𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 | √

⎡60⎦

Cedric nodded and mouthed "I love you too" back, before walking into the maze.

My immediate reaction was to put my head in my hands.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked.

"Do I look alright to you Mione?" I asked.

"They're all going to be fine."

I nodded and grabbed Cedric's scarf and brought it up to my nose. His scent comforted me. Peppermint. Always peppermint.

. . .

All we did is wait. In the eerie silence, we waited. I stared, waiting for someone to come back with the cup in hand. Whether it was Cedric or not. I just wanted this torture to be over. I saw red sparks in the distance and my heart began to race. That can't be Cedric. It can't be Cedric. Minutes later Fleur came back crying. Her classmates rushed up to her and comforted her in their arms. Something terrible must have happened. A little later on, Krum came back looking quite shaken. Both him and Fleur are out leaving Cedric and Harry still in there.

The time ticked slowly by. It must have been nearing midnight when suddenly the crowd began cheering and the music began to play. I jumped up waiting to see who arrived back. Harry and Cedric were there. The cup as well. But Cedric didn't look right. I rushed forward only to see Cedric gone.

Not his skin, but the color.

Not his eyes, but the light behind them.

Harry was over Cedric's body sobbing. 

I rushed down to see Dumbledore kneeling next to Harry.

"He's back, he's back! Voldemort's back!" Harry sobbed. "Cedric, he asked me to bring his body back. I couldn't leave him, not there."

I ran forward as Dumbledore was trying to soothe Harry and collapsed next to Cedric joined by Mr. Diggory, who was wailing, 

"That's my son! That's my boy!"

I was on my hands and knees looming over Cedric's body. Cedric, my Cedric. He was gone. It couldn't be true. I lifted one hand and brought it to Cedric's face.

"Cedric. Cedric, talk to me please!" I begged tears falling down my face like a waterfall.

I tried to find some sort of life still in him but his eyes were lifeless. They no longer had that shimmer of light behind them. My hands went to his chest. I felt nothing. Nothing in his body and nothing in mine. I could only remember those last words he spoke to me before we parted. "I love you, Hazel." I was broken.

A part of me had just died with the first boy I had ever loved. How could my whole world have fallen apart in just minutes? What now? How am I going to move on? All of the times we shared, both good and bad, all of our plans for the future were no more. For we had just spoken about our future days before the third task. How we would keep our relationship strong even if he was going to graduate before me.

I wasn't ready to let go of him. I never was. I never will be. Then I noticed something. In his pocket of his pants was a picture. A moving picture of Cedric and I at the Yule Ball. Grins on our faces as we danced gracefully across the dance floor, eyes locked. This brought a new batch of tears to stream down my face. I leaned over and kissed his cold cheek.

"I will always love you. You were my everything and I never wanted you to leave me like this. Remember me in heaven will you?"

Cedric's P.O.V.

I was lying still on the grass with a Harry on top of me. However I wasn't in my skin, I was looking down at myself. What had just happened? Did I die? Is He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named back? Why am I so far away from my body?

I looked down. My body was translucent. You could still see my clothes and cuts but it was all translucent. It was true. I was dead. There was cheering amongst the crowd and the music was playing loudly.

"He's back, he's back!" Harry sobbed. "Voldemort's back! Cedric, he asked me to bring his body back. I couldn't leave him, not there."

Then I remembered everything. The cup. The cup was a portkey. It brought us to the graveyard where- where I was killed. There was a green jet of light that shot right out of the rat-like guy's wand before everything turned black. I watched as my father and Hazel ran forward towards my body. Both of them collapsed on the floor.

Oh, my poor father. He already experienced the pain of losing my mother. Now me?

And Hazel. My beautiful Hazel. She was on her hands and knees looming over my body. She lifted one hand and brought it to my face searching for some kind of light.

"Cedric. Cedric talk to me please!" Hazel begged as tears streamed down her face . Her hands went to my chest just trying to find something. No, no, this couldn't be. The only thing that I loved most in the world has to move on without me? I could only remember those last words she spoke to me before we parted. "I love you too Cedric. Forever and Always."

She was broken. Anyone could tell. Her whole world must have fallen apart. She looked at my face trying to search for answers for her future. Oh Merlin, our future. All of our plans for the future were gone. We can no longer have a future together. Just days before the third task we had just spoken about our future. All of our shared moments. We could have no more. Yeah, they might still be there to remember but we can't make more. I'm not ready for this. I'm not ready to let her go. And I never will be.

Then Hazel I noticed something. In the pocket of my pants was a picture. The moving picture of us at the Yule Ball that I asked Isaac to take. We had grins on our faces as we danced gracefully across the dance floor, our eye locked on only each other. This caused a new batch of tears to stream down her face. She leaned over and kissed my cold cheek.

"I will always love you. You were my everything and I never wanted you to leave me like this. Remember me in heaven will you?"

"I will Hazel. I always will."

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I'm so sorry if you wanted Cedric to live. :'(