Aurora | Harry Potter

chapter sixteen

I gasp for air as I wake up and the first thing I realise is that I'm in the Black Lake, soaked from head to toe. Then, I see Cedric next to me and he starts to push me towards a structure - one of three - and helps me up the ladder. My whole body is shaking from the cold and I feel really disoriented. 

A towel gets thrown around me and when I turn around, Cedric pulls me into a tight hug. "Are you okay?" He asks, frantically looking over me and his cold hands reach my face, holding it gently. "I'm fine... what's going on?" I ask.

"The second task was that someone who means something dear to each Champion was taken and put beneath the Lake, under a sleeping protection spell, and we had an hour to retrieve them," he explains, rubbing my arms to warm me up.

I look around and apart from Fleur, I don't see any other Champions or soaked students. "Did you finish first?" I ask, to which he nods and pulls me to his chest, tightly holding me. "Fleur didn't get past the Grindylows, so she had to forfeit the task."

I go to say what will happen to the person she was supposed to receive, but cheering erupts and when I look down at the lake, I see Krum and Hermione's heads pop up through the water. I ditch my towel and help them both out of the water, Hermione pulling me into a hug once she's out.

"That's what McGonagall wanted us for," she says as she shivers tremendously, so I grab my discarded towel and wrap it around her. After a short while of standing around and waiting anxiously, Ron and a little blonde girl emerge from the water. As Ron helps the girl out, I see that it's the girl who always follows Fleur around.

Quite a significant amount of time passes and my nerves start to go through the roof. I see some teachers and students with concerned or panicked looks on their faces, so I start to freak out.

Hermione and Ron both side hug me and tell me that he'll be up soon, but my hands start to shake and I bring them up to my lips, biting at my fingers anxiously.

Then all of a sudden, Harry shoots out of the water and onto the platform, coughing up water and panting heavily, red marks all over his body. I fall to my knees in thankfulness and I feel Cedric help me up, a smile on his face which helps me to properly wind down.

Once I'm up, I rush over to Harry, who has Hermione and Ron by his sides. I pick up a nearby towel and throw it around his shoulders, the redness and bruises on his body look painful.

"Attention!" Dumbledore's voice rings a little too loudly, making me wince. "The winner is Mr Diggory!" Rounds of cheering and applause are heard as Cedric's smile beams wider, joy spread all over his face.

"However, seeing as Mr. Potter would have finished first," Dumbledore continues, "had it not been for his determination to rescue not only Mr. Weasley, but the others as well, we've agreed to award him second place!"

More cheering and applause pursues, everyone congratulating Harry, who starts to grin massively. Me, Hermione and Ron all pull into a hug, Harry's slight shivering the only movement between us all.

Everyone then is allocated into a boat and escorted back to the dock that leads to the Black Lake. Fred, George, Ron and Hermione walk ahead, congratulating him and saying they'll meet him at Hagrid's hut. I look down at the ground as Harry aimlessly talks about what the final task could be.

"Imagine if it's-- Aurora, are you okay?" He asks, placing a hand on my shoulder. I slowly shake my head and then pull him into a tight embrace, holding him close. "Please don't ever scare me like that again!" I exclaim, my voice cracking with sorrow. "Promise me you won't."

Harry slowly hugs back and I rest my head on his shoulder. "I won't, I promise, Aurora." I pull out of the hug and Harry raises his hand to my cheek, wiping away a single tear. 

"Congratulations, Potter," a voice says that's revealed to be Mr Crouch when we turn around. "A fine achievement. And for you, Miss Diggory, your brother was very impressive." We both thank him and then he asks if he wouldn't mind if he spoke to Harry alone. 

"That's fine, Sir," I say, before looking at Harry and giving him a smile. "I'll see you at Hagrid's." I wave goodbye and continue to walk up the hill, leaves sticking to my damp shoes. As I'm walking, a crisp cool breeze flows through the air, leaves twirling and spiralling until they hit the ground.

"Hey, Diggory!" I turn around just to get pushed over by Pansy Parkinson, the bratty, bad-mannered Slytherin who ditched Draco on Christmas Eve at the Yule Ball. I go to stand up, but she pulls out her wand and points it at my neck, poking it hard enough to make me want to cough. 

"You stay away from Draco, he's mine," she sneers, a sly look on her face. I scoff slightly. "I'm just friends with him, I don't like him in that way," I say, pushing her wand away from my face and standing up. "But you saw the way he looked at you when you danced at the Ball. Take a hint, Pansy, he's not interested in you."

SLAP! I bring my hand to my cheek, which stings slightly when I touch it. I go to push her, but I receive a punch in the stomach from Crabbe and another from Goyle, which makes me double over in pain.

"Say hi to Potter for us, would you?" Pansy drawls, walking away and laughing with Crabbe and Goyle. I cough as I stand up, my stomach aching in pain. I heave a sigh as I walk back up to the castle. 

'It's nearly the final task, nothing can get any worse than it has already...'