, that you haven't realised that you do. Mr Potter, Mr Weasley and Miss Granger all seem to like you a great deal. And you have also made friends with the foreign students; Mr Krum, Miss Delecour and Mr Taylor. So, I think you actually have many friends, all of whom would love to talk to you, and help you through this hard time" informed Dumbledore.

The headmaster then left the owlery, leaving Celia rather stunned as she tried to process his words.
While it was true that she always said she didn't have any friends, she realised that the statement was no longer true.
She did have people she cared about and hung out with outside of class.
But despite this realisation, Celia still had no intention of leaving the owlery, for she wanted to be alone.
She needed to grieve by herself, and she couldn't have anyone interrupting that.