He walked along the endless path, his back tired and his legs painful. For what seemed like ages he had been guiding himself through the forest trail, hoping to find a way out somehow. The moonlight was completely blocked by the trees and he had just his wandlight for company.

Suddenly, his foot got caught in a mesh of brambles and he came crashing down on the forest floor. He fell painfully on his stomach, badly injuring his lower jaw and palms. Groaning, he spat out a vat of blood and stayed in the same position for a minute. Should he spend the night right where he was? He could find his way out of his forest in the morning. Just as the idea started to become more and more endearing he heard a distant sound.

His heart missed a beat. Was that a werewolf? He stood up at once. He must get out of this place…

He started to walk again, his whole body aching in protest and the salty, metallic taste of blood in his mouth greatly nauseating him. An hour dragged by and he was still lost. Just as he was about to give up he saw something that spread a wave of warmth in him. It was a cave.

Curious, he entered it and started to walk along its length. The floor sloped more and more, indicating the beginnings of some sort of an underground tunnel. As he trekked along a sudden blast of green light hit him squarely on the back. Before he knew anything else he had succumbed to the welcoming blackness…

Cedric Diggory sat up on his bed with a start, sweat pouring down his face.

***

Cedric finished up his breakfast quickly and went over as usual to the Ravenclaw table to sit with Cho for a while. She had her last exam today and was a nervous wreck.

He pecked her on her lips as he sat down beside her�” but that didn’t seem to calm her down. He smiled. “Come on, if it makes you feel better, I died in my own dream.”

“And how is that supposed to make me feel better?”

He was about to reply, when he heard a voice nearby. “Was this an early morning dream?”

He turned to see Luna Lovegood seated a little away from him and spreading chartreuse coloured paste on her toast. He found her question odd but replied to it nonetheless. “Yes.”

“You must be careful, you know, what you dream in the morning usually comes true.”

He nodded politely. “Okay, I’ll be careful.” Cho had already burst into shameless fits of giggles, but Cedric did not laugh.

Anyway�” presently, the only thing he had to concentrate on was a Hogwarts victory in the Triwizard Tournament. He was to attempt the third task that very evening and all he wished was to find the cup first. Dying… he’d worry about that once he reached old-age.

Yes, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament was finally happening. For Cedric, the entire thing had been a huge roller coaster ride and he was glad that it was finishing tonight. He had already had the experience of his life and he certainly did not long for anymore of it, ever. Never, even in his worst nightmares had Cedric thought that he’d be getting past dragons or diving into a lake and fighting Grindylows to save his girlfriend.

Cedric led Cho out of the Great Hall after she had finished her breakfast. She had her last OWL exam that day and unlike every other year, this year the OWLs and NEWTs were taking place in a magically expanded classroom instead of the Great Hall because of the Triwizard Tournament. He squeezed her clammy hand. Then he stroked her straight, black hair and bent over, kissing her. She kissed him back softly. It was a delicate, lingering kiss. Hugging him, she whispered, “I love you. Don’t get too nervous for the Task, okay? I’ll be back soon.”

He chuckled. “Oh, look who’s asking me not to be nervous�” the Queen of Clamminess herself!”

She smiled bravely and walked away in the direction of her classroom, while Cedric made to leave for his dormitory. Just then, he spotted Professor Sprout make her way towards him. “You are expected in the antechamber of the Hall, Mr Diggory.”

He proceeded to the chamber and was pleasantly surprised to see his parents waiting for him. “There’s our Champion!” Amos declared, patting Cedric on his back as his mother hugged him and kissed his cheek. Cedric could see Fleur Delacour, Viktor Krum and their respective families in deep conversation. He also spotted Bill Weasley and his mother and smiled courteously at them. It was obvious that they were here for Harry Potter and Cedric felt a pang of sympathy for his opponent.

Anyway, he spoke to his parents for a good amount of time before Amos grinned at Cedric and said, “Let’s all go to the Three Broomsticks and have a drink, son.”

Cedric agreed to that and they walked to the Three Broomsticks. But just as Cedric entered the pub, he spotted someone at the closest table�” someone unbelievably familiar.

