The Era of Aria Snape

77

Chapter Seventy-Seven

ARIA TOOK A deep breath and dived into the icy water of the Black Lake. Her senses took a moment to adjust to the new environment and when she opened her eyes, Aria was alone, the other champions having swum off.

She was reluctant to take a breath. Scuba-Spells required courses and experience with underwater Charms, she had neither of those things and she feared her lack of knowledge would cost her first place.

Her head began to feel fuzzy due to the lack of airflow to her brain and that was when she made her decision. It was either she drowned and lost the tournament or she dared to take a breath and possibly place in the task. It was better than drowning, she decided and opened her mouth to breathe.

Instinct told her to swim to the surface, but she realized that she was not drowning, she could breathe and the Scuba-Spells appeared to be working.

She didn't know how long it would last, though, and began to swim in the direction she had seen the other champions go off in.

Dumbledore had explained the nature of the task before allowing the champions to plunge into the water-said that a treasure had been stolen from each of them and that it now lay at the bottom of the Black Lake.

Aria had done a mental check of what she could have possibly lost, but nothing came to mind. She considered it was some sort of trick and that it wasn't something physical she had lost.

Aria proceeded to swim forth, keeping her eye out for the so-called treasure and for any lurking creatures that may want her for dinner.

Her wand was handy in case of that.

She had been very nervous that morning, for many reasons. First, she wasn't even sure her charm would work, and second, she hadn't had Malfoy's sugar-coated insults to cheer her on. In fact, she hadn't seen him since the previous night. She had tried to search for him before the task, but George demanded all of her attention.

A hum of voices reached Aria's ears, similar to the ones from within the egg. She swam in that direction as fast as she could go. Winning was her top priority, living was a close second. She disregarded her surroundings because aside from the rumor of a giant squid lurking in the lake, what could be in the water beside a few dumb fish?

Lingering around several pillars were five merfolk. Each was as terrible-looking as the last with golden staffs by their sides. She swam an inch closer, none of them paying her any attention.

Aria spotted a group of familiar faces. She recognized Hermione, Ronald, some girl from Ravenclaw, another one from Beauxbatons, and finally right before her eyes, Draco. Her heart sunk as she took in his unconscious state and wet skin that had her believing he had been underwater for hours.

As she went lower to untie the green seaweed that locked Draco in place, her breath hitched-the charm was wearing off. If she didn't hurry, the mermaids would take her.

With one final tug, the seaweed came loose and Draco began to float upwards. She grabbed onto his arm, her breath fading away slowly as she surfaced and gasped, breathing in the fresh air and wiping her eyes free of water.

Draco did the same, his blond locks flat against his head as he spluttered and splashed.

"Malfoy," Aria called, reaching for him. Their hands met as he swam towards her, a wide smile on his face.

"I'm your treasure, am I?" He smirked as she splashed him.

Aria rolled her eyes, but couldn't fight the laugh that escaped her mouth as they swam back.

"Attention. Attention!" Dumbledore called out drawing everyone's attention as Aria dried herself off with a towel. "The winner is... Mr. Diggory!"

Aria huffed at the announcement and turned to Draco. "What the hell?"

"You finished second-second sucks, but it's still something."

"The way I see it, 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've agreed to award him second place."

Aria stomped her foot. "How bloody dare they?" She snapped.

"Third place isn't bad." She heard George's voice come from behind her.

"Maybe for a Gryffindor." She snapped, not missing the way Draco grinned. "But not for someone who has a reputation to uphold."

George ignored her rudeness and reached for another towel, wrapping it around her shaking body. "You'll get 'em next time." He smiled and pulled her into an unexpected kiss.

Her annoyance slowly flitted away as she was absorbed into the kiss, the only thing to bother her was the swift movement of footsteps that she knew were Malfoy's as he turned and left in a hurry.

The last thing she wanted was to hurt him, but perhaps it was better that he see she was back with George and hopefully get over her because of it.

Things would never work out with Draco and he would have to accept that.

Perhaps Aria would have to accept it as well.