Chapter Seventeen: Everything Will Be Fine

It was the day of the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament, and I was only feeling anxiety. This would either be the day that my best friend would be told that he was the Triwizard Champion, or it would be the day that he needed my support more than ever. I was excited for Harry as well, but my nerves for him didn't waiver in the slightest. For Harry, this day wasn't about winning or losing; it was about life or death – a much more serious gamble.

"Hey Sara, you excited?" Fred asked, holding my hand as we sat in the common room, waiting for the rest of our group of friends to get ready to watch the conclusion of the Tournament.

"Very." I said unconvincingly. He could see right through me, but I knew he didn't want to press the matter further.

Hermione and Ron were the next couple down the dormitory steps, closely followed by Neville, Ginny, George and Katie. "Is that everyone, then?" Hermione inquired, looking around the room. With a sharp nod of confirmation, she led everyone out of the common room and down to the arena where the final task would be taking place.

"Cedric!" I screamed from my seat in the front row of the stadium. Cedric took a look up into the crowd and waved when he spotted me grinning at him. Then he beckoned me down into the arena where he stood wearing a yellow and black Hufflepuff uniform. He was in front of one of four entrances to an extravegant hedge maze.

I shrugged. "Okay. Fred, I'll be back. Save my spot." Without waiting for a response, I ran down the steps to the arena and gave Cedric a giant, bone-crushing hug. "How are you?"

"Could be better." He was shivering. I was positive it wasn't from the cold, as it was fairly warm for a summer night and he was wearing long sleeves.

I shook my head. "Don't worry, you'll do fine. Better than fine. You'll win!"

Cedric grinned down on me. "I hope so." He looked into the audience and upon noticing Cho, blew her a kiss and waved at her.

That's about the time Dumbledore approached me. "Sara," he said, "I need you to go find a seat now. The task is about to begin."

"Alright." I nodded at him showing I understood, then turned to Cedric. "Good luck." All I got was one more hug before I had to dash up to my spot in the stands next to Fred.

"How's he doing?" Fred asked, no jealousy in his tone.

"Nervous."

Dumbledore's voice suddenly rose over the stadium. "Welcome everyone, to the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament!" He paused to allow for the audience's cheer. "Hidden deep inside the maze is the Triwizard Cup. The only person who knows its exact whereabouts are Professor Moody, who placed the Cup in the maze earlier this afternoon. Because Mr. Potter and Mr. Diggory are tied for first place, they will go into the maze first, soon afterward followed by Mr. Krum and Ms. Delacour. At the sound of the cannon, both Hogwarts contenders will be allowed to enter the..." Filch, the caretaker set off the cannon a little too early and the sound echoed through the night sky, cutting off Dumbledore. He rolled his eyes behind his half-moon spectacles, and shook his hands towards the Champions, indicating that Harry and Cedric were allowed to begin. I took a deep breath and held it until I could no longer see Cedric's figure as he made a left-hand turn into the maze. All we could do now was wait.

For hours we waited, not knowing what was happening inside the darkness of the maze. Fleur had sent up red sparks to show she was in trouble, and she had been disqualified only minutes into the competition, but as far as the rest of us knew, all three males were still safe.

"They've been in there for two and a half hours now." Hermione sighed. "What could they be doing in there?"

"No idea." I prayed that nothing bad had happened. What could happen? The whole thing was supervised. I allowed myself to exhale at the thought.

Very suddenly, the bodies of Harry and Cedric slammed into the floor where they had begun. Harry grasped onto the shiny, blue Triwizard Cup with one hand as he lay sprawled on the ground, and Cedric was in the other arm, clung tight to Harry. Everyone, including me stood and cheered for Harry. He was the youngest Triwizard Champion history had ever seen and he had won! If that was the case, he highly deserved it. That's when I noticed the boy clinging to the Cup was shaking violently – dirt, blood and tears plastered to his face. Cedric hadn't moved.

Words could not form in my mind. All I could do was scream and point at his body. I could hear Cho screaming from directly behind me. The cheering slowly died down as the others realized Cedric's state. A man wearing glasses and Ministry robes escaped the crowd and ran towards Cedric. "Let me through!" He shouted, his voice full of fear. "That's my son!" At the sound of Cedric's father weeping, tears began to pour down my face; though I couldn't feel them.

