When he looked back, even a month later, Kyungsoo found he had only scattered memories of the days that followed the third task and the terrors that had awaited him in Little Hangleton. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t banish the flashes of green light from behind his eyelids every time he closed eyes. The high-pitched, eery laugh of Voldemort still rang in his ears in the stillness of the night. Nothing could erase the image of Cedric’s dull, lifeless eyes that seemed to stare at him accusingly in his nightmares. It was as though he had been through too much to take in any more. The recollections he did have were very painful. The worst, perhaps, was the meeting with the Diggorys that took place the morning after he had been released. 

 

They did not blame him for what had happened; on the contrary, both thanked him for returning Cedric’s body to them. Mr. Diggory sobbed through most of the meeting. Mrs. Diggory’s grief seemed to be beyond tears. Kyungsoo couldn’t help but disagree with the kindness the couple had shown him.

 

Kyungsoo returned to Gryffindor Tower a week before the feast, and he dutifully began to pack that night, dreading the Leaving Feast. From what he had been able to gather, Dumbledore had spoken to the school that morning at breakfast. He had merely requested that they leave Kyungsoo alone, that nobody ask him questions or badger him to tell the story of what had happened in the maze. Most people, he noticed, were skirting him in the corridors, avoiding his eyes. Some whispered behind their hands as he passed. He guessed that many of them had believed Rita Skeeter’s article about how disturbed and possibly dangerous he was. Perhaps they were formulating their own theories about how Cedric had died. What hurt most was how Ron and Hermione changed around him. Both seemed to sense the fragile string he seemed to barely be hanging onto. Ron avoided his eyes and seemed distant as the last days of Hogwarts trudged by, and Hermione could hardly be seen more than a few feet from him at any given point, her eyes watching his every movement.

 

Sighing, he looked around the empty dorm room. Dusky light filtered into the room as the sun began to set, and Kyungsoo finally managed to place the remaining of his possessions into his trunk, the lid coming down with a resounding thud and click as he locked it. That morning’s issue of the Daily Prophet Kris on his bed, the headline glaring up at him. Kyungsoo Do: The Next Dark Lord?

 

It seemed the magical world was split between believing in Voldemort’s return and thinking that Kyungsoo was an attention-seeking liar. Those who believed, however, were anything but kind to him; many bought into the belief that he would rise up to be the next Dark Lord should he vanquish Voldemort… which they inexplicably expected of him. The media was a torrent of angles and pleas and accusations and the whole thing made him nauseated. 

 

“Hey Kyungsoo… the feast is about to start… Hermione and I are about to head down,” said a stiff voice, and Kyungsoo tensed as he looked at his best friend, who still avoided his gaze and hadn’t even stepped into the room. Biting his lip, he nodded and mumbled something about being down in a moment. Ron stepped away and quickly fled the awkward atmosphere. Kyungsoo sighed again, slipping on his robe and placing his wand into his pocket. Paranoia had already set in, and Kyungsoo was fearful he would end up like Mad-Eye Moody before the end of the summer. He exited his room and descended the stairs quickly, only to find the common room empty. His shoulders dropped and an ugly feeling twisted in his stomach. They hadn’t waited. He had half-expected Ron to leave early, but he was surprised by the lack of Hermione’s unrelenting gaze on him. He suspected she was studying him, but Kyungsoo desperately told himself that she was just worried for his safety as the number of suspicious and fearful glances thrown his way increased. Suddenly weary, he collapsed onto a nearby chair, looking out the window blankly. He tried not to think or feel for just a moment, hoping to collect himself before he had to face the rest of the school, who had surely all gathered in the Great Hall already.

 

Banging suddenly sounded from the staircase, and a black-haired boy nearly fell over the last few steps, eyes wide and bright with mischief. Kyungsoo recognized him instantly as one of the fifth years. Luhan Xi. “Get back here you wanker!” yelled a deep voice, and another tall boy with wild, curly hair bounded down the stairs. Kris laughed and took off, bursting through the door with the other boy hot on his heels. Kyungsoo watched with wide eyes as the portrait door slammed shut and the muffled voice of the Fat Lady yelling at them to slow down filtered through.

“Potter? What’re you still doing down here?” asked another voice, and Kyungsoo turned back to the stairs to find another fifth year, the prefect Kris Li, staring at him with surprisingly gentle eyes. 

