prospicere futurum

"Congrats, Diggory!" Another new voice sounded as Cedric nodded with a grateful smile. He was certainly no stranger to the spotlight, after countless miraculous Quidditch victories and girls fawning over him the past few years, but it was clear it was starting to strain him a bit. This wasn't helped by the animosity between Gryffindor and the other three houses. Ever since Harry Potter's name flew out of the Goblet, it felt as if lines had been drawn.

Corinne slowed, glancing down at the bright colors beneath their feet. Red and gold paw-prints painted the floor beneath them, students glancing around confused before a Ravenclaw fourth year pointed towards the end of the colorful path. A red and gold striped Mrs. Norris was sitting on the first step of a flight of stairs, licking her front paw and glaring around menacingly.

"Like the colors, Diggory?" Corinne tensed at the voice, feeling Cedric's grip on her hand tighten as they spun to find the matching smirks of the Weasley twins. "Even the cat's got Gryffindor pride."

"Filch'll have you in detention for a month." Corinne glared, Cedric tugging on her arm gently towards the stairs to the dungeons.

"Just ignore them, this is what they want." He shrugged, pushing the door open and letting the blonde into Potions ahead of him, both of them headed for their usual spots. Corinne did occasionally feel bad when Ella would complain about having to do all of the work while working with Taylor, but at least this way, none of them got stuck working alone.

The Weasley's were thankfully the last to scamper into class, taking their seats near the back of the room as Snape waved the door shut with one flick of his wand, standing near the empty board at the front of the room.

"The most powerful love potion in the world, also one of the most dangerous potions we will encounter in this class. Who can tell me the name?"

Corinne glanced down at the book on her desk, knowing better than to begin to flip through the pages now. One of the Hufflepuff girl's in the front row raised their hands and Snape nodded once towards her.

"Amortentia." She answered, looking nervous even after Snape had nodded in agreement.

"For those of you who have completed today's reading, you'll find your ingredients in the cupboards. As for the rest of you, I do encourage you to read over the text before starting. Minor errors can have disastrous effects." He took his seat behind his desk and spoke again without looking up, "Begin."

Cedric flipped through a few pages before finding the potion, sliding the book towards Corinne with a small smile.

"Why do you assume I haven't read it?" She asked, brows raised.

"Have you?" He asked, knowingly, standing up to fetch their ingredients as she pulled the book closer, scanning through the text. She had only just finished when Cedric returned, dropping dried petals and small white eggs before her and taking his seat again. "Hold these?" He reached for her fingers, unfolding them and placing a couple of tiny pearls in her grasp.

"That's all I'm good for? Holding your things?" She smiled, watching as he set to work, his tongue tracing over his lips.

"No," He smirked, "You're also quite nice to look at."

The pair worked in silence, Corinne hurrying to keep up with her own steps so not to hold Cedric up, sitting back at last as he added in the sprig of peppermint and the dust from the pearls and began to stir the potion a few more times. The pink faded from the cauldron, revealing an iridescent glowing white which seemed to light the space between the two of them with it's fumes.

The two of them sat back for a few moments, scanning the room to check on everyone else's progress. Ella and Taylor were both finished, taking turns leaning over their potions as if they were arguing over the contents. Corinne turned back towards Cedric, his gaze locked onto the potion, a small smile etched into his lips.

"What?" She asked, turning towards him.

"Nothing." He shrugged, meeting her eyes.

"Why are you smiling?" Corinne kicked his foot lightly, earning herself a chuckle.

"What do you smell?" He asked, leaning towards her again when she looked confused. "The potion. What's it smell like to you?"

"I didn't..." She trailed off, looking a few times between Cedric and the cauldron, the white furls of smoke drifting towards her when she realized. She had assumed the familiar scent had been due to the proximity of the boy beside her, the citrus and cedar, the way the grounds smelt after it had rained. "Why does it smell like you?"

His grin deepened, "Does it?"

"You don't smell it?" Corinne looked towards him, eyebrows drawn.

"I smell it." He nodded. "It doesn't smell like that to me."

"What's it smell like to you?"

Cedric ran his tongue along his back teeth, watching her for a second before answering. "Like you."

