RP: Remember Cedric
Date: Monday, June 24, 1999
Characters: Cho Chang
Location: Diggory family cemetery, Ottery St. Catchpole
Status: Private
Summary: Last Goodbye
Completion: Complete
The unsettling parallels of using a Portkey to Apparate into a cemetery on this very day were not lost on Cho. The only facts she had been given four years ago were that a Portkey had been used to transport Cedric to a cemetery where he had been murdered. When she had offered her condolence to Cedric’s parents that next day, Mr. Diggory had let that much slip before his wife had led him away from Hogwarts. As merely a girlfriend, she had not been privy to the official ‘facts’ pertaining to Cedric’s death. It was the not knowing that weighed on her mind. She still believed she might have coped and grieved in a healthier fashion, if she had known what happened. She might only have suffered that particular nightmare each night rather than the countless permutations of every nightmare imaginable. She looked around the cemetery, thankful she had arrived before dark.
She hadn’t expected to receive a response from the Diggorys to the letter she had sent them during the weekend of the war’s anniversary. That was something she felt she needed to do but Cedric’s parents had seemed happy to reminisce with someone who knew and remembered their son. Mr. Diggory had wrote telling her she was welcome to pay her respects, if she cared to, and offered to accompany her if she didn’t wish to go alone. She had debated the wisdom of revisiting such a painful time from her past, but knew she had moved beyond those feelings quite some time ago. It did feel right though to say a final goodbye for the sake of closure, and in Cedric’s memory. She replied to Mr. Diggory’s letter, accepting the invitation to visit Cedric’s final resting place but declined his offer of company. This was something personal and private. Mr. Diggory had sent the Portkey, along with a very touching letter.
She looked around the small graveyard, seeing an impressive tombstone with Cedric’s name. The tightness in her throat intensified as she realized the ornate tombstone had been the last thing Cedric’s parents had been able to give their only son. How did someone survive the loss of a child in such a horrific manner? She slowly walked forward and knelt to place on the grave a yellow rose she had brought with her. She breathed deeply, as she looked around the graveyard a moment, before reading the engraved words. Cedric Diggory. Beloved son. Champion.
She traced her fingers lightly over the chiseled date of his death. June 24, 1995. It was four years to the day and the last time she saw Cedric remained one of her most vivid memories even now, that image of him lying motionless on the ground. That memory had haunted her at Hogwarts, her waking moments as badly as her slumber. She whispered, “I cried for you, Cedric Diggory.” That was an understatement, of course. She knew she hadn’t handled his death well. Everything immediately afterwards had been sort of a blur, like a bad dream. It was even worse when the reality set in and missing him hurt so badly. She knew most people became tired of her crying. She still regretted she had shown her weakness in public but everything at Hogwarts had reminded her of him. The Great Hall was where they’d had their first date at the Yule Ball. The Quidditch pitch was the site transformed into the Maze where his body had lain lifeless on the ground. From their beginning to his end, the memories of him at Hogwarts had been overwhelming and she hadn’t been strong enough to deal with it.
His life had been cut far too short, ending after only seventeen years. She had learned at that moment there were no guarantees in life but that knowledge served her well as she eventually developed her own character strengths and resolve. Cedric had been the brave one but she thought he would be proud of her involvement in the D.A. and Resistance, and her return to Hogwarts to fight in the final Battle. He had always told her he believed in her. “I’m doing okay now. I just - ,” she swallowed hard, “I just thought you should know that.”
She reached into her pocket and brought out a small wrapped present. In their last letter, the Diggorys mentioned wanting her to have something of Cedric’s. They had remembered coming across the wrapped gift for her in Cedric’s belongings from Hogwarts which had been packed away, left untouched for years. She carefully opened the package and lifted the lid on the small box to find a lovely bracelet with several Snitches in silver and gold, linked together. Both being Seekers, the Snitch had held a special significance for them. She read the enclosed note in Cedric’s handwriting and her breath caught as a lump formed in her throat. She looked closer at the bracelet which indeed had six Snitches to represent their six months spent together. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to remember. How handsome he had been at the Yule Ball. His smile when she had woken in his arms after her enchanted sleep during the Second Task. The last time she kissed him goodbye moments before he left for the Third Task. He had run back to her at the last minute, kissing her again, promising he would be okay. She opened her eyes and looked again at the bracelet. He would always be that seventeen year boy full of life and promise in her mind. That’s the Cedric she wanted to remember. Had he lived, he would have given this gift to her himself for her birthday. She had turned sixteen years old just three days after his death, but couldn’t recall much about that birthday. A gift from him now, like this, was bittersweet.
She brought her mind to the present, focusing on her birthday this week. She would be twenty, which sounded young given the last four eventful years felt more like a lifetime. She looked at the bracelet one more time as she closed the lid on the box. It was time to leave her teenage years and dreams where they belonged, in the past. She reached out, touching his gravestone one last time, feeling the cold marble. She felt a chill and looked up as the waning sun settled into the horizon. She quickly got to her feet and raised her hand in farewell as she activated the Portkey. Goodbye, Cedric.
