𝐂 𝐇 𝐀 𝐏 𝐓 𝐄 𝐑 𝐓 𝐇 𝐑 𝐄 𝐄
warning: profanities ahead.
C L E M E N T I A
"Fuck." Danielle groaned as she forced herself to get up from her bed. "I slept with my make up on." She looked at the mirror, her signature winged eyeliner and red lipstick scattered on her face. I laughed as she grimaced at the sight.
"You sleep like a log, you idiot." I recalled last night's events, watching her from the corner of my eye. I faced the ceiling with my back against the mattress, a faint smile on my lips.
"I know. And why does that matter?" She glanced at me, puzzled.
I smiled evilly as I stood up and walked to the bathroom to get ready for the first day of the fourth year.
"Clementia fucking Bass!" Not even a minute has passed before Danielle started screaming at me through the bathroom door. "Did you just shag your boyfriend in our dorm room while I was asleep?!"
Well, I guess she realized what I meant. Cedric and I usually spent most of our time together in his dorm room, since the person he shared it with was barely around. He just comes to the Slytherin dungeons to visit me quickly or to fetch me, because my lovely roommate does not like pda—even if we weren't in public.
"I did not!" I replied in between laughs while rinsing my hair.
"That's bloody disgusting!" She continued.
I finally finished washing up and walked out the bathroom to see a grumpy Danielle seated on her bed. Her eyebrows were knit together, blonde hair tossed around her head.
"I didn't have sex with him." I laughed as I walked past her, body wrapped in a towel. But it was true, Cedric and I weren't exactly fond of engaging in ... sexual activities. Considering how young we both are, and he really isn't the type of person to be fond of dirty things. So whenever we did, it wasn't anything too much, nothing past kissing and touching.
"What did you do with him then?" She asked as she stood up and grabbed her towel. "I refuse to believe that you and Diggory just talked."
"We kissed a bit. That's all."
"Still pretty disgusting." She sighed. "Were you able to talk him out of the Triwizard Tournament?"
"Nope," I headed to my cabinet to grab some clothes. "Kind of forgot about that last night."
"Still a bummer I can't join." She shook her head and went inside the bathroom. I put on my uniform and tidied myself up a bit, brushed my hair and applied a little bit of lip gloss.
After a few minutes, Danielle finished and did the same. We headed to common room to see the usual, just a pile of gits that believe they're intimidating and cool. I think they're all fools.
"Good morning!" Pansy beamed from the side of Draco on the couch, him trying his best to scoot away from her.
"Morning." Danielle replied coldly, and I just shot her a forced smile.
The morning went on quite the same, me eating little during breakfast and Danielle eating a full-course meal. My usual loss of appetite during breakfast doubled today when Cedric didn't even bother to glance at me or send me to class like he always did during the first day. How can someone switch up so fast?
-
Discomfort filled the air of the classroom during the first subject, Defense Against the Dark Arts. There was yet again another new professor this year.
We all shifted in our seats as he rambled about how we should be aware of the three illegal spells the ministry disapproved to teach us. "Weasley!" Professor Moody called loudly, making Ron sit up. "Yes?" the ginger looked up, scared.
"Stand. Give us a curse."
"Well my dad did tell me about one," He hesitated. "The Imperius curse."
"Yeah, your father would all know about that- gave the ministry quite a bit of grief a few years ago. This will show you why." He went over to a desk with different jars each filled with different insects. He opened one and picked a spider out. He pointed his wand towards it, casting, "Imperio."
With every movement of his wand, the insect followed; like a puppet.
While the spider was completely under Professor Moody's control, it roamed around the room, scaring all of us. I hated insects, so I clung my arm around Danielle who was right beside me.
It went on almost everyone's body, the room now filled with both fear and laughter. It then went on Draco's face, which made some laugh even harder. Goyle tried to swat it away from his face, but to no avail.
Moody directed the spider back to his desk, telling us more about the curse. He called upon Neville Longbottom and asked him to come close to his desk.
"The- the Cruciatus curse." He stuttered, answering Moody's question on what the next curse was.
"Correct! Correct. Come. Come." He pointed to the spider.
"The torture curse," He pointed his wand to the animal. "Crucio." Neville and the rest of us watched as it squirmed in pain. He looked like he himself felt the extreme pain the spider was under. He sat uncomfortably, lips quivering in fear and worry.
"Stop it! Can't you see it's bothering him? Stop it!" Hermione bursted out, it was obvious that she felt uneasy with the sight as well.
Finally, Moody moved his wand away from the spider, bringing it to Hermione's table. "Perhaps you can show us the last curse, Ms. Granger." She shook her head, not wanting to utter the last spell.
"Avada Kedavra!" He finished, killing the helpless spider with one last zing of light. "The killing curse, only one person is known to have survived it." He scanned his eyes through the class, settling it on a brunette boy seated near the front. "He's sitting in this room." All of us glanced at Harry—the infamous boy who lived.
