Chapter 29
Corinne shoved her notes into her bag after her quill and inkwell, not caring if the ink had dried yet or if the writing would even be legible when it came time to look over them later. It didn't matter. She was sure Ella's notes were much better anyway, and they could study together.
"I'm starving." Taylor grumbled, though dinner wouldn't start for at least another hour.
Neither Ella or Corinne answered, and Taylor set off onto another topic, though Corinne was hardly listening, her eyes focused on the cracks in each level of the stone staircase they were headed across.
There was a time when she would have felt queasy looking down like this as they started up the stairs, even on the second floor of the castle. She had hardly noticed this year, the way it had become easier, the stairs, the distance between them and the ground increasing with every step... She didn't feel a thing.
"-if we should do anything for Halloween? It's a Tuesday, but still... Last year of school, what's a few missed classes-" Taylor trailed off and Corinne vaguely noticed the glare Ella had shot her fade from her face.
"Well... no, you're right... Class is important, of course." Taylor hurried to correct herself, and Corinne forced on an attempt of an attentive smile.
"If you plan something early enough, people would probably be fine. Or the weekend before, maybe." She offered, knowing Taylor had been bored the first few weeks of school. It had been quiet, surely. It seemed like everything was different this year, and it had taken Corinne weeks to realize it was for everyone, and not just her.
"It is October 2nd, Taylor. Slow down." Ella muttered as they finally reached the portrait hole, slumping into the first empty couches they came across, knowing the common room would be filling up any moment now. The fires had finally been lit this morning, as the temperatures had finally began to dip, the winds picking up along the grounds and whistling through the tower.
Corinne let the two bicker, tuning them out for just a moment as she let her eyes shut, soaking in the warmth through her sweater and wishing she could crawl into bed now. Her mind sank down without her permission, remembering the chilly spring nights just a few months before, when her afternoons might have looked completely different, skipping excitedly down to the Hufflepuff dorms after classes, where it was impossible to be cold, especially cuddled up in the oven-like dormitories beside Cedric, the comforting smell of cedar and citrus and...
"Corinne!" Ella nudged her, forcefully, and she caught herself on the arm rest of the couch just in time, watching a speck of blood drip onto the back of her hand.
"Merlin..." She mumbled, blinking a few times to clear the liquid that had welled in her eyes before wiping against her lip, grimacing at the smear of crimson that appeared. "Sorry."
"You alright?" Taylor asked, her eyes wide in shock as Corinne stood, nodding quickly.
"Bit my lip. S'fine." She mumbled, "I'm going to... clean this up and get changed. I'll see you for dinner."
"We can come..." Taylor trailed off as Corinne turned the corner of the staircase out of sight, holding the back of her hand against her lip with steady pressure. She hadn't even felt herself bite down. Wouldn't have even noticed if she had bled all over the familiar worn couch...
Flipping the knob at the sink to let it warm up for a moment, she grabbed for a washcloth from the folded stack at the wooden cabinet, wetting it quickly and pressing it against her lip. The warmth from the water slowly seeped into her skin and she took in a deep breath, trying to relax, forcing her mind to stay here, in this moment. The present. Nothing else. No memories, happy or not...
After a few minutes, she dropped the wet rag to the counter, leaning forward to look over her lower lip. It was slightly swollen, though she was sure that was from the pressure and the hot cloth, and shrugged, deciding against searching for a healing charm. It would be better by morning, and she truly didn't care either way. If it stayed this way forever, swollen and red.
She headed towards her dresser and rummaged for only a moment, pulling out a new sweater and stripping out of her uniform at last, thankful to be free of the tie and tights and not caring if her newly formed outfit went together or not.
She started again down the stairs towards the common room, sure Ella and Taylor had spent this entire time talking about her. How had she not noticed the blood? How long she was taking, if she was doing alright... She really needed to at least try to seem like she was coping, before they really started to worry and tried to have her committed.
"Oh-" She breathed in surprise as hands surrounded her waist, barely stopping her from tumbling backwards onto the stairs. She hadn't been paying attention, yet again, and had run right into...
"Hey." Fred spoke, quietly, though the common room was now quite full, everyone obviously waiting for the appropriate time to head down to the Great Hall to stuff their faces.
"Sorry." Corinne shook her head, feeling the flush rising over her cheeks as she glanced down to where Fred's fingers were still latched to her hips just below the hem of her sweater.
"My bad." He said at once, watching her gaze fall downwards and forcing himself to let go, to let her stand on her own, raising both arms in mock surrender. "Was going too fast."
"S'fine. I should have been looking." She mumbled, stepping back slightly and starting towards her friends before Fred reached out, blocking her path, though careful not to touch her again.
