𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒 - 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐨𝐲 (𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟏)

19 - Drowning

April 7th

The sun melted the snow away, warm spring air replacing the frigid draft. Flowers began to bloom across the grounds, a haze of floral scent stirring the castle. beams of sunshine glittered the windows as I walked to charms class with Hermione. We walked into the classroom, taking our seats. It was a class with all Gryffindor's today, so I sat next to Harry and Hermione. "as you all see there is a dirty suckle on each of your desks today," Professor Flitwick exclaimed. "Today we will be learning the Scouring Charm, in other words, the cleaning charm. Take out your books," we did as he said, as I examined the coin on my desk.

"This charm is used by witches and wizards for cleaning purposes. This may also be used to fill an opponents mouth with soap bubbles. Pronounce the charm after me. Scourgify," He exclaimed slowly. "Scourgify," we all said after him. "Very good, now take out your wands, and I will demonstrate," he whirled his wand slowly, giving us an example. We all practiced the wand work. "Now attempt it yourselves," he ordered, stepping down from the podium that stood in the front of the classroom. "scourgify," Hermione and I got it immediately. "scourgify," Harry mispronounced, bubbles exploding his coin into pieces. "Well that's one way to do it," I giggled.

The bell rang and we were dismissed. Slytherins lined up outside the door, waiting to go inside for their class. Draco gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before walking inside. A girl named Pansy fired me a rude look. What was her problem? She'd been acting strange recently. I gave her a sarcastic smile, merely thinking, 'fuck you' in my mind. I wished I could say it out loud. "Hey Draco," I watched her sit next to him as I rolled my eyes. If her goal was to make me jealous, it wasn't working.

Harry, Hermione, Ginny and I had planned to go to the black lake for a swim that afternoon. We changed into our bathing suits, and headed down to a small, sandy area down by the lake. It was a warm day with a cool breeze. "Nice suit Ron," Ginny laughed at his polka dot bathing suit bottoms that were a size too small. "One more word out of your mouth and I bloody drown you," Ron sneered as Ginny pushed him into the water. We all stormed into the lake, splashing water in each others faces. Hermione pushed a wave over Harry's head. He gave a small whelp as water went up his nose. I couldn't help but giggle. "Ew, seaweed," I felt something brush up against my foot. It slowly wrapped around my ankle. Everyone began to get out of the water, picking up their towels.

Before I could say anything more, I slipped under. I looked towards my ankle; A selkie had locked itself to my leg, sticking it's trident into my side. I cried out in pain, trying to stick a hand towards the surface, but it was too late. I watched as my breath left in bubbles; trying to scream would be a waste of oxygen. It pulled me further into the water, when my ring began to glow.

blood poured out of my waist as it extracted the trident. my vision blurred, I couldn't tell if I was being dragged deeper into the water or if I was dying from lack of air. Nobody had noticed I was under. Suddenly I heard shouts at the beach. It would be too late; I had to save myself. I used the last of my consciousness to hold my hands towards the creature. I began to choke as water filled up my lungs. Concentrate. Golden strands formed in my left hand, weaving them together into a sword. I gripped it tightly with my hands, and I pressed as hard as I could downwards, killing the selkie as it fell off my foot. Harry was swimming towards me. He took me by the arms, pulling me towards the surface.

The closer I got to the water, I could hear Draco's distant screams. He wasn't close to the lake, but he sure as hell was running towards it. I could hear his faint cries, "What the bloody hell did you do?" As we broke the surface, everything went black. there was only silence.

DRACO'S POV

I sat in the middle of charm's class, bored out of my bloody mind. Pansy kept trying to flirt with me, despite me making it clear I was uninterested. As I practiced the spell, Pansy pointed towards my ring. "What's that?" she questioned curiously. I looked at my glowing ring, then followed Pansy's gaze out the window. A bright white light sat at the bottom of the black lake. Shit. I ran out of the classroom frantic, without saying a word. "Mr. Malfoy, you come back this instant," Professor Flitwick exclaimed strictly. I didn't care. I raced through the halls, twisting and turning through the complicated castle, ending up at the gates.

I ran swiftly down the pathway, watching as Harry dove into the water. Ginny and Hermione were screaming, Ron standing at the edge of the water, frozen. "What the bloody hell did you do?" I cried, running towards the beach. Harry broke the surface, Caroline in his arms. She was unconscious. Ginny swam outwards, helping Harry carry her back to shore.

I grabbed her out of Harry's arms, placing her onto a towel. Harry panted, sitting down next to her, his hands on his head. "Is she breathing?" Ginny cried, holding onto her shoulder. Caroline's eyes fluttered open slightly, as she tightened her grip on my hand. "Hey, hey, it's okay," I sat her upwards, rubbing her back as she coughed water out of her lungs. "It's okay," I whispered, pulling her into my lap. Ginny wrapped a towel around her shoulders. "Bloody hell," Harry said. "What? What happened?" I took my hand off of her side, seeing three trident marks gashed into her side, blood pouring onto the sand. She cried in pain.

"Hospital wing, now."