Dear Diggory

chapter 53

It was New Year's Eve already and I wondered where the time had gone since Christmas.

Everyone would return in a week and I was both excited to have my friends back, and nervous about seeing Cedric again. He still occupied the majority of my thoughts, and despite our argument, I missed him terribly.

I trudged across the snowy field with careful paced steps. Heavy flakes fell down from the sky and stuck onto my eyelashes.

The temperature had dropped significantly over the last few days and my hands felt stiff despite being bundled in my coat pockets. I'd forgotten to place a warming charm before I left the castle and didn't want to risk frostbite by reaching for my wand.

Finally, after a struggling trek, I reached the steps to the owlery and made my long ascent to the room. Once I reached the doorway I slipped inside and removed my hat, shaking the snow off it. I pulled my wand out of my jeans and chanted the spell, relishing the spread of warmth through my dying limbs.

I surveyed the circular room. Most of the cubby holes were empty as the owls had returned with the students during the holidays. The wind whistled through the glassless windows but thankfully I couldn't feel it's cool draft. A bit of snow had flurried into the room and settled amongst the hay on the ground and I crushed it slightly as I walked to one of the owls at the edge of the space.

I rifled through my coat and pulled out the letters I'd tucked against my chest so they didn't get wet. I scanned the addresses, checking the handwriting was eligible.

There was one addressed to Evelyn and the other to Carlisle. We'd exchanged a few messages as usual over the weeks, of course I usually replied faster due to having nothing better to do.

I handed the letters to two brown owls sitting in a cubby and they pecked the paper from my hands. They flapped their large wings and sped through the window, disappearing quickly into the flurry of snowflakes.

I'd always been in awe of the owls. They were the traditional communication method for the wizarding world. Although a lot of us had home phones and muggles had mobile phones, we still preferred to use owls. They were sacred animals in our view and I wondered how they had such a great sense of direction.

I turned to leave the tower, eager to return to the castle and the comfort of the fire in the Ravenclaw common room, but a loud hoot stopped me.

I glanced towards the central pillar where a fluffy white owl stood on the stone table. It had a letter at it's feet and I picked it up. The owl flew into a cubby high up to rest and I scanned the envelope. It was addressed to me of course, and I recognised the perfectly neat writing immediately.

Cedric.

I sucked in a cold breath of air and gripped the letter tightly between my fingers, as if I was afraid it had come from my imagination.

I began to get nervous about what it might say. Was he still angry? But if that was the case, why send a letter to continue the argument?

I shook the concerns from my head and prised the envelope open carefully. My hands were shaking as I removed the single sheet of paper and unfolded it.

Dear Lila,

I'm aware that I should have written earlier, but I've been a stubborn idiot about everything.

I hope your holidays have been okay, I know it can't have been easy being alone at the castle.

I would have invited you back to mine for the season but things didn't quite go to plan that last week...

When I get back I want to talk properly and apologise.

I miss you.

See you soon,

Cedric x

P.S. thank you for the present, it was perfect

I stared at the letter in astonishment, rereading the words carefully to make sure it was real.

My concerns suddenly felt stupid, this was still Cedric after all. My heart ached looking at his perfect script, my name seemed so much prettier when he wrote it. I sighed and wished we could skip forward a week, anxious to get the awkward part over with.

I tucked the letter carefully into my coat and pulled out my wand, conjuring some paper and a quill to write my reply.

I paused before I made contact with the parchment, realising I wasn't sure what to write back.

Dear Diggory,

I have been stupid too. I have so much I want to tell y-

I scrunched the paper up, throwing it on the ground.

Dear Diggory,

I want to apologise for what happened at the ball, my-

Scrunch. Toss.

Dear Diggory,

I want to forgive you for everything but I'm scared.

What are w-

I sighed as I balled the paper up again and tossed it to the side. It was all too much, I couldn't say that stuff in a letter anyway. I should keep it simple.

I conjured another sheet of paper and began to write.

Dear Diggory,

I miss you too.

I'll see you next week, we can talk then.

Lila x

I smiled, satisfied with the simple messaged and wafted the paper to help the ink dry.

I folded the letter and conjured an envelope to slide it into. I wrote Cedric's address carefully on the front and the snowy owl swooped down from its cubby to take the envelope from me.

It exited the tower quickly and I watched it disappear into the distance, hoping my message would reach him safely.