chapter twenty nine / unspoken feelings

"On a scale of one to ten, how beautiful?"

   "You really shouldn't rate girls by numbers, you know.."

   "Can you at least describe them for me? Pretty please?"

   "No, Atticus," Cassie finally snapped, her head laying on an open book in front of her. She had been attempting to study in the library by herself until Cedric had found his way over, which, in turn, brought over Atticus by default. The two boys had been exchanging their bets on whether the Veela coming from Beauxbatons were pretty or ultra-pretty. "No, Cedric cannot describe them for you. No, they're not even pretty, they're just enchanting, and no, you cannot stay here. I'm trying to study–"

   Atticus held out a hand to keep her from shouting, but nodded his head. "I'll stay quiet," he promised, before picking up a book and leafing through it. Cassie watched him expectantly for a moment when, after barely ten seconds, he sighed and dropped the book into his lap. "Maybe I'll just go."

   "Fine by me," Cassie mumbled, turning her attention back to her book. Cedric waved to Atticus and, as soon as Atticus was out of earshot, sunk into the seat next to Cassie fervently.

   "Listen," he whispered urgently. "Atticus isn't doing well, okay? He's– he's got a lot going on, at home and.. and mentally, I guess–"

   "Then why doesn't he talk to me about it?" retorted Cassie, keeping her eyes on her book. "Why be so bloody bothersome?"

   "His dad's pissed at him, Cass," said Cedric, rather seriously. "And.. I'm sure it's not my place to tell you, but you're related to him, and I'm worried, so... he's got some sort of Muggle– thing–"

   "What is it?" asked Cassie, suddenly fully invested in the conversation at hand. She looked up at Cedric. "Is– is he–"

   "Stop cutting me off," he said. "No, it's not.. it's an illness, a health thing. It's called– D– disgecsia? Didlexia? Dislegs–"

   "Dyslexia." Cassie pursed her lips. She'd read about the disorder briefly once before, but she didn't know much about it. Only that it wouldn't kill him, fortunately. "What does that mean?"

   "He said it.. messes with his brain, when he tries to read and write, I think." Cedric furrowed his brow in thought, then shook his head. "Look, what I'm trying to say is... his stepmother was right pissed when he got diagnosed with it. Said he was tainting their pureblood with Muggleness, something or other. It was horrible. Atticus wrote to me right after it happened. I'm pretty sure he was nearly kicked from the house."

   Cassie sat in silence, staring blankly ahead as Cedric's words sunk in. Atticus's stepmother nearly disowned him for something he couldn't even help? How on earth was that fair? Suddenly, Cassie's blood boiled with rage and she stood quickly.

   "That's – that's ridiculous!" she exclaimed, stuttering over her words in anger. "I mean, it's not like it's his fault—"

   Madam Pince came around the corner and hushed her. Cassie glared at the poor woman and gathered her books fervently, rushing out of the library. Cedric caught up to her a moment later.

   "Wh– what are you doing?" he asked, glancing around as they passed many confused onlookers.

   "I'm going to talk to h—"

   Cedric slammed a hand over her mouth and pulled her by the elbow into a nearby classroom. It was empty, besides the lone house elf in the corner that Disapparated the moment they entered.

   "You–cannot–talk to him," he said slowly. Cassie was stunned into silence – she had never heard him speak with such authority. "He's upset enough as it is, alright? He can't have you butting in–"

   "He was nearly disowned, Cedric!" Cassie shouted. Her cheeks were red with frustration. "He– he's your best friend, and he was almost removed from his own family because he just happens to have some Muggle thing! How are you not mad–!?"

   "I am mad, Cassie!" he said, almost matching her level of voice. He inhaled sharply and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm– I'm pissed, alright? Atticus doesn't want us involved; he didn't even want me telling you! He knew you were already under enough stress with your dad, so he made me promise not to say anything. I only told you because you've been snapping at him like a bitch lately, and I wanted—"

   "A what?" Cassie's lips parted in shock. Cedric froze, his face paling. She scoffed lightly. "You know what, Diggory? I have a feeling this argument roots deeper than Atticus. Go on, get it off your chest, then."

   Cedric clenched his fists. He turned away from Cassie sharply and exhaled, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes. "I didn't mean—"

   "But you said it," replied Cassie venomously. "You said it, and now it's out in the open. Have you felt this way for a long time, now, or–?"

   "It's not my fault you're bloody blind!"

   Cassie's lips tightened together and she crossed her arms. "Wh.. what?"

   "You've got... so many boys fancying you, alright? Do you even notice them? Weasley – he's practically tripping over himself every time you're around! And– and–"

   "And who, Diggory?"

