Aurora Rosier & the Year of the Snake

The Cottage Along the Cliffs

January 13, 1991

Years had passed since Aurora was left in the care of her uncle.

And still, the small cliff-side cottage remained the same.

Aurora Rosier sat on the window seat attached to her bedroom window. Her room was on the second floor of the cottage, facing the open ocean. Because the cottage was literally cliffside, anytime Aurora went to lean out the window, it left her suspended almost directly over the brilliantly shimmering, turquoise water below. Strong magic kept the cottage affixed along the cliff wall, and it had never even crossed Aurora's mind to be afraid. She found she loved the fleeting adrenaline rush that came with simply looking out her bedroom window.

She had woken up hours ago when the sun was barely rising above the horizon, much too excited for sleep. Instead, she had opted to sit on the edge of the sill and watch the sun rise over the horizon. Slowly, golden sunlight had crept into her room, reflecting off the gently lapping water below. She kicked her legs, eager for the day to begin.

It was finally her eleventh birthday.

"How long did you say it took to get your letter?" Aurora called over her shoulder, her eyes never leaving the horizon.

A snort came from behind her. She glanced back and glared at Cedric Diggory, who was absentmindedly wandering her room, occasionally pulling down and examining the small knick-knacks that lined her shelves. He shot her a half-smile and sat on her unmade bed, shrugging.

"I dunno. I woke up to Ace pecking my forehead, remember?" He pushed his brown bangs from his forehead, pointing to a barely noticeable white dot above his right eyebrow. "Got this battle scar to prove it."

Aurora smiled at the thought of the Diggory's graying screech owl pecking an eleven-year-old Cedric awake before turning back to scan the skies. "You're such a heavy sleeper."

The Diggorys had arrived earlier that morning, laden with gifts and ready to celebrate Aurora's birthday. Usually, Cedric would be back at Hogwarts by now and would send a letter instead, but a nasty hoard of frost salamanders had iced the Hogwarts Express, giving the students a few extra days of holiday until the Ministry could safely relocate the bunch. Cedric had even planned on surprising Aurora awake, but when he got to her room and found that she was sitting at her window, already as awake as could be, he had joined her in her lookout without question.

Aurora didn't know a life without the Diggorys in it. Amos and Marius had both been Hufflepuffs in the same year at Hogwarts and had remained each other's most trusted friend to this day. Aurora and Cedric had practically been raised together, the little sister he had always asked for. Both were homeschooled by Mrs. Diggory while Marius and Amos worked tirelessly at the Ministry.

Despite being attached at the hip for years, Aurora hadn't seen very much of Cedric since he started Hogwarts over a year and a half ago. The two had gone from seeing each other constantly to only corresponding via the occasional owl. When Cedric wasn't at school he was more often than not visiting his school friends or, in the case of the past summer, away at a Quidditch training camp, which Amos had insisted upon before Cedric had his second-year try-outs. But Aurora didn't mind too much; the extended time apart only made for more interesting stories when they were together again.

"At least I'm not owl-obsessed." Cedric threw a pillow at her, which barely missed soaring straight out the open window. "Why'd you get up so early anyhow?"

"I'm nervous, Cedric."Aurora pulled her legs in from the window and stood on the window seat, stretching for the first time in what felt like hours. She crossed her arms over her nightgown and joined him next to the bed. "What if I don't get a letter?"