CHERRY, george weasley ( slow updates )

039, her other half!

FINALLY, HARRY AND Cedric had returned with the cup. They had tied. Everyone around them cheered, but Cerise felt weird. Her heart was aching, her stomach was twisting and turning in all different directions. She had been right all along. She rushed down towards Harry, her mother trying to grab her hand, but it was no use. As soon as she saw Cedric lying on the floor, face pale and eyes lifeless, she froze.

"He wanted me to bring him back to Cerise," Harry was saying, "and his parents."

Cerise didn't know what to do. She collapsed on the ground next to Harry and Cedric, the tears strolling down her face.

"Come on, Ced," she said quietly, shaking his arm. "Wake up. This joke isn't funny." She knew it wasn't a joke; His skin felt ice cold, his lifeless eyes stared at her as she sobbed. "I need you, Ced. You promised me you would be okay."

"THAT'S MY SON!" Amos yelled, rushing forward as he and Josephine finally understood what was happening. He launched himself on the ground as Professor Moody pulled Harry along with him. Josephine crouched next to Cerise, pulling her daughter into her arms as she broke down in front of the whole school. "THAT'S MY BOY!"

Josephine held in her tears as she stared at her lifeless son. Cerise needed her now, more than ever. "It's going to be okay," Josephine whispered, wrapping her arms around her daughter tightly. "Everything's going to be okay."

"He's gone," Cerise sobbed, pulling away from her mother as she could feel her chest tightening. "He's dead. Cedric... Mum, it hurts."

"I know it does," Josephine couldn't stop the tears from strolling down her face as she watched her daughter break down, "I know it does, sweetheart."

Cerise shakily stood up, and then, she ran. She ran away from everyone. She needed space, she needed to breathe. She ignored the shouts from Loralei, George and Fred, she ignored Elijah and Lee, she ignored everyone.

Cerise sat on a bench, goosebumps rising on her skin as she pulled her knees up to her chest. There are many different types of pain in the world, but nothing could beat this. It hurt, more than anything. Her little but big brother, who was joking around with her not even three hours prior, was dead.

He wasn't returning.

He was dead, and there was nothing Cerise could do, apart from cry until she couldn't anymore. She needed Cedric, more than anything. Everyone talks about what it was like to lose grandparents, and parents, and how painful it is. Nobody ever told her what it would be like to lose a twin brother.

He was her other half.

And now, she felt like apart of her was missing.

"CAN I COME IN?"

Cerise was lying on Cedric's bed, where she had been for the last few days. She hadn't eaten, she hadn't slept, she hadn't moved. Her eyes were red and puffy, her nose was runny and stuffy, her throat was dry and her cheeks were stained with tears.

"If you're going to ask if I'm okay, then no," Cerise replied, her voice hoarse. "That's all anyone seems to be doing lately."

Entering the room, George took a seat at the edge of the bed. "I'm not going to ask if you're okay," he said gently, running his hand through Cerise's hair soothingly. "I know you're not okay. I think people are forgetting that Cedric wasn't just your best friend, but he was your twin brother, too."

Cerise rolled over to lay on her back. "What would you do if you lost Fred?" She asked quietly, "Because I feel like I can't do anything anymore. A part of me is missing, he is missing."

"Honestly," George said, grabbing Cerise's hand, "I don't know what I'd do if I lost Fred. I tried to think about it, so I could feel how you're feeling just to figure out how to comfort you... but, I couldn't imagine it."

"Well, it sucks," Cerise said bluntly. "I feel like my heart's been ripped out of my chest, I've been hit with the cruciatus curse a hundred times in a row, and all of my bones have been snapped into tiny little pieces."

George helped Cerise sit up as he gave her a sad smile. It hurt him seeing Cerise like this, he had no idea how he was supposed to help.

"You have a meeting with Dumbledore, Harry, and your parents," George told her, pulling her out of bed. "And I know it's going to be hard, but you are the strongest person I know, and I believe you can get through this — You'll have everyone there to support you."

CERISE LISTENED TO EVERY word Harry said to the Diggory's, and she was beyond livid when Harry finished explaining the whole story to them. "I swear to Merlin —"

"Cerise." Josephine said sternly, interrupting her daughter and giving the girl a shake of her head, before turning to Harry, who looked anxious. "We don't blame you, Harry."

Cerise rolled her eyes, and shrunk in her seat. Harry frowned when he saw this, but he didn't blame her. She lost her twin brother, her best friend, she had every right to feel the way she felt.

"He suffered very little," Josephine said, wiping her eyes. "And after all, he died just when he won the tournament... he must've been very happy."

She stood up, and pulled Amos with her, giving Harry a gentle smile. "You look after yourself, now," she said to him, before leaving Dumbledore's office.

Cerise glanced at Harry, unable to control the tears that were strolling down her face. "Thank you for bringing his body back," she said, ignoring the way her voice cracked.

"You should take this," Harry said, holding out a sack of gold. "It should've been Cedric's, he got there first, so you should have it."

Cerise wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "No," she said, shaking her head. "It's yours now, Harry. You both tied anyway."

Harry gave her a small, sad smile, before wrapping his arms around her as Dumbledore appeared. "Ms. Diggory?" He said, making the two pull away. "You have the choice to return home with your parents, or you can stay at Hogwarts for the last month."

Cerise frowned. She couldn't return home, not yet, at least. It would remind her too much of Cedric.