Nothing Strange Anymore, Be a Little More Normal

At the closing feast, Dumbledore announced Gryffindor's victory, surprising no one. Gryffindor's banners fluttered overhead, and students from almost every house except Slytherin cheered, especially the Gryffindors.

Professor McGonagall couldn't suppress her delight or the smile on her lips. Snape, beside her, wore an unreadable expression, though he surely wasn't in a very good mood.

Lockhart straightened his collar, looking ready to give the departing students one final speech. Dumbledore gave him a discreet glance and denied him the opportunity, hastily announcing that everyone could pack their things and prepare to go home.

The cheers in the Great Hall were even louder this time.

Lockhart felt a little embarrassed, but he quickly found himself an excuse: he was doing it to avoid wasting the students' time. Yes, he really was too kind. Now, which of his own books should he choose for next year's textbooks?

As they dragged their luggage out of the school, Ron complained, "I really hope we don't have to see that bloke as our professor next year. Did you see the questions he put on the final exam? What colour does he like? Who the hell knows what colour he likes?!"

"But that probably won't happen... Nothing happened to him. I hope he gets replaced too," Harry agreed, nodding emphatically.

"Don't worry, Harry."

The twins suddenly appeared, walking on either side of Ron and Harry. Fred said with a grin:

"There's an unbreakable rule at Hogwarts."

"Being the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor is a high-risk job."

The two took turns speaking, laughing and joking about the absurd pattern. "As everyone knows, a Hogwarts Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor never lasts more than one school year~"

Then the two boarded a carriage back to the station and gradually disappeared into the distance, while Harry and Ron stayed where they were, waiting for Hermione.

Meanwhile, most of the students had already boarded the train home and were chatting happily in their compartments as they waited for it to depart.

Cedric looked at the phone in his hand and thought for a moment. In the end, he politely declined his classmates' enthusiastic invitations to share a compartment, found an empty one, and sat down alone before turning on his phone screen.

The main group was happily discussing everyone's holiday plans. Some were travelling, some were going abroad, and some were returning to their home country.

He could even see the Weasley twins chatting away in there.

Ever since a thing like this had been sent to them, those two seemed to have been the most active. Whenever anything happened in the group, they were sure to be there to eat melon.

Cedric silently complained about them a little, then hesitated before tapping open the Cedric Fan Support Group. To be honest, he had already begun to grow immune to group names like that.

[Group owner] Ced Is Mine: I'm more nervous right now than I was when I first interviewed at my company...

Daily Question: Where Is Ced?: I feel like I'm back on the day the college entrance exam results came out. Ah, though it's not as scary as that was.

Cedric's Underpants: Ced said he'd explain to us on the train back. Is it the train I'm thinking of?

Mrs. Diggory: But he really is just as gentle as Ced qwq

[Admin] I Am Cedric's Dog: This is like a dream... Could something like this really happen? Scientists haven't even figured out how to travel between dimensions yet, have they...?

[Admin] I Am Cedric's Dog: But I really hope it's true! He's still alive!! (torn)

Cedric himself, meanwhile, was looking for a way to start a voice call like the ones in the main group.

Cedric: I can't lie to you in good conscience. Since you accidentally found me out, I have no choice but to reveal myself.

Cedric: (wry smile.jpg)

Cedric had also learned how to use reaction images.

Mrs. Diggory: !?? You're not just messing with us, right?! (too excited to see clearly.jpg)

[Cedric started a voice call]

The group owner, Ced Is Mine, was momentarily dazed when she saw the system message. She chose not to record her screen, then resolutely joined the call.

There weren't actually that many group members online at the moment, and only fifteen or twenty joined. When they entered, they saw a bright, warm scene: a train compartment, one they couldn't have been more familiar with.

The camera also captured a sliver of the scenery outside the window, moving steadily backwards.

Some members were already shedding tears. They muted their microphones and cried out.

Ced himself was still looking for the button to turn the camera around and point it at himself.

After all, it was his first formal meeting with fans from that world, and he was a little at a loss. Besides, Cedric was only fourteen now. The timing of his birth was such that he was always a year older than those around him when the school year began.

(I couldn't find Cedric's exact birthday, only that he might have been born in September or October. Based on the Goblet of Fire, September seemed more appropriate here.)