He laughed as her mouth fell open, leaning back towards the cauldron again for another sniff before sliding the book towards her once more and flipping the page.

Amortentia is commonly thought to be the strongest and therefore most dangerous love potion ever created. It can be recognized by it's pearl coloring, as well as it's perfect spiral fumes when brewed correctly. The potion is said to smell differently to each person based upon what most attracts them.

Corinne felt her cheeks go pink, glancing back to the Hufflepuff beside her.

"You smell me?" She whispered amongst the surrounding voices. It seemed that most of the teams had finished their own potions by now, although she could tell by the fumes that some of them would not be getting full marks.

"Of course it's you." He leaned back again, eyes scanning her face with a grin. "You're blushing."

"What do I-"

"It sounds as though you've all finished, although," Snape trailed off, pausing in front of a group of Gryffindor's in the second row. "I'm not sure I agree." His cloak whipped behind him as he continued up and down the rows, pausing to issue a scoff or an eye roll every few desks.

"Ms. Johnson. Seeing as you and Ms. Spinnet have managed to brew a successful potion, could you kindly tell the class what you two can smell in your Amortentia?" He drawled, leaning against the desk at the front of the room.

Angelina paused, trading a horrified look to Alicia before answering. "I smell... cinnamon and smoke... something sweet... maybe vanilla?" She answered and Corinne watched George elbow Fred beside him with a grin, yet Fred's eyes were planted firmly on their cauldron, no trace of a smile painting his face.

"Adams?" Snape turned on a small Hufflepuff just two rows ahead of Corinne. "Your potion?"

"I smell caramel for sure... might be pumpkin and flowers." The boys face was turning pink as Snape stared at him, saying nothing as he crossed back to the other side of the room, his eyes landing on the Weasley's.

"Weasley?" He drawled, George's eyes lighting up with mischief.

"Which one, Professor? You know, you've really got to specify, or we get confu-"

"Not you." He cut in, pressing a finger to his temple. "I think the class has heard quite enough out of you this morning."

Fred looked up at Snape, still towering near the front of the room, eyebrows raised as he waited.

"You know, Professor, I really can't quite place it-" He admitted, leaning back in his chair with a shrug.

"Try." Snape said, his face growing more annoyed by the second.

"I just think if George can tell what his is, you know, we really are two peas in a pod-"

"Mr. Weasley, I will not ask again."

Fred's smile faltered for only a second, his eyes flicking towards Corinne before sliding to Cedric's, the familiar mischievous grin pulling to his lips. He leaned in towards the cauldron, taking an obnoxiously long sniff, students all around the twins snickering beneath their breaths.

"Smells like... lemon, and vanilla and..." He jerked his head, meeting Corinne's eyes once more. "Honeysuckle."

Cedric's quill snapped in his grip and Corinne's eyes flew down, watching the ink splatter across the table, a few drops painting the collar of her shirt.

"What did you do?" She bit back a laugh as Snape instructed everyone to begin bottling their potions to turn in. "Hey, what's wrong?" Cedric's gaze was still latched to the red-heads a few rows ahead. "Why's he staring at you?"

"He's staring at you." Cedric answered, and Corinne glanced back towards Fred, their eyes meeting, Fred's eyes looking dark, contrasting his smile. In fact, a few of the students around them were glancing between Fred and Cassidy, stalling as they filled empty vials with their potions and headed up towards Snape.

"Is that what... Did he say what I smell like?" She whispered, setting her fingers gently on Cedric's hands which were still clamped around the quill on their desk.

"Yes." He answered, dropping the broken quill at her touch and tapping it with his wand, the pieces joining together before he cleaned the ink from the table and Corinne's shirt.

She felt her stomach drop, scooping a small amount of their potion into one of the crystal vials, whispering a quick scourgify at the cauldron as the potion drained away. She refused to look to where she could hear George and Lee laughing.

"He's joking. He's trying to get under your skin." Corinne explained, pulling her bookbag around her shoulder and starting towards the front of the room, setting her vial among the others and hurrying back to Cedric, both of them starting towards the exit.

