Since going blind at 6 years old, Fiona Diggory has lived in the shadow of her twin brother, Cedric.
Now entering her 6th year at Hogwarts Fiona finds herself thrown into a new friendship with Fred and George Weasley while trying to determine the m...
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The trees lining the courtyard stood tall and proud, their autumn leaves unfurling like banners of gold and amber, rustling gently in the crisp breeze. Each leaf shimmered faintly in the pale light, casting the air in a warm, golden hue. Fiona walked steadily through the courtyard, flanked by Cedric and Heidi, their minds still lingering on the intricacies of their recent Transfiguration lesson.
"It's remarkable, really," Cedric remarked, his voice light and easy as he swung his bag over his shoulder.
"Remarkable?" Fiona echoed, her tone edged with a trace of frustration. The hours she'd devoted to her Transfiguration notes seemed to have dissolved into thin air. The first week of term had come and gone, and yet she still felt lost, grappling with concepts that refused to settle into place.
Heidi, ever the voice of empathy, sighed thoughtfully. "It's not exactly easy, is it?"
Fiona gave a small nod, more to herself than to them, feeling the weight of her own expectations press heavily on her.
"But just think about human transfiguration!" Cedric's eyes gleamed with excitement as they passed through the Entrance Hall, the vast space echoing their footsteps. His enthusiasm was infectious, an unquenchable energy that refused to be dimmed by the complexities of the subject. "The possibilities—imagine what we could do!"
For Cedric, the world seemed to unfold in endless possibilities, while Fiona found herself stumbling through the labyrinth of theory. She admired his confidence, though at this moment, it only served to remind her of the growing distance between their mastery of magic.
Heidi pulled out her timetable with the same grim anticipation one might reserve for unwrapping a cursed object. She glanced at it and groaned dramatically, as though the parchment had delivered nothing short of catastrophic news.
Cedric leaned over her shoulder, his eyes narrowing. "Divination," he announced, with a smile that was half a grimace.
"I'd rather drink a goblet of stinksap," Heidi declared, her shoulders slumping as though the weight of the subject was physically crushing her.
"I'll be sure to collect some for you," Fiona said, a grin tugging at her lips as she gave Heidi a playful nudge. "I'm heading to the greenhouses for my free period."
Cedric, always more in tune with the things Fiona couldn't see, gave her a knowing glance as they moved through the crowded hallways. His sharp eyes caught the subtle shifts in the atmosphere around them—the way students fell silent when Fiona passed, or how their gazes lingered just a little too long, curiosity barely masked behind forced nonchalance.
Up ahead, a group of older Ravenclaws clustered by the staircase, stealing glances at Fiona before whispering behind cupped hands. Cedric's jaw clenched. He recognized that look all too well—the curious tilt of their heads, the furtive glances. It was as if they saw Fiona as something... other. Something mysterious and different.
