Unbreakable - Fred Weasley

The Second Task

Fred and Katie had begun seeing each other, he was trying to take everyone's advice to move on and have some fun, and Katie was nice. He hadn't spoken to Olivia, or seen much of her, since that night she came into his dorm. When he did see her she was with Cho Chang or Cedric, getting pulled one way or another, but always away from him. He told himself he'd never be serious with anyone, not after all that happened with Olivia. That was more serious than he'd ever imagined, and they hadn't ever even been dating. He and Katie were nowhere close to serious, and he tried to make that as clear as possible, even inviting Alicia to his dorm occasionally. Did he feel bad? Maybe slightly, but he was kidding himself if he tried to believe that he'd ever really be done with Olivia. He wished for her more than words, and everyone saw that, everyone except for her.
———
Olivia hadn't slept well since she spent the night with Fred. She didn't know what it was about him, but while she felt she had more clarity in the moment, once he was gone she grew more and more confused. She still hadn't recovered from that night and it had been weeks, the Second Task was coming up quickly. She'd found a charm for Cedric to use that would allow him to be underwater for an hour—or as long as he needed, so that was a plus. Her hair was a tangled mess, her uniform hung off of her small frame, and she almost always had the imprint of a book cover across her cheek. She'd fallen asleep in the library nearly every night the past week, looking up different sicknesses she might have acquired from taking such "a fall" as Cedric described it. He and Cho had at least become close again, to Olivia's happiness, and Cedric hadn't tried to kiss her again either, which she was thankful for.
"Luna, what do you do to get rid of Wrackspurts?" Olivia asked quietly, the night before the second task. Luna had been across from her in the library for a while now, reading an upside-down magazine. Olivia had read about nearly every magical sickness and come up empty handed; she was desperate for a remedy to whatever was wrong with her. She thought she might go mad if it went on any longer.
"You can dispel them by thinking positive thoughts." Luna replied dreamily.
"Positive thoughts?"
"Yes."
"Like what?"
"A thought that's positive, of course."
"But," Olivia pondered this. She tried to think of something that made her incredibly happy, but couldn't seem to reach the range of emotion that she needed. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she hadn't been able to access a full range of emotions for quite some time. This troubled her greatly, and as she shuddered at the fact that she still couldn't fully remember the past two years in their entirety she hadn't noticed that Luna had left, nor that Professor McGonagall was looming over her.
"Oh, Merlin! Professor McGonagall. I-is there? Is it past curfew? Or?" She stumbled over her words, her eyes wide and hoping that she wouldn't get reprimanded. She noticed Ron and Hermione being towed behind the Professor and furrowed her brows.
"Ms. Wood, if you'll please follow me, Ms. Granger, and Mr. Weasley." She said shrilly. Olivia sat up and packed her bag quickly, shoving the quills in hastily and letting herself be ushered by Professor McGonagall through the halls and to the headmasters office.
"Cockroach Cluster," the woman said, the statue they were in front of turned and showed a staircase. Olivia walked up sheepishly, hoping to not get into too much trouble. She was highly aware of the fact that Ron and Hermione often got into trouble, and remembered when they'd encountered Sirius Black last summer.
"Ah, Ms. Wood. Wonderful to see you." Dumbledore said happily, Olivia turned and saw Fleur's sister, Gabrielle. "Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger, please have a seat."
"Is there something the matter?" Olivia said uncertainly. She took a seat beside the others who looked just an confused. "Are we in trouble?"
"The tea is ready, headmaster." Snape sneered, Olivia jumped at the sound, not having seen the professor at all. Her eyes were drawn to a shining silver light behind a black cabinet.
"The second task," Dumbledore began, dragging Olivia's attention away from the light, "is upon us."
The four teenagers nodded along, they knew this, of course. The Headmaster continued,
"And for this task, we need something of the champions that they will each sorely miss. They're dearest treasures."
Dearest treasures? Thought Olivia, and it dawned on her.
"We're the task." She breathed, staring wide-eyed between all the adults. Rons mouth was agape and he stared at Olivia, as did Hermione, and Gabrielle.
"Right you are Ms. Wood. Clever girl." Snape hissed sarcastically.
"You are correct, this tea will put you into a deep sleep. You won't feel a thing, and as soon as they rescue you, you'll wake." Dumbledore explained,
"We're meant to be stuck at the bottom of the Black Lake?" Hermione asked,
"That is correct Ms. Granger," Professor McGonagall nodded.
