Star Girl | Cedric Diggory

|*| Two |*|

Aquila followed Nash to the Hogwarts express. Her parents had never let her accompany them when Nash was a first year-or a any year for that matter-so she saw the King's Cross with fresh eyes. She was astonished at the architecture of the station, and the trains amazed her. She giggled as she passed through the barrier for the first time, and she ran to the train as fast as she could, forcing her brother to run after her, panting heavily.

She could see her reflection in the polished train. Her dark eyes seemed to sparkle, and the smile that was on her face was so full of excitement and wonder. She watched her happy reflection dance around in a gleeful circle. She giggled when Nash grabbed her hand and spun her around like a princess. The two siblings danced into the train, laughing all the way.

The Whitman siblings shared a bond that most siblings didn't have. Unlike the other sets of siblings who quarreled and fought, Nash and Aquila were best friends. It might've been because their parents weren't around often (their father worked long and hard hours at the ministry, and their mother was a writer for The Daily Prophet), and they were their only sources of entertainment. They fought, but Aquila was always quick to apologize, and Nash never denied her a hug.

Nash led her into an empty compartment. He sat down next to her and became rather serious. "Aquila," he said. "Everyone from our family has been in Slytherin since before anyone can remember. Now, I know Mum and Dad have told you about how important it is to be placed in Slytherin, so whatever the hat says, do not stop until you have it your way. Because, the moment you're sorted into Ravenclaw or Gryffindor or-Merlin forbid-Hufflepuff, is the moment our family shuns you forever. Understood?"

Aquila nodded. She wanted nothing more than to make her family happy with her-it was her greatest goal-and if the Sorting was her way of doing it, she would make sure she was in Slytherin. Never had she thought about being in any other house than Slytherin, and it would disappoint her to feel like a failure.

Although her parents were distant, she thought that if she made them proud of her by getting Sorted into Slytherin and doing good in her studies that they'd be happier with her. After all, they had given her everything she ever wanted and more. The least she could do was make them proud.

"Don't worry, Nashy," Aquila told her worried brother. "I'll be put in Slytherin-no doubt about it!"

"Good," he said. "And, need I remind you about mudbloods and blood traitors-"

"Yeah, I know," the girl said, rolling her eyes. "Keep the friendships in pureblood families."

Aquila had heard her family go on and on about the witches and wizards who weren't born into pureblood families, but she didn't understand it. Everyone with magical lineage was just as much a witch or wizard as those who weren't direct descendants of wizards. To her, blood status mattered less than de-gnoming the garden; she found the gnomes rather fun to play with.

Nash smiled, "Good, now I'm going to sit with the other Prefects. See you at the Sorting, Quil."

"Bye, Nashy!" Aquila said. Her brother walked out of the compartment, leaving Aquila alone. She sighed and fell backward onto the seat. "Blah, blah, Slytherin. Blah, blah, pure bloods, blah, blah-"

"Can I sit with you?"

Aquila looked toward the door and saw a boy with neat brown hair smiling at her. He carried a book in one hand and stuffed the other in his pocket.

"Sure!" Aquila cheered. She was ready to welcome new friends into her life. The boy walked in and sat across from her. "I'm Aquila Whitman, but everyone calls me Quil. Well, only my brother does, but Quil's fine."

"I'm Cedric Diggory," he introduced, smiling back at her. "I guess you can call me Ced. I mean, my Dad does, so I'm not really opposed to it."

"Are you a first year too?" Aquila asked Cedric.

"Yeah," Cedric told her. "I'm a little nervous about the Sorting..."

"Me too!" she exclaimed suddenly, causing Cedric to jump. "My parents are being so uptight about this whole situation, you know? Like, Aquila, you must do this. Aquila, don't do that. Blah, blah, blah, Slytherin. They aren't giving me much of a say to anything."

"Then do something rebellious!" Cedric suggested.

"Like what?" Aquila had never even thought about going against her parents' words. Doing something rebellious wasn't her forte; plus, she kinda wanted to make them proud, not throw them into a fit of anger.

"I don't know... Um, maybe you can dye your hair the color of your House!"

"That's... that's actually a really cool idea!" Aquila said. She hadn't expected it, and it honestly didn't sound too bad. "My parents will flip!"

Suddenly, she found herself enjoying the idea. Maybe her parents were wrong. After all, as far as she knew, they didn't even love each other. The arranged marriages had been going on in pureblood families for decades, and the Whitmans had taken part of that tradition. The mere thought of it appalled Aquila, and she vowed to mary for love, not blood purity.

"Speaking of Houses," Cedric said. "Do you have any idea what house you'll be in?"

"Slytherin," she said cheerfully. "I have to be. My entire family was in Slytherin, and if I'm not, my parents won't ever love me again. But also, I think snakes are really cool, so it's a win-win!"

"Woah!" Cedric gasped. "Your family will hate you for not being in Slytherin? They can't control that!"

"I know, but I feel like I'm destined to be in Slytherin anyway, so I'm not really worried. You?"

"Honestly, I try not to think about it. I just wanna let it play out however it should play out."

"That's cool," she said. "Do you really think I should dye my hair?"

"It would be totally cool, but if you don't want to-"

"Oh, I want to!" Aquila declared. "No one will have more House pride than me!"

"We'll see about that when I'm the best quidditch captain ever!"

"I think we're going to be good friends," Aquila said with a smile.

"I think we will too."