Dear Diggory

chapter 20

It was Friday evening and a group of us were sitting outside in the courtyard. The sun was just beginning to set so we were soaking up the last of it. The weather was fairly warm and we didn't know when we would next get a good day.

Autumn was passing quickly and I knew that Winter was waiting on the horizon. It was my least favourite season of all, painfully cold and miserable. And on top of that issue, Christmas was frequently a lonely ordeal for me. And so I was determined to enjoy every last scrap of the Autumn air.

I breathed deeply, admiring the cherry blossom tree in the centre of the yard. It flowered all year around, apart from when it snowed, Dumbledore had placed an ever-luscious charm on it. It had always been one of my favourite parts of the castle, reminding me of my visits to Japan with my father.

Evelyn and Dakota were busy painting their nails. They'd chosen a colour called blueberry mist and they chatted as the enchanted brushes applied the varnish perfectly.

Luna had joined us too, with Neville in tow. They were looking at something in her book and I couldn't help but notice how close they sat as they talked excitedly. I thought to myself that they would make a cute couple and secretly hoped that it would work out.

Meanwhile, I was perched on one of the concrete benches observing Carlisle and two of his friends playing wizard's football. Their names were Finnick and Leonardo; they were both in Gryffindor and had been in the same dorm as Carlisle since first year. They also shared with a boy named Dean Thomas but he hadn't come downstairs.

I noticed Max and Cedric sitting at the other side of the courtyard too. I thought about going to say hello, but decided against it. They seemed to be deep in discussion and I didn't want to interrupt.

"Did Maisie say if she was coming down?" Evelyn's voice called my attention away from the Hufflepuff boys and I glanced over at her.

"No, I think she's busy organising the frog choir meetings." I replied, recalling the girl's flustered demeanour back in the library.

She nodded and went back to her discussion with Dakota. Her hair was red now, she had already gotten bored of the stunning blue and moved on. I admired her from a distance, envious that she was bold enough to make drastic changes to her appearance.

Carlisle jogged over to me, distracting me from my concentration on the fiery mop.

"Having fun?" I asked, squinting against the rays of the setting sun as I looked up at him.

"Yes! And now it's your turn to join us." He took my hands in his and I tried to resist but failed miserably, he was way stronger than me. A completely unfair advantage.

"You can be on Finnick's team. Don't worry you won't have to do much." He laughed at the terrified expression on my face as he placed me next to my teammate. They'd used piles of cherry blossoms to mark the goal posts and I was relieved that I wasn't in charge of trying to score. Standing as a defender was stressful enough.

We played for a few minutes and I attempted to defend our goal, but failed repeatedly, letting countless balls in between our makeshift posts. I cringed as Leonardo flipped Finnick off, relishing their easy winning streak.

Wizard's football was more difficult than I had realised. I'd observed it enough, albeit lazily. Cheering occasionally if Carlisle scored but not caring much for the rules or technicalities.

I knew at least that most of the time the players used charms to try to score and defend, so it especially didn't help that I didn't know any of them. You could physically kick the ball of course, but that didn't seem as fun to them. I huffed out a breath, boys could never seem to do things the easy way.

As I fidgeted nervously between my feet, Finnick was floating the ball towards their goal, a look of sheer determination on his face.

His concentration was cut short when Leonardo placed a freezing spell on him, locking his muscles in place like an ice block. The ball dropped to the ground and bounced to my feet. Finnick attempted to throw a counter spell at Leonardo but it was useless, he was unable to move a finger.

I looked down at the ball in fright as Finnick yelled at me.

"Lila go in for the goal!"

I looked at him like he was insane and then towards Carlisle who was defending their goal. He smirked at me like he knew I wouldn't score, the same smugness he held when he knew he'd win in quidditch.

I suddenly felt determined to wipe the satisfied look from his face and rolled my sleeves up, preparing for my attack.

I dribbled the ball with my feet, fumbling slightly as I almost tripped over it but maintaining my balance. Just as I was near the goal, I dodged left, sidestepping a surprised Leonardo and coming face to face with my best friend. Just before I shot the ball, I pulled out my wand and directed it towards Carlisle, read to deliver my final blow.

"Pedes simul" I chanted and watched in satisfaction as his feet became rooted to the ground by a thick sludge. He tugged hard, trying to lift them from their position but they were like heavy concrete. Leonardo was still too distracted with keeping Finnick in place and that left the goal wide open for me.

I kicked the ball with all my power and smiled smugly as it went through the DIY posts. I giggled and clapped my hands, taking great satisfaction in the boy's shocked faces.

Carlisle came running towards me as the spell had worn off, fake anger covering his features. He laughed evilly and I tried to run from his outstretched arms but he was too quick, wrapping them around my waist and lifting me from the ground.

I attempted to wriggle out of his grip, kicking the air blindly but he was too strong, retaining his hold on me. He spun me around and around until I was dizzy, blurring the courtyard around us. He started laughing in my ear as we turned and I couldn't help but giggle too. Eventually, he put me down and I shoved his shoulder playfully in retaliation.

"You're such a dumbass" I said, smoothing my top back into place.

"But you know you love me." He batted his eyelashes like a girl and I nodded, rolling my eyes in mock-annoyance.

I felt a strange heat ripple across my skin and glanced to the other side of the courtyard to see Cedric looking at us. He was frowning deeply, as if he was sucking on a sour plumball that was causing him pain.

I raised my eyebrows in confusion but he turned away, saying something short to a perplexed Max before standing up and walking off.

I wondered what his problem was but shrugged off my concern and returned to my seat, joining the girls conversations as they congratulated me on my goal.