Emerson Wilmore was an exemplary Ravenclaw student, known for her unwavering dedication to academics and an unyielding moral compass. However, things took a twisted and deviated turn in her life after her boyfriend, Cedric Diggory, was murdered by L...
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On this particular day, the rays of dawn filtered through the curtains, casting a soft, golden light across the Fifth-Year girls Ravenclaw dormitory. Emerson blinked against the morning sunlight, waking from her broken and twisted sleep. Her eyes swollen and raw from a night of endless tears, her bed fitted with a silencing charm so no one could hear her quiet sobs. She tossed and turned all night, with the horrifying images replaying in her mind as they did every night—Cedric's lifeless body, the cold, merciless face of Voldemort, the echo of the killing curse. The worst part was knowing that the entire nightmare was not just a dream, it was real so she relieved the feelings of pain and helplessness from that night all over again.
Nonetheless, the room around her was also quiet, eerily so, as if the world itself was holding its breath when she finally properly woke. She realised, with the smallest relief she could muster, that everyone else in her dormitory was fast asleep, peacefully sleeping without awful nightmares littering their mind.
Emerson moved her hand ever so slightly as she shifted in her bed when she felt something momentarily forgotten under her sheets with her. She pulled out a familiar yellow and black Quidditch jumper, with the Hufflepuff badger crested on the front. She instantly remembered the events from the night before; the endless sobs until she finally plucked the courage to search the bottom of her trunk for it.
It was Cedric's jersey, the name Diggory written on the back. He gave it to her last year because they no longer had any Quidditch to play due to the Triwizard Tournament. He told her that she could wear it because she was his girlfriend and she deserved a momentous token of their relationship. When he was alive, she found herself wearing it often on the weekends or at night lounging around. When he died however, she could not bare to look at it, let alone touch it.
So there she left it, folded neatly at the bottom of her trunk. She didn't want the reminder, because it brought back memories that she would never be able to create more of. Over time since his death, she forgot about it or perhaps, ignored it, but last night, after several hours of no sleep, it wandered back into her mind, encouraging her to finally find comfort.
Clutching it within her hands hit her like a tidal wave, memories crashing with an almost unbearable intensity. The familiar, worn fabric felt like a connection to him, with his unmistakeable scent still lingering faintly in the material, a mix of fresh air and pine. She didn't realise how much she missed it, until she held it to her chest and sobbed in her bed.
Emerson's emotions were at an all-time low on this particular day because it marked her first relationship anniversary with Cedric. They started dating shortly before the Yule Ball; he politely asked her to be his date, followed by a question to be his girlfriend as well. It was a milestone that should have been filled with joy, laughter, and whispered promises of a future together as a couple who spent their first year together.
