Chapter 36.
Magnolia felt Malfoy's hand squeeze tighter against her as she finished telling him about her dream. His face had frozen in a cold glare, and Magnolia couldn't bear to look at him anymore. She could feel the concern rolling off of him.
She could tell by the look in his eyes, the fire reflected in them, he was worried about the same thing she was. He was worried that her dream was her future, that she really would turn Dark and chose Voldemort over everyone else.
"You chose him?" Malfoy didn't take his eyes off the fire, "You chose him, over who?"
"Harry." Magnolia began, "Harry, Ron, Hermione. George, Fred and Ginny."
She didn't tell him about Sirius and Lupin being in the dream too, she hadn't told any of her Slytherin friends about Sirius, she couldn't. It felt strange keeping secrets from Malfoy, she could usually tell him anything and everything, but she had to protect Sirius.
"But not me? Not us, I mean, not Tracey or Daphne, Theo or Blaise or even Pansy?"
Magnolia pulled out of Malfoy's grasp, folding her legs under her and faced him.
"No, not you." She mumbled, "You guys weren't there."
"That means something, doesn't it?"
"Like what?"
"Like, it was just a dream." Malfoy turned to her, finally looking into her eyes, "It was just a dream brought on by the article saying those things about you being a Dark Witch."
"How can you know that?" Magnolia murmured, "I don't want to be Dark like she said. I don't want to choose him."
Malfoy grasped her hands, "If you had to choose, right now, choose between him and this. If you had to choose between the Dark Lord, and us here right now, your friends at Hogwarts, your life, Harry, George, me. What would you choose?"
"You," Magnolia responded immediately, "This, here. I'd choose this, not him."
Malfoy brought her hands up to his lips and kissed them, before pulling her back into his body and wrapping his arm around her. Magnolia could feel him rubbing up and down her arm, comfortingly.
"No need to worry then." He whispered into her hair, "And every time you start to worry that you're turning into that Dark Witch who choses him, I'll be there to remind you why you shouldn't."
That was the position Theo and Blaise found them in in the morning, Magnolia curled up in Malfoy's arms, asleep against his chest. It was early, Magnolia could tell by the soft lighting, and the boys had woken up for Quidditch training.
Magnolia idly wondered how many other students had walked past her and Malfoy, asleep together on the sofa, before their friends had woken them. The boys all glanced at her before they let her walk away, Malfoy with a hint of worry, but Theo and Blaise were both wearing an amused smirk.
A few days later, a few days full of Theo and Blaise's obvious teasing of Magnolia, and she was sat with Harry, Ron and Hermione in Charms class. Harry was telling them about his trip to the Prefects Bathroom with the egg, the poem and his realisation.
"How are you supposed to breath under water?" Magnolia asked, "Harry, you can barely swim!"
"I can swim better then you, you just sink." Harry replied, a small smile breaking out across his face.
Magnolia hit his arm, knowing that he was remembering the only time they had had swimming lessons. She hadn't been able to float at all, every time she took her feet off the pool floor she would start sinking.
"There'll be a spell or something, I'm sure." Harry continued, "But listen, I'm trying to tell you about Snape and Moody..."
"Do you reckon Moody's here to keep an eye on Snape as well as Karkaroff?" Ron asked.
Magnolia didn't think it was a good idea for Moody to be sniffing around Hogwarts. Although Harry was beginning to think that maybe Snape had put his name in the Goblet, and Moody's investigation had only strengthened that in his mind.
He kept that in his mind for the next few weeks, as he tried to come up with a way to breath and swim under water for an hour. Magnolia was almost glad for the distraction, the excuse, not to spend so much time with George and Malfoy.
After the night Malfoy had found her in the Common Room, she had felt awkward around him. First, they kissed, then that. She could see everyone watching them whenever they were near each other, and she had started to see what Pansy had- the glances they shared or the times they looked at each other when they thought the other wasn't watching.
The only real excitement for Magnolia was Sirius' message a few days before the Second Task asking for the date of the next Hogsmeade Trip. She was thrilled to be able to see her Godfather again. They just had to make it through the task.
