Clary didn't remember the hours she'd spent hundreds of feet underwater in the middle of winter, chained to the bottom of the Black Lake and waiting for her champion to save her. She never saw the shock on Cedric's face as he reached the center of the merpeople's undersea kingdom, Clary's long red hair as bright as a beacon in the murky water as it finally sank in that his treasure was actually the girl he'd spent the entire morning missing, and wondering if she was okay when she didn't show up with the rest of their friends for the task. She didn't feel him dragging her up to the surface, the confident yet determined grin on his face as he attempted to keep the lead in the race and get them back above water. She simply remembered laying down in the headmaster's office the night before, and Professor McGonagall uttering a charm as she slowly lost consciousness.
In what seemed like the next moment, she was breaking through the surface of the freezing cold water, cheers ringing in the stands surrounding them as she forced her eyes open, spluttering and gasping for air as she felt Cedric's tight hold on her arm, and her vision finally focused on his triumphant smile and low chuckle.
"And here I thought you ditched me this morning," Cedric smirked as he helped her swim to the ladder near the end of the stands, pushing Clary up ahead of him to climb onto the dock, where Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan waited with fluffy robes and towels for them to dry off, Cedric's name being chanted over and over by the spectators.
Clary's eyes searched the stands for any sort of sign of the other champions and their treasures, but they were nowhere to be found, save for Fleur standing at the edge of the docks surrounded by her fellow Beauxbatons students, staring worriedly out onto the water. Clary used the towel to dry off as best as she could, though her Hogwarts robes still hung drenched and heavy around her. She quickly pulled off her school robe, pulling the fluffy gray robe over her gray sweater and black skirt in an attempt to warm up.
"You did it," Clary said to Cedric in awe. "You won. Harry and Viktor aren't back yet, and Fleur's sister isn't here."
As Cedric accepted his robe, another cheer broke out through the stands, and Clary peered over the edge of the dock to see Viktor and Hermione both breaking the surface of the water, the Bulgarian boy's head transforming from that of a shark back to his usual self.
"That doesn't make sense," Cedric said, his voice tightening, and Clary's eyebrows furrowed together as she looked back at him in confusion.
"What doesn't make sense?" Clary asked, worry lacing her tone.
"Harry made it down to you before I did." Cedric explained. "And was right behind me when I left. If Krum made it back before he did, then something's wrong."
As Cedric spoke, the clock began to chime above the stands, signaling that the hour was up. Meanwhile, there was no sign of Harry or Ron, though she knew that if the headmaster kept his word, Ron and Fleur's sister would both be okay. For Harry, she couldn't quite be sure.
"Is that it, then?" Cedric asked. "If the hour's up, what does that mean for Ron and the little Delacour girl?"
"We were never in any real danger, Ced." Clary assured him. "If we weren't saved, they'd bring us back up. Ron and Fleur's sister will both be fine. Harry, however..." she trailed off as three figures broke the surface of the water, her heart hammering in her chest as she sighed in relief, taking in the faces of the three missing students.
"Let's go, get them up!" Dean exclaimed as he and Seamus raced to the end of the docks, first helping up Fleur's sister as Fleur ran for the ladder, extending a hand to the little girl.
"Gabrielle!" Fleur exclaimed in relief, followed by a string of French words Clary couldn't understand as the little girl, Gabrielle, climbed the ladder and launched herself into her sister's arms, both of them sobbing in relief, clinging tightly to one another.
Ron was next up the ladder, followed by Harry, all three of the newcomers being greeted with towels and robes as Clary and Cedric had been, as well as Viktor and Hermione. As the scene began to calm down, and Dumbledore ordered the judges over to discuss the events that had taken place, with Harry rescuing two champions despite returning after the allotted time, Cedric put an arm around Clary in an attempt to help her warm up, and she smiled as Vasantha and Newt managed to finally push their way through the crowd to them, closely followed by Fred and George, the latter's hand held tightly in Vasantha's, much to Clary's own surprise and excitement.
