The Queen of Vipers || Fred Weasley

I.VI

The moment he'd spotted her in the Great Hall, standing far away from the buzzing herds of students, Cedric had excused himself from his Hufflepuff friends, taken one look at her bandaged hands and whispered only loud enough for her to hear over the noise, "You've got some explaining to do."

And she had.

Percy Weasley, who was absolutely living for his newfound authority, had called lights out not long after everyone was escorted into the Great Hall. With the Prefects tasked with keeping watch over the sea of students scattered across the Great Hall floor all tucked away in their purple sleeping bags, while the professors searched the castle for Black, it gave her ample time to tell Cedric what had happened. Not that she needed all that much time. It took a few minutes to brief him, with minimal questions on his end, before they lapsed into a shock induced silence.

No other Prefects bothered the two the rest of the night (save for Percy while he doled out responsibilities). She had made eye contact with the Weasley twins at some point upon entering the great hall, and upon seeing their wide eyes, quickly turned away.

She and Cedric only sat in their stupor, shoulder to shoulder on the floor and didn't speak. Not even the ghosts floated their way for a chat. Instead Electra stared up at the reflection of the night sky on the ceiling of the Great Hall.

The only thing keeping her grounded was Cedric, who at some point had taken her hand in his, both ignoring how clammy the other's hand was. Even when the teachers had come back and declared that Black was nowhere in the castle and they curled up in their sleeping bags finally, Cedric kept his grip on her like it was the only thing reassuring him that she was still beside him.

She lay awake for some time after, listening to Cedric's breathing slow and his grip on her lessen, her gaze fixed on the starry ceiling until she finally drifted into a fitful sleep.

✧

Even after almost a week, Electra still gawked at the gigantic oak doors as they glided past and up the stairs. She'd never seen them so heavily barred, looking like one of those puzzle boxes with all the different contraptions sealing them.

She had debated telling McGonagall or Lupin that there were other ways to get into the castle, but decided against it. At least until she consulted with her new partners. But that needed to be timed just right.

So until then, she kept her mouth shut.

And she wasn't the only one whose nerves were on edge. Ever since Hallowe'en Cedric hardly let Electra out of his sight. It was almost as if he was afraid she'd disappear at any given moment. "I'm fine," she hissed at him for what felt like the hundredth time as they climbed the stairs.

"I know that," he whispered back. He didn't move from where he was glued to her shoulder.

Electra groaned. They'd had this very argument at least a dozen times. "I'm not explaining it to you again. I was with Lupin the whole time. Besides—"

She looked up at him and frowned. Cedric's dark golden hair was a tousled mess and the dark circles under his eyes were starting to rival her own (which were near-permanent at this point).

"Circe Ced, you don't look like you'll make it another hour alive," she said in exasperation. "Exactly how late did Quidditch practice go last night?"

Cedric rubbed his bleary eyes. "Not that late."

She rolled her eyes. "And I'm Cyndi Lauper."

"Who's Cyndi Lauper?"

Electra waved her hand in dismissal and narrowed her eyes at him. He swiped his hand down his face and sighed. "Yeah alright, I might have still had Babbling's homework to do." He clicked his tongue in annoyance, which triggered a yawn. "Took me ages to translate that bloody tablet," he complained through his yawn.