Darkest Hours (A Cedric Diggory Fanfic)

Chapter 23: Second Task

A week and a half after Valentine's Day was finally the long awaited day of the second task for the Triwizard Tournament.

The halls were buzzing with excitement that Saturday morning. Morgan and Kiara walked arm in arm to the Great Hall ready for breakfast. The boys and Angelina were already there talking about what they thought could be the treasure each of the Champions had to retrieve.

"Bet it's the snitch for Potter," Angelina said as Morgan and Kiara settled down beside her.

"I wonder what Cedric's will be," Kiara said, reaching for a muffin.

"What's important to him?" Nathan asked.

"Everything," Kiara laughed, "but if I had to pick, his friends, I guess."

"Well, it can't be people, can it?" Morgan questioned, buttering her bread.

Everyone shrugged not really knowing what the rules or parameters were. Kiara looked over at the Hufflepuff table and smiled when she saw Cedric. He was in his school uniform, ready for the task.

After breakfast, everyone was told to get on the boats that was going to take them to the Black Lake. As everyone started to make their way, Morgan looked around for Kiara, who was right next to her.

Morgan looked for Cedric, thinking she might've left to wish him good luck, but Cedric was with the other Champions talking to Professor McGonagall.

"Have you seen Kiara?" Morgan asked the Twins.

"Not since breakfast. Maybe she went to the bathroom," Fred shrugged, not thinking too much about it. Morgan agreed thinking that could easily be the case, so she continued with her friends to the boats.

It was a thirty-minute boat ride to the dock that was set up for the second task in the middle of the Black Lake.

"What do you thing the treasure is?" Rory asked Malcolm.

"Might be different for each of the Champions," Malcolm shrugged.

Barty Crouch from the Ministry was speaking and laying out the rules for the Champions. He explained the task to the audience as well.

Cedric looked around to see if he could find Kiara in the crowd. He was surprised she wasn't up front, where she normally would be.

"Alright, once I fire, you can jump in," Barty Crouch told the Champions, "remember, you only have an hour."

Cedric got ready and on the count of three, he dove into the dark waters. Cedric casted the bubble-head charm just as he jumped. Next to him, he saw Fleur had the same idea as him. Krum turned into a shark and Harry...well, Harry looked like human fish.

Cedric looked around before starting to swim lower. They weren't joking about the creatures in the Black Lake. There was nothing beautiful or attractive about them. The Black Lake was a horrendous place to be, Cedric thought. He started following the mermaids, keeping his distance. The seaweed grew thicker, which made it harder for him to see them. Cedric kept swimming as fast as he could.

Twenty-five minutes in, he vaguely heard that Fleur was disqualified. Cedric kept his eyes open so he didn't get distracted. He swam until he came to an abandoned merpeople town. Cedric stayed low as he made his way through it.

That was when he saw them.

There were four people floating in the water, like balloons. The scene horrified Cedric and he knew he'd be having nightmares about that for the rest of his life.