prospicere futurum | fred weasley | cedric diggory

37

"Alright, everyone! We should head back, but that was really... Really great." Harry's voice rang over the room and a few people called out in protest. "We'll meet again next week. Tuesday?"

There was a mixture of agreement as everyone began to pack up their things, leaving the room in small groups as Harry had requested ever since Umbridge had assigned some of the older Slytherin students as glorified hall monitors.

"This is so fun." Taylor grinned, pulling her jacket on, her eyes focusing just behind Corinne's shoulder.

"Corinne?" Harry's voice was unfamiliar, despite listening to his instructions and helpful comments for the last hour and a half. Corinne turned, her stomach jolting lightly, the way it always seemed to when she locked eyes with the fifth year. The Tri-Wizard Champion. "Can I talk to you?"

Corinne blinked, nodding before even thinking, Ella and Taylor watching concerned at her side.

"Want us to wait?" Taylor asked, quietly, waiting for Corinne to shake her head before following the last few students from the room, Cho Chang shooting Harry a final glance before turning the corner.

Corinne couldn't speak. She couldn't think of a single word to say to the fifth year at her side, despite the many times she had been itching to go to him this year. The questions she had forced herself not to ask.

It wasn't fair of her to make him relive it all. Just so she could know for sure. What had happened. What had really happened. What his final moments had looked like.

"Do you want to sit?" Harry spoke at last, nodding down at the oversized cushions still scattering the ground.

"Sure." She breathed, wishing her voice sounded stronger. Hoping he couldn't tell just how terrified she was.

"Uh, how are you?" He asked, and she ran her lip beneath her teeth, nodding slowly, mostly to herself.

"Fi- I'm... fine." She answered, honestly. She was fine. She wasn't good, she had certainly been worse.

They fell into a cold sort of silence, and Corinne wasn't sure the last time it had been this quiet in the entire school. It was as if the room was soundproof, not even the sound of the wind whistling past the castle walls could infiltrate.

"I have to tell you something." Harry finally spoke again. "Just, not really sure how to start."

"Okay." Corinne answered, slowly. Her lungs felt frozen in her chest, her heart racing faster while her brain felt empty. It was about Cedric. It had to be. That was why he was having trouble looking at her. Forming sentences. "About Cedric?" She asked him, no more than a breath.

The green eyes met hers then. "Yeah."

She nodded, too quickly, already feeling the liquid lining beneath her eyes. "Please."

"Did anyone tell you... what happened in the maze?"

She shook her head, pressing her lips together as she waited. "I didn't ask. Dumbledore, or Pomfrey, or his... parents... the funeral..."

Harry let her speak, hardly moving, eyes latched to hers.

"Do you... want to know? Or, I could skip-"

"I want to know." She whispered, pressing her hands into the soft cushion beneath her legs, feeling the hard tile, grounding herself. "Please."

"The final task, the maze... It was rigged." Harry began, "Moody - er, Crouch, I guess... Rigged it, for Voldemort." He waited, though she didn't flinch the way the rest of his friends did when he said the name. "He took out Krum, and Fleur. They never had a chance to get to the end. Everything was so confusing inside... foggy and dark and every other turn a dead end. Cedric and I found each other near the end. We found the cup."