Another Life

◇ 03 ◇

Isolde's pov
I swam deeper and deeper into the darkness, wrapped in a comforting blanket of water.

Swimming give me the feeling of floating weightless around in space and the deep darkness of the deep lake gives the feeling of swimming around on the dark night sky.

The dark waters were just as comforting and grounding as the night sky. I could sit for hours mesmerized by the stars and infinite space.

I sat down on the bottom of the lake, forgetting that I was underwater, forgetting that regular humans need oxygen to breath. Were I dead? If so, I don't think I mind spending an eternity in this calm place.

Every fish, every creature left me alone. I closed my eyes taking in the absolute silence. My heartbeat was steady and my body relaxed, I let every thought and worry drift away.

Was this what Elysium felt like, a paradise for body and soul?

I opened my eyes and saw a figure come towards me from above, it came down like a descending angel.

I was face-to-face with a black haired boy. Messy hair floated around his face, a face with gills.

He grabbed a hold of my wrist and attempted me along, but I didn't budge. I just sat there, staring at this mysterious figure with a lightning  bolt scar on his forehead.

He met my eyes and I saw his eyes widen, it could be shock, surprise, fear or all three.

I closed my eyes one last time, taking in the silent world around, before pushing off from the seafloor.

I let the water guide me as I swam towards the light.

I stood up on my feet and pushed my disorderly hair away from my eyes and scanned the surface for the boy. I was waiting for his head to pop up, it didn't.

I heard shouts and cries, but I blocked it out, diving back into the darkness. He was a stranger, but he had come for me so I came for him.

Unknown pov
I saw a figure ascend from the murky depths of the lake, holding something in her arms. It was incredible how her head broke the surface of the black water and the way she walked up without any sign she noticed the change in environment. It was effortless and beautiful.

She sat down on her knees and placed the lifeless person she had been carrying on the grass before her. I realised it was Harry Potter. She held two fingers to his pulse and leaned down close to his face, an almost undetectable shake of the head was the only clue to her findings.

She stood up on her knees and began pressing down on his chest, she kept a steady paste and kept her eyes trained on the motionless body before her.

She seemed to finally notice her audience, her wasn't to bask in the attention or fall back in fear at the sight of every eye upon her. No, she yelled, "What the bloody hell are you idiots doing, just standing there? Get Madame Pomfrey for gods sake." This stranger called out to everyone without fear and with the authority of the minister himself.

The moment she did it was like a spell was broken, some rushed forward other ran away in the direction of the castle. An otter escaped Hermione wand and flew away.

The black haired girl ignored the commotion around her and kept her eyes trained on Harry's face. She turned back Harry's head, leaned down and blew hair into his mouth. She carefully placed his head back on the ground before resuming what looked her brutally attacking his ribs.

"What is-" I turned to see the youngest Weasley stop frozen in her tracks. She stared at the body a few meters before her with pure horror.

"Ginny, what are you staring-" a second head of red hair stopped dead in his tracks.

A ring of people had collected around the four people by the lake, they were close, but kept their distance after receiving warning looks from Malfoy. He stood beside them, holding onto some clothes and meeting Hermione's eyes for a second. She sat opposite the girl, holding onto one of Harry's hands and whispered words that fell for deaf ears.

Madame Pomfrey ran up to them, wand in hand and with McGonagall by her side.

Malfoy placed a hand on the girl's back, she shock her head at something he said, but he took her and and pulled her up. Then he placed a hand on Hermione's side and held her other arm, he helped her up in her feet. After a quick nod at something McGonagall said, lead him the two of them away.

I looked over to see Ron storm after the three, while Ginny was still standing on the same spot frozen in place.

Isolde's pov
I could not fathom what had happened, the last couple minutes were blurred and distorted.
The only thing making me sure it was real were my sore arms.

I had just walked half naked through the school, wearing only an open shirt over my underwear. You would have thought I were overcame with embarrassment, I was not. The build up of guilt and fear hindered any trace of embarrassment to creap in.

The boy had jumped after me, thinking I were laying either dead or unconscious on the bottom of the lake. I hadn't been drowning on water, but I am not sure I would have ever left that lake if it hadn't been for him.

I had found him in the presence of a creature I had no name for, his gills were beginning to fade when I found them and completely gone by time the creature had agreed to let him go. Its slimy tentacles had unwrapped from its hold on the boy and retreated further into the dark.

"Here," Malfoy handed me a large shirt. I slid my arms in the sleeves and began to button up the shirt.

Hermione found a skirt for me, "Let me know if it's the wrong size."

"Thank you." I gave her a genuine smile of gratitude. I was about to thank Malfoy too, but I stopped myself. He was leaning on the wall and staring out the window. Disheveled blond hair fell over his forehead and his eyes were fixed on something distant.

We were sitting in a random classroom, it was empty except for us and the only sound was breathing. Hermione had insisted that we should go to the infirmary to get me checked out, I had refused. I didn't need to be checked, and we would just be in the way while they tried to save him. I was fine, he was not, so I refuse to be a burden now.

The door flew open suddenly, prompting the three of us to look up at the same time. "What the--."

It was that damned redhead again, Hermione's little boyfriend. He looked about as pissed as Hermione had done  when she was hunting him down in the corridors. Except for the fact that she had looked good doing it, he looked like he was about to explode, his face was the colour of his hair.

"Ron, what are you doing?" Hermione didn't sound angry, she sounded tired, exhausted to be honest.

Had we been living in a cartoon would steam be going out his ears and his head would probably have exploded.

"What am I doing? What are you doing, walking around with him?" He gestured at Malfoy who were still standing by the window.

The blond walked up to the desks I and Hermione were sitting on. He crossed his arms and looked at Ron with something like. . . Pity.

"Weasley, go hear how Potter is doing instead of standing there yelling at Granger." He didn't look back at Hermione, but I saw her relief. Relief that she wouldn't have to fight this herself. She was tired of fighting, I didn't know of what, but I couldn't she that she had fought battles.

"You don't answer for Hermione," Ron stepped forward and I noticed that he had brought out his wand.

"Please, Ronald," Hermione's voice was pleading, "I am to tired to fight you now."

I instinctively placed an arm around her shoulders, her eyes were shiny and her breath uneven. She relaxed into me, to my surprise.

Whatever he was called; Ron, Ronald or Weasley, the redhead stormed out and slammed the door shut behind himself.

I felt the girl's silent sobs into my chest.

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