prospicere futurum | fred weasley | cedric diggory

9

"Perfect boyfriend incoming." Taylor grinned from her spot on the next bench over which, according to her, had much better light than Ella and Corinne's chosen seats.

"Diggory, what's with the grin?" Ella teased as he drew closer, his eyes wide with excitement. Corinne could practically feel her heartbeat speed up.

"Am I not allowed to be happy to see the three of you?" He shrugged, fidgeting with the strap on his bag.

"You're allowed, though that's quite odd-" Ella trailed off as Corinne shoved her towards the end of the bench.

"Corinne, can I talk to you?" Cedric asked, nodding away from the benches as Corinne stood, offering her friends a quick goodbye before Cedric's fingers had wrapped around hers, pulling her down the hallway at top speed.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong..." He finally slowed down, glancing towards her as they continued their walk. "I just... I found out what the first task is."

"What do you mean you found out?" Corinne's lips pulled into a smile. She had been nervous since Cedric had informed her that the tasks would be complete surprises, ways to prove they could think on the spot and problem solve. Those weren't two of Corinne's strengths, and though she knew that Cedric would do fine, it was clear that he wished he could practice for something. "I thought it was a secret."

"Well, apparently not a very good one. Apparently all of the other champions know." He gave her a small shrug, pushing his way into the library and dragging her towards the other end of the room.

"How do they know?"

"Their professors, I'm guessing. The eternal glory, winning over Dumbledore's school? I guess it's worth cheating for them."

"Well, how did you find out?"

"Harry." Cedric paused as they turned into the magical creatures aisle. "Can you believe it?"

"Harry told you? What the task is?"

"Yeah," He nodded, "I can't believe him, honestly. I'm sure he could use the leg up, especially with the hate the other houses are giving him. Letting me fail would have been to his advantage-"

"You wouldn't have failed." She cut in, offering him a thin smile.

"I'm not so sure..." He chuckled, finally selecting a book from the top shelf.

"Why? What is it?"

He held out the book, watching for only a second as her jaw fell open at the title.

From Egg to Inferno: A Dragon Keeper's Guide

"You're not serious?"

"Don't know exactly what we've got to do with it... doubt it's to kill it... Doesn't really seem like Dumbledore, does it?"

"Kill it?" Corinne's words felt hushed now, even for the library. "They can't possibly expect-"

"They said the tasks would be challenging."

"They said the tasks would be safe!"

"Harry says they've got handlers up here for them. I'm sure if anything starts to go wrong-"

"Go wrong! They breathe fire!"

"I think that's only some of them..." Cedric had collapsed into the nearest table, turning to the table of contents in the book. "I'm not sure. That's why I've got to start reading."

Corinne watched as his eyes flicked over the paper for a few moments before looking back to hers.

"Hey, I wouldn't have told you if I thought you'd get upset-"