HENRY:

I didn't want to go to my dormitory. I didn't want to have to face his empty bed again.

It had been bad enough the night before. It would be so much worse after a full day of Hogwarts without him.

We'd always had an odd number of people in our classes. But Cedric made a point of sitting with a different person every single day so that nobody was ever sitting alone two days in a row.

Now, without him, there was an even number of people. Nobody had to sit alone anymore. Yet everyone in the classroom felt more alone than ever.

Angelina had taken the spot next to me in Herbology to talk about Quidditch. Cedric and I always worked together in that class. But I was glad for the distraction from the sorrow.

She had wanted to have tryouts first, which was more than fine by me, so she took the Friday night slot. I would have been fine with waiting until the next weekend to start practicing, I would have been fine with never practicing at all, but Roger Davies of Ravenclaw and Cassius Warrington of Slytherin had insisted I take the second slot, Saturday afternoon after the first Gryffindor practice.

I didn't want to have to replace Cedric as Seeker. But I had no choice.

Shouldn't a Captain be better than this? I'm a disaster.

I stared at Cedric's plans, spread all over the table before me. He had tailored each play to the specific strengths of each player. His neat handwriting in the margins explained when each play should be used. I couldn't help but notice that none of his plans for Gryffindor ever involved targeting the other team's Chasers. He'd always protected Lucy so well.

Lucy.

Word had spread like wildfire around the school about what she and Harry had done in Umbridge's class. I heard about it from Archie, who was severely disappointed he'd missed it. I, for one, was glad I hadn't been there.

If I had been there, I would have wanted to shout at her, too. But I was a prefect. I couldn't shout at a professor.

Cedric would never have shouted at a professor, no matter how badly they deserved it.

Right?

I glanced over at his spot. He always sat cross-legged on the soft white rug. Far enough from the fire to feel safe but close enough to feel its warmth. Close to the middle of the room, so he was always accessible, if anyone needed help with homework. I was the only person left in the common room, seeing as it was long past midnight, but that specific emptiness ripped through my chest like a dagger because I could remember a time when it wasn't empty.

It had so rarely been empty before.

Cedric loved being able to help people overcome obstacles they never thought they could. Usually, it was Transfiguration, a subject that was nearly impossible for everyone but came so naturally to Cedric. I couldn't count the number of times younger kids would shyly approach him, almost in tears because of their frustration, and ask for help. He'd drop whatever he was doing and help however he could, even before he was prefect. Once he was prefect, he didn't usually get his own homework done until late, so late, because he had been so busy helping everyone else with theirs. But he never once complained, about being up so late or being so tired the next day, because he loved it. He loved helping.

I ripped the prefect badge off my chest, tears springing to my eyes. I clenched it in my fist.

"How am I ever supposed to be you?" I asked his vacant spot. I slammed the badge down next to the Quidditch plans and rested my head in my hands. "I'm doing my best, but you were so... so... Merlin, it's just not fair, nobody in the world deserved your fate less than you, Cedric. You were just so... good. It's not fair!"

I sighed shakily and lifted my head, forcing the tears back. My eyes landed on a small poster across the room.

Hard work. Patience. Fairness. Justice. Loyalty.

I shook my head. I had to work harder to fight the tears.

So much for fairness.

What had happened to Cedric, to all of us, was so bitterly unfair.

I returned my attention to the plans, still spread across the table, and tried to get my head in the game, so to speak. But my head was still lost in time.

A small sound snapped me from my daze. I glanced up as the door to the girls' dormitories creaked open.

"Henry?" I recognized my eleven-year-old sister's voice immediately.

"What's wrong, Gretch?" I asked, also immediately recognizing that she was close to crying. I jumped up and made my way to the couch, gesturing for her to join me.

"I miss home," she said in little more than a whisper, holding her cat closer to her chest. "I'm glad I brought Nibbles with me, because I would miss home even more if he was still there, but I miss Mum, and Dad, and my own bed, and..."

Her lower lip trembled for a second before the first tear fell. I inched closer and put an arm around her shoulders.

"It's okay, Gretch, I'm sure Mum and Dad will send a letter from home soon," I said. "It takes time, but Hogwarts will start to feel like a second home soon."

"It's scary here," she whispered. "Professor Snape is mean. Professor Umbridge seems like she could be mean really easily, if someone upsets her. And I know you said Professor McGonagall was one of Cedric's favorite teachers, but she scares me."