Cedric's Underpants: Oh no, looking at this, I'm already starting to believe it. (clings to Cedric's leg and sobs)

A Little Honey Badger: Waaaah QAQ Senior! I want to see your face! Let me see our senior alive!

Finally, Cedric found the button to switch between the front and rear cameras.

A bright, immensely familiar face appeared before the group members, though it looked a little younger than when they remembered first meeting him. The Hufflepuff House senior who had left so many people with lingering regrets curved his lips into a warm smile and spoke somewhat awkwardly to the screen:

"Hello, I'm Cedric Diggory."

[Group owner] Ced Is Mine: It really is Ced... Nobody could possibly pretend to be this Cedric...

Little Badger Who Loves Good Food: Who's crying uncontrollably in front of their screen? It's me qwq

Mrs. Diggory: My mum heard me crying and came to check if I'd been scammed out of money, because why else would I be crying this hard QAQ

Daily Question: Where Is Ced Himself?: He's even speaking English QuQ

Miqiu: Mum, magic is real QAQ

[Admin] I Am Cedric's Dog: Aaaaaah! This Ced looks so young!! Ced, what year are you in this year? QAQ

The moment that question appeared, everyone online in the group suddenly grew nervous.

Cedric saw the comment on the screen and answered it seriously. He had always seen how much his fans loved him, so he would take what they said seriously too.

"This year is already over. I'll be in fourth year when school starts," Cedric explained.

Miqiu: Oh no, Ced, I don't understand English qwq

[Group owner] Ced Is Mine: I passed the CET-4 and CET-6, I'll translate. Ced has just finished his third year. (choking up.jpg)

Senior, Please Stay Alive: So there's still time!!! Everyone!!!

Little Badger Stunned by Angst: Senior!!! There's a Triwizard Tournament in two years, whatever you do, don't enter!!! (sobbing)

All of a sudden, as though they had planned it beforehand, the group began spamming the same message: Whatever you do, don't enter the Triwizard Tournament, aaaaaah!

Cedric was startled by their enthusiasm and found himself speechless for a moment.

The train was also preparing to depart. The sound of its engine starting reached the group members' phones, making them even more certain.

He! Was Senior Cedric!

He wasn't dead yet!! The story hadn't reached that point yet!!

Cedric ended the voice call. It would be more convenient to chat with everyone by typing.

Meanwhile, the main group still knew nothing about the explosive news unfolding here... And the members who had learned the truth ahead of time had no intention of telling the main group.

They loved the feeling of being the only ones who knew the secret! Come on, having a secret with Cedric was super cool, all right?! And this was the real Cedric! The kind who could do magic!

The main group.

Homework, My Lifelong Enemy: Why do they assign so much homework for the holidays...? [buried under workbooks]

Harry on the Left, Draco on the Right, Twins in the Middle: Hahaha, I've graduated, no homework for me!! I've already planned where I'm going to have fun!

Oh My Mother: Same here, finally on holiday. (at peace) I'm going back to my home country! (choking up)

It's Xingyue: I'm going to enjoy my holiday to the fullest!

Niffler Is the Best: Teacher Di, you're coming back? I'll pick you up at the airport. (?)

Bug Ming: Teacher Di, you're coming back? I'm dropping my updates to pick you up at the airport! (Bullshit, get over here and update.)

Oh My Mother: I quickly sketched a few pictures on my way home~

Oh My Mother: [folder.ppt]

Loony Sofia: ? "A few"

Proprietress Number Two: Teacher Di might have a rather abstract idea of what "a few pictures" means, but the twins smearing cream on each other's faces in there are so damn cute! (tough guy's heart skips a beat.jpg)

Luna Is an Angel on Earth, No Arguments Accepted: Ah, that chibi Luna sitting there so sweetly hit me right in the, the heart... (killed by cuteness)

Rose Grove: Teacher Di is as prolific and consistently excellent as ever. (worships) These are all so cute, sob.

Draco's Platinum Rose: I saw one of Draco with his hair standing on end. So cute... I can't take it.

Soft Words and Old Dreams: Look at you, so young and already liking Draco. Killed by cuteness again, weren't you? (picks up defibrillator)

Stepmother Literature: Teacher Di actually included Lucius this time, I'm sobbing!

