It had been just over a month since Cedric’s death, but time at Hogwarts moved on as if nothing had happened. Cho slipped away from her friends after lunch, her footsteps quiet on the stone steps that led to the edge of the Black Lake. The sky was grey, the wind cold, and she welcomed both. She sat beneath the same tree where Cedric had once waited for her after practice, the bark rough against her back.

Her fingers tightened around the edge of his old scarf, still folded in her pocket. A single tear slipped down her cheek as she looked out at the still, dark water. She almost jumped and screamed when she heard a sound behind her.