ALOHOMORA | CEDRIC DIGGORY

32〝thirty-two〞

A snap brought her back to the bumble bee chamber. A concerned-looking Cedric was leaning over and clicking his fingers before her eyes. She swatted his hand away, not hostilely.

"Are you okay?"

"Just had a thought, sorry. Where were we? Oh yes, my Animagus—"

"—that's not a dragon."

"Right... Well, a bird...probably an eagle if I can manage, or an owl..."

"What, the Nimbus not good enough for you now?"

Ellis chuckled at Cedric's cheeky tone, though her mirth was rather short-lived.

"Something like that," she said vaguely, but, nonetheless, he seemed to have received the hint that she wasn't keen to stay on the topic.

"Mine's Flitwick; but don't tell Professor Sprout," he added in a hushed voice, and Ellis snorted.

"Do you have a favorite constellation?" she said offhandedly.

He shook his head.

"I'm really not that good at reading the stars. But I reckon you do."

"And you reckon correctly. Why don't you take a guess?"

"Please tell me it's not Draco," said Cedric, casting her a this-cannot-be look.

"Take another guess," replied Ellis, and he heaved a dramatic sigh of relief, then screwed up his eyes as if thinking hard.

"Well, you don't exactly come across as a horoscope kind of girl, so Capricorn's out... Hmm...an eagle or an owl...an eagle..." The muttering went on, his train of thought markedly entertaining Ellis, then Cedric exclaimed, "OH—Aquila?"

Her lip twitched up slightly, Ellis applauded, to which Cedric jumped up from his armchair and returned a fancy bow that bore distinct resemblance to the one Professor Lockhart gave at the Dueling Club: Again, this made Ellis giggle.

"Okay"—he rubbed his palms together—"a place you've always dreamed of visiting?"

"Romania," said Ellis in a heartbeat.

"That's not counted," said Cedric, laughing, "I already knew that one. Try again."

It would only occur to Ellis much later that the Hufflepuff was really pushing it; but at the moment, she didn't seem to mind whatever it was that boomeranged between them. To her surprise, she was rather enjoying herself overall.

"Maybe New York," she said thoughtfully. "You?"

"Paris," he answered. "My parents are there now, actually."

"Why aren't you with them?"

"They haven't had a Christmas alone since I came along. So I thought I'd give them a break to have a vacation on their own..."

Finally, Ellis discovered how he was to be at Hogwarts over the holidays; it had been bugging her since she saw him the first morning. She occasionally speculated if it had anything to do with her own staying, and was glad to have shoved that conjecture into oblivion. The disappointment would have been humiliating. It was a coincidence after all.

"...heard that some pretty interesting witchcraft have gone down in their history. I hope they're having a good time."

"I'm sure they are; it's a nice place."

"Have you ever been there?" said Cedric curiously. "What's it like?"

"When I was very young. I don't remember much; just that it was...nice," she concluded lamely, but frankly.

She had been only four, and her memory of the city was now fuzzy besides her feelings about it and the iconic Eiffel Tower—but even this, she suspected, may have been planted by an advertisement she had glanced later in life. Of course, there were photographs stashed somewhere at home, but nobody had touched those since she was seven. Ellis wasn't planning to be an exception.

"No matter. I'll just get my parents to write and tell me everything, then I can tell you all about it."

To this, Ellis said nothing.

What could she say? What were the odds of them having such a meeting again, once she spilled everything?

Ellis simply hugged her velvet cushion and pretended to think of a question that did not come.

"Can I pass?"

Cedric seemed taken aback, but said, "Oh, sure. We'll come back to you. Well...let's see... Who's your favorite band? I think Marge's liking for the Weird Sisters has rather rubbed off on me this past summer. She had their latest album on a loop when we all stayed over at Jaime's."

Looking somewhat sheepish at his confession, Cedric sipped his pumpkin juice. Ellis smiled when he wasn't looking.

"The Beatles," she said automatically.

"Beg pardon?"

"Oh"—she filled with dread—"they're a Muggle group."

"You listen to Muggle music?"

Ellis wanted to say something inexplicit, but when she heard herself, it was quite the opposite.

"Only because my mother refuses to let me listen to the wireless." And somehow, without prompt, she continued, "She hates me. And I can't say I blame her."

"Parents don't hate their children," said Cedric bracingly. "Granted, they get angry sometimes, but they always come around."

"Well, mine won't. And for good reason."

"Stop being so negative. What reason could there—"

"BECAUSE I'M A JINX!"