The Thorns of Hogwarts | Cedric Diggory [2]

Chapter Twenty: Breaking of the Gold

 In all her time attending Hogwarts, Oriane had never seen the Hufflepuff common room so packed. Not even when Cedric had been announced champion was it so lively. Every single student was crammed into the room, bumping into one another as people passed around various snacks that one of the seventh years had whipped up in celebration of what Oriane could only assume was Cedric not dying during the task.

His face had healed up rather fine, and it was as if he had never gotten burnt in the first place. Whatever paste Madam Pomfrey had Oriane slather onto his face even replaced the eyebrow hairs that had gotten singed off, which helped to even his features once more. His smile had gone back to that boyish grin, no longer lopsided from the raw and exposed skin of his burn.

"Oh no," the giggling voice of Calista spoke up. "I think I made its head too big."

The girls had been extremely lucky in being able to snag one of the few tables that sat against the walls of the common room, and Calista had taken up pretty much the entirety of the table for her crafts project. For the last thirty minutes she had spent her time creating and enchanting paper dragons. About five of the little critters floated through the air, joining the chaos that had become of the Hufflepuff common room. Her most recent creation looked just a few sizes short of being a bobblehead.

"I think it's kind of cute," Emerald giggled, holding the paper dragon in her hands. It attempted to nibble at her fingers with its paper fangs, which only made her giggle more.

Her hands rose into the air, palms turned upwards as she supported the paper creature. Its overly large head tilted up at the ceiling, and not a moment later it pushed off of Emerald's hands, joining the others in the air above them.

"Can you make a Hebridean Black, next?" Emerald requested, her green eyes finding their way back to Calista with a smile.

The girl grinned. "I can certainly try."

A round of laughter boomed towards the center of the common room, and Cedric was in the midst of it of course. A majority of it came from his quidditch mates, but there were a few starry-eyed first years who joined in, looking at Cedric as if he was the hero of Hogwarts. Oriane sat in her seat off to the side, content in watching the people around her, yet her eyes unmistakably having a difficult time leaving the champion.

In her mind she was continuously replaying the scene in the champions tent over and over again. Cedric's raw and exposed skin. The orange paste that covered his face. His hands holding hers... Every time that thought crossed her mind she found her stomach completely overrun with butterflies. Their wings flapped inside her so vigorously it felt as if she was trying to keep the storm they created inside of her at bay.

"Well, its horns aren't perfect but here we go," Calista said, pulling Oriane out of her daze.

The girl looked over at her roommates (save for Charlotte, who excused herself to their dorm the very moment she saw the commotion) and she couldn't help but laugh as she saw one of Calista's parchment creations. It was a feisty little thing for something that could be destroyed by water, yet Emerald was absolutely enamored by the enchanted critter.

"It's perfect," Emerald said, the tips of her fingers dancing along its spine. "Did you know they have purple eyes in real life? Gosh, what I would give to see one in person."

Calista raised an eyebrow at the girl, resting her head in her hands as she watched her handiwork nibble at Emerald's fingers.

"Aren't they one of the most aggressive dragons in the UK?" she questioned.

"Well, yes. But they aren't exactly mindless creatures or anything," Emerald explained, scratching the parchment dragon underneath its chin. Oriane could have sworn she heard it coo. "But they can show compassion if you show it to them too. I think everything deserves to be loved."