i. the portkey

THERE'S A SAYING THAT MUGGLES have, one that goes on like 'the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb' and it's proverb that October Black has heard for most of her life. She supposed that she should've known the meaning behind those words better than anyone– as someone who only knew a small amount of her blood relatives (it's fun being disowned!). Her cousins Andy, Ted and Dora are the only blood family that she actually knows; and hell, her uncle Moony isn't even her real uncle, but she loves him all the same and loves to pester him, and he'll lovingly call her a rightful pain and say that she's the closest thing that he'll ever have to a child in the same sentence. October is a hundred and ten percent sure that her uncle Moony absolutely adores her, and she's right.

There's Cedric too, the boy that took her under his wing after everyone was weary of the Black that was just sorted into Hufflepuff (a second-gen disappointment to the Black family!). He quickly became her best friend, the closest thing she ever had to a brother, and her captain within the last year. Even with some of the few friends she's sort of made since her first year, Cedric Diggory will always have a special place in her heart.

But now, there's the subject of her father, Sirius. He's a rightful stranger, but now, he's free and some know of his innocence, and with each passing day October is getting to know the man. She enjoys the letters sent, and her uncle Moony and mother no longer stray away from the questions and the stories of their shared youths.

"Did you even sleep, Black?"

She's pulled away from the letter that was clutched tightly in her hands, and her attention is redirected towards Cedric, who's stood in his bedroom doorway. A piece of toast hung from his mouth as he brushed out his hair. October lowered the letter, and folded the parchment gently; she hasn't allowed anyone to see the words that were neatly scribbled yet.

"With your snoring?" October quipped playfully, and she cocked an eyebrow at the older boy. "I'm surprised that even you slept. You're loud, Diggory, and it's annoying. I feel bad for your dorm-mates."

Cedric rolled his eyes at the girl seated on his bed, and chucked the hairbrush at her. He's not at all surprised when she caught the handle, and then dropped the brush on the floor with a glare directed towards him. Instead, he's quite proud of the reflexes she's developed since she's joined the quidditch team.

He took the toast from his mouth, "Dad says you need to get shoes on and get something to eat before we leave. He wants to be gone soon."

"Why so bloody early though?"

"I dunno," Cedric shrugged, and a moment passed before he narrowed his eyes on the parchment in her hands. He nodded his head, "Who's that from? Sirius?"

October felt the heat rush to her cheeks as she nodded briefly, pulling the letter closer to her body. Technically, he wasn't supposed to know; his father worked for the ministry and all, but this wasn't a secret that she could keep from her best friend. Besides, only a small handful of people knew that Sirius Black was actually innocent from the crimes that he was accused of twelve years ago.

She smiled softly, "He's talking about us being a family again, Ced. Rekindling with mum, getting to know me, and taking in Harry. It'll be nice, I think."

Cedric mirrored her grin, if not grinning larger. In the (almost) four years he's known October Florence Black, he knows that this is extremely important to her, especially now that she knows the truth. If only the rest of the world knew too, then things could be better for her.

"It will be," he reassured her, "But seriously, Tobie, get your shoes on. Dad's ready to leave, he's making me anxious."

October scowled at the nickname. "Yes, captain."

He grinned again as the girl finally pulled herself from the bed, and stalked over to her bag, tucking the letter into a hidden pocket. She pulled a light jacket over her t-shirt, despite that it was August— but in her defense, the morning air was a bit cold before the sun rose. October reached for her shoes, and by the time she had tugged on her sneakers and looked up at Cedric, he was finished with his toast and waiting impatiently.

In a rush, she hastily grabbed her wand and swung her small knapsack over shoulders before she ran downstairs after Cedric. October nearly collided with the boy's back as he stopped in the kitchen of the family home, after he earned a particular scolding glare from his mother. Her frown had dropped upon her attention landing on her son's best friend.

