Star Girl | Cedric Diggory

|*| Eighty Three |*|

|*| I have a random book now! Check it out!! I'm so relatable!! |*|

Aquila never thought the day would come when she and Hermione Granger had a conversation about Astronomy, but there she was. The two girls were causally chatting about all of Jupiter's moons together, and they both enjoyed each other's company. It was true that Aquila was gaining a lot of popularity within Dumbledore's Army, and the other members were more open to the idea of Slytherins being okay people.

Of course, Hermione had to bring up the topic of her ability to talk to the stars, but this time, Aquila was happy to talk about it. She knew that the Gryffindor wasn't judging her or calling her a freak. "How do you do it?" she asked. "Surely, there's some sort of physical strain."

"There is," Aquila told her, "but over the years it's not so bad. At first, it took up a lot of my energy, and after a few words, I was so tired I might've been dead. But the more I did it, the less tiring it got. I do sometimes get awful headaches though."

"Do you know anyone else who can do that?" Hermione asked. "Are there any others?"

"Not that I know of," she said. "But Jennifer Trelawney is a wicked awesome Seer. She can somewhat control her Sight now."

Hermione seemed lost in thought before she said, "This might be a stupid idea, but I think your ability to use the sky as a form of communication might be useful."

"Go on," the Slytherin instructed.

"Over the Winter Holiday, maybe we can use the stars as DA communication," Hermione suggested.

Aquila sighed, "That's a great idea and all, Hermione, but using the stars to send secret messages is kinda Cedric and I's thing. We've been doing it together since first year, and I just don't know about this whole 'share the stars' idea. I don't mean to be selfish-"

"No, I understand," Hermione said. "It's your thing, and it would be unfair of me to ask you to give it up."

"I'm glad you understand," she said, relieved.

The two girls went back to discussing Astronomy, but Aquila knew that Hermione wouldn't give up on the star thing so easily; it wasn't like a Gryffindor to give up.

|*|*|*|

Walking back from the last DA meeting until after Holiday, Aquila and Cedric decided to stop in the corridor to talk just because they could. "So," Cedric said. "I was wondering if you'd like to spend Christmas with me this year."

"Really?" Aquila asked. "Spend an entire Christmas with you? That sounds like torture."

"Don't deny it, Quil; you want to," he said. "I already asked my parents, and they're fine with it. It will be fun! We'll stay up late and tell stories; we can look at the stars and talk about nothing and everything at the same time; and on Christmas morning, we'll wake up to heaps of presents under the tree, and you can watch me unwrap my new firebolt. Then we'll exchange our gifts to each other-just stupid little things we found in some little shops in town-and we'll laugh the day away eating cookies and playing games. It'll be the perfect Christmas."

"That idea is the best one I've heard in a long time," Aquila told him. "I wouldn't rather spend the holiday with anyone but you... but-"

"I knew there was something else," Cedric teased.

"There always is with me," she agreed. "But what about Nash? He'll be able to join us, right?"

"Of course!" he said. "So, what do you say?"

"This is going to be the best damn holiday ever!" she cheered, wrapping him in a hug.

However, their hug was cut short when Aquila saw something unmistakable in the distance. Professor Umbridge was walking towards them, and Aquila panicked. The rule about boys and girls not being close to each other came into her head, and the Slytherin pushed Cedric away from her. She proceeded to exclaim loud enough for the woman to hear, "What are you doing? You know the rules around here, and being a Prefect doesn't exempt you from them, Cedric Santa Clause Diggory!"

"Aquila, what are you doing?" he asked, unaware that Umbridge was coming.

"I can't believe that you'd try to get me into trouble like that!" she exclaimed.

"What's going on here?" Umbridge asked. "Miss Whitman, is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine now that you're here, professor," she said. "I was just on my way to your office to talk to you about some important matters, and here you are. My, how the law of attraction really does work miracles."

Cedric rolled his eyes as the professor continued the conversation. "What do you wish to discuss?" Umbridge asked.

"You see, professor, Harry Potter and his friends are up to no good," Aquila said. "I heard about his ban from Quidditch-a smart and sensible decision-so it really came as a shock to me when I saw him flying through the corridors on his firebolt only a few minutes ago."

"Is this true, Mr. Diggory?" the woman asked for confirmation. Cedric just nodded, knowing that if he spoke, he'd end up laughing. "I shall see to this matter at once; thank you, Miss Whitman."

"Please, call me Aquila," she said. "And, I don't mean to keep you away from these troubling Potter matters, but may I just say that in my opinion, you are the greatest Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this school has ever seen."

"I'm glad that you think so, Aquila," she said. "I am happy that my tactical teaching methods are reaching you."

"They are doing so much more than teaching me, professor; they touch me. Your class has shown me a whole new side of magic that I had never known before. Learning about the spells is exponentially more effective than actually preforming them; how did the other professors never think of this?"

"The truth is, ma'am," Aquila continued, "you are the greatest gift to Hogwarts."

All of the bullshit that spilled from Aquila's lips sounded truthful to the professor, who thanked the girl and offered her a spot on the Inquisitorial Squad. She politely declined the offer, insisting that she was all booked with her classes. Once the woman left, Aquila and Cedric burst out laughing.

"What was all that for?" Cedric asked her.

"When I come back to school in a few weeks with a leaf in my mouth, I can't have her suspecting anything," Aquila told him. "I'm making sure that she won't think I'm up to anything bad."

"You're always up to something bad," he told her. "And that's why I love you."

|*| new story coming soon called Doodles, you should read it bye |*|