'The Second Task'
Cedric had been looking for Lori all morning, not finding her face among the Gryffindor table at breakfast, nor on the walk down to the boats which would take them down to the second task.
Ellie and Danny were at his side, also looking for the red haired girl, but failing to find her amongst the excited gaggles who were running towards boats.
"Harry?" Cedric caught sight of the other Hogwarts champion, "Have you seen Lori today?"
He shook his head, "I can't find Ron or Hermione either."
The two of them were herded into a separate boat, with Krum and Fleur, by Barty Crouch, who gently pushed the boat away from the pier, it magically rowing itself.
"Have any of you seen my sister?" Fleur asked urgently.
The others shook their heads, "We can't find Ron, Hermione or Lori."
Cheers rang as their boat docked, the four of them being helped out by Ministry wizards who lined them up against by the edge of the platform, Harry on the left, then Cedric, then Krum, then Fleur.
"Welcome to the second task!" Dumbledore's voice boomed over the three towers, "Last night, something was stolen from each of our champions. A treasure of sorts. These four treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the Black Lake. In order to win, each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface."
Ellie and Danny had been allowed onto the main platform as friends of the champions, both holding towels in their arms.
"Simple enough, except for this: they will have but one hour to do so, and one hour only. After that, they'll be on their own. No magic will save them. You may begin at the sound of the cannon."
It erupted, Fleur, Krum and Cedric diving into the water, Harry being shoved in by Moody as he choked on Gillyweed.
Cedric cast the Bubble-Head Charm instantly, a white sheen blocking the water from filling his lungs as we swam away from the base of the tower.
Seaweed choked at every surface, Cedric parting various reeds to swim deeper towards his apparent treasure. He suddenly heard the voice again, from the egg when it had been underwater and had sung sweetly to him and Lori.
The memory soured in his mind, Lori hadn't come to see him, and was probably hiding in the castle and reading a book in the Library.
He shook the thought away and swam deeper.
A sudden flash of colour up ahead caught his attention, a mermaid swimming away from his gracefully. A set of arches, all covered in green weeds, suddenly loomed into view, then another, then another. Mermaids watched as he swam closer, intrigued at the bubble surrounding his mouth and nose.
Four blurry shapes, floating under the largest arch grew out from the darkness. The closer he got, the more their shapes resembled humans.
His heart dropped in his chest as Lori's face came into view, her red Gryffindor robes loose in the water, her prefect badge slightly glinting in the murky dark, her ginger hair fanning all around her.
Her eyes were sealed shut, small bubbles sporadically falling from her slightly open mouth and floating to the surface.
A smile curled on his lips, however, when he noticed a glint, realising the necklace he had given her as a birthday present hung proudly around her neck.
Harry was swimming around the ties that held Ron to the floor, his hands and feet morphed into webs, gills sprouted from his neck.
"Diffindo." Cedric cast a spell at the weeds that held Lori, they severed instantly.
He linked one of his arms around her almost paralysed ones, looking to Harry. The Seekers caught each other's gaze and Cedric tapped his watch with his wand, indicating that time was running out. Harry nodded.
Cedric took one last look at Lori, dragging the both of them upwards as he swam through the murky depths, the water getting lighter with each second.
His head breached the water, the bubble dissipating as cheers rang in his ears. He only heard Lori gasping for breath as she woke, coughing any water from her lungs. Time seemed to slow down, both of them deafened to the claps and whoops and shrill laughter at his triumph.
Lori looked at him, her hair plastered to the side her face and smiled. Both of them leaned in at the same time, his hands cupping her face and hers stroking through his hair as their lips connected.
It felt like years of unsaid words and lingering looks burst out in a single second. He couldn't believe he really thought that Lori hadn't turned up, he was almost embarrassed about thinking that now.
They pulled apart, the cheers suddenly dominated their hearing again, some of the students shouting lewd remarks, while others cheered his name.
Cedric didn't care, all he cared about was getting Lori out of the water in case she sunk below the surface again, in case he lost her again.
He helped her swim over to the ladder, letting her climb up the rungs first onto the main platform. Ellie immediately engulfed the Gryffindor in a blue towel, Danny doing the same for Cedric when he appeared. The two soaking teens were led away from the ladder just as Krum and Hermione surfaced, the Durmstrang boy's head transitioned back from a shark to a human.
Cedric hadn't even noticed that his hand was around Lori's waist until she smiled up at him and leant on his arm.
The last seconds of their hour ticked away, chiming just as Ron and Gabrielle Delacour surfaced, coughing furiously. Fleur bolted to the top of the ladder as Ron helped her little sister swim towards it.
Lori detached herself from Cedric, helping Fleur lift her sister onto the platform, wrapping the young girl in a towel before she grabbed onto her brother. When Ron was up, she pulled him into a stiff hug, both of them still freezing from being at the bottom of the lake for hours.
She led her brother over to get a better view of the water, wrapping her towel around him as well to try and stop his teeth from chattering.
Cedric shared his towel with Lori, pulling her into his chest to warm her up.
She smirked up at him, "So I'm your treasure?"
His ears tinged pink, his hand running through his hair before he looked down and smiled, "You don't see anyone else sharing my towel, do you?"
It was at that moment that Harry shot out of the water, flying onto the platform and crashing on the floor still coughing up water. Dumbledore was checking him over for any signs of injury, but quickly cleared him.
Lori turned to look at Cedric, "I never did thank you for saving me."
Cedric chuckled, "I think that kiss was more than enough."
Lori smirked, standing on her toes to whisper into his ear, "I could always thank you again?"
Dumbledore's voice suddenly boomed over the stands again, "Attention. The winner is... Mr Diggory!"
Cheers rose from the stadium as Danny lifted his thick, yellow champion jumper high above his head, Ellie screaming really rather loudly, Lori pulling him into a kiss.
"Who showed innate command of the Bubble-Head Charm. However, seeing as Mr Potter would have finished first, had it not been for his determination to rescue not only Mr Weasley, but the others as well, we've agreed to award him second place for outstanding moral fiber!"
*
Cedric and Lori still had the towel draped across them as their boat docked back at Hogwarts, Ellie and Danny helping them out of the boat.
"So," Danny smirked as the four of them headed back to the castle, "you two, huh?"
Lori smiled up at Cedric as the castle entered their grateful views, swept along by the tides of students anxious to get into the warm. Just over a thousand people left the castle to watch the task, but one of them never made it back.