Hogwarts Love Story pt 18

Here is part 18. I was planning to get this out before my holidays finished, but no such luck. Updates will be slower from now on, but I'm feeling 'in the mood'!

Here is part 18. I was planning to get this out before my holidays finished, but no such luck. Updates will be slower from now on, but I'm feeling 'in the mood'!

Created by: vulturemonem
  1. Your head broke the surface of the water, and you gasped in much-needed lungfulls of air. You coughed a little, sending the water from your lungs in sprays. Your throat felt scratchy and you were incredibly thirsty. You felt an arm around your waist, and you looked across to see Cedric watching you worriedly. He had a cut across his face, but seemed otherwise unharmed. He swan slowly to the steps of the stands, towing you along gently with him. Cedric placed your hand on the railing, then pulled himself out. Ignoring the shouts, towels and congratulations being thrown his way, he reached down and lifted you out by your waist. Although you hadn't exactly done anything, you felt exhausted, both physically and mentally. Cedric threw a towel around your shoulders, watching you anxiously. He too had a towel around him, and his hair was dripping and dishevelled. "You ok ____?" he asked. "I think so," you replied, "And hey, well done! You came first." He nodded, smiling slightly, but didn't say anything in reply. You watched the surface of the water nervously, waiting for your friends to surface, but there was no disturbance save for the wind creating the choppy water surface. "Fleur had to drop out," Cedric said quietly. "I know," you said, remembering Dumbledore's voice. Cedric looked at you curiously, but said nothing. "It was like I could see everything," you said, "The last thing I saw was you towing me away." "You make it sound like I'm a villain stealing you from your house in the dead of night." Cedric joked. You rolled your eyes at him. Karkaroff was debating something heatedly with Dumbledore, who didn't look all that happy. Cedric too was watching the exchange. "____!" called a voice from behind you. You spotted Ginny shoving her way through the crowds, rushing over to you. "Hey Ginny," you greeted. She hugged you tightly, then proceeded to chatter about every detail you'd missed. "So the gillyweed worked?" you asked her, raising an eyebrow when she mentioned Moody shoving Harry into the water. "Gillyweed?" Cedric asked. "Yeah, Neville gave it to Harry. What happened?" you asked, directing your question at Cedric this time. "Moody told Harry to eat it, and he started choking and stuff. I didn't see what happened, I was too preoccupied with getting to you," Cedric said, pushing at the last sentence. "How did you know it was me down there?" you asked, knowing that the champions weren't told what was taken from them. "Nobody had seen you, Hermione, Ron or Fleur's sister since yesterday. It was just a hunch to start with, but the more I thought about it..." he trailed off. Cedric looked into the distance, seeming to revisit earlier that morning.
  2. Suddenly, you heard a shout. Someone standing on a level above you was pointing to a dark shadow in the water. Your head snapped to where the hand was pointing, and you made out two figures, although one seemed to have a...shark head or something? You shook you head, and stood up, leaning over to have a closer look. "I think that's Krum and Hermione," Cedric said, squinting. "Krum has a shark head," you stated. Ginny giggled next to you, and Cedric rolled his eyes. The figures swam up, and finally Krum's head broke the surface. His head morphed back into his own face, the sharp teeth disappearing, and he began to swim towards the stands. Hermione floated up behind him, and she coughed up sprays of the lake water, much like you had. Krum turned where he was, and waited impatiently for her. She swam awkwardly to the stands, struggling in her clothes, and she followed Krum to the stairs. Krum leapt up, ignoring Hermione, and accepted the congratulations thrown his way. Fleur appeared from nowhere, and knelt by the stairs, helping Hermione up. "That was Krum's job," Cedric muttered, looking where you were. You picked up a towel and threw it to Hermione. She shivered. "That was hell," she said. "Agreed," you replied, "Hey Fleur!" you called. She turned to you, smiling sadly. "I 'ave failed dis challenge. I vonder vat vill 'appen to Gabriella," she said. Fleur was obviously worried, so you chose to put her at ease. "Dumbledore said to us that if a champion didn't get us, we would be returned safely. Probably after the challenge," you said, twisting his words slightly. Fleur relaxed a little, but still watched the water, glancing down at her hands. Cedric wrapped his arm around you as you watched for some sign of Ron and Harry. You weren't so worried about Ron, but Harry? Anything could have happened. "Dumbledore won't let any harm come to him," Cedric whispered in your ear. You nodded, although you couldn't help the uneasy feeling that grew in the pit of your stomach.
