prospicere futurum

"Looks like it's going to downpour any second." Lucas grumbled, though from the look Cedric shot Corinne, he was just whining to hear his own voice. The boys had allegedly been more than excited at the prospect of bringing down the Gryffindors, especially after all of the muttered comments and jokes they'd been receiving since the first task.

"Good, it'll cool down your raging ego." One of the Hufflepuff team mates, Preece, Cedric had called him earlier smacked Lucas on the back of the head, swinging his broom over his shoulder and jumping out of the taller boy's reach as he swung an arm out in retaliation.

"Save it for the Gryffindor's, will you?" Cedric scolded, though there was an excited smile painted on his face which hadn't left all morning.

"And what if you guys lose?" Corinne asked, Cedric spinning to the blonde with wide eyes.

"Then we're all going to kick your boyfriend's ass." Lucas answered for the rest of them. "He's the one who got us into this, and he's the one who's been out here training all term."

"Which you've been invited to, by the way." Cedric answered, ignoring the idea of losing altogether.

"Merlin, Diggory, you're a hard ass." Taylor grinned, pulling her hat farther over her forehead. Despite the decent weather they were being blessed with for early December, Taylor was dressed as if they were all trudging through Antarctica; puffy coat, hat, scarf and mittens included.

"We're going to get changed. See you on the pitch." Cedric turned at last, pulling Corinne in for a kiss with one arm, his broom stuck over his other shoulder.

"Alright, loverboy. If Weasley's not even here to see it and get himself all worked up, let's save it for later." Lucas smirked and yanked Cedric towards the locker room.

"This is a recipe for disaster." Ella grumbled as the girls wandered towards the stands, trying their best to avoid the mud patches littering the pitch.

"I warned him." Corinne shrugged, though partially wishing the three of them were still tucked inside the warm castle, possibly still working their way through a late breakfast.

"Boys." The brunette rolled her eyes, the sound of laughter floating through the stands and drawing the Gryffindor's attention to the new arrivals, two red-heads towering above the other four figures.

"Boys." Taylor teased, her eyebrows wiggling twice before Corinne shot her a warning glance.

"Ladies! Looking lovely as ever!" George called with a wave, the other Gryffindor's pausing outside of the locker room to survey the nearly empty stands as Lee Jordan offered the Weasley's a high five and started towards the girls. Corinne noted Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet, Angelina pushing through the locker room doors as Fred shot Corinne a dramatic wink.

"Wish me luck, Baker?" He grinned, stalling for a moment before George yanked him inside with the team.

"Sorry about him." Lee beamed, dropping into a seat behind the girls. Ella and Taylor had coaxed Corinne up a few extra bleachers by begging, reminding her the game could take a while and their necks would surely be aching by the end. "We're trying to get him trained up, really we are."

Taylor giggled, spinning around in her spot to strike up a conversation with the boy while Corinne's eyes scanned over the locker room doors. Part of her wanted them to hurry up and start the game while the rest of her just wanted to head back up to the school. She didn't know which would be worse, Fred winning or losing.

"Listen Lee, now that we're buddies," Taylor started, "You've got to help us get Fred off Corinne's back a bit. I mean, he's relentless."

"Oh, trust me. I know. You've really done a number on him, Baker, we've never seen him this worked up-"

"They're coming." Corinne muttered, cutting Lee off mid-sentence and pushing his words from her mind as both teams wandered out in two packs.

"No snitch and no beaters? What were the idiots thinking." Lee muttered to himself with a shake of his head.

"That's true... stick to your strengths, right?" Taylor agreed, grinning as the teams drew near the stands.

"Staying warm?" Cedric asked, pulling a whistle from around his neck and holding it out to Lee with the quaffle he'd had tucked beneath his arm. "Will you start us off? You know, fairness and all?"

"So noble," Lee joked, jumping up from the stands and marching down the few bleachers to land in the mud. "Take notes, boys! Diggory's a better sport than you two combined!"

"Piss off, Jordan!" Fred called from the center of the pitch with an eye roll, pretending to examine the ends of his broom, though his eyes couldn't keep away from the stands, from Corinne's hair poking out from beneath her golden and black scarf.

"Play good." Corinne murmured under her breath, leaning forward to press her lips to Cedric's, feeling his lips curve into a smile at once.

