I wake up at the bottom of the lake, tightly bound to the tail of a stone merperson. I force my eyes to open, introducing a stream of water to enter my vision. I glance around at my surroundings. Ron is on my left and Hermione is on my right, the two of them are tangled up against the stone like me.
Ron, Hermione, and the girl (who I swear is Fleur's younger sister) are all in a deep sleep, with their head lolled on their shoulder.
I instantly see Harry come swimming down, stopping when he reaches Ron. He begins to hack away at the bindings, causing Ron to unconsciously float in the water a few inches.
Harry turns to me next and lifts the rock, ready to release me as well. Before he can, one of the merpeople grabs his shoulder and pulls him away from me whilst laughing.
"You take your own hostage, leave the others."
Harry replies, but no words come out of his mouth. Instead, two large bubbles emerge. The merpeople continue to laugh, until they stop and point past Harry.
Swimming down, was Cedric in all his glory. He looked even more handsome underwater — Merlin, I sound like such a teenager right now.
"A-Amelia?" Cedric stutters in confusion after we make eye contact. "I though that —, never-mind let's get you up."
Pulling a knife out of his pocket, he breaks me free. I feel paralyzed and unable to move, so Cedric gently pulls me upwards and we swim out of the lake.
I lose sight of Harry, Ron, and Hermione as Cedric and I emerge from the surface of the water, my arm still wrapped around him. The bright sky temporarily blinds me, but the two of us swim to the shore together.
"Are you okay?" Cedric asks me as we swim together.
The cold water nips my flesh, but I know he probably feels the same way. "Yes," I tell him.
He lets me climb up first, with him following close behind me. Almost immediately, a thick blanket is wrapped around my shoulders, as is Cedric's.
"You think this is funny, do you?" Cedric asks me in a whisper tone, very angrily. "Are you happy with what you've done?"
"Cedric, what?" I ask him, my face still dripping with the water from the lake.
He gestures to a hurt looking Cho Chang. She hides it easily with a fake smile and waves to the two of us cheerfully. My stomach pangs with guilt.
"Cedric, I didn't choose to be the hostage. I had no idea until last night and —"
"Just forget it," Cedric tells me, shaking the blanket off of him and stalking over to Cho Chang.
"Oh Amelia! Thank goodness you're alive!" Daphne says dramatically. "I'd give you a hug, but you're soaking wet!" She exclaims.
"I-It's okay," I say, trembling from the cold.
I'm escorted by Daphne to where the rest of the Slytherins are. I'm almost completely dry by now, except for my hair, which is still partially soaked.
"Amelia, you nearly drowned," Blair says. "I was so worried about you," She adds, reading her book. "By the way, did I ever tell you —"
"I wish she would've drowned," Draco sneers, while Pansy clings to his arm. "It would've done us all a favor," He says rudely.
By now, the other champions have risen with their hostages. Krum comes up with Hermione, but Harry comes up with both Ron and Fleur's sister. I look up to see that Fleur wasn't even in the water.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Mucus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows . . .
Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty five points."
The stands react with light applause. "I deem zero," Fleur says throatily, in her heavy french accent.
"Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour. We therefore award him forty seven points."
The stands, especially Hogwarts, explodes with joy. Even some older Slytherins happily pat my back, despite me having nothing to do with Cedric's victory. I glance at Cedric, who is staring intently at me. When we make eye contact, he quickly looks away and beams at Cho.
"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points."
My heart sinks for Harry. If Krum and Cedric were both out of the time limit, he must certainly have been as well.
"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect," Bagman continues. "He returned last and well outside of the time limit. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mr. Potter was first time reach the hostages, and that the delay in return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own. Most of the judges feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks. Mr Potter's score is forty five points."
I nearly leap out of my seat in excitement. Harry's tied for first with Cedric! Hogwarts may have a Triwizard Champion this year.
Fleur is clapping hard for Harry and Cedric while Krum looks angry. I notice him attempt to engage conversation with Hermione, who is too busy cheering for Harry.
"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty fourth of June," Bagman announces. "The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all for your support of the champions."
Another ring of applause commences. I sigh in relief. All my friends are safe, Cedric and Harry are winning, and we have four months until the final task occurs. Everything will be alright.
—
Hi!! My apologies for taking 17 hours to write a chapter. Anyways, I have 6 consistent readers now and that means the world to me. Unfortunately, I've gotten no votes yet so if anyone wants to press that little star ...
Just kidding (kind of)
Also — I've written 32 chapters in 7 days. Send me to therapy.
QOTC: Were you surprised that Amelia was Cedric's hostage?