Spark - A Fred Weasley Fanfiction

Chapter two

Lola doesn't want to get up the next morning. She doesn't really care about going to her classes and pretending to be okay. In fact, the only reason she bothers to get out of bed is so she appears somewhat normal to her dorm mates. She isn't great friends with them, but they all engage in friendly conversation now and then, and they all asked her if she was okay when they got back to their dormitory after the feast. Lola isn't appreciative of the reminder that her brother was murdered, but the gesture was kind. She ended up sitting with Luna during the Welcome Feast, they didn't talk much, but it was nice to have a little bit of company. Luna did not approve of their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher much, especially after the long, boring speech the teacher gave about the Ministry. In fact, Luna had decided to take out her copy of the Quibbler and read it instead of listening to the new Professor. Lola found it quite funny at the time.

Lola heads down for breakfast alone. She's already dressed in her Ravenclaw robes and has tried to make herself appear somewhat alive and healthy, but that's the only effort she puts into her appearance. She doesn't bother with any makeup or fancy hairstyles. She's too tired to even think about that. Sleep doesn't come easy to her, and her mind is plagued with images of Cedric's body, lifeless and cold.

"Hello, Lola," Luna says, smiling as Lola sits down beside her at the Ravenclaw table. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah," Lola lies, grabbing a plain slice of toast. She applies a tiny amount of butter to the toast and takes small bites of it. Her stomach churns, a nauseous feeling rising in her body, but she ignores it. "You?"

"Not really. I suspect Wrackspurts were keeping me awake," Luna tells her.

"Wrackspurts?" Lola raises an eyebrow at the blonde girl, who nods.

"They're invisible creatures which float in your ears and make your brain go funny," Luna explains to Lola. "I'll be okay, I just need to think positive thoughts, and they'll go away."

"Oh, right," Lola says, still puzzled but choosing not to ask any more questions.

Professor Flitwick approaches the pair, handing them both of their timetables for the year and casting Lola a sympathetic look.

"How are you doing, Miss Diggory?" He asks her. He seems genuinely concerned about her, which takes her by surprise a little although she's always been exceptionally good at casting charms, so maybe that's why.

"I'm fine," she shrugs, looking down awkwardly at her timetable.

"Well, as your Head of House, you're always welcome to raise any concerns with me," he offers, and she smiles gratefully. The professor nods a little before moving down the table and handing out some more timetables.

"That was nice of him," Luna observes, and Lola just nods, grabbing herself a glass of water.

She reads through her timetable with a sigh. She's taking five subjects for her N.E.W.T.'s, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Herbology and Transfiguration. She isn't really sure what she wants to do career-wise when she's older, truthfully she doesn't care about her future anymore. She just chose the five most practical subjects Hogwarts has to offer.

"Oh, you have Defence Against the Dark Arts with the Gryffindors," Luna points out, and Lola nods her head.

She isn't really bothered about her lessons, but she chokes back tears when she sees that she has charms class with the Hufflepuffs. It's one of her favourite lessons, and she spent most of last year helping Cedric master charms for the Triwizard Tournament. She taught him how to perform the Bubblehead charm, and it's a good thing she did as she ended up being stuck at the bottom of the Black Lake for him to save.