The Roses of Hogwarts | Cedric Diggory [1]

Chapter Thirteen: A Failed Truth

Harry stayed in the hospital wing all weekend, and his fall left a tense feeling all throughout the school. He was the topic of everyone's conversation. Oriane was convinced she would have gone mad had she not gone with Cedric to visit him in the hospital. The stories everyone retold were over exaggerated, and had almost convinced several students he was actually dead.

It wasn't until that following Monday that things got better. Harry was back, which quelled the rumors of the previous quidditch game. However, Draco Malfoy seemed to be in good health again, much to the four roommates' dismay. He spent most of his meal times dramatically reenacting Harry's fall, now with the use of both his arms.

"You'd think he'd want to snog Harry, wouldn't you?" Calista mumbled as she stabbed her eggs. "With how often he teases him."

"People like Malfoy have got nothing better to do than mock others," Charlotte sighed. "The only thing that prat's got going for him is his blood status."

The girls fell quiet once more as they continued eating their breakfast. After a long while of silence, a handful of owls quickly burst into the hall, each carrying a letter or package of sorts.

Everyone turned their attention upwards, catching their items as the owls dropped it for them. Out of the four of them, Calista was the only one this time around to receive a letter. It was a simple, plain red envelope.

"No way," Charlotte said, eyes staring at the envelope, "is that a Howler?"

Calista stared blankly at the letter, emotions difficult to read as she flipped the letter over, reading the sending address. "It appears so," she said dully. She then tossed the letter onto her empty plate, bacon grease immediately soaking into the envelope. Then, she took out her wand, muttered a simple incendio and the letter lit into flames.

A gasp erupted from Emerald as she grabbed her goblet, attempting to throw her water onto the now burning letter. But before she could, Calista stopped her.

"What are you doing?" Emerald asked, eyes wildly looking at the students around them. They were beginning to attract attention. "Put that out before one of the professors sees it!"

But the flames were quick to die out, and there was nothing left on Calista's plate except for smoldering ashes. "If my father wishes to yell at me, he may do so in person," she muttered.

"Yell at you?" Oriane repeated. "Why would he yell at you?"

Calista sighed, resting her chin in her hand as she leaned onto the table. Her eyes were still glued to the ashes on her plate. "I could think of a lot of reasons, really," she said, a small grin appearing. "But I imagine my grades would be the biggest one."

Emerald's eyes looked back at the mess on Calista's plate. "Maybe I should tutor you after all..."

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As the end of semester was nearing, classes proved to become more and more difficult. Everyone was preparing for end of semester exams, and even Oriane, who loved learning, was finding it all a bit daunting.

However, none of that anxiety compared to the fear she felt standing outside of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She had managed to scrape by with a good grade in Potions for the time being, but she wasn't sure Snape would be so kind to her on her essay about werewolves. Especially with how she made a fool of herself in class last time.

"I forgot about the essay," Calista admitted as the girls stared at the entrance to the room. "I'm dead."

"How could you forget?" Emerald questioned, clutching her own essay in her hand.