The Mudblood

Chapter 48 : Year 3

Brutally frigid air washed over my face, making the icy water that encased my body feel steamy in comparison. As my frozen eyes fluttered open, I took in a gasping breath that filled my aching lungs. My vision was hazy—my eyes unable to focus on anything as my body trembled uncontrollably. I knew I was in the Great Lake outside of Hogwarts, and as my water-filled ears began to drain, I could hear the tremendous sound of people cheering, shouting and clapping.

I blinked furiously, desperate to see what was going on. Vaguely, I saw a large mass not far from me floating in the water—it seemed to be some kind of multi-layered dock...with stands that students were sitting in—and they were the ones clapping.

"C'mon—get over here," I heard a voice say, as someone's warm hand began to tug at my wrist. My dazed vision began to clear, and I realized that Cedric Diggory was the one pulling on me as we both treaded water. With clarity, I now saw all of the beaming students applauding for us as we swam over toward the large dock that had been stationed in the middle of the lake.

We climbed up a small ladder onto the platform, Cedric not even allowing me to go up first. Shivering, I hopped up onto the dock, still wearing the same outfit from last night, only now my clothes were sopping wet. Ginny Weasley didn't even seem to care that I was drenched, however, because she ran right up to me and jumped on me with a hug.

"Oh—I'm so glad you're all right! Fred and George said they dropped you off with McGonagall, who said something about dying—and I was so worried—"

"Ron and Hermione—are they okay?" I stammered, my skin covered with goose-bumps as my teeth chattered endlessly.

Ginny bit her lip, though she didn't get a chance to respond before Cedric yanked my arm violently.

"What the hell is your problem?" he whispered lowly, glaring into my eyes as the rest of the crowd gazed in our direction.

"Wh—what are you talking about?" I stuttered, staring up at him helplessly. "I'm just cold—sorry for being cold in the middle of February—"

"No—that's not what I'm talking about!" he said a bit too loudly. The crowd was beginning to quiet down, everyone eager to listen to our quarrel.

"Then what are you talking about?" I asked, my face hardening with frustration.

"You—did you volunteer yourself for this or something? Wanted me to save you from death—thought it'd be romantic?" Cedric questioned rudely. Though my face was drained of all color because of the cold, Cedric's face was growing lividly red.

"What? You think I wanted to be nearly killed—nearly drowned under water just so you could save me? You're pathetic, Diggory, honestly!" I retorted hotly. "How could I have volunteered myself for this if I didn't even know what the second task would be? This was the second task, wasn't it?"

"Oh don't play dumb, Lainey—we all know you've seen this coming for weeks," he spat, rolling his eyes.

"I swear I didn't see it—"

Cedric shook his head spitefully. "No—no, just don't talk to me anymore, okay? Stay away from me."

Before I could rant about what a blithering troll he was, he stomped over toward the other side of the dock where Cho Chang was crying softly amongst her friends. On this platform, everyone else's eyes were on me with pity.

"Here, Fitz," Fred said, approaching me with a large blanket. He draped it over my shoulders, wrapping it around my body gently.

"That water looks ghastly," Ginny said, eyeing me with uncertainty. "Should be frozen, you'd think."
I remained silent, hugging the blanket tighter around my frigid body. My long hair had frozen into nasty icicles, though I wasn't too preoccupied with my appearance at the moment...