Green Apples and Parchment

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The next day was our last day at Hogwarts until September.  In my dorm, the other girls packed their trunks sluggishly, and no one was in the mood for talking. Once I finished packing, I walked into the common room, looking to say goodbye to my home away from home for the next few months. All of Hufflepuff seemed to be in a daze; the mood in the common room was subdued and quiet. "Support Cedic Diggory" banners still hung from every wall, yellow and black streamers littered the floor and fluttered from the ceiling, and there were even more Hufflepuff themed decorations than normal. No one seemed to be able to muster the strength to take them down, so the house elves would have to do a thorough cleaning over the summer. Everywhere I looked, I had to stare into the face of dead boy. Tears formed in my eyes, and I was forced to divert my gaze to the floor. 

Dumbledore's speech from the previous night kept running through my head. I couldn't think of any other reason behind Cedric's death; I was sure that none of the other champions would kill him, and while I had no idea what was in the maze, it must have been made safe enough to avoid student deaths. Even if it wasn't, I didn't see any major wounds on Cedric's body, which made me believe that he had been subjected to the killing curse. Still, I just didn't want to believe that You-Know-Who was back. But it was better to be overly cautious than underprepared, right?

Justin's emergence from the boy's dormitory pulled me from my thoughts. His usually tidy hair was unkept, and he looked like he hadn't slept very well. Then again, I didn't think that anyone, especially any Hufflepuff, got a full night's sleep. 

"Are you alright?" I asked him. 

Justin shrugged. "As I can be, I guess. You?"

"The same."

"I don't know what I'm going to tell my parents." Justin sighed. "They don't know anything about You-Know-Who, but I'm sure they wouldn't want me coming back to Hogwarts if they knew that a boy from my house was murdered on school grounds."

"I'm sorry Justin." 

While we were talking, the rest of the fourth years came out into the common room. "You could always just not tell them." Megan suggested to Justin. "I'm sure you don't want to lie to them, but what else can you even do?" 

He shrugged again. "I don't know. I guess I'll just have to figure it out." 

Soon after we finished our conversation, it was time to get going. As a house, we filed out of the common room and headed for the grounds, where the rest of the houses and the foreign students were waiting. Everywhere around me, students were saying goodbye to friends, exchanging hugs and promising to send owls. Since I wasn't close with any of the Durmstrang or Beauxbatons students, I instead started looking for Draco. 

Before long, I managed to find him. I headed over to him, and he enveloped me in his arms. I buried my head in his chest, and he rested his chin on the top of my head. I took comfort in Draco's familiar scent, and was suddenly reminded of our amortentia lesson so many potions classes ago. I couldn't believe how far we had come; at the start of the school year I couldn't stand the sight of him, and now I couldn't stand the thought of being away from him during the summer holiday.

"How are you?" Draco asked me when I finally pulled away from him. 

I shrugged. "I'm alright, I guess. I didn't know Cedric well, but I still can't believe he's gone. And You-Know-Who being back is terrifying."

Draco's face hardened, and, remembering his parents, I suddenly dropped the topic. I was relieved when Tracey and Daphne came over and started talking. 

"You're sitting with us on the train." Tracey phrased it more like a statement than a question, putting her arm around my shoulder like we were already best friends.