ᴛɪʟ' ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴅᴏ ᴜs ᴘᴀʀᴛ | 𝘊. 𝘋𝘐𝘎𝘎𝘖𝘙𝘠

𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯.

-

skylar couldn't sleep after the night of the third task. every time her body had fallen asleep, she was woken up with a nightmare.

the nightmare being of cedric's death.

even though she wasn't there, her brain couldn't help but think about it.

the girl sat on her bed, her expression emotionless. everything was numb. all of the girls in her dorm had decided to give her some space for the day, leaving her all alone.

she sighed to herself, looking out the window. the winter weather was gone now as it was june. the sun was shining brightly.

the sun.

the sun reminds me of him.

so bright and happy.

the sun was yellow, like him.

she stood up from the bed, shutting the curtains harshly.

she took a glance around the room. everyone else, except for her, had already packed for the summer break. she bent down, pulling her suitcase from under the bed.

she knew packing would take her mind off things even if it was for a moment. she pulled out clothes from her drawers, her items that she used on a daily basis, and some other things she had brought along with her this year.

as she grabbed all of her books, she came across the journal cedric had given her for her birthday. she smiled as she remembered what he said as he handed it to her.

'you can write down every little detail of your day, or stuff about the creatures you love. anything involving you, i want you to write.'

her eyes had started watering without even realizing it. she held the journal up to her face, resting her head against it.

"i'll write in it every day. i swear." she whispered.

the sound of knocking caught her attention. she looked towards the door to see laverna standing there. skylar quickly wiped away her tears and sat the journal onto the pile of books.

"hey." she whispered.

"hi."

laverna walked over to her, looking at the stuff she had spread out onto her bed. skylar stared at the floor, trying her best not to let the tears peak through.

laverna pulled her into a hug, which was the breaking point for her. skylar sobbed into her shoulder, every emotion coming out at that moment.

"i'm so scared, lav." she muttered into the fabric on her shoulder. "he's back."

laverna shushed her, her hands rubbing her back soothingly. "he's not gonna find you, or your father. i promise."

skylar sniffled softly as she pulled away. her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were wet. laverna felt a part of herself break as she looked at the girl who was now broken.

"i need to finish packing." skylar said, turning back to the bed.

"i'll help."

☆★☆

that evening, skylar entered the great hall and saw that the usual decorations had been replaced with black drapes, which hung high all around the hall and behind the staff table.

she knew they'd done this out of respect for cedric, which she was thankful for.

skylar walked down the aisle and sat down at the hufflepuff table in silence. she felt some stares from the other houses as she sat in the seat cedric used to. everyone in the hall was quiet. not a single sound could be heard.

they watched as dumbledore stood from his seat. "the end of another year." he said, glancing toward skylar and the other hufflepuffs.

"there is much that i would like to say to you all tonight, but i must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here enjoying our feast with us. i would like you all to stand, and raise your glasses, to cedric diggory." the headmaster said.

everyone stood up and raised their glass. All together, voices echoing, they repeated "cedric diggory." 

once they seated back down, skylar looked towards laverna, who sat in front of her. the girl sent a sad smile to skylar, and so did her boyfriend miles.

"cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities which distinguish hufflepuff house. he was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play." professor dumbledore continued. "his death has affected you all,"

"whether you knew him well or not. i think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about."

there was a pause within the great hall. skylar knew what he meant by this. some people shared glances with their neighbors and friends. skylar couldn't tell if it was either looks of confusion or not.

"cedric diggory was murdered by lord voldemort." 

people began whispering to one another in terror, staring at the headmaster in shock. skylar knew it was true.

"the ministry of magic does not wish me to tell you this. it is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory." dumbledore said. 

a silence passed through.

"there is somebody else who must be mentioned in connection with cedric's death." he said. "i am talking, of course, about harry potter." 

skylar looked towards the boy, "harry potter managed to escape lord voldemort." professor dumbledore said.

"he risked his own life to return cedric's body to hogwarts. he showed, in every respect, the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever shown in facing lord voldemort, and for this, i honour him." 

the headmaster turned to harry and raised his goblet. skylar stood from her seat, raising her own glass to him. everyone else followed after, raising their goblets to him.

as they sat back down, and dumbledore continued his speech. skylar stared at him with her cold eyes. if it weren't for the fact she was breathing, any other person would think they were lifeless.

"remember cedric. remember, if the time
should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was kind, and good, and brave, because he strayed across the path of lord voldemort."

"remember cedric diggory."

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