  3. The clock struck the hour, and you saw Ginny looking at the water, terrified. You looked for some sign of life, but saw nothing. You couldn't help the single tear that leaked from your eye. Cedric turned you towards him, and flicked the tear away with his thumb. "He'll be ok. I promise," he said, hugging you gently. "I hope so," you replied. Fleur let out a cry, and you saw her run to the steps again. She began talking quickly in French, and you saw what she was seeing. Two figures were floating to the surface, one larger red-head, one smaller blond. And no sign of Harry. Ron broke the surface of the water first, and he looked around, for Harry you assumed, but he saw Gabriella just as she broke the surface of the water. She seemed to struggle to stay afloat, and then Ron took her arm carefully, keeping her afloat as the two coughed like drowned cats. Ron swam Gabriella to the side, and Fleur pulled her up, still talking in quick French. Ron climbed up after her, and caught the towel that Cedric threw him. "Zank you so much," Fleur said to Ron, kissing his cheek once. Ron flushed bright red, and muttered a 'you're welcome'. Hermione gave Ron a fierce hug. Ron stumbled back slightly, caught by surprise at Hermione's attack. You hugged Ron too, although more gently than Hermione. "Fleur dropped out didn't she?" Ron asked. All three of you nodded, and Ginny clung to him. "I'm fine Gin," he murmured in her ear. She stepped back, and looked back to the water. You too watched, but saw nothing again.
  4. A splash resounded to your left, and you whipped your head to it, just in time to see a body fly through the air. Harry landed at your feet, shivering and coughing violently. You threw your towel around him and rubbed his shoulders. He looked up at you gratefully, and looked around. "Did Ron and Gabriella get here?" he asked, his voice hoarse. "Yes, they're fine," Cedric said. "Harry Potter that was the most stupid thing you have ever done!" Hermione cried, hugging him, "Dumbledore wouldn't have let Gabriella die you idiot!" Harry smiled sheepishly, and you smiled at his idiocy. He stood up from his position on the ground and froze suddenly. Ginny stood just behind you, watching Harry with a relieved expression on her face. "Thank god you're ok," she whispered. "I'm in one piece," Harry said, smiling at her. She took a small step forwards, biting her lip. Harry walked forwards himself, and hugged her gently. Ginny wrapped her arms around him, and shook her head. "Hermione's right," she said.
  5. In the end, the judges decided that Harry would come second, as Cedric had won the challenge fair and square. "Not such an idiot after all," Harry said. You grinned at him, and the five of you walked back to Hogwarts, wanting nothing more than to get away from the lake. "Hey guys!" Neville called, "Did it work?" "What the gillyweed?" Harry asked, "Like a treat. I'm not sure I liked being a human fish though." You all laughed at that. Krum still hadn't spoken to Hermione, so Ron had taken his chance. The two were walking side by side, and Ron had slung his arm around Hermione's shoulders. You smiled at the two of them, and looked up to see Cedric watching you with a fascinated expression. "What?" you asked, defensively. "Nothing," Cedric chuckled, "I'm not out to kill you." You laughed with him, until you saw Draco. He looked furious, and was arguing with Pansy. "I'll see you later guys," you said. Cedric bent down to your level and kissed you quickly, then waved. You walked over to Draco and Pansy, and tapped Pansy on her shoulder. Draco's eyes snapped to yours, but Pansy ignored you. You cleared your throat obviously, and tapped her again. She spun round and glared at you. She smirked when she saw who it was. "What now Rivers?" she asked. "Draco doesn't look too happy Parkinson, I was coming to see if I could be of help," you said, deciding to have a little fun. She barked a laugh, and Draco watched you warily. "Help?" she screeched, "Help with what?" "I don't know. Because, genius, I didn't know what was wrong. I still don't for that matter," you said, looking to Draco and raising your eyebrows. "Uh, nothing," he mumbled. "Shove off Parkinson," you said. "Excuse me?" she screamed, "If you want to help, you can shove off yourself, and go sit in a hole and die!" "Hey hey hey!" called a voice, "That didn't sound particularly nice Parkinson!"
