Star Girl | Cedric Diggory

|*| Seventy Seven |*|

|*| what the actual crap guys!?! 26K reads!! That's like a quarter of 100 this is amazing!! |*|

"I refuse to believe that Ethan is out to get me," Aquila stated to Alexis at breakfast the next morning. She looked over at Ethan who was sitting next to Cedric at the Hufflepuff table. "Just look at his face! He can't possibly ever hurt anyone."

"That's what I thought about Abby," Alexis told her. "And look what happened to me."

"Ethan can't disown me," Aquila reminded her friend. "Besides, he's always been nothing but nice to me; he's the one who got Cedric and I together in the first place."

"Believe what you want to believe," Alexis said, "but just know that if something goes wrong, I told you so."

Aquila smiled, "Nothing's going to go wrong."

"I sure hope so."

|*|*|*|

Aquila met up with Cedric and Ethan in Defense Against the Dark Arts. It would be their first lesson with Dolores Umbridge, and Aquila couldn't wait to find out what the big deal with her was.

She sat down next to Ethan and Cedric, making sure to stay close to Ethan. Although she knew their friendship was totally fine, she also knew there was something bothering him. She hadn't seen him smile all day, and that was definitely unlike him.

"How was breakfast?" she asked him, scooting her chair uncomfortably close to him. He didn't respond; instead, he slid his chair away from her.

"I'll take that as an, 'it was good,'" she said. She decided to leave Ethan alone; he clearly didn't want to be bothered.

Cedric tapped her on the shoulder. "I don't think Ethan's in such a great mood," he whispered.

"You think?" Aquila whispered back sarcastically. "What's his deal?"

"I don't think it's my place to say," Cedric told her. "Especially not here."

Aquila sighed, "Fine; I suppose you're right. I'll just have to ask him myself."

"I don't think he'll tell you even if you asked," he informed his girlfriend. "He wouldn't even tell me."

"So you don't know what's going on?" she asked.

"I only know bits and pieces, but none of it is adding up."

Just as Aquila went to respond, their pink professor walked into the classroom. Immediately, she pointed her wand at the blackboard, and four letters wrote themselves on the board. N. E. W. T.

"Oh," Aquila whispered to Cedric. "Are we going to be talking about Newton Scamander, the magizoologist?"

"Aquila, those are the exams," Cedric informed her quietly.

She rolled her eyes, "I know. I just hate talking about tests on the first day."

Umbridge opened up the lesson by defining exactly what the N. E. W. T.'s were and what their requirements were. Aquila knew something was missing as she spoke. The professor talked about learning the spells, learning how to identify them, and learning about how to protect themselves from the spells. She didn't know what was missing, but she knew something was off.

Cedric was able to connect all of the dots before Aquila could, and he raised his hand. "Yes, dear?" Umbridge asked.

"Aren't we going to learn how to use these spells?" Cedric asked. "Every other professor-"

"Oh, dear boy," Umbridge interrupted. "Everything your previous professors taught you was entirely pointless."

"Pointless?" he asked. "I needed those spells in the Triwizard Tournament. They saved my live on a few occasions."

"The Triwizard Tournament was a big mistake," the woman explained. "I am so sorry you had to go through it, but you do not need to be bothered with any such spells any longer. You are in a safe environment; there is no need for those kinds of spells."

Cedric opened his mouth to argue, but the look on the woman's face told him that he wouldn't be getting anywhere. She had made up her mind; there would be no actual spells.

|*|*|*|

"I have had enough of that woman!" Aquila ranted to Cedric and Ethan as they all walked to their next class. "Did you see that look on her face when she gave that girl from Hufflepuff-what was her name?"

"Dorothy," Cedric answered.

"Did you see the look on that woman's face when she told Dorothy she had detention?" Aquila asked. "She looked insane! Like she was amused! All Dorothy did was ask you for a quill!"

"She should've came to class prepared," Ethan grumbled. "She deserved what she got."

Aquila stopped walking and stared blankly at Ethan. "No one deserves detention for asking for help," she said. "Ethan, what is going on with you lately?"

"What's going on with me?" he asked. "What's going on with you? You're talking to Alexis-the same Alexis you threatened to kill multiple times just last year alone!"

"She's not like that anymore!" Aquila defended. "But what's with this sudden mood! You're just so... so-"

"So what?" Ethan asked.

Aquila narrowed her eyes at him, "So bloody rude. You refuse to see reason-"

"You can't tell the difference between reason and fantasy! You're going to get yourself hurt because of it!"

"What do you care if I get hurt or not?" Aquila asked, crossing her arms.

Ethan looked at her for a second, contemplating his answer. Not long after, he finally answered her in a small yet spiteful voice, "I don't anymore."

Aquila don't move a muscle. She told him, "Then you should go."

"Yeah," he said. "I should-I mean-I am. But not because you said so. I don't need you or your help."

"Ethan," Cedric said. "Don't-"

"Don't waste your time, Cedric," Aquila said. "He's going."

Ethan glared at her; Aquila had never seen him so angry. His face was red with anger and betrayal. Aquila felt a small pang of something she thought was a mix of regret and worry. She regretted yelling at him, and she worried about what he was going to do, whom he'd be spending his time with. She also worried about why he was so upset. She knew there must've been a reason.

But at the same time, she was glad that he was gone. If Alexis was right about Ethan, she was relieved to have removed the problem before he could have hurt her. She wasn't the least bit sorry for that. She was her highest priority.

"You shouldn't have done that," Cedric told her.

"I did what I had to do," she said.

|*| oh d-d-d-d-deer! |*|