Alexandra Weasley: Book 4

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Luna was already there when Alex went to see Kichiro. Alex sat next to her on the log. She was holding a necklace in her hand.
"That's a pretty charm." Alex offered, and the blonde looked up, with teary eyes.

"It was my mum's. Granny gave it to her when she married dad."

"It's the rune for strength." Alex told her. Luna nodded.

"I think it's broken, I don't feel very strong."

"True strength doesn't come from runes. It comes from your heart." Alex said softly. "It's hard, but don't let those Ravenclaw bullies make you doubt yourself. You can be strong. Just keep on going and believing in yourself."

"How?"

"Well, for one thing, none of that lot are half as interesting as you. They're all petty imitations of each other. Believe that you've got something to offer, Luna, because you do. And if you can't seem to find your strength, then you have friends who'll be that for you. You've got me, and you've got Hermione. You've even got Laila, if you want." Luna smiled a little and Alex nudged her. "Come on, let's go have dinner in the great hall. You're sitting with me, alright?"

"Alright."

Another hogsmeade weekend came around again pretty quickly. Alex was looking forward to visiting the bookshop with Cedric. She wasn't the only one going on a date. They'd seen Ginny earlier with Michael Corner. Alex in general didn't like Ravenclaws. After finding out how most treated Luna, and also meeting Cho, she harboured a deep dislike of them. But Ginny seemed to really like Michael.
"Come on." Cedric said, pulling her along from where she'd gotten lost in watching Ginny.

"You didn't have to come." She told him, as he led her into the bookshop.

"I know. I wanted to."

"You hate reading."

"You can recommend me a book with cool facts."

"But you hate reading." She repeated.

"I'm willing to give it another try." He said bashfully and she brightened.

"You should try the legend of Arlen." She said, leading him through a maze of shelves. "It's based on a true story, and has a lot of interesting anecdotes. You might even relate to him."

"Alright, I'll give it a go." She plucked the book and placed it in his hands. They marched up to the front of the store. "Wait, what about you?"

"I reserved mine, so I've got to ask up front."

"Two galleons." Arnold Fraser said. "Ah Miss Weasley. Hello, are you here to pick up the trials and tribulations of alchemical science?"

"Yes, sir." She said.

"Five galleons." He told her. She reached into her pouch to count out her money, but Cedric stopped her.

"I got it." He said, forking over the total amount for their books. "Have a nice day." He said and they left. "I thought we'd end up spending so much more time in there."

"I didn't want the temptation of buying a book I didn't need. This is about muggle alchemy. I want to see the differences between muggle work and magical work."

"Muggles have alchemy?"

"With significantly less spells and wands, yes."

"Do you really find every subject fascinating?"

"Most of them, yeah." She agreed. "It's all so fascinating and most subjects lead to one another."

"But you have to- Nan?" He broke off looking straight ahead and Alex followed his gaze to a small woman coming out of Scrivenshaft's. A man came shortly out and linked arms with her. They began to cross over and caught sight of their grandson.

"Cedric!" His grandfather called. Cedric waved.

"I almost forgot your grandparents lived in Hogsmeade."

"You've never forgotten a thing in your life." He  teased and they walked to his grandparents. His grandmother took him into a hug kissing his cheeks.

"Look at you, you've gotten so tall!" He blushed as Alex smiled wickedly, filing away the interaction for later blackmail.

"Hi, Nana. Hi, Gramps." He said, dutifully.

"And this must be young Alex, yes?" His grandfather said. "She's prettier than you described."

"Er, yeah." Alex tried not to laugh at her boyfriend's imitation of a tomato.

"Hi, Mr and Mrs Diggory. It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot of great things."

"Oh, dear!"  Mrs Diggory said. "Cedric never talks about anything but you. I feel as though I know you already."

"Imagine that." She looked at Cedric and slipped her hand into his.

"Oh!" His grandmother said. "I do hope we're not interrupting."

"Not at all, Nan." He said. "Alex was just about to look for an excuse as to why we couldn't go in to the quidditch supply store."

"I was not." She denied. "Though, I'd like to hear more about what you've been saying about me." She turned to his grandparents. "That is, if you're not too busy?"

"Nonsense." Mr Diggory looked at his watch. "It's about teatime. How about we go to the cafe?"

"Sure." Cedric said, looking like someone who was heading to their own funeral.

Needless to say, Alex's blackmail list grew ten times bigger in that encounter.
"You are never to speak a word of what my Nana said ever again." He said.

"But Ced! It would be a crime not to share. And I've got pictures." She held up a picture of a young Cedric being fitted for his first ever robes.

"Give those back." He tried to reach for them but she pulled them away.

"They're mine now."

A/N- I have a lot of favourite friendships, but I have to say, Alex and Luna are actually top tier 🥺😭 I love them. Also, Cedric's grandparents. She's basically met his whole family now 😂