Spawn of Azkaban

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Don't act so surprised, I don't want to spend any more time in here with you than I have to," Cassie said before turning back to the book. Bianca noticed she wrote with her right hand, the opposite of Bianca.

They continued this pattern for the rest of the night. It was rather silent beside Cassie occasionally telling Bianca she'd missed one. Bianca was so relieved when Moody came to release them, she almost sprinted from his office. It was only the second day, Bianca wasn't sure if she could finish out the rest of the two months.

***

"What should I wear?" Amy asks standing in front of the full-length mirror in Juniper and Bianca's room. It had been two weeks since they'd been back in class, and they were due for a Hogsmeade trip today. Amy had her first official date with Seamus Finnigan and she was beside herself with nerves.

"I'm sure he'll think you're beautiful in whatever you wear," Bianca says coming to stand beside Amy in the mirror.

Amy turns to her with an annoyed look and puts her hands on her hips. "You're supposed to say that, I need a real answer!"

Amy had come out of her shell more since Bianca had first met her. She was still an extremely sweet girl, and shy most of the time. Amy did have a bottle of a firey side though. When she was nervous, Amy got worked up easier. Bianca smiled at the girl, knowing Amy didn't mean anything rude by it.

"Sorry, I can't help that you're just so darn gorgeous," Bianca coos pinching her cheek. Amy rolls her eyes but she had a huge grin on her face. In a way, Amy felt like the little sister Bianca never had.

"You're so weird," Amy groans light-heartedly.

"And that's why we get along so well," Bianca winks. "Here, let's look through my clothes, I have the body of a twelve-year-old boy too!"

Amy punches her lightly but follows Bianca to her trunk. They look through Bianca's wardrobe, and Amy says no to a lot of it. It was either too "try-hard," too "old lady-ish," or just "not her." Bianca had just got done showing Amy a grey cardigan with embroidered flowers when she feels a soft velvet material. She picks it up and realizes it's the dress George had gotten her for Christmas. The one she was supposed to wear on their supposed date. Bianca feels her eyes begin to sting. She had been doing decent with not thinking about her George's situation, but this felt like a scab being ripped off.

She and George still hadn't spoken to each other one-on-one. She had been so busy with class, therapy, and detention that she allowed it to slip to the back of her mind. Well, it was more that she forced it to the back of her mind. If she had it her way, she would spend the entirety of her days thinking about George Weasley.

"Are you okay?" Amy asks interrupting Bianca's thoughts.

Bianca shakes her head and smiles. She wasn't crying, thank god but she probably looked dreadful. "Yeah, just distracted."

"Really? Because you look like someone just kidnapped your only child," Amy teases nudging Bianca slightly. She holds the end of the dress to get a better look at it. "Too fancy, it'd make the date feel like more important than it is I think."

"What do you mean more important than it is?" Bianca asks curiously. It was Amy's first date, shouldn't it be important?

"Well, we've technically been going out since Christmas, this is more for formality," Amy explains a small blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Bianca smiles cheekily. She throws a white flowy dress at the girl. Amy just blushes deeper and holds the dress up to herself.

"Yeah I'll wear this, let me j-just go get dressed quick," Amy says quickly before disappearing into the bathroom. Bianca shakes her head at the girl before sitting down on her own bed. Her shoulders were tense from stress. She rolled them back letting out a sigh.

Amy emerges from the bathroom wearing the dress. She looks adorable! The dress had flowy white sleeves and it fell right at her knees. Amy looked like a fairy in it, way better than Bianca had ever worn it. "How does it look?" Amy asks sheepishly pulling at the dress.

"You're adorable," Bianca says genuinely. "Come here, let me do your hair."

Amy sits down in front of Bianca and Bianca uses her wand to summon a brush from the bathroom. She begins brushing Amy's wavy brown hair. It reminded Bianca of a tamer version of Hermione's hair. Amy leans lightly on Bianca's knees as Bianca runs the brush through her hair. Bianca ends up putting Amy's hair into two Dutch braids that ended in ponytails at the nape of her neck. Amy looks at herself in the mirror and a happy smile is on her face.

"You're a miracle worker!" Amy says turning back to Bianca. She rushes over to Bianca and pulls her into a huge hug. This is the first time they had ever hugged, Bianca realizes. Amy's tiny frame was comforting against her own. It felt reassuring for some reason.

"You made it easy for me," Bianca shrugs then pulls away from Amy. "You better hurry before you miss your date!"

"You're not coming to Hogsmeade?" Amy questions her eyes were magnified by her glasses and she looked disappointed.

"I can't, I have detention," Bianca says. It wasn't a complete lie, Amy didn't need to know that her detention wasn't until later. The truth was, Bianca just wanted to enjoy his Hogsmeade trip. It was one of his favorite days and she knew that her being around would dampen George's mood.

"Okay, I'll bring you back some sweets. Thank you again," Amy gives Bianca one last squeeze before skipping out of the room.

Bianca couldn't help but feel happy that she went up to talk to Amy that day in the common room. Amy brought light with her wherever she went. Even though Bianca was in one of the biggest slumps of her life, Amy still managed to make her feel at peace while they were together.

Bianca decided to head down to the common room, because most students would be in Hogsmeade. The common room was nearly empty, but Cedric was sitting in one of the chairs pouring over a book. Bianca makes her way over to him and sits in a different chair across from him.

"Hey Cedric," she greets with a smile. "What're you reading?"

"Oh I'm just making sure I understand this bubble head charm for the task," he says turning the book so Bianca can see it.

It showed a person with the bottom portion of their head inside a bubble. They were underwater according to the diagram and were able to breathe fine. There were several scribbled in notes.

"So that's what you decided to go with after all?" Bianca asks.

"Seems like my best bet," Cedric shrugs but it's not confident.

"Are you nervous for the task?" she asks reaching over to squeeze his knee comfortingly.

"Just a little," Cedric admits rubbing the back of his neck. "They're supposed to get more challenging as we progress through the challenge. I barely survived the first one."

"Well at least you have a solid plan this time. You know the charm will work, you just have to retrieve whatever is at the bottom of the lake," Bianca says. She knows he already knows the plan, but she hopes bearing it from someone else will help.

"I know I know," he nods looking down at his feet.

"Cedric Diggory, you're a brilliant wizard. You're going to do amazing tomorrow and I can promise you that."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because I'll be cheering you on, and I don't cheer for losers."