Star Girl | Cedric Diggory

|*| One Hundred Seven |*|

Cedric could tell that something was bothering Aquila. As the couple wandered the dimly lit streets of Diagon Alley together, he could sense a distance between them, and it appeared as though her smile was a bit dimmer then usual. He wanted to say something about it, but every time he mentioned her mood, she was quick to change the subject.

"How was the Quidditch thing?" Aquila asked. She clung to his hand tightly, trying to memorize the feeling of his skin against hers. "Fall off your broom in front of the pros?"

Cedric chuckled. "Almost," he said, "but I did get a nasty hit from a bludger. Right here." He raised up the bottom of his shirt so she could see a large black bruise on his side. She also took note that his abs were a bit more noticeable, and she let her eyes linger on them for a second.

"Do a lot of crunches at Quidditch camp?" she asked.

"That wasn't even half of it," Cedric told her. "I am so sore from it all; they gave us hardly any time to rest."

"Make any friends?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, thinking back fondly on his time. "A bloke named Travis Hummington-going out for beater. He went to Ilvermorny for school and had a lot of stories to tell about America. Said that people around there play Quidditch a bit differently, and they let a lot of nasty plays slide around there. Blatching is allowed in American Quidditch! Can you believe that?"

Cedric went on for a while about the differences between American and British Quidditch, and Aquila drank in his voice. The sound of his words seemed so innocent in the cruel world she was a part of. He was like a little dog, chasing it's tail in a circle, and she was trying to keep the dog safe from the world. The only way to do that was to let it go.

"You're not listening to a word I'm saying, are you?" Cedric asked her. Aquila suddenly snapped out of her funk and met his eyes again. "Seriously, Aquila. What's the matter? Something has clearly got you in a twist."

Aquila sighed. She couldn't avoid reality any longer, and trying to do so would be unfair to Cedric. She had to tell him; he needed to know.

"I love you, Cedric," she said. "I love you so much."

"And I love you too, Aquila," he told her. "And I'll never let anything happen to you."

Aquila shook her head. "No," she said. "You've got it backwards. I'll never let anything happen to you... and this is going to be really hard for both of us, but I can't let them hurt you."

"The Death Eaters, Quil?" he asked. "You don't have to worry about me; they don't want me-"

"No, but they want me, and they'll do anything to get to me," Aquila explained. "Including target you."

"I can defend myself," he told her. "You don't need to worry about me." He grabbed her hand and looked at her with a calm, loving demeanor. She wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him

"Cedric, please stop making this harder for me!" she exclaimed.

"I didn't do anything!" he defended.

"I know!" she told him. "And that's why this is so bloody difficult. I don't want this to end."

Cedric looked at her with a blank expression. He was trying to piece everything she'd been saying into something that made sense, but his mind was a jumble of thoughts and emotions. "What are you saying?" he asked her finally.

"I'm saying that this-this relationship between us-has to end. And it hurts me to say this because I love you-and I probably always will-but I'm heading down a dangerous path; and I don't want to pull you with me."

"I promised you I'd always stay by your side," he said. "And that was way before we started dating. Aquila, I would go to hell and back for you without batting an eyelash."

"I know," she said. "Cedric, I know, and I would do the same for you... but we aren't in Hogwarts anymore. I'm not planning my comical revenge on Cassiopeia anymore-I'm joining the world's scariest cult. You can't be in my life until this is over."

"You mean until Harry defeats You-Know-Who," Cedric said. "Even, if Harry defeats him. We don't know how long that is from now. I don't want to be without you. I'm not letting you do this."

"You don't have a choice," Aquila said, her eyes wet with tears. "I'll never stop loving you, Cedric Eyebrow Diggory."

He laughed weakly at her attempt at a joke and wrapped her in a hug. "Aquila, please."

"I'm sorry, Cedric," she whispered to him. "I have to do this-it's in my blood."

"You're stronger than this, Quil. You can fight this; you have to for us."

"It's too late," she said. She and Cedric made eye contact for the last time, and she wiped away one of his tears. "I'm sorry."

She slipped from his grasp like a ghost, but he called to her before she walked away. He pulled her close to him again and kissed her deeply, and she kissed him back with the same intensity. "I love you," he said after. "Don't ever forget that."

"I love you too," she said. "But this is the end. Go live your life, Quidditch Boy... Forget about me."

"I'll never forget you," he told her. "And this is not the end. We will meet again, when it's over."

"I hope so," she said. "Goodbye, Cedric."

With the wave of her wand, Aquila was gone, and Cedric was alone in the streets with her echo around him.