Star Girl | Cedric Diggory

|*| Seventy Seven |*|

Aquila never really liked the color pink. Maybe it was because her mother used to dress her in pink and frilly things when she was a kid or if it was because pink was just a color old women generally wore (she swore that when she was old and frail that she'd never wear anything pink), but no matter what it was, when she saw someone wearing pink, she wouldn't smile at them and say, "Nice shirt." No, she would probably avoid any interaction with them until she knew more about them.

It wasn't any different with their newest professor. Last year, after Mad-Eye Moody proved to not actually be Mad-Eye Moody, the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor was once again open. Aquila blamed this on none other than Harry Potter. She happened to take a liking to Mad-Eye, even if he wasn't the real Mad-Eye. She figured that if she liked the imposter, she'd like the real man even better.

Ever since Harry Potter had began attending school, the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had seemed cursed. There hadn't been a professor who had been in the position for more than a year. One was a Death Eater, one lost his memory, one was a werewolf, and one was an imposter/Death Eater. Aquila figured that the next one wouldn't make it longer than a year, and would probably be a sea witch or something.

When she saw their newest professor, she was suddenly glad for the curse of Lightning Scar. The woman resembled a toad-a very, very pink toad. Aquila didn't like toads, and she didn't like pink. As first impressions go, this one wasn't amazing.

When she first saw their newest professor, it was at the start of term feast. As the new first years were being Sorted, Aquila scanned over the staff table and noticed what appeared to be a bright pink blob. Upon a closer examination, she realized that it wasn't a blob; no, it was a person. The pinkest person she had ever seen.

Aquila wasn't quite sure if the professors had a dress code, but she knew that this woman had already broken it. She wasn't even wearing robes! It was just a pink suit, and it was hideous at that.

"Alexis, what is that?" Aquila asked, tapping on her new friend's shoulder. She pointed to the pink toad, and Alexis looked at the woman.

"Is that even a woman?" Alexis asked in pure disbelief.

"It looks like we'll find out soon enough," Aquila told her. "Look, the Sorting's done."

Dumbledore walked up to his podium and asked the students to quiet down so he could begin with his start of term speech. It didn't take long for the students to silence themselves, and they all looked to Dumbledore with interest.

He rambled on first about how the forest was forbidden to all students, and then explained that all "potentially dangerous items," shouldn't be used on Hogwarts grounds. At this, Aquila and Alexis stifled a laugh and looked in the direction of the Gryffindor table where Fred and George sat. "Rules don't apply to us," Fred mouthed, causing Alexis to laugh.

"That's gonna come back and bite them in their asses," Alexis whispered to Aquila. The green haired girl snorted, earning a few strange looks from the Slytherins seated around her.

"Now," Dumbledore said, "let us all welcome our newest Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Umbridge."

At the mention of her name, Aquila's eyes bugged out of her head. "Did he just say, Umbridge?" she asked Alexis in a state of slight panic.

"Yeah," Alexis said. She didn't understand why Aquila was acting frazzled. "What's wrong?"

Everything clicked in Aquila's brain, and she knew exactly who Umbridge was. She was Nash's ex-boss at the Ministry, and from what he had told her about the woman, Aquila knew she was in for a crazy year.

"Quil, what's wrong?" Alexis asked. She noticed the look in Aquila's eyes like someone was about to die. The green haired girl appeared murderous, and it shocked the other girl. "Quil?"

"I'll tell you later," Aquila whispered, "but something is seriously wrong with this pink toad-woman."

|*|*|*|

After the feast, Aquila and Alexis sat in a deserted corner of the Slytherin common room by the window. Aquila wasn't speaking at all, which was must unlike her. She stared out at the window, looking at the bottom of the lake. Finally, she spoke, but it wasn't anything of interest.

"Look, Lexi, there's a puffy little fish."

Alexis sighed, "That's cool and all, but when are you going to tell me about this Umbridge lady? You said later, but when is that exactly?"

"Later can be now, if you really must know," Aquila said. "That lady was my brother's boss. According to him, she's foul."

"How foul are we talking?" Alexis asked.

In the most dramatic voice she could muster, Aquila said, "Fouler than Snape."

Alexis gasped, "That's foul!"

"I know," Aquila said with a nod. "We probably shouldn't get on her bad side."

"I don't think that's possible for me," the blonde girl said timidly. "I seem to be getting on everyone's bad side as of late."

"That's rubbish," Aquila announced. "You're on my good side. The Weasleys'. Cedric's."

"What about everyone else then?" she asked. "What about my family? My sister? Carlos? Ethan?"

"You're on Ethan's good side-"

"No I'm not! He refuses to speak to me; he glares in my direction. You saw him on the train! He clearly hates me!"

"Ethan just has problems warming up to new people," Aquila explained. "That's all. He's just a generally crusty person."

"Only when I'm around," Alexis told her. "I've seen you two before. I've seen you two laughing and smiling. I know Ethan's not a 'generally crusty' person. He just hates Slytherins."

"That's ridiculous-"

"Is it?" Alexis asked. "He hates all of us. He won't speak to me; he got easily angered when you brought up Carlos and my sister. You said it yourself, he helped spread the Star Girl rumors. Would he have done that if you were a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw or a Gryffindor? I highly doubt it. He only spread those rumors because you were a Slytherin, and he hates Slytherins."

"You're wrong, Lexi," the green haired girl told her friend. "He's helped me through a lot. He's actually part of the reason Cedric and I are together."

"He's not doing it for you," Alexis said. "He's doing it for Cedric. He's doing it because you make Cedric happy, and he cares about his friend."

"You don't know him! You've only actually met him for a day!"

"Oh, I know him. I've lived with someone like him. Yeah, I've got my own Ethan. Abby is my Ethan. She acted like she cared about me, and then she throws me under the rug. She spread rumors about me, and those rumors reached my parents. She is the reason I was thrown out like a pile of rubbish! I thought she cared, but she didn't!"

"Ethan isn't Abby-"

"Are you sure?" Alexis asked. She was trying her best to stop tears from streaming down her face, but it wasn't working. Several other students were staring, making her feel even more uncomfortable, but Alexis continued still. "I ask you because I care, Aquila. I don't want you to get stabbed in the back."

Suddenly, Aquila was questioning whether she actually knew the boy. Was Alexis right? Was Ethan just hanging around her because of Cedric? All of the letters she sent him and never received replies were beginning to add up...

No! She wouldn't let herself doubt him so easily. She would confront him, just as she did about the Star Girl rumors. She needed to make sure-firsthand-that Ethan actually wasn't her friend. She needed to know if she could trust him.

Aquila didn't want to think about the matter anymore. Just the mere thought of Ethan being a backstabber made her blood course with anger and rage. She needed to get her mind off of him, so she did the first thing that popped into her mind.

"Let's play a game."

|*| what is this? Maybe... dRaMa!1!!1! |*|