Without You

Detention

"It's detention for every day this week?" Autumn asked, unable to stand still. She was clearly just as frustrated as Harry. Hermione and Ron were just making their way towards them as Autumn finished ranting.

"Come on, let's go to dinner. I'm starving." Ron said.

"And you can explain everything to us at dinner." Hermione said, leading the way.

Autumn took a bite of her apple, no longer feeling hungry anymore. She could see Umbridge sitting amongst the other teachers at the front of the hall. Her eyes stopped at the Hufflepuff house, staring at the place Cedric used to sit at with his friends. His friends were still there, of course, but had left a gap where he used to sit.

Autumn stood up from her seat, leaving the hall without a word. She couldn't contain what she was feeling, so she decided to head to bed early. Hermione, Ron and Harry called her name as she left the hall, earning the attention of others. Umbridge sat up in her seat, as if she were observing a staged performance. She raised her tea cup, sipping her tea as Autumn left in frustration, watching as Draco followed after her.

Autumn almost reached the Gryffindor Tower when Draco stopped her from walking away by taking her by the wrist, pulling her the side. He could see that she was upsetㅡ her eyes refused to meet with his and she was breathing uneasily; it wasn't because she was tired. His eyes were searching for hers, as he looking down at her, half angrily and half worriedly.

"What were you thinking back there, Autumn?" he asked, "Exactly what were you thinking?"

"I just said what I had to say, okay?" Autumn jerked her wrist away from his grasp, "I don't need you to lecture me, either."

"Autumn," he said in a raised voice, "You need to stop this. Whatever you're thinkingㅡ Rebelling against Professor Umbridge, it's dangerous."

Autumn stood in silence. She felt that Cedric died a death that deserved to be more than just a labelled 'tragic accident'. He died because of Lord Voldemort, and everyone needed to know that. After thinking to herself for a while, she continued to walk towards the tower. Draco called after her, knowing that it was all he could do. Besides, Slytherins weren't allowed past that point.

Autumn entered the room she shared with Hermione, shutting the door behind her before she collapsed onto her bed. Autumn forced her eyes closed, waiting for her tiredness to take over. No matter how long she kept her eyes closed for, she just found it impossible. It all started coming back to her. All the memories with Cedric, everything. The words from his diary crushed her, she wished she had never read it on the day Cho gave it to her.

"I remember the day I first met you."

His voice echoed in her head. She squeezed her eyes shut, pulling the quilt to her chin. "Stop it. Stop."

"You were beautiful, just sitting there and smiling.

I fell in love with your smile.

I've never met anyone like you before;

Someone both so beautiful and so kind.

Sometimes, you make me feel like I have a chance with you.

But when I try to take that chance,

I see the way you look at him;

You've made me realise I never really did."

Autumn started sobbing, tears pouring down her cheeks. "S-Stop it... Just stop!"

The door burst open, Hermione rushing in with Harry and Ron behind her. They must have heard her yelling from the common room. Hermione wrapped her arms around her friend, as Harry and Ron watched anxiously. Autumn was feeling terrible. All of a sudden, she hated the world. Out of all the people in the world, it had to be Cedric Diggory, the kindest boy Autumn had ever known. It was strange to know that he was here one day, and gone the next.

The sound of his voice haunted her, but it was the memories that tormented her.

* * *

The next day passed by very quickly. Autumn attended all her classes as usual, grateful that she did not have a class with Umbridge that day. Unfortunately, she still had a five o'clock detention with Harry, which was definitely something Autumn was not looking forward to.

"Just relax," Hermione said, "She'll ask you to write a few lines, then let you go. Not too bad, is it?"

Ron didn't seem to agree. "For a whole week? Harry has Quidditch on Friday!"

Harry snapped his fingers. He seemed to have forgotten.

"I'll have to tell Professor Umbridge about it. You think she'll let me?"

Autumn bit her lip, "Well, she has to!"

Autumn hated the sound of going to detention on her own, but she knew how important Quidditch was to Harry. His father was a part of the Gryffindor team, too.

When it was five minutes to five o'clock, Harry and Autumn said goodbye to Ron and Hermione and set off for Umbridge's office on the third floor. Autumn lightly knocked on the door, as they waited for it to open. She called out to them to enter in a honey-toned voice. Autumn entered her office with caution, looking around the room. It was hard to believe that this office had once been Professor Lupin's. The walls were predominantly pink, decorated with kittens and bows. The whole room looked unrecognisable.

