the girl with all of the choices

t w e n t y - e i g h t

3394 words

september seventeenth- his birthday

My eyes fluttered open to sunlight. Warm, shining sunlight. I rolled over in my bed and groaned when I saw the clock. It was already 10 am.

Shit.

It was 10 am. Sunday. September seventeenth. His birthday.

Cedric. Happy eighteenth birthday, Ced. I miss you.

I looked over at Fawn's bed. It was empty. They were probably already down at breakfast. I got up out of bed and grabbed some clothes to throw on. I grabbed all-black pieces, afraid that if I had any colour I would be afraid to mourn.

I looked around my room quickly before leaving, breathing in the warmth of the sunlight. Cedric loved sitting out in the sunlight. He would have loved today. I grabbed my wand, my special piece of parchment, and my cloak and walked out of the room.

We had planned the whole day out to celebrate him. It was Sunday, so we didn't have to worry about skipping classes to make it work. The plan was to go to breakfast, then go to the Three Broomsticks and grab some butterbeers, stop by Honeydukes to grab some liquorice wands, and then enjoy our treats at the alihotsy plant. After we finished, we wanted to go back to the common room and play cards on the couch, his favourite thing to do on Friday nights, other than getting drunk, of course.

I walked to the Great Hall with a lump in my throat. This was the first time we were doing anything for Cedric since his funeral. It was the first birthday we were celebrating without him. The first time playing cards without his lame shuffling skills. A lot of firsts were happening today.

Yesterday I wrote my first eulogy. I had finally done it. I locked myself in my dormitory all day and just wrote. I poured my feelings out onto the paper. I used magic to make a copy of it and sent it to Mr Diggory with an enchantment that made it so my voice would read it to him. It was almost like a Howler, except it wouldn't scream at him, but instead talk to him about his dead son...

I walked into the Great Hall and saw my friends sitting together at our table. Everyone was in their usual spots, except Fred had snuck in next to Ainsley, George was next to Fawn, and Hannah was in between Ernie and Matt.

I walked over towards them and sat down in my spot.

"Morning," Ernie said, drawing out the word suggestively. "Someone had a late evening, didn't she?"

"Oh yeah Ernie," I said, going along with it. "I had a line of boys waiting in the common room for me. Each one got a turn."

"Really?" he asked in disbelief.

"Absolutely not, you tosser," I replied. "I spent all day yesterday in my room writing a eulogy, thanks."

Matt reached around Hannah to shove him. "Nice one, Ernie," he said sarcastically.

"Shove off, Carroll. I was just trying to lighten the mood."

"Obviously that worked," said Fred and George in unison.

"Has everyone eaten? Are we ready to go to Hogsmeade?" I asked.

"We've eaten, but you just got here," Fawn said, her voice sad.

I looked around at the food on the table and spotted a bowl of green apples. I grabbed an apple and took a bite before looking back at Fawn.

"I'm good," I said, continuing to chomp on my apple.

"Since when do you like green apples?" Ainsley asked.

"Since her boyfriend likes them," Ernie said, his head turned towards the Slytherin table.