HP Universe Imagines

Afraid of the Darkness ~Cedric Diggory~

Featuring They/Them Y/N with Cedric Diggory

Inspired by OWAOWA2021

As a young kid, you hated the dark. You didn't like sleeping with your closet door open, and you always had a nightlight. Normal things. But what wasn't normal, was the reason why. If the lights were out in the middle of the night and you looked into the corner of your room, you saw the figure of a man, around six feet tall. You never told your parents because they would tell you it was just your imagination, but it wasn't. You never saw anything over that the outline of the man, because he always stood directly in front of your nightlight. Every time you saw him, you went ballistic inside, and had a panic attack. When you went to Hogwarts, you thought you were free from the night-stalker, but you were wrong. And you found that out on this day in the middle of your fourth year.

The lights shut off. All of them. The candles blew out, and the only hint of light was from the moon outside the window. Along with the lights going out, there was a loud bang, as if someone had just flipped a huge power switch. You snap your upper body up on the common room couch at the noise, only to see complete darkness. You slept on the couch because you couldn't sleep in such a big bed, sleeping in a smaller space gave you a sense of security. No one else in Hufflepuff understands it, but that's ok.

You start to freak out. You never knew what could be waiting in any kind of darkness, and you didn't like it, at all. Your hand shaking, you reluctantly reached for your wand under the blanket. You grabbed it and held it firmly in your hand. You pulled your hand out from underneath the soft wool and pointed it into the darkest part of the room. You could see very little because the drapes were covering the window with the moonlight but you could see a silhouette of a tall man in the corner. You gulp, and whisper, "Lumos..." the wand glows, and illuminates the room.

You look into the light up corner and deep into the bloodshot eyes of a tall man, around 6 feet tall, his skin as pale as paper, and it seems to shine. His mouth is pulled into a creepy smile that showcased his disgusting teeth. Horrified at the sight, you whisper-shout, "Nox!!" And the light goes away. You start to have a panic attack. You mind starts spinning. You arms and legs begin to shake. You can't see straight but you can see a blurred image of the figure start to inch its way towards you. You curl your legs up closer to your chest and pull the blanket higher up your body, like a child would if they thought something was in their closet. You thought to yourself, "It's ok Y/N, it's just your imagination..." Your head began to spin faster now. Letting go of the blanket, you bring your hands to your head and clutch your temples, softly whimpering.

Outside, the wind starts to howl, adding to the creepy-ness of the whole situation. You can't hear anything, not even your own thoughts. A tear slips down your cheek as you open your mouth and scream in absolute terror and anxiety. The windows shatter and the drapes are blown from their position. The figure disappears somehow but you don't pay attention to that. You just pay attention to screaming your lungs out. You finally stop, and you start breathing heavily as sweat beads roll down your forehead. You close your eyes as you hear the stomping of footsteps rushing towards you, and the light turn back on with the same loud noise as before.

"Y/N! Y/N are you alright?!" Said a voice. Your eyes flutter open, and you look into Cedrics. "C-Ced..." You say, your voice raspy and your throat sore. "What happened?! Are you alright?!" He says with worry. "Y-Yeah. I'm ok." Al of the other Huflepuffs, including Professor Sprout, run in and gather around the couch in the common room, asking if you were ok. You explain what  happened, and you describe the man in full detail. "It's been happening for as long as I can remember, but it's never been this bad. He actually walked up to me this time. I've never seen him before in my life. I'm sorry for waking you all up." You say to everyone. They mumble their "its okays" and walk back up to their dorms, except for Professor Sprout and Cedric. He pulls you off the couch and into a tight hug. "Don't even be sorry for something like that my dear." Professor Sprout said to you. "If you want, we could have this brought up to Professor Dumbledore and he could have Mr. Filch search Hogwarts for this man."

Cedric lets you go, but grabs your hand securely, making you feel safe. "I'll think about it, but if he could spend years of my life creeping around my childhood room in the daytime without alerting my parents, I'm sure Mr. Filch won't find him." She nods, and says, "Aright then. We'll make sure you get to bed you two. Don't be up too late. But of course if you need to talk to each other to have you calm down Y/N, that's alright as well. I'm off to bed." She leaves the room, and soon it's just you and Cedric. Your boyfriend. He sits on the couch, and gently pulls you down towards him. You sit down next to him, and he lets go of your hands and wraps his arms around you, hugging you. You rest your head on his shoulder, and he rests his head on yours. You sigh deeply, feeling calm and relaxed. You stared into the blazing and crackling fire and said, "What if we just... Stayed like this forever?" You smiled as he said, "I would like that very much."