"One more?" He asked as she leaned back, his fist wrapping around her scarf to pull her back to her feet. "For luck!" He assured her, enjoying her grin as their lips met once more.

 "Let's get going!" Lee called through the pitch, everyone taking to the sky as soon as Cedric's feet sank into the mud, apparently universally agreeing to forgo the traditional handshake.

"Alright, first team to 150 wins. Let's keep it clean, alright? We've got no healer's waiting in the wings." Cedric shouted, both teams nodding.

"Scared already, Diggory? I promise we won't hurt you." Fred jutted out his bottom lip and Angelina sighed from behind him.

"Ignore him." She shouted. "Ready when you are."

Cedric looked down to the pitch where Lee had the large quaffle balanced in one hand at his side, the sound of the whistle echoing through the grounds as he tossed the ball into the air, Lucas ducking beneath the team at once to catch it, streaking past the Gryffindor's before they could blink.

"Alright, Luke!" Corinne shouted, partially surprised after weeks of hearing Cedric mention Lucas preferring to sleep in than join him on the pitch in the mornings.

Alicia was quick, that was obvious. She was on Lucas's tail in an instant, Katie streaking up along his other side until he was boxed in, Corinne's teeth practically grinding together as Taylor whined beside her.

"God, they're fast..." She muttered.

"Because they're small." Ella explained.

"Not as fast as a seeker." Lee interrupted, everyone's eyes locked to Cedric as he appeared beneath Lucas who stopped short, dropping the ball into his friend's open arms, Cedric tossing it across the pitch towards Preece who shot up with a clear shot to the hoops.

"Yes, Malcolm!" Taylor shouted, cupping her hands over her mouth as if there was anyone else around cheering to block her out. Ella and Corinne smirked, pulling her back into her seat.

"You're going to piss them off."

"Oh, come on, what's a bit of friendly competition!" Lee grinned.

Fred had swung around the goal post, catching the quaffle as it fell towards the ground and zipping back towards the middle of the pitch, George mirroring his movement along the other end. Cedric was practically flat on his broom, catching the redhead in no time, though the quaffle slipped just past his fingers into George's waiting arms. The other Hufflepuff was tailing George, Corinne racked her brain to remember his name. It was C something...

"Get him Cadwallader!" Taylor shouted on her feet again. Leave it to Taylor to know the entire Quidditch team of every house.

Corinne didn't know how much time had passed, though judging from the icy feel of her fingers she had to assume they were closing in on an hour. Each team had informally switched keepers at least once, though the scores had remained decently low for a long stretch, in which Ella's yawning had doubled. Finally, as Cedric looped the quaffle through the left goalpost, Lucas's roar nearly matching Taylor's, Hufflepuff was at 140.

"Godric, I wish I was spectating this." Lee muttered, glancing up at his usual box. "I never thought it would last so long."

"They're all really good." Corinne agreed, leaning back nervously until she could rest along the bleacher behind her, refusing to let herself look at either side of the stands.

"Angelina's a pro." Lee explained, "It helps when you're all really close like those three. And I don't think a moment goes by the Weasley's aren't playing at home. I mean they practically have enough family members for a full team."

Ella chuckled as Corinne sat up again. Fred had the quaffle again, flying towards the other side where Lucas was now firmly positioned at the center goal post, wavering from side to side in anticipation, as if trying to guess which way Fred was headed. The other four Hufflepuff were on his tail, each of them trailed by one of the Gryffindors, though what they planned to do aside from knock them off their brooms, Corinne wasn't sure.

Her fingers curled along the wood bench as Cedric soared upwards towards Fred, spinning at the last second, the back of his broom smacking the quaffle from beneath Fred's arm just as he was nearing the posts.

Fred spun through the air, eyes searching high and low before watching Preece's arms wrap around the red ball, the Weasley boy letting out a string of curses that Corinne was thankful they could barely make out.

"Angie! I swear to Godric, don't let them-" He trailed off, likely realizing Angelina was paying him no mind as she closed in on Preece from above, Alicia on his right, flying straight towards him before he swooped low, eyes scanning wildly before spotting Cedric waiting along the left side.

Alicia couldn't turn fast enough, Angelina was still on his tail, arms extended, though it was no use. The Quaffle soared through the open air where Cedric lurched forward, knocking it into the center post as Corinne, Ella and Taylor jumped to their feet.

"Hell yeah, Diggory!" Taylor screeched, a laugh bubbling out of Corinne's mouth at last.

