Star Girl | Cedric Diggory

|*| Ninety One |*|

|*| I tossed some inside jokes in here, so if anything sounds very cringey, it's for fun yo |*|

"You never told me your mom was a Slytherin," Aquila brought up to Cedric on the train ride back to Hogwarts. The couple sat alone, not even Alexis was with them.

Cedric shrugged his shoulders. "It never came up."

"I'm willing to guess that your dad was a Hufflepuff," she inferred.

"Yes," he answered.

She smiled. "And they were-"

"Yes, they went out in school, and they got married after."

Aquila gazed happily into the distance. "This gives me hope."

"Hope for us?" he asked.

She nodded. "Hope for a peaceful future without any Harry Potter drama."

The universe wanted to be ironic, so at the very moment, Hermione Granger opened the compartment door. "There's a meeting," she told them. "Tomorrow after sixth period."

"I have potions after sixth period," Aquila told her. "Can't go."

Cedric furrowed his brow. "No you don't-"

"Terribly sorry, Granger," she said, cutting him off.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," the Gryffindor said before leaving.

Aquila sighed. "Why did I sign up for that?" she mumbled, pressing her hand on her head. Cedric rubbed her shoulder, comforting her.

"We randomly walked in on the meeting," he answered. "It was an accident, I assure you."

"I have an idea," she said, regaining her animated state and digging into her bag. "I'm going to start on that Animagus thing now."

"At least wait until after the welcome back feast," he implored her. "They have all of your favorite food."

"I had a big lunch," she said, pulling a small box out of her hand and smirking. "Are you ready for this?"

"Shouldn't you be asking that to yourself?" he asked.

"This affects you too, pretty boy," she informed him. "Whenever I'm all pissy because of malnutrition, I'm complaining to you."

"But it's not my fault!" Cedric exclaimed. "I should've have to deal with this!"

"I know that now, but me at the end of this long month won't. Be prepared for this shitstorm."

Cedric sighed. "I assure you, I'll be there with you every step of the way for this. I'll purée all of your meals for you if you want me to."

"Aren't you just the sweetest," Aquila cooed. Her expression ten turned serious as she stared at the nasty looking leaf in from of her. "Here goes nothing." With a large inhale of breath, Aquila put the leaf in her mouth and remained still.

"Do you feel any different?" he asked. She shook her head. "Does it taste like anything?" She nodded. "Can you tell me what?"

"My dreams falling apart," she answered. It was like she had a piece of gum stuck to the side of her mouth as she spoke-the th sound was pronounced like a d-but he still understood her words. "How am I supposed to go to school talking like dis?"

"We'll make up an excuse for you not to talk," Cedric suggested. "Hmmm... over holiday, you ate a poisonous magical fruit, and you're temporarily unable to speak for at least a month."

"Dat's preddy good," she told him, smiling at his genius idea.

"I learned from the best," he admitted., wrapping his arm around her. The couple sat in silence until the train pulled into Hogsmeade station, where Aquila's nightmares would become a reality.

|*|*|*|

Ethan hung his head as he walked off of the Hogwarts train. His arms still burned with the pain of his mistake, and he made sure the mark was covered up on his skin. He had ruined his life by listening to Cassiopeia. The Ravenclaw forced him to join the Death Eaters, and he would forever pay for being caught under her influence.

Aquila had been right about her all along.

He hated to admit it, but he wanted his old friends back. He thought joining the Death Eaters would give him a purpose, a group of people he could reach out to. Why hadn't he just joined a club? The toadstool watchers were much more appealing than his current situation.

He knew that Aquila would've advised him not to join them. He knew she would've saved him from making this mistake. It had been half a year already with his wearing the mark, and he regretted everything. He had cut his ties with Cassie, but he was still tied to the Dark Lord, his master. He shuddered at the thought, but images of his first time seeing the dark wizard flooded into his mind, and fresh tears were brimming in his eyes.

He didn't deserve to go to Hogwarts. He was an abomination of the school, his House, and his old friends. He didn't deserve the hugs from his housemates in Hufflepuff; he didn't deserve the tears he was crying; he didn't deserve anyone's sympathy or false words of reconciliation. He didn't deserve anything.

During the welcoming feast, he sat at the end of the table, alone. From a distance, he watched Cedric eating and talking to his peers and friends about the Triwizard Tournament. He watched Aquila at the Slytherin table, smiling and laughing with Alexis Greenwall and Carlos Blake.

Cassie had told him Aquila and Alexis were blood traitors and Carlos was a double agent, but looking at the group of three, he only saw happy friends. Maybe, even with his mark, he could still be happy. Carlos was in his same position with the Dark Mark, but he was fairing just fine. He knew Alexis was disowned and alone, but she was fairing equally as fine. He knew Aquila's parents were both shifty-eyed bastards, but she was as fine as ever.

There was nothing wrong with his family compared to theirs. The only flaw he could find was himself. Sure, his parents were spilt, but it wasn't anything awful. It hurt him for a while, but soon, he was numb to the divorce. His brother left with his mother, and he remained with his father. His family life was great compared to those three.

He was his own worst enemy. He flicked the tears from his eyes and sat up straight. He wanted his friends back; yes, things would forever be different, but he wanted them back nonetheless. He left the feast early to plan out exactly what he'd say to them. He'd start with Cedric, knowing he was the easiest to sway, and he would end with Aquila, making his apology as sincere as he could.

He would do this. He would.