The thought of seeing Sirius was the only thing stopping her panicking about Harry still not having found a way to breath under the water. She sat, tapping her foot against the library table leg frantically, as she skimmed through yet another book searching for answers.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were around too, Hermione had taken to pacing between the bookshelves and Harry would throw books away from him roughly when they proved to be no use. Ron, Magnolia noticed, was the quietest. He seemed almost resigned to the fact they wouldn't find anything to help Harry.
"Oh, this is no use!" Hermione snapped as she shut a book, "Who on earth wants to make their nose hair grow into ringlets?"
"I wouldn't mind." Fred spoke up as he turned the corner to where the group were sat, "Be a talking point, wouldn't it?"
"What are you two doing here?" Rona sked as the twins approached.
"Looking for Nola and Hermione." George replied, smiling at Magnolia, "McGonagall wants you two."
"Us? Why?" Magnolia asked, shaking her head, "I need to stay with Harry."
George shrugged, "She was quite insistent you two go to her office."
"But-"
"It's ok." Hermione interrupted, "We'll go to see Professor McGonagall and meet Harry and Ron back in the Common Room. Bring as many books as you can."
Magnolia grabbed her brother, pulling him into a hug, "I'll see you soon, we'll figure something out."
With that, she hurried after George and Fred with Hermione, wanting to get this meeting with Professor McGonagall over with quickly. Magnolia could barely believe that Professor McGonagall would want to see her the night before her brothers second task.
She should be by his side, helping him. Not wandering through the Castle on the way to a professor's study. What was she thinking!?
"Are you ok?" George asked.
Magnolia glared at him, "What do you think, George?"
"Sorry. I know. But he'll be ok, you know."
Magnolia was glad that they arrived at Professor McGonagall's study before she could say anything else. She was getting frustrated. She hated it when George did this... when anybody did. Professor McGonagall opened her door, and beckoned the two girls inside, George grasped Magnolia's hand and gently squeezed it.
"Can you be quick, Professor?" Magnolia asked, after the two girls had sat down, "It's just, I want to get back to Harry."
"You won't be going back to your brother this evening, Miss Potter."
"But I have to! It's the task tomorrow-"
"I'm well aware of what tomorrow is." Professor McGonagall interrupted, "I suppose Harry has shared with you what the task entails."
"Yes." Hermione replied, "He has to search for something in the Lake, he has an hour to find it."
Professor McGonagall nodded, "Mostly true. He has an hour to find someone, not something."
"And we're here because..." Magnolia had a horrible feeling she knew what was coming next.
"Miss Granger, Viktor Krum will be searching for you. Miss Potter, your brother will be searching for you."
"What!?"
"No!"
Hermione and Magnolia both cried at the same time.
"I can't go under water, Professor." Magnolia continued quickly, "I can't swim, neither can Harry! He'll never get to me in time!"
"You'll just have to trust that he will." The Professor smiled, "I will be placing a spell on you soon, a spell that will help you sleep until you are back above water. You will not know that you're in the Lake, you will have no clue of what is happening."
That didn't help Magnolia's worry. How would Harry even get to her in the Lake if her and Hermione weren't there this evening to help him think of a plan. Magnolia rested her head in her hands, the realisation that the next time she would see her brother would be tomorrow after he had completed the task finally settling in.
"Now, are you two ready?"
XXXX
Harry woke in the Library after a particularly frustrating dream, to Dobby poking him. Maggie hadn't returned the night before with Hermione, and Harry had decided to go back to the Library. He had waited longer then he should have, hoping that his sister and Hermione would return and help him.
"Harry Potter needs to hurry! The second task starts in 10 minutes, and Harry Potter-"
"Ten minutes!?"
Harry felt the weight of the day drop on him. He had ten minutes before he had to wade into the Lake, to search for something he'd miss, and he had no idea how he was going to do it. He couldn't do it. He would have to tell the judges that he couldn't do it. Then he could sit in the stands with his friends and his sister, spectating like he should have been from the beginning.
"Harry Potter will do the task!" Dobby squeaked. "Dobby knew Harry had not found the right book, so Dobby did it for him!"
"What?" Harry asked, "But you don't know what the second task is."
"Dobby knows, sir! Harry Potter has to go into the lake and find his sister twin-"
"Wait- Hold on- What!?"
"-and take his sister twin back from the merpeople!"
