Love Is In The Air: The Angelic Witch And Draco Malfoy (Book 4)

Dumbledore's Speech

When she looked back, even a month later, Heroneka found she had only scattered memories of the next few days. It was as though she had been through too much to take in any more. The recollections she did have were very painful. The worst, perhaps, was the meeting with the Diggory's that took place the following morning.

Although Cedric had died as a human, they seemed to be grateful for his life as an angel now. They thanked Heroneka for saving Cedric's life, even if she had done it unknowingly. They did not blame Harry for what had happened as he had insisted Cedric join him with the trophy; on the contrary, both thanked him for returning Cedric's body to them. Mr Diggory sobbed through most of the interview. Mrs Diggory's grief seemed to be beyond tears.

"He suffered very little then," she said when Harry had told her how Cedric had died. "And after all, Amos...he died just when he'd won the tournament. He must have been happy."

"You will be meeting him again, right?" Heroneka asked them. "He will be happy to see you both."

"I am not sure about that," said Amos Diggory. "He has changed a lot... I think, he is more comfortable with the creatures on Mermaid Island. They are treating him well and taking care of him. But William assured us that we can visit Cedric anytime we want."

When they got to their feet, Mrs Diggory looked down at Harry and Heroneka and said, "You both look after yourselves, now."

Harry seized the sack of gold on the bedside table.

"You take this," he muttered to her. "It should've been Cedric's, he got there first, you take it -"

But she backed away from him.

"Oh no, it's yours, dear, I couldn't...you keep it."

Heroneka and Harry returned to Gryffindor Tower the following evening. From what Hermione and Ron told them, Dumbledore had spoken to the school that morning at breakfast. He had merely requested that they leave Heroneka and Harry alone, that nobody ask them questions or badger them to tell the story of what had happened in the maze. Heroneka was grateful that her golden halo had disappeared temporarily because now people were finding it hard to spot her in a crowd. Most people, she noticed, were skirting her and Harry in the corridors, avoiding their eyes. Some whispered behind their hands as they passed.

"I guess, many of them believe Rita Skeeter's articles about how disturbed you are - and how dangerous I am!" Heroneka told Harry.

"Maybe," said Harry, as a group of seventh-year Hufflepuffs passed them. "Maybe they are formulating their own theories about how Cedric died."

Heroneka didn't care much. She liked it best when she was alone. But Harry would never let her be alone. He liked staying with her all the time as if it assured him that she was still safe and to her relief, Draco was not minding it. Hermione was now back to usual, not being awkward or angry at Heroneka. She had even started accompanying Heroneka everywhere she went because Fay was spending most of her time with Draco and Blaise. Whenever Heroneka wanted to spend time with them, she would simply sit by the lake, where Draco, Fay and Blaise would join her. Although Draco had joined hands with Dumbledore, he was not comfortable around with Harry and Ron. And neither were they comfortable with him. So, Heroneka had to divide her time to hang out with them at different times.

The situation between Harry and Draco, reminded Heroneka a lot of the situation between Sirius and Snape. But they weren't fighting or arguing anymore.

Heroneka felt as though she, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fay, Blaise and Draco had reached an understanding they didn't need to put into words; that each was waiting for some sign, some word, of what was going on outside Hogwarts - and that it was useless to speculate about what might be coming until they knew anything for certain. Draco had started working on his plans along with Blaise to deal with Andrew. Fay was helping them too. But whenever they were with Heroneka, Draco would start playing the Violin as he knew how soothing music could be for her.