"How does he know what you smell like, Corinne?" Cedric pointed out. "He's not joking,"

"Joking?" Fred appeared in the doorway, a lopsided grin painting his face. "Course I'm not joking."

"Weasley, drop it." Cedric's eyes were lit up in a way Corinne had never seen before, his grip on her hand tightening as he pulled her alongside him towards the staircase.

"Hey, I can't help what I smell in my own potion, right Georgie?" He looked towards his twin, who Corinne noticed looked nervous for possibly the first time in his life.

"Fred." He muttered, reaching for his brother, missing his arm only when Fred pulled out of his reach.

"Maybe we should be asking what Corinne smelled in hers. That seems like the bigger question here."

Cedric's hand had dropped hers before she had even registered the comment. He spun towards the red-head, wand no where to be seen. Both of them lunged at once, Fred shoving Cedric hard against the stone walls as Corinne jumped out of the way, the few students left in the hallway screamed, flattening themselves against the walls to watch.

"Cedric!" Corinne screamed, taking a step towards the fight where Cedric had now forced Fred onto the ground, his fist colliding with Fred's cheekbone, a cracking sound echoing around the dungeons. "Stop! Stop it! Please." She cried, reaching for Cedric's arm and pulling with all her might.

"What is going on?" Snape's voice emerged from the classroom, scanning over the students, Cedric now stood over Fred who was clutching his face below his left eye.

"Nothing professor. Just slipped." Fred exclaimed, his voice sounding completely normal as he let go of his face, hopping to his feet and strolling past the rest of the students up the stairs which were now colored with red and gold paw prints as well.

"Everyone, on to your next class." Snape said, his eyes landing on Cedric before he disappeared into the room, the door slamming behind him.

✵

Corinne sat on the couch across from the fireplace. It was weird, studying alone. Since she and Cedric were in all of the same classes, they had been working on homework multiple times a week, although Corinne had a feeling the Hufflepuff was deliberately saving his to work on with her.

This was not the case tonight, as Cedric had been stuck in an afternoon meeting for the tournament after classes, pushing his Quidditch practice even later than usual. Studying alone was, however, a much quicker ordeal. She was nearly finished with the essay, and it wasn't due for another two days. She knew that Cedric wouldn't copy from hers, but she wanted to have it available if he needed notes. He was already so busy, she didn't know when he was going to find any time to practice for the challenges, much less compete in them.

"Now, what's a gorgeous thing like you doing in here all alone?" Fred's voice carried over the slam of the portrait door. Corinne glanced up for only a second, meeting his eyes and dropping them when she felt her stomach jolt. She had been avoiding him for days, which was quite a feat, considering the Weasley's were well known for being everywhere they shouldn't be.

"What'cha working on, love?" He threw himself onto the couch beside her and she sighed, letting the parchment roll in her lap before sliding to the edge of the couch.

"Oh, come on. You're not really ignoring me, are you?" He ducked his head down towards hers, trying to catch her eye. "Corinne."

"Please go away." She answered, her voice sounding cold and bitter.

"Well, since you asked so nicely." He kicked his feet onto the coffee table before them and leaned back against the couch. "Why are you so mad at me?"

She shook her head, scribbling the final sentences on her essay faster now. She could just finish and head upstairs for the night.

"Corinne, come off it." He whined, nudging her foot with one of his own, "At least yell at me-"

"Fred, you embarrassed me. In front of the whole class." She snapped.

"Oh, come on. How-"

"Everyone knew who you were talking about, you were staring right at me."

"Don't be so conceited, Baker." He grinned, the look fading away at once as she started piling her things into her bag. "Wait, Corinne, come on! What did you want me to do? Snape called on me, I didn't volunteer!"

"You could have told the truth." She muttered, shoving her paper into her bag now, hoping the ink was dry. "And stop joking around just to get a rise out of people."

The blonde threw her bookbag around her shoulder and stepped out from the couch, not glancing back at the red-head until his fingers surrounded her wrist once again, pulling her eyes to his. Her face fell at the sight. Deep blue and purple bruised beneath his left eye.

"Fred..." She didn't know where the sentence was going.

"I'm not joking." He cut in, "I've never been joking about this, Corinne. And it really bothers me when you say it."

