Disclaimer: If you actually think I own any of this, lean a little closer so I can smack you.

A/N: This is set during GoF, the second task. I had Ginny in mind when I wrote it, but I suppose it can be any girl's perspective.

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It's almost time to start. Where are you? What if you don't come? What will happen?

"There he is!"

It's true. You're sprinting down to the lake, looking disheveled, clutching something in your hand. I breathe a sigh of relief.

Out of breath, you tell the judges you're ready. The whistle blows and you shove something into your mouth before wading out into the water. I can see you shivering from the cold.

Then you stop, waist-deep in the lake, as if waiting for something. People around me are starting to laugh – what are you doing? How are you going to complete this task without magic?

My heart races as I watch you stand there. Do you have a plan?

Suddenly you dive head-first into the icy water, and the crowd gasps, myself included.

The wait begins. The other champions have followed you into the black depths of the lake, but they have used a variety of spells and charms to assist them – what do you have? Surely you wouldn't go unprepared… my stomach clenches at the thought that you may not return, that I may never see you again. And I am painfully, achingly aware of one thing:

I am not the one you are rescuing.

I shouldn't be surprised, and maybe I'm not really, but it still hurts.

Yes, he's your best friend. Yes, you would miss him if he were gone. But why can't I be that person, the one that you would miss most of all?

I know it's a selfish desire, but I wish with all my heart that it could be true.

No one else in this crowd knows what I'm feeling at this moment. None of them love you like I do. Why can't you see that? Why can't you see me?

But I know that any attempts to win your heart would be futile. You are strong, your heart impenetrable. And I am nothing.

So I wait here in agony for you to return from your task, triumphant and joyful in your victory. I wait for a glimpse of you – just one, to reassure myself that you are alive and well.

The time limit is rapidly approaching. Where are you? Are you in trouble? My heart feels stuck in my throat.

Fleur suddenly emerges from the lake, shaking and tearful, without her sister. The crowd murmurs around me, but I block them from my mind.

Cedric surfaces next, holding Cho in his arms. The first to return with success, although still outside the time limit.

Nausea overwhelms me. Where are you?

A few minutes more. Viktor and Hermione.

Why are you still down there? The hour limit has come and gone. I can sense the crowd's nervousness, but none can surpass the sheer terror that streaks through my veins.

Then – there you are. Dragging Ron… and Fleur's sister. I bury my head in my hands to cover my tears of relief. You're alive. I don't even care that you're in last place. You're alive and that's all that matters. I can't focus on anything other than the elation that envelops my soul.

Bagman is speaking, but my mind barely registers his word. "… first to reach the hostages … determination to return all … not just his own … moral fiber … forty-five points."

You're a hero, like I've always known.

I watch you with pride as you follow Madam Pomfrey back to the castle. You did it. You saved them and became the hero again. My hero.

I may never be the one you miss most of all. I may never even be admitted into your tight circle of friends. But I will always love you, and you are the one I would miss most of all.

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A/N: So, what did you think? Please review and I will be sooooo happy! :)