Cedric Diggory is dead.
As far as momentous deaths go, this one is stunning in its lack of ceremony or preamble. A simply hissed "Kill the spare" and a muttered death curse, and the handsome, intelligent, nice, bland Hufflepuff hero drops to the ground like a stone. Within the hour Voldemort rises and the second war begins.
The death of Diggory, I think, was meant to shock on a number of levels. As previously rambled in this blog, his death is the opening salvo of the "yes, this is a real and dangerous war, and people you know and love will die." Granted, we hadn't known Cedric that long, but we knew enough about him to know he was a genuinely good person, even if he was a touch boring and his dad was really, really obnoxious.
To kill someone so suddenly, with no compunction and no remorse, is standard Lord Voldemort. We have been told throughout the first four books that at the height of his power, He Who Must Not Be Named committed atrocities against innocents, and genuinely reigned terror on the wizarding populace. The death of Cedric Diggory is the first time this has directly affected one of our heroes, and is the first death in the "next generation" of those fighting the Dark Lord. In the words of Albus Dumbledore, "remember Cedric Diggory."
The Goblet of Fire is a book I often discount, but for reasons I can never remember when I'm actually reading it. As stated ad nauseum, this is the first "grown up" book, filled with Dark Marks and Death Eaters, government conspiracies and cover-ups, and an emotional family reunion that makes me cry every damn time. No matter how much it is mocked by Boy Scout.
While the Tri-Wizard Tournament was diverting and exciting (as is the Quidditch World Cup) none of that could match building tension, layer upon layer, beginning with the disappearance of Bertha Jorkins (who I think I referred to as Jenkins previously... I apologize) and the death of Frank the gardener (another wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time incident) and ending when Wormtail carries the world's most disturbing "baby" to the foot of Tom Riddle's grave. Nasty, creepy, and oh so wonderful.
I also have to mention again (again) the brilliance of J.K. Rowling and her writing. And her planning. And everything about her. Albus Dumbledore is speaking to someone in Goblet of Fire, and he tells them about a room that he stumbled on when he took a wrong turn to the restroom, a room in the castle he had never seen before, a room full of chamber pots. At the time, Dumbledore muses about whether he will find the room again, whether it only appears on the quarter moon, on Wednesdays, to people who really have to go, etc. Diehards, however, will note that Dumbledore is making the first mention of the Room of Requirement in the series. More of this ohholycrap awesomeness to come in The Order of the Phoenix.
On a scale of one to extremely excited, I am extremely excited to have reached the fever pitch of this series. No more messing around with spirits and apparitions, and people who-may-or-may-not be trying to kill Harry after they've escaped from Azkaban. From now on, we're all in.
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