My Plant Girl || Neville x OC

20. The Second Task

-Naomi's POV-

Me and Neville had made up for our mini argument and forgot about it. The truth was, I don't love Cedric. Well, I do. But as a friend. I want to talk to Draco today. It's been two months and I'm pretty sure he's getting desperate. That lunch time, I went to the Slytherin dorm. He hasn't been going down to the great hall very often so I assume he's there. I knocked on the cold portrait where I hoped someone would answer. 

"Draco, I know you're in here! Come on, I forgive you now!"

The portrait slowly opened and there he was. He looked at me with a green apple in his left hand, one bite mark in it.

"Naomi? Why are you here?"

"Because I want to be friends again. Neville may never forgive you but I will. I miss you Dray."

"And this wasn't some stupid dare?"

"No."

"Okay then. I wanted to apologise for everything. Bullying Neville and all that shit. I'm sorry, Naomi."

I didn't say anything, I just looked at him with glassy eyes before pulling him into a bone-breaking hug.

"Draco? You don't need to worry about me anymore. I'm fine."

"Do you mean your mother? What happened to your hands? Why have they been bandaged?"

"I fell onto a smashed plate, but I'm fine. Honest."

"You're not going back there. You can stay with me! In the manor!"

"I have somewhere to stay, Dray. Thank you though."

"Heh, okay then. Want an apple?"

"Oh, I'm okay. I've just eaten."

"Okay well, me and some of my friends were just about to start a game of wizards chess. Wanna do teams? There's three of us. We need another person."

"Of course I want to do teams!"

I followed him into the common room and we played for hours on end. We played until the sun touched the valley. Me and Pansy vs Draco and Crabbe. 

-----------------------------

The month went fairly fast and eventually, it became February. Tomorrow is the day of the second task. I have been on edge and spent a lot more time with Ced. He has been inviting me to study with him and come to the Hufflepuff table to talk about stuff. Cedric is one of the very few people that I have talked about mother to. He understands and helps me. I have helped him in return with the second task. I had managed to help him and Jake find a spell that allows him to have a small bubble of oxygen whilst he's down there.

On the morning of the task, I was eating some toast with Nev when Professor McGonagall came over and pulled me to the side. She bought me into a room with Hermione and Ron. Had I done something?

-Neville's POV- 

We all gathered on the posts waiting for the task to begin. As George and Fred did their bets as usual, I wondered where Naomi could be. I haven't seen her since McGonagall took her from breakfast. Or Ron and Hermione for that matter. Just as I was about to ask Harry if he'd seen them, Dumbledore started talking and Karkaroff pulled me back so I wouldn't get in the way of them jumping in. When the cannon went, Harry put the gilly weed I'd given him and swallowed it. He jumped into the water and didn't come back up.