The Slowest Heart

The Second Task

In the days that followed, Keoghan had trouble paying attention in her classes. Her mind kept wandering back to Cedric and the Task, leaving Clementine to gently poke her and draw her attention back to the topic of discussion. They also, upon Keoghan's insistence, lent some of their notes for her to memorize.

"What's been going on that distracts you?" they asked one evening. Keoghan simply sighed.

"It's a long story, Clem."

Clementine nodded. "I understand if you can't talk about it right now. We're always here to support you and Cedric."

Keoghan thanked them, but she knew that the support only came from Clementine. The Slytherins were not too fond of her and Cedric's... involvement. She couldn't call it a relationship, but they certainly were more than friends. Still, she was glad to have Clementine on her side, if nobody else.

~

"Keoghan," Hannah Abbott told her on the morning of the Second Task, "Dumbledore wants you in his office."

She nodded once and set off for his office. Strange, that Dumbledore would want to see her of all people.

~

"Miss Mercury, Miss Delacour, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger," the Headmaster addressed the four youth standing in his office.

"Yes, Headmaster?" Granger asked. Keoghan rolled her eyes.

"You have been chosen to participate in the Second Task, where the champion will be tasked to retrieve their most precious possession from the bottom of the Black Lake. That possession will be you."

Weasley interrupted him. "Who's whose person, then?"

"That is for you to figure out. If you consent, you will be placed under a water-breathing charm and sleeping draught that will wear off as soon as you break the surface of the water. Does anyone object?"

Nobody objected. As they were handed potions to drink, Keoghan analyzed the situation. Miss Delacour must be Fleur's younger sister and Weasley would most likely be Potter's best friend. That left Granger as Krum's possession and herself as Cedric's.

She was Cedric's most precious possession?

Keoghan thought it would have been Cho.

~

"Draco, let's go look at the tapestries!" young Keoghan cried, delighted at the prospect. Draco shook his head.

"I hate those stupid things. Let's go outside!"

"No! I want to look at the tapestries."

The pair split up, Keoghan heading deeper into Mercury Manor to a hallway that held tapestries of her family throughout generations. She recognized her parents on their wedding day, her grandmother after she received perfect NEWT scores, and many other relatives. Wandering further down the hallway, she found a tapestry she had never seen before.

Herself.

Herself on a field, shattered. Crying. Weak.

Keoghan felt an icy hand on her shoulder. Her mother.

"See what you are, you idiot? A weak, snivelling child. You do not deserve the Mercury name!"

"NO-"

~

Gasping, Keoghan woke from her slumber at the surface of the Black Lake.

"Cedric Diggory returns with his hostage, just one minute outside of the timeframe!" Bagman announced.

"Keoghan! You're alright!" Cedric exclaimed. She nodded.

"I'm alright."

The two swam to a platform that floated on the lake, holding all of the students who came to watch the Task. Once they clambered up and were presented with towels, Cedric took her face in his hands.

"I thought you were dead," he admitted. "I was so scared."

Keoghan smiled. "And I thought they would have chosen Cho as your most precious possession. She's basically your sister."

Cedric shook his head. "You have no idea how much you mean to me."

And then, he kissed her. They were right in front of the entire student body, but neither of them cared. She pulled him into her and deepened the kiss, only breaking away when Bagman cleared his throat.

"And Fleur Delacour returns second, with her hostage safe and sound."

~

Cedric and Keoghan had taken to spending their evenings together after the Second Task. The Third Task was still far away, on July 24th, but Cedric's mind had been plagued with thoughts of death.

"Keoghan, do you think I'm going to die?" he asked every evening.

And every evening, Keoghan responded with the same thing. "I will not let you leave without me."