Diggory Is Still A Loser (book 2)

21- Back In To Hell

After such an amazing Christmas, Celia was not looking forward to going back to Hogwarts, and neither was Harry.
Celia hated the long Knight Bus ride they had to take to get to Hogwarts. Even though this one was shorter than the first, because the Order members paid the driver to get them to Hogsmeade quicker, as they didn't want Harry to be out in the open for too long, since Voldemort wanted him dead.
The minute Celia saw Umbridge in the castle, her heart sank as she knew that she was in for another awful term.
But in order to appease Umbridge, she didn't draw any attention to herself during her first day of lessons.

Once she had finished her lunch on the first day, she immediately regrouped with her friends. And it was at times like this when she wished that she was a Gryffindor, because then she could eat with her friends.
Unfortunately, the four of them didn't get very far, before they were ambushed by Zacharius Smith.
"So, is there going to be a DA meeting tonight?" Questioned Zacharius, without even bothering to say hello.
"Um, no, I've got remedial Potions with Snape this evening" informed Harry.
Snape had turned up on the last day of the holidays, and told Harry that he was going to teach him Occlumency, to stop the connection between Harry's mind and Voldemort's.
But since no one else was allowed to know about this connection, Harry had to lie to everyone, and say that he was taking remedial Potions instead.

"Remedial Potions. Wow, you must be really bad, because Snape doesn't usually give out extra lessons. Anyway, see you around. Let me know when the first meeting is" said Zacharius, before strolling off down the corridor.
"Shall I jinx him?" Asked Ron, as he raised his wand and aimed between Zacharius's shoulder blades.
"No, leave him" sighed Harry.
"Are you sure? I think I can still get him from here" admitted Ron.
"Forget it. Besides, it's what everyone's going to be thinking, isn't it, that I'm really thick, which is why I need extra classes with Snape".

"Hi Harry".
The group spun around and saw Cho standing behind them.
"Oh, hi" mumbled Harry.
Celia rolled her eyes, "I'm going to the library".
"We're coming too" added Hermione, as she grabbed hold of Ron, and began dragging him with her and Celia, so that Cho and Harry could have a moment alone.
"I wonder if he's going to ask her out" whispered Hermione.
"Who cares" muttered Celia.
"Well, he's liked her for ages, so I really hope he has the guts to actually do it, because he didn't do it after kissing her at Christmas" replied Hermione.
"I guess we'll find out later".

****
Celia was getting ready for bed that night, when Cho walked into the dormitory and approached her.
The other girls quickly vacated the room, and headed back down into the common room, so that Cho could talk to Celia, without anyone interrupting.
"I need a word" informed Cho.
Celia tied her dressing gown around herself, before sighing and facing Cho.
"What about?" Questioned Celia.
"About Harry" answered Cho.
"Right. Well, go on" encouraged Celia.

"Harry asked me to go on a date with him, on the first Hogsmeade visit this term, which is on Valentine's day" revealed Cho.
"And I care because?" Asked Celia.
"I know that Harry is your friend, so I wanted to let you know that the two of us are dating" admitted Cho.
"Thanks for telling me. Now, can I go to bed?"
"Wait a minute, I have more to say... I want to know why you don't talk to me anymore"
"Well, we were never exactly best friends"
"I know that. But you used to hang around me, Marietta, Katia, and Arabella, and now you just ignore us".

"I guess I found myself some real friends, so I didn't need to follow you around like a 5th wheel anymore" admitted Celia.
"But we used to hang out. We even got ready for the Yule ball together. And me and the othee girls did your make up for you. But now you don't even like being in the same room as me or them" replied Cho.
"You have enough friends, since you're so popular, so I didn't think you'd mind if I stopped talking to you... Besides, I know that there are topics you would want to discuss with me, that I don't want to talk about with you. Which is why I've been avoiding you"
"You mean Cedric?"
"Of course I mean Cedric!".

"But why wouldn't you want to talk about him with me? I was his girlfriend afterall" reminded Cho.
"That is exactly why I don't want to discuss him with you. Harry is the only person I talk to about Cedric, because he was there when Cedric died" admitted Celia.
"But I loved him, just like you did" informed Cho.
"Don't try and compare your feelings to mine. He was my brother, and you only dated him for less than a year. Yet you're the one who can't stop crying about him. And I don't want to hang around with someone who keeps crying over my brother. Being near you just brings me down, and I'm already so low that I often feel like I'm drowning. That's why I can't stand to be around you. You're a crying mess, and I don't want you to turn me into one too!".

"Maybe you are heartless, just like everyone says you are, since you don't show any emotion. If you loved Cedric, then you would mourn him, like me. But I haven't seen you cry once this school year" snapped Cho.
"You really think that I don't miss him? You think I didn't have a complete breakdown when he died? I became a self-harming, drug addict over the summer, because of how upset I felt about his death!" Shouted Celia, as she rolled up her sleeves, exposing her scarred arms.
"I didn't know" Cho said quietly.

"Of course you didn't know, because I kept this a secret from everyone. You don't miss my brother more than me, trust me. You're not more special, you just make more fuss about it. It looks like you care more about him, because you cry over him all the time. But that doesn't mean I don't also want to cry all the time. I just don't let myself do it, because I don't want to fall back down that dark hole. I have to remain strong. But having people whisper about me, behind my back, doesn't make it any easier. I know that a lot of people think I'm heartless, and some people might even still believe that I'm a bastard. But there's nothing I can do about that. All I can do, is try to pretend to be happy, and keep away from miserable people like you, who only want to drag up bad feelings that bring me down. Which is why I'm going to continue ignoring you!" spat Celia, before storming out of the dormitory and heading towards the Room of Requirement, where she intended on spending the night.