Cookies & Cider

It wasn't until Adeen checked her calendar that she realized what day it was. With a single check of her planner, her entire day was ruined and she was moodier than usual. She stomped away towards her common room, feeling warmer by the second. She quickly pulled out her pills and swallowed 4, instantly feeling her temperature go down.

"Kalama, heading to the tournament?" One of the Weasley twins suddenly said as he popped out of nowhere. Adeen frowned. She knew Cedric was competing today, but all she could hope for was a day in the kitchens where she could eat ice cream until she fainted from the cold. She glanced back to the twin and scowled.

"No, I am not going," she muttered. She was able to pinpoint that the twin who was around her was George, the boyfriend of Cedric's crush.

"Pity. Isn't Pretty-Boy Diggory competing? He's going to be worried his lucky charm isn't there," he teased. Adeen was about to snap at him but the other twin, who also came out of nowhere, elbowed George away and glared.

"She's not his lucky charm," Fred mumbled.

Adeen frowned as she suddenly felt her body warm up in annoyance. The air around the twins suddenly became warner. The Slytherin picked up her pace and quickly outwalked the twins, leaving them behind. Fred was stunned. He knew something was bothering her as she was crankier than usual. George simply pulled his brother away towards the first tournament, his thoughts about Adeen disappearing into the now chilly wind.

~

Hannah Abbott cheered along with the rest of the Hufflepuff's when Cedric finally walked out of the tent, a hint of discomfort spread across his face. He looked around cautiously as he edged out into the clearing. He was nervous.

Hannah bit her hand to prevent her shrill scream from escaping when Cedric's dragon attacked out of nowhere. Wendy watched with wide eyes. She slowly pulled out a bucket of popcorn and ate handfuls. Hannah gave the Slytherin a bewildered look but Wendy shrugged uncaringly.

"I was hungry," she responded plainly.

Hannah frowned before quickly turning back to the tournament when she heard the crowd gasp.

Cedric performed the spell perfectly, causing one of the rocks to become a dog. The dragon soon became distracted long enough for Cedric to grab an egg, but it didn't last. The dragon caught Cedric sneaking one of her eggs, the golden one specifically, and she let out an ear-ringing roar along with a harsh breath of fire.

Wendy screamed and gripped onto Marcus' arm. Her bucket of popcorn went tumbling to the ground when the dragon's burning flame skimmed Cedric's face. But the heat didn't stop him and he ran out of the arena alive and somewhat well. The crowd roared with glee, for one of Hogwart's champion had survived. Marcus glanced at Wendy before speaking.

"Come on. Let's go see the lad."

~

"You bloody idiot, Cedric!" Hannah snapped as soon as she entered the hospital wing. The dragon burned part of Cedric's face, side, and arm, but he didn't care. Instead, he just grinned and allowed Madam Pomfrey to heal him.

"But I did good, didn't I?" He asked them cheekily. While Hannah looked like she was about to flip out, Wendy nodded her head excitedly.

"I'm impressed, Diggory. Didn't know you had it in you!" Wendy complimented. Hannah frowned at her.

"How are you feeling? Besides almost becoming an overcooked roasted appetizer?" Marcus questioned and Cedric shrugged.

"I'm honestly fine. I'm still wondering where Adeen went off to. It's not like her to miss this," he trailed off.

"She probably just lost track of time."

~

When they did find Adeen, she was in her dorm covered in ten different blankets with plenty of crumbs and wrappers surrounding her. Cedric lifted one of her blankets to see a curled up Adeen.

"You look like shit."

"Check the date."

Cedric turned towards the calendar and squinted. His eyes widened when he saw the date.

"Oh, Dee, I'm sorry. I didn't remember," he said as he slid into her bed. Wendy grunted as she laid next to Adeen on the other side. Hannah crawled on top of Cedric and laid flat and Marcus laid on top of Adeen and Wendy. The five somehow poorly managed to all cuddle on Adeen's twin size bed, before she let out a harsh gasp.

"I can't breath."

"Everyone get off of her, she's going to choke on her own saliva!"

~

After a very long attempt to coo Adeen out of her dorm, they managed to drag her to the kitchens for some food and privacy. It wasn't easy for Wendy to comfort Adeen, especially on November 17. It was a cruel date for her and although Adeen didn't show much emotion as it was, everyone could see the date of her family's death affected her deeply.

Over the years of being Adeen's best friend, Wendy learned the best way to cheer the redhead up was with food and alcohol.

"I just want to get drunk. Like crazy, drunk. To the point where I can't even walk straight," Wendy said as she stirred her soup quickly. Marcus raised an eyebrow and turned his head slowly towards her.

"We said we would never get that drunk again after what happened the last-"

"Hey! We agreed to never speak of it, Belby!" Cedric snapped harshly as he lowered his head to hide his blushing face.

"That was a great day," Hannah mused as she remembered the crazy night that consisted of them finding a raccoon and trying to befriend it, only for Cedric to have to go to the hospital because he tried to kiss the raccoon and the animal just wasn't having it.

"I honestly just want to sleep," the redhead mumbled. The bags under her eyes told her friends she hadn't been getting much sleep. Wendy glanced at Cedric before nudging Adeen.

