Star Girl | Cedric Diggory

|*| Eighty Seven |*|

Aquila woke up before Cedric that morning. He was comfortably sleeping, so naturally, she decided to wake him up. She poked his head with her finger a few times, getting no results. She then tried whispering his name in his ear, but the boy continued to sleep. "Merlin," she muttered. "You sleep like a corpse."

An idea formed in her head after saying that, and she began tickling him. His eyes sprang open, and he swung his arm around as an impulse, accidentally hitting her in the face. "Bloody billywig stings!" she exclaimed, applying pressure on her nose.

"Oh, dear Merlin!" he apologized. "Aquila, are you okay?"

"I'll live," she told him, moving her hands from her nose. They were stained red with her blood. "And I'm bleeding in two places now," she muttered. "Great."

"Two places?" he asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She sighed. "That doesn't matter. Do you have a tissue or something?"

"Yeah, yeah," he said, scrambling get out of the bed and grab her one. When he was successfully untangled from the sheets, Aquila snorted. He was sporting some very fashionable yellow underpants with tiny broomsticks on them. "Laugh all you want," he said. "I have no shame in these."

"If I would've known last night that I was sleeping next to a boy in yellow quiddtich boxers, I would've gone back to the guest room," she said when her laughter died down. "Now hurry up with my tissue."

While he was rummaging through his desk, looking for a tissue, she got a good look at his room in the daylight. The walls were painted blue, and all over them were multiple quidditch posters. Players from the all different teams were on the walls, flying around on brooms going the speed of light. A poster of Victor Krum pounding his fist in the air triumphantly caught her eye. "Did you know I'm friends with Krum?" she asked.

"I recall you telling me you hit him with a bat at the Quidditch pitch," Cedric said, frantically opening and closing drawers. "I don't think that qualifies as friends."

"Is that a Hufflepuff flag?" she asked. "I didn't know those existed."

"You can buy them in Hogsmeade," he said. "And I've got a team captain banner."

"Yes, flaunt your title as captain by purchasing a banner," she said, teasing him. "Hey, you know you can summon a tissue with your wand. You're seventeen, so it's legal."

"I know," he said, "but where's the fun in that?"

"It's not fun; it's efficient. My nose blood is getting on your quidditch comforter."

"I'm going to do this my way, alright?"

"Okay, okay," she said, raising her arms in surrender. "But for a Hufflepuff, you're not such a good finder."

"If you're so much smarter, why don't you find the tissues?" he asked.

"Let this be a lesson to you, Seeker Boy," Aquila said, rolling off the bed and walking over to her boyfriend. She put a hand on his shoulder and sighed. "Clean your room, and this won't be a problem. Or-better yet-don't punch your girlfriend in the face!"

"Don't wake me up so forcefully!" he countered.

"I tickle you, and you call it forcefully?" she asked. "At least I didn't take I swing at your face."

He shook his head. "Can we please drop this argument?"

"Fine, fine," she agreed. "It is kinda pointless. So, what's the plan for today?"

Cedric walked over to Aquila and handed her a tissue. "My dad's taking us to Diagon Alley for Christmas shopping. He always shops last minute."

"I'd say," she said. "Christmas Eve is tomorrow. Is your mom coming too?"

"No," he said, opening his closet and rummaging through it for some clothes. "She's staying here to make more cookies. It's her tradition to have a million types of cookies."

"So, we're going shopping today," she said. "Hey, Ceddy? What exactly do you want for Christmas?"

"Really?" he asked. "You don't know what to get me? You've known me for how long now?"

"Shut up," she commanded. "Look, I just want to know if there's anything specific you want, okay? So tell me."

"Alright," he said. "I want whatever you get me."

"I hate you," she said, laughing. "For real, Ced! I need to know."

"I told you," he said. "Get me whatever you want. I'll love it." He was now fully clothed, and he sat on the bed next to her, wrapping his arms around her.

"Why do you insist on making my life difficult?" she asked.

"You're the one making this difficult," he told her. "Don't stress about this."

The two seventeen year olds sat together in silence for a second before Aquila asked again, "But are you positive you don't want something specific?"

He laughed, pulling her closer to him and kissing her softly. She smiled and kissed him back.

"Rise and shine, kids!" Amos Diggory called, opening the door to Cedric's room and stepping in. The two kids disconnected their lips and jumped away from each other.

"Morning, Dad," Cedric said, not meeting his gaze. A deep blush appeared on his cheeks, and Aquila covered her mouth to keep from laughing.

"Good morning, Mr. Diggory!" Aquila cheered, smiling at him.

The man smiled brightly at Aquila. "Breakfast is ready when you want to eat," he said, "unless I interrupted something-"

"We'll be down in a minute, Dad!" Cedric interrupted before his father could say anything more.

"Alright," he said. "See you in the kitchen then."

When his father left the room, Cedric sighed. "He's so embarrassing."

"Nah," Aquila told him. "He's super cool. And look at it on the bright side; at least he didn't open the door when you were wearing your yellow underwear."

|*|*|*|

Aquila and Cedric arrived in Diagon Alley with Amos after breakfast. The seventeen year olds went off on their own while Amos went looking for a gift for his wife. Cedric and Aquila walked down the snowy streets of the Alley holding hands. They wore their House scarves, and many older wizards looked at them like they were crazy.

"We should get your mom and dad a gift," Aquila suggested. "We could buy it together and wrap them tonight and everything."

"Yeah," Cedric agreed with her idea. "I know just what to get them. Come on!"

|*|*|*|

When their shopping trip was over, Aquila and Cedric met up with Amos at the Leaky Cauldron. He had a good amount of bags floating at his side, and he looked tired from shopping. When he saw his them, he waved them over. "Get everything you needed?" he asked.

While Aquila still didn't have a gift for Cedric, she did manage to find gifts for everyone else in her family-Nash and her parents specifically. Since she could Apparate, she'd go back to Diagon Alley the next day and get his gift.

"Ready to head home?" Amos asked them.

"Sure am, Dad," Aquila said.

Her eyes widened when she realized what she'd said. Did she really just call her boyfriend's father "Dad"? "Sorry," she apologized quickly, the words jumbled. "I didn't mean to-I mean to say-"

Amos put a hand on her shoulder. "There's no need to apologize, Aquila," he said. "You can call me Dad if you want."

"Really?" she asked, her eyes lighting up at the suggestion.

He kindly smiled at her. "Really."

Aquila felt like she had found her true family. Around Cedric and Amos, she felt like she was home. She finally found a place where she was genuinely wanted.