what is beyond love? I will meet you there.
cedric diggory
goblet of fire
extended summary inside!
beautiful cover by the wonderful @c4merag1rl !!
UPDATE 3/27: new epilogue added!! <3
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WHAT IS beyond love?
As Elaine sat frozen in the stands, Cedric's letter caught in her tremulous fingertips, surrounded by overwhelming light and sound and color and chaos, her life seemed to flash before her eyes. Her life with Cedric — past, present, yet to come.
The platform at King's Cross when they were eleven, smeared sandwiches, "looking nutty." His encouraging smile as the Sorting Hat slipped over her eyes. Teaching him to dance. Teaching him to bake. Him teaching her basically everything else. Comforting him — being the strong one — when his mother was sick, when Milo was petrified, catching his tears in her collarbones as he cried in her arms. Being comforted by him — his arms a warm, solid fortress surrounding her, protecting her from the cruelty of the world. Celebrating victories, small and big. Five years of quidditch. Six years of lessons. Strawberry ice cream and summer sunsets and lightning bugs. Hot cocoa and potato soup and cold hands, knuckles brushing tentatively on a passing mug. Flowers and clouds and sweaters and rosy cheeks, pink noses. Pink knitted hats. The callouses of his palms, rough against her skin. The softness of his lips, silken against her mouth. His curls, his freckles, his smile, his laugh. His laugh.
Growing and growing old together. Learning from lessons, small and big, easy and hard. Chaos and uncertainty, careers and bills and babies and "we're going to need a bigger place." Or "it's your turn to do the dishes." Parker, with white fur on his snout, snuggling into their laps, licking their hands. Wrinkles around Cedric's eyes and creases about his mouth, laugh lines etching joy into his weathered face as the years slipped by. White hairs, a blessing rather than a curse. A marker of all the time they were able to spend together. Favorite armchairs side by side on a knitted rug before the fireplace, favorite mugs nestled together on the shelf. Gnarled hands and creaking bones and a big family with bouncing little ones.
Snippets of conversations they'd had before a fireplace, burning low and late in the night, whispered in her ears.
"Can I tell you a secret?" — "You can tell me anything, Ceddie." — "I don't want to work at the Ministry. I want to play quidditch. I want to be a star. But I won't disappoint my dad." — "You've thought about the future?" — "Sure. You haven't?" — "All I know is that I want you in it." — "Of course I'll be in it, Ellie. Don't be ridiculous. Who else would keep you from disappearing in the clouds?"
