Chapter Thirty-Three: What Is Fair?

Cordelia wasn't one to force her way through things.

She was the analytical kind, the Slytherin who kept silent and followed the script until it was the right moment to improvise. She was quiet yet observant, callous yet devious. Cordelia was the pureblood princess who seemingly knew what to do and when to do it, regardless of the situation she was placed in.

Cordelia was impeccable, but also impeccably impatient.

Camilla had gotten on her nerves more than Cordelia would admit, and that irritated her beyond measure. How could one petite French girl she never bothered interacting with affect her so much?

Every time her gaze slipped away from the mob of Slytherins around her, Cordelia's blue gaze settled on Camilla and Madame Maxime's whispering forms. It irked her how the chamber was filled with copious people, yet she seemed to be the only one who suspected something was wrong.

Her position as the Hogwarts' champion and the second person to complete the task didn't help matters. Cordelia knew exactly what people would think if she dared utter anything regarding Camilla in such a public place.

Regardless of how she painfully held back her tongue, it brought her a semblance of tranquillity knowing that Tom agreed with her on the matter. It was quite ironic how Cordelia previously presumed he would call her a sore loser and dismiss her claims.

Yet there he was, sending Camilla a glare identical to Cordelia's as they entertained to their Slytherin brethren, awaiting the moment they could silently slip away and confront the French girl.

They just didn't quite realize how quickly that moment would arrive.

"Lia-" Rodolphus waited for her to meet his gaze before he continued.

"Madame Maxime said the champions should all report to her office to collect their wands."

For a moment she simply nodded along and walked away from the group with promises of talking to them later, her mind too stuck on retrieving her wand to even comprehend anything else. It wasn't until Tom tugged on her sleeve and pulled her towards a side exit of the chamber that Cordelia noticed something perplexing.

Ms Usmani seemed in no rush to collect her wand from her headmistress. She chose to instead escape from one of the side exits of the Banquet Hall.

Cordelia tried to make copious excuses as to why Camilla didn't want her wand, but at the end of the day, it was beyond sketchy for the French girl to walk across the hall simply to use a side door when she happened to be standing beside the gold gates.

"What is she up to?"

Tom shrugged at Cordelia's question, seeming tired yet curious as they finally reached the side door.

"We'll just have to wait and see."

Camilla Usmani was more paranoid than a corrupt pureblood minister.

She had gone out of her way to take complicated twists and turns every other minute, forcing the Slytherin duo to perform wandless delusion charms.

Cordelia had soon come to realize regardless of how quiet and unsuspecting they were, Camilla would continue to be as anxious as a Bowtruckle confronting an axe.

She was the kind of person who didn't know how to hide her emotions. Someone who could wear the perfect mask of nonchalance, but couldn't stop their fidget or nervous gazing. Such people usually seemed like the epitome of perfection, but were always hiding behind a broken mask or two.

Cordelia would know, after all, she would have fit into that category if it weren't for Melania's constant lessons.

"She stopped."

Tom's sudden words snapped Cordelia out of her thoughts as she turned towards the side, noticing how Camilla paused in front of a painting of a French couple and muttered something.

They didn't waste too much time in contemplation as the Slytherins lunged forward and entered the room beyond right before the portrait slammed shut.

Much like every other room in the palace, gold trimmings and white pillars covered the room. But unlike the other rooms, a majority of the walls were painted lilac rather than blue. A small staircase stood at the right, leading to a landing area with a single mirror nestled in front and two doors towards the opposite sides.

The room paired with the minimalistic furniture lead Cordelia to presume this was the heads dorms, and Camilla happened to be Beauxbaton's queen in more than one way.

She was more surprised than Cordelia would have liked to admit. At Hogwarts, you made your way to the top by pleasing people. You had to please the professors to get into their good books, please the portraits to have them stay silent, and please your peers to earn a slither of respect or adoration.

Yet Beauxbaton seemed to be different, it was fairer than Hogwarts. The class favourite or teacher's pet wasn't thrust into the spotlight but reprimanded whereas the silent narcissists were given the opportunities they deserved.

Cordelia was unsure if she appreciated or despised the French's ways.

Her personal opinion, however, didn't matter much and was irrelevant to the task at hand. Thus, Cordelia let out a sigh and broke away from Tom, moving to the other side of the room just as Camilla sat on an armchair.

Just as she got ready to reveal herself, Cordelia paused and noticed something that made her gasp and quickly retreat back to Tom.

Camilla had her wand.

Madame Maxime had chosen to take away five of the champions' wands but left her favourite one with it.

The thought itself made Cordelia's blood boil as Tom finally caught on. She didn't bother waiting for him to do something or make a plan, the Slytherin witch simply turned on her heel and sped out of the room before she did something she would regret.

The brunette French queen sat on a throne of lies, and Cordelia was set on dethroning her.

"What do you mean it shouldn't matter?!"

Dippet flinched at her words but chose to ignore Cordelia as she left her seat and slammed her hands on his desk.

Out of the three of them, Cordelia was the only one who chose to show any emotion on the matter. Tom was comfortable with doing nothing and simply lounging in his seat while Cordelia did the dirty work. He didn't care much about Camilla cheating and had made it clear that he was solely present because he had no interest in talking to anyone after such a tedious task.

Thus she had to face the Hogwarts headmaster by herself, and in doing so risked painting her and her family in a bad name.

"It shouldn't matter if they cheated, for you were supposed to be good enough to beat them either way."

His statement made Cordelia fume as she stepped away from the desk, unwilling to say anything else as the fatigue finally caught onto her.

"It's not about being good enough, it's about being bloody fair when we're risking our lives to bring honour to your school."

She didn't bother sparing either of them a gaze as Cordelia left for the Hogwarts girls' dormitory, relishing in the shocked frown Dippet had on.

Unfortunately for her, Cordelia didn't receive the silence she cherished as she returned to her bed.

Technically, the room was ready silent and good enough for her to fall asleep, in fact, the silence wasn't what made her flinch and groan as Cordelia landed on her bed.

It was the envelope placed on her bedside with two cursive Gs in the middle.