The Dark Lord, The Witch and The Time-Portal

XI - Better days will always come

"All things must pass
None of life's strings can last
So, I must be on my way
And face another day

Now the darkness only stays the night-time
In the morning it will fade away
Daylight is good at arriving at the right time
It's not always going to be this grey

All things must pass
All things must pass away"

All Things must pass – George Harrison

Friday, September 4, 1942

Holly was sitting in front of the lake in Hogwarts, staring the horizon and feeling the cool autumn breeze.

"Holly, where were you?" Cedric said behind her. She turned her body a little to look up at him.

"Cedric?" She said with a whisper. Her chest tightened but she didn't know why. She stood up quickly and threw herself at him in a hug. "I've missed you so much!"

He laughed out a breath. "But you saw me this morning!" The witch heard his voice vibrating in his chest. She inhaled deeply his scent, his cologne had a citrus fresh perfume that really fit him. Cedric was always clean and even after a Quidditch match, when he was sweaty and dirty, he still had a good smell.

"I have something important to tell you," Holly looked up to stare his blue eyes, heart racing inside her rib cage and her intuition screaming that something awful was about to happen. "It's important... but I totally forgot what was about!"

He opened a sincere smile at her, cupping her face in his hands. "If you can't remember, it's not that important, you silly..." He said in a playful way and pecked her lips. Soon they were kissing sweetly by the lake. It was uncomfortably for him to kiss her while both stood up considering their height difference, so they changed positions and sat in the grass.

Cedric liked to take his time brushing his lips on hers before deepening the kiss. His pace sometimes felt way too slow and far too sweet for Holly's taste, but it wasn't that bad either. They just had different rhythms. Holly enjoyed when they were together, however at the back of her mind she felt something amiss in their relationship. She was too naive to end what they had, though, afraid to break his heart because he was loyal, trustworthy, sweet and caring. In her opinion it was just a matter of time for love to flourish in her heart. Cedric never protested, so she thought he was satisfied with her. He was oldest and had more experience in relationships than her.

"After I graduate," His words made Holly's chest hurt again, she didn't know why. "I hope I'll be hired by a professional Quidditch team. It will be good if I win the Triwizard Tournament," Holly had a bad feeling and somehow she knew it was related to that event. She was close to remember what she had to warn Cedric about. "And when you graduate I want you to marry me," Cedric said with a boyish smile. Holly felt bad with herself again. They just started dating, but Cedric was already talking about marriage when Holly wasn't so certain about her feelings. She had no clue about how to approach this subject without hurting him, so she just closed her eyes and started another kiss. If he just stop talking it could be easier for her to think. He chuckled and laid down in the grass, pulling her closer, so Holly was facing him down while kissing him, caressing his jaw.