"Come on then, firecracker. Let's get you back to bed," Cedric said.

"But aren't the Hufflepuff's throwing you a party?" Adeen asked as their snacks were cleared away by the house-elves. The five students stepped out of the kitchens.

"That isn't important, I'll walk you to the Slytherin common room," he responded.

"I know all of you want to go to the party. Go, I can walk back myself," Adeen said. Cedric was about to refuse but was suddenly spotted by the Hufflepuff partygoers. They all surrounded Cedric and began to congratulate him on his victory.

"Go with him. You act as if my legs are broken, but I'm completely fine. I'll probably join the party in a little," Adeen said to her friends. She didn't wait for an answer from any of them and left back to her dorm. All she wanted was an hour to herself before she would force herself to socialize.

She was wondering slowly through the castle when again, a redheaded twin appeared; this time without his other half. Adeen was about to turn around and go the other way but the Weasley didn't allow her to escape. He joined her side and matched her speed.

"Ain't you joining the celebration today?" He asked cheerfully. Adeen turned her nose and frowned.

"And which one are you again?" She asked. The twin puffed out his chest with a smug smile.

"I'm George, the better-looking twin."

Adeen hummed and looked over the twin once before scanning her surroundings. She finally found Fred peeking behind a corner, trying to eavesdrop on the conversation his twin and his crush were having.

Fred cursed in his head. All he wanted was for Adeen to go to the party the Gryffindor's were hosting for Harry. He knew she would've wanted to go to the Hufflepuff party, but George insisted that if he asked she would change her mind.

"You should come to the party we're throwing for Harry. In the Gryffindor Tower," George said suddenly. It was such a ridiculous proposal, Adeen couldn't hold in her snort.

"I'd rather stick my wand in my eye than to purposely surround myself with more of you Gryffindor's."

She pushed past the twin. As soon as she rounded the corner, Adeen ate two more of her purple pills and walked as quickly as she could to her dorm.

Silence was all Adeen could hope for.

Fred came out from his hiding spot and stood by George. His twin patted his arm and sighed.

"Well, I've done all I could, mate. It's up to you from here," George said before wondering off to find his girlfriend. Fred let out a hot breath of air and cracked his fingers.

"Looks like it is up to me now."

~

Adeen hissed as Wendy tried to pull on her arm.

"It's just snow, Adeen."

"Oh really, is that all it is? More like a white blanket of death waiting to suffocate me. I'm not going out there, you can't make me," Adeen snapped with her arms crossed.

"Fine. Stay here then, you weirdo," Wendy said before she ran out to join the rest of her friend's on the first snow day of winter.

Adeen glared at the white fluff that had taken over Scotland. She refused to come out from under the hall. The courtyards were piled with freshly fallen snow, and Wendy, Hannah, Cedric, and Marcus wanted to have a play day out in the white death. But unlike most people, Adeen did not care much for snow. Her fire powers had a certain hate for the cold in general.

Winter was definitely not her favorite season.

"Dee, are you really not going to join?" Marcus yelled and Adeen glared at him. He gulped.

"Well, I guess that answers my question."

"I'll see you later," the Slytherin said before turning on her heel and leaving her friends.

She headed towards the Great Hall where she was sure they were serving cookies and hot drinks.

Our of the corner of her eye, she spotted Cormac McLaggen, an annoying Gryffindor, harassing two Hugflepuff girls. Adeen narrowed her eyes. As discreetly as she could, she shot a line of fire out from the tip of her finger at his arse. Adeen fought back a smile when she heard him scream in pain, allowing the girls to escape.

Adeen held her head high as she walked into the hall, going straight to her house's table. She helped herself to a fresh mug of hot cider and placed some cookies on her plate.

"You look well."

"Feeling well," she responded without even looking up. She finally sneaked a peek when she heard him take a seat across from her. She bit into her cookie.

"You're Fred, right?"

The twin nodded, very pleased that Adeen knew it was him and not George. She looked around her table before turning back

"You sure you can stomach sitting here with a Slytherin?" She asked bitterly.

"You'd be surprised to know you being a Slytherin doesn't bother me."

Adeen scoffed.

"The other day I heard your younger brother call us, a house full of nothing but dark wizards," she quoted with a raised eyebrow. Fred suddenly blushed.

"Well, that's just one man's opinion," he muttered. He raised a mug to his lips and glanced around. He saw plenty of glares from the students surrounding them.

"Besides, it's not like your house is so welcoming either," he commented with a slight smirk. Adeen raised her head and glared at everyone staring back at her.

Adeen's intimidating look was so fierce, everyone immediately looked away. Fred chuckled at their reactions.

"I need to hang out with you more," he said with teasing voice. Adeen's face fell back into an emotionless state.

"Why are you here?"

"As I said, I need to hang out with you more. We can do great things together, Kalama. Don't ya think we'd make a great team?" Fred said excitedly.

Adeen frowned.

"No."

And she got up and left. Fred smiled widely and yelled after her as she walked out of the Great Hall.

"You and I will soon be inseparable, Adeen Kalama! I guarantee it!" Adeen scoffed as she quickened her pace.

Her face burned red as she abandoned her cookies and cider behind.

*unedited*