"8 galleons!? That's absurd!" Seamus Finnigan, a fourth-year Gryffindor boy, exclaimed loudly. The Hogwarts Librarian, Madam Pince, glared over in their direction. Fiona removed her hand from the embossed paper of her braille Confronting the Faceless textbook to give her full attention to the two Gryffindor students sitting across from her.
"Harold Dingle in Ravenclaw is selling twice as much for half the price!" Dean Thomas, Seamus's friend, quickly added, he was much quieter than Seamus had been.
"Harold Dingle?!" Fiona scoffed. Harold Dingle wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a forgetfulness potion and a glass of butterbeer.
"Where do you reckon Dingle is getting his supply of..." Fiona became quiet as a pair of footsteps walked past the three. She listened carefully as the footsteps faded away.
"How do you suppose Dingle is getting Polyjuice potion?" She quietly hissed.
"I dunno, brews it, same as you, I suppose," Seamus muttered.
"Dingle couldn't make it to Advanced Potions, but if you want to get your Polyjuice from a tosser who barely managed an A in his O.W.Ls then be my guest," This remark caused Seamus and Dean to exchange apprehensive glances with one another.
"Is it possible," Seamus paused. "That maybe...Dingle is in Advanced Potions and...ya know, maybe you just didn't notice him...on account of-"
"10 galleons" Fiona interjected irritably.
"Alright, alright!" Dean said after hitting Seamus in the shoulder. "We need it before the first Hogsmeade trip." He whispered. Fiona nodded and then returned her hand to the passage in her textbook.
"Not a problem, come find me in November," Fiona quietly said. The two boys agreed before leaving Fiona to continue her studies alone.
"Hufflepuff generosity my arse!" Seamus grumbled to Dean as they walked away.
Fiona pulled out a small black notebook and with her quill, she wrote:
⠎⠑⠁⠍⠥⠎⠀⠋⠊⠝⠝⠊⠛⠁⠝⠂⠀⠙⠑⠁⠝⠀⠞⠓⠕⠍⠁⠎⠀⠤⠀⠏⠕⠇⠽⠚⠥⠊⠉⠑⠀⠀⠼⠁⠼⠚⠀⠛⠁⠇⠇⠑⠕⠝⠎
Thanks to a charmed quill, the dots raised onto the paper so that it would be legible to her in the future. She slipped the black book into her knapsack and returned to her textbook.
"Harold Dingle" She muttered to herself.
The audacity of that guy!
She hadn't been left alone for three minutes when the chairs across from her screeched on the stone floors yet again. Fred and George sat across from Fiona; identical grins etched on their freckled faces.
"Merlin's beard, the rumors are true," Fred said, his voice barely above a whisper. Fiona sighed and removed her hand from her textbook, again. She suddenly regretted her decision to study in the library instead of the Hufflepuff common room.
"Does Cedric know about your black-market apothecary?" George asked, his eyebrows raised in curiosity.
"I don't know what you're talking about,"
"Relax, princess, we're not here to expose you to the perfect prefects among us," Fred assured her. Fiona leaned back in her chair.
"What are you two doing here? I don't think I've ever seen you in the library," Fiona curiously asked the twins.
"Well, to be fair, princess, I'd bet there's a lot of places you've never seen us," Fred said, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Fiona furrowed her brows in the direction of his voice.
"Good talk," Fiona grumbled. She closed her textbook and began putting it away in her bag. George quickly reached across the table and grabbed her arm.
"Hear us out," Fred spoke up after she paused her departure.
"We have a small project that would greatly benefit from your...expertise," George added after a moment.
"You want me to brew something for you?" Fiona asked, suddenly curious. She already had several requests for aging potions after the announcement of the tournament. However, Fred and George seemed resourceful enough to find the listed ingredients on their own. They were certainly capable of brewing it.
"More of a consultation," George casually corrected. "You see Georgie and I are a bit stumped on this potion," His brother added.
"You two are serious, about entering?" Fiona asked, astonished.
"Well of course we are!"
"You'd have to be barking mad not to enter!"
"Just what Hogwarts needs, another showboat Gryffindor representing the school," Fiona muttered under her breath.
"That's Mr. Showboat Gryffindor to you!" Fred retorted proudly. Fiona couldn't help but laugh at Fred's enthusiasm.
"Okay, I'll help you, but I need your help with something," she finally answered. Fred and George exchanged looks before nodding to each other.
"How can we be of service, princess?" Fred asked.
