prospicere futurum | fred weasley | cedric diggory

8.

"Congrats, Diggory!" Another new voice sounded as Cedric nodded with a grateful smile. He was certainly no stranger to the spotlight, after countless miraculous Quidditch victories and girls fawning over him the past few years, but it was clear it was starting to strain him a bit. This wasn't helped by the animosity between Gryffindor and the other three houses. Ever since Harry Potter's name flew out of the Goblet, it felt as if lines had been drawn.

Corinne slowed, glancing down at the bright colors beneath their feet. Red and gold paw-prints painted the floor beneath them, students glancing around confused before a Ravenclaw fourth year pointed towards the end of the colorful path. A red and gold striped Mrs. Norris was sitting on the first step of a flight of stairs, licking her front paw and glaring around menacingly.

"Like the colors, Diggory?" Corinne tensed at the voice, feeling Cedric's grip on her hand tighten as they spun to find the matching smirks of the Weasley twins. "Even the cat's got Gryffindor pride."

"Filch'll have you in detention for a month." Corinne glared, Cedric tugging on her arm gently towards the stairs to the dungeons.

"Just ignore them, this is what they want." He shrugged, pushing the door open and letting the blonde into Potions ahead of him, both of them headed for their usual spots. Corinne did occasionally feel bad when Ella would complain about having to do all of the work while working with Taylor, but at least this way, none of them got stuck working alone.

The Weasley's were thankfully the last to scamper into class, taking their seats near the back of the room as Snape waved the door shut with one flick of his wand, standing near the empty board at the front of the room.

"The most powerful love potion in the world, also one of the most dangerous potions we will encounter in this class. Who can tell me the name?"

Corinne glanced down at the book on her desk, knowing better than to begin to flip through the pages now. One of the Hufflepuff girl's in the front row raised their hands and Snape nodded once towards her.

"Amortentia." She answered, looking nervous even after Snape had nodded in agreement.

"For those of you who have completed today's reading, you'll find your ingredients in the cupboards. As for the rest of you, I do encourage you to read over the text before starting. Minor errors can have disastrous effects." He took his seat behind his desk and spoke again without looking up, "Begin."

Cedric flipped through a few pages before finding the potion, sliding the book towards Corinne with a small smile.

"Why do you assume I haven't read it?" She asked, brows raised.

"Have you?" He asked, knowingly, standing up to fetch their ingredients as she pulled the book closer, scanning through the text. She had only just finished when Cedric returned, dropping dried petals and small white eggs before her and taking his seat again. "Hold these?" He reached for her fingers, unfolding them and placing a couple of tiny pearls in her grasp.

"That's all I'm good for? Holding your things?" She smiled, watching as he set to work, his tongue tracing over his lips.

"No," He smirked, "You're also quite nice to look at."

The pair worked in silence, Corinne hurrying to keep up with her own steps so not to hold Cedric up, sitting back at last as he added in the sprig of peppermint and the dust from the pearls and began to stir the potion a few more times. The pink faded from the cauldron, revealing an iridescent glowing white which seemed to light the space between the two of them with it's fumes.

The two of them sat back for a few moments, scanning the room to check on everyone else's progress. Ella and Taylor were both finished, taking turns leaning over their potions as if they were arguing over the contents. Corinne turned back towards Cedric, his gaze locked onto the potion, a small smile etched into his lips.