Fred didn't bother holding me back. He and his brother sat with identical, shocked expressions on their faces. I jumped from my seat and sprinted towards my best friend. Cho was right next to me. I could only imagine how she felt. Probably about as horrible as I did. Harry was in such a state of anxiety that Moody had to drag him away from the crowd. I fell to my knees, no longer able to hold myself upright and began to grasp at his shirt sleeve. His face was cold and losing colour; his eyes had lost their sparkle. I got hold of myself long enough to twist my head around to see Cho sitting on the ground, her face was hidden in her trembling hands. Shifting over to her, I reached out slowly to hug her, but she leapt onto me and squeezed me so tight in hopes it might feel as though Cedric was the one in her arms.

I sat on the common room sofa alone that evening, staring at the dying fire in disbelief. Cedric was gone... How could Cedric be gone? He had been by my side all year, and all at once, he was taken from me. I sensed someone coming up behind me and taking a seat to my right.

"Are you okay, Sara?" It was Fred. I knew it was a stupid question. He knew it was a stupid question. But what else was there to say?

"Not particularly." The tears began to surface again. "Everything hurts."

Fred shuffled toward me and draped his arm over my shoulder. "It's gonna be alright. Don't worry." His words were meaningless to me. No matter what he said, nothing would ever be the same again.

"I think I'm gonna go for a walk." I stood from the sofa and made my way to the portrait hole. "I just need to be alone right now." Fred nodded at me, and I left the room.

My little stroll around the castle only made me think about what I'd lost even more, causing me to cry again. As I turned the corridor, a tall, thin wizard with greasy black hair and billowing black robes blocked my path.

"Miss Hughes." He was monotonous.

"Professor Snape."

"How are you feeling?"

The fact that he even asked me that question has confused me to this day, but I answered him nonetheless. "Not very well, sir."

"Come with me."

Not giving me much of a choice, Snape led me up many flights of stairs, I didn't even try to keep track of how many, then stopped at a golden phoenix statue. I couldn't hear him muttering the password, but the statue began to spin, revealing a staircase that resembled a spiralling muggle escalator. Snape urged me to step on, so I did so. It brought me to a wooden door which Snape pushed open. Inside was Dumbledore sitting at his desk, already speaking with a short girl with straight black hair and cat eyes. Cho had her hand held up to her mouth gently.

"Sara." Dumbledore said, his voice dripping with sympathy. "Take a seat next to Miss Chang, here." As I sat down in the second chair facing the headmaster, I heard the door close. Apparently Snape had gone. "I know you two were very close to Cedric Diggory, and I wanted to tell you exactly what happened to him before I told everyone at his funeral this weekend." I don't know if he was expecting either of us to respond, but he took a pause before continuing. "The Cup was a portkey. Harry and Cedric" I cringed at his name, "both touched the Cup at the same time and it transported them to a graveyard where Voldemort murdered Cedric and used Harry to bring himself back to life." The old wizard spoke with a grim sternness in his voice throughout his story.

"He was murdered by You-Know-Who?" Cho asked quietly, obviously still in shock from what she just learned.

Dumbledore sighed. "I'm afraid to say it's true. Voldemort is back."

Hearing the story in Dumbledore's office was supposed to make it easier on me when I heard it the second time at Cedric's funeral. The story did not get easier. If it was possible, I cried even more. Lizzy, who sat on one side of me, looked up into my eyes and clutched my hand.

"It's okay, Sara. Everything will be fine." Somehow the innocence in her voice was more believable than when Fred told me the same thing days before. Her sincerity only made the tears fall faster.

My first year at Hogwarts had definitely been an adventure; there is no doubt about that. I had met many wonderful friends who made me laugh as hard as I could, who made me think about life in general, and who helped me to mature more in one year than I ever had before. I had a boyfriend that I cared about more than anyone, and a sister who meant the world to me. I'd also had a best friend. The best friend I'd ever had. But it took me the entire train ride home to realize that just because he wasn't there in body, didn't mean he wasn't always going to be with me in spirit.

"Sara," Fred said, snatching me from this daydream, "you've turned my world upside down. You have no idea. Meeting you was the best thing that's ever happened to me." We had the compartment to ourselves, as Ron had fallen asleep and Ginny and Lizzy had gone to visit Hermione and Harry.

"Fred," I looked him in the eyes that made my stomach fill with butterflies, "I know Cedric's gone, but just so you know, I think of you as my best friend and my boyfriend... You're not just some guy to me, you're everything. I love you."

"I love you, too."