“Alcott!” said Cedric disbelievingly, approaching him. They hugged simultaneously. Alcott Burke had been Cedric’s childhood friend and neighbour, whose family had moved to America. Cedric hadn’t met him in years. They still exchanged letters and photographs, though�” which was how Cedric recognised Alcott. “What are you doing here?” he asked Alcott.

“Well, we’ve moved back to London,” said Alcott. “And I came with your parents to surprise you. So, school champion, eh, Ced?”

Cedric gave him a big grin. “Well… yeah.”

“I’ll be continuing with my old school,” said Alcott before Cedric could ask him if he was transferring to Hogwarts. “It’s best I don’t transfer in my seventh year.”

Cedric grinned understandingly. He’d introduce Cho to Alcott later. She’d like him…

Four mugs of Butterbeer arrived at their table and they all drank deeply after toasting Cedric. Cedric buried himself into his drink, thinking about what a year it had been. Entering the Triwizard Tournament… Cho (and her poems)… his ‘nightmare’ that morning and now Alcott, who was back. Entering the Tournament had been a good choice for the future it offered him. In the pure, white path of snow, he’d make sure to leave a trail of goodness after him.

Cedric then pondered on about all of the things that had happened, which had led him to try and become a Champion in the first place. He had always been underestimated by his cousins, hadn’t he? But this year, they had known better than to insult him or his House. He had proved to them that a person who had been Sorted into Hufflepuff was there for a reason. Hufflepuff wasn’t a House for the ‘leftovers’. And they sure knew it very well now.

*

“Are you ready, Ced?”

Cedric let out a huge sigh as he smoothed his hair in front of the mirror. Dressed in a pair of deep green robes, he looked inexplicably handsome�” or at least other people said so. Frankly, Cedric couldn’t care less about how handsome he looked. In fact, all he wanted was to get out of the dress robes, get into a pair of night pants and do a little bit of reading.

That was precisely what he couldn’t do tonight�” for he had to attend his cousin Larry’s wedding.

Larry was Cedric’s second cousin, and also the person whom he hated more than anyone else in the world. While the whole of Cedric’s family had been sorted into Ravenclaw during their time at Hogwarts�” starting right from the earliest of his forefathers, Cedric had been the only person to be sorted into Hufflepuff. And somehow, only his parents seemed to have accepted that with no issues whatsoever.

It wasn’t that anybody from Ravenclaw was better than Cedric anyway. His scores were pristine and his magical knowledge was perfect. He had also been appointed Prefect (the letter had arrived just a few days ago) and all his teachers expected him to score very well in his OWLs when he would take them in about a year.

Even then, ever since Cedric had landed in Hufflepuff, Larry had been very troublesome about it. He had constantly made fun of Cedric and insulted Hufflepuff house along with that. He never let an opportunity to try and prove his own superiority (as if being a Ravenclaw was superior in any way). It was frustrating and very annoying.

“Still amongst those duffers, are you, Ced?”

“Sheesh, that was stupid of you, Ced! What are you, a Hufflepuff?” A pause. “Oh, of course you are.”

“Come on, dear, or we’ll be late.”

Cedric broke out of his reverie to see his mother at the door to his room, smiling brightly at him. He had tried to get his father to let him stay home instead of attending the ceremony, but Amos wouldn’t allow him to do so. “They’ll know who’s better soon enough, won’t they, Ced?”

Cedric wasn’t up to showing off his intelligence or indicating to anyone that he was superior to them, but his father grabbed at every opportunity to do just that. This time, it was Larry’s wedding.

They arrived right outside the venue and the ushers showed them to their seats. Cedric quietly took his place as Amos sat beside him and produced Cedric’s shiny new Prefect’s badge from his pocket, winking at his son. Cedric didn’t respond. He just stared at a lone daffodil in a vase close by, trying to pretend not to have noticed what his father had done. This war would never end, would it…?

At the reception, Cedric’s father had shown him off to all of their relatives as much as he could, but they still had not stopped trying to put Cedric down. Larry cracked his Hufflepuff one-liners for a whole lot of people to laugh and Cedric felt more humiliated than he ever had. That was the last straw. That was the day that Cedric had promised himself that he’d prove his capabilities. He’d show them what he, and most importantly, Hufflepuff was made of.