"But 'zere arr creatures down 'zere zat could 'urt us?" Gabrielle said, unafraid, but with concern.
"You will be kept safe, I assure you." Dumbledore insisted, he handed them each a cup of tea. Ron, Hermione, and Gabrielle drank their tea right away while Olivia stared at hers.
"Ms. Wood is something the matter?" Dumbledore asked, the other three had fallen asleep, slumping over themselves— Ron had ended up on the floor.
"No, nothing headmaster." She brought the tea to her lips, and drank quickly. It tasted like peppermint, she almost wondered if there was any potion in it at all.
"Ms. Wood, when you're ready to look for your memories, you're welcome to come and find them." Dumbledore said as Olivia head bobbed forward unvoluntarily.
"W-what?" She stood up and lurched forward, falling onto her knees. Her memories? When she was ready for them, he'd said. The potion was working its way into her body and she fell completely to the ground, her eyes shutting against her will. The last thing she remembered seeing was a Phoenix looking down at her.
———
"Do you know where Olivia is?" Cedric asked Cho. He'd been searching for her all morning, and was scouring the waterfront looking for her.
"No, Cedric, I haven't. I'm sorry. She didn't come to bed last night." Cho responded worriedly. Cedric saw one red-headed boy with his arm slung around Katie Bell, and swiftly made his way over. Fred saw Cedric coming and took his arm from around Katie, he made his way to meet Cedric.
"Diggory."
"Is she with you?" Cedric couldn't contain his worry anymore, it came out more aggressive than he meant it to, "sorry, but is she?"
"Who?"
"Don't be daft."
"Olivia?"
"Yes, Olivia."
"No. She's not with you?" Fred asked, his blood running cold.
"No, I haven't seen her all night. Cho said she didn't come to her dormitory last night, and-"
"You assumed I'd put her in danger again?" Fred glared at Cedric.
"No, of course not." Cedric hissed, "but you're the only other person that she would go to."
"So you've lost her?" Fred snapped, running his hands through his hair. Cedric nodded. Luna had been trying to get their attention for some time now, but they hadn't heard her until she raised her voice slightly more.
"Excuse me!"
Both boys turned to her,
"Y-yes? Loon-" Fred began,
"Luna," Cedric corrected quickly.
"It's quite obvious that she's in the water, isn't it?" Luna smiled, nodding encouragingly. Cedric and Fred both stared into the water.
"Something that you'll sorely miss." Cedric looked mortified, "L-luna, I reckon you're right."
"That's the task!?" Fred asked incredulously, wondering how after all he went through the school could put her in such danger.
"I-I've got to go." Cedric ran off, towards the beach. Harry whirled past Fred after sometime, and Luna left. Fred felt numb to everything, he walked towards the boats unconsciously, finding George and standing silently. Katie stood beside them, and shared concerned looks with George over Fred's lack of enthusiasm and... lack of any emotion at all.
"Mate, are you alright?" George whispered, trying to let the loudness of the crowd cover his voice. Fred turned to his brother, expressionless,
"She's in there."
George stiffened and looked out into the dark lake. Katie had heard, and she knew who they were talking about. Olivia. It always had to be Olivia.
———
Olivia didn't feel anything, but perhaps a little cold. She wasn't sure of how much time had passed, but it seemed as if it had stood still at the same time. She did notice that there was a tugging at her arm and felt pressure dissipating gradually.
When they broke the surface Olivia was surprised by how frozen she felt.
"Olivia, let's go!" Cedric called to her, yanking her arm forward with each stroke. She sputtered and felt the heaviness of her robes as she tried to swim. The cold was unbearable, her clothes fully saturated in the lake water. She didn't think she could stand it anymore, maybe she could just drown, or the squid could eat her. Yet, Cedric pulled her along behind him as she struggled to breath. They reached the dock and she felt a number of hands around her, pulling her up and out of the water.
"You're the first one!" Cho beamed, wrapping Cedric into a tight—but quick— hug. Olivia felt her feet touch solid ground and then a pair of small arms embracing her. Cho pulled away and looked straight at her,
"Are you alright?"
Olivia nodded, but could do nothing to stop her teeth from chattering. Cedric wrapped towels around her, and she turned and saw Fleur who looked distraught. She ran over to the sobbing French girl,
"Fleur! I thought we were the first ones. What happened?"
