17- Bastard Blues

                                    

                                          

Celia was stood in Professor McGonagall's office, with numerous members of staff staring back at her.
She had just read a fictitious article written by Rita Skeeter, regarding the identity of her parents.
"I don't suppose there's any public way of proving that Skeeter was lying about it all?" Asked Celia, even though she knew the answer.
"I don't think so. To address the rumours at all, would just add fuel to the fire" replied Flitwick.
"Great. So for the rest of my life everyone is going to view me as a bastard, even though I'm not. As if my life wasn't hard enough" sighed Celia.
                          
"Rita claims in her article, that you spoke to her, is this true?" Questioned McGonagall.
"She ambushed me in Hogsmeade and asked me a few questions, but I didn't give her any information. I might have mentioned that my dad doesn't brag about me, like he does Cedric. But that's not a lot to base a whole illegitimate theory on. She must have spoken to other people as well" replied Celia.
"I don't suppose we know who told her about you running into the Forbidden Forest?" Quizzed Flitwick.
"Do we ever know how that woman gets her information?" Sighed McGonagall.
"I've banned her from coming onto school grounds, but that doesn't seem to have had any effect" admitted Dumbledore.
                          
"First Hagrid and now Celia. Who will she target next?" Asked Sprout nervously.
"I wish I knew" replied Dumbledore.
"Have you spoken to Cedric?" Questioned Celia.
"No, not yet. We wanted to talk to you first, since the article is about you" answered Dumbledore.
"It's not really though. Sure, the article is about my birth. But it wasn't written because of me, it was done to bring shame to my family, specifically Cedric, who is a Triwizard champion. Skeeter doesn't give a toss about me, I'm a nobody. She came up with this lie to ruffle the feathers of a high ranking Ministry official, like my father, and bring dishonour to his family. As if me being me, wasn't enough to bring shame to my family, now she's going to have everyone thinking I'm a bastard" groaned Celia.
                          
"It's going to be O.K. You and Cedric are going to get through this" insisted Sprout.
"Of course he will, nothing bothers the golden boy. Especially as it wasn't his identity that was thrown into question, it was mine. I'm the one who's going to suffer, even though he was the intended target. So, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and throw myself off the Astronomy tower, so that I can't bring any more dishonour to my family" announced Celia.
"You shouldn't make jokes like that" scolded McGonagall.
"Who said that I was joking?" Mumbled Celia.
                          
"You and Cedric need to sit down and talk about how you are going to deal with the stares and the hate comments" informed Sprout.
"What makes you think I'd want to discuss this with him?" Questioned Celia.
"It will be better if you show a united front. Distancing yourself from him, will only make more people believe in Skeeter's lies" admitted Dumbledore.
"I'm sorry Professor, but I don't like my brother. And not even this disaster will convince me to hang out with him. He makes my life miserable" revealed Celia.
                          
"We can't force you to talk to your brother. But we strongly suggest that you do, at least once, so that you can try to deal with this situation together" announced McGonagall.
Celia sighed, "Alright, I'll talk to him, once. But I have no intention of getting all buddy with him, just to deter the rumours".
"I guess that's all we can ask for... You should return to the Great Hall and finish your breakfast before your first lesson" instructed McGonagall.
Celia nodded and headed towards the door.
                          
"Miss Diggory, if you do find yourself with troubling thoughts, you can always talk to one of us, or Madam Pomfrey" informed Dumbledore.
"Thank you Professor. I will think about your offer" replied Celia, before leaving the room, knowing full well that she had no intention of talking to a teacher about her feelings.
She didn't want to sit in the Great Hall and get stared at either. 
So instead of finishing her breakfast she headed outside and sat in front of the lake. Since no one else was out there, due to the temperature being below zero, Celia had the space to herself.

                          
"Are you cold?".
Celia looked up and saw Viktor Krum standing next to her wrapped in a towel, as he had just finished his morning swim in the lake.
She had been so lost in her own thoughts, that she hadn't heard him approach.
"I am cold. But don't worry about me. No one else seems to" mumbled Celia.
"Are you sure you are O.K?" Questioned Viktor.
"I mean, it's the worst day of my life, but apart from that I'm fine" replied Celia.
"Vot has happened?"
"Do you not read the Daily Prophet?"
"No. Vhy?".
                          
"Rita Skeeter has told the whole world that I'm apparently a bastard, simply because I do not look or act like my brother" revealed Celia.
Viktor sat down beside her, "Cedric is nice".
"Yes. He's very good at being nice. That's why the Sorting Hat placed him in Hufflepuff. It's just a shame that everyone else is not as kind as him" admitted Celia.
"I vink you are the same. You have same eyes" informed Viktor.
"Thanks. That's probably about the only similar feature we have"
"You are kind too"
"No, I'm not. I'm sarcastic and cold-hearted. Whereas he's warm and friendly".
                          
"I vink you are nice" informed Viktor.
"Well, you're probably the only person who thinks so" sighed Celia, as she pulled her knees in and hugged them tight to her chest.
"You talk to me. Most girls just vant me to sign an autograph vor them. Vat makes you nice" admitted Viktor.
"I talk to you, because you talk to me. Not many people do, because I'm weird. Although, if my brother saw you talking to me, he would think that you were only being nice to me, to get information on him" replied Celia.
                          
Viktor frowned, "Vhy vould he vink that?".
"That's what he thought when he saw me kissing a Beauxbatons boy at the Yule Ball. He assumed the boy was only with me to get information on him, which he could then pass onto Fleur" explained Celia.
"I vink he vas just trying to protect you" replied Viktor.
"That's also what he claimed he was doing. But I don't need his protection".
                          
Celia heard the period one bell go off, and she sighed, knowing that she needed to head to Potions.
"I've got to go to class" admitted Celia, even though she made no attempt to get up.
She was a good student, with a perfect attendance, but that morning she really did not want to go to class.
If she went, she knew that everyone was going to stare at her and whisper behind her back.
But she knew that if she didn't go, it would make the rumours even worse, and more people might believe that they were true.
                          
"You could pretend to be sick" suggested Viktor, who noticed Celia's hesitance to get up.
Celia smiled, "I don't think anyone would buy it. They would all know that I was faking it. Besides, I can't hide my face forever. At some point I am going to have to walk back into school. So, I might as well do it today, and get it over and done with".
"Vell, if you ever vant to talk to me again, you know vhere to vind me, as I alvays have my morning swim here" admitted Viktor.
Celia stood to her feet and sighed, "Thanks. If I ever want to take you up on that offer, I'll let you know".