  6. "What do you know blood traitor?" she asked, smirking cruelly at Fred. You hated the Slytherins when they got onto their blood status lectures, you were a muggle-born yourself, and had become friends with Hermione before Harry and Ron had, and before you had made friends with the boys, when you defended her against a cruel Slytherin in first year. "Shut up," you growled, trying to reign in your anger. Pansy ignored you. "I suggest you do what she says Parkinson, shove off," George said, coming to join his brother. "Just go," Draco muttered to her. Fred and George looked to him in surprise. "You ok Malfoy?" they asked. He looked up and frowned. "It's just, you're not insulting us or the pretty muggle-born before you," Fred explained. You blushed when he called you pretty, and Draco chuckled, deepening their frowns. "I'm not the jerk I seem Weasley, and I like ___. Oh, don't go spouting that to anyone else," he added hastilly, forgetting the usual insult. "It's creepy when you're nice Malfoy, but I kinda like it," George said, smiling slightly. Draco and yourself rolled your eyes, and the twins walked off, chatting with their heads together. You turned to Draco. "You ok, really?" you asked. He shook his head. "Can I help?" you prompted. "I doubt it," he whispered, looking scared. "You wanna talk?" you asked gently. Draco sighed, then nodded, motioning for you to follow him. "I'm under pressure, from my father that is, I can't expand on that I'm afraid, but Pansy isn't helping. She's convinced you're stealing me away from her, which would be true," he smiled a little, "Except I was never hers." You looked up at his face, and stopped in shock. He had dark bags under his eyes, his face was paled, and his eyes were blood-shot. He just looked exhausted. You stopped suddenly, and he looked to you wearily. You stared into his eyes in concern, searching for whatever it was that had him scared, but found no clues. "You look ill," you stated. Draco shrugged, and with that, you wrapped your arms around him gently. "It's ok," you said. "It's not, it really has never been less ok," he whispered in reply. "It will be then," you said, "There are people here that can help you, Dumbledore for example." Draco barked a laugh. "If my father found out I was talking to Dumbledore-" you cut him off. "He doesn't need to. And your father is wrong, Dumbledore is a great man. In more than one way," you said hotly. Draco looked down at you with a strange kind of mixed regret. "I don't feel the same way as my father ___. I wish I wasn't a Malfoy sometimes," he said, sighing. "You don't have to be your father Draco. Be your own person." He shook his head, smiling sadly. "Bye ___," he said, ending your conversation. "Bye Draco," you replied, walking off in the direction your friends had taken. Correction, your other friends.
