Anna stood by the great lake, clinging to the small flower wreath she had woven herself.
Daisy, Hyacinths and yellow roses.
Farewell, forgiveness and friendship.
Though Cedric had done her wrong - going behind her back with Cho and dismissing her when she had confronted him about it, there were also all the good times. Ones full of laughter and joy - the time they had spent the entire day wholed up in the library, attempting to find lewd language in the old English classics.
As much as Anna wanted to keep hating him she just...couldn’t.
“Surprised?” A charming voice came from behind her. Anna couldn’t hide her smirk. She didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.
“We promised each other - didn’t we, Cedric?”
When she finally did turn around, a pang went through her as she saw him. His dimpled smile - those all-too-familiar honeysuckle eyes matched with his floral scent.
It was almost like nothing had changed.
Cedric began making his way towards her - careful, as if a step too quick may shatter her. “I…I didn’t know if you would remember.”
“I did.” Her throat tightened. “I remember a lot of things.”
Like the way her heart skipped a beat when they first met that fateful day in the library. The sweet poems he sent her way and the way he had been able to make her laugh when she was down.
And the way her stomach fell to her feet when she had confronted him at his tent before the third task. The feeling of absolute dread and hurt, blowing up inside her until it felt like she would explode-
But Cedric had always been able to read her like an open book, and his eyes dimmed ever-so-slightly. “I’m so sorry. For everything.” He stopped. “I never thought about what I was doing - not once. I was just…just constantly seeking validation to replace the praise I never got from my father.”
He met her eyes once again. “And it wasn’t your job to baby me. But Cho gave me what I so foolishly wanted - and I didn’t even realize what I had done until I saw you in that graveyard. Until I realized that I could’ve never told you how madly I was in love with you. Even if it didn’t last.”
And from the sincerity in his eyes, Anna knew he was telling the truth.
“We were too young.” She only said, tears in her throat as she swallowed.
Because she realized that now. They were kids and they had moved too fast. They were searching for an escape in each other - and while Cedric might’ve been the one who snogged Cho Chang, in the end, they cheated each other.
“I think I loved you too, Cedric. A lot.” She laughed, wiping at her eyes. “Truly, pain can only be this agonising over someone you loved equally as much.”
“Anna-”
“And it hurt. Believe me, it did. And I was always, constantly angry. I kept asking myself why I wasn’t enough for you - I kept telling myself that I needed to change and I just constantly hated myself. Still do.” A tear ran down her face. “But as wretched as I was, you should know that I was never once happy about what happened to you.”
No one deserves to die. Especially not you.
Cedric smiled weakly. “I know.” His gaze then became empty. “And I also know about the prophecy.”
Anna couldn’t breathe. “You know Harry has to kill me.”
“Yes.”
She didn’t know what to feel. Happy, scared. All she could process was feeling a sort of lightness. Like a huge weight had been lifted off her chest.
He looked over at her. “So what are you going to do, now that he’s back?”
They both knew who he was referring to.
Anna breathed deeply, twisting a stray curl. “I’m...going to make myself useful. I’m going to fight the Death Eaters - I’m going to do everything I can before I can’t. And when the proper time comes, I’ll die. Like it was meant to be.”
She sounded so nonchalant, and she supposed she was, for talking about her own death like nothing more than an event coming up on her calender. For a long moment they just enjoyed each other’s presence - staring out at the countryside as the sun began to set - just like old times.
“You should tell him you love him. Draco, I mean.” Cedric’s voice broke the silence.
“Wha-what?” Anna flushed as she stumbled over her words. “H-how did - how do you know about that?”
Cedric grinned, chuckling slightly as he gestured to himself. “Dead, remember?”
Anna shifted her weight uncomfortable, not able or willing to continue this topic with her dead ex.
“You should tell him.” He continued. “Not just about that, but about everything. About the prophecy.”
She bit her lip. “I can’t do that. I’ve tried telling someone before and…it didn’t end well.”
He shook his head. “You can’t carry this burden alone forever. Soon enough, you are going to break.”
“I’m already broken, Cedric.” She only said. “I’m just good at holding the pieces together.”
She sighed, laughing sadly. “I suppose I don’t want to know what they think about it - whether or not they think my life is a good price to pay for killing him. I know one life is not much to pay for the price of many, but I’d rather not know their answer. I guess that makes me a coward, doesn’t it?”
“There are many words to describe you,” Cedric shook his head. “Coward is far from one of them.”
They stood there for another long moment.
“Ced?”
“Yeah?”
She sighed, giving him a teary-eyed smile. “Just…let’s promise to say goodbye and remember the good times. I’ll - I'll remember you for as long as I live. I’m just sad you won’t get the chance to.”
Carefully, she stood - setting her wreath of flowers on the surface of the water where she allowed them to sail away.
Letting go.
All the anger and pain - she was done with it. She had loved Cedric and always would, but not in the way she once had.
She had finally found her peace.
“Lillian Anna?” Cedric began softly, a tear running down his face as he smiled. “I know you’ve been pushing Draco away because of me. Don’t let me hold you back anymore. You…you guys are a good match for each other. Live freely.”
Anna returned his smile. “I’ll try.”
Suddenly, a gust of wind came - causing a whirl of flower petals to circle around the two as they lost sight of each other in the floral tornado.
“Until next time, Lillian Anna.”
The winds then disappeared.
And he was gone.
For the first time since his death, Anna finally let herself cry over the loss of Cedric Diggory.
YOU ARE READING
Lillian 'Anna' Potter || Order of the Phoenix
Fanfiction"SOMETIMES, IT'S EASIER TO FORGIVE THAN IT IS TO FORGET." It was revealed by J.K Rowling that when Lily Potter originally died, she was with child. What if Lily had her second child before Voldemort showed up at their house in Little Whinging? H...
