prospicere futurum | fred weasley | cedric diggory

36

Fred piled one last pastry onto the makeshift plate he'd made from an unfolded napkin, already starting back to the Great Hall, three tall coffee cups perched precariously in his left hand. It was still early, he could feel that more behind his eyes than from glancing at his watch or the sun barely starting it's daily pathway across the enchanted ceiling.

Still, his eyes scanned the crowds as he went, pausing only briefly on any passing blonde hair. She wouldn't be up yet, probably for hours, judging by how much she had drank last night, the sun nearly up again by the time Ella had dragged her up the stairs to bed.

That's what he had told himself the last time, last year, when he'd gotten all the way up to the tower only to find out she had already left.

He wasn't taking any chances this time.

He grinned, easily, thankful as two first years emerged from the portrait hole just in time for him to slip through, the coffee hot against his skin. He dropped the pile of pastries to the coffee table and fell against the same couch he had spent the final hours of the party on less than twelve hours before. The coffee was still hot as it washed over his lips and he blinked, heavily, his thoughts flickering briefly back to his bed as he settled back into the couch, eyes latched to the staircase.

Ella would be down first. He was sure. And Taylor would sleep most of the day away, which explained the three coffee cups before him. He wasn't sure Taylor was ever up early enough to truly enjoy a full hot coffee.

He waited, ten minutes, then twenty, the sun shining through the stained glass and scattering colors over the worn carpeting. Fred leaned forward, wand held out lazily near the two untouched coffee cups until he heard them begin to bubble under the lids and leaned back once again, satisfied.

Finally, his eyes flickered up towards the stairway, spotting Ella at once. She looked no more tired than usual, though he was sure she hadn't drank anywhere near the amount of alcohol that Taylor and Corinne had managed to put away the night before.

"Weasley..." She started, spotting him at once, her eyes landing on the coffee mugs neatly lined along the coffee table. "I feel like we've been here before."

"Stevens." Fred grinned, sitting up straight, holding one mug out for the brunette.

"What, no please?" She asked, the start of a smile seeping through the tiredness.

"What, no thank you?" He forced his eyebrows into a furrow and watched the understanding settle into her features.

"This is mine?" She asked, stepping around the couch and pulling the warm cup from his hands, wasting no time before gulping down the hot coffee.

"Course." He shrugged. "If you'll bring the rest of this up to Corinne. And Taylor, if she wakes up before noon."

"That would be a shock." Ella teased, pulling the pile of pastries into her open hand, balancing Corinne's coffee in the crook of her arm and studying Fred for an extra moment. "You're up very early."

"Have to be, if I'm going to beat you." He grinned, though he could feel the sleep weighing down at his eyelids now that Ella had arrived. Now that the breakfast was nearly on it's way up to Corinne.

"Well... Thanks, Weasley. I'm sure she'll really appreciate it, I could practically feel her headache from across the room when-"

"No, don't..." Fred cut in, watching as Ella blinked, confused. "You don't have to tell her they're from me. Just... Wanted her to have a good breakfast, if she was going to wake up feeling like shit."

Ella's eyes flickered between his own and the breakfast in her hands.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." He answered, standing at last, finality lingering between them as he let the last sip of his coffee slip down his throat. "I'll see you around, Stevens." He called, already around the corner of the stairwell before she could answer, ready to collapse back into his bed until lunch.