  7. You found your friends waiting for you a few metres away from where you had left them. "Crouch is giving me the chills," Ginny was saying. "Something isn't quite right there," Ron agreed. "Well Sirius said he sent-" Harry began, but you took over, crepping up to them dramatically. "His own son to Askaban. He's a creep," you said, nodding at Ginny. Hermione stared at you weirdly. You noticed that Cedric wasn't there. "Cedric went to see Dumbledore about something, Rita Skeeter I believe," Hermione said. "What did she write today?" you asked. "Did you ever read about her absurdity about me and Harry? Just before the first challenge?" she asked. You nodded slowly, remembering seeing on the front of the Daily Prophet. Needless to say, you hadn't read it. "Well she's on it again, but she's attacking myself and Victor this time. Not that it's up to him, but Cedric took it upon himself to talk to Dumbledore about it. You know, centring on the Champion's private affairs," she said uncomfortably. You nodded, but watched Moody walking down from the Lake on his own. "There's something not right about Mad-Eye Moody too," you said slowly. "What d'you mean? We all know he's nuts!" Ron said. "He didn't say anything when he knew we'd been helping Harry, he's coming back on his own, he only drinks from that flask, and I heard Madame Pomfrey complaining because he refused to let her treat a mystery injury," you said, following him with your eyes. "It's your imagination ____. I grant you he's weird, but it's just that, he's mad," Ginny said. "I agree with Ginny," Hermione said, watching you anxiously. "It's something more than madness," you sad quietly. He took a large swig from his flask, and shook slightly, the vein in his neck bulging. It remained you of something, but you weren't entirely sure what. "The others are right ___," Harry said, placing a hand on your shoulder, "And we should be getting in. I'm freezing," he said, drawing his towel tighter around him. You followed your friends back to the castle, but you knew perfectly well that something more than the Tournament was gong on in ahogwarts castle this year, and it was something sinister. You just didn't know what it was.
  8. After showering, you headed out to the courtyard with a book to relax and clear your thoughts. The sun beat down on your shoulders and so you were wearing a pair of denim shorts and a short sleeved beige t-shirt. You lay back on the grass and bent your legs up to rest your book against your thighs. You slipped a pair of sun-glasses over your eyes and made the most of the sun. It was over an hour later when you heard a faint sob. You looked up from your book, and saw the straps of a bag by the large oak tree a few metres behind you. You folded over the corner of your page and stood up, heading quietly to the tree. You saw Ariella sitting against the tree, clutching a letter in her left hand, her small body convulsing with sobs. You bent down by her and laid a hand on her lower arm. "What's wrong?" you asked gently. She looked up at you with large, scared brown eyes, tears trailing down her cheeks. She handed you the letter, and you scanned over the insults and rude comments. "Is this from your parents?" you asked seriously. Ariella nodded. "Its not true Ariella, trust me. Do you want me to show Dumbledore?" you asked, while trying to think of something suitably comforting. Having one's parents disown one, and insult one, one is perfectly entitled to cry as much as one likes. "Not really," she said uncertainly. Ariella took a shaky breath, and you put your arms around her gently. She sobbed a little, but relaxed after a few minutes. You stroked her hair calmly, and helped her up. She walked back inside with you, bag slung over her shoulder, and went to talk to another girl in her year the second the two of you entered the common room. You smiled at her, and sat down on the long, poppy-red sofa. You put your legs along the length of it and opened your book again.
  9. It was late that afternoon that Sepia clawed at the window. You left your book on the sofa and opened up the letter from your parents. It was filled with a hundred and one questions. About yourself, the tournament, Ariella, and your other friends. Although your parents were muggles, they were very well informed about the events at Hogwarts School. Mostly due to your detailed accounts in the summer. You sighed, and laid the letter aside, planning to write back later. You did, however, write to Sirius about your suspicions of Moody. Sirius always spoke very highly of the ex-auror, but you knew that the only person even likely to listen to you was Sirius. After all, it was Dumbledore that had hired him. Sirius had become something of a wizarding-father-figure to you in the last year and a bit. He filled the gap that was always missing in your magical life, and you wrote to him frequently. You tied the letter to Sepia, who was still sitting on the windowsill, and then sat back down, running over everything in your mind. You came up with nothing more than you had before. You sighed in frustration, and looked up to see the twins walking in, their heads bent over a box of something. "What's that?" you asked, jumping athletically over the sofa. They grinned. "Don't tell mum," George warned. "Never," you vowed. "It's our new product. We're experimenting with things, this is Instant Darkness Powder, but it doesn't quite work yet," Fred said, seeming just as frustrated as you had been a mere few minutes ago. You grinned with them. "Keep going. You could open a shop with this stuff once you leave," you said. They exchanged a glance. "We want to, but mum and dad..." George trailed off. "You'll make a fortune," you said confidently. Fred smiled. "Thanks," he said. You smiled at the two of them, and returned to your comfortable position on the sofa.
