Yellow (George Weasley)

27 - Treasure

After a not so successful bit of collecting bets, we made our way over to catch one of the last boats heading out to the stands. Still no sign of Leah.

"She's fine, Georgie. I bet she slipped by without us noticing." Fred pat my back before stepping into the small rowboat. I nodded along with him. It's hard to play it cool around him. Somehow he hasn't quite figured out that Leah and I have been seeing each other. But it's a bit more fun that way. Cedric had told him we had gotten into an argument before bringing him back to Angelina. And a little time with her was enough to make him drop the whole thing.

I followed Freddie onto a set of floating docks with a tower of metal stands, joining a few of our friends. I did the best I could to distance myself from Katie Bell but now that her best friend Angelina is hanging around Fred it's a bit of a challenge.

She was upset with me about ditching her after the dance, but that only saved me a day or two of torment. I thought she would have gotten the hint after I spent the entire night ogling another girl. I think a bit of drool fell down my chin when I saw Leah in that dress. But I really need to do the mature thing and tell her my situation.

I can't help but play through my mind how different that night could have gone if I wasn't being an idiotic prat. I could've had Leah by my side that entire night. Every joke I made seemed almost pointless when I heard Katie's laughter instead of Leah's—and I know she wouldn't have stopped me from spiking the punch like Katie did.

I do enjoy seeing Leah get jealous, her face all scrunched up and her cheeks burning red, but I never want to make her cry like that ever again. Fred would surely tease me into next week if he knew the thoughts going through my head, but I can't help how she makes me feel. I hope she's alright wherever she is. And Godric I hope I didn't do anything to piss her off.

"There's Harry!" Ginny's elbow jabbing my side knocked me from my daydream. The four champions were standing along the bottom of the docks now, attempting to warm themselves up before they have to dive into that freezing water. Glad it's them and not me.

"Welcome to the second task!" Dumbledore's voice billowed through the air, amplified by his wand pressed to his throat. "Last night, something was stolen from each of our champions. A treasure, of sorts."

That's when all of the pieces came together in my mind. Something stolen? Last night? "They've stolen their buddies." I mumbled, my eyes scanning the shore line for a clue of where they were hidden.

"What are you bumbling on about?" Fred asked, a stupid smile still on his face as he turned away from Angelina.

"Think about it. Leah's been gone since last night and her and Diggory are pretty close. And have you seen Ron anywhere either?" I felt a slight twinge of jealousy that Leah and Cedric seem close enough for professors to consider her the most important person to him at Hogwarts. I can't help but wonder who they'd choose to be Leah's treasure.

Dumbledore thankfully interrupted my thoughts with the rest of his speech. "These four treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of Black Lake."

"The bottom of the bloody lake!?" I frantically searched around in the water for any sign of where they could be. The thought of her anchored down there in the cold makes me sick. "How can they keep them under there and alive?"

The cannon cut through the brisk air and the four champions dove in. Well, Harry seemed to be pushed but I'm not focused on what's going on there. For once I'm routing for Cedric to be the winner. His head popped back out of the water, quickly using the charm that Leah had found for him yesterday. At least she got that to him before she was taken by McGonagall.