prospicere futurum | fred weasley | cedric diggory

25

There was no more water left in her body, Corinne was sure of that. Her eyes felt dry, her lips were chapped and broken, in fact, she couldn't remember the last drink of water she'd had, and frankly she didn't care.

She glanced down as the pastor continued his speech, leaning to the side in her seat to escape the feeling of her mother's fingers which had been stroking over the black lace sleeve of her dress.

"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die..." The man croaked on, though even Corinne could hear the sadness in his voice, and he hadn't even known Cedric. He was too young. Too full of life. His parents outliving him...

Corinne blinked quickly, the feeling of tears flaring up against her waterline, though nothing spilled over. She smoothed her skirt over her legs, ignoring the goosebumps that had risen to her skin, even as the perfect June breeze wafter over the mourners.

"We are grateful that you lived your life among us, even a short one..." The words filtered through her mind as background noise, her eyes latched to the casket as it fell slowly, lower and lower until she would have to stand to see into the long grave. And she couldn't stand. Surely her legs wouldn't be able to hold her now...

"We therefore commit this body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life."

The group was silent for a few minutes, only the sound of sniffles and a few mumbled apologies as people fell into each others arms before people began to leave the cemetery, the remaining group filtering smaller and smaller as Corinne's gaze bore into the stone grave stone, her eyes tracing over the familiar letters spelling out his name.

"Corinne," The unfamiliar voice pulled her from the grave and she glanced up to find Cedric's mother, Mr. Diggory a few feet behind her nodding along, his hand clasped in a slow handshake with another man in long, black robes.

"Hi." Corinne finally forced out, her mother standing at her side and reminding her to stand as well.

"It's nice to see you again, dear." Mrs. Diggory's eyes were welling up again before she pulled Corinne into a hug. "Thank you for being here."

"Course." A layer of guilt was settling into her stomach. She was being a very poor guest, making Cedric's mother seek her out, carry the whole conversation. It was the Diggory's who should be the ones frozen in place, unable to speak or think...

"We're so very sorry for your loss." Mrs. Baker said, softly, resting a hand lightly on the thin woman's arm before stepping to the side to give Corinne a moment alone.

"You let us know if you need anything... even just to talk. I'd love to talk about him, anytime." A small smile crept onto her lips, though tears were still sliding over her cheeks. "He spoke about you so often... Wrote letters every other week."

Corinne nodded, unable to come up with a single response as Mrs. Diggory finally stepped back, giving Corinne space, the warm breeze moving between them.

"We'd love to have your family back to the house for lunch. I'll give your mother the address?" She nodded, starting over to where the Bakers stood a few rows back as Corinne turned back slowly to the gravestone before her.

"Hey..." She recognized the voice, but she didn't turn. She couldn't. She thought she might just stay here for the rest of time. "It's good to see you."

She felt Lucas step closer until they stood side by side, gazes locked onto the words before them, carved into stone.

Neither of them spoke for a few moments, the guilty feeling creeping back into her stomach among the grief. This was Cedric's best friend. He had known him much longer than she had, woken up beside him in their shared dorm for the past six years every day.