Misguided Ghosts (a Severus Snape love story)

Chapter 12: Red flags

CHAPTER 12

Snape's POV

Every minute of waiting for Ester to resurface was pure agony and torture as I stood by anxiously in the stands. Every moment, millions of thoughts swam around in my head about all the possible ways she could get hurt or killed. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop thinking about. I wanted to so bad because it was killing me, but I couldn't. Not in the slightest. I just had this really bad feeling, like something was going to go very wrong. I kept trying to reassure myself that she would find a way to signal for help and that Ester would be alright. She was smart and she was brave. She could get herself out of any mess if she put her mind to it. But that didn't help either. And the sinking feeling grew deeper in the pit of my stomach.

My eyes flickered over to the dark, choppy waves for the hundredth time that afternoon, trying to keep emotional mask up very hard. Then at my watch. She had barely a few minutes left before the potion wore off and needed air again. I hoped she was making her way back. She should have resurfaced by now with her hostages, Fred and George.

My heart suddenly leapt up into my throat then, as a figure broke the surface. But then it sank again only to be replaced with sheer hatred and dislike. It was only Victor Krum with Granger. The crowd burst into applause; all but me. I glared murderously down at him as he clambered his way onto the docks. Our eyes locked, if only for a moment. A cocky smirk played on his lips. I wondered if he knew where she was.

Then a few minutes later came Cedric Diggory with his freed hostage, Cho Chang. Again, the stands cheered obnoxiously. I rolled my eyes in annoyance as the women swooned over the two champions. Idiots, all of them.

Thirdly, came Potter with Ron Weasley and Fluer's younger sister. My heart sank as Fluer ran to the edge to thank them and help them up. Ester dove in with Harry. I thought they had swam down together. But where was she then? I quickly got up and pushed my way past the cheering crowds, glancing up at the clock as I did so. The hour was almost up and she had surely run out of time with her potion by now. I made my way up to stand next to Dumbledoor.

"Where is she? She should have resurfaced by now." I muttered, not even glancing his way.

He smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. "Miss Kingsley will be fine, Severus. There is no need to worry."

"Yes, there is." I snarled viciously. "Something could have gone wrong. She might be in some kind of danger."

He chuckled. "She will be in peril just like any of the other contestants in the tournament. Now calm down. She will be here soon."

I sighed in annoyance. "You don't know that. And have you figured out who sabotaged the goblet yet by the way?"

He shook his head, a cheery smile still plastered to his wrinkled features. "No. But we will find out soon enough."

"I don't trust that Professor Moody man. I don't believe he is who he claims he is. We should question him about it..." I stated, staring out at the waves anxiously. She still hasn't come up yet. It would only be a matter of time before she needed air again.

Albus's eyes twinkled. "Not yet."

I groaned in frustration, my eyes still locked on the foamy waves of the black lake. I hated how vague the old man could be. And how cheerful he always was about everything. It disgusted me to no extent sometimes.

We then waited in silence for what seemed like hours. Even if I knew it was only a few moments. I was really getting scared, my mask feeling very very heavy all of the sudden. Like lead. I wanted it to go away. I couldn't let my emotions slip at the risk of my reputation crumbling away into mere nothingness.