Diggory Is Still A Loser (book 2)

7- Truancy

The second Celia stepped out of the classroom and her adrenaline began to wear off, she realised that she may have acted irrationally.
She had never been in trouble before, as drawing attention to herself was the thing she tried to avoid the most.
Celia didn't even like raising her hand in class, even when she had the correct answer, because she didn't like people looking at her.
But everything had changed when Cedric became a champion, because people stared at Celia even when she wasn't doing anything.
And since Cedric's death, everyone looked at her, when they weren't staring at Harry.
This didn't mean that she liked attention, only that she had gotten used to it.

Celia knew that she couldn't return to her class, because she was likely to be in serious trouble, so instead she headed to her favourite spot in the owlery.
She liked to sit in her secluded spot and hide from the world.
Even though she had run out of her lesson, Celia knew that this wouldn't stop her from being punished.
Umbridge was likely to still give her a detention and speak to her head of house.
She had been foolish to think that being Cedric's sister would keep her from facing the consequences of her actions.

Too embarrassed to carry on with her classes, Celia remained concealed in the owlery for the rest of the day.
That was until until Professor Dumbledore came and found her during dinner.
"Good evening, Miss Diggory" said Dumbledore, announcing his arrival.
Celia quickly jumped to her feet and looked up at him, "Hello, Professor".
"When I noticed you missing from tonights feast, I thought I would come and find you, to make sure you were alright. I remember last term Harry said you liked to hide out here, so I decided to check to see if you were here" admitted Dumbledore.

"Am I in a lot of trouble?" Asked Celia.
"We don't punish students for skipping meals" answered Dumbledore.
"That's not what I meant... I stormed out of Defense Against the Dark Arts" informed Celia.
"I am well aware of that, as Professor Umbridge was rather angry with your behaviour. However, you are not the first student to walk out of class, and you certainly won't be the last"
"I know. But well behaved students like me, don't normally do such terrible things"
"You'd be surprised. Your friend Hermione Granger once walked out of Divination in her third year"
"Really? Goody-to-shoes Hermione, walked out of class?"
"Yes".

Celia smiled at the thought, but her face quickly fell.
"Has Umbridge put me in detention, like she did with Harry?" She asked.
"No. In fact, because she is so busy punishing Harry this week, she has not given you detention. Professor Umbridge took 20 points from Ravenclaw for your insubordination, that is all" revealed Dumbledore.
"So, I can go back to class tomorrow?" Questioned Celia.
"Yes. She wants you to formally apologise to her in front of the class, and then she will accept you back".

"What if I don't want to apologise? I didn't say anything wrong, or tell lies. So I shouldn't have to apologise to her" admitted Celia.
"No, you shouldn't have to. But unfortunately in this life, we all must do things that we don't want to do, in order to keep people happy. It would not be wise for you to get on the wrong side of Dolores Umbridge. I'm sure you know why she is here at Hogwarts" replied Dumbledore.
Celia nodded her head, "She's a Ministry employee, here to spy on us and report back to Fudge".
"Exactly. Me and the rest of the staff have to be careful around her, the same as you students" informed Dumbledore.

"Professor, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why did you hire her?" Questioned Celia curiously.
"I didn't" answered Dumbledore.
"You didn't?" Frowned Celia.
"No. I was unable to appoint a teacher for that position this year, so the Minister chose for me" explained Dumbledore.
"Ah, that makes sense. With the division between you and the Ministry, I couldn't understand why you hired Umbridge. But knowing that Fudge placed her here, explains everything"
"We may not want her here, but there is nothing we can do to get rid of her. So, we must do our best to appease her. Which is why you must apologise to her tomorrow".

"If I do apologise, do I have to keep my mouth shut from now on, when around her?" Quizzed Celia.
"That would be the wisest thing to do. But something tells me, that you and Harry are not going to do that" admitted Dumbledore.
"I'm not going to let someone spread lies about my brother's death or my friends bravery. Harry is my best friend, and I will do anything to defend him from the likes of Umbridge. Besides, the more people that tell the truth about how Cedric died, the more people will believe us. Which is why we can't let the Ministry stop us from shouting the truth" replied Celia.
"I can do nothing to stop you speaking up for yourself. I only encourage you to be careful... I failed to keep your brother safe, and I would hate to fail you as well".

"Don't worry about me Professor. I'm fine" insisted Celia.
"Well then, I will leave you alone for the night. Please don't go to bed on an empty stomach though" begged Dumbledore.
"I promise that I'll head down to the great hall later. I prefer it when it's emptier anyway, because then there's less people to stare at me" admitted Celia.
"O.K then. Goodnight Miss Diggory"
"Goodnight Professor".