prospicere futurum | fred weasley | cedric diggory

39

Corinne sat in the empty common room, her feet tucked up beneath her, enjoying the warmth from the fire. It had begun to dwindle half an hour ago, since nearly everyone had long retreated to their dormitories long ago, but after a quick incendio, it was back up and roaring through the fireplace.

She had the small, worn copy of Little Women open on the couch in front of her, tracing over the words by the fire's light.

Ella and Taylor had tried to outlast her, Ella forcing Taylor to work on the last bit of her homework, though they all knew Taylor had already given up. It was the last week before Christmas break, and even Ella had lost her motivation.

Finally, when Taylor's eyes were too heavy and Ella feared she might end up dragging her up the stone stairwell to bed, they gave in, bidding Corinne goodnight and heading up to bed.

Corinne wondered, briefly, what time it was, though not caring enough to move over to the clock at the far end of the room. The sliver of a moon shining through the window was enough, and it didn't matter anyways. Tomorrow was Saturday, and she could sleep the whole morning away if she wanted to.

Her gaze fell on the smudge of ink at the edge of the book as she turned the page, resisting the typical eye roll that came with every discovered annotation Fred had scribbled into her favorite book the year before.

-If I am not mistaken, she will be rich in the possession of a good man's heart, and that is better than a fortune.

Corinne plucked the book up from the couch, bringing it closer to her eyes as if she would have had any luck making out any words through the smeared ink. It was as if he had run his fingers over it before the words had even dried.

She sighed, feeling for her wand at her side and dragging the tip carefully along the worn page, watching the ink fade into nothing, until the paper was white once again. She skimmed over the next few pages, letting the thin edges of the book flip through her fingertips, stopping every few chapters to scan over the top of the page. She hadn't gone this long without re-reading her favorite book in so long, but she did usually skip over the middle section, where Beth was sick and there was nothing anyone could have done about it...

She liked to get lost in her books, even ones she had read a dozen times before, though ever since last Spring, she had had very little interest in reading anything for fun, and even less faith that books would be able to pull her mind from reality the way they used to.

Her eyes caught on another mark of black, and she slid her finger through the flipping pages, turning back one, then two, until she found the note.

Jo had learned that hearts, like flowers, cannot be rudely handled, but must open naturally.

Corinne blinked, her eyes scanning over the messy handwriting at the edge of the paragraph, the looping S where Fred had scribbled.

I'm sorry

Her fingers trailed over the long dried ink, just barely, her mind drifting to an image she had refused to let herself dwell on last year. Fred, tucked away in the boys dorm, hunched over her book, scribbling notes he knew she would eventually find. A shudder ran down her spine, though she ignored it, sitting up straighter just as the portrait door swung open.

Her eyes flashed across the room, meeting Fred's at once, the book snapping shut on the couch as if he would have been able to see anything from the doorway. He looked... tired. Upset. She wasn't used to the sight, a Weasley without the infamous grin. One arm hung at his side, his other hand wrapped tightly over the other as he slowed, eyes locked to hers as the door slammed shut behind him.