Cedric watched as Colin Creevey opened his eyes and looked around in surprise. Of course he’s surprised, Cedric thought, smiling. He’s in a painting, for Merlin’s sake.

“Where am I?” Colin asked him.

“You’re dead, Colin,” Cedric said gently, not wanting to alarm the poor kid. He still looked like a kid, even though he was sixteen…the wavy blonde hair, the shining brown eyes…

“Really? And Dennis?”

“No idea. All I know is that all of the deceased students’ portraits are hung in this chamber, and that you are here now.”

“Oh. You’re Cedric Diggory, aren’t you?”

“I think so,” Cedric grinned.

“Wow! Can you-can you tell me about the Triwizard Tournament? I would ask Harry, only he seems to be a bit busy right now…” Colin smiled.

“Busy? Harry? Never knew he had it in him,” Cedric said, playing along.

“So, my point is, can you tell me all about it? The thrills of competing in such a huge tournament, I mean.”

“Sure. We’ve got all the time in the world, anyways!”

He thought about the Triwizard Tournament…how proud he had felt when he was chosen as the Hogwarts Champion…the twinge of jealousy he had felt when Harry had joined him…the First Task…how he had finally asked Cho out…

Remembering Cho, a lump rose in Cedric’s throat. Things were going so well for them and then he had to die. It was so typical of him, always missing out on the best things. But then, he had died just after he won the Tournament…his dream had been fulfilled, and he had earned Hogwarts eternal glory…and wouldn’t he be bathed in eternal glory too? Maybe not as much as Harry, but just as long as his parents were proud of him, as long as everyone remembered him, he would be happy.

He remembered how life had been before his death…it was a regular routine of preparing for the Tasks, going out with Cho, trying to calm the Hufflepuffs down so that they would stop wearing those stupid badges…

It all seemed so pointless now…death certainly put life into perspective. Death was inevitable, and he would be brave. He smiled sadly to himself.

“So, Cedric, how did you feel when the Goblet of Fire announced your name?” Colin asked eagerly. Cedric grinned, remembering the feeling…

“I felt…elated, out of this world,” he laughed. “I was very proud that out of all the students, the Goblet had chosen me for the Tournament. I was already apprehensive of all the daunting tasks which were to follow…but I was also anticipating the pride and satisfaction that I would feel after I won the Tournament…yeah,” he grinned, seeing Colin’s skeptical face. “Yeah, I was so sure I’d win the Tournament. Fleur Delacour seemed too delicate and Krum was just a show-off. But all that vanished when Harry stepped into the chamber. I was seriously angry and jealous for a second when he said that the Goblet had chosen him, too. Then I came back to my senses and realised that he couldn’t have possibly asked for this.”

“And?” Colin prompted impatiently. Cedric smiled half-heartedly.

“So, then I started preparing myself for all the hard work that was to come, and I guess it would have paid off if I hadn’t…well, died.”

Colin nodded understandingly. “That is exactly how I felt, but at least I took down five Death Eaters with me.”

“You have no idea how frustrating it is, sitting here hour by hour and listening to you fight, wanting to join in,” Cedric muttered darkly. Colin snickered.

“Cedric, your story,” he reminded not too subtly. Cedric snorted. Children were so impatient.

“Get some sleep, Creevey; you’ve been through a lot. We’ll talk again in the morning.”

Colin rolled his eyes but drifted of to sleep. Cedric stayed awake, reminiscing of his last year at Hogwarts…and how he would explain it to this hyper teenager.

‘Good morning,’ Colin chirped cheerfully when I opened my eyes sleepily.

‘Morning,’ I drawled, eyes still half shut. Why did this boy have to wake up so early? He was just going to pester me some more. But at least there’d be something to do.

‘So, tell me all about how you felt when Professor Dumbledore announced about the Triwizard!’

I groaned. ‘Don’t be silly, Creevey. It’s-what?-six in the morning and you expect me to tell you all about that right now?’’

Colin rolled his eyes. ‘You promised, Cedric .’

I sighed gustily. Would this boy stop at nothing? ‘ Fine. ’

‘Let’s begin, then, shall we?’
***
When Dumbledore stood at the podium, I thought it was just going to be the normal announcements, you know? The usual stuff about Quidditch, and classes, and probably a new Professor, seeing that Lupin had been sacked. What I wasn’t expecting, though, was for him to announce-almost happily, at that-that there would be no Quidditch this year. I was really angry, of course: I loved-love Quidditch, and last year’s victory over the Gryffindor team was still fresh in my mind, even though I didn’t like it when Dad used to boast to everyone about how his son beat Harry Potter in Quidditch.

But then Dumbledore announced that we were hosting the Triwizard Tournament this year and that Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would be arriving soon. Of course, I was delighted and really excited, already “what-if-ing” away. When people started putting their names in, I started to get a bit doubtful. What, really, were the odds of my being chosen? But I went for it anyways, and I was overjoyed when Dumbledore announced me as the Hogwarts champion.

I couldn’t help but feel very smug and proud as I walked, or rather, strutted down the dimly-lit hall, looking at the bright and happy faces of my fellow Hufflepuffs, and the rather disappointed-looking faces of the members of the other Houses, especially Slytherin. I knew they were hoping for, if not one of their House members, then at least a Ravenclaw. I’ve never understood people’s prejudice against Hufflepuffs. I mean, we’re as normal as everyone else! Anyway, so I was walking down the pathway between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw table and I noticed Cho Chang beaming at me.

I smiled back sort of shyly and continued my strut. My heart was exploding with pride, joy, anticipation as well as apprehension. I don’t have words to express how happy I felt that I would be able to fulfill my dream of participating in the Triwizard Tournament, to prove myself to everybody; that Cedric Diggory wasn’t just the handsome Hufflepuff from the Quidditch team…even though I didn’t particularly mind that description! But I wanted to show that I wasn’t just a two-dimensional figure.

But I was also a bit doubtful of my abilities, despite my confidence. Would I be able to succeed? Or would I be humiliated in front of thousands of people? These doubts also weeded themselves into my already confused mind.

I beamed around at everyone one last time before climbing down the staircase into the fire-lit chamber, greeting my fellow competitors. We were just getting to know each other when Harry stumbled into the room, followed by almost the whole of the Hogwarts staff and some others, too. For a moment, I thought he was there to deliver a message, but then I realised that if he was there to deliver a message, the staff wouldn’t be following him. And even if it was otherwise, Harry Potter wouldn’t be called to run an errand, now, would he?

I smirked to myself but then the smirk slid right off my face when I realised that Harry was also a Hogwarts champion.

I stood there in calm shock, not letting my face betray the injustice I thought was being done to me. Why was it that Potter always got all the glory? He should give others a chance, too! Always stealing the limelight, always showing off…

But then I spotted the expression on his face. He looked as if he didn’t know what hit him. He couldn’t have actually wanted this, could he? I mean, he had already gone through a lot last year, what with the Dementors and all…and he must have had some pretty bad memories to pass out the way he did. I guessed that it was somebody’s idea of a prank or something, and smiled in what I hope was a comforting manner at Harry. He seemed too frenzied to smile back, though, and I rolled my eyes when he wasn’t looking.

I couldn’t believe my ears when Crouch said that Harry would get to participate. I was going to tell him just what I thought but then I thought it would be too petty and mean. Besides, Hogwarts would have more of a shot at the Trophy. And Harry was a good wizard. Or so I hoped. As Crouch explained everything about the Tournament to us, I zoned off and thought, instead, about Cho Chang.

She certainly was cute, and plus, she was a great Seeker and in Ravenclaw, which meant she was probably an “O” student too. I contemplated the idea of asking her out-maybe to Hogsmeade or something for Valentine’s Day. Since we didn’t need Quidditch practice, it gave us all a lot of free time.

Once I got back to the dormitory, all my mates were elated. They kept on thumping me on the back and screaming stuff like ‘Ced’s our man’ and ‘Hey hey Hufflepuff’ and all that stupidity. To tell the truth, I was really tired and just wanted to pull my robes off, pull the curtains and sleep. I had a long day ahead of me tomorrow, after all. Being a Hogwarts champion was a big deal!