Twin Power *Cedric Diggory Love Story* (EDITING)

Lockhart...UGH!

Cassia's POV

As much as I wanted to go after Harry to try and find him, Mrs. Weasley wouldn't let me. She said there was a good chance that he could've ended up in Knockturn Alley, and it was too risky for the rest of us to go down there because it was "just crawling" with thieves and dark wizards.

We went to Gringotts first, so Mr. and Mrs. Weasley could get some money out of their vault for Ron and his siblings. Then they made a stop at mine and Harry's vault so I could take out some money. Since Harry wasn't with me, I had to get money for both of us. Once that was done, Mrs. Weasley and I took Ginny to get her wand at Ollivander's and so she could be fitted for her school robes. We met up with Mr. Weasley and the boys inside Flourish & Blotts afterward, and it was absolutely packed! According to the big sign near the door, Gilderoy Lockhart was doing a book signing today.

Mrs. Weasley had us all get in the line that started right at the front desk. Okay, it wasn't really a line. It was more like a big clump of people. Just like in Gringotts, I held Ginny's hand so she wouldn't somehow get lost within the crowd.

"Oh, Harry! Thank goodness! We'd hoped you'd only gone one grate too far!" Mrs. Weasley suddenly exclaimed from behind me. I turned around to see Hermione had just come into the shop, more or less dragging Harry with her. Mrs. Weasley started brushing the soot off his face and clothes as best as she could.

"Harry!" I exclaimed, letting go of Ginny for a moment to hug my brother. "Are you okay?" I asked him.

"I'm fine, sis. Said the wrong thing and wound up in Knockturn Alley," he replied.

I let go of him and hugged Hermione. "Mione, how've you been? I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Cassi!" she exclaimed, hugging me back. "How has your summer been?"

Before I could answer, someone interrupted us. "Ladies and gentlemen, Gilderoy Lockhart!" he announced from the very front of the line.

Mrs. Weasley gasped. "There he is," she muttered to herself.

Everyone except me and Harry started clapping as a blonde man dressed in pale blue came to stand behind the desk. Guess this is Lockhart.

"Mum fancies him," Ron whispered, earning a smack on the arm from his mother.

"Pardon me, sir. Let me by, madam," a photographer said as he made his way through the crowd. His cloak brushed against Ginny's as he passed us. "Excuse me, little girl. This is for the Daily Prophet..." He situated himself almost a foot from Lockhart and snapped a photo of him.

Lockhart was about to pose again for another photo when he caught sight of my brother and I. "It can't be...Harry and Cassia Potter," he muttered.

The photographer gasped. "Harry and Cassia Potter!" he exclaimed, seizing Harry by the arm. "'Scuse me, madam." He pushed Harry behind the front desk, and then did the same thing with me.

Lockhart put an arm around each of us, holding us a little tight for my liking. "Nice big smile, you two. Together, we'll rate the front page," he said.

The short photographer snapped a photo, temporarily blinding me with the camera flash.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what an extraordinary moment this is. When young Harry and Cassia stepped into Flourish and Blotts this morning to purchase my autobiography 'Magical Me'..." Lockhart boasted -- earning applause from everyone except Ron -- "...which, incidently, is currently celebrating its 27th week atop the Daily Prophet best-seller list, they had no idea that they would, in fact, be leaving with my entire collective works...free of charge." He handed Harry and I each a stack of his books, before flashing another smile to the camera as another picture of him was taken. Then he let us go and sat down at the desk, getting a quill ready. "Ladies..."

Harry and I rushed back to Mrs. Weasley.

"Harry, Cassia, now you both give me those. I'll get them signed," she said, making me mentally groan. "All of you wait outside," she told us.

Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and I all held hands as we made our way to the door. Percy and the twins followed behind us. But right before we could leave the shop, we ran into the last person I wanted to see right now. Malfoy. He glanced up at us briefly, before ripping a page out from the book he'd been skimming through. "Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potters?" he spat, coming to stand in front of us. "Famous Harry Potter- can't even go into a bookshop without him and his brat sister making the front page."

Both Harry and I glared daggers at Malfoy. If looks could kill, we'd be dancing on Malfoy's grave right about now.

"Leave them alone," Ginny snapped, taking a step forward.

Malfoy looked at her for a second, but then made eye contact with Harry. "Oh, look, Potter- you've got yourself a girlfriend," he teased.

A black cane with a tip that looked like a snake nudged him on the shoulder, making him turn around to face its owner. It was a man with the same white hair as Draco's, except it was much longer, stopping just past his shoulders. I bet that's Malfoy's father!

"Now, now, Draco. Play nicely," the man chided. He looked at Harry and I. "Mr. and Miss Potter..." he held out a hand, "Lucius Malfoy. We meet at last." Lucius grasped Harry's shoulder. "Forgive me..." He moved Harry's bangs with his snake-cane, and then pointed the other end at my forehead. "Your scars are legend. As, of course, is the wizard who gave it to you," he said.

"Voldemort killed our parents," Harry replied darkly.

"He wasn't a legend. He murdered innocent people," I added.

"You must be either very brave, to mention his name, or very foolish," Lucius remarked.

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," Hermione spat.

Lucius made eye contact with her. "And you must be...Miss Granger," he said, "Yes, Draco's told me about you...and your parents."

Hermione looked over at her parents, who were chattering away with Mr. Weasley.

"Muggles...aren't they?" Lucius questioned. What'd it matter to him if Hermione's parents were non-magic? He turned back to Ron, Ginny, Percy, and the twins. "Let me see. Red hair, vacant expressions..." he noted, "...tatty, secondhand book..." At this, he snatched one of Ginny's books out of her cauldron and briefly flipped through the pages, before looking up again. "You must be the Weasleys."

"Children, it's mad in here. Let's get outside," Mr. Weasley said, coming over to us. His concerned expression turned into one of hatred when he saw Lucius.

"Well, well, well. Weasley Senior," Lucius hissed.

"Lucius," Mr. Weasley retorted, giving him a death glare.

"Busy time at the Ministry, Arthur. All those extra raids. I hoped they would be paying you overtime, but judging by the state of this, it seems not," Lucius commented, holding up the tattered book. "What's the use in being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you for it?"

Harry and I remained silent. We felt a bit awkward. Stored in an underground vault at Gringotts in London was a small fortune that Mum and Dad had left us.

Mr. Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny. "We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he replied coldly.

"Clearly..." Lucius retorted, "Associating with Muggles..." He put the book back in Ginny's cauldron. I saw another book right behind it, with a black cover. "And I thought your family could sink no lower. I'll see you at work." Without another word, he stormed out of the shop.

"See you at school," Draco added, turning to look at us as he followed his father. All Harry and I could do was stand there, frozen in shock. . As if Malfoy wasn't bad enough, Lucius is much worse.