An American At Hogwarts: Book Three

Chapter Fifty-Four

For the next week, all anybody talked about was Harry's Quibbler article and who had managed to paste it up on every wall in the school.

Umbridge had just about destroyed the castle turning things over, looking for any clue as to who did it. Exactly as planned, she found nothing but suggestions that led back to her. The twins and I had caught bits and pieces of her reactions from the portraits gossiping around the castle, and apparently, she'd been ready to tear the paintings off the wall for "hindering her investigation". But as she heard the same story from every single witness, she'd realized someone had outplayed her.

I'd been right to have us disguise ourselves the muggle way, too; for the space outside her office, which we'd plastered with posters more than almost anywhere else, she apparently had some spells up to alert her if someone used magic in the area, to help her catch culprits. She'd really lit a fuse when she realized her little trap had failed, and she was left with no leads to follow. Just pages and pages of the thing she'd been trying to rid the school of entirely.

Even better, as a combined result of the prank and the educational decree, everyone in the school seemed to have read the article. Harry had apparently tried to keep me and Cedric out of it, as much as he could, but still people came up to me and asked about the graveyard and everything that had happened there. They were curious, and scared, and finally it seemed like we'd gotten the truth out. People believed Voldemort was back, that Harry wasn't crazy or attention-seeking. Which also meant a huge blow had been dealt to the Ministry's credibility.

I had a massive grin on my face the entire week. Although I hid it around Umbridge and in her class, nothing could really wipe it away. The day after the interview broke, however, I had one other moment of less than ideal consequences to The Quibbler's publication.

After classes on Tuesday, as I made my way from the greenhouses and Herbology with Ravenclaw to the library with David, I caught sight of Cedric as pale as a ghost. I quickly told David to go ahead without me, then rushed to catch up with my boyfriend.

His shoulders shot up to his ears as he tensed at the sound of me coming up behind him, but he relaxed when I called his name and he realized it was me.

"Hi, Alexa. Sorry, I didn't realize it was you."

"That's alright," I said, stepping closer to him as we ducked into a less-travelled part of the castle. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

He sighed and shook his head, his gaze slipping from me to stare holes in the wall ahead.

"I'm glad Harry published the article. I am," he started, his voice strained. "The world needed to know, and nobody seemed to believe him before this, but... I have to admit, I'm not enjoying being dragged into it."

I stepped a little closer, resting my hand on his arm, and he shook his head, his gaze still unfocused.

"It's barely been a day, and at least twenty people have come up to me asking questions. Trying to get me to tell them everything I remember from that graveyard, and not believing me when I say it's almost nothing. Half the time I'm tempted to just shout at them that I remember dying, and that's it. What more do they want?"

I froze, not totally sure what to do or how best to help him. I kept my hand on his arm and shifted a little closer, hoping to remind him I was here with him, that we'd made it, without crowding him or pushing him too much. We stayed like that for a few long moments, me watching him worriedly while he stared holes at the wall. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Cedric sighed and straightened. The anguished pain had been wiped off his face, but I knew he'd just hidden it, not succeeded in getting rid of it.

"I'll be fine, Alexa," he said. He met my eyes again and gave me a tight-lipped smile. "I'm alright."

"Cedric..." I tugged on his arm, stepping forward as I pulled him closer to me. "...It's okay if you're not okay. You know that, right?"