*

So was this it? Was this his cue to prove himself to everyone?

Cedric looked at the bowl of stone cold mushroom soup on the table, immersed too deep into his own thoughts to notice the fly wandering over the rim of the bowl. The Triwizard Tournament. A contest for three wizards from three different schools… a series of dangerous tasks that they had to perform at the end of which lay eternal glory and cash prize of a thousand Galleons.

Cedric had never been someone to seek glory. He did not really like it when anyone showered attention on him or when people spoke about him too much.

Fame… glory… popularity… these were things that Cedric never really wanted. He mostly liked to remain in his own small world of a few friends and his wonderful family�” plus his housemates, school performance and Quidditch. A lot of people criticised him for his lack of high goals and his reluctance to step out of his comfort zone, but he knew he was fine where he was, and he didn’t crave anything else.

That night, Cedric’s dormitory was full of animated talk about the Triwizard Tournament. Though none of his roommates were planning on participating (mainly because they weren’t going to be turning seventeen by then), they all seemed to be excited about the idea.

“Ced will be seventeen by then, though,” said Jerry, one of his roommates, suddenly. “Will you take part, Ced?”

“Nah,” said Cedric. “It’s too�”” he looked around trying to find a word�” an excuse.

“Jeez, mate, don’t you ever do anything except for Quidditch and academics?” Jerry asked, looking at Cedric incredulously.

“Yeah,” said Ethan, “You’re awfully stubborn about staying in your comfort zone, Ced. I think it’s time you step out of it.”

“Besides,” added Ed, winking at Cedric, “Cho will be pretty impressed if you enter it and get selected as a champion. You’ve been trying to get her attention for ages, now.”

Cedric looked around at his roommates. They knew him the best amongst all the other friends he had, and they had faith in what he was capable of. As though reading his mind, Ed spoke again. “We are confident for you, mate. We know you can bloody well win the Tournament if you’re selected.”

Cedric licked his lips and sighed. His roommates were right about him�” he was pretty much stubborn about staying in his own bubble of comfort. He was being too timid. It was time for him to taste something different from what he had been doing all these years�” to take the fork that led away from the straight road that he was walking on.

“I’ll go for it,” said Cedric. “I’ll enter the Tournament, and if I get selected as one of the Champions, I’ll win it.”

Ethan whooped, while Jerry clapped Cedric on the shoulder with a wide grin on his face.

Cedric smiled and started to change into his pyjamas. Dangerous tasks… eternal glory… Cho… he was ready for it.

And then he had been selected�” he was Hogwarts Champion (along with Harry Potter, of course). He hadn’t forgotten his promise about proving his capabilities to all those people who had underestimated him and this was precisely what they had needed to keep shut for the rest of their lives. Maybe all of them had been Prefects and high-flyers, but no one had had the good luck of having the Triwizard Tournament while they were at school. Cedric being chosen to represent Hogwarts was an indisputable achievement.

The best part about having been selected as Hogwarts Champion, though was that Cedric finally got the girl. He got Cho Chang.

*

Cedric sipped more Butterbeer and thought about his courtship with Cho. It was going very well: both of them were very much in love and he had never had better in his life. Of course, he had been with many girls before, but Cho was special. It had been months since they’d started seeing each other and still, every sight of her made his heart miss a beat. He loved those little silly moments he had with her too. And then, a memory came floating into Cedric’s mind.

*

“Thunderstorm Creating Charm,” read Cedric to himself as he turned the yellowed pages of an old library book. The Charm was complex: it included a long, hard-to-pronounce incantation and required a lot of power. Would this be necessary for the ?

He was just taking down the notes when an owl flew in through the open Common Room window. He recognised it immediately�” it was from Cho.

The owl perched on his table and stuck out its leg, to which a small note was attached. Cedric untied the note, smiling, before the owl flew away. He then opened it.

Cedric Diggory�” A Sonnet (rewritten)

The laughter in your eyes, the way you say my name,
Your embrace so warm and so comforting,
Our days together in the snow, hail, sleet and rain,
Those things that make you so fascinating…

Cedric,

I’m really sorry about that stupid poem (the one you read this morning). I don’t know what I was thinking when I wrote it… but you must understand that I was really, really annoyed then!