Corinne glanced at his hand, still holding tightly to hers, before her eyes locked onto his brown ones, looking honey-colored in the light of the fireplace. Her own eyes kept returning to the purple bruise just above his cheekbone, the dark colors looking out of place beside his pale skin, his fiery hair.

"You can't be serious, Fred." She whispered, as if she was speaking only to herself. "You're never serious."

She watched as his chest rose and fell once, dropping her hand back to her side and standing up, the couch separating them. The light was gone from his eyes, the honey color gone with it as he nodded. "Thanks, Corinne." He replied. "Fuck you too."

Corinne winced, watching as he stormed from the room, the portrait door slamming shut once again as she was plunged into silence, the only noise the soft ticking of the clock over the fireplace. She realized she could sit back down now, finish the essay, wait for her roommates to come back upstairs. Still, she stepped quickly towards the staircase to the dorms, eager to escape the deafening hush, the re-playing of Fred's last words through her mind.

✵

"Corinne!" Ella snapped twice in front of her roommates face, jolting Corinne back to their conversation. It was Friday, and their lessons began half an hour later, which meant that Corinne had for once allowed herself to sleep in with her friends.

"What? Sorry." She muttered, taking another bite of her breakfast.

"Does Cedric know what the first task will be, yet?" Taylor asked again, eyeing Corinne as she waited for the answer.

"Oh, I don't know. He had Quidditch after the meeting last night, I haven't seen him yet." Corinne eyed the deep red strawberries in the fruit bowl ahead of them, knowing better than to allow herself one. Not when she would see him any minute.

"Good morning." The familiar voice sounded low against her ear before she spun to face him, jumping from her seat and grinning up to him.

"How'd it go?" She asked at once, glancing back to her roommates. "They've been hounding me for answers."

She shoved her bag to the floor, making a spot for the Hufflepuff to sit with them, although judging from the glances the rest of the table was shooting them, this was an unwelcome gesture. She looped one leg over the bench and lowered herself down before falling, with a shriek, straight onto the stone floor. A couple of gasps could be heard before the table shook with laughter as Cedric grabbed one arm in each hand, pulling her up and nudging his knee into the wood of the bench, his leg passing straight through, as if the table was made of nothing.

He glanced down the table at once, the laughter dying down as his eyes darkened, his lips drawn together in a deep frown, locking eyes with Fred Weasley. Corinne followed his gaze, her stomach sinking as she watched Fred glare, George and Lee looking guilty down at their plates.

"Come on," Cedric sighed, grabbing Corinne's bag from the ground and looping it over his own, grabbing a muffin and an apple from the table. "I'll walk you girls to class?"

"Only if you tell us about the tournament!" Taylor joked, pulling Ella up beside her, the three of us following Cedric towards the exit.

"Are you alright?" He asked, scanning over the blonde, reaching down and brushing a patch of dust from her tights.

"Mhm." Corinne nodded, taking the muffin he held out towards her and breaking off a bite from the top.

"No one even saw. Everyone else is at class." He tried, though from the laughter that had echoed around the hall, Corinne knew he was wrong.

"It's fine." She whispered as her friends caught back up with them at the door.

"So, what did they tell you, Hufflepuff?" Taylor beamed and Cedric let out a soft chuckle.

"Absolutely nothing, Gryffindor." He retorted, slowing a bit to let the girls catch up. "It was over two hours of Ollivander checking over our wands and photos and interviews for the Daily Prophet."

"Oh, promise you'll remember us when you're famous, won't you Diggory?" Ella teased.

The four friends reached their classroom at last, Cedric stalling as Ella and Taylor entered, his fingers surrounding Corinne's and pulling her gently a ways down the hall.

"Has he been bothering you?" He asked, Corinne's eyes watching as his fingers played gently with her own.

"No." She answered, knowing at once who he was talking about. "Could have been an accident. Maybe he was trying to get you."

Cedric rolled his eyes, leaning against the stone walls. "Oh, yeah?"

"You did give him a black eye." Corinne murmured, shooting the tall boy a stern look.

