Star Girl | Cedric Diggory

|*| Eighty One |*|

Aquila decided that the best time to start preparing to become an Animagus was over Winter Holiday. She would be spending her Christmas with Nash, and she knew he wouldn't question her. She knew that keeping the mandrake leaf in her mouth for a month would be difficult at school, and judging by the smell, she knew it wouldn't be very pleasant either.

The only problem was, Winter Holiday was taking forever to come around. It felt like time was going incredibly slow, especially during Defense Against the Dark Arts. Her fingers were sore from writing so much, and she had never hated learning about spells as much as she did in that class. All of her other teachers had at least taught her something useful; even Lockhart, who was a complete basket case, had proved to be a better professor.

Not only did she hate the way Umbridge taught, she also hated how the Gryffindors were acting in that class. They acted very suspicious-like they were doing something they shouldn't have been. Aquila's suspicions raised even more greatly when Umbridge instituted a new Inquisitorial Squad.

Of the students on the Squad, it was made up of entirely Slytherins and one Ravenclaw. Those students included Draco Malfoy (who raised her suspicions of Harry Potter doing something dubious), Carlos, Abby, and Cassiopeia. Aquila didn't know why Carlos chose to join; she asked him, but the only answer she got was that he wanted extra credit.

Aquila did know that Cassie was up to something, so in her spare time, she stalked the girl, watching every move she made and remembering every person she spoke with. To say the green-haired girl was suspicious was an understatement; she was sure that Cassie was planning something horribly evil, and she knew that Umbridge's Squad was a factor somehow.

On a trip to Hogsmeade with Cedric, Aquila had decided to clear her head of everything. She and her boyfriend went to the outskirts of Hogsmeade, to a pub called the Hog's Head. Sure, it looked shady, but Aquila was sure that Cassie and Abby wouldn't be there.

However, neither Aquila nor Cedric were expecting to find half of the Gryffindor fifth years and a smattering of other students all crowed inside the pub, sitting in a circle around Lighting Scar, Chess Boy, and Smartypants. Aquila just wanted to leave, but Cedric was intrigued, and the two of them entered the pub to find out what was going on.

Upon their entrance, every student in the room turned their heads towards the couple, making Aquila want to chop all of their eyes out. She was able to pick Fred and George out of the crowd, and they smiled at her mischeviously. Aquila knew some serious rule breaking was going on, and she wanted to find out what it was. Maybe this was the reason for the Umbridge Squad.

"Well don't stop your party because of us," she said sarcastically. Cedric wanted to tell her to be nicer, but before he could, another person spoke up.

"We know what you're doing here," Ron Weasley said, grabbing his wand and walking over to Aquila and Cedric. "And if you try to report us to Umbridge-"

"Why in Merlin's name would I report you to Umbridge?" Aquila asked. "If I wanted to get you fools in trouble, I'd go to Snape."

"So, you're not going to report us?" the redhead asked, confused.

"Report you for what?" Aquila asked. "Holding your AA meeting in a pub? While I do think that's shameful, I see no reason to snitch on you."

Hermione walked over to them and stood beside Ron. "So, you don't know what we're doing?" she asked.

"No," Aquila said. "But if you're breaking rules, I want in."

"How do you figure we're breaking rules?" Hermione asked.

"Fred and George are here."

|*|*|*|

Aquila and Cedric were initiated into what the members called the DA, meaning Dumbledore's Army. While Aquila didn't like the headmaster, she kinda liked the name. She knew it would give Umbridge the creeps if she'd ever heard it.

Sadly, Aquila wouldn't be the person to inform the cat-loving professor about the club because she didn't want the word "Snitch" written across her forehead. Once she and Cedric had singed their names on the paper, there was no going back.

Naturally, the other members were weary of Aquila. She was the first Slytherin to be initiated into the group, and most people were scared shitless of her. But because of her friendship with Fred and George, they vouched for her, telling the other students that she would only hex them if they insulted Cedric or the Slytherin house.

"So when's the first meeting?" Aquila asked Hermione, who seemed to be running the entire show.

"Take these," the fifth year Gryffindor said, handing Cedric and Aquila each a gold coin.

"Are you paying us to keep quiet?" Aquila joked. After seeing the look on the girl's face, she added, "I'm kidding."

"What are these for?" Cedric asked her.

"This coin will let you know when the next meeting is," Hermione told them.

"How exactly?" Aquila asked.

"You'll figure it out," Hermione told her. "Just keep this coin on you at all times and don't let anyone on the Inquisitorial Squad get their hands on it."

"Got it," Aquila said. The green haired girl knew that if the whole DA thing was going to work out, she would have to get on Hermione's good side. As much as it pained her to say, she had no other choice than to apologize for all of the things she'd said before.

"Hey, Granger," Aquila said sincerely. "A piece of my soul is about to break off when I say this, but... I'm sorry. About everything I said or did to you and your friends. I didn't even know you guys, and I was a total bitch. I guess I was just a little pissed when Dumbledore fu-messed-with the House points in your first year. Yeah, so, a piece of me just died, but I hope you can put that stuff in the past."

Hermione nodded. "Consider it in the past. It wasn't just you who did the judging; honestly, Ron, Harry, and I talked about you behind your back a lot as well. So, I hope you can forgive us too."

"So," Aquila said sarcastically. "This doesn't make us friends, does it? Because I don't think I could live with that."

"Oh, it most certainly doesn't," Hermione said, matching her tone. "Less than friends; way less."

"I'm glad we're on the same page, Granger."

"Me too, Whitman."

|*|*|*|

Walking back to Hogwarts, Aquila was groaning and moaning about how telling Hermione she was sorry was the worst thing that could've happened. "I feel like everything in the world is out of balance!" she exclaimed. "The stars aren't in line; the universe will explode. My life as I know it is over!"

"Quil, you did the right thing," Cedric told her. He was flipping the coin around in his fingers as he spoke, seeming to study the design of it.

"If that was the right thing, then why do I feel so weird?" she asked. "Everything inside me feels... feels... kind. Ack!"

"That's what happens when you do something nice," Cedric told her. "It's a good feeling!"

"I want to go back into that pub and slap her," she said. "Maybe then this feeling will go away."

"Stop being so dramatic, Quil," he told her. "You're overreacting."

"And you're under-reacting!" Aquila exclaimed. "This is a crisis!"

"Yes, doing the right thing is a total pandemonium."

Aquila sighed, "Alright, fine. It wasn't so bad, but... did I sound desperate? If I sounded desperate, that would be a crisis."

"You sounded sincere," Cedric told her. "And you were, so just let it go and move on."

"Will you stop touching that stupid coin so much?" Aquila asked. "You might activate some secret bomb that she put in there to kill me."

"Here we go again," Cedric muttered.

|*| sorry it's been so long, but writers block agg |*|