Star Girl | Cedric Diggory

|*| Fifty Seven |*|

Aquila didn't want to meet Dada Diggory.

The reason why was plain and simple: her family. Amos Diggory was a man with standards higher than the North Tower, and he held people to those standards. He only liked people that met up to his outrageous expectations of being well groomed or famous. Regor and Vega Whitman had high standards too, but they were set for different things like being supporters of Voldy or... that was it, actually.

From what Cedric had told her about the man and from what research she'd done on her own, Aquila concluded that Amos Diggory most certainly would not approve of her because of her green hair and horrid family background. Also, Regor and Vega Whitman wouldn't approve of Cedric, but that assumption was for another time.

No matter how much Aquila protested in the five minutes before Amos arrived, Cedric refused to let her run away from his father. When using reason wouldn't work to sway the girl's mind, Cedric resorted to using guilt trips. He didn't feel good about doing it, but he didn't want his girlfriend skipping out on a fun-filled visit with his father.

"Come on, Quil," Cedric pleaded. "I... I might not be here tomorrow..."

Aquila knew where her boyfriend was going with that. Son of a bitch, she thought, mentally slapping him. That's a snake's move... oh, dang! He's been spending way too much time with me! No!

She seriously contemplated walking away from him, but she knew that wouldn't result in anything good. He'd been there for her through everything-the Howler, all of the insults-but when had she been there for him? She knew she wasn't a lousy girlfriend; if she was, Cedric would've left her ages ago for Ching Chong. That Hufflepuff could have any girl he wanted at Hogwarts, but for some odd reason, he was with her. She wasn't about to loose him just because she was scared to say "hello" to his father.

But she could not listen to him try and guilt her into staying any longer. She could tell it wasn't something he was enjoying, and she decided to put him out of his misery.

"Oh, calm down, eyebrow sweat," Aquila said, interrupting his attempt at guilt tripping her. "I'll meet your dad; I will. Just promise me one thing in return."

"Sure," Cedric said.

"Never try to guilt me into things ever again."

"Gladly," he agreed, a sigh of relief escaping his lips.

"So," Aquila asked, "when does he get here?"

"Cedric! My boy!"

"Now, apparently," Cedric said, pointing to the older man rushing down the corridor over to where his son stood. He immediately trapped Cedric in a hug that looked painful from Aquila's point of view, and she found herself flinching every time the man patted Cedric on the back.

"I can't believe it's almost here!" Amos Diggory exclaimed after the bone-crushing hug. "My boy is almost the Triwizard Champion!"

"Not so loud, Dad," Cedric said softly, a hint of a blush forming on his face. Aquila wanted to make a remark, but she decided against it, wanting to make a good first impressing.

"Don't be so modest, son!" Amos told him. "You've got what it takes to win, and you know it!"

Cedric didn't really know how to respond to the compliment with words, so he let out a few small chuckles and bit his lower lip, looking away from his father.

That was Aquila's cue to make things more awkward for the Hufflepuff. She wrapped an arm around his waist, and with a bright smile across her face, she said, "Yeah, Cedric, there's no need to be so modest. You're a shoo-in to win this tournament, and you know it!"

Cedric nudged Aquila in the ribs, and she had to stifle a giggle.

Amos's eyes lit up when he saw Aquila. Sure, he'd seen her when he came in, but he was too distracted by seeing his son that he didn't register her face fully. "I totally agree, young lady," he said. "You must be the girl Cedric's always talking about, Aquila!"

It was Aquila's turn to do the rib nudging, and Cedric's turn to stifle the giggle.

The first thing she wanted to say was, He talks about me?, but it sounded very cliché in her head, so she decided against it. "I sure am," Aquila told the man, "and you must be the wonderful father Cedric's always going on and on about."

"I sure am!" Amos exclaimed. "It's nice to finally meet you in person, Aquila!"

"You as well, Mr. Diggory!" Aquila said in a tone just as loud and excited as his.

"We should head to the feast," Cedric suggested. "Get some food."

"Splendid idea," Amos decreed.

"I second that!" Aquila agreed.

|*|*|*|

Headmaster Dumbledore was holding a feast for the Champions and their guests in the Room of Requirement. Each Champion was there with a few of their friends and family members as well as the professors for a feast in their celebration. Cedric had invited his father, girlfriend, and best friend to attend, and as he expected, Ethan was already there when he arrived, piling food onto his plate.

Cedric sat down at a table next to Ethan, and Amos took the seat next to him. Aquila sat down next to Amos, which was to her great delight. Cedric's father definitely had high expectations, but he was such a bubbly person. To her surprise, they got along rather nicely and kept each other busy with talk about subjects like school and Quidditch.

There wasn't one part of the night she wished she could do over. She felt that she really hit it off with her boyfriend's father, and all was well in her world.

After the feast, Aquila pulled Cedric aside to speak with him.

"I like your dad," she told him. "I don't know why I was so worried before."

"Worried?" Cedric asked. "Who's worried? Why should I be worried? I'm not worried?"

Cedric was noticeably worried. He was a shaking mess; his hands were trembling, his heart was beating faster than usual, and he was sweating.

Aquila pulled the shaking boy in for a hug and whispered in his ear, "If you need me, look to the stars."

|*| *whispers* look to the stars |*|