Twin Power *Cedric Diggory Love Story* (EDITING)

Talk with Dumbledore

Cassia's POV

For the next few days, Harry and I were getting dirty looks from all the other students. Except for Ron and Hermione, of course. But Cedric? I had no clue about him, given that I barely saw him anymore.

One day, we were all working on homework in one of the classrooms, with McGonagall watching us. I could feel people's eyes on me. Harry must've felt it, too, because every time he turned around, the people glaring at us just turned back to their work.

After a while, Harry got sick of it, so he put his things back into his bag and stood up. "See you back in the common room," he said to Hermione and Ron. He looked over at me. "Come on, Cass. Let's go."

I packed my stuff up and followed him out of the room.

"So anyway," a stout boy was saying, "I told Justin to hide up in our dormitory. I mean to say, if Potters 1 and 2 have marked him down as their next victim, it's best if he keeps a low profile for a while. Of course, Justin's been waiting for something like this to happen ever since he let slip to them he was Muggle-born. Justin actually told them he'd been down for Egon. That's not the kind of thing you bandy about with Slytherin's heirs on the loose, is it?"

"You definitely think it's one of them? Or both?" a girl with blonde pigtails said anxiously.

"Hannah," the stout boy said solemnly, "He's a Parselmouth. Everyone knows that's the mark of a dark wizard. Have you ever heard of a decent one who could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself Serpent-Tongue," the boy said. Hannah? There was only one girl I knew with that name- Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff about the same age as Harry and I.

"But Harry and Cassia always seemed so nice, though, Ernie. And after all, they are the ones who made You-Know-Who disappear. Cassia even took a hit for him up on the third floor last year," Hannah objected.

"Well, maybe that's why You-Know-Who wanted to kill 'em in the first place. Didn't want another Dark Lord or Lady competing with him," Ernie assumed.

"Ernie, that makes no sense. Harry and Cassia are Gryffindors, and they're both way too nice to attack fellow students," someone chimed in. To my surprise, it was Cedric. He thinks we're innocent? I breathed a small sigh of relief.

Harry held my hand as we started walking back to the common room. But soon, a familiar hissing noise made us stop again. It was the monster, no doubt. The sound grew louder and louder, and then it just...stopped. As we rounded a corner, I gasped. Justin and Nearly Headless Nick had been Petrified.

"Caught in the act," someone snarled. Both of us turned to see Filch. "I'll have you and your sister out this time, Potter. Mark my words," he warned, before staggering off.

"No. Mr. Filch, y-you don't understand --" Harry tried to tell him, but he was gone.

Moments later, Professor McGonagall came towards us. She gasped when she saw Nick and Justin's condition. And then her gaze fell on us.

"Professor, I...I swear, we didn't. We literally just saw them like this when we came around a corner," I pleaded, shaking my head.

"This is out of my hands, Miss Potter," she told us. She led us to a statue of a stone gargoyle. "Professor Dumbledore will be waiting for the both of you," she said.

Harry and I stood by the gargoyle. For a few measly moments, nothing happened. Where was Dumbledore?

"Sherbet lemon," McGonagall suddenly said. She thrust both her hands out and then stairs formed, leading straight up.