the girl in blue and bronze

chapter twenty one.

Crookedly smirking, Cedric met her with a shrug "We'll see." He teased, before turning back to find George, who had likely been saying goodbye to Isla, and returning to the castle. He could probably sneak some Quidditch practice in later, so long as Fred wasn't around. The past few days, Cedric had been studiously avoiding the other Weasley twin, solely because he had no idea what he would say to or around him in regards to Allie. How do you treat a friend who was shit to your best mate? He didn't know, but it was probably best to not dwell and just to wait it out. Either way, Cedric had never been the biggest fan of confrontation, so that was very much out of the window. A flash of ginger caught his eye and he beamed at the sight of George, hurrying toward him, he left all thoughts of Fred and Alleta behind.

"Isla! Over here." Alleta called over the heads of first and second years; who had made up the apparent majority of the students going home for the remainder of the holidays. She could see the top of her friend's head, where her braids were pulled back in a ponytail, tied with a Ravenclaw blue ribbon.

The girl turned and the two made imminent eye contact. "Took your time mate." Isla yelled, lightly pushing her way through the bundles. "Honestly, I was starting to stress about having to find a compartment on my own. 6 years and I'm still not confident enough for it. I need my emotional support buddy."

Having rolled her eyes, Alleta reached up, pulling her beanie further down to cover her ears; the tips of which had begun to tinge a vibrant pink from the cold. "I'm here now, no need to get your knickers in a twist." Reaching her, the two girls linked arms as they left their trunks to be loaded onto the train.

"I know Ced's probably already asked for some, but please, please, please bring me back some of that chocolate- bounty? was it?" Isla pleaded with her, while dragging her along and attempting to find an empty compartment.

"You sicken me." Liking bounty should be considered an abomination of humankind, and the only reason Alleta had ever had any in the first place, was because her sister snuck it into her trunk before the summer term of her third year. She had ended up giving it to Isla, who surprisingly, adored it and had asked for it every holiday since.

Feigning a look of naivety, as if she wasn't aware of how disappointed her friend was that she enjoyed the coconut chocolate bar, Isla tugged open a door and the two of them sat opposite one another. "Says the girl who likes liquorice snaps."

"Oh please. They're good, you're just bitter that one nipped your finger that one time."

"It hurt! Far more painful than you would think."

"Doesn't make it okay to enjoy bounty. Out of all muggle chocolate, I'm sorry, I don't condone it. But, because I am such a loving friend, I will indeed buy you some." Grabbing a notebook and pen from the rucksack she had been carrying, Alleta started to jot down a list of things she would be bringing back. Both Isla and Cedric were pureblood, and they didn't often integrate themselves into muggle society, so it quite quickly became common that they would ask her for things. And honestly, she enjoyed sharing muggle creations with them.

Alleta had never been embarrassed or felt bad about being a muggle born, but there was always a sense of doubt around wizards and whether or not they believed in blood supremacy, or even just that muggles could be thick; less intellectually advance. So for her friends to take an interest in the stuff she had grown up around, well, it meant a lot.

Isla lived further down south than Alleta, on the outskirts of St.Ives, Cornwall. It was rather quiet in her area, and easy for the Hayworth's to isolate themselves in and around their manor. She had never actually been to her house, nor met her parents, plainly because they hadn't been on a 'visit-you-over-the-holidays-basis' before this school year. And with Alleta having muggle parents, none of her previous friends from Hogwarts had been to stay with her during the holidays. Cassie had never brought friends back either; both girls being too nervous about their magic around their parents, who, to this day, struggled with the concept of their daughters being witches. Not that they weren't accepting. They absolutely were, just that they simply didn't understand much about them. Neither girls had wanted to complicate things for their parents.