The Queen of Vipers || Fred Weasley

III.I

Ginny's wild flowers wilted and died weeks ago. Shrivelled up petals scattered the dresser Mrs. Diggory placed them on, the vase gone dry. A box of chocolates, untouched, sat beside them as well as a large seashell sent by Fleur.

Electra rolled over in bed, turning away from the gifts that she'd been staring at for hours.

The other view was no better.

Countless letters, with wax seals that hadn't been broken, piled high on the nightstand where Atlas, Cedric's barred owl, tirelessly dropped them day after day.

They came more frequently these days; when the warm summer breeze turned cool, blowing the white linen curtains of the bedroom. But she couldn't bring herself to read them anymore. She suffered enough pain at night to endure anymore in the day.

Electra left the bed, no longer being able to bear looking at the reminders of her friends all over the room. Her bare feet hit the cold wood floors and sent a shiver up her spine.

It was chilly in just her nightgown, but she didn't bother grabbing her robe as she swept out of her bedroom. She padded down the hall, the short walk as familiar as walking the corridors of Hogwarts.

From downstairs she could hear Mrs. Diggory's voice carry up the staircase, "—nightmares, every night. Her own screams wake her—"

Ludwig, the Diggory's crup, lifted his head from where he slept outside Cedric's bedroom door. He stood and stepped aside, waiting as Electra twisted the glass doorknob. He slipped in before the door had hardly opened.

The familiar hearth-like scent hit her immediately. Nothing had been touched since last summer. His four-poster bed was haphazardly made, just as he left it the morning before leaving for school. She walked over to it, dragging her fingers across the nightstand, and crawled onto her side of his bed, flipping onto her back.

His star-flecked ceiling stared back at her. Electra zeroed in on her star, larger and brighter than it should have been, but Cedric wanted it that way, so he would never forget which star was hers. The thought made her eyes sting.

She turned her head, only to find his side of the bed empty except for Ludwig who sniffed Cedric's pillow, circled a few times and plopped down where Cedric's head used to lay, resting his head on his two tails. It didn't come as a surprise, but she didn't think she'd ever get used to not seeing him lay beside her in this bed, in this room, where he stuck her star above where he slept every night. The same bed they used to sleep together as kids in the summer.

Those summers were the best days of her life. She wondered if any summer would ever feel the same without him. Or would she always ache for summers passed?

She curled her body to the side and laid there for a very long time. Tears would not come. She'd cried herself dry within the first two weeks. Now, she felt empty.

Lugwig's head popped up.

"I thought I'd find you in here."

Electra turned her head towards the door. Mrs. Diggory's hair was in a plait —which was just about all she could manage lately.

For the first week or two (Electra had lost count of the days) no one in Meadowview left their beds. Cold meals magically appeared on nightstands. Whether or not they ate was up to them.

And then one day, Mrs. Diggory left her bed, dressed herself, and began baking. Her bread was the first hot bite she'd had in a long time.

Ever since that day she'd started coming into Electra's room, ordering her into the hot bath she'd drawn for her, and when she'd finished bathing, Mrs. Diggory would come in and brush her curls and plait them so they wouldn't mat when Electra eventually crawled back into bed, whether it be hers or Cedric's.