17 year old Lila sets off for her penultimate year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
After the arrival of a transfer student named Cedric Diggory, Lila experiences new feelings and trials she hadn't prepared for.
A story of friendship...
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It was Sunday morning. We were due to leave later this afternoon, so after I finished showering and getting dressed, I packed everything back into my bag.
I made sure to leave the guest room in a neat condition as I headed down the stairs. I placed my belongings back on the table in the hall and headed towards the kitchen to find everyone.
When I entered, the breakfast was laid on the island and Dobby was sat there eating.
"Morning Dobby" I smiled at him as I took a plate and began to take some food.
"Morning Miss Lila! Did you sleep well?"
I nodded glancing around the empty space, "where is the family?"
"Master Amos and Mister Cedric have gone shopping for groceries. Mrs Amelia is tending to her garden, she said you can join her after you've eaten." He indicated the door leading outside.
I thanked him and we ate in amiable silence. The sprightly elf was growing on me by the minute, he didn't seem to feel the need to fill the silent space with polite chit chat and I appreciated the relaxed atmosphere he seemed to exude.
Once he had polished off the contents of his plate, he jumped off his stool and walked over to one of the lower kitchen cabinets, pulling something from it. He returned to his seat and I was surprised at what he was holding.
"You like fizzy salted caramel snakes?" I enquired. I would've recognised them a mile off, they were the same ones I bought from Honeydukes regularly and consumed in unhealthy amounts.
He nodded, his floppy ears bobbing with the motion, "yes Miss, they're my favourites but you can only get them from Hogsmeade. Mister Cedric sends me some when he can."
"They're my favourites too!" I grinned.
Over the next ten minutes we had an in depth discussion about the array of sweets in Honeydukes.
Dobby hadn't had a chance to try many, but his favourites were the fizzy snakes and the liquorice snaps. He offered me the bag as we spoke, and we shared the sweets between ourselves.
As we conversed, I could easily see how he fit perfectly into the good-natured Diggory family. He was a very grateful elf, not seeming to require much to keep him happy. It made me even sadder that he'd been so mistreated in the past.
When we were finished, I helped him clean up the breakfast stuff and he dismissed himself to hoover the fourth floor.
I made my way into the garden to find Cedric's mother, taking in the extraordinary botanical sight before me.
The first half of the garden had a long stone path weaving towards a wooden white arch. It was covered in curled vines with small white flowers sprouting off them.
