"I know," Cedric hisses. The precious air is starting to run out. They shouldn't move, or talk. They'll die too quickly if Cedric can't find his wand---and his whole body tenses when he knows he can't. Without it...there's no hope of lifting all the dirt.

Which of them will die first? Maybe Cedric. He's bigger, and injured to boot. That will be scary for Howard though, won't it? Hopefully they'll die around the same time.

He loosens his grip, instead wrapping an arm around Howard and letting out a low moan of distress. It's all he can think to do. Try to keep them comfortable in this awful process.

Cedric's other response is the onset of tears---possibly detectable, depending on how close they are. Why couldn't they just die right away?

This is hell.