"Good morning, October." Laurel Diggory greeted the young girl with a bright, yet tired smile. It was no secret, as soon as they left, Laurel would go back to bed to enjoy a few more hours of peaceful sleep. "Are you hungry?"

October grinned, "Good morning, Mrs. Diggory." She shook her head slightly, "Not much. I'll take some toast and grape jam, though."

Cedric groaned as his mother nodded and turned around to grant October's wish. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think that October was your favourite child. That's not fair, mum."

"My favourite children are the children that I didn't birth," Laurel commented, her tone light. Again, she smiled at the young girl and handed her the slice of toast. "Here you go, October. Have a good day, and please keep my boys out of trouble."

"Thank you," October hummed as she took a bite of the toast. After a moment, she looked up again. "I'll do my best, but I can't promise about Ced. He tends to be a bit of a brat."

He scowled, just she had minutes earlier while upstairs, and muttered something under his breath. October tucked her wand into the waistband of her jeans as she took another bite of her toast, and with her free hand, she smacked her best friend upside his head and sent him a cheeky grin.

Just a second after, Amos came bumbling in, dressed similarly to a muggle and with a large bag that hung from his shoulders. He smiled brightly at the two teenagers. "Ready to go, trouble-makers?"

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OCTOBER FOUGHT ANOTHER YAWN, her forth since arriving on the top of Stoatshead hill just some time ago. It was still quite dark, and if the ground wasn't dewy, she probably would have sat a long time ago at the base of the large oak tree. Cedric had climbed the trunk and settled on a low branch only five minutes after arriving on the hilltop. She wasn't sure how he still had the breath to do so.

"You must be mighty tired, October." Amos commented with a soft chuckle, as he glanced at the girl. "Keep yawning like you didn't catch a wink."

She blinked slowly and nodded. "Yeah, Cedric kept me up all night with his snoring."

"Keep it up, Black," Cedric threatened, "I'll make you do laps when we go back to Hogwarts, and I'll start pelting acorns at your head."

October scoffed, "Your mother said to behave, Diggory. I'm not afraid to rat you out, and actually become your mother's favourite."

Amos chuckled softly from October's side. "You don't even have to try, dear." He whispered to her, making the teenager grin. Amos looked across the horizon, and paused for a moment, his attention focused on the shadowy figures that had appeared from the other side of the hill. "Ah, over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we've got it!"

"Amos!"

Cedric jumped from the low branch of the tree, and landed on his feet with a grunt. He snatched his bag from the ground and joined his friend's side. October sent him a soft smile as they watched the rather large group of people walk over the hilltop to join them. It wasn't hard for October to recognize the group— the Weasleys & co.

She smiled politely at the group, and tapped her foot on the soft ground. She had seen Harry, and had to restrain herself from running to him and wrapping him in a hug. October didn't get the chance to owl him as much as she wanted too over the holidays. She waited, patiently, for the group to get closer.

Mr. Weasley shook hands with Amos upon their arrival with the two Diggorys and October. "This is Amos Diggory. He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I believe you know his son, Cedric?"

"Hi," Cedric greeted politely. He knew of the Weasleys; he was between the ages of Percy and the Twins, and of course, he knew Ron because of October's new friendship with Harry Potter.

They had all greeted him back verbally, except for Fred and George. October wanted to roll her eyes. She liked the twins well enough, finding most of their pranks funny and quite ingenious, but they hadn't been fans of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, not since the Hufflepuff team beat the Gryffindors.

"Long walk, Arthur?"

October was thankful for Amos and the moment he asked Mr. Weasley about their trip.

"Not too bad," answered Mr. Weasley. "We live just on the other side of the village there. You?"

Amos chuckled softly, "Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced? I'll tell you, I'll be glad when these two get their Apparition tests. Still. . . Not complaining. . . Quidditch World cup, wouldn't miss it for a sackful of Galleons— and the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got off easy. . . especially with October's mother letting her go." Amos peered around at the group, "Are these all yours, Arthur?"

October and Cedric shared a glance with another, and he almost rolled his eyes at his father, but refrained.

