- United Kingdom, England
-November 1, 1981
On the night of October 31, 1981, at the Ministry of Magic headquarters, Whitehall, London, England, Amos and Barbara Diggory were very excited and happy, just like the entire British magical community.
After returning from Greece to Great Britain, Mr. Diggory and Mrs. Diggory headed to the Ministry of Magic, and upon entering, they smiled and quickly greeted everyone, whether they knew them or not.
Their colleagues also greeted them enthusiastically and with smiles of happiness because everyone at the Ministry was celebrating...
Yes, they were all celebrating the news of the possible death of "He Who Must Not Be Named."
In fact, this event was something the magical community would be happy about for many months and years to come.
But despite the happy news, Amos and Barbara wasted no time in getting to work quickly and helping with everything the Minister had asked of them.
In recent years, only Amos Diggory had been working constantly at the Ministry of Magic, while his wife, Barbara Diggory, and their son, Cedric, had taken refuge in the house of Amos's mother, Madam Diggory, in Greece during the time of "He Who Must Not Be Named."
Greece was far removed from the conflict in the United Kingdom, so Amos decided that the whole family should stay at his mother's house.
His wife had left her job at the Ministry to take care of little Cedric. Yes, even though Amos wanted to be there more, he also knew that the Ministry of Magic needed him more than ever, so she had taken care of their son full-time for the first two years while he worked.
She had decided to stay in Greece to look after little Cedric while Amos would go to Greece every weekend to visit them, but even on those days, he only arrived in time for dinner and then sleep.
...
Once Cedric turned 2 years old, given the difficult situation in the magical community, Barbara Diggory had to occupy her time with the family's business, finances, and other Diggory family duties that could not be neglected any longer.
So, Amos's mother took care of little Cedric.
And since Amos still spent all his time at the Ministry without even enough time to eat or sleep properly, he couldn't take care of them. Besides, he wasn't the right person to handle these things, and Barbara had always been the one for this kind of thing.
...
In these tense, dark, and terrifying years, as strange as it may sound, Mr. Diggory had many good memories in his memory. His wife became pregnant, and their son was finally born on October 30, 1977. Yes, Amos was proud of little Cedric; his heir was perfect and an excellent member of the Diggory family.
Just by looking at him, Amos Diggory knew that he would be the pride of his family.
Little Cedric had bright gray eyes, and anyone could tell that he would be very handsome when he grew up.
...
Yesterday, October 31, had been one of the tensest days in the magical community, with a large number of Death Eaters wreaking havoc everywhere. They had attacked different houses and wizards; everything was chaos.
It was that same Halloween night that a miracle happened...
The Dark Lord who had been tormenting the magical world recently had died...
The Ministry quickly spread the celebrated news to the entire magical community.
Even Amos and Barbara Diggory had been summoned late in the day by the Minister himself to help control the situation that the British magical community was going through.
Upon hearing the news, without hesitation, they both immediately responded to the Minister's request. This was a day that would go down in the annals of magical history.
...
-Diggory Manor, Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon, England
-November 1, 1981
Mr. Diggory and Mrs. Diggory did not return to Amos's mother's house in Greece because when they left the Ministry, it was already very late, and they had also been asked to return.
Of course, it wasn't mandatory, but both of them wanted to help because they knew that tomorrow would be another equally hectic day.
Even if they had thought about returning to see their son, given how late it was, they concluded that it made no sense because they assumed that both Madam Diggory and Cedric must be asleep.
But if they had seen little Cedric's room that day, both of them would have been in for a big surprise.
Because little Cedric was not only awake at that hour, but he was also meditating and occasionally chatting with what they would think was a strange kind of ghost.
...
Once Amos and Barbara Diggory woke up the next day, both of them were very happy, and like everyone else, they wanted to celebrate this day. But the Ministry of Magic was still swamped with work, so they had to return quickly.
Yesterday, after the news of the possible death of the Dark Lord, the Minister of Magic had requested the help of all willing wizards at the Ministry, and today was no different.
With the news of the Dark Lord's death quickly spreading throughout the magical community, thousands of owls were coming and going from the Ministry.
All the wizards in Great Britain were celebrating the death of the Dark Lord to the point where they risked the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.
Of course, due to the situation, Minister Millicent Bagnold did not punish the wizards and witches who endangered the statute, arguing that there was an inalienable right to celebrate the end of the war:
"I assert our inalienable right to party."
Yes, those were the exact words of Minister Millicent Bagnold to everyone.
And that was the statement the Minister gave to the entire magical world.
But the sad truth was that, despite what she said, the British Ministry of Magic had to act to solve all the problems caused by the celebrations to prevent things from getting worse.
...
Amos Diggory agreed with what the Minister said, but that didn't change the fact that she had given everyone at the Ministry more work than they could handle.
The Ministry received countless reports from all over, and there was a lot of work to be done in all the Departments, Offices, and Divisions of the Ministry.
There was so much work to be done at the Ministry that Minister Millicent Bagnold personally asked Amos's wife to continue helping maintain order in Britain for a few more days.
This was because before resigning from her job, Barbara Diggory was the advisor and right hand of the former Minister Harold Minchum, who left office in 1980.
Plus, Millicent Bagnold knew Amos's wife and knew that she not only had a lot of experience but was also very capable. So, Mrs. Diggory was someone that Minister Bagnold needed more than ever to control the situation that seemed to be getting out of control.
For these reasons, yesterday and today, both Mr. Diggory and Mrs. Diggory were present, working and helping at the Ministry.
There were too many things to do, and many magical creatures that he had to deal with as the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
…
It was so much work that Minister Millicent Bagnold personally asked Amos Diggory's wife to continue helping maintain order in Britain for a few more days. This was because before resigning from her job, Barbara Diggory was the advisor and right-hand woman of the former Minister Harold Minchum, who left office in 1980.
Moreover, Millicent Bagnold knew Amos's wife and knew that she not only had a lot of experience but was also very capable. So, Mrs. Diggory was someone that Minister Bagnold needed now more than ever to control the situation that seemed to be spiraling out of control.
For these reasons, yesterday and today, both Mr. Diggory and Mrs. Diggory were present, working and helping at the Ministry.
There were too many things to do, and many magical creatures with which he had to deal as the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.