Harry's birthday ended up being rather depressing, because Remus Lupin brought news of more deaths.
Ollivander had been kidnapped and his shop ransacked.
And Florean Fortescue had been killed.
The mood was sombre after that revelation, until the following day when their Hogwarts school lists arrived, and Harry received his Quidditch captain badge.
A few days after this, everyone made plans to go to Diagon Alley to get everything they nedded for school.Celia and the Weasley's travelled to London in a Ministry car, because Harry needed as much protection as possible.
And when they reached Diagon Alley they were met by Hagrid, who would be serving as Harry's guard for the trip.
As the group passed a seedy looking wizard, he jumped out at them, rattling armfuls of silver amulets at them, making Celia's heart beat quicken.
"One for your little girl, madam? Protect her pretty neck?" He called out to Molly, who gripped Ginny tighter as she steered her away.
"If I were on duty" mumbled Arthur, as they hurried past the strange man.
"Yes, but don't go arresting anyone now dear, we're in a hurry" reminded Molly.Celia shuddered as they hurried past the shabby looking stalls, and strange men, before arriving in the centre of town.
Diagon Alley was no longer the cheery bright place it had once been, and it hurt Celia to see it look like that.
"I think we'd better go to Madam Malkin's first, because Hermione, Harry and Ron all need new robes" admitted Molly.
"It doesn't make sense for us all to go. Why don't us and Ginny head to Flourish and Blotts to get everyone's school books, while they get their robes?" Suggested Arthur."I'm not sure that we should split up the group" mumbled Molly nervously.
"Don't worry Molly, the kids will be fine with me" reassured Hagrid.
"Alright then, you take them and get the robes, while we get the books" agreed Molly.
"Actually, I have a few things I need to get in town" revealed Celia, who was hoping to sneak away to meet Benjamin, who was waiting for her.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea. You know it's not safe to go anywhere alone" replied Molly.
"I'll be fine. I can use magic outside of school now. And I won't be gone for long"
"If you're sure"
"I am. I'll meet you outside Fred and George's joke shop"
"O.K. Don't be longer than half an hour though"
"I won't, I promise".As the group split up, Celia headed for Slug and Jiggers Apothecary, where she was going to meet Benjamin.
He had arrived before her, and was leaning against the shop window.
"Hi" smiled Celia, as she approached him.
Benjamin hugged her and whispered into her ear, "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind".
Celia grinned and whispered back, "And therefore, is winged Cupid painted blind".The pair drew apart and laced their hands together.
"I had to check it was you" sighed Benjamin.
"I know. Ministry guidelines say that you should ask everyone you meet a security question before trusting them" sighed Celia, as she pushed open the shop door.
"I don't think any low life death eaters can quote Shakespeare, so the way we identify each other is pretty good" replied Benjamin.
"No, they probably can't even name one of his plays" agreed Celia.
Celia collected the potion ingredients she needed before paying, and quickly exiting the shop."It's sad to see Diagon Alley like this. It used to be so beautiful" sighed Celia.
Benjamin placed his arm around Celia's shoulders, "Don't worry. I'm sure that once all this madness is over, everything will go back go to the way it was".
"I hope you're right... I can't stay long. I promised Mrs Weasley that I'd only be gone half an hour" informed Celia.
"I wish we had more time together"
"I know. You could always enter the shop before me, and I could happen to bump into you"
"Sounds like a plan to me. Are you sure Mrs Weasley won't notice?"
"No. She's got a bunch of other kids to look after, and won't notice me sneaking off into the corner with you, so it will be fine".****
After their half an hour was up, Celia headed to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and she was shocked when she saw Fred and George's shop for the first time.
It was much larger than he had expected, and it was the brightest shop in the street.
Once they had all regrouped, they headed inside the packed shop and began trying to find the twins.
"There you are" sighed Celia, when she eventually found them.
"Celia, we wondered when you would show up" grinned Fred.
"Well, here I am. This place is amazing" praised Celia.
"Thank you very much" beamed George."If I'd been living at home this summer, I would've come here straight away. But since I've been staying with your mum, I had to wait for her to arrange the trip, before I could come and see you" admitted Celia.
"How's things at the Burrow?" Questioned Fred.
"Good. I expect it's quieter than normal, given that you two aren't there. It was really kind of your mum to let me stay, because I didn't want to have to go home. Anyway, how's things here in the shop?" Asked Celia.
"Business is booming" answered George.
"Yes, with everything going on, we reckon people need a laugh, which is why we are doing so well" added Fred."I still can't believe that you actually did it. You've come a long way from selling Skiving Snackboxes to first years" admitted Celia.
"We most certainly have. And if you want to take anything, just let us know and you can have it for free" replied Fred.
"Oh no, I couldn't do that"
"You're our friend, and we want you to have anything you need to help you get through your last year at Hogwarts".
"And if you need a job when you finish school next year, we'll hire you" added George."Is it just you two running the whole shop?" Questioned Celia.
"No, we have an assistant named Verity. But with the busyness of the shop, we will probably need more staff before long" answered Fred.
"Well, I'll keep it in mind. But I'm not sure I'm the right kind of person to work in a joke shop, because I'm far too depressing" sighed Celia.
"Maybe working here would cheer you up- Hey isn't that your boyfriend?" Asked George.
Celia spun around and saw that Benjamin had entered the shop.
"He's not my boyfriend" lied Celia.
"Sure he's not" teased George.
"We're just friends. So, now I'm going to leave you two and say hello to my friend"
"Give him a kiss from us".
Celia rolled her eyes and headed over to Benjamin, worried about how much longer she could keep her relationship a secret.
YOU ARE READING
Diggory Is More Than A Loser (book 3)
FanfictionCelia Diggory is in her final year at Hogwarts, and after 2 awful years, she is looking forward to this one. But Voldemort has returned and now the whole wizarding world knows it, so nothing will ever be the same again. Even though Celia is trying t...