"Oh no, only the redheads." Mr. Weasley pointed at his children. "This is Hermione, friend of Ron's— and Harry, another friend—"

"Merlin's beard!" Amos almost exclaimed, and his eyes widened. "Harry? Harry Potter?"

October coughed, and cleared her throat. "Mr. Diggory, that's Harry Potter. Remember, I told you that he's my god-brother. Surely, you remember? Ced and I played Quidditch with him last year."

Amos watched him for a moment, curious.

"Ah, yes!" He proclaimed, "Yes, yes. I remember now. I said to them both— that'll be something to tell their grandchildren, that will. . . You both beat Harry Potter!"

There was an awkward silence for a moment, as no one could come up with an appropriate response. Fred and George scowled at the two Hufflepuffs again, and October actually rolled her eyes this time.

"Harry fell off his broom, Dad." Cedric told him, "I told you. . . it was an accident—"

October interrupted, her eyes pointed at the twins. "—and we offered a rematch."

"Yes, but you didn't fall off, did you?" Amos questioned, slapping a hand onto his son's shoulder. October recognized that he had good intentions, but she never failed to notice that Amos loved to brag about his son. He grinned. "Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman. . . but the best man won, I'm sure Harry'd say the same, wouldn't you, eh? One falls off his broom, one stays on, you don't need to be a genius to tell which one's the better flier!"

October gave a breath of relief when Mr. Weasley pulled out his watch. She couldn't take anymore of this tension between the groups.

"Must nearly be time," Mr. Weasley reminded. "Do you know if we're waiting on any others, Amos?"

"No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already, and the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets." Amos answered, "and there aren't any more of us in this area, are there?"

October tuned the rest out as Mr. Weasley answered again, and explained to Harry and Hermione how the portkey worked. After the explanation, Amos held the dirty boot he'd been holding out, and they all crowded around in a circle of ten and reached for the boot. She had reached for the aglet on one of the laces, and listened as Mr. Weasley counted down from three.

From there, it was quick. October had traveled by portkey many times with the Diggorys, but the feeling was still something that she had yet to be fully adjusted too. Like the others, she was jerked forward and flung forward in a whirl of wind and colors that blurred around her.

Although slightly dizzy, October landed on her feet and her hand clutched Cedric's hand tightly to keep her ground. She giggled at the sight of everyone else on the ground, besides herself, Cedric, Amos and Mr. Weasley. She looked to Cedric and grinned.

"That was fun."

"Seven past five from Stoatshead hill!" A voice from behind them shouted.

October looked over her shoulder at the two wizards, then looked back to the pile of teenagers. She stepped forward and reached out a hand to Harry, which he took and she helped him up. She stood by his side as Mr. Weasley picked up the portkey and conversed with the pair of wizards.

"I'm sorry about Amos," October apologized quietly to Harry as she snuck a glance at the boy. "He tends to be very proud of Cedric, and I promise, Cedric and I really tried to get Wood to accept a rematch. We really didn't like the way that match ended."

"It's alright, October." Harry smiled slightly and accepted the apology.

"Happy birthday, by the way." She murmured, "I know I'm late. I spent some time with my cousin Dora, and she's always quite needy for my attention—"

"Tobie!"

October groaned, again, at the usage of that dreadful nickname. She smiled sheepishly at Harry. "Sorry, gotta go! Perhaps I'll see you later this week, heard Charlie was home, or I'll see you at Hogwarts!"

She didn't give Harry the chance to respond before she turned around, and ran off after Cedric and Amos. October only hoped that she'd get the chance to see Harry again before they started school again; she quite liked the idea of getting to know her god-brother.

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 the author speaks | hi, hi, hello, welcome. lowkey have mixed feelings about this chapter, but I adore Cedric & October 🥰 loving the attitude from the twins, and lowkey wanna October bring out her father's attitude to put them in their place. but anyway, enough about that, please leave your thoughts! I'm so nervous over this chapter lmao