The Lost Potter [Fred Weasley/ Adrian Pucey]

-WE HAVE TIME, DON'T WE?-

• • •

let's meet again,

just like the first time

• • •

Rose cried for like felt like hours before she fell asleep, exhausted. She charmed her four-poster bed with a sound-proof charm and pulled down the curtains around her, burying her pain inside the four pieces of fabric.

When she woke up, Amara was by her side, asleep but rubbing patters up and down her arms in only a way Amara could. Rose could feel her throat close up, but Amara whispered in her ear instructions to close up her mind, just like she did when she was Occulating with Adrian; it helped.

By the time she pulled herself out of bed, her eyes were rimmed red and her hair was tangled all the way down her back; she had the flying thought of chopping it all off, but she quickly dismissed her thoughts. She pulled on her jumper and denims, charming her hair to stay up in a ponytail throughout the day. She drank the coffee and ate the toast that Amara had left on her bed side before her cousin had left; claiming on having to do some last minute shopping at Hogsmeade. If Rose was honest, she didn't really listen to anything Amara had said except for Occulating throughout the day. 

Rose sped a good hour meditating in her bed, thanking Merlin that it was a Hogsmeade day, and arranged all the shelves in her vault, opening and closing new ones. By the time she was done, she rushed down the common room and down to the Main Entrance of the castle, her broom tugged under her arm.

She flew around, doing laps and numbing her head with the cold December wind for what felt like hours until she saw a small figure approaching the field. Rose didn't dive back down instantly, she merely stared at the figure, floating in one place.

When the figure swung their arms at her, she rolled her eyes and dove down to meet whoever was asking for her attention. Approaching, she realized who the person was, making her eyes sting before she landed.

"Is this a good time?" Cedric Diggory asked, greeting her with a smile.

"Yes, of course," she said back, a tight smile on her lips. "Just clearing my head."

Cedric looked her over carefully, frowned at her, and then nodded as if he wasn't entirely convinced by what she had said. "I need to talk to you about something," he sighed, waving her over some of the ground stands so they could sit.

She hummed, taking a seat next to him and crossing her legs under her body, her broom beside her. Cedric didn't elaborate any further, so she looked back at him, "About what?"

He dug for something in his bag, pulling it out and extending it towards her. "That's the detention report you were supposed to turn in a week ago," he said, she could hear the apology in his throat. 

"It's finished," she realized, staring at all those number and names that she didn't write. "Cedric, I-"

"I know you didn't do it," he said, holding up his hand to cut her off. "Turns out someone's been covering for you for a couple weeks now."

"Oh," Rose mumbled, reading and re-reading the pages in her hands; trying to figure out who wrote it. "Do you know who covered me?"

"That's not important," he said, brushing her off and smiling down at her sweetly. "This can't happen again, Rose. McGonagall was getting suspicious, and I had to tell her that it was you who did it, but I don't reckon she will believe me again."

Rose let her head drop on her hand, propping her elbows on her knees and groaned. With everything going on in her head, she had completely forgotten all about her prefect duties, not even doing her rounds like she was supposed to.

"Ced, I'm sorry," she sighed, tearing her hands from her face and peering up at him. "I've had loads on my mind lately, and that's not excuse; mind you, but still I should've been more cautious with my work."

"It's fine," he waved her off, throwing an arm around her shoulder and tugging her to him. "You've worked hard."

She dropped her head in his head, lingering by his side, turning his words in her head in every direction she could think of until her mind was spinning. She inhaled him, felt his warmth, and heard his heartbeat, but those sensations weren't the same, she wished it did.

"Fred and I broke up," she whispered, so low he might've not heard her. But she felt the way his arm tensed around her before it relaxed again. He stopped him before he could say something. "Don't say anything, I just needed to tell someone... I needed to tell you."

He nodded, holding her even closer and dropping a kiss on the top of her head. She worried her lip, thinking of how to phrase her next question. "Did you ever feel alone when we were together? Like I didn't care?"

He was quiet for a moment, and she feared she knew the answer before he voiced it, but thankfully, he spoke, "No," he said simply, his heart beating normally. "I knew you cared for me, I know you still do, I never doubted you; not once."

Rose thought about his words again, feeling tears rush to her eyes before she shut them, forcing them to stay inside. Unluckily, they rushed past her eyes before she could stop them. "Not once?" she hiccupped.

Cedric tore his arm from her shoulders and cupped her chin with one hand, forcing her to look up at him. "Not once," he assured her. "If that's the reason you and Weasley broke up I can assure you, you weren't all to blame. Just like you weren't to blame when we broke up."

"You never told me that," she mumbled, her lips twitching before she raised her hand and brushed a hair out of Cedric's face.

"Well, I should've," he realized, leaning slightly into her touch. "We weren't ready to be together; it was neither of our fault, we just weren't. If I'm quite honest, I'm glad, because when we are ready, I will love you with every ounce of magic I have."

She froze, her heartbeat quickening. She had heard this before, with different words but same meaning. "Ced-"

"Don't worry," he shook his head. "This isn't some binding contract, or a way of me saying I'll wait for you; this is me saying that I want you to be the last witch I ever love, even if I love someone else before I can love you."

She felt a flush grow in her cheeks, she knew he was serious, but she wouldn't believe it; not yet. "Well, we have time, don't we?"