Sunshine & Shadows (D. Malfoy) ON HOLD

1 - The Moldy Old Boot

"Pippa. Pippa? Pippa!"

A girl poked her head out from underneath a purple quilt, yawning widely. She stared at her uncle with an unfocused gaze, her mind hovering somewhere between dreams and consciousness.

"Didn't I just fall asleep a few hours ago?"

"Well, that depends." Her uncle winked. "Did you and Ced go to bed when I told you to?"

Pippa sighed annoyingly. "I'll get up."

"Good girl. We leave in twenty minutes. Make sure you have all of your things!"

Once she was alone again, Pippa slid out of bed and walked over to the gilded mirror hanging on her wall. In reality, the room was a guest room, but she occupied it so frequently that the room was as good as hers. She liked it more than her own, come to think of it. A fun weekend last summer had been spent painting the walls a light lavender. Even though it was too early to see, she had an excellent view of the sunrise from a circular window surrounded by lacy curtains. The window seat was perfect for reading, doodling, or just napping. Needless to say, Pippa loved the Diggory property like her own home.

After getting dressed, she began to twist her dark waves into two braids that nearly reached her waist with careful hands. She often found herself quite frustrated with her thick hair. It wasn't consistently curly or straight or sleek or controlled. Rather, it curled in random places and frizzed if even a drop of moisture filled the air. During the summer, she learned that braiding was easier altogether.

"Pippa!"

"Coming!" She called hurriedly, glancing at her reflection a final time and swung a worn leather backpack around her shoulders. Her outfit consisted of a yellow t-shirt under a set of denim overall shorts. Simple, cute, and most importantly, comfortable. Her Chuck Taylors would travel quite a few miles today.

Pippa ran out into the hallway and hopped on the railing, sliding down it with the skills of an expert. She'd mastered this art at Hogwarts, even on moving staircases, so a small stationary one was amateur hour. 

"Catch!"

Nearly tipping over in shock, she caught the pear in her left hand right before hopping off and onto the floor. Rolling her eyes, she took a big bite. "You threw off my groove there. I could have crashed!"

An attractive boy leaning casually against the wall grinned and took a sip of his coffee. "But you didn't."

"Shut up, Ced," she laughed through a yawn. "Two in the morning is a new level of insanity."

"Dad says we've got a bit of a walk to get to the hill. You should get a coat, he says it's still a little chilly outside," he responded as he slid on his yellow Quidditch hoodie. On the back, it read DIGGORY in bold black letters. "I don't know if that last game of chess was worth the exhaustion, Pip. Maybe we should have just went to bed."

"You're just upset that I beat you," She taunted playfully, grabbing a white crewneck sweatshirt from the post at the foot of the stairs and sliding it over her head.

Cedric grinned, shaking his head. "No, you won fair and square. And it's gonna be worth it, you know. Getting up early, I mean."

"Ireland better win." Pippa recalled the embarrassing season England had and cringed internally. "Although Bulgaria's got Krum. He could be a game changer for them."

Cedric shrugged and took another sip of coffee, attempting to hide his tired state. "So what? Who cares if they've got Krum? He's only a seeker."

"You're a seeker," she pointed out with raised eyebrows.