Characters: Cho Chang
Location: Diggory family cemetery, Ottery St. Catchpole
Status: Private
Summary: Last Goodbye
Completion: Complete
The unsettling parallels of using a Portkey to Apparate into a cemetery on this very day were not lost on Cho. The only facts she had been given four years ago were that a Portkey had been used to transport Cedric to a cemetery where he had been murdered. When she had offered her condolence to Cedric’s parents that next day, Mr. Diggory had let that much slip before his wife had led him away from Hogwarts. As merely a girlfriend, she had not been privy to the official ‘facts’ pertaining to Cedric’s death. It was the not knowing that weighed on her mind. She still believed she might have coped and grieved in a healthier fashion, if she had known what happened. She might only have suffered that particular nightmare each night rather than the countless permutations of every nightmare imaginable. She looked around the cemetery, thankful she had arrived before dark.
She hadn’t expected to receive a response from the Diggorys to the letter she had sent them during the weekend of the war’s anniversary. That was something she felt she needed to do but Cedric’s parents had seemed happy to reminisce with someone who knew and remembered their son. Mr. Diggory had wrote telling her she was welcome to pay her respects, if she cared to, and offered to accompany her if she didn’t wish to go alone. She had debated the wisdom of revisiting such a painful time from her past, but knew she had moved beyond those feelings quite some time ago. It did feel right though to say a final goodbye for the sake of closure, and in Cedric’s memory. She replied to Mr. Diggory’s letter, accepting the invitation to visit Cedric’s final resting place but declined his offer of company. This was something personal and private. Mr. Diggory had sent the Portkey, along with a very touching letter.
She looked around the small graveyard, seeing an impressive tombstone with Cedric’s name. The tightness in her throat intensified as she realized the ornate tombstone had been the last thing Cedric’s parents had been able to give their only son. How did someone survive the loss of a child in such a horrific manner? She slowly walked forward and knelt to place on the grave a yellow rose she had brought with her. She breathed deeply, as she looked around the graveyard a moment, before reading the engraved words. Cedric Diggory. Beloved son. Champion.
She traced her fingers lightly over the chiseled date of his death. June 24, 1995. It was four years to the day and the last time she saw Cedric remained one of her most vivid memories even now, that image of him lying motionless on the ground. That memory had haunted her at Hogwarts, her waking moments as badly as her slumber. She whispered, “I cried for you, Cedric Diggory.” That was an understatement, of course. She knew she hadn’t handled his death well. Everything immediately afterwards had been sort of a blur, like a bad dream. It was even worse when the reality set in and missing him hurt so badly. She knew most people became tired of her crying. She still regretted she had shown her weakness in public but everything at Hogwarts had reminded her of him. The Great Hall was where they’d had their first date at the Yule Ball. The Quidditch pitch was the site transformed into the Maze where his body had lain lifeless on the ground. From their beginning to his end, the memories of him at Hogwarts had been overwhelming and she hadn’t been strong enough to deal with it.
His life had been cut far too short, ending after only seventeen years. She had learned at that moment there were no guarantees in life but that knowledge served her well as she eventually developed her own character strengths and resolve. Cedric had been the brave one but she thought he would be proud of her involvement in the D.A. and Resistance, and her return to Hogwarts to fight in the final Battle. He had always told her he believed in her. “I’m doing okay now. I just - ,” she swallowed hard, “I just thought you should know that.”
She reached into her pocket and brought out a small wrapped present. In their last letter, the Diggorys mentioned wanting her to have something of Cedric’s. They had remembered coming across the wrapped gift for her in Cedric’s belongings from Hogwarts which had been packed away, left untouched for years. She carefully opened the package and lifted the lid on the small box to find a lovely bracelet with several Snitches in silver and gold, linked together. Both being Seekers, the Snitch had held a special significance for them. She read the enclosed note in Cedric’s handwriting and her breath caught as a lump formed in her throat. She looked closer at the bracelet which indeed had six Snitches to represent their six months spent together. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to remember. How handsome he had been at the Yule Ball. His smile when she had woken in his arms after her enchanted sleep during the Second Task. The last time she kissed him goodbye moments before he left for the Third Task. He had run back to her at the last minute, kissing her again, promising he would be okay. She opened her eyes and looked again at the bracelet. He would always be that seventeen year boy full of life and promise in her mind. That’s the Cedric she wanted to remember. Had he lived, he would have given this gift to her himself for her birthday. She had turned sixteen years old just three days after his death, but couldn’t recall much about that birthday. A gift from him now, like this, was bittersweet.
She brought her mind to the present, focusing on her birthday this week. She would be twenty, which sounded young given the last four eventful years felt more like a lifetime. She looked at the bracelet one more time as she closed the lid on the box. It was time to leave her teenage years and dreams where they belonged, in the past. She reached out, touching his gravestone one last time, feeling the cold marble. She felt a chill and looked up as the waning sun settled into the horizon. She quickly got to her feet and raised her hand in farewell as she activated the Portkey. Goodbye, Cedric.