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In your admittedly short life, there had only been two constants: Cedric Diggory, and your love for him.
There was no love from your family. Your mother had died giving birth to your sibling; losing the baby too. Your father hadn't coped well with the loss; he became a recluse, rarely leaving his study and library - throwing himself into his work with a newfound passion and determination as if his work could bring back his deceased wife and child from an illness that also affects muggles. You would only see him once a day on an evening through tea where the relationship would be close to a business partnership than a father/daughter relationship.
You were looked after; by the nannies, and the tutors - they made sure you were clean, that you ate, and taught you your ABC's. They sang you to sleep after a nightmare. They covered the role of a parent whilst your remaining one couldn't handle it. But after a while, they moved on - to new families, to new posts; whatever, they simply moved on, leaving you behind. It didn't take long for your definition of love to have a deadline.
Your love for Cedric surprised you. You didn't think you would ever feel this way about someone. You didn't think you were capable of feeling the emotion but when you looked into his grey eyes, you knew that you had fallen in love with him. It seeped out of every pore; it took over your veins. On your more dramatic days, you were certain that your heartbeat in time to the syllables of his name.
His love for you surprised you more. Everything you felt for him was reflected in his eyes, in his actions. He was wary in the beginning after you had opened up about your upbringing, but you warmed up to him quickly. Soon enough, he couldn't keep his hands off you. Life at Hogwarts became easier after Cedric; happy to have someone love you.
It was teenage infatuation personified through make-out sessions in dark corners and supply cupboards.
And all through it, you waited. You waited for him to change his mind; to leave and move on because that's what always happens when you love someone. There's a deadline; there's only so much they can take before they're gone.
Cedric would kiss away those worries; whispering promises of forever and eternity, and for a while, those fears disappeared.
Then he became distant; not listening as you asked him about his day or told him about yours. His mind always somewhere else; thinking of something else. Physically, he would be in the room, but mentally, you didn't know where he was. He wouldn't hold you in bed now; instead, you rolled onto your sides, back to the other. The gap between you the personification of the gaping void in your relationship. The gap between you a roaring expanse, with him on one side and you on the other, that you had no hope of crossing.
