The Buddy System. *Updating In Process*

9. Dawnlight and Debussy

By the time the sun even considered rising, I was already awake—wide-eyed, heart pounding, breath uneven. Another sharp, fluttering pain bloomed beneath my ribs, stealing the last remnants of sleep I'd been clinging to.

At this point, I wasn't even surprised.
The chest pains came and went like passing storms, arriving at the most inconvenient times.

But today... today was the first official day of classes, and nerves were already knotting themselves tightly in my stomach. Maybe that alone was enough to jolt me awake.

I dressed slowly, pulling on my Ravenclaw uniform with mechanical care. Shirt straight, tie neat, jumper smooth. It felt ridiculous to look so put-together when I felt like a messy stack of unanswered questions and half-healed wounds on the inside.

I wasn't looking forward to classes—far from it. But the sooner I made it through the day, the sooner I could return here... to the quiet... to my books... to a space where no one expected anything of me.

The room still felt cool, so I cracked the window slightly, letting in a soft breeze. The sill was high—thank Merlin. It sounded ridiculous, but Bleu had a habit of attempting great leaps as though he fancied himself an acrobat. Or a daredevil.

"Don't even think about it," I murmured to the tiny fluffball snoring in my bag.

He peeped in his sleep as if acknowledging the instruction.

I slipped the bag over my shoulder and headed out. It was far too early for breakfast—the castle was still asleep, shadows long and stretched across the stone. A quiet walk felt like the best way to calm my scattered mind. Or at least distract it.

The moment I stepped outside, the warm air kissed my skin. Morning sunlight spilled over the grounds in soft gold, brushing the grass with gentle shimmer. It was the kind of warmth that shouldn't exist this close to autumn—a rare pocket of peace.

I descended the front steps and let my feet follow the familiar path toward the lake.

The grounds were silent. Still.
As if the entire world were holding its breath.

When I reached the Black Lake, I sank into the grass, pulling my knees close. The water lay before me, perfectly still—a smooth, dark mirror reflecting the pale sky. It didn't even ripple until I leaned forward and dipped my fingers into its surface.

The gentle rings expanded outward, soft and slow.

Watching them, my chest tightened—not from pain this time, but from memory.

Cedric.

I thought of him so often it sometimes felt like my thoughts were stitched to him.

He used to tell me this place—this exact spot—was his favourite in all of Hogwarts. Quiet. Private. A space where he could breathe. Think. Just be.

I used to find him here often, especially when he needed time away from the noise of responsibilities and expectations. He'd sit just where I was now, skipping stones across the lake or lying back on the grass, pointing out clouds and telling me which ones looked like dragons or Hippogriffs or very confused puffskeins.

Now, the silence felt heavier.
Emptier.
Like a reminder of everything he was, and everything he would never be again.

I wrapped my arms around myself and stared at the water until my eyes blurred—not from tears exactly, but from the ache of remembering too much.

Flashback

The sun had been bright that Saturday—one of those rare Hogwarts afternoons where the air smelled like grass and freedom, and you could almost pretend essays and deadlines didn't exist. Teeny, Azaleah, and I had practically skipped out of the Great Hall after lunch, determined to soak up every ray before the weather turned bleak again.