"Ze' Grindylows! Zey' attacked me! My Gabrielle, she iz down 'zere!" She wept,
"I'm sure they'll get her. We were assured that we'd all be safe." Olivia tried to comfort her, but Fleur was inconsolable. Olivia pulled the towels off of herself and shed the outer robe and jumper that hung off of her like weights, wearing just her skirt and white collared shirt. She wrapped her towel back around herself, feeling much lighter. She sauntered over to Cedric who was excitedly talking to Cho, and decided against interrupting them. She stood at the other end of the dock, waiting to see who would be next. She searched the next dock for familiar faces and felt her heart skip when she saw Fred, then drop just as quickly when she saw his arm around another girl. He was looking straight at her, his eyes telling her a story that she couldn't understand. He had on a ridiculous box, for taking bets on the champions, and she would've laughed had there not been a knot in her stomach. She turned and looked straight ahead, back to the water. She didn't know why he affected her so much, or why his dating another girl bothered her at all. She didn't even know him, or his name until earlier that month. She didn't have long to think about it as Hermione and Viktor surfaced next, or rather Hermione and a shark who turned into Viktor. Olivia rushed to the edge, grabbing her friend by the hand and pulling her up, wrapping her towel around the very wet Gryffindor girl.
"Hermione, are you alright?" She asked, Hermione nodded then looked at Olivia who too, was wet, but grossly underdressed and without a towel.
"I've taken your towel!" Hermione tried to push it back onto Olivia who refused it,
"That's fine, I'll grab another. And a new, dryer one, for you." Olivia walked over to the pile and grabbed two fresh towels. She and Hermione got situated, Cedric was still speaking with Cho, and they all watched the water, waiting for Harry to surface. Madame Pomfrey circled them, checking their temperatures, pulses, and otherwise fussing about. Cedric sat down beside Olivia and wrapped his arm around her waist, leaning his head on hers.
"You're alright Olive, you're sure?"
"O-liv-ia. And yes, I'm good. You're alright?" She asked, staring out at the water still.
"Yes." He replied. They remained like that, all the while Percy was pacing back and forth behind them—worried about Ron, no doubt. Madame Pomfrey was checking them over again when Harry's head broke the surface. Ron and Gabrielle popped up a moment after, and then several mer-people heads poked up from the water as well. The crowd was going wild, the mer-people were circling the three students in the water, smiling and screeching their songs. Olivia grabbed fresh towels as everyone crowded around Harry, Ron, and Gabrielle. Fleur, who had been held back out of the water by Madame Maxine, was hysterical. She was fawning over Gabrielle, explaining in great detail, what had happened and why she hadn't been able to save her. It was bedlam in the minutes that followed: Percy had Ron in his clutches and wouldn't let him go, Fleur had grabbed Harry and kissed him twice on each cheek, she then got Ron from Percy and kissed his cheeks for 'elping 'arry save Gabrielle, Hermione was incensed, Viktor was trying to get her attention, and Olivia and Cedric stared at the entire thing in wonder. Dumbledore had gone down by the water and seemed to be deep in conversation with what looked to be the head merperson. Ludo Bagman's voice boomed over the entirety of the lake, drawing everyone's attention—Olivia's included— to him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached out decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake... Ms. Fleur Delacour, thought she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head charm, was attacked by Grindylows as she approached her goal and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points."
"I deserved zero." Fleur said throatily. Ludo Bagman continued,
"Mr. Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour... we therefore award him forty-seven points." A thunderous applause came from the crowd, and enormous cheers from the Hufflepuff section. Olivia beamed up at Cedric, and Cho was simply glowing.
"Mr. Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration which was nevertheless effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points." Ludo Bagman said. Karkaroff clapped particularly hard, looking very superior. Olivia didn't see why, as Cedric had been the winner.
"Mr. Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect," Bagman continued, "he returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the merchieftainess informs us that Mr. Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all the hostages to safety, not merely his own. Most of the judges—" Bagman gave a Karkaroff a very nasty look here, "—feel that this shows moral fibre and merits full marks. However, Mr. Potter's score is forty five points."
—————
Uber long chapter, I know, but there was a lot to get through!

Hope you enjoyed it :)

I was just on reading break so I have a couple more chapters ready for you guys, if you want them right away! I don't know if you all prefer to have them sparced out or not?
Let me know!