Cedric saw the Triwizard Cup glowing in all its glory only a few feet away. For a fleeting second he imagined himself holding the Cup over his head with the whole school cheering for him, Professor Sprout practically beaming, and his parents standing next to him, proud and happy. The glory and pride it would bring to his family, Hufflepuff, and Hogwarts. Sharing it all with Harry wasn’t entirely what he wanted, but it would still be a Hogwarts victory, and that was good enough for him. After all, Harry had worked just as hard as himself to get this far. It was the fair way. At Harry’s word he grasped the gleaming handle of the Cup and was instantly swept off his feet. Everything around him was swirling, a great blur of colour and sound, until he felt himself back on solid ground. As he got to his feet he surveyed the area. They were in an old graveyard. The Cup was a Portkey. Was this part of the task or what?

“Where are we?” Harry was to his right, looking a bit puzzled.

“Did anyone tell you the Cup was a Portkey?” he asked. They decided it must be part of the task and took out their wands. Somewhere ahead of them a shadowy figure was moving towards them, carrying a bundle of what looked like cloth in his arms. Cedric gave Harry a slightly quizzical look.

For a moment Harry and Cedric stared at the figure, not sure what to do. Suddenly Harry collapsed, writhing in apparent agony, when out of nowhere a cold, high voice said, “Kill the spare.”

In an instant the figure drew out a wand and screeched, “Avada Kedavra.” Cedric was blinded by a terrible flash of green light. He had been hit by the killing curse. He let out a gasp of surprise before he fell to the ground with a dull thud. Cedric Diggory was dead. The tragic end of a very promising young man… Or was it really the end?

When the spell hit him his mind was engulfed by an endless darkness. He was faintly aware of his existence, but he couldn’t exactly think. His mind was blank. For what seemed an eternity all there was was darkness. Then there was a flicker of light somewhere in the infinite darkness. The light grew and Cedric’s consciousness was pulled towards it. His mind was dazzled by blinding bright light, and all his senses rushed back to him. He felt the soft ground underneath him and opened his eyes. He was still in the graveyard. So he wasn’t dead after all.

He was completely baffled by what just happened. He stood up and looked around. He couldn’t see Harry, but he saw the light of a fire dancing in the shadows of the surrounding graveyard. Cedric stood up and walked around a great tombstone to the source of the light. A very bizarre scene met his eyes. There was a great stone cauldron bubbling away with a fire underneath it leaping up the sides of the cauldron. Harry was tied to a gravestone, with his mouth gagged and his eyes popping with pure horror. Next to the cauldron was a stubby, pathetic looking man holding a dagger in his left hand and muttering to himself. Lastly, there was a large snake gliding around it all. Cedric was pretty sure this wasn’t a part of the task. He wanted to know what was going on.

“What’re you doing?” he asked the man with the dagger. The man completely ignored him. He brought the dagger down and through his lower right arm in one swift motion. Cedric flinched at the sight. This was really messed up. He knew he and Harry had to get out of here as soon as possible. He went up to Harry, wanting to untie him. The problem was his hands went right through the bonds. At this he noticed his hands were misty and transparent. Completely bewildered he looked down at his body. He could see right through it.

“This isn’t real. It’s just a dream,” he thought to himself, yet it all seemed so real.

“Hi there,” came a voice from somewhere behind Cedric. Cedric swung around and looked right at, or actually right through the misty figure of an old grizzled man. “I saw your body back there, looked fresh. So I figured you must be somewhere ‘ereabouts,” said the man motioning vaguely to somewhere behind him. Sure enough there it lay, slightly illuminated by the dim glow of the Triwizard Cup lying in the grass a few feet away. Feeling shocked beyond words, Cedric ran up to his body. He looked down upon his face which still bore a look of surprise. His grey eyes stared back up at him but they seemed oddly empty and cold. His wand was still clutched tightly in his hand. It was a very odd sensation to look upon your own dead body.

“Are you one? One of them wizard folk?” The old man was now standing next to him. Cedric couldn’t find his voice, so he just nodded. “I remember when I died,” the old man continued. “I knew I would die some time soon, but the way I died was surprising. Wizards! I was so confused that I spent months finding out all I could ‘bout them wizards. I would never ‘ave guessed they were living all around us, all the time. The old Riddles were probably killed by a wizard. They were the family I worked for,” the old man said pointing to a large house standing on a hill answering Cedric’s questioning look.

“Are there many like you here? Dead people?” Cedric finally asked as he found his voice was back.

“Sure are. Our spirits will remain on Earth forever. Being dead is like living ‘alf a life. You can’t smell or taste, or even touch things from the world of the living, but the Earth is always here. You can always feel the Earth, or the presence of it. You look a bit troubled; a walk would do you good. Come along now.” Cedric gladly joined the man.

They introduced themselves and the got on well together. The man’s name was Frank Bryce. He told Cedric of his life. He was a veteran of an old muggle war and after the war he became the gardener for a rich family. He told Cedric about how the Riddles died, and how the whole town suspected him, talking behind his back, gossiping about how the war had twisted him. None of it true of course. Cedric enjoyed Frank’s company. It took his mind off his very recent death and comforted him. He was also very curious about the world of muggles. They were walking across the unkempt lawn of the manor house, when something very odd occurred. A great force was pulling him back, a great pressure was pushing down upon him, everything was obscured, and then he was back in darkness.

