EIGHTEEN
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.
No one treated her like a person except for Fred and George. They treated her normally. But she was a glass menagerie to the rest of her classmates and teachers and even her brother.
"C'mon, Rory," Angelina said softly, "Are you ready?"
Rory sat on her neatly made bed and propped her arms on her knees, burying her face in her hands. It was almost as if his memorial was the true reality he was gone. A reality Rory didn't want to face.
"I don't want to go..." she said.
"Rory, it'll be good for you. I really think you should." Marina said.
Rory shook her head, "I can't."
The girls nodded and left Rory alone in the dormitory, not wanting to argue with her grief.
Rory laid on her bed and looked up at the wooden frame. Then, there was a small knock on the door.
Frustrated, she stood up and walked across the room. She barely opened the door but saw enough to identify the person.
It was Fred.
"How did you get up here?" She spoke quietly.
"I walked up the steps," he said confused at her question.
"No I mean, boys aren't allowed... nevermind. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the memorial with everybody else?"
"It hasn't started yet," he answered, "Angelina just told me you're not going."
"I don't feel like I should," she confessed, "I loved him so dearly, I'm not ready to say goodbye."
Fred took Rory's hand and gave it a small squeeze, "Then don't see it as a goodbye. It's a memorial, more of a celebration of his life. A way for people to think about their best memories of him. I feel like it would be good if you went, to see all the people who cared for him like you did. Everyone is grieving, together. Please Rory, you shouldn't be alone, not right now."
Rory engulfed Fred in a tight hug and nodded, "Can you hold my hand the whole time, Freddie?"
"Of course." He said softly. Together, they walked down to the Great Hall and took a seat at the Gryffindor table. For once, the banners on the ceiling were just black, and the candles were not lit.
"The end," said Dumbledore, "of another year." the man paused looking at the Hufflepuff table. Normally the most cheerful house of the school had the most melancholy expressions that evening.
"There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight," said Dumbledore, "but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here," he gestured toward the Hufflepuffs, "enjoying our feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand, and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory."
Everyone did so. Every person in that hall, put aside Quidditch rivalries and house differences to honor him. All of a sudden Rory's eyes became foggy from tears about to spill down her pale cheeks. But she wasn't alone. As she looked around she saw other students from different houses being emotionally struck by the headmaster's words. Rory saw Cho Chang, a wreck of silent sobs, sitting weakly at the Ravenclaw table.
"Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities that distinguish Hufflepuff house," Dumbledore continued. "He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about."
The hall was the most silent it had ever been in the hundreds of times Rory had been there. Except for the disrespectful snickers from the Slytherin table made by Draco Malfoy and his posse.
"Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."
Then the silence broke into panicked whispers. Rory shut her eyes and tried to keep her breathing study as fear entered her heart. She knew how he died, she knew he was back. Her world was going to be a lot different going forward. A change Rory did not wish to see.
"The Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore continued, "does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so — either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory."
Everyone was so stunned but so intrigued they hung on to Dumbledore's every last word.
"There is somebody else who must be mentioned in connection with Cedric's death," Dumbledore went on. "I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter."
A kind of ripple crossed the Great Hall as a few heads turned in Harry's direction before flicking back to face Dumbledore.
"Harry Potter managed to escape Lord Voldemort," said Dumbledore. "He risked his own life to return Cedric's body to Hogwarts. He showed, in every respect, the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this, I honor him."
And so it went as it did earlier. Everyone stood up and raised their glass and muttered Harry's name.
When everyone had once again resumed their seats, Dumbledore continued his speech, "The Triwizard Tournament's aim was to further and promote magical understanding. In the light of what has happened — of Lord Voldemort's return — such ties are more important than ever before."
Dumbledore then looked at all the schools and champions and teachers standing before him.
"Every guest in this Hall," said the old man, "will be welcomed back here at any time, should they wish to come. I say to you all, once again — in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.
"It is my belief — and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken — that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you in this Hall have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst."
Rory was stunned by his words, how he eloquently honored the boy making sure he wasn't dismissed or disrespected in any way. Cedric deserved to have such beautiful words spoken about him. She was glad she went. It was a good sort of closure. Seeing how his life was truly so beautiful and everyone saw it as such.
"Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."
Rory nodded and gave Fred's hand another squeeze. Her tears had stopped, finally.
Sometimes people leave without saying goodbye, and people die too soon. It was all part of life. The death of a young boy brought three schools together for a moment in his name.
Rory was blessed to have known Cedric. To call him a friend. To confide in him. To hear his laughter and see him cry. Just because his life was over did not mean his impact was. He changed Rory, in the best way possible. So, she would remember Cedric and everything he taught her. She would see the sunshine and think of his smile, touch the grass and think of his embrace. She would read over his letters and hear his voice. Cedric would live on forever, Rory would make sure of it.
END OF PART II