The Thorns of Hogwarts | Cedric Diggory [2]

Chapter Five: Ghost

Oriane and Cedric met with Mr. Diggory by the tents before they joined together and began their walk through the woods. Dusk settled in heavily around them, and though Oriane had been up since before the sun was even in the sky, she had never felt more excited. The atmosphere of it all was enough to keep anyone awake.

"I apologize for earlier," Mr. Diggory spoke up as the three of them joined the crowd in the forest, "I never properly introduced myself to you. It's very good to meet you, Oriane. Cedric's told me all about you!"

She turned her attention to the beaming man walking on the other side of Cedric. "All good things, I hope."

"Of course, of course!" he assured her, unaware of how red his son's cheeks were becoming. "He told me all about how you were the only hatstall for the sorting last year! Don't see that all too often, do we son? I wonder, what house was the hat debating on putting you in?"

She had to pause and think for a moment. It had been quite a long time since Oriane had even thought about her sorting, despite the nickname she had earned from it. Unlike many other students and parents, she didn't hold too much importance over what house she was sorted into. She would have gladly taken anything (though, she would have been a bit sour having to share a common room with Draco Malfoy had she gotten sorted into Slytherin).

I've seen you before, haven't I? Yes, many years ago, you cannot fool me.

"Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, actually," she recalled.

"Really? And you ended up in Hufflepuff?" Mr. Diggory asked, receiving a nod from Oriane. "Astonishing. It's very rare for the hat to debate over two houses, let alone three! Remarkable young lady you are."

Their conversation died down the moment the trees began to thin. The largest stadium Oriane had ever seen in her life stood before them, adorned in a bright gold. Witches and wizards flooded through the open doors, and a deep rumbling could already be heard from their feet and conversations. The sheer size of it alone was enough to take her breath away.

"Seats one hundred thousand, if I remember correctly," Mr. Diggory said.

Oriane thought that Hogwarts held a lot of people, but it was nothing compared to the amount of people at the World Cup. It was nothing but a sea of red and green around them as everyone crowded into the stadium.

They continued to push forward, finally reaching the base of the stadium some time later. Royal purple rugs lined the stairs that they used to climb up. Despite the mass amount of people, Oriane was relieved to find that the place didn't feel all that packed and claustrophobic. There was plenty of room for them to walk without having to worry about physically bumping into anyone.

"How much further have we got?" Cedric spoke up, panting.

"About ten more flights," Mr. Diggory said, looking at their tickets. "Or, maybe twelve... Perhaps we should take a break on this next landing."

Wheezing at the odd change in altitude, the three of them hopped off of the stairs for a moment. The stadium was still a long way from being fully seated as Oriane could make out large gaps in the stands. Tens of thousands of people still awaited their turn to climb up the stairs below them. For the moment, the three did their best to catch their breaths after roughly twenty flights of stairs.

"Calista, hurry up!"

"Yes, sir."

Hearing a familiar name and voice, Oriane instantly turned around. Her pale eyes scanned the crowd, yet she was quick to find her friend and roommate, Calista White. Not that it was all that difficult. Her and her family stuck out like a sore thumb as they were one of the very few wearing, well, all white. She supposed they were staying true to their family name, yet it looked terrible.