tell me you love me (cedric and draco)

thirty two

a/n: in honor of halloween, here's an update :)

I feel like death doesn't hurt as much as it used to.

Hogwarts is so empty now. A ghost of what it used to be. It doesn't feel right, even just looking at it. Knowing what happened that night Dumbledore died makes me sick in the stomach.

I pull my hand back from the window and lean back into the chair I'm sitting in a little more, trying my best to ignore the conversation happening in the kitchen.

"Harry if you would just listen-"

"I am listening and I'm saying no! I'm not going to have everyone continue to risk their lives in order to protect me!" Harry shouts, slamming his fist on the table, and drawing my attention to him. Not just my attention, it seems, but everyone's in the room.

"Harry, listen to me. We all want to do this. No one is making us. Now," Moody continues, reaching a hand to Harry's head, "a hair."

Moody quickly makes the polyjuice potion with Harry's hair, and hands the flask to George. "You start."

George, with a smile, takes the flask and tilts his head back, swallowing. He then hands it to Fred, who does the same, then hands it to Ron, then Hermione, then Mundungus. He then starts to hand it to Fleur, saying, "One drop left, for the pretty lady."

I stand up and walk over looking at Moody. "Why am I not getting any?"

"No." Harry says, looking at me. Well, not Harry. I think it's Fred? I can't tell.

"Why not?" I challenge, taking a step closer.

"Because this is dangerous-"

"You don't think I know that? Plus, Ron and Hermione are doing it, and you have said nothing about them," I seethe.

He gives me a pointed look and I know that it's definitely Fred. His eyes say something along the lines of "but you're you".

Fred and I were not a couple. We're not even a thing. We just sometimes flirt. And sometimes, sometimes we kiss. He doesn't feel that way about me. He doesn't love me.

At least I don't think he does. At least not in a romantic way.

"I'll take Fleur's spot. I'll go with Bill," I say, looking at Moody and holding my hand out for the flask.

Moody looks at Fleur, who looks at Bill. He shrugs, so Moody hands me the flask, and I take it and lean my head back like everyone else, swallowing the last drop.

Bloody hell. I squeeze my eyes shut and my body shivers. That tasted like absolute shite.

Nothing happens.

And then, everything happens. My entire body tingles and bile burns my throat as it works its way from my stomach to my mouth. My eyes screw shut once again and I feel myself growing longer, then thinner, then something else that I can't put into words. And then it mostly stops, and I'm able to open my eyes a little bit.

In front of me are 6 Harrys, all in an arrangement of clothing. The real Harry stands in the center, looking around at all of us, until his eyes land on me.

"Well then," Moody says, interrupting thought. "We ought to change clothes now, shouldn't we?" He pulls a bag out that is filled with identical clothing and sets it on the ground for us to grab some clothes.

I walk with the others to grab a pair, but one of the Harrys grabs me by my arm and shoves a pair of clothes into the other. "Why did you have to do this?" he hisses at me. Fred.

"Because this is just as important to me as it is to all of you," I say, resting my hand on his forearm before tearing myself away from him. He grabs my arm tighter, and looks into my eyes.

"Please don't get hurt," he whispers, letting me go, and walking back to be with George. I quickly go back to my spot from before and change into the new clothes from Moody. If this doesn't trick the death eaters then I don't know what will.

"Remember," Moody says one last time, "don't die."

------

Pain.

I think that we're the last to arrive at the Burrow. I grab my arm and let out a small whine, begging the pain to stop. It doesn't.

I fall to the ground, gasping, the pain suddenly so much worse. Bill crouches to the ground next to me and looks up to the house, his eyes panicked. "Lauren, Lauren, it's okay, you're okay," he hushes, trying his best to comfort me.

"Lauren!" Hermione yells from the doorway. I can hear her running towards me until she too crouches down next to me.

"Bloody hell," Ron murmurs. I hadn't realized he had come with her.

"Get mum, yeah?" Bill grunts, Hermione bending down so the both of them can help me up.

"What happened?" Hermione asks, looking at my arm. It's torn to shreds.

"Diffindo charm," I murmur, my eyes closing once again, as the pain starts to worsen.

Somehow, through an odd way of shuffling, I've made it to the door of the Burrow. As soon as Hermione moves to open the door, it opens for us, and Molly stands there smiling.

Her smile immediately falls and her eyes widen. "Arthur," she says behind her shoulder and instead takes Hermione's place of helping me. Mr. Weasley comes from around the corner and lets out a little gasp.

"What happened?" he asks, looking between Bill and I. I say nothing and let out a groan, the pain becoming so bad that my vision starts to go in and out.

"Arthur, get a place for her to lay down right now," Molly says through clenched teeth. Mr. Weasley clears off a table with a flick of his wand and motions for us to go over there. On my way over, I see George lying on the couch with Fred hovered over him.

"Is he okay?" I gasp, my pain starting to slur my words.

"He's fine dear, please, worry about yourself, Lauren," Mrs. Weasley fusses, guiding me to lie down on the table. Harry comes from the back of the house and sees me, his mouth making an "o".

"This is why I didn't want you guys to do this, now George has lost an ear and Lauren's arm looks like it's going to fall off!"

"George lost an ear?" I ask at the same time Fred stands up and says, "Lauren's arm?"

He comes over to my side, leaving George on the couch. He looks tired, so unbelievably tired. "I told you not to do this," he sighs.

"You told me not to die," I breathe "and I didn't."

He gives me a small smile and grabs my hand on my good arm, grasping my hand in both of his. "Moody told you not to die," he whispers. "I told you not to het hurt."

"Move, Fred," Molly says, coming up behind him with a spell book and bandages. "This may hurt a little, Lauren, but it will be over soon, okay?" she says to me. Fred awkwardly shuffles back to George and I nod as she gives me something to bite down on, sticking it in my mouth. So this is gonna really hurt.

"Where's Moody and Mundungus?" Harry asks suddenly, leaving my side for a moment to look out the nearest window, pushing the curtain aside. My heart pangs for a second before I remove the wood from my mouth, my vision blurring and turning black from the overload of pain. I think my adrenaline has finally left.

"Moody's dead," I say. Then I close my eyes and my body goes limp.