On a snowy December late afternoon, just before curfew and about half an hour before she has to leave to get to her own commong room, they are in the Hufflepuff common room, sitting on the sofa nearest to the fireplace, she lies down, with her head on Cedric's lap, and the book Cedric gifted her on her birthday a few months ago—he gifts her muggle books every year, it is like a tradition now— so close to her eyes that it covers her whole face. Cedric has another book on his left hand, and with his right hand he unconsciously plays with her hair, making an even more mess out of it.
Abruptly, like it is a sudden desicion, he closes the book he is reading and removes her book from her hands. She stares at him curiously, a questioning look on her face.
"Spend the winter holiday with me and my family." he blurts out.
Like someone shot at her a stinging hex, she rises to her knees in quarter-of-a-second and exclaims, "What?!"
She usually stays at Hogwarts on winter holidays. After going home in her first year and spending the entire holiday fighting with her mother, she never goes again except summer holidays. In her second and third year at Hogwarts, Cedric always offers to stay with her, especially on her third year when it seems "Slytherin's Heir" is attacking the students, but every time he asks, Bellatrix always declines him. This year, she thought it would be the same, not him asking her to come with her.
Cedric shrugs, trying to seem nonchalant but Bellatrix notices the slight tensing in his shoulders, and she can see him wrangling his hands together—something he only does when he is nervous.
"There is a murderer on the loose, a murderer who can break into the castle without anyone finding him, you know, it could be safer maybe leaving for the holidays."
She laughes, she cannot help it, "Ced, the murderer you are talking about is my uncle, I doubt I am in immediate danger from him."
Cedric's face twists in an emotion she cannot define, "Well, he was in Azkaban for twelve years, he could be insane for all we know, and he have never seen you, did he? What if he can't recognize you as his niece when he sees you?" he says.
She sighs, "I do not think that would be a problem, but if it makes you happy, I would love to spend the holiday with your family. It would be nice to finally be introduced to them formally." she smiles hesitantly.
Cedric smiles back at her. "Yes—yeah, good."
.
By the time the train reaches the station, she is a mess of nerves. She does not show anything on the outside, she is all smiles and laughes to Cedric and his—and by extension her friends, but inside, it takes all her strength to stop her hands from shaking, from stuttering when she talks and her head is full of pessimistic thoughts.
What if they do not like me?
What if they think I am not a good friend for their son?
What if they see me as my family, as just another Black waiting to turn to Dark?
And there is the problem that Cedric's mother is a muggle-born. Four years of being a Gryffindor, she learns to accept them, she accepts that her family lied to her about them, but there is still moments—moments that her identify as a Black surfaces, the Black in her that thinks all muggle-borns are beneath her, that they do not belong to her world, a part of her that sneers even at the thought of muggles and muggle-borns, a part of her that thinks of them as mudbloods.
And she is terrified that while she is at Cedric's house, she will live one of those moments.
She lets Cedric lead her through the platform, she does not even notice when Cedric stops, and she almost collides him. Straightening her spine and shoulders, she raises her head, and looks at his parents for the first time. His mother is smiling, being a muggle-born she probably does not know what it means to meet a Black, but his father knows and he is frowning, and he looks at her quite like looking at an insect he sees on the floor.
Bellatrix fakes a smile at them, and in a sweet voice she introduces herself. "Bellatrix Black, ma'am, sir. I am so glad to finally meet you."
.
The ride to their house is silent and awkward. Mrs. Diggory asks a few questions about school that she answers smoothly. ("Oh, so you are a Gryffindor, how nice! I hear most of the Blacks are Slytherins, there was one when I was in school too if I remember correctly, it is good you are not, hmm, isn't it Amos?") After a few attempts at forcing her husband to talk, and recieving only a few short, brusque answers, she accepts defeat and stops talking completely.
When they arrive at the house, Mrs. Diggory ("Oh, all me Mary, dear, there is no need to be so formal.") shows her the guest room, where she will be staying for the next few weeks, and she leaves her alone so she can "get use to the room". Once she finishes placing her belongings to the room, she sneaks in Cedric's room which is right next to hers.
"Lovely house. It is very. . .homely." she says, leaning against the door frame.
Cedric turns his head to look at her, a smile on his face. "Homely. . . That's one way to describe it, I guess."
She beams, and flops herself down to his bed, crossing her arms behind her head. She watches him for a few minutes as he takes his clothes from his trunk and puts them in his closet. After he finishes, he sighs and lies down next to her. "I am sorry about my dad, really, he just. ."
"He sees my uncle when he looks at me." she finishes it for him. "Yes, I know. You do not need to worry about it. It is what everyone thinks about me." she says, a soft, bitter tone in her voice. The school year at Hogwarts is even worse than the previous years, and she cannot help but hate her uncle for it, for all the looks of hate and anger and indignation she gets daily.
He turns his head to her side, to look at her closely, her eyes are closed and she looks like she is sleeping. He wraps his arm aroung her waist and brings her closer to him, and kisses his forehead. "They will warm up to you once they get to know you." he says firmly, and she knows he believes it. She just wishes she could believe it too.
