Forbidden

47 - The Lost Hufflepuffs

"Aren't you dead?" I asked, confused.

Cedric chuckled lightly. "Not even a 'hello,' or a 'I missed you?'"

I looked around at my surroundings. We sat on a couch in the Hufflepuff common room, except it was extremely bright and I felt a strange sensation of floating.

"Am I dead?"

"...yes," Cedric said after a moment of silence.

This can't be happening.

I looked at Cedric, my beautiful, kind, best friend that I'd lost a few years ago. I was looking right at him...something I didn't think I'd do for another 70 years at least.

Knowing me well, Cedric opened his arms to me, and I buried my face into his chest, crying both happy and sad tears.

"I know, it's a shock at first," he said, stroking my hair.

"I-I'm not ready to die! There's still so much I need to do..."

"And that my child, is why you have a choice," a warm voice said.

I removed my face from Cedric's chest to see a squat woman. Her brown hair was pulled into braids and she wore a yellow dress.

She looked extremely familiar and I couldn't help but think I'd seen her somewhere.

The woman gave us a sweet smile which I swore to have brightened the room.

"I have to agree with you, dear. You were taken from your loved ones way too soon."

She approached us and motioned for me to sit down beside her which I did, but as I got closer to her, I realized where I'd seen her - a portrait in the common room. I was sitting next to Helga Hufflepuff herself.

"Helga..."

"Lizzie, it's nice to meet you. I'm glad to have you in my house," she said kindly.

"It's a great honor."

She put her arm around me. "I've been dying to meet you. I never thought it'd be so soon, though."

"Yeah..."

"However, I don't think it's your time to join us up here just yet."

Cedric nodded in agreement.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"A war is about to begin, Draco needs you, and your loved ones miss you," she explained, "that's why I'm giving you a choice. I'll grant you life once again if you promise to help fight and save Draco."

"I was stuck in the cellar of the manor. Won't I just end up back there?"

"Oh no, you see, time is quite different up in Heaven. In what felt like the ten minutes of you being here, months have passed down on Earth," she said, "anyways, if you choose to return to your old life, I can pull a couple of strings to get you out of the cellar," she said in a slight whisper.

"And if I choose to stay here?" I asked.

"Then you can stay with Cedric, all your other lost loved ones, and me," she said with a wink.

But what she was saying all seemed too good to be true; it was like I was waiting for someone to wake me up from a dream.

"...I'm not dreaming, right?" was all I managed to respond with.

Helga chuckled. "No, but I understand this is a lot to take in. I'll give you some time to think about it."

"Thank you..."

"Of course, dear."

She walked off, leaving me with Cedric again. "I can't believe I died," I said.

"Yeah, me too. It's great to see you again, though. How is everyone?"

"They're good. Everyone misses you. A lot."

He smiled. "I think you should go back."

"Do you not want me around?" I asked jokingly.

"Of course I do. I've missed you so much, Liza. I just think you have so much more to live for. Voldemort is still out there. He's hurt you in so many ways, wouldn't you want to stop him?"

The horrible man who killed Cedric. Of course I'd want to get revenge on Ced's behalf.

"Think about Draco. The night you died...that was the night he found you, except he was a moment too late. Just think about how broken he is; he didn't even get to say goodbye."

Knowing Draco, he probably beats himself up over my death because he thinks it's his fault.

"And your friends and family. They've been searching for you endlessly. None of them know you died. From what I know, your parents hardly sleep anymore, Dylan, Oliver, and Ellie stopped going to school...and even Vanessa misses you."

And I miss them.

"I'll do it. I want to go home."

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A/N- I really need to get more creative instead of killing off Draco's love life in all my stories🤡
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