"He gets too much credit for it." Danielle whispered to me as we packed our things to head out after the lesson ended.
I chuckled as I carried my books. "I'll meet you at the great hall. I just realized I forgot my wand at the dorms." She informed me, blowing me a kiss as she walked away.
I headed out of the room along with the rest of the class. Just as I was about to walk out the door, the movement of my left foot had been blocked by something, causing me to fall knee-first on the cold ground. My books and the other items I carried scattered on the floor, some even getting stepped on by the students who were briskly walking by.
The crowd of people made it hard for me to see the hurdle that caused my fall, but when I did see it—an involuntary scowl left my lips.
Right behind me was a laughing Crabbe, Goyle, and Draco. It looked like they were enjoying themselves.
"You think you're fucking funny, don't you?" I immediately got up on my feet, fuming with anger.
"Oh yeah. Very." He replied, nodding his head sarcastically before giving Goyle a high five.
"You son of a bitch!" I spat as I bent down to grab a book—before using it to strike him straight in the head, ignoring the constant stares practically everyone was giving us. If this is his way of revenge for losing to the mashed potato spoon, then so be it.
"My father will hear about this!" He groaned, his hand on the part that i've hit. I walked away, ignoring the string of insults and complains that came out of his lamentable mouth.
I looked at the bottom part of my left leg to see a bruise, a shade of deep purple forming on my skin. Fuck. Bruises, cuts, and other wounds were evident on my pale skin, and it did not look pleasing at all. I took a deep breath before continuing to walk towards the Great Hall.
As I entered the hall, my eyes automatically started searching for Cedric. After a few minutes, I finally spotted him outside the doors—laughing with his friends, clothes all wrinkled and hair all wet and messy.
It was pouring outside—which I assumed was the reason for his sloppy appearance.
"Ced," I tried to call after him, the students chattering around the hall muffling my voice.
"Ced!" I finally caught his attention, with him immediately flashing me a grin and gesturing his friends to wait for him. He walked towards me, the strands of his chocolate brown hair hanging over his forehead, tiny droplets of water trickling down his face whenever he took a step. His well-defined face was drenched in sweat, his canary and grey tie hung loose below his chest.
"You're a mess." I stated, eyeing him from top to bottom as we headed to a corner.
"Oh, sorry. I was in a rush." He tried fixing himself, panting. "Also," He looked at me, straightening his tie before pulling something out from his pocket. "I'll be joining the Triwizard Tournament." He held up a piece of parchment with his name on it.
"That's what I was supposed to talk to you about." I stole the paper from him. "You can't join."
A frown formed on his face, disappointment in his eyes. "Why not?"
"It's too dangerous, you're practically digging up your own grave."
"Come on Clem, it's not like i'm gonna die." He insisted.
"Diggory, hurry up and put your damn name in there!" One of his friends yelled at him from the other side of the hall. He laughed as he mouthed a "wait" to them.
"I'm not letting you put this in there."
"Yes you are." He tried snatching it back, but I was quick.
"You might not die- but you'll end up wounded." I shook the paper in my hands, still keeping it away from him.
"Clemy!" a loud voice came from the entrance of the hall, distracting me. Cedric used that as an opportunity to steal the piece of parchment I was keeping away from him.
I ignored Danielle and tried my best to steal the paper he had just taken. He chuckled as he watched me struggle, swinging his arms side to side to avoid my brawling hands.
When he noticed that I was becoming more and more impatient, he stepped forward and placed a small peck on my lips.
This made me stand still and face the ground, all flustered with what he did. He started laughing at the barfing sounds Danielle was making from the back.
"Just," I looked at him in defeat. "Stay alive."
"Yes ma'am." He smiled cheekily. His attention then gets drawn to the group of three ravenclaw girls entering the hall, one of them being the girl we saw on the train. His smile fades and he turns back to me with a serious look. "I'll see you later." He said before running back to his friends.
"So much for talking him out of it." Danielle approached me, her tone full of sarcasm. I remained silent as multiple thoughts filled my mind.
We decided to sit on one of the benches near the Slytherins as Cedric's friends playfully pushed him to put his name in the Goblet of Fire—which was located in the middle of the hall, a white circular line drawn before it to ensure that everyone followed the no-under-17 policy. I sighed as they cheered and headed out soon after.
"Dani?" I looked at her emotionless and still full of thoughts.
"What's wrong, Clemy?" She turned to me, her forehead wrinkling slightly in concern.
"Do you think he's still interested in me?" I asked, watching the Weasley twins attempt to get through the age line.
"Are you mad? Who wouldn't be?" She said this as if she was scolding me. "You are Clementia Bass," She pointed her index finger at my body. "It's impossible for someone not to fall head over heels for those eyes, and that incredibly powerful personality."