"I need to get into the Forbidden Forest,"
"What for?" George asked. Fiona disliked the inculpatory tone of his voice.
"I need potions ingredients" Fiona answered. "I can't exactly go wandering around the forest on my own."
"Well, Miss Diggory, you have yourself a deal," George smirked.
"Care to make an unbreakable vow over it?" Fred asked, offering his hand.
"Um, I'll pass,"
***
Cedric and Fiona sat outside by the lake during their lunch hour. It was an uncharacteristically warm afternoon on the second of September. Fiona listened to the students splashing in the Black lake. Nox was curled up in Fiona's lap, the cat was purring softly, drifting in and out of a nap. In her mind, Fiona pictured the sun, shining brightly above her.
Fiona absent-mindedly twirled her wand between her fingers. She lazily dragged her other hand over the same passage in her textbook for the fourth time. Her fingers ran over the raised braille words. The information refused to stick.
"Whadda think the Champions will have to do?" Cedric asked. He looked up from his Defense Against the Dark Arts homework to glance in Fiona's direction.
Fiona's heart sank.
There had been a buzz among the Hufflepuff house all morning. Cedric had been named as a favorite contender among the house.
It wasn't as if Fiona didn't believe in her brother's ability – in fact, she was certain that no one in the school would be more capable than Cedric. Nonetheless, Fiona couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that arose any time she pictured Cedric as the Hogwarts champion.
"Donno, Dementors, maybe?" Fiona said with a shrug.
"That wouldn't be too bad," Cedric said, thoughtfully. "It'd give the Hogwarts Champion an advantage – after last year."
Fiona frowned. Cedric seemed positively excited about the prospect, which had been the opposite of her intention when she suggested the dark creature. The idea of Cedric facing a Dementor on his own did not sit well with her.
"Are you going to enter?" Fiona finally asked. She began anxiously stroking Nox.
"No harm in entering, is there?" Cedric glanced over at his sister. "Eternal glory doesn't sound half bad either." He chuckled.
"Eternal glory? Bit Gryffindor, don't you reckon?" She responded. Cedric snickered.
"What's wrong Fee? Don't think I have a shot?" Fiona frowned. She knew Cedric was more worthy than any other student.
"You know that's not it," she grumbled. "It's just that I won't be able to protect you when you get selected." Fiona teased. Cedric shook his head and chuckled at his sister's remark.
"That reminds me," Cedric said, "You seemed rather chummy with the Weasley twins this morning," Cedric could not deny that this had been eating away at him since he saw his sister in the library with her head huddled close to the Weasley boys.
Fiona turned her head away from the sounds coming from the lake and focused her attention on Cedric.
"They just asked me to help them with a potion they're working on," She said.
"They don't have a Gryffindor they can ask for help?" Cedric asked. This caught Fiona off-guard.
"Since when are you so anti-Gryffindor?" She asked.
"I'm not...Kenneth Towler, and Angelina Johnson are alright," He said, "But the Weasley twins have always been...trouble."
"They weren't trouble when they helped me during the riots at the World Cup," she muttered, contemptuously.
"Right," Cedric said, he had considered this when he saw them earlier in the day. "Just be careful Fee," He said, his tone of voice seemed more serious than Fiona had expected.
"I never realized you had a problem with Fred and George." Fiona mused.
"I don't really, but what kind of brother would I be if I didn't worry about the Weasley twins taking a sudden interest in my sister," Cedric said, eyeing Fiona suspiciously.
Fiona couldn't help but snicker at his remark. "You have nothing to worry about," Fiona said with a faint smile on her lips. Cedric returned her smile. His concerns were not erased completely though, and he decided to keep a watchful eye on the twins.
"Ced..." Fiona said, barely above a whisper.
"Hm?"
"Just be careful," her lips curled downward into a frown.
"What?" Cedric asked.
Fiona stayed silent, she was trying to piece together her thoughts.
"With the tournament...if you enter," She finally replied. Cedric's eyes softened looking at his sister.
"I'm useless without you," Fiona added with a fake smile, one that was all too easy for Cedric to see past.
Cedric moved closer to his sister to wrap his arm around her, holding her tightly. "Don't worry, Fee, I'm not going anywhere" He whispered in her ear. "I promise."
*****************************************************************
A/N
Alright, alright, alright
Chapters should be published every Thursday morning.
If there are any errors (aside from the obvious changes for this tale) in the story please let me know!
Braille Translation: seamus finnigan and dean thomas - polyjuice potion 10 galleons