"Taylor, Godric, I thought you were a lady!" Ella teased.

"Geez, what a game." Lee sighed, leaning back against the bleacher once more as everyone drifted towards the ground.

"Your friends don't look too happy." Ella pointed out, Lee's eyes flashing towards the Weasley's. Fred was already halfway towards the locker room, George a few feet behind.

"Yeah, I'm sure I'll be hearing about this all night." He grumbled, hopping down the bleachers with ease.

"Good game, guys." Angelina offered the boys a small smile and extended her hand for a quick handshake.

"You too." Cedric grinned, slightly out of breath, shaking her hand before dropping his broom to the ground and racing towards the stands. Corinne hopped up, stepping carefully over the last two benches before launching herself into the tall boys arms.

"You were fantastic!" She grinned, squeezing her eyes shut as he spun her around twice, soaking in his laughter. "Stop, don't make me dizzy!" She ordered, grabbing his arm to steady herself as he dropped her to the floor.

"Great job, Cedric." Ella smiled, the girls sidling up beside the couple.

"Thanks." He replied, looking towards Taylor. "We had a very loud cheerleader."

"I wasn't that loud." Taylor shrugged, the group breaking into laughter as Cedric slung an arm over Corinne's shoulder.

"I'm going to shower and I'll meet you for lunch?" He breathed, pressing a warm kiss just below her ear.

"Mhm." She nodded, assuring herself she was still dizzy from the spinning as she let her friends lead her up towards the castle.

✵

It had been three days. Three perfectly, yet surprisingly peaceful days since the Hufflepuffs had beat the Weasleys, and for the first time in weeks, Corinne had barely noticed Fred. He showed up to most of their classes at the very last second, slipping into his seat at the back, sitting silently through lessons, and as far as anyone could tell, there had been a severe prank shortage.

Maybe Cedric had been right. Maybe they really had needed their ego's checked a bit.

"-think I'm going to find a Ravenclaw to pay off to finish my transfiguration homework for the rest of the year." Taylor was saying through a mouthful of noodles. "I mean, seriously, sometimes I think McGonagall is just trying to see how hard she can push us before one of us finally has a mental breakdown."

"Well, she should know you're nearly there." Ella grinned, leaning forward for a second helping of pasta as Corinne snuck a peek towards the entrance hall, a flash of red hair catching her eye as the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan hurried in. They started down the long stretch of tables towards their usual vacant spots, Corinne's eyes glued to their feet, her heart rate picking up as they passed, though their conversation didn't stall for even a second as she let out a relieved sigh, watching the three of them fall into their seats.

"If you would just take notes in class instead of talking my ear off, it wouldn't be such a big catastrophe every weekend when you-" Ella cut off as Corinne screamed, her fork falling to the ground with a clatter as she shoved her bowl to the center of the table.

She had raised the fork halfway towards her lips, fully tuned into her friends conversation before she had realized her noodles were now brown, and they were moving.

"Oh, Merlin," Taylor raised a hand to her mouth as if she would be sick, looking away from the pile of worms crawling through the bowl.

"Hey," Cedric's voice appeared behind Corinne's ear and she spun into his arms, his eyes scanning over the table for only a second before his mouth set into a frown, his gaze snapping towards the Weasley's where George and Lee were watching on, wide-eyed, Fred's lips curled into an evil smirk.

Cedric waved his wand over the table quickly, the bowl emptying at once as Taylor took a deep breath and sat back down.

"Hey," He breathed again, pushing Corinne out of the tight embrace to scan over her face. "It's gone. It's alright."

She shook her head, not willing to face the rest of the table, sure that her face was red hot by now, her hands still shaking as she hugged around Cedric's neck tightly.

"Want to get out of here?" He asked, his breath warm on her ear as she nodded. He grabbed for her bag from the ground and led her from the Great Hall, the blonde still tucked tightly beneath his arm as they walked.

"God, Fred." George muttered, rubbing two fingers over his eyes in annoyance.

"Oh, come on!" Fred chuckled, digging into his own dinner while the rest of the table looked down at theirs nervously. "That was funny!"

"No, mate..." Lee muttered, picking at his salad. "Ease up on her. Come on, Yule ball's coming up... perfect time to move on-"

"I have moved on." Fred bit back with a scowl and Lee raised his hands in surrender.

