xviii. life and death

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EIGHTEEN

CEDRIC DIGGORY DIED ON A SATURDAY, and his memorial was on a Tuesday

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CEDRIC DIGGORY DIED ON A SATURDAY, and his memorial was on a Tuesday. It was a dreary morning. Almost as if the earth was mourning with Rory. The sun was hidden behind grey clouds and the June air was colder than normal. The world was silent, the birds didn't chirp and the wind didn't howl.

Rory had stopped crying. She had cried too much when it first happened, her eyes were out of tears. Or at least that's what she thought. The morning of his memorial was their last day of term, meaning Rory spent most of her morning packing up. However, Marina forced her to eat breakfast, or at least sit at the table with them. So, Rory dragged herself to the Great Hall. It was quieter than usual. The only sound besides hushed voices and silverware were the owls, delivering their last bit of mail before term ended. As always, Rory ignored their chirps and slowly sipped water (which Angelina told her to, because Rory had been forgetting).

A letter dropped in front of Rory.

"What?" The girl whispered, slowly picking up the parchment.

"Is it from your mum?" Marina asked.

Rory let out a small chuckle at the thought and opened the letter. Immediately, she recognized the handwriting.

Dear Rory,

Here you go! You've finally got a letter! I hope it's all it's cracked up to be. Well... just wanted to say you're the best friend anyone could ask for and I love you! I hope the owls get this to you before term ends, they're going to be so confused when I tell them to send a letter to Hogwarts but... they should understand! Alright, not sure what else to put now... I can't wait to see your smile when the owl drops this off, though.

With love,

Cedric

A sob made its way up Rory's throat and the familiar sting of tears crept into her eyes. She began crying over the letter. She got up from the table and left, without saying a word to her friends. As she sobbed, heavier and heavier, she entered her dormitory and collapsed with her back against the wall, knees tucked in.

A world without Cedric's smile was a world Rory didn't want to live in. She felt as if the sun would never shine as bright as it did when he was around. The birds would never sing and the wind would never whistle against the trees.

Except they would. The world was going to go on without Cedric as if nothing happened. In a few hours after his memorial, she would have to get on a train and go home to be with her mother. It wasn't fair.

Hours passed, Rory didn't leave the dormitory. She got ready for his memorial with Angelina and Marina. Quietly, with tears coming and going. Angelina and Marina were great, she really appreciated their help. But they acted as if Rory were a porcelain doll. They whispered when she came near to make sure she didn't have a breakdown.

WILD ➞ Fred WeasleyWhere stories live. Discover now