PROMPT: Cedric and Y/N finally reunite years after his death.

WARNINGS: mentions of death, major character death, angst

When Cedric thought about the afterlife, he never once expected it to be like this. He thought that he would be calm and serene, surrounded by white clouds and sounds of harps softly playing in the background. But the afterlife that Cedric was exposed to, was nothing like that.

Now, he spent his eternal days, with his heart crumbling in his chest as he watched you lose a part of yourself everyday since he died. He wanted nothing else but to yell and call out for you. He wanted to say, "My darling, you're better than this. Don't lose your life just because I'm gone." It wasn't fair of him to ask that of you, he knew that. Cedric knew that if the roles were switched— if you were the one in his shoes, he would be acting the same way as you.

Sometimes he felt selfish because he was relieved that he didn't have to go through the pain of living life without you. Cedric lived his entire life with you by his side. Since you were kids, you were beside Cedric as your parents were friends with his. You took your first steps together, rode your brooms with one another, entered Hogwarts together. Merlin, both of your first words were a variation of each other's names. Cedric knew, deep down in his heart, that he wouldn't know how to live without you.

Cedric watched fondly as he saw Harry approach you. He was thankful that Harry looked after you after his death, no doubt knowing how close you and Cedric were when he was alive. You looked up at Harry, leaning against his chest as he wrapped a protective arm around you. Hermione and Ron stood off to the side, smiling sadly at you. The start of the year only reminded you more of Cedric's death and in honor of it, you had a portrait of him hung in the Hufflepuff common room. You were made Head Girl this year and your first duty— which all of the Prefects and Head Boys and Girls agreed to— was to tell all the Hufflepuff first-years about Cedric.

Now, three months into the start of term, you saw many Hufflepuff students, both first years and older students who had known Cedric when he was alive, talk to the portrait. They sat there for hours, not caring if the image never spoke back. You understood why. The mere sight of Cedric's contagious smile, the crinkles by his eyes, was enough to put anyone at ease. And if you closed your eyes and focused hard enough, you could hear the sound of his glorious laughter ringing throughout the common room.

"You ready?" Harry asked quietly, taking a quick glance at Cedric.

You nodded, ready to enter the Room of Requirement to train for Dumbledore's Army. You pulled away from Harry and smiled at Cedric, "We'll talk later, Ced? I love you."

Cedric smiled to himself, wanting nothing else but to reach down and touch you. He replied, though you couldn't hear him, "I love you."

As the years passed, Cedric continued to watch over you. He saw you fight and grow into an amazing witch. You learned curses and charms that would've thrown Cedric's head in a frenzy. And all Cedric could do was grin from above and clap his hands happily when you perfected casting your Patronus— a beautiful, Black Swan. He of course had to look it up— who knew there were books available in the afterlife?— and knew that it was perfect for you. You were passionate, driven, and kind with a heart so full of love, Cedric sometimes thought he was undeserving of it.

He watched you become a Healer St. Mungo's, living off on your own in a humble flat, not too far from where the both of you grew up. He would listen intently as you talked to him before you went to bed, as if he was right there beside you the entire time. Cedric felt his heart flutter in his chest when he saw you putting up the Christmas ornaments that he made for you when he was 7 years old, too fond of muggle clay for his own good. The ornaments were wonky, and truth be told, they were ugly, but you put them up every year, without fail.

Cedric watched you live your life but he saw something that most people never saw— he saw you were tired. You were tired of fighting, tired of walking into work to find beds filled with witches and wizards of all ages— some were children— trying to get better because they were attacked, tired of living a life where you were alone, all the time. Despite how tired you were, Cedric knew you were going to keep fighting as long as there was a fight to win.

When the Battle of Hogwarts came around, there was this feeling in his stomach that told him everything he needed to know. He knew not everyone would make it out alive. For Merlin's sake, look at him! He was killed like he was just a scrap of rubbish in the way of the Dark Lord, and perhaps, he was. Cedric watched as Sirius Black, Mad-Eye Moody, and even Professor Dumbledore, joined him in the afterlife. It was clear that the Dark Lord and his followers didn't care who was hurt.

Cedric watched you limp into the Great Hall, bloody and exhausted, as you pushed past students running around trying to get to their loved ones. He saw you nearly throw up, when you saw the sides of the hall lined with bodies— bodies of students you knew during your time at Hogwarts and some who looked too young to even be exposed to a war like this. You walked down silently, saying prayers for the ones you lost in the battle.