This poem up here is actually what I think of you… but there’s one thing it doesn’t mention. I love you.

Please send me a quick reply�” don’t be mad at me anymore! This really is killing me!

Love,
Cho.

Cedric stared at the letter and the ‘sonnet’ in bewilderment. Why had Cho written him the apology letter? He had only met her once that day after all…

Cedric and Cho were chatting animatedly in the Entrance Hall, when Cho suddenly stopped talking and stared funny at Cedric, “I… just remembered something,” she said, going red.

“And what is that?”

“I… well…” she paused, still red.

“Go on,” he said encouragingly.

“Don’t feel bad, but I used to hate you until we really started talking.”

“And I thought only the Gryffindors had those feelings for me,” muttered Cedric. “Why did you hate me?”

“You never paid attention to me,” she whispered. “I had a crush on you for ages before you even started talking to me, you know?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said. “I thought you weren’t interested in me! I always wanted to ask you out to a Hogsmeade weekend or something, but you were with someone or the other each time.”

“You too!” she said. “It was annoying!”

He chuckled. “Is that it? Was that why you stared funny at me?”

“Not quite,” she said guiltily. “I wrote you a hate poem… long ago” she dug into her bag and gave him a small chit of paper. “I think you have every right to read it now.” He took it and the bell rang for classes to begin. They were too busy to see each other after that and Cedric forgot about her note by the end of the day.

Presently, Cedric extracted Cho’s chit from his bag and read it.

Cedric Diggory�” A Sonnet

Diggory, you pretty face,
You must be dressed in satin and lace;
You disgust me with your constant stream of girlfriends,
You must start your own line of female trends.

He stared at the terribly written poem, chuckling to himself. Now he knew why there was a poem in the letter as well. Shaking his head, he started to write on a piece of parchment.

Cho,

I am writing back to say that I am, by no means mad at you. I understand how you hated me for not talking to you, but believe me, it was only because I couldn’t bring myself to do so until becoming a school champion pumped some extra confidence into me.

I will not lie to you about the poems, though�” they are both horrible (now I hope you don’t get mad)! Plus a sonnet has fourteen lines, not four!

Uh-oh, don’t stop talking to me!

Love you too,
Cedric.

He sent the letter to Cho and practised the Thunderstorm Charm for the next hour, but finally accepted defeat when nothing happened. Just as he was going to return to his dormitory, he saw a flash of lightning, followed by roaring thunder.

He smiled. A thunderstorm in April. Who on earth would believe that he had created it?

*

Coming to Hogwarts has sure turned you into a full-time dreamer, mate,” said a voice and Cedric broke out of his reverie to see Alcott flashing a wide grin at him. Cedric’s parents had left to take a look around the castle and since Alcott was leaving shortly, Cedric had decided to take a walk with him around Hogsmeade.

“You know,” he said quietly, “I have just been thinking about what a year it has been.”

“Well, it has been pretty good for you, I’m sure,” said Alcott, snorting. “Don’t tell me that being a school champion was not fun.”

“Not really,” admitted Cedric. “You know how I hate attention, Al.”

“You’ve got to learn to love it, then.”

“I can’t. I just prefer being… you know, away from attention.”

“Well it’s too late for that,” said Alcott. “Once you’re done today, your name is going to go down in history. Attention is going to be part of the game. But please, Ced, don’t tell me that you got nothing out of it!”

“I won’t say that,” said Cedric. “I’d be lying if I said that my popularity did not bring gifts.”

Alcott looked at his face and grinned. “Do I see a girl as one of the ‘gifts’?”

Cedric grinned back. “Yep. Her name is Cho.”

Alcott snorted. “But she isn’t your first. What are you acting like a first timer for?”

“I dunno, Al, it’s different with her.”

“Ahhh, I see. But won’t it be the same once you win…?” Alcott gave Cedric a knowing wink.

Cedric laughed at his best friend’s implications. They spoke for some more time and then Alcott had to leave. With a promise to meet him over the summer, Cedric watched Alcott Disapparate back home.

