MATILDA - fred weasley

Chapter 1

The Diggory household was a loving home. Catherine Diggory loved to bake beautiful cakes and biscuits and all sorts of sweets for her family. Amos Diggory was hardworking; often seen with his briefcase, either just about to leave for the Ministry, where he worked in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, or just arriving home.

Their home was bright and full of greenery, a true reflection of their Hufflepuff pride. Picture frames of their lives decorated the walls – from their days at Hogwarts to last Christmas. To many, the Diggorys were a perfect family with a perfect home and a perfect life.

To Matilda Diggory, all of that was bullshit.

Behind all the smiles and all the perfectness, they hid a deep, dark secret.

Their daughter was a monster.

A werewolf, to be exact.

Their daughter was many things, but never what they wanted. She was a Gryffindor, she had been a fighter, and she was not afraid to speak up. While these would be honourable traits (and Merlin knows Cedric has these, but instead of being shamed for it like she is, he is praised), to Amos and Catherine, these are exactly what made Matilda so undesirable.

Her need for adventure was what got her bitten in the first place.

It was her fault she wandered out too late.

It was her fault she screamed when the werewolf pounced.

It wasn't Amos' fault that he made a derogatory comment about werewolves that week.

It wasn't Amos' fault that he didn't keep an eye on his daughter.

And heaven forbid it was Catherine's fault! No, she was too busy tucking Cedric into bed!

It was Matilda's fault that she was cursed with this shameful condition.

Her lycanthropy was just one of the many things her parents used to justify their lack of love towards her. Matilda was the child they didn't want. She wasn't meant to be there, so why should they love a child they didn't ask for? Besides, according to research, it is impossible for someone to feel love towards a werewolf.

It was known to their daughter that they preferred Cedric, her twin. Matilda had grown used to her parent's blatant favouritism towards him. Ever since she was a child, Matilda was never shown the same compassion which they showed Cedric. They would boast about him to anyone they talked to, but never Matilda. That was how she realised they didn't see her as their daughter. They only saw her as a monster.

They would only see her faults, and point them out until they weren't just faults, but instead great, massive issues that seemed to affect the very foundation of who she was. Her hair was looking particularly messy that day? Oh, Matilda, you are so lazy and never look after yourself! Why do we even bother looking after you if you don't honour it?!

Of course, Matilda wouldn't say anything. She'd learned that the best way to avoid her parents' criticism was to simply not exist in their eyes. That included remaining silent during family dinners and events, shutting herself in her room, and picking up an awful smoking habit (only at nighttime, when her parents were fast asleep).

She'd spent so much of her childhood trying to remain anonymous to her own family that it became who she was. Quiet and reserved, with a little bit of rebellion. It did have its benefits, though. For instance, she'd been able to stay off the Weasley twins' pranking radar for four years and her parents had (for the most part) stopped pointing out all of her flaws.