Diggory Is Still A Loser (book 2)

3- Losers And Loonies

Celia didn't see Harry again for the rest of the summer holidays, and the owls he sent her were few and far between.
All she knew was that he was no longer with the Dursley's, but had not been expelled from Hogwarts.
On the 1st of September, she made her way down to platform 9 and 3/4 by herself, since her parents decided it would be too painful for them to go to the trainstation without Cedric.
Everyone on the platform stared at Celia as passed them, which didn't suprise her.
She was wearing black baggy clothes, and her hair was messy and greasy.
Her face was paler than normal and there were dark circles around her eyes, from lack of sleep.

Since she did not want to sit with Cho and the rest of their roommates, Celia had to wait for Harry and the Weasley's to turn up, so that she could find a compartment with them.
Ron and Hermione had been chosen as Prefects, so they couldn't sit with them.
This meant that Celia, Harry, Ginny and their friend Neville Longbottom, had to find a compartment together. But unfortunately there were no empty ones, so they had to enter one that was already occupied.

"Hi Luna" mumbled Celia as she entered the compartment and sat down beside the window.
She knew the girl Luna Lovegood, for she was a Ravenclaw a few years below her. And her family also lived near the Diggory's.
"Did you have a good summer?" Ginny asked, as she sat down beside Luna.
"Yes, it was quite enjoyable" murmered Luna, as she lowered the newspaper she was reading.
Luna then looked over at Harry, "You're Harry Potter".
"Um, yep" replied Harry awkwardly.

"Luna, this is Neville" introduced Ginny.
"Hello" smiled Luna.
"And I'm sure you already know Celia, given that you're in the same house" replied Ginny.
"Yes. I have watched her study many times".
Celia saw Harry and Neville snigger in the corner of her eye, and she knew why.
Luna was an odd sort of person, always lost in her own world. She had a bizarre necklace on, her wand tucked behind her ear, and she was holding her paper upside down.
But since Celia was also a black sheep of sorts, she was not offended by Luna's strange behaviour.

"So, Harry, where exactly did you go after you left Privet Drive?" Questioned Celia, as Neville pulled out a strange plant from his bag and Luna returned to her newspaper.
"I told you, I went to stay with Ron and Hermione" reminded Harry.
"Yes, I know. But you won't tell me where you were. Or why I couldn't visit you" snapped Celia.
"Look, I'm not supposed to talk about it" hissed Harry.
"Why? Am I not trustworthy?"
"I trust you, but the other people in on the secret might not. Which is why I can't tell you where I was"
"Great".

Celia folded her arms and looked away from Harry.
"I'm sorry O.K. If it were up to me-" started Harry.
"Forget it. I'm only the girl who's brother was murdered last year. Why tell me anything" interrupted Celia.
"Look, Dumbledore doesn't want anyone knowing, and you trust Dumbledore, right?" Questioned Harry.
"Of course I do" answered Celia.
"Then you'll understand why I can't tell you anything"
"Fine, whatever".

Harry turned away from Celia to look at Neville's strange plant.
"So, does it do anything?" Asked Harry curiously.
"Loads of things. It's got a great defense mechanism. Here, hold Trevor" replied Neville, as he handed Harry his frog and began rummaging around in his bag for a quill.
Once he'd found his quill, Neville gave the Mimbulus Mimbletonia a sharp prod with it.
Unfortunately this caused the plant to eject a foul smelling liquid from every inch of its body, and throw it around the compartment.
Everything was covered in green goo.

"I'm so sorry, I haven't tried that before. I didn't realise it would be so explosive" apologised Neville.
Celia looked down at her body which was now covered in slimy dark green liquid.
"Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse" sighed Celia, as she squeezed her soaking hair, allowing the liquid to drain out of it.
She made no attempt to clean her glasses, even though she could hardly see out of them.
"Don't worry though, Stinksap isn't poisonous" reassured Neville, as Harry spat a mouthful of it onto the floor.
"Good to know" mumbled Harry, before beginning to wipe his glasses clean, with his Trevor free hand.

At that exact moment the compartment door slid open, and Celia looked over to see Cho Chang staring back at them.
"Oh. Hello Harry... Um, bad time?" Asked Cho awkwardly, as she looked around at the green goo, covering the area.
"Of course not, this is a perfect time, we just love sitting around, dripping head to toe in green goo, it's my favourite pastime" snapped Celia coldy.
"Oh, hi" mumbled Harry as he stood to his feet to face Cho, and began to blush.
"Um. I just thought I'd say hello... Anyway, I'd better go" replied Cho, before closing the door.

Harry groaned and sat back down.
Ginny whipped out her wand and pointed it at the goo, "scourgify!".
A moment later the Stinksap disappeared, leaving the group clean once more.
"Nice one" thanked Celia.
Ginny shrugged, "You're welcome".
"You could have been nicer to Cho" said Harry as he frowned at Celia, before handing Trevor back to Neville.
"I don't like her, so I don't have to be nice to her" admitted Celia.
"Why don't you like her? She used to date Cedric afterall" reminded Harry.

"That's a fact she will never let me forget. Look, Cho is everything I'm not. She's pretty, popular, good at Quidditch and a Ravenclaw Prefect. So, I don't have to like her. And if you have a crush on her, like every other guy at the school, then that's not my problem" informed Celia.
"Have you always been this much of a bitch?" Questioned Harry.
"Yes. Cedric's death hasn't made me a nicer person. You're not going to catch me crying in the corner, like her. I've done my grieving"
"Now, that's the biggest lie you've ever told. I know for a fact that you're not over Cedric's death, any more than I am".

"Stop fighting you two" pleaded Ginny.
"Fine" spat Celia.
She could feel tears brewing behind her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
Celia didn't want to be a crying mess like Cho. She wanted everyone to think that she was strong.
So, she pushed thoughts of Cedric to the back of her mind, and released Angel from her cage, so that she could focus on her beloved white owl instead.