The Roses of Hogwarts | Cedric Diggory [1]

Chapter One: The Letter

The cottage of Esme Cadoret was nestled deep in a meadow outside of Wimborne, England. It was a quaint little building with a thatched roof and timber frame siding. Beautiful bushes and flowers lined the foundation of the cottage, adding a bright pop of color to its otherwise white background.

Inside was just as beautiful as the outside. Dark wood floors lined the entirety of the house where patterned rugs would cover certain spots. A large, burgundy sofa with plush cushions made up a large part of the living room. The kitchen sink seemed to run itself as brushes washed pots and pans without the aid of human touch.

In the midst of it all was Esme Cadoret herself. She busied herself at the oven, pulling out a small batch of tea cakes. Though, she didn't use her hands, like a person normally would. Instead, she pulled out her wand and muttered a few incantations. Within seconds the stove opened itself, pulled out the baking sheet, set it atop the stove, and closed itself right back up.

"Ori!" Esme called, sticking the tip of her wand into her pocket. "Would you mind setting the table?"

A young girl appeared from one of the far back rooms in the cottage. Oriane Morissette, a bright young witch. Her soft eyes lit up at the scent of the tea cakes that wafted around the air. "Is he almost here?"

Esme floated over to the window in front of the sink. Taking great care to not bump into the self washing dishes, she opened it. The warm summer breeze rolled in, allowing the heat of the oven to dissipate.

"Any minute now," Esme smiled, eyes glancing at the clock on the wall.

It was Oriane's turn to take out her own wand. With a simple flick of her wrist, a cupboard from the kitchen gently opened. Three sets of teacups and saucers came floating out, setting themselves on the birchwood table nearby.

"I'm excited to see him again," said Oriane, waving her wand for a final time. The cupboard door closed shortly after.

Esme had busied herself with her tea cakes, gently scraping them off with a spatula and setting them on a cooling rack. "Me too," she sighed, "it's been much too long since we've been together."

As soon as Esme scraped the last tea cake off of the baking sheet, a knock sounded at the door. Esme turned around, eyes squinting at the clock she had looked at only moments earlier. "Damned fool. Always running early." She set the spatula in the sink, where it was quickly cleaned by the floating brushes. "Be a dear and put the kettle on?"

Floating out of the kitchen and to the entrance, Esme appeared in front of the door. She took a moment to pat down her hair, making sure not a single blonde strand was out of place.

When she finally opened the door, she was greeted with a smile from Remus Lupin. He was a tall fellow, with light brown hair peppered with flecks of grey. A well kept, thin mustache sat on his upper lip, which curved upwards with his smile, which Esme mirrored.

"Remus!" she exclaimed, taking a step back. The man entered the cottage, his shoes softly patting against the wood floors. "It's so good to see you."

Remus gently wrapped one arm around Esme, pulling her in for a quick side hug before moving away. "You look as radiant as the last time we met," he commented, which earned him a quick slap on the arm.

His attention was quickly taken away from his friend and instead landed on Oriane. The young girl stood in the doorway to the kitchen, kettle on the stove behind her. Her fingers fiddled with each other as she held her hands in front of her, a sheepish smile on her face.

"It's good to see you again, Remus," she said, rocking back on her heels.

"Ori. My, how you've grown." Remus took a few steps towards her. Despite her claimed change in height, the man still towered over her well enough. He held his hand up, resting it against his hip. "I swear, the last time I saw you, you only came up to here."