DUSK; Cedric Diggory

Chapter 62

In the morning they found out that Cedric was in a coma, in deep "sleep" but thankfully still alive. Ophelia surrounded herself with those she most cared about, keeping them close so she wouldn't risk losing any of them. She was now in the common room with Harry, who had just finished explaining everything to her.

"I don't understand," Ophelia fiddled with her sleeves. "If Ced got hit by the Avada Kedavra curse, how is he still alive right now?"

Harry shrugged. "My guess is as good as yours."

"Peter fucking Pettigrew." Ophelia seethed. "I knew I should've killed that ugly rat while I had the chance."

"Agreed." Harry sighed. "Alright Fee, I'm bloody exhausted—haven't slept all night. I think I'm going to go take a nap but please, please wake me up if there's any news about Cedric."

Ophelia nodded, also getting up to leave the common room. She decided to go to the library, sneaking into the restricted section even though the entire castle was too rattled by the news that no one seemed to care about any rules anymore. In the dark curses section, she came across a book seemingly all about the killing curse. Making sure there wasn't anyone around, she slipped the book into the inside of her hoodie and took it back to her room just to be safe.

The History of the Killing Curse

Nah.

Nature of the Killing Curse

Hmm...Ophelia thought, flipping through the pages as she arrived at a chapter titled Performance. She scanned her eyes down the paragraphs. The Killing Curse requires great skill, power and intent in order to be executed perfectly and successfully...the wizard that casts the curse has to be extremely skilled, requiring a genuine willingness and desire to commit murder... Ophelia suddenly thought back to one of the Defense classes that Moody—aka Barty Crouch Jr. taught. He was teaching the Unforgivables, and she briefly remembered him saying, "you could all get your wands out and point them at me and say the words, and I doubt I'd get so much as a nosebleed."

Was there a possibility that Pettigrew didn't fully mean it? Ophelia already knew the man was a coward—his animagus is a rat, for Merlin's sake. He's surely killed many other people under Voldemort's orders, though. Maybe it was the disgusting fact that it was a boy, who was barely of age, and not even out of school yet. She abruptly shut the book, pushing it under her bed before going to the Great Hall for lunch.

"Hmm..." Luca contemplated, thinking over what Ophelia had just explained to him. "I suppose there is a possibility. So if I performed the curse on you right now, nothing would happen?"

"Please don't try that, but technically, yes." Ophelia replied.

Before the two could debate more about the topic, the twins slipped into the seats beside her, placing a hand on each side of her shoulder.

"How are you holding up?" Fred asked softly.

"We went to get some of your favorite muggle sweets to cheer you up," George added, dropping a pack of assorted candies that included sour patch kids, swedish fish, gummy bears and such in front of her.

With overwhelming emotions Ophelia was feeling right now, she began to tear up, wrapping her arms around the both of them and mumbling thanks.

Classes were cancelled for today, and the castle had never felt more desolate without Cedric by her side. The scariest thing was that she had no idea when he would be by her side again. It didn't matter that she might've found out why he hadn't died from the Killing Curse, because the harsh truth was that he was still unconscious and not here, eating in the Great Hall with her, walking with her by the lake, celebrating his win in the common room, lying in bed with her after a late movie night, kissing and touching her...