"Well, I wouldn't have if I'd known he would take it out on you." He dropped her hand, slowly reaching his fingers to rest at her cheek, eyes studying hers. "I'm just worried. About him with you. Your common room, and classes."

"They're harmless." She assured him, offering him a small smile. "They think they're funny. They're not going to hurt anyone."

"I think I'll keep an eye on you all the same, Corinne." He pulled her face up, pressing his lips to hers until they were forced apart by the bell, Cedric nodding for her to get to class before turning and starting off towards his own.

✵

"Morning, everyone." Corinne smiled, dropping her bag to the bench beside Cedric before sliding it out of her way and taking her seat. Even though she knew from her glance to the mostly empty Gryffindor table that the twins weren't around, she had been testing nearly every seat for the past three days now.

"Morning, Cor-Cor." Lucas grinned, and she shook her head with a laugh at the name.

"What are we looking at?" She asked, sliding a hot mug of coffee to herself.

"Nothing," Cedric answered at once, grabbing for the Prophet they had all been huddled around before Mark pulled it from his reach with a smirk.

"Your boyfriend's famous, Corinne." Mark tossed her the paper and Cedric sighed, sinking his chin onto his fist as he watched Corinne's eyes scan the black and white page.

"Cedric Diggory, one of Hogwarts two champions, a sixth-year Hufflepuff student was eager to speak with me, his excitement for the tournament evident not only in his words, but in his eyes..."

The boys burst into laughter and Cedric nodded along through a tight smile. "Laugh it up. That's all rubbish, I didn't say anything like that and she only talked to me for like five minutes."

"Your eyes said it all, Diggory." Lucas teased as Corinne returned to the paper. She could tell that most of it was probably rubbish, but the picture of the champions gracing the top of the article on the front page of the Prophet, Cedric's carefree smile drawing her eyes back to it every time they strayed.

"Can I keep this?" She asked, looking up to her boyfriend.

"If you want." He shrugged, returning to his breakfast as Corinne folded the paper neatly and tucked it into her bag. "Roommates still asleep?"

"They're playing dead." Corinne answered, stealing a piece of his muffin as he smiled at her amused.

"There's a whole stack of them right there, why are you stealing mine?"

"I just want a bite!" She shrugged, taking another sip of her coffee. "When do you find out about the first task? We've got to start planning."

"Oh, we?" Cedric bit back a grin, sliding her the rest of his muffin and grabbing a new one from the pile.

"If you want to win, then yeah. I'd suggest you take all the help you can get." Lucas chuckled, leaning back in his seat as Cedric swatted a hand towards his friend's face. "I'm going, I'm going. You two can play kissy face, I'll see you in class." He slung his bag over his shoulder, the rest of their housemates standing with him while Corinne prayed for the heat to fall from her cheeks.

"Listen, I do need your help, badly." The brunette leaned closer, his lips nearly brushing her face as he spoke.

"What can I do for you?" She spoke softly, although they were alone now, the seats all around them nearly empty.

"It's just that I've only got one class with you, and it's not today."

"Oh, that's your problem?" She couldn't stop the laughter as it spilled from her lips, finishing her coffee as he leaned his head onto his fist.

"Yes, so you can see why I'm so upset."

"I think you'll survive two more days without potions." She teased.

"Or, we blow off classes today. I've been feeling a serious cold coming on."

"You're going to skip class? Cedric Diggory? Hufflepuff Prefect and Hogwarts Tri-Wizard Champion-"

"Well, it's not like I've got to take exams this year, right?"

"You're so full of it." She laughed, climbing to her feet beside him. "You're not skipping and neither am I. Some of us commoners do still have to worry about exams."

"Ah, how could I forget." He slid up beside her easily, linking his fingers into hers. "I've got to start mingling with the commoners more often. See how life is from way down here."

"Okay, good plan. You can start tonight." She grinned as they neared McGonagall's room.

"Tonight." He agreed, leaning against the wall and pulling her hand quickly until she collapsed into his chest.

"And no studying. We'll do something fun. Before you get too busy for me with the tournament."

"Never." He whispered, a lopsided smirk painted across his lips as he leaned towards her, one hand slipping beneath her jaw to pull her up to him.