𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙨 (𝖽𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗈 𝗆𝖺𝗅𝖿𝗈𝗒 𝗑 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋)

nine

The Triwizard Tournament was obviously the huge thing going on this year, and I was pretty interested in it. When I found out that Cedric Diggory had made it as champion, I was ecstatic. He and I aren't close, but he is extremely nice, and we both consider each other friends.

The First Task was surprising, and it was entertaining to see what tactics the Champions used to get the dragon's egg. However, I was way more excited for the Second Task, which will most likely be under the water. I heard from Cedric that this challenge will have something to do with mermaids, and those are always scary.

~~~

My eyes drifted open before slamming shut against the bright light coming in through the dormroom window.

"Fawn!" I whined, flopping onto my stomach and throwing my pillow over my head. "Why did you open the window? It's cold and too bright!"

Fawn's voice came out muffled, thanks to my fluffy pillow. "I was feeling tired and needed a little blast of fresh air to help me wake up."

"Stop arguing, you two. The Second Task is today," Courtney spoke up, rolling her eyes at Fawn. "Kayla's already down in the Great Hall. I would like to join her, but I don't trust you two alone together. I don't want there to be a murder in our fourth year here at this school."

Fawn lightly shoved Courtney's shoulder. "Oh, come on. Is that really how low you think of us?"

"I can think lower."

I threw my pillow at Fawn as payback for opening the windows. She caught it, however, and chucked it at Courtney's face. The two girls started laughing as I trudged to the lavatory to get ready for the day.

~~~

"Courtney!" I screeched.

"Yeah?" she answered, peaking her head into the closet where I was standing in.

"What happened to my black ripped jeans?"

"Oh, I borrowed them and wore them yesterday. Sorry."

I sighed. "It's okay."

Even though I was really looking forward to wearing those jeans to watch the Second Task, I decided that it would be best to suck it up and find a different pair.

After dressing in blue ripped jeans and a Hufflepuff sweater, I put on my scarf and beanie and began the short walk to the Great Hall. Sometimes I was grateful that the Hufflepuff area was so close to the kitchens. It always smelled liked freshly baked bread and a green forest in the common room.

I sat with Fawn and Courtney before taking my hat off and putting it next to my plate. My friends started a conversation, surprisingly trying and failing to include me in it.

"Y/n!" Fawn nearly shouted, alerting most of the Hufflepuff table that I was not paying attention.

I jolted my head back around to face my two friends. "What?" I said, failing miserably to hide the annoyance in my voice.

"You zoned out for a bit, are you okay?" Courtney asked, concerned.

"I didn't sleep very well last night, I'm fine."

"Do you want to go back to the dorm? We can go if you want."

"I'm fine."

Fawn raised her eyebrows, then brushed off my behaviour and went back to her conversation with Courtney.

~~~

I forget how big the Black Lake is.

It's water, albeit dark, was smooth and very reflective. I looked down over the wooden railing of the new structure the professors had recently made for the students to get a better view of the Champions as they completed the Second Task. I stood next to Fawn and Courtney to watch the task. They were chatting away, but I had no interest in their conversation. I looked out to the dock and saw Cedric looking around the stands, repeatedly looking in the Ravenclaw section.

A short cheer went up in the Gryffindor section as Harry Potter arrived via boat with Professor McGonagall. After he jumped onto the deck, his fist clenched around something small, the crowd quieted down.

"Hello, students. Welcome to the Black Lake, where you will be watching the Triwizard Champions perform--and hopefully complete-- the Second Task. No one is certain on what the task is, so we are unable to inform you on what to look out for. Nevertheless, enjoy!"

"Champions, on my whistle you will dive into the lake. You will have one hour to complete the task. Three, two, one!" A sharp whistle sounded throughout the air and a loud splash immediately followed. The Task had started.

I sighed, rolled my eyes, and cursed in my head. I had forgotten how long this Task would take, and now I was stuck here until the end of it.

I turned to Fawn and Courtney, expecting then to be just as bored as I was, but Fawn was cheering for Cedric and Courtney was flirting with a Ravenclaw. I rolled my eyes and sighed, turning back to the rough water. Why was I the only one feeling this way?

I glanced up at Dumbledore, surprised to meet his gaze. I was even more surprised to see that he looked nervous. He kept looking down timidly at me. Was he scared of me?

I brushed off Dumbledore's fear and looked at the water, waiting for the champions to emerge. Fleur Delacour came first, tears rolling down her face as the professors helped her from the lake. Her sobs echoed through the stands, irritating me further. Why was she crying?

I decided to ignore her and I continued to do so until Cedric popped out of the water, Cho Chang in his arms. Fleur had come up empty-handed, was that why she was crying?

Viktor Krum followed, holding an unconscious Hermione Granger.

Harry Potter still hadn't come up, and it was making me mad. I wanted to go back to my dorm, and I couldn't do that until all of the champions were done. In my mind, I willed him to swim out of the water. I sighed again as he continued to avoid surfacing.

My anger festered inside of me, killing any other feelings I might have had in that moment. My mind was screaming at me to let it go like any normal Hufflepuff would, but I ignored it. I wanted to snap at someone.

And suddenly, Harry Potter was out of the water, Ron Weasley and a small blonde girl clutched against his chest. Fleur rushed toward Harry as he climbed from the lake. She scooped the small blonde into her arms; it was her sister.

The champions were all smiling and laughing, so I glared daggers at them. How could they be so happy and why couldn't I? My mind swirled, sending unnecessary commentary at the four champions. I ignored my brain, knowing that those comments were all false. Despite that knowledge, my mind raged on, and soon my anger was boiling inside of me.

Soon we started heading back to the school grounds, and a bit of joy sparked in me, only to be extinguished by my anger.

I thought I could get back to my dorm without any conflict, but as soon as that thought flashed through my head, a small Slytherin ran into me. I snapped, turning around to face the kid. He cowered and looked down at a patch of grass under my hand, his eyes widening. I heard a crumbling sound and glanced down.

The kid ran away, but I was frozen. A patch of flowers, right under my hand, had wilted to an ashy-grey colour almost instantly. My wand was still in my pocket.

Had I done that?

How?