Diggory Is Still A Loser (book 2)

6- Pink Toad

Celia woke up early the next morning so that she could eat breakfast before anyone else got up.
She sat alone at the Ravenclaw table, and this pleased her, as there was no one around to stare at her, or try and force her into a conversation.
Professor Flitwick approached her and handed her that year's timetable.
Since she had only dropped Astronomy and History of Magic, she didn't have that many free periods, but she was still looking forward to the ones that she did have.

"Thank you, Professor" Celia said politely, before beginning to look through her timetable, to see what lessons she had that day.
"You're welcome.. I've actually been meaning to talk to you, Miss Diggory" informed Flitwick.
"What about?" Asked Celia, even though she was pretty sure she knew the answer, given her behaviour at the end of the previous school year.
"Well, after everything that happened, I wanted you to know that you can always come and talk to me, should you feel the need to. I don't want you to feel alone or invisible. My door is always open if you ever needed to chat about how you are feeling".

"Thanks for the offer, sir, but I'm fine" lied Celia.
"I'm not sure about how true that statement is" frowned Flitwick, seeing right through Celia.
"Well, I'm not fine yet, but I will be. Besides, I don't like talking about Cedric to people" informed Celia.
"It's not good to keep your feelings all bottled up"
"I know. And when I said I don't like talking to people, I didn't mean all people. For their are a few people I confide in. But Harry is the only person I feel comfortable talking about Cedric to"
"Well, as long as you have someone to talk to, that's all I can ask".

Celia's first day back was pretty dull, but that evening she heard that Harry had gotten into an argument with the new teacher Professor Umbridge.
The whole school was talking about how he had stood up to her, and shouted the truth about how Cedric had really died.
When Celia saw Harry, Ron and Hermione leaving the great hall that night, she headed after them.
"Nice one Harry. I'm proud that you stood up for yourself and Cedric" praised Celia.
"For all the good it did" mumbled Harry.

"You got people talking about the event, and the more you stand up for the truth, the more people are going to believe it" insisted Celia.
"I hope you're right... Have you had Umbridge yet?" Asked Harry.
Celia shook her head, "No, I've got her first thing tomorrow".
"Well, don't you go winding her up as well, or you'll be in detention every day for the rest of the week, with me" warned Harry.
"I'm not going to let her get the better of us, I'm going to stand up to her, just like you".

"I don't want you to suffer the consequences of siding with me" admitted Harry.
"It's not your job to protect me" reminded Celia.
"I know. But I don't want you getting into trouble because of me" replied Harry.
"Well, tough, because I'm not going to let you take the fall alone. I am going to tell the whole world how my brother really died. And I'm going to keep shouting it, until they believe me"
"Well, on your head be it".

****
The next morning, Celia walked into her Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, ready to do battle.
She took her seat, and stared at Umbridge, who was wearing another hideous pink ensemble.
"Good morning year 6" said Umbridge.
The class mumbled back their replies, but since it was still early, no one put much effort into it.
"Now, that won't do. I want you all to say, good morning Professor Umbridge" continued Umbridge.
Rather reluctantly Celia's classmates chanted back the greeting to the teacher. But Celia refused to do so, due to Umbridge's treatment of Harry the day before.

"Good. Now, I want you to get out your textbooks and read the first chapter" instructed Umbridge.
The class groaned as they put away their wands and got out their books.
Since Celia was a quick reader, she managed to get through the first chapter very fast, even though it was one of the most boring things she had ever read.
She then immediately placed her hand into the air and tried to get Umbridge's attention.
"Can I help you?" Questioned Umbridge.
"I've finished the chapter" answered Celia.

"Well then, you can just move onto the next chapter, Miss...?" Asked Umbridge.
"Diggory. Celia Diggory" finished Celia.
"Well, Miss Diggory, please return your attention back to the textbook and continue reading" replied Umbridge.
"So, are we really just going to read the textbook all lesson? Are we not going to perform any magic, in a class where we are supposed to learn how to perform defensive spells?".

"We are following a Ministry approved, risk free, scheme" informed Umbridge sternly.
"Risk free? That's a joke. Nothing in this school is risk free. What with the Chamber of Secrets and the protection around the Philosopher's Stone. Not to mention the trees and moving staircases that try to kill you" admitted Celia.
"That is why we are taking steps to correct this-" started Umbridge.
"But this is the one class where we are supposed to actually do dangerous magic. It is Defense Against the Dark Arts after all, not a Read From the Book All lesson, class" interrupted Celia.

"5 points from Ravenclaw for your rude behaviour!" Snapped Umbridge.
Celia glared at Umbridge as a Gryffindor girl named Katie Bell raised hand.
"Are you saying that we aren't going to be doing any magic at all in this class?" She asked.
"It is the Ministry's view that a theoretical knowledge is all that's needed to get you through your exams, which afterall, is what school is all about" answered Umbridge.

"That may be true, but there is more to life than school. We finish in a few years, and we need to be prepared to deal with what's out there" insisted Celia.
"Your hand is not up, Miss Diggory! Besides, there is nothing out there that poses a threat to you" replied Umbridge.
"Nothing out there! Oh no, only a 100 or so dark creatures that would like to rip us to shreds" mocked Celia.
"I will not have shouting in my class room!"
"You started it. Besides it's not just dark creatures, there are evil wizards too, who would happily murder every one of us. Voldemort and his death eaters would love to do us all in, as they have a penchant for murder".

"That is enough!" Screamed Umbridge.
The whole class had gasped when Celia said Voldemort's name, but this time she had been expecting it.
"It seems that you believe the lies told by Mr Potter. But that is all they are, lies" continued Umbridge.
"No they're not. Harry is not a liar. Voldemort had my brother killed. If you say that Voldemort isn't back, then how did Cedric die, because I notice that the Ministry has failed to answer that?" Questioned Celia.
"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident" replied Umbridge.

"An accident? Well, he wasn't exactly beaten to death by a hedge, was he? And since nothing in the maze could have performed the killing curse on him, the only logical explanation is that he was murdered. But because of your stupidity and fear, you are ignoring the truth. And when Voldemort strikes back at the wizarding world, you and the Ministry are all going to look like fools" announced Celia.
She then picked up her things and stormed out of the room, before Umbridge could punish her further.