"Plus, you smell like oranges." She added, making me crack a smile. "And didn't he just kiss you?" She asked, immediately making my face turning into a shade of scarlet. I looked away for a while, looking back at the twins who were now tackling each other on the ground after their age potion had failed badly.
"You know," I finally faced her. "Your asshole of a cousin made me trip earlier." I directed to the bruise on my leg.
"He did not." She frantically looked around, searching for Draco. "What did you do?"
"Smacked him in the head with a book."
"What?" She widened her eyes. "That's not enough!"
"Uh well, should we do that stupid essay due tomorrow?" I asked, a half-smile on my lips while I tried to change the subject. Draco would be dead meat if I let her continue, and I wasn't exactly in the mood to help her beat someone up in the middle of the Great Hall.
"Who cares about the essay, Clemy," She rolled her eyes and I agreed. We weren't the biggest fans of education.
"Let's go," She stood. "We have a revenge to plot." I managed to form a smile as she rose from her seat, leading the way back to the dorms. "Shall we?"
"We shall. Screw the Essay."
We planned a scheme to pull on Draco and finished the classes for the rest of the day. Dinner came and I was still waiting for Cedric to talk to me.
He didn't.
-
"Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for," Dumbledore announced through the hall crammed with students from both Hogwarts and the two other schools.
"The champion selection."
"Clemy, are you-" Danielle looked at me upon hearing Dumbledore.
"Don't ask me if i'm nervous because i'm shitting my bloody pants, Dani." I smiled sarcastically at her, almost shaking in nervousness.
"Harsh," She giggled. "Whatever you say." She held my left arm, comforting me.
"The Durmstrang champion is Victor Krum!" Dumbledore said out loud as he pulled the first parchment off the goblet.
"The champion of Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!" The girls from the academy cheered in joy.
"The Hogwarts champion," At this point in time, I had to clasp my sweaty hands together and pin them down on my lap. The whole room was filled with silence in anticipation.
"Cedric Diggory." High-spirited howls surrounded the hall, applause and sounds of joy, but I remained seated. I was beyond scared of what might happen to him, this tournament seems way too suspicious to me.
"It's going to be fine." Danielle squeezed my arm. I looked at the Slytherin table to see majority of the eyes on me, wanting to see my reaction. I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath, facing the front. There he stood, happy as ever.
"Excellent! Now we have our three champions!" Dumbledore spread out his hands as if he was congratulating us all.
It didn't feel like something to celebrate about. No matter how hard I tried to brush it off, it still simply felt like risking lives for a stupid cup.
After a few more remarks, the goblet of fire started shooting out a pink-colored flame, releasing another piece of paper. Looks of confusion were exchanged among the students.
"Harry Potter?" Dumbledore called out, taken aback just like the rest.
Silence.
We all turned to Harry to see him slowly sink in his seat. How did he put his name there?
"Harry Potter!" The headmaster began to shout rather aggressively now, making all of us turn mute in both confusion and horror.
Silence.
The professors looked at him with much disappointment and anger, as if he were a top student who was caught cheating on an exam. Well he was—the star student who cheated his way into a competition. The faculty's reaction was reasonable.
But what bothered everyone was his denial of the incident. According to him, he didn't place his name in the Goblet of Fire. Even after hours of the news being passed around, no one really knew what actually happened.
It was intriguing, really. The chosen one, breaking the rules.
But this didn't change the disturbing feeling inside me caused by what Cedric would have to face soon.
After the last announcements in the hall, we were all dismissed and tasked to finish our classes for current day and the next.
-
During curfew hours, I decided to visit Cedric. "Lumos." I slowly made my way to the Hufflepuff tower, taking small light steps, careful not to make any noise.
After saying the password, I entered the empty common room and walked towards the boys' dormitory. When I opened the door, both Cedric and his roommate were fast asleep.
I made my way to his bed and climbed up slowly, not wanting to wake him. However, my attempt went down the drain as he opened his eyes sleepily, revealing a beautiful blue color that I could stare at for ages.
"Hey." He sat up, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Hi," I looked at him awkwardly, not knowing what to say. "Should I congratulate you?"
He smiled, looking away. "No need."
I pulled the covers above me and tried to snuggle up to him. To my dismay, he slowly tried to escape from my grasp and faced the other way.
"Ced," I sat up, a frown plastered on my face. "What's wrong?"
"I-" He looked everywhere but at me. "I'm tired Clem."
"Maybe you should get some rest too." He finally locked his eyes with mine, and they looked like they didn't want me here.
"Okay." I kissed his cheek. "I love you." I smiled, ignoring the pain building up inside me.
He opened his mouth but nothing came out. He opened it again, and this time he replied. "I love you too." It sounded forced.
With that, I led myself out, eyes red and glossy from my determination of pushing away the tears that were welling up inside. The whole night, all I did was wonder.
What went wrong?