Stepmother Literature: Teacher Di, please put aside your reserve and marry me at once. (offers flowers)

Oh My Mother: ??? That's a bit much, really.

Bug Ming: It's not too much at all. I've collected all of Teacher Di's art albums, ahaha! (maniacal grin)

Autumn Falls ql: I really love them...

Kerun: Woohoo, yay! I can tell a few of them were based on material from the convention that day qvq

Daily Question: Did Snape Wash His Hair Today?: There's even one of Snape holding a hair dryer! There's enough for an art album by now, right?! (shocked)

[Admin] Yan: Another day of shedding tears over Teacher Di's gorgeous art~

Wants to Make Friends: Did one person draw all of these? Amazing!

Harry flipped through the drawings one by one. They looked very much like them, making him feel as though he were there. Ron, beside him, was delighted to see himself in them and saved the picture of little Ron riding a toy broomstick.

Oh My Mother: It's not quite that impressive. I drew a little now and then over the semester, and it gradually added up.

Little Lion with a Whole Lot of Courage: Suddenly I'm curious which house Teacher Di would be sorted into on the sorting test.

The sorting test... Harry remembered something unpleasant. He still remembered that the website had sorted him into Slytherin... And when he first started school, the Sorting Hat had also said he was better suited to Slytherin.

Lord Wizard: That's right! Teacher Di didn't seem to be around when we discussed it that day?

Oh My Mother: ? Around that time... I think I was busy with a debate competition held by my college.

Gryffindor's Sweetest Little Princess: Has Teacher Di taken the test, then?

Bug Ming: I seem to remember Teacher Di took it a long time ago?

[Admin] Holy Crap: Oh, oh, oh, I remember too! That was ages ago in the group chat www

Oh My Mother: I'm actually a Ravenclaw~

James-Brand Shampoo: Woohoo, yay! Teacher Di is in the same house as me!

Magpie: ?! I thought someone as nice as Teacher Di would be in Hufflepuff QAQ

Zabini: Ravenclaw, really?

Stepmother Literature: What a shame, I'm in Slytherin. (regretful)

My Younger Brother Isn't as Handsome as Me: I seriously doubt how reliable that kind of website is, because it actually put me in Hufflepuff! I don't believe it!

Fred remembered the moment that website had sorted him into Hufflepuff.

It's fake, definitely fake. I don't believe it for a second.

George was nearly falling over laughing beside him, and several of their other mischievous friends in the compartment also remembered what had happened that day and began laughing at Fred.

"Oh, so you dare laugh at me? You'd better sleep with one eye open, I'm telling you. Watch out, or I'll throw Dungbombs at you in the middle of the night!" Fred jokingly cursed and threatened them. The compartment immediately descended into chaos, filled with youthful laughter.

Birds flew past the windows as the Hogwarts train swayed along towards its destination.

In Harry's compartment, the three of them also began discussing their holiday plans. Hermione said she was going abroad with her family, and Ron said he was envious, because his family didn't have enough money to travel abroad. Harry was even more envious, because he might not even be able to leave the house.

"But we can still keep in touch often, right?" Harry said. The other two smiled and replied, "Of course, Harry."

But Hermione thought of something. "Perhaps we don't have to keep in touch by letter? We all got phones, and I noticed you can apparently add each other as friends on them, like exchanging contact details. And there wouldn't be a delay in receiving messages like there is with letters."

Ron had a sudden realisation. "That's right! Our owl Errol is really old now, and he has to rest for ages after every letter he delivers." This thing was much more useful than an owl.

"Then we can add each other right now!" Harry grew a little excited. He didn't want to lose contact with his friends once he returned to that house, and from the occasional spoilers in the group members' chats, he seemed to know that his summer holiday might not be very pleasant.

So Hermione spent a while figuring it out, and the three of them added one another as friends on the train. Harry smiled happily. Hogwarts was like home to him, and it would be two months before he came home again, so lose contact with his friends? He certainly didn't want that.

Edited at 9:50 p.m. on the twelfth:

Something came up tonight, so tomorrow's update will be delayed until the afternoon. The day after tomorrow, the ungodly hours will resume.