The Thorns of Hogwarts | Cedric Diggory [2]

Chapter One: The Photographer

Oriane's feet were completely bare as she stood on the cool rocks that lined the river that flowed by her cottage. Had she remembered to change into her swim gear before coming, she would have loved to take a quick dip in the water. For that moment, though, she would just have to settle with only submerging her feet.

Tall trees lined the edge of the river, providing the perfect shade from the unrelenting sun. That summer had been an extraordinarily warm one, so Oriane found herself going to the river quite often to cool down. It wasn't much longer until she wouldn't be able to enjoy that small liberty, though. Her return to Hogwarts was drawing ever closer, and though she was excited to be reunited with her friends again, she knew she was going to miss her river.

But she did her best not to worry about that, as there was something else she needed to attend to. Her gaze shifted away from the water and instead she casted it upwards. Thick foliage only allowed small patches of sunlight through, yet Oriane did her best to judge the time anyway.

Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, Oriane tore her feet out of the water and made her way up the bank. Sitting on a large rock were her socks, shoes, and broom. Wasting no time, she did her best to quickly air dry her feet before putting her shoes back on.

"Up," she commanded as she stood.

Hardly a second later her broom snapped up against her hand and she was tossing herself over it. Her old, well-used broom wasn't nearly as nice as Cedric's broom, which she had used a few months previously. She often found herself needing to throw her entire weight against the broom in order for it to turn in the direction she wanted it to. Still, it beated walking the long distance back to her cottage.

She began to slowly rise into the air, becoming nearly as tall as the trees that surrounded the river bed. Normally she would walk to the meadow before even hopping on her broom, as the trees were much too thick to navigate with her unruly broom. However, after her fall on the quidditch pitch, Oriane decided that she would attempt to face her fears. Heights was one of the things that terrified her the most. It took some time (as she quickly quit on her first few attempts) but after keeping at it over the summer, she could finally fly over the trees without that odd pain of anxiety in her stomach.

Over the trees she went. She was still close enough to them that her toes scraped the leaves, but she counted it as a success anyway. A large expanse of trees stood behind her as the river continued to wind through the forest. In front of her was a lush, green meadow, which she began to fly towards. The very moment that the trees began to thin out, she lowered herself closer to the ground, and continued on her way through the meadow.

As she traveled further from the river, a new landmark came into view. A tall, waving willow tree. It was much kinder (and frankly, more beautiful) than the Whomping Willow that resided on Hogwarts grounds. It towered into the sky where many of its branches began to droop, its leaves nearly tickling the grass as they cascaded down like a fountain.

It was a short distance to her home from the tree, and as she neared it she noticed the unmistakable sound of quiet honking. Stopping, Oriane hopped off her broom where she haphazardly placed it next to the back door, where she would later move it inside.

Jogging around the cottage, she found Esme. Her long hair was neatly pulled back into a ponytail, and her clothes were covered in dirt. Thick, brown gloves protected her hands as she used a trowel to dig up a small hole. However, upon hearing Oriane walk towards her, she paused.

"Look!" she exclaimed as she turned to her side. Seconds later she held a beautiful daffodil in her hands. The bright yellow petals shone under the sun, and the circular petal in the center seemed to almost open and close with the honking sound. "I bought some honking daffodils!"