Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.

Chapter 29

"Drowning is not merely about water filling your lungs. It is about loosing hope and feeling utterly helpless"

As soon as I dive in, the water calms my screaming lungs immediately. I breathe heavily, looking at myself. My fingers are webbed and I have a mermaid tail. My long hair flows elegantly around my head. But there's something weird. It's like a glowy aura.

There's a splash next to me and I see Harry. He looks similar to me. He has gills and webbed hands and feet, except he still has his legs, not a tail. Gillyweed. Hell, why didn't I think of that?

Harry mouths to me "are you ok?" And I remember I was screaming on the stands up there. I nod and he swims away. I take a deep breath and swim in the opposite direction. It takes me a minute to get used to the tail, but I do, eventually. After a minute or two of swimming through the seaweed, a Grindylow appeared on my left, then another on my right.

They're normally quite vicious creatures, but they were swimming peacefully next to me. It was as if they were guarding me, and I knew the potion had something to do with it. I ignore them, focusing on my goal. Find Draco.

I swim for a bit and eventually start to hear something. Singing. It's the Merpeople. I'm close. I swim faster, trying to get there quicker, the Grindylows speeding up with me.

The seaweed clears and I can finally see. Suspended in the water are Ron, and a little girl who looks similar to Fleur. I see a man with a shark head swimming away with Hermione, and Harry, hacking away at the ropes binding Ron.

I quickly swim over to Draco and put my hand on his face, my body brushing against his. He's ice cold, but he looks peaceful. Calm. Beautiful, and- 'OK LOLA, NOT THE TIME' I mentally scream at myself.

I look at the ropes binding him. Seaweed. I feel a tap on my shoulder and see Harry. He holds a sharp rock out to me and I start to cut away at the seaweed. Harry swims off taking Ron, and for some reason, the little girl with him.

It takes me a bit, but I finally get all the seaweed off. Once it's all gone, Draco floats, pale and ghost-like, but calmly. I put an arm around his waist and start to swim up.

The Grindylows join us again, looking at Draco suspiciously. It starts to get light again and I know we're almost at the surface. Slowly, I feel the glow surrounding me start to fade, and I become tired. No. Come on. We're almost there...

Then, my tail fades altogether, and the Grindylows scream, scratching at my feet, cutting them open. I gasp, taking water into my lungs, choking. And I knew. This is the end. I look at my best friend, floating there gauntly.

I have enough energy to pull my wand out of its holster, pointing it at him. I manage to choke out "Ascendio".

He flies up and out the water. And I smile. Still drowning, by the way. My vision goes blurry and my lungs fill with water.

The Grindylows are cutting deeply into my legs, but there's nothing I can do. I'm going to die.

I feel so, completely and utterly helpless. Because at this moment, I'm stuck. I'm weak. And that's the one thing I refuse to be.

And that's the last thing I think of when all I see is black, and all I can feel is water in my lungs.

Harry's POV

I've been out of the Lake for almost 5 minutes and Lola still isn't back. Abruptly, there's movement in the water and everyone looks apprehensively. Red mixes in with the green water and everyone gasps. No. Lola..

Suddenly, Malfoy comes flying out of the water and onto the stand. He wakes up asking questions that are left unanswered as everyone looks in the water.

The red spot in the water becomes bigger. And I can't. I can't stand there and not know that something is happening. Something I can stop. So I dive in.

Opening my eyes, I see Lola, her eyes closed, Grindylows eating away at her legs. I blast a spell at them and they all swim away. I swim over as fast as I can, grabbing my sister by the waist and pulling her to the surface.

I heave her onto the deck and Madame Pomfrey runs over. She pushes the crowd away, only allowing Malfoy and I to sit next to her.

I look at Lola closely. She's not breathing. No. I look at Malfoy and he seems to have noticed the same thing by the way he looks back at me. Lola's blood from her legs is mixing with the water, spreading all over the deck.

Madame Pomfrey looks fearful as she runs her wand over Lola's chest, muttering. A yellow light glows gently from the tip of her wand. After a few seconds of a deathly silence, Lola sits up suddenly, heaving up water. I step back, but Malfoy doesn't leave her side. 

Draco's POV

My heart stopped as Lola sat up and started to cough up loads of water. I take her hand as Madame Pomfrey looks over her, rubbing her back as more water comes out of her lungs.

Eventually, it turns to blood, and everyone is shaken. Madame Pomfrey speaks to me "Could you help me take her to the Hospital Wing, Malfoy?"

I nod and pick her up bridal style. I notice Diggory rushing over, but I push past him, focused on Lola.

On the way to the castle, her eyes flutter open and closed, while she occasionally coughs up some more blood.

I whisper reassuring things to her, hoping she can hear me, and that she will be alright. Because I'm finding it hard to believe it myself.

Once we get to the Hospital Wing, Madame Pomfrey instructs me to place her on a bed. She tips endless potions down Lola's throat, ending with a sleeping draught.

I stayed by her side all day, Pansy bringing me food that was never eaten. I was numb. My best friend. It killed me to see her like this. Pale, sickly looking, her legs bandaged up to her thighs where the Grindylows dug their claws in.

I stayed with her all night, not daring to fall asleep in case she woke up and needed immediate help. Turns out, I'm not the best at pulling all-nighters.