 

“Shouldn’t you be at the feast?” continued the boy, approaching him, and Kyungsoo shrugged. “Come on then, you can walk with us… if Luhan and Chan aren’t dead yet.”

 

Kris smiled at him when Kyungsoo froze, wondering why the older boy was being so nice to him. Even Fred, George, and Lee had been giving him odd looks lately, and Kyungsoo was quickly becoming tired of everyone being so distrustful of him. He jumped as a hand landed firmly on his shoulder and pushed him up and out of the chair, steering him towards the door. Kyungsoo followed wordlessly, the warm hand leaving as soon as they exited the common room. Luhan and the other boy (Chanyeol Park, he assumed) were waiting, eyes looked in a rather intense staring contest. Kris cleared his throat after a few seconds of the boys refusing to look away from each other, and Chanyeol jumped, throwing them a rather wide smile. “About time!” he said, voice booming and resonating in the empty corridor.

 

“Yeah, just grabbing Potter so we can eat,” said Kris easily, walking forward with Kyungsoo. He flushed slightly as the two taller boys looked at him curiously, but neither commented on his presence, choosing instead to talk quietly about what Kyungsoo assumed to be summer plans. They reached the Great Hall much sooner than Kyungsoo would have liked, and he stopped outside the doors, looking nervously at them. He again felt a hand rest on his shoulder, and looked up to see Kris gazing down at him sympathetically. 

 

“I know it’s hard,” he said quietly, smiling at him. “But you’ll be fine. Just pull through, okay?”

 

Kyungsoo gulped and nodded, smiling weakly at him. Kris ruffled his hair and joined Luhan and Chanyeol, who had stopped as well and watched their interaction with small smiles as well. Chanyeol gave him a wave and large grin before the trio entered the Great Hall, talking boisterously amongst themselves.

 

Taking a deep breath, Kyungsoo entered the Great Hall and realized with a sinking feeling that that the usual decorations were missing. The Great Hall was normally decorated with the winning House’s colors for the Leaving Feast. Tonight, however, there were black drapes on the wall behind the teachers’ table. Kyungsoo knew instantly that they were there as a mark of respect to Cedric. 

 

 The real Mad-Eye Moody was at the staff table now, his wooden leg and his magical eye back in place. He was extremely twitchy, jumping every time someone spoke to him. Kyungsoo couldn’t blame him; Moody’s fear of attack was bound to have been increased by his ten-month imprisonment in his own trunk. Professor Karkaroff s chair was empty. Kyungsoo wondered, as he wandered down towards his yearmates, where Karkaroff was now, and whether Voldemort had caught up with him. 

 

 Madame Maxime was still there, sitting next to Hagrid. They were talking quietly together. Further along the table, sitting next to Professor McGonagall, was Snape. His eyes lingered on Kyungsoo for a moment as Kyungsoo looked at him. His expression was difficult to read. He looked as sour and unpleasant as ever. Kyungsoo continued to watch him, long after Snape had looked away, and again began to question whether the Headmaster’s conviction that Snape was truly on their side was misplaced, and otherwise, what made him so convinced of the dark man’s loyalty. Ron avoided his gaze as he sat down between Minseok and Hermione, and Kyungsoo didn’t bother trying to meet his eyes. He just wanted to get through what he was sure would be a terrible night and return to bed.

 

Dumbledore spoke gravely on behalf of Cedric and his character amidst the sniffles from the Hufflepuff table and of the dangers that were now approaching them. He spoke of caution and unity, and Kyungsoo noticed with surprise that Kai Kim, who sat across the hall, was staring at him solemnly, no malice or disdain glaring from his gray eyes. The blond boy gave him a small nod and returned his attention to Dumbledore. Well, that was certainly different.

 

They stood and toasted Cedric, and Kyungsoo could barely remained composed, remembering the kind boy. It shouldn’t have been him.

 

Soon, though, the feast continued, albeit more subdued than before, and the Gryfindors spoke quietly amongst themselves. “I’m sorry you have to go back to the Nam’s this summer… mum tried to get him to change his mind, but…”

 

“It’s fine,” said Kyungsoo, interrupting Ron with cheerfulness that he didn’t quite feel. “It’ll be okay… I’ll see you all soon anyways, right?

 

“You’ll write to me… right?” he asked, feeling a bit more desperate as Ron awkwardly stared at his food. He looked up and managed a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

 

“Yeah, sure.”