Since going blind at 6 years old, Fiona Diggory has lived in the shadow of her twin brother, Cedric.
Now entering her 6th year at Hogwarts Fiona finds herself thrown into a new friendship with Fred and George Weasley while trying to determine the m...
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The Hufflepuff common room was on fire, and this was most definitely not Fiona's fault.
Fault is a complex term, after all.
Sure, Fiona was the last person in contact with the candle before it spread to the curtains (and then the rug, the tapestry on the wall, the paintings, the message board and finally the Christmas tree). But to assign blame to one person is ignoring the plethora of circumstances that had to fall perfectly into place for such an event to occur.
First and foremost, Roger Davies should probably take some credit for the destruction of the common room on Christmas morning in 1994. After all, had he just been a decent human being, Fiona would never have been sulking around the common room in the first place. But, the blame could not be solely placed on the charming Ravenclaw boy.
What business did the candles have being in the common room anyway? Holiday Aesthetics?! Surely the house elves should have predicted such a disaster when they scattered candles around the room in the name of Christmas Spirit. Certainly, the house elves should also be held partly responsible.
And lastly, the Hufflepuff house as a whole should all share the burden of blame. After all, as visually impaired as she is, how could Fiona have known the common room was covered in delicately dancing flames atop fragile wax pillars? It was the duty of her housemates to alert her when such changes were made to the common room!
No, Fiona certainly was not to blame, if anything, she was the victim! And she made sure to tell every student who attempted to chastise her once the roaring flame was put out by the startled sixth and seventh year students.
Once the fire was extinguished Professor Sprout had come in to evaluate the damage, after a fourth year (Zacharias Smith you brown-nosed git!) rushed to her quarters to inform her of the occurrence. Still reeking of smoke, there was a haze that filled the room and yet, somehow (perhaps a Christmas miracle!) no personal belongings had been damaged in the fire. After a lengthy discussion on the importance of being aware of your surroundings, Sprout finally determined it to be an accident.
In the late morning hours of Christmas day the Hufflepuff common room was reminiscent of the first night back party, as all the younger students had returned home for the holiday. All of the students who remained gathered around an empty fireplace - after they had determined the only thing that should be roasted was Fiona (metaphorically, of course). Butterbeer and wine, charmed by Alfie(some glasses still smelled faintly of vinegar), were passed out among the students as they began to exchange holiday gifts.
As one of the house prefects, Cedric had organized a Secret Santa gift exchange, to ensure no student went without a gift. After every student had received no less than three gifts from their peers, the common room began to empty. Students were eager to share the story of the Great Christmas Fire of '94 and exchange gifts with their friends from other houses.