Harry grasped Dobby's shoulders, suddenly very much more awake and serious, "Do you mean, the thing I have to find, the thing I'll sorely miss... Dobby, do you mean Maggie is down there!?"
"The thing Harry Potter will miss most, sir!" Dobby replied, eyes wide as Harry's grip tightened, "And past an hour-"
"The prospect's black. Too late... it's gone... it won't come back..." Harry whispered as he let go of Dobby, suddenly feeling completely numb, "Dobby what do I do?"
He couldn't lose her. He couldn't lose his sister. He needed her. What would he be without her? Just Harry, Harry on his own... Harry alone. And Maggie, she would be so afraid down there. She would be waiting for him to save her. He always saved her; it was what he did.
When they were little, and she was bullied at school, when she was pushed over by Dudley and his gang. He protected her. He saved her. Harry dropped his head into his hands. He hadn't been doing a very good job of protecting her this year.
He had been so focused on the tasks, on himself, that he had barely made any time for his twin. Ever since coming to Hogwarts he felt like they had started drifting apart. And he had heard Hermione and Ginny whispering about Maggie too. She was close to the Slytherin's, sometimes Harry worried that she was too close to the Slytherin's.
"You has to eat this, sir!"
Harry watched as Dobby pulled something out of his short pockets. He could have kissed the House Elf as he explained what Gillyweed was and how to use it to help in the task. Before he knew it, Harry was running through the Castle towards the Lake.
Towards his sister. His heart was pounding against his chest, he finally had a way to get through this task and he had to do it well. He couldn't leave her down there alone, afraid.
He could see the rest of the school there already. The Champions were all stood by the edge of the Lake, watching as Harry ran towards them. He skidded to a halt next to Cedric in the line, watching the dark water as it lapped against the shore.
Magnolia loved watching the water from here, the two of them had sat in this exact spot so any times since they first came to Hogwarts, and she always loved it. Now though, Harry knew she would be terrified under the surface of the Lake.
"I'm sorry, I'm here." Harry panted.
"Harry?" Cedric asked from beside him.
Ludo Bagman appeared beside him then, sending him an enthusiastic smile and squeezing his shoulder. Harry watched as Bagman moved away, towards the judges. Bagman pointed his wand towards his throat and cast the amplifying spell as he started to speak to the crowd.
"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One... two... three."
"Harry, are you ok?" Cedric's worried voice asked again.
"Maggie... They have Mags." Harry replied, as he waded into the cold water.
XXXX
George strode into the Gryffindor Common Room on the morning of the second task. He hadn't seen Hermione or Nola come to the Tower after he and Fred had left them at McGonagall's office. They had been so sure that they would meet Harry back here to help him, but they had never arrived.
George had worried that it was because of what he had said to Nola, because he upset her. He sighed, he felt like they had been getting closer that year, but something had happened. Something had changed.
Sometimes, he felt like she could feel the same for him as he did for her. Other times, he knew she never would. Maybe she thought she could, but he saw her when she didn't realise anyone else was watching. He had seen her and Malfoy at the Yule Ball.
George gulped; he wouldn't think of that. There was still a chance, because sometimes- sometimes his Nola looked at him the way she had looked at Malfoy during that dance. And he was better for her.
He knew that Nola worried about Dark magic. Harry had told them what had happened before their third year, how she threatened the Dursley's so ferociously. Harry had worried about her for a long time after that, and so had George.
George jumped when he felt a clap on his back. Fred had joined him, as he stood in the middle of the Common Room. Ron joined them too, confused about where Harry and Hermione were, but George was even more confused.
The three of them walked down to the Lake, joining the rest of the students that were watching. He could see the Champions, except Harry, stood a little apart from each other by the edge of the Lake and made a sudden decision. Jogging away from his brothers, George approached the Hufflepuff champion.
"Cedric! Cedric, what's the task?" George asked, hurriedly, "Why are we near the Lake?"
"We, er, we have to find the thing we'd miss the most." Cedric replied, confused.
"The things you'd miss the most? From the Lake?" George thought out loud.
He sighed as he realised what Cedric meant, and why he hadn't seen Nola all morning. He had delivered Harry's most beloved thing, the thing he would miss the most. George had delivered Harry's sister to be a pawn in this task.