  10. You threw your book down after an unsatisfactory ending, and glanced at your watch. It was late, and dinner would be in the hall. You hadn't seen your friends since this morning and you were starving after your ordeal in the Black Lake. "Coming to eat guys?" you asked the twins. "Not tonight ___, bye!" Fred said. You waved, and climbed out of the portrait hole. You ran down the stairs and spotted Fleur and Neville, but nobody else. Storm sat by Arianna at the Ravenclaw table with Fleur, but nobody else was there, not even Cedric or Ginny. Draco and his gang were also absent. You tapped Neville on the shoulder and asked him if he'd come to the Ravenclaw table. He nodded happily, and the two of you sat down by Fleur. Neville blushed at being two seats away from Fleur, and you grinned at him. "Oh! ____! I have something to tell you," Fleur said. You immediately noticed that her French pronunciation of English words was much improved, and she sounded far more 'proper' in her English. She didn't drop certain letters, and she had actually said the 'th' in 'something'. "What's going on Fleur?" you asked, puzzled. "Do you know Ron's older brother? Bill?" she asked. You nodded, confused. "Well," she blushed, "The Weasley's may be seeing a little more of me. I saw him after the second challenge, and we, er, took a liking to each other, should I say," she said, a little awkwardly. You grinned and hugged her. "I'll await the wedding invitation," you joked. She laughed her gorgeous, silvery laugh, and threw her hair back over her shoulders.
  11. After you had eaten, you headed back up to the common room alone. Neville had needed to go to the library. You found the twins still pouring over various products, and Harry, Ron and Hermione discussing something intently. "What's up?" you asked nonchalantly. "What do you think the third challenge is?" Hermione asked. "Something to do with mazes," you answered. "That's what I said," Harry stated. Ron yawned suggestively, and you whacked him on the back of his head. "But what's in the maze?" Hermione persisted. "I've no idea. It can't exactly be friendly hippogriffs though can it? It'll be dragons or giant spiders," you said, grinning when Ron shivered, "That was a joke Ron, relax." Harry chuckled at Ron's expression, and you smiled lightly. Hermione was watching the three of you disapprovingly. "Look Hermione, we have no way of knowing, and neither does anyone else," Harry said. She sighed, and flopped back against the cushions on her armchair. Feeling like you needed to take your mind off it, you challenged Ron to a game of wizard chess. "Hell yeah!" he roared. You summoned the board from his trunk before he got up, and set up your pieces with a flick. You tapped the tale as he grumbled, setting his own up manually. Half an hour later, most of your pieces were destroyed, and Ron was winning by a considerable margin. "Hey!" Ron protested when you moved, "Stalemate!" "Really?" you asked, doing a double take, "At least I didn't lose!" you grinned. Ron pouted, and announced that he was going to bed. You laughed at him a little, then chatted for a while, before going to bed yourself. The second your head hit the pillow, you feel into a deep sleep filled with your normal dreams. But your dead brother featured in them too. The dreams replayed the events the night he was killed by Voldermort in a horribly twisted way. You woke up screaming and sweating.
  12. Well thanks for reading! I was planning to get this out before I returned to school, but I couldn't. So what I said in the results isn't true anymore, unfortunately. Do you remember the story 'you' told Harry back in third year about your brother? Go have a look! And don't forget about my character contest, it's linked by my username, and all the rules are there!

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