***

It was lunch time before long and Cedric felt his heart beat fast as he, along with his parents sat at the Hufflepuff table. Dumbledore made an announcement for everybody to proceed to the grounds in the next few minutes and Cedric could positively feel butterflies in his stomach. Cho had just come back from her exam and she was giving him encouraging looks from where she sat. And then it was time. Everybody stood up to go to the grounds.

Cedric was sure he had forgotten half the things he had prepared for the third task when he stood up. How was he ever going to win the Tournament at this rate? Outside at the Entrance Hall, he saw Cho walk away to a nearby empty classroom and he followed her, much to the bewilderment of his parents. Once in the classroom, he shut the door behind him and Cho rushed into his arms. They kissed hungrily; passionately and Cedric, for once, did not care to be gentle. He really needed Cho’s warmth… he needed her.

She broke apart and moved a hand through his hair. “I’ll be watching you, okay? Don’t get scared. Just go with the flow. You’ll win this Tournament today.”

“I certainly hope so,” he said.

“Come on!” she urged him. “What happened to all the confidence? You’re the best, remember?”

He nodded and threw his arms around her, clutching her tightly. Suddenly, he was able to remember everything. He could think straight. He felt a bit of his confidence return and grinned at Cho. “I’ll do it.”

***

He had fought through all the obstacles in the maze�” tackled, solved and magicked himself through each of them and was standing feet away from the cup. But it was not his. It belonged to Harry Potter who had saved Cedric’s skin not once, but twice now. First it had been from Viktor Krum’s attack and now it was from the spider.

But should he accept that and let his opponent have it? Cedric had technically reached the cup first… so it was fair that he take the cup. Even then, Harry deserved the cup more. He looked yearningly at the shining cup and back at Harry, taking a deep breath as he did so. “You take it. You should win. That’s twice you’ve saved my neck in here.”

Harry argued. Cedric could see anger, irritation and longing in his opponent’s face as he told Cedric to take the cup and finish the match. But Cedric wouldn’t budge. He had always believed in fair play and if he took the cup, it wouldn’t be fair. He refuted every point of Harry’s telling him why Harry deserved to win. In the end, he stepped over the gigantic limp spider that he and Harry had just attacked and went over to join him. True, he wanted the cup very, very much�” but he didn’t deserve it and he couldn’t take it. He was now beside Harry, trying not to think of the cup. Every cell in his body urged him to run right back and grab it, but his mind urged him otherwise.

Cedric folded his arms and looked at Harry, who was staring at him in astonishment. Then he said something that Cedric couldn’t quite believe.

“Both of us.”

“What?”

“We’ll take it at the same time. It’s still a Hogwarts victory. We’ll tie for it.” Harry looked determined this time.

“You �” you sure?” Cedric unfolded his arms.

“Yeah,” said Harry. “Yeah . . . we’ve helped each other out, haven’t we? We both got here. Let’s just take it together.”

He stared at Harry for a few more seconds, still unable to believe what he had said. This sounded so right�” so fair. Should he agree to it? Why not? Cedric grinned at Harry. “You’re on,” he said. “Come here.”

He helped Harry limp to the cup and both of them held a hand to each golden handle, anticipating the next second… the moment of their victories.

Harry counted three and Cedric put a hand to the cup, just as he felt a familiar jerk on his navel.

***

Cedric watched Harry kneel over in pain, clutching at his scar. He couldn’t believe that the cup was a Portkey. The strange, short figure with the bundle of robes clutched in its hands was also pointing a wand at him. It was then that Cedric hear a high, clear voice.

“Kill the spare.”

He wanted to run, but he couldn’t. Harry was�”

Cedric could never complete that particular thought of his for someone screeched a spell at him. “Avada Kedavra.”

They say that while you’re dying, snippets of your life flash before your eyes. Cedric Diggory, though never got any time to recall the seventeen years of his life. Before he knew it, he was floating in a strange, unknown place. He had gone on to a separate world where nothing seemed to matter anymore. But what was funny was that he had reminisced about a lot of his life that day, even when he had no clue that he was about to die.