𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐘.
" All Elysia Diggory wants to do is forget,
forget, forget. But how can she?
When all everyone ever does is remind
her that her brother is dead. It's
a pity she...
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『 THE LETTERS, 𝟬𝟬』
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HARRY COULDN'T DECIDE IF IT WAS A GOOD IDEA.
He had been sitting at his desk for the passed hour, chewing his bottom lip and drumming his fingers against the chipped wooden table in hesitance. He had felt so guilty since the death of Harry's opponent, and popular Hufflepuff Seeker, Cedric Diggory. He wasn't sure if he was doing it for himself; to ease the nightmares that woke him up drenched in his own sweat every night, or because he was afraid that Elysia Diggory might blame him for Cedric's death. He wouldn't blame her if she did.
He considered Elysia a sort-of friend. They weren't the closest, Harry admits it, but it was a tragedy he couldn't ignore nonetheless. They shared enough classes throughout the years that they were on first name basis and even though she was a Hufflepuff he could always find her hidden in the corner of the Gryffindor common room with her two best friends: Micah and Laura. He's known of them since first year and shared dozens upon dozens of classes with the lot. They were easy going and lighthearted people. He knows that Elysia has friends to fall back on if need be. Still, it felt almost necessary to reach out to her.
Everyone knows Harry wasn't new to death. He was long acquainted with it, meeting him at the ripe age of one. But, that didn't mean Harry knew how to handle it. He wasn't a pro, no matter how many times he faced it.
Harry's fingers grazed the wood on his desk one last time, before scooting his chair backwards and stuffing the parchment paper in the envelope. He would send the letter.
"Hey girl." He cooed at the small owl in her prison like cage. He hated stuffing her in there but his wretched Uncle and Aunt insisted on keeping her locked up so she wouldn't 'ruin the furnished room.' He rebelled against it by letting her stretch her wings once in a while. Still, he kept her in, in fear they would barge in and deal with the consequences.
Her wings stretched outward as she flew to prop herself on the edge of Harry's bed. She looked annoyed, and a little uncomfortable — not that he could blame her.
"I need you to send this letter to Elysia Diggory." The owl turned to look at Harry letting out a serious of hoots that Harry quickly deciphered as ones of opposition. He smiled weekly at the owl, letting his hand roam the top of her head. She knipped at his finger in annoyance but snatched the letter from his grasp nonetheless.
"Thank you, Hedwig." Harry opened the window from his room, throwing the curtains side to side so she had room to fly away. He received a glare from the owl, and a part of him knew that if the owl could speak he wouldn't hear the end of it.
Just as Hedwig leaped from his bed to the neighboring house, a discord of heavy footsteps caught Harry's attention. The steps matched those of Uncle Vernon's, heavy and belligerent. The door was snatched open in one swift movement, and there appeared a beefy man with an oversized mousy mustache.
"What is the owl doing out of its cage." He scowled.
Hedwig must have been in Uncle Vernon's line of view from the windows downstairs. The thick love seat was in clear view of the large sky and neighboring houses. He cursed at himself for forgetting that Uncle Vernon liked to watch the telly on Sunday afternoons.
"It doesn't really concern you." Harry quipped. It had been a long time since Harry truly felt scared of his uncle's empty threats. He had dealt with him enough times to know when to push and not to push.
"Enough!" Uncle Vernon's voice rose. Harry didn't even flinch.
"I was sending a letter to a friend. You can't possibly see anything bad in that, can you?"
Uncle Vernon huffed, eyeing Harry's scattered belongings on the floor. He glared at the pile of old socks and pajama bottoms on the end of his bead. "Pick up your clothes, boy!"
With that he grabbed a hold of the doorknob with his meaty hand, closing the door with so much force he shook the tattered frame of Ron, Hermione and Harry above his door.
Hedwig was completely out of sight by then, and he felt the nerves at the bottom of his stomach convulse. He could only hope that Elysia didn't take offense to his honest and empathetic words. He had apologized enough times in his letters, a part of him anticipated her reaction to them. He knows how irritating they can be, but he sought out relief from last year's events. He sought comfort. He supposes she needed that as well. He had already written her two letters prior. All had been left unanswered.
Was she mad at him? He probably deserved it. He should have tried harder to save Cedric. If he could, he'd trade his life for Cedric's — maybe Harry could find the peace that had been nonexistent his whole life. Maybe death was easier than this, he thought. Maybe Cedric got lucky.
Harry shook away the morbid thought. No one deserved to die that young. No one deserved to die at the hands of Voldemort. Elysia was his friend, how could he have let it happen? She was always there; in the faintest memory of his first flying lesson, kissing Cedric's cheek when he was named Hogwarts not so lucky Champion for the Twizard Tournament, crashing his and Luna's not date, sobbing in the arms of her dead brother.
Harry carried the guilt with him everyday in his sleep. The bags under his eyes spoke volumes as it was. It was gnawing at him. He turned to his desk, clutching a brand new piece of parchment paper. He scribbled down his thoughts— he would probably send them to Elysia again. He once again apologized, holding back his tears as the vivid evocation of Cedric's lifeless body returned — along with it, the cold, menacing eyes of Lord Voldemort.
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author speaks! super small chapter.. i really wanted to keep this prologue or chapter 0 small because i really wanted to isolate Harry's feelings regarding Cedric death. I feel like often we forget about what harry feels or must feel like after Cedric's death. The guilt, the shame, the fear for what it means for his future and the future of his friends. I also wanted to isolate the whole "writing letters" part as a way to cope with his mental health after the incident. Hope you enjoyed it as much I did writing it! Tagging: aurorasandsadprosee