"Did..." He paused, Corinne's eyes meeting his in confusion. "You okay?"
"Why?"
"Your lip." She could feel his gaze latch onto her mouth and she pressed it into a thin line, ignoring the sting of pain that came with it.
"Accident." She explained, tucking her arms to her chest and glancing once again to her friends, wishing they could hear her over the commotion of the common room, that one of them would look up and come to her rescue.
"Alright..." He nodded, much to Corinne's relief. "I got you something."
Her eyebrows furrowed without her notice as she looked back to his face. "Weasley, two days in a row? I don't need anymore candy-"
"Not candy." He chuckled, lightly, pulling a small, dark colored vial from his pocket and holding it out between them, though she made no move to take it.
"I'll pass." She huffed, "I'm not quite in the mood to help you two test out any more new products-"
"Oh, come off it. It's not... It's Dreamless Sleep..."
Her heart stilled for a moment, her eyes narrowing as she met his again.
"Weasley, I'm fine. Did you really go and tell Pomfrey, I swear to God..."
"What? No, I... I didn't tell anyone anything." He fired back, his grip tightening around the vial. "I made it for you."
"You..."
"Brewed it myself. Last night. Well, into this morning I suppose. Takes a damn minute."
Corinne felt as though a lump had formed in her throat as she scanned over the dark blue potion before her... This time last year she couldn't imagine taking anything either of the Weasley twins might have brought her, though now she couldn't imagine that Fred could be lying. Not with the sincere look glued to his face as he watched her in silence.
"I... I don't need any-"
"Sure." He nodded at once, ready to agree with whatever words she had planned that never came. "But, you know... It'll last for a while. You only need a bit at a time, and... You know, if you did need it, it would be nice to have it, s'all."
She glanced once again to Ella and Taylor who were still locked into whatever riveting conversation that had kept their minds so preoccupied throughout this entire exchange.
"Fred, I don't... I don't want to sleep."
"You won't dream." His voice dropped even lower, so that even if anyone else had been near them by the staircase, Corinne was sure only she could have heard his words. "You'll just sleep. I promise."
She didn't meet his eyes still, her gaze glued to the potion still wrapped in his fingers, waiting for her to accept it.
"Would you please just take it? Just in case? Come on, I haven't worked this hard on something in weeks!" The corner of his mouth turned into the start of a smirk, though his chest felt very tight, just thinking of how nervous she must be to accept a potion from him, when this time last year he was coming up with a new prank for her practically every other day.
Finally, her hand reached out towards his, pulling the vial carefully from his grasp and tilting it back and forth a few times, watching as the small air bubble slid back and forth.
"Thanks, Fred..." She spoke at last, her voice still soft, as sure she wasn't sure she wanted to say anything at all.
"Don't mention it." He replied, easily, forcing back the smile he could feel tugging at the surface. "I'll see you at dinner?"
She nodded in response, and he took his sign to leave her, hurrying towards the boys dormitories and pausing at the first step to make sure she made it over to her friends before racing upstairs to change for dinner.
✵
The room was silent once again, and Corinne held her breath, pressing her palm against her mouth to quiet her breathing and wincing as she felt the slice in her lip from earlier. She paused for a moment, placing the slow, even breathing of her roommates before slowly sliding the curtains of her bed apart and scanning over the room. Her heart was still racing from her dream, or rather, her nightmare, the image of Cedric's body face down in the dirt covered grass, the air filled with screaming and her eyesight blacking out into nothingness...
Still, it appeared the neither of her roommates had woken up with her, or if they had, they were both extremely talented actors. She briefly considered sneaking down into the common room once again, though she glanced at the clock on her nightstand and sighed. It was only midnight, and she wasn't looking forward to the next seven hours awake in the silent tower.
Her gaze slipped to the drawer beside her, sliding it out slowly, wincing as it clicked into place and plucking the dark colored vial from beside her book and a few loose hair-ties. She paused, willing the thoughts racing through her mind to settle. It didn't matter, really, if the potion wasn't what he said it was. If it was truly just a prank in the end. It wouldn't be dangerous... Fred wouldn't go that far.
She could practically picture his face now, the same face he'd been giving her since they'd returned to school... The nervous look, the mix of pity and almost... pain...
No, he wouldn't prank her. Not now. Not after everything.
She pulled the stopper from the top of the vial and took a small sip, swallowing down the grimace that rose to her face at the taste. You would think after all this time, someone would have managed to make a half-decent tasting potion.
She pressed the cork back into place and set it back lightly into her nightstand, settling back against her pillow and letting her gaze drift to the ceiling. Maybe it was just water after all... Colored water... And she was planning to lie here all night waiting for...
Her eyes blinked shut slowly as the words trailed off in her mind, and for just a brief moment, she realized he'd been telling the truth, before her view went black and she faded off into sleep at last.
