Ashes Between Us-A Draco Malfoy/OC/Cedric Diggory story-FINISHED

Before the Triwizard Tournament.
Before her name was whispered down corridors in shame and envy.
Before silver eyes had ever burned beneath her skin-Tess Langford was a nobody.

And she had liked it that way.

Hufflepuff suited her in ways the Sorting Hat had never explained.
It was a house of kindness. Of comfort. Of steady hands.

Steady hands mattered when your bones broke too easily.
When you carried the weight of fragile joints and scarring skin your parents called "the family flaw."

Ehlers-Danlos, the Muggle-born healer had said once, whispering it as if Tess might shatter at the sound alone.

She hadn't.

But it meant her steps stayed light, careful.
Her satchel weighed just so across her shoulder.
Her wand hand trembled, some days more than others.

No one looked twice at the quiet girl with shoulder-length brown hair the color of pralines and eyes the shade of aged cognac.

Not until fourth year.