He stomped back to his brothers, who were just getting onto a boat to make their way to the stands. Ron glanced at him questioningly, but Fred knew not to question his brother when he had that hard look on his face. It didn't happen often, so when it did, Fred knew to take it seriously.
The three brothers climbed out of the boat and joined the other Gryffindors on the stands, George stood near the front of stand, gripping the edge tightly. He knew Nola couldn't swim; they had discussed it one day when they had been sat by the Lake.
She loved the Lake, she was so fascinated by it, and yet so scared of what could be beneath it. She must be terrified down there, in the dark water, alone. George huffed again. He had delivered her to this.
Fred appeared next to him and pointed out a figure running down from the Castle. Harry. The task was due to begin in minutes, and Harry was only just arriving. George had never seen him move so quickly, so determinedly. Harry had obviously figured it out too.
"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle." Ludo Bagman's voice echoed around the ground of Hogwarts, "They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One... two... three."
"George, what's wrong?" Fred asked quietly, "Harry will be fine."
George shook his head, "Nola... They have Nola."
XXXX
Draco had been sat on the sofa in the Slytherin Common Room, his elbows on his knees, his fingers weaved together, and his chin rested on them. He had been staring at the fire the entire night. Waiting. Waiting for someone to walk through the Common Room door.
Magnolia had left the previous evening to help her brother, and she hadn't returned. Draco was sure she would have returned. He had sat waiting for the girl, on the same sofa he had woken up with her not long before.
The others were beginning to join him now, they were worried too. Tracey and Pansy had been the first to join him and ask if he had seen Magnolia, she wasn't in her bed when they had woken up. Pansy said Magnolia had promised she would be back, so they could all watch the task together.
So, where was she?
Draco paced until the group decided to move down to the Lake. Where was she? He looked around as they walked through the grounds, desperately hoping to see a flash of red hair as Lia ran towards them.
He didn't see anything though. He couldn't see her.
Draco tried to stall the group for long enough, before they had to get on the boat towards the stands. They would be joining the Durmstrang's. Draco stepped off the boat, and frantically looked around, hoping that Magnolia would be on the stand already.
Instead, he spotted Henrik. Draco charged towards the Durmstrang, knowing that Krum would have told the others what he would be facing.
"What's the task!?" Draco demanded.
"I don't know if I should tell you." Henrik replied, unsure.
Draco held himself tall, drawing on every bit of 'Pureblood Malfoy' he could muster, "Tell me. What is the Task."
Draco had often used his Pureblood upbringing to get what he had wanted, and this time was no different. Part of him thought that Magnolia would be disapproving of it, but the rest of him knew she wouldn't care.
They had spoken about it before; she was fascinated by the Pureblood lifestyle and often asked her friends about it. He, himself had told her a great deal about his upbringing when he had been teaching her to dance.
If it wasn't for his father's strange reactions to Lia, he would have invited her to Malfoy Manor to see a Pureblood life up close. He could teach her how to live. Draco grimaced at the thought of his father being close to the girl.
After the World Cup, when his father had met Magnolia for the second time, Draco had been confused by his father's reaction. He hadn't remembered her. Draco had introduced Magnolia to his father before they started Second Year at Hogwarts, in the Bookshop, but his father hadn't remembered her.
"The champions, they have to swim under the Lake. To recover what was taken from them. Something precious to them."
Draco's bravado disappeared instantly. He knew instantly why he hadn't seen Magnolia now. He nodded at Henrik and turned away, towards the edge of the stand and looked into the dark water below.
"Draco?"
Draco felt Pansy, Tracey and Daphne, Theo and Blaise, and Crabbe and Goyle surround him as he stared into the water. His heart pounded. She couldn't swim. She couldn't swim and she was down there, without him. He couldn't help her. He couldn't make her feel better.
The best thing he had done with his life so far, was to be the person that made Lia feel better, the person she could tell anything to. And now, he couldn't do anything. He had to wait and watch as Saint Potter blundered through the task until Lia was safe.
"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle." Bagman's voice sounded across the Lake, dragging everyone's attention except for Draco's towards him, "They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One... two... three."
"Draco? What's wrong?"
Draco dug his fingers into the side of the stand, his jaw clenched, "Lia... They have Lia."