   "Me," he replied, his voice decibels quieter than before. "I don't know how oblivious you have to be not to notice, but— I'm not even sure how long I've felt this way, only that I'm sick of you being so unaware of how I'm always stuttering around you, and – Merlin, Cass, I punched a guy for you!"

   Cassie just stared at him in silence. She bit the inside of her cheek. He watched her expectantly. After a long moment, she finally said something:

   "I need to go to lunch."

                    And, again, nobody was blind to Cassie's obvious bad mood. She ate her meal in silence, ignoring the pair of eyes she felt burning into the back of her head from the Hufflepuff table.

Ron, Hermione, and Harry were much more interested in their letter from Sirius than bothering Cassie. They spoke in hushed whispers and ate their lunches quickly, before rushing off to the common room. Cassie was unfazed.

"Cassie!" Atticus greeted warmly, taking a seat where Harry had just stood from. Cass barely spared him a glance and continued ripping her bread into tiny pieces. Atticus frowned after a moment. "What are you disemboweling that bread for?"

"Are you okay?" she asked suddenly, rounding on him. "And don't give me any of that 'I'm fine' rubbish, because I can see right through that. I know what's going on with you, I just want to know if you're okay."

Atticus stared at her in silence, his eyebrows creasing together slightly. He inhaled sharply. "Cedric told you, did he?"

"Possibly," she said, briefly glancing over at the Hufflepuff table. "Just– tell me if you're alright. Really."

"I'm f– I'm okay," he said, nodding his head. "I promise. You're the first person I would tell if something was wrong."

"Alright. Good." Cassie smiled softly. "You're not– mad at Cedric for telling me, right?"

"No," said Atticus. "I figured I should've told you anyways, so I guess he did the hard part for me, right?"

   Cassie laughed. At least one thing stayed constant in her life; bloody Atticus.

                           "How d'you reckon they're coming?" Ron asked the next day as the entire school stood excitedly outside the entrance hall. "The train?"

   "I doubt it," Hermione whispered, standing on her tiptoes to get a better view.

   "How else then? Broomsticks?" Cassie and Harry said in sync, causing them both to exhale a laugh.

   Cassie's mood had been significantly lifted since the day before. Professor Trelawney had predicted in Divination that Cassie was going to soon enter a romantic relationship, and she, Cassie, was more than excited to get the show on the road. The only question being, who was her suitor?

   "Maybe they're going to Apparate," suggested Ron. "Maybe you're allowed to do it under seventeen wherever they come from."

   "How many times do I have to tell you, Ron–"

   "You can't Apparate inside the Hogwarts grounds," Cassie finished Hermione's sentence with an eye roll. "Honestly, Ron, can't you retain any information in that big head?"

   "That's what I'm talking about!" Fred and George whispered excitedly, both raising a hand for a hive five from Cassie. She laughed and obliged.

   "Aha!" cried Dumbledore, "Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"

   "There!" a sixth year shouted, pointing over the forest.

   "It's a dragon!" someone shrieked.

   "Don't be stupid.. it's a flying house!"

   It was actually a flying horse-drawn carriage, being pulled along by a dozen winged horses the sizes of elephants. The carriage hurtled lower and lower until it reached the ground. The door opened and a long golden staircase fell from it, topped with a woman of such size Cassie had never seen before. Her eyes widened.

   The Hogwarts students began to clap; slowly at first, then much faster as the students began descending from the carriage. They were shivering aggressively which, by the looks of it, was due to their uniforms being made of fine silk. Cassie shuddered at the thought of being in such a thin layer this late into season.

   The Beauxbatons students followed their headmistress into the entrance hall to warm up. Silence fell upon the Hogwarts students again for a few moments, until–

   "Do you hear something?" Ron asked Harry.

   "The LAKE!" Lee Jordan suddenly shouted, pointing to it. "Look at the lake!"

What seemed to be a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the lake, and then came the sails.

"It's a boat," gasped Cassie, watching in awe as the entire ship erupted through the surface of the lake.

Slowly, the ship came to a stop at the lake's shore and out came the men of Durmstrang. A taller man, presumably the headmaster, called out to Dumbledore as they approached.

"Dumbledore! How are you, my dear fellow?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore replied warmly.

The two men shook hands heartily, then Karkaroff turned around to gather a full view of the castle. "Dear old Hogwarts.. How good it is to be here, how good. Viktor, come along, into the warmth.. he's got a slight head cold..."

With a collective gasp, the students of Hogwarts' eyes landed on Viktor Krum, who had just emerged from the ship and was walking inside the castle.

"It's Krum!" Ron hissed, looking as though he made pass out of excitement.

"Don't wet your pants, Ron," Cassie muttered, though she, too, stretched her neck to gather a better view of the Quidditch champion. "I have a feeling this tournament is about to get intense really quickly."