✵
Corinne blinked slowly, her eyes still heavy with sleep and she nestled deeper into the warmth of her covers. Bright sunlight had filled the room, and for a few moments she let the feeling of it sink into her face, hardly minding that it had woken her up.
Finally, she forced her eyes open, glancing to the clock beside her and feeling her eyebrows twist together for only a second. It was late. She had slept in. Breakfast would be over soon and...
She scanned over the empty beds in the dormitory. Why hadn't her friends woken her?
And just like that, with a familiar punch to the gut, everything came back. Her friends had let her sleep, because it had been so long since she had... Since...
Corinne sucked in a sharp breath and pressed two fingers against her eyes until colorful shapes began to glide along behind her eyelids and her stomach growled, launching her into action. She hurried to her dresser, grabbing her robes and uniform and made her way towards the empty bathroom, pausing for only a second at the sight before her in the mirror.
It had been so long since she had seen herself without the stark, deep purple outlining her eyes... She looked visibly rested... healthy...
Shaking her head just once, she quickly brushed her teeth and got dressed, grabbing her bag from the foot of her bed and hurrying down the stairs. Of course, the one day she's not up on time is the day her stomach decides to beg for breakfast.
Glancing at her watch once more, she scanned over the Great Hall, spotting her friends at once and hurrying to drop into the empty space beside Ella, pulling a plate closer to her and piling some pancakes and fruit before they would disappear from the table.
"Hey!" Taylor smiled, her eyes flickering between the growing mountain of food and Corinne's face. "You... slept in."
"Mhm." Corinne mumbled through her first bite of breakfast.
"Sorry we didn't wake you..." Ella's voice was soft, though Corinne could hear the guilt laced between her words. "We shouldn't have left-"
"It's fine." Corinne promised, reaching for a mug of black coffee and not wasting any time searching for cream or sugar. "Really... It's fine. I needed the sleep."
Taylor was nodding before Corinne had even finished speaking, though judging from the whine that slipped from her lips and the jolt of the table, Ella had delivered her a warning kick to the shin just in time.
"You guys can go to class, I'll be right behind-"
"We're fine waiting." Ella shook her head, re-filling her coffee mug and sliding the small pitcher of cream closer to Corinne just in case. "We have time."
"Yeah, so you don't have to choke down your pancakes, you could try... tasting them?" Taylor teased, giggling as she finished the last of her juice.
Corinne finished her food and downed the rest of the hot coffee before standing from the bench with her friends and slinging her bag over her shoulder again before following Ella towards the hallway to begin their trek to the frozen dungeons for potions.
As they walked, Corinne tried to pay more attention to her friends conversations, though she was pleasantly surprised to find that it was still made up of mostly bickering and frequent eye rolls from Ella.
"Hey!" The familiar voice sent a shock through Corinne's stomach and she whirled around, practically falling into the red-heads grip all over again. "Easy there, klutz."
"You scared me." She bit back, stepping out of his grip at once and pushing the thought of his fingers from her mind, though it was as if she could still feel the outline from where he had pressed them into her hips through her sweater.
"Sorry." He mumbled, though the half smile pulling to his lips said the opposite of his words. "How-"
"I slept very well." She cut him off, already knowing where the end of his sentence was headed.
"I didn't ask." He said, his voice teasing, and she couldn't help but think it was far too early for anyone to have this much energy.
"You were going to."
"Maybe..." He shrugged, leaning against the doorway to Snape's classroom. "Maybe I didn't have to... You look like it. Well rested."
"Gee, thanks." She muttered, though her mind flashed back to her reflection in the bathroom mirror. He wasn't wrong. It was like night and day, the difference between how she'd went to bed last night and how she'd woken up.
"Do you want-" He trailed off, his eyes flickering behind her as the smile slipped from his face.
"Corinne?" She wasn't sure she'd ever heard Lucas's voice sound that way... Low and forceful, his eyes set on Fred with a sneer. "You alright?"
"Yeah!" She nodded, stepping back from Fred without thinking to stand beside the Hufflepuff. "I'm fine."
"You with me again?" He asked, finally tearing his eyes from Fred's and meeting hers.
"Well, someone's got to make sure you pass potions." She tried for a smile, nodding towards their usual table and starting into the room before glancing back to Fred once more. "Thanks, Weasley... For last night."
"Course." He said, softly, the smile still hanging onto half his lips, though his eyes were practically sparkling, a deep honey colored brown, even in the dim light of the dungeons. She took her spot next to Lucas and forced her eyes onto the board at the front of the room, certainly not on the way Fred pushed off the doorway and stalked over to George's side, dropping into the empty space beside his twin.