Diggory Is More Than A Loser (book 3)

11- Cursed

The weeks flew by and Celia barely had a minute to herself, as she always seemed to be doing something.
She had even stopped hiding in the owlery, choosing to do her work in other places, like the library or her common room.
When the first official Hogsmeade visit arrived in October, Celia was looking forward to spending time outside of the school grounds with her friends.
So she joined them in the entrance hall, on the morning of the trip.
"I can see you guys are all wrapped up" grinned Celia.
Harry and the others all had hats and scarfs on, and thick coats, to keep themselves warm.
"Well, it is snowing" pointed out Hermione, and she pulled on ger gloves.

"Are you coming to Hogsmeade with us?" Asked Harry.
"Yep" answered Celia.
"Don't you have therapy?" Questioned Harry, lowering his voice, so that the students around them didn't hear their conversation.
"No, I'm doing it tomorrow instead. Me and Vanessa decided it would be better to avoid the official Hogsmeade trip days, as the town will be crawling with students"
"That's a good idea. And it means you can spend the day with us"
"Yes"
"Let's get going then".

Once Filch had ticked their names off his list, they were allowed to make their way down the hill towards Hogsmeade.
When they reached the town Harry realised that Zonko's Joke Shop had closed down.
"I guess I hadn't noticed before" admitted Celia, as they passed it.
"Aren't you here evey week?" Frowned Harry.
"Yes, but I just go to the Hog's Head and then return to school. I'm not allowed to wander around or go in any of the shops, since it's too dangerous. I go to therapy and the I come straight back" replied Celia.
This was a white lie, as she actually met up with Benjamin every Saturday after her therapy sessions. And the pair hung out for several hours, before Celia headed back to school.
"I guess this trip isn't going to be as fun as we thought" sighed Ron.
"Come on, let's go to Honeydukes, that's still open" suggested Hermione.

The four of them bought some sweets before heading to the Three Broomsticks.
They bumped into Mundungus Fletcher on the way, whom they caught selling Sirius's old belongings from Grimmauld Place.
This made Harry very angry, and put everyone in a bad mood for the rest of their trip.
Eventually they decided to call it a day and head back to the castle, before the weather got too bad.
They exited the Three Broomsticks shortly after 2 Gryffindor girls in Celia's year; Katie and Leanne.
The 2 girls were having a very loud argument, and when they were halfway back to Hogwarts, Leanne lunged for the package in Katie's hands.

Katie dropped the package on the ground, spilling its contents onto the snow.
She bent down to pick it up, and the moment she did she suddenly rose into the air, with her arms outstretched.
When she was about 6 feet in the air she began to scream.
Celia and the others charged forward when they saw this, and began to help Leanne try to pull Katie back down.
Eventually they succeeded, but Katie didn't stop screaming once on the ground.
Celia began to shake, and it wasn't just because of the cold.

"Stay here. I'm going to get help" Shouted Harry.
"No, you shouldn't go by yourself, it's not safe" countered Celia, who was worried about Harry going off on his own.
"You do it all the time" reminded Harry.
"But I'm not the Chosen One, there isn't a dark lord after me, like there is you"
"Look, I'm going towards Hogwarts to get help, not Hogsmeade. So I will be fine"
"Oh, alright then, go. But be quick".
Harry nodded and headed off toward the castle.
Celia turned her attention to Katie, who was still screaming and writhing around on the floor.
Ron, Hermione, Leanne and Celia all tried in vain to stop Katie, and calm her down, but nothing they did had any effect.

Harry returned a few minutes later with Hagrid at his side.
"Get back. Let me see her" ordered Hagrid, as he pushed his way through the group.
"Something's happened to her. But I don't know what" sobbed Leanne.
Hagrid scooped Katie up into his arms and began running back towards the castle with her.
"Leanne, what happened?" Asked Celia, when Katie's screaming could no longer be heard.
"I don't know. She returned with the package from the bathroom, and kept saying that she had to deliver it. She was acting all strange so I tried to take it from her. The necklace fell out and when she reached down to touch it, she rose into the air and began screaming" revealed Leanne.

Celia and Harry turned from Leanne to look down at the package on the ground.
"I've seen that necklace before, on display at Borgin and Burkes. The label said it was cursed" informed Harry.
"Well, Knockturn Alley is the kind of place you'd find a cursed necklace" replied Celia.
"Did Katie say who gave it her?" Hermione asked Leanne.
"No. Only that she had to take it back to school and deliver it" answered Leanne.
"We need to take the necklace with us, because we can't just leave it here, where someone else might find it and touch it. Besides, Madam Pomfrey might need it to help cure Katie" admitted Harry.
"Don't touch the necklace though, just the brown packaging" warned Celia.

Harry removed his scarf and used it to pick up the necklace through the packaging.
The group then made their way back to school.
Celia couldn't get the haunting image of Katie hanging in the air, our of her head. And the girl's screams still rang in her ears.
McGonagall was waiting for them when they arrived, and she immediately escourted them to her office to interrogate them about what had happened.
Celia didn't feel any better once inside the safety of the castle. And she didn't say anything once inside McGonagall's office, and barely listened to a word that McGonagall said, as her mind was still on Katie.

It all became too much for Leanne who started crying hysterically, and wouldn't say another word about what had happened.
"Alright, thank you Leanne. You should go to the hospital wing and get Madam Pomfrey to give you something for the shock" suggested McGonagall.
Leanne nodded and exited the room in tears.
McGonagall then turned to face Celia, who's strange behaviour was concerning her.
"Maybe you should visit Madam Pomfrey as well" continued McGonagall.

Celia hadn't heard the teacher, as she had been blankly staring at the wall, blocking out the noise around her.
Harry elbowed Celia, getting her attention.
"Hmm. What?" Questioned Celia.
"McGonagall said you should go to the hospital wing" replied Harry.
"What? No. I am fine Professor, honestly" insisted Celia, who had no intention of going to the hospital wing that year, as she had already spent too much time there during her 7 years at Hogwarts.
"Are you sure, Miss Diggory? Madam Pomfrey could give you something to make you feel better" said McGonagall.

"There is no need. I'm O.K" reassured Celia.
McGonagall frowned, not believing her.
"I am. I'm just cold" continued Celia.
"Well then, perhaps you should return to your common room and warm yourself up, while I talk to Mr Potter" replied McGonagall.
Celia looked over to Harry.
"Go. I'll talk to you later" promised Harry.
"Alright. I'll see you at dinner" mumbled Celia, before leaving the room, with Katie still on her mind.