Suddenly he was released from it all and found himself floating in a globe. A globe made from golden strands of light, crisscrossing and webbed all around him. There was a vague, mournful song in the background and a brilliant beam of light in the middle of it all, connecting the tips of two wands. At one end was Harry and at the other end was a most grotesque man. His skin was pale and deathly, which contrasted greatly with his cruel red eyes. He had snakelike slits for a nose, and his face set in a grimace of pure rage. His unnaturally long hands were holding onto a wand.

Harry was sweating uncontrollably; his whole being was concentrated on holding onto his wand. Cedric knew one thing; Harry must keep fighting this unknown force. He must win. The sinister man must not, at all costs, win.

Cedric voiced his support by simply saying, “Hold on Harry.” Both Harry and the other man were looking up at him with expressions of disbelief and shock. At that moment the torso of Frank came from the tip of the other man’s wand. He too offered words of encouragement to Harry. Then came the torso of a middle aged woman who did likewise. Lastly, came a pretty woman with long flowing hair followed by a young man with glasses and untidy hair should be hair. Cedric knew who they were by just looking at them. Harry’s parents. Surely the grotesque man could not be him? It wasn’t possible, but there he was. Voldemort. Harry must escape. Harry’s father instructed Harry to break the connection of the wands and to run to the Triwizard Cup and use it to be transported back to Hogwarts. Then Cedric suddenly thought of something important.

“Harry…”, he whispered, “Take my body back, will you? Take my body back to my parents.”

“I will,” Harry replied. Cedric felt a rush of gratitude towards Harry. It was very important that his body be taken back to his parents. The connection broke and the globe disintegrated. The sorrowful music disappeared. “Voldemort must not get Harry,” Cedric thought to himself. Cedric and the others crowded around Voldemort, blocking Harry from his view. Cedric glanced back and saw Harry holding his body by the wrist with one hand and summoning the Cup with the other. In an instant Harry was gone. Voldemort swore and a group of people crowded around him. They were all masked and clothed in black robes. ‘Must be Voldemort’s followers,’ Cedric figured. It was clear that the living could see them no more because they took no notice of Cedric and Frank standing there watching them. The other ghostly figures were gone. Together they walked away from the group. Neither knew what just happened, but they knew there was a purpose to it. Cedric felt strangely calm and content. He didn’t really care about Voldemort and his followers and what they were doing. It wasn’t their world anymore.

“I wish I could’ve gone with my body,” Cedric sighed.

“Well, if you know where it’s going you can go there,” Frank responded. “Strange thing about the spirit world, you can go anywhere if you just think about it, as long as you’ve been there before. A while ago I was thinking about the war and one of the places I had visited while fighting and suddenly, after just thinking I wanted to see the place again, I found myself there. Go on, try it. I’m sure we’ll meet again some time.” With that Frank walked away towards the manor house.

Cedric concentrated on wanting to return to Hogwarts, to the place where his body was now. In a flash he found himself in a crowd of people. Some people were screaming, while were others crying. Dumbledore was trying to help Harry up and Cornelius Fudge was beside him spluttering a stream of disbelieving words. The crowd parted and Cedric’s parents walked through. His mother shrieked when she saw his body and his father ran up to his body, kneeling beside it. Then he started sobbing uncontrollably, muttering, “My boy, my Cedric.” He was sobbing and howling, the grief was consuming him. Cedric couldn’t bear the sight. He walked to the Lake and stared into the water at his reflection, or rather the absence of it. For a while he sat there feeling utterly depressed. Then he turned away and headed towards the castle. There was a great procession of students and teachers moving from the maze towards the castle. He saw Hagrid carrying his body, looking quite shocked. His parents were walking beside Hagrid, solemn and grim. Many students were in the procession, some sobbing and others shaking their heads. Cedric joined the procession walking with his parents. He wished he could comfort them, assure them that he was really okay and that they would meet again some day. But there was nothing he could do. Suddenly, two ghostly figures materialized right in front of Cedric, causing him to stumble ever so slightly.

“Oh, sorry dear,” apologized a young and pretty woman. She was holding the hand of the man with the glasses and untidy hair. Harry’s parents. “We just came to check up on Harry. We’re a bit worried about him after all he’s been through tonight. We were actually here before the Prior Incantatum drew us away. We’ve been here for all of the tasks. We’re so proud of him,” she continued. “I must say you’ve done well yourself, we were quite impressed. I’m glad Hogwarts has the same standards and expectations they had when we were here.” Her husband nodded in agreement.

“Are they your parents?” he asked motioning towards the Diggorys.

“Yes, they were,” Cedric answered in a hollow voice.

“Don’t be too glum. It’s difficult to see your loved ones suffer so and weep over your death, but you’ll see each other again some day. Plus, there are so many of us, the deceased, that you’ll make friends soon enough. Lily and myself met a delightful wizard called Thaddeus who died in 1761. Very interesting fellow, we can introduce you to him some time. Well, we better get to Harry,” and with that they sped up and disappeared into the Entrance Hall.

Cedric’s sadness was replaced by wonder. There were so many things he could do in the after-life. He could see the world; take time to see its true beauties. He could meet generations of deceased wizards; really get to know the wizarding world. The possibilities were endless. And one day, his loved ones would join him. Death isn’t so bad after all.