PRANKSTER [1] ↝ C. DIGGORY

fifty-two

Clary sat forward in her chair, looking around the Hospital Wing, which was empty save for her and a still-sleeping Cedric that morning, the first time they'd been alone in days with no others milling about the room. She sighed, the too-quietness of the wing hanging heavy in the air around her after the constant hustle and bustle of the room that had become standard over the past week and a half, and looked back down at her boyfriend, giving him a soft smile.

"I wish I knew what to say," she said softly to him, though she knew he couldn't respond to her in his current state. "Your parents will be back later today, and the others have class, so it's just us for now, I hope that's alright."

Clary looked out the window, watching as a group of fifth years walked down the hill from the castle to Care of Magical Creatures, Katie and her friend Leanne among them. The sun was shining proudly on the Hogwarts grounds, a bit of light spilling into the Hospital Wing and casting a small golden sheen against the stone floor.

"It's a beautiful day outside," she continued. Not that she would know, anyways, from the few times she'd been outside in the past week and a half, but she could imagine. "Sun's shining, the bees are buzzing. We'd probably take lunch outside, eat by the Black Lake and study for finals." she chuckled softly to herself, reaching up to wipe her eyes. "But Merlin, what I wouldn't give to hear your voice right now, even if it's just to lecture me about how I should be studying and not throwing Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans at you to distract you."

She took his hand, expecting the icy cold feeling she'd grown accustomed to, but to her surprise,  it felt slightly warmer to the touch. Her heart began to race, and she reached up, resting the back of her hand against his forehead to see that it, too, had started to rise in temperature.

"Cedric?" she asked softly, though he didn't respond, still laying as he had been. 

Clary heard the double doors to the Hospital Wing open, and she looked up to see Professor Dumbledore walk in, Madame Pomfrey close beside him. Dumbledore came to check in on Cedric every couple of days, though Clary hadn't seen him in a little while, his last visit being while Newt and Vasantha had forced her into taking a nap back in her dormitory.

Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey crossed the room to Cedric's bed to check on the boy, greeting Clary with small grins.

"Hello, Miss Weasley," Madame Pomfrey greeted, reaching up to feel Cedric's forehead, a slight gasp emitting from the Hogwarts Matron's lips at his raising temperature.

So Clary hadn't imagined it.

"What is it, Poppy?" Dumbledore asked the old woman.

"He feels warmer," Madame Pomfrey said, turning to Clary. "Has there been any other change that you've noticed? Anything at all?"

"No," Clary informed the woman with a slight shake of her head. "I spoke to him a little bit, not that he could hear me, and when I took his hand, I noticed the change. But other than that... nothing."

"In that case, I believe you've helped him." Dumbledore spoke suddenly, causing Clary's eyebrows to furrow in confusion in response.

"Come again?" Clary asked.

"It appears," Dumbledore said, "that our young Mr. Diggory is lost, and trying to find his way back, though it seems he doesn't quite know how. I believe that, when you speak to him, he can use that as a source to help find his body."

"So you're saying I should just... keep talking to him?" she asked.

"It couldn't hurt." he said simply before turning back to Madame Pomfrey. "Continue checking on Mr. Diggory each hour, see if there's any further changes. Miss Weasley, you know what to do."