"You did it!" Newt exclaimed excitedly as both sets of twins reached them. "You made it back first, you won!" Newt went to hug his best friend, though stopped short as he saw both Cedric and Clary still drenched and slightly shivering in the frigid air after their swim in the lake in the middle of February. "On second thought, how about a fist bump?" Newt asked, and Cedric laughed, raising his fist and hitting it against his best friend's.
"Well, it's not over yet." Cedric said. "I may have returned first, but Harry made it down there before me. If he hadn't been so concerned with getting Fleur's sister back and making sure everyone was okay, then he would've won, there's no question about that."
"ATTENTION!" Dumbledore's voice, magnified through the power of his wand, rang through the stadium, causing silence to ensue amongst the student spectators. "The winner is... Mr. Diggory!"
Clary and her friends cheered in victory as Cedric was pronounced the winner, a flash going off from one of the cameras held by a photographer from the Daily Prophet, capturing their moment. Cedric was absolutely buzzing, and pulled Clary in for a kiss, his fist raising triumphantly into the air as Newt and Vasantha jumped up and down in celebration, Fred and George clapping and cheering next to them.
"However," Dumbledore continued, "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 have agreed to award him second place! For outstanding moral fibre."
The cheers roared through the stands again at the news that both Hogwarts champions had taken first and second place in the task, Clary watching as Ron and Hermione cheered for Harry near the ladder to the docks and clapping along for her brother's friend. Suddenly Fred and George stiffened where they stood next to Clary, their eyes landing on where the Triwizard judges still gathered in the center of the crowd.
"George," Fred said, "Look, it's Bagman. Let's go get our money, once and for all!"
"Let's go," George agreed, already making a beeline for the judges' table. "Oi! Bagman!"
Clary watched with a chuckle as Fred and George ran off, turning back to Cedric, Newt, and Vasantha. "Alright," she said, still shivering, and Cedric's arm pulled her closer in an attempt to warm her up. "I'd like to get into some dry clothes and warm up a little, but I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday. Food?"
"Food sounds lovely after fighting off hordes of grindylows to save you from the merpeople." Cedric said nonchalantly, and Clary elbowed him in the side. "What? No thank you? No 'Cedric, you're my hero?'" the boy scoffed sarcastically, causing her to roll her eyes.
"Just keep walking, hero." Clary said with a smirk as they began their trek back up to the castle.
Clary, Cedric, Newt, and Vasantha finally reached the top of the hill, the former two sighing in relief as they reached the warm air of the fiery sconces that lit the corridors. The girls bid a quick goodbye to the boys, rushing up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower with the promise that they'd all meet back outside the Great Hall in fifteen minutes. Clary tried her hardest not to slip up the stairs in her wet shoes as she climbed each flight, the weight of her long-discarded school robe hanging heavy in her hands.
When she finally reached the sixth year girls' dormitory, Clary slipped out of her wet clothes, pulling on a dry pair of jeans and the new jumper her mother had knitted her for Christmas that year, pulling it on and wringing out her damp hair. Vasantha also quickly changed out of the clothes she'd worn during the Second Task, also damp from a cold day spent in such close proximity to the Black Lake, and once both girls were ready, they retreated back down the stairs in pursuit of the Great Hall.
"Took you both long enough," Newt said as the girls reached the Great Hall, taking seats across from where the boys sat at the Hufflepuff table, Clary instantly pouring herself a hot glass of apple cider to warm up as she shot Newt a glare.
"Cut me some slack." Clary said. "I've been under a spell and at the bottom of the lake since last night, I needed some time."
"Glad our champion here could save you." Newt smiled, gesturing to Cedric as he raised his glass of pumpkin juice in a toast. "To Cedric Diggory, the next Triwizard champion."
Clary and Vasantha both smiled, raising their glasses high. "To Cedric."