The doomed day dawned on them too quickly. Lucius had been distant, too distant, ever since the Yule Ball. Although to Narcissa, this didn't appear out of sorts, considering he was about to be thrown literally, into a situation which may cost him his life. She'd slept alone that night, whilst he'd been in his room, preparing for the first challenge. The silence of her room, without even just hearing him breathing in his sleep as a comfort, led her thoughts to spill out of her mind. They'd filled the empty space around her, buzzing in her ears until the room became too stuffy and she'd had to open the window to let the thoughts spill out so that she could gulp in the cool air.
Watching the mountains before her as she usually did, the rising December sun cast gaunt shadows across the fields. It was only the night before, that Professor McGonagall had asked for her presence in the main school office and had explained that she would be used in the first, both physical and mentally barbaric task. She had been forbidden to disclose the details to anyone, namely her chosen 'finder' as it was, who happened to be Lucius. Even just his name set her on the edge of breaking down and grabbing a piece of parchment and tearing off the corner, she scribbled a note to him, not quite sure if this was going beyond the rules she'd been given. Truthfully, she didn't care.
"Lucius. Please find me."
She folded the small piece of paper into a neat square and clicked her fingers for it to disapparate to him, knowing that an owl would cause too much suspicion.
As he tried to prepare himself for anything that could be thrown upon him in a cruel test of his ability, he blinked his eyes open, as the small crackle of the paper reappearing, sounded next to him. He opened it and read the words, knowing exactly who it was from. Find her? Now? He didn't have time the first challenge began in barely ten minutes. Realising this, he left the note on his bedside table and collected his wand in place of it. As he was about to leave, he took in the room, how Narcissa had carefully walked around it. It then occurred to him that this might be the last time he saw it and as he looked around, he closed his eyes and remembered her face. He snapped out of it however, fearful that the thought of death would bring him to his knees and with that, he left the room, on towards the trial.
He tried to pick her out of the crowd as he passed them, trying to find her innocence amongst the roar of the Slytherin students, shouting his name in a rhythmic chant. When she was no where to be seen, he gave up, hurt that she hadn't come along. But then again, did he blame her? He made his way with the other champions, not giving Clara the satisfaction of his eye contact and they walked together in unison to Dumbledore, who stood, accompanied by Professor McGonagall and the Minister of Magic. As they gathered around, Dumbledore divulged the components of the task and what each student was required to do.
"And so the time has come, for you all to prove yourselves, not only in magical skill, but in mental nerve-", he caught the eyes of each of the champions, warning them that good things were not ahead of the start line. "Someone, who you hold close to your heart, has been taken... Taken and hidden-", his stomach twisted, knowing that Narcissa was the only one he'd shown any affection to and that would explain her absence from the stands. Dumbledore continued, "-where they are hidden within the school grounds is not something I can tell you... Using your minds before sorcery is paramount to find them... Find them somewhere which is also held in your heart-", he wracked his mind, thinking of somewhere he'd pushed away into his memory as somewhere he didn't want to forget. "On the sound of the canon... You may begin-", as the crowd started chanting again, the boom of the canon marked the start and he found his legs carrying him. Carrying him back to the castle.
It was eerily empty as his footsteps echoed in the spaces around him, wand on guard for fear that something dark would come after him. He made his way to the only place he thought she could be; the astronomy tower. He couldn't think any further beyond that, fearful that he (or she) would get killed along the way, and so he kept the destination in mind and focussed on anything that might happen around him. He cursed himself as he did so. If he'd known she'd be involved, he'd never have put his name in. He'd never have put her at risk. As he reached the steps of the tower in a frenzied run, he carried himself up, jumping and missing every other step as he went, desperate to get up there faster.
"CISSA?!-", he yelled for her, wanting her to shout back and reveal her hiding place. But nothing. As he stumbled amongst old furnishing items under the main astronomy platform, he became flustered, turning things over as he shouted for her again and again. He took to the steps up to the platform where he could look out. Leaning on the railings, he breathed deeply, trying to focus his mind. She wasn't here. Even if she had been, he hadn't been particularly challenged. As he opened his eyes from the madness of his thoughts, the lake glittered in front of him. He looked around and immediately came across the jetty. The jetty close to where they'd first kissed. Somewhere he'd hold in his heart forever...
He span around, legs flailing quicker than he could keep up with, but the need to get to her overpowered and he could barely breathe as the running became faster. As he made it outside, he squinted at the sunlight starting to break through the clouds. He stormed towards the jetty, pulling of his cloak, ripping off his jumper over his head, grasping his wand as he ran off the end, diving into the darkness. As he plunged through the water, it bit at his skin. It filled his ears in piercing droplets, fuzzing out his hearing. Through the thick liquid, he managed an incantation so that a bubble formed around his nose and down his neck, allowing him to breathe as the buzz from his sudden entry into the water cleared. As he sank lower to the bottom, he began to swim, pushing through the foliage, creatures of the deep sweeