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.
Cedric's Tale...an interview by Colin Creevey by go go ravenclaw
Chapter Notes: Thank you to my betas, xhayleeXblackx and voldy_mort for helping me with this prologue!