"Good evening, Miss Rosewood, Mr. Potter." She was sitting behind her desk, dressed in a floral robe. Autumn could barely spot her behind the colourful tablecloth.

"Evening." Harry responded stiffly.

"Good evening."

"Well, sit down." she said, gesturing to the two separate tables on either sides of her office. Both tables were draped with white lace, a parchment placed on the top, as if already prepared for them.

Autumn took a seat, waiting, whilst Harry asked for permission to attend Quidditch. Her answer was a definite no, explaining that it was a punishment. Harry reluctantly sat down, reaching for his bag.

"Oh, no no no. You won't be using your quills," she said, passing them a quill each, "You'll be using a rather special one of mine."

Autumn stared at the quill, wondering how different it could be to a normal quill. It looked completely ordinary, with no special features. Without questioning it, Autumn held it up, ready to write.

"I want you to write the line: I must not tell lies." she said softly, smiling.

"Could I get some ink?" Autumn asked, "And how many times?"

"Oh darling, you won't be needing any ink. And keep writing until it sinks in." she walked back to her desk, taking a seat.

Autumn began writing, realising that bright red ink started appearing on the parchment. Autumn winced in pain, letting go of the quill. She rubbed the back of her hand, realising that the words were appearing on it, as if a scalpel had scraped the message there. Harry gasped in pain, turning to look at Autumn.

"No need to talk." Umbridge said, smiling, "Just keep writing."

As Autumn continued writing, she noticed it would disappear after a while, and reappear when she rewrote the phrase. The pain increased each time she wrote it.

It was well after midnight when Umbridge finished marking the parchments on her desk. She looked over to the two, calling them over. Autumn stood up after Harry, exchanging pained looks. Umbridge took Harry's hand, holding it in her own.

"I see the message has not made an impression... Well, we can always work on it tomorrow evening, can't we?" she chuckled, "You may go."

Without hesitation, Autumn and Harry left her office without another word. Autumn stared at her hand, where the message faded away. It hurt so much, she had never felt such a pain before. She walked back to the Gryffindor tower with Harry in silence, the two of them exhausted from detention. Autumn then remembered all the homework she needed to catch up on. If she didn't do it, she'd struggle in her lessons tomorrow and only embarrass herself in front of the class.

Opening her spell book, she searched for the Vanishing Spell. Pulling out her wand out of her pocket, she then realised she still had Draco's wand, and he still had hers. Letting out a groan, she held her hand over her mouth, forgetting that Hermione was asleep. Taking her book and wand with her, she decided she'd study in the empty Common Room.

Autumn almost jumped in surprise when she saw Thomas Davies lying in one of the leather seats. He laughed softly at her reaction, sitting up from his position. He was, indeed, as handsome as they all said. Autumn had never had a proper look at him until now. His light-coloured hair fell across his pale face, blue eyes reflecting the colour of the skies. There was an odd curve to his lips, though, as if there were something terribly funny that only he knew the answer to. It was strange to be not be familiar with your own childhood friend.

"What are you doing up so late?" Autumn asked, glancing at the clock, "Didn't do your homework?"

"No, I just couldn't sleep. Harry woke me up as he walked into the room."

Autumn chuckled at the thought of her clumsy friend. He must have tripped on something, causing the poor boy to wake up. He didn't look tired, though. He almost looked as if he had slept enough, although it were only past midnight.

"How was the Yule Ball, by the way?" he suddenly asked, patting the seat beside him. "With Draco Malfoy?"

Autumn took a seat beside him, opening up her book once again.

"Better than what everyone would presume." she replied quickly, "Who did you go with?"

"I went with Isabelle. A Ravenclaw."

The room was silent for a bit. Autumn was staring at her book, rubbing the back of her neck. Something seemed too difficult to understand. Thomas leant her way, peeking at the page she had been staring at for at least five minutes.

"I can show you what it means, if you'd like."

Autumn looked away from her book to the boy sitting beside her. He pulled out his wand, pointing it at a clock above the fireplace. And after he said a couple of words, it vanished.