-CHAPTER TWO-
[—GRIEF—]
***
HER EYES FEEL heavy, dropping down in the silence of the dormitory room. The sound of talking coming from the common room is muffled by the walls, and her pajamas comfortably hang on her cold body, her hair tied into a low bun.
The only light source in the room is the lamp on her beside table, releasing a warm gold that illuminates the room nicely as she leans back into the beds headboard, letting out a yawn.
She had walked to her empty dormitory only a bit after arriving to the common room. She was tired, wasn't sure what from, but exhaustion took over her as soon as she had arrived. When she told her..friends.? that she was going to rest, giving them a small smile she had hoped for no one to question, she had only felt gazes follow her as she walked up the stairs to the girls dormitories, following her every move.
She lets out a drawn out sigh, turning the lamps light off, and letting the darkness take over while pulling the covers over her.
She closes her eyes, lying down in the silence and shuffling from time to time. Her focus goes to her breathing. An inhale, then an exhale.
And then she's back there.
Shes back in those stands. Surrounded by many. The sky is dark, in a pretty but wary way.
And soon, not having enough time to fully take in and process her surroundings, she hears the screams of terror and guilt from her spot in the stands. She looks down, past the people in front of her, only making out the shadowy image of a boy crouched over a lifeless body.
Harry Potter she knew. It was him. And the lifeless one on the floor, that was-
And all of a sudden it's hard to breathe. Her breaths are short circuited, a lump forms in her throat. The air is heavy, stuffy, and she feels like she's suffocating, drowning under forceful waters.
The screams don't stop. They echo through the arena, causing everyone to be still. The silence is deafening to her, as everyone stares in shock at the chosen one. She swallows the lump in her throat, or at least tries to, because no matter how many times she tries, it comes back.
Her eyes are strained at the scene infront of her, and all of a sudden, it's silent. The screams are seen, but not heard. All noise is gone beside that ringing. The low ringing, that seems to be the only thing she can hear until it reaches what seems like its max volume.
Her eyes snap open.
She gasps, and at the corner of her eyes, she feels the wetness of small tears. Her chest feels heavy and she let out coughs as she turns the lamp on, reaching for it quickly and sitting up. Waves of the heavy air push down on her, and she feels herself drown under them.
She notices the lumps under the covers of each bed, and forces the coughs down, forcing deep breaths. The back of her hand reaches up to wipe away the tear stains, and the other stays down to clutch the bed covers.
Her breaths are shaky, uneven. Leaning back against the headboard, and sniffling, she feels more of the warm tears forming already. And now, they're falling down her pale face, cheeks and nose turning a pretty pink as her head leans back against the headboard.
Cedric. It was Cedric. Her life, her light, and her warmth. His warmth.. His warmth, his warming personality was one of the many reasons to why he was popular. One of the reasons he attracted so many people. He was popular amongst the Hufflepuffs, and pretty much the whole school. He was loved by his friends, father, and by Violet herself. Because he was the ray of light in her own life. So, when he had died, she felt herself die with him. Her own happiness taken away when he was, and laughter replaced with silence.
***
Rains drops hit the window repeatedly, and her eyes close as she groans to herself mentally, then lets out a sigh as her head only continues to throb painfully.
It was the end of the school day, all classes were over with and she had decided to spend some time in the library to do her homework, feeling as if she wouldn't concentrate if she went to her common room. But being here didn't help. Her head hurts too much, aching since she woke up this morning, and the lights seem too bright for her, exhaustion being the only thing she feels.
Shelves of books tower over her, cornering her, and her alone.
She sits back in her seat and sighs, leaving her school book open on the table. One hand moves up to rub a temple. The library is lowly lit, in such a calming and pretty way that will never fail to make Violet feel at home.
"You ok, Vi?"
She stares down at the words that crumple together on the open pages.
"Vi?"
She turns to her side, away from the words.
"You ok?" Cedric repeats. He sits down in the seat next to her, his yellow scarf around his neck untied and in the verge of slipping off. Outside, it's gloomy, and she can see the snowflakes from the sky hitting the window and turning into water.
"I'm fine." She says, shutting her school book closed, her attention now fully on him. His curls were defined, but messy in a way that was so perfect for him. She can tell that he was just outside, his cheeks pink along with the tip of his nose, and she can see faint snowflakes on his scarf, melting slowly.
"'M just tired."
"Well, how 'bout a break?" He suggests, a smile on his lips.
"I don't know. I have to finish this-" she continues, but gets cut off by him.
"C'mon. It'll be fun."
She thinks for only a bit, then stands up with a 'sure'. She knew she had to get the homework done, but she can't pick homework over Cedric. She can't pick anything over him.
-
After a while of running around together, they both sit under a tree, side by side,shoulder to shoulder. She sighs a bit, catching her breath, a small mist blowing from her mouth.
"I should've done my homework." She says with a chuckle.
"You'll live." Cedric smiles to her.
They chuckle a bit, sitting in comfortable silence after that, and she rubs her hands together.
"I told you to bring gloves." He says, with a tone of complaining, but she can tell he's joking.
And then, his hand, warm despite the cold, and only a bit bigger than hers, rest over one of hers. Her head falls onto his shoulder gently.
She doesn't say anything. Neither of them do. It'll ruin the moment. So they just sit there. Holding hands in comfortable silence, as warmth fills her body.
Violet shuts her book closed, and gets up slowly, pushing in her chair. She nears the doors of the library, having no attention to her surroundings or anything whatsoever.
And then, she feels her shoulder bump in rather harshly with someone else. Their arm is rather hard against her, and then the strong scent of cologne fills her nose.
"Sorry."
"Watch it." They say as she speaks. "Oh. It's just you." They say after a bit. She could recognize that snobby voice anywhere. Draco Malloy.
"Hi Draco." She greets. Her voice sounds low and hoarse, having not really talked since she got to Hogwarts.
She can hear him speak again, probably greeting her back, if not, bragging about whatever he always brags about, his wealthiness, his pure blood status, probably anything.
But she can't focus. His words start to blur together, turning to gibberish, and then, her world fades to black.
***
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