"Right, of course. Because these are the actions of a sane man." George nodded, sarcastically and Fred resisted the urge to kick him hard under the table, stabbing into his dinner, the three of them going silent.

✵

Cedric's hand was warm in Corinne's as he led them up the small staircase to the boys dorms. She was thankful that it was still dinner time and that the common room had been completely empty, not sure if she could have faced the smirking students watching as she snuck up to her boyfriend's dorm.

Cedric finally slowed before a large wooden door, pushing through it with ease and dropping her hand at last to shut the door behind them, turning to her again with a small smile.

"I'm sorry." He whispered and she let her face fall into her hands, her head shaking.

"No, I overreacted... I'm so embarrassed, I just got shocked and-"

"You didn't overreact." He shook his head at once, stepping close to her again and pulling her hands back into his. "That was terrible. Anyone would have acted the same way." He frowned, looking down at her hands in his. "You're shaking."

"I'm fine." She assured him, pulling out of his grip and wrapping her arms over her chest. "Just feel... anxious. Can't stop thinking about it, and everyone looking at me, the whole room went silent-"

"That's in your head." He said, reaching to her face and running his thumb gently over her cheek. "No one was really looking. Just the Gryffindors, and they'll know exactly what happened. I'm sure they're growing used to his bullshit by now."

Corinne huffed out a small laugh and nodded, watching as Cedric stepped towards a wooden dresser across from one of the five beds at the edges of the room, pulling open the second drawer and rifling around before presenting her with a pair of dark sweatpants and a faded quidditch t-shirt.

"Oh... I can just... head back upstairs, I-"

"Would you just stay?" He asked, pushing the clothes into her hands. "Please? I'd quite like an excuse to spend the night with you."

Her lips pulled into a smile as she glanced between him and the soft clothes in her hands now.

"Your roommates will be annoyed."

"Don't care." He shrugged, flopping down on the bed behind her easily.

"You wont sleep well, there's not much room-"

"I will." He grinned, "I promise."

She paused, eyeing the soft golden blankets on the bed behind him.

"You don't have to stay, Corinne. I can walk you back up," He offered, his eyes shining bright in the sinking sunlight from the windows along the side of the dorm. "But I can tell you're still shaken up, and I'd be up all night worrying about you if you left."

She pulled her lower lip beneath her teeth in a failing effort to hide the smile rising to her face and finally nodded, her eyes flicking between the clothes in her hand and Cedric who had moved once again towards the dresser.

"Okay," She mumbled, starting towards the bathroom behind them. "I'll be back."

"Looking forward to it." Cedric grinned, pulling his shirt over his shoulder and thankfully missing the way Corinne allowed her gaze to linger on his abs for a second too long before shutting the door behind her.

She pulled the black sweater over her head, glancing at herself in the mirror quickly. Though her face still looked a bit pale, Corinne didn't look nearly as much of a mess as she felt. She let her fingers trail over the soft t-shirt on the counter for a second before she pulled Cedric's clothes on and folded hers neatly back onto the counter before peeking out of the doorway back into the dimly lit dorm.

Cedric glanced over from his spot at the edge of his bed when he heard the door click, his mouth pulling into a smirk as he let out a low laugh.

"Shut up." Corinne rolled her eyes, starting over the soft rug towards his bed.

"You're drowning in them." He teased, grabbing for the two drawstrings at your waist and pulling you closer to stand between his knees, looping the strings into a tight bow.

"Not my fault you're so tall." She shrugged, ignoring the feeling of her heart pounding in her chest as he finally dropped his fingers from the strings, his hands sliding slowly to rest on each side of her hips.

"You look cute. In my clothes. All the time, actually." He muttered, his voice soft in the silence of the empty dorms. "And I love you."

Corinne sighed, taking a last step closer and wrapping her arms around Cedric's neck, her breath catching as his hands slipped beneath her legs to pull her onto his lap. He crawled backwards until his back was against the head board, settling her head against his chest, his fingers finding their way gently into her hair.

"This was his last chance, Corinne." He muttered, and she could feel his heart beating steadily beneath his chest. "I'm going to kill him if he even looks at you the wrong way again. I'm done with this."

She nodded against his chest, though she was still trying to push the thought of Fred Weasley from her mind completely.

"It's okay." She whispered, still enjoying the way his fingers were pulling softly through the edge of her hair. "I'm fine, as long as I have you."