His Weakness

Chapter 11

The next day, another owl came pecking at your window, and you sat up groaning. You didn't remember falling asleep, likely you had been to upset about last night's events to pay attention to that. You opened your window and the large owl hopped in, a golden envelope in its beak. You fed it a few treats and took the letter from it, tearing open the envelope with shaking fingers. It was from Cedric! He was asking how you were, and how your Christmas break was going. He missed you lots and couldn't wait to see you when break was over.

You smiled and sat down to begin writing to him when the familiar banging of your father's fist on your door stopped you. "Always at the most inconvenient times," you muttered to yourself, "Yes Dad?"

"Breakfast, get downstairs."

You sighed with frustration and threw on a pair of day clothes then headed downstairs. "Can I eat upstairs?" you asked as you walked into the dining room.

"Why?" Vernon asked pointedly, narrowing his eyes at you.

"Because I was trying to write to a friend, and you all made it very clear last night that I am not wanted."

Vernon grunted and went back to eating. Anger flared inside you, but you kept it under control before you broke his coffee mug or a window. "Why invite me back anyway? The moment I joined you all at the station I have not been welcomed in the least."

"Well, we thought that since you are our daughter you should be with us for Christmas," Petunia said quietly.

"And do what? Watch as Dudley continues to be spoiled rotten while I sit there at the back of the room with some cheap gift? You all have not once in my entire life shown interest in having me around until now!"

When no one responded, you grabbed some toast and walked back upstairs. You really didn't want to be with them, and you wanted to go back to Hogwarts as soon as possible. Maybe you'd write to Harry as well, surely he and Ron were having a much better time than you.

Cedric's owl was still resting in your room when you got back up, and he and Soren seemed to be getting along beautifully! You let Soren out of her cage to let her socialize better as you sat down at your desk and wrote a reply to Cedric. You told him about the wonderful scene you woke up to the other morning, your letter to Draco (you knew he'd like to hear about that), and your continuous fights with your family. You sealed the letter in a yellow envelope similar to Cedric's, addressed it to him, then tied it to his bird's leg and sent the owl away. Hopefully he'd write back soon, being stuck here on Pivet Drive without contact from friends was going to drive you insane.

A few days went by before Cedric's owl came pecking at your window again on Christmas morning, and you happily opened it up for him. Instead of holding a normal envelope though, he had a rather large package that looked heavy for him. You relieved him of his package and fed him more treats before letting Soren out to socialize. You tore open the pack gently and pulled out the gifts inside, as well as the letter.

Cedric fumed about your family for the first page, then managed to switch topics and told you about his vacation so far. He told you about visiting his grandparents, and the many magical shops they had where they lived! You looked at the gifts he had gotten for you while there: a remembrall like Neville Longbottom's, a Patented Daydream Charms kit, as well as a variety of different sweets. There was also a Hufflepuff scarf, though you had no idea how he had gotten it if he wasn't at Hogwarts, as well as a moving picture of Cedric and his family with Cedric grinning widely and laughing in the middle.

You smiled at the picture and placed it on your desk. You wished you had gotten something for him and Draco, but what could you get from the muggle world that would be a good gift for wizards? Maybe you'd write to them and ask. You wrote to Harry as well, though you didn't expect a reply for a while. Draco's letter came in after tea later that day. His bird was struggling to carry a box, and happily dropped it on your windowsill before flying off back to its master.