la chiave del tuo cuore {cedric diggory}

♛ AWAKE ♛

Muffled voices. All Aurora could hear was muffled voices. People came and went frequently. She could hear little snippets of conversations, but it was mostly just noise. She wanted to be able to see her friends and family. They would be worried sick. Aurora could feel Dante's terror. She wanted to hug her brother and tell him everything would be alright. But no matter how hard she tried, Aurora could not move.

What felt like weeks later, Aurora was lying on her hospital bed, surrounded by darkness as usual. She could feel someone's presence next to her, and she was almost one hundred percent sure that same someone was holding her hand. It was warmer than the rest of her body.

Aurora thought about the events of that night. Ariadne, her little cousin, despite all her flaws, was not her mother. Yet she had cursed her and left her to die. But something wasn't right. When Aurora had looked into her eyes, it was as if everything that made her Ariadne had been sucked out of her, leaving an empty shell. Or perhaps Ariadne had been taken out and something- or someone- else had been stuffed in. Those cold, cruel eyes were not her cousin's. And neither were her actions. But those last words were. "I'm sorry." That was Ariadne trying to break out. Aurora was sure of it.

She suddenly became aware of movement by her side. The person in the chair next to her bed seemed to shuffle forwards slightly. Aurora could hear them crying softly. She wanted to squeeze their hand, to try and reassure them, but her body was frozen. She could not even move her fingers.

The person was saying something. They spoke through tears. Aurora strained to hear them, but she could only make out a few words.

The person was in obvious distress. Their soft cries were now sobs. Aurora needed this person to know she was okay. So, she concentrated hard on trying to squeeze their hand. Nothing happened, and the person continued to sob. She tried again, but to no avail. Her body would not move.

Suddenly, Aurora was able to hear again. It was like when your head breaks the surface of water, and everything goes from being muffled to clear again. The girl instantly knew who was by her bedside. Cedric. He was there, just like he said he would be.

"I'm so sorry Rora." he repeated over and over again. He sounded so broken and fragile. Aurora couldn't bear to hear him like that.

On impulse, she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, only realising what she had done after she had done it.

Cedric's crying ceased immediately. He even seemed to stop breathing. When he still didn't move, Aurora gave his hand a squeeze once more.

In a split second, he was perching on the edge of her hospital bed. The girl could practically see the hope on his face. Aurora willed herself to open her eyes so she could see him, and slowly, the blackness started to fade away.

At first, everything was blurry, but once she blinked a few times, everything became clear. Cedric watched her intently as her eyelids flickered open. He looked terrible. His usually neat hair was messy and uncombed, his uniform was creased and his tie wonky, he had big bags under his eyes from lack of sleep, and his pale face was streaked with tears.

"Hey Ced." Aurora's voice was hoarse and scratchy from lack of use, but to Cedric it sounded like angels singing. Merlin, he had missed that sweet Italian accent.

"Rora. You're awak." Aurora chuckled at his obvious statement. The poor boy seemed to be in a state of shock.

"You stayed." she whispered as she stared into his captivating blue eyes.

"I promised I would." Cedric and Aurora gazed at each other fondly. They both started subconsciously leaning in, until they were mere inches apart. Cedric's eyes flickered down to her lips momentarily.