I swallowed past the lump in my throat at the mention of Cedric and did the best I could to comfort her. "At least you're not in Gryffindor. He's downright cruel to Gryffindors." I froze. "Don't tell anyone I said that. I have to be more careful with what I say, now that I'm a prefect."

She laughed a bit. "I won't tell."

"Good. And I haven't had Professor Umbridge yet, but you should be safe as long as you're nice to her the way you're nice to everyone else. And Professor McGonagall is scary at first, but I promise she's really a great teacher, even if she's stern. She would never do anything to hurt or embarrass a student, and you'll learn more from her than from anyone else here."

Gretchen nodded. "O-Okay. I feel a bit better now."

"Good, I'm glad." I pulled her a bit tighter and reached forward to pet our family cat. "I'm glad you're here now. Nibbles, too. I missed you both while I was here and you were with Mum and Dad. I got homesick sometimes, too, especially when I was a first year like you."

"Really? How did you manage it?"

"It helped having such a good best friend," I said, my heart clenching at the thought, "and a good group of friends in general. I know you'll make good friends soon, too. Once you surround yourself with good people, I promise it will start to feel more like home. And hey, it's a good thing you're in Hufflepuff with me, because we like to think we're the friendliest house!"

She smiled, wiping the last of her tears away with the sleeve of her pajamas. "I think we are. I wouldn't have minded Ravenclaw, though, because blue is my favorite color."

I laughed. "Well, maybe you can make friends with Ravenclaws, then, since we share so many classes with them."

"I like that idea." Gretch stood up, adjusting her hold on Nibbles. "Why are you still awake, Henry? I think it's past midnight."

"Ah, just working on Quidditch before tryouts tomorrow," I replied as casually as I could.

"Will you go to bed soon?"

I shrugged. "Probably. I still have a bit of work to do, though."

"In that case..." She dropped Nibbles into my lap. "He can keep you company for tonight. He missed you, too, while you were here."

"Thanks, Gretch," I said with a smile. "Good night."

"Good night, Henry," she replied, smiling one last time before heading back to her dormitory.

I took a moment to breathe, stroking Nibbles with one hand and twirling my wand with the other.

I was glad Gretchen had come downstairs. I realized three things:

1. Even though I didn't know Hogwarts without Cedric, she had never known Hogwarts with him. But I could help make it as great as possible, in the one year I had with her before I graduated.

2. I couldn't leave her behind the way Lucy had been left behind. I had to be smart, and be safe. She needed me and I needed her, the same way Lucy needed Cedric and Cedric needed Lucy.

3. I wasn't the only one who had lost Cedric. But as his best friend, and as Hufflepuff prefect, and as Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain, I had to try to fill his shoes as best I could. I had to help Lucy and try to keep her out of trouble. I had to help my house and try to keep the spirit of Hufflepuff as vibrant as possible. And I had to help my team and try to keep Cedric's hopes for a Hufflepuff Quidditch Cup alive.

I hoisted Nibbles and made my way back to the table with the plans, poring over them with renewed vigor.

It wasn't fair. It would never be fair. But I could try to make it alright anyway.

I wasn't Cedric. I would never be Cedric. But I could sure as hell try my hardest to be like him anyway.

A/N: Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed!

In case anybody's forgotten (I can't blame you if you did, she's only mentioned a couple of times), Henry has a little sister named Gretchen! Gretch for short. She's a first year Hufflepuff and just a sweetheart. I can't wait to write a little more of her journey, and I'm excited to write her first official encounter with Lucy at Hogwarts! They're met a couple of times, in Diagon Alley for instance, since their brothers are friends, but now that they're both at Hogwarts, they'll get to know each other a bit better.

For some reason, this chapter really got me, more so that some of the other sad ones I've written. I teared up writing the part where Henry's lost in thought looking at Cedric's spot. I'm sorry if anyone else cried, too! Just the same, I'm really excited to continue writing in Henry's perspective. Lucy knew Cedric well, better than anyone, but Henry saw sides of Cedric Lucy never did, such as in class or at Quidditch practice, so I'm excited to share that with you all!

See you all tomorrow with Chapters 104 and 105! 106 will be posted on Saturday. I'm going to officially start returning to my more regular Wednesday-Saturday publishing schedule.

Thank you for reading! See you soon!