Since going blind at 6 years old, Fiona Diggory has lived in the shadow of her twin brother, Cedric.
Now entering her 6th year at Hogwarts Fiona finds herself thrown into a new friendship with Fred and George Weasley while trying to determine the m...
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Cedric had never broken a promise to Fiona. For most of their childhood, Fiona had been convinced he had made an unbreakable vow with her father — assuring that he never would.
He had promised her he would be okay.
It didn't matter what the Minister or her parents had said. Cedric would not break his promise.
Fiona was certain, that at any moment, Cedric would walk through the 6th year boys dormitory. There had been a massive and obscene misunderstanding, but he would explain it all away once he entered the room.
So Fiona waited, lying face down on Cedric's bed. But as the minutes trickled by, Cedric didn't come, and the reality of her grief slowly began taking hold of her mind. Her world was shrinking away, leaving a cold void around her skin. The only comfort coming came from Nox, as he slept curled in a ball on the small of her back.
Cedric's dormitory had become her purgatory — a thorny swamp of dissent.
She inhaled deeply into her pillow. The balsamic undertones and a camphoraceous odor reminded her of the large cedar tree that grew in her parent's garden. It reminded her of Cedric.
Hugging the pillow tightly, her body began to tremble. It felt as if something was suctioning her heart from the inside, leaving it a shriveled remnant of what it once was.
And then the door to the dormitory creaked open.
Fiona jolted upright, much to Nox's displeasure. "Cedric!?"
At the dormitory door, a pitiful and blubbering gurgle of a choke filled the room.
Malcolm stood alone in the doorway. His arms were wrapped around his body tightly as if he would crumble to the ground if he let go. "Fiona," he bleated.
Fiona disintegrated back down onto her brother's bed. The coldness returned, more prominent than it had been before.
Nox circled around on the bed before once again curling up beside Fiona. Malcolm slowly followed after the cat. He looked as if he was walking on broken shards of glass as he approached her. Each step closer brought on a more pained expression.
Malcolm sat on the bed beside Fiona's laying body. His eyes became fixed on the floor beneath his feet.
The rest of the Hufflepuff students had gathered in the common room. They had determined the best way to combat their shared grief was in the company of each other. Malcolm, however, couldn't bear the comforts of his friends at that moment. The only person who could possibly alleviate his pain was gone forever.
After a moment that felt like an eternity, Malcolm mustered the courage to peel his eyes from the floor. But when his eyes fell on Fiona all he could see was Cedric. Looking at her sharp jawline, and the freckles that only emerged on the bridge of her nose in the summer months, Malcolm's words felt lost to him. All he could manage, despite himself, was a deep and heavy sob.