To your left, you saw Professor Lupin and his wife, Tonks, on the floor, lifelessly, with their fingertips half an inch apart, as if they were trying to touch one last time before the end. You remembered how Professor Lupin teased you endlessly over your crush on Cedric. He was the first professor who noticed it, or maybe he was the first one to have the courage to say it out loud. You weren't really discreet with your feelings and you were almost sure that Professor McGonagall was aware of it too, but Professor Lupin was the first one to tease you about it. He was the first one to hug you and welcome you into 12 Grimmauld Place when you joined the Order. You were the second person, after Harry, to find out that Tonks was pregnant with Teddy.

Ahead, you saw the Weasley family gathered around a body. Walking into this war, you knew you were going to lose some people, but never once did you expect to lose a Weasley. You knew that no matter how many of them there were, not one of them could be replaced. As you walked closer, you recognized the body as Fred Weasley. Beside him was his twin, crying quietly into the shoulder of Ron. It was Fred Weasley on the floor— the same bloke who made it his mission to make you laugh once more after the life was sucked out of you when Cedric died. You stood off to the side, an arm wrapped around Hermione.

Cedric remained silent, looking down at the casualties. Professor Lupin, Tonks, Fred Weasley, young, Colin Creevey with his camera still around his neck— they were all gone. Cedric hoped that he could promise them that the afterlife brought peace, but he knew he couldn't do that, because ever since he arrived, he found no peace until he knew you were alright.

A hand touched his shoulder, and he looked up to see a smiling Fred Weasley. The redhead spoke, "You alright there, mate?"

"Yeah," Cedric chuckled, pulling him in for a hug. "I appreciate you looking after Y/N."

"No worries. It seems like you've been looking after her too," he commented, peeking at the display in front of Cedric. "Godric, Georgie's a bit of a sap, isn't he?"

He laughed because only Fred Weasley would make a joke during a time like this. Fred gave a goofy smile and patted Cedric's back before he walked away, leaving Cedric alone again. As the war picked up again, Cedric focused on you, making sure that you were safe— whatever safe meant in a war zone. When Harry leaped out of Hagrid's arms, he saw the relief wash over every single person's face. People fought harsher than before, knowing that the war would soon come to an end and it seemed that young Potter would rise as the victor.

The Deatheaters knew it too. Many of them began to retreat as they saw the Dark Lord stumble under Harry's magic. For a split moment, Cedric was entranced by the fight between the two wizards, before you caught his eye again. You were smiling sadly, happy that the war was almost done. Harry was going to win. The fight was won.

And that's Cedric saw it. You broke down your walls.

"Avada Kedavra!"

You didn't move or try to counter it. You let the curse hit you and you drifted away with the same smile on your face. You knew you weren't needed down there anymore. The war was finished. Now, you needed to take care of yourself and join the others. You had to pick up the pieces of yourself that you lose over the years.

When the display ceased to be nothing, Cedric frantically looked around, afraid that he had lost you. But it was the opposite, because not more than a second later, your soft touch landed on his back and there you were. He breathed out a sigh of sadness because you deserved to live, a long and happy and fruitful life. You didn't deserve to be here so early. He shook his head in disbelief and pushed you away, refusing to look into your eyes.

You were patient, of course, you always were. You kept your distance until Cedric had the courage to look at you. In your face, he saw you— the person that you were before his death. You were smiling with the smile that made Cedric fall in love with you in the first place. The burden of the war was no longer on your shoulders. You stood tall, finally breathing calmly instead of gasping for air to survive. Cedric understood then that your decision to not fight back was not because you wanted to die, but because you wanted to live.

The life that you had on the ground was not a life you saw for yourself, but this afterlife, was everything you could wish for and more. He approached you, hesitantly, afraid that you might reject him and Merlin, if you rejected him in the afterlife he wouldn't know what he'd do. You were here for eternity. You made no moves to get away, instead you melted into his touch when his hand cupped your cheek.

"I should've said it when we were still alive," Cedric confessed, whispering, hoping that if this was a dream, his quietness would cause it to last a bit longer. He continued, "I love you. And I've been in love with you since before I even knew what it meant to be in love. And I'll continue to be in love with you until our life here comes to an end. I'll love you even through this other lifetime— especially through this other lifetime."

"Cedric Diggory, I'm so in love with you," you replied, your lips touching his. "I know heaven's a thing. I go there when you touch me and this is the feeling I've been yearning for, for years. I'm so glad to be here with you, finally."

He closed his eyes, pushing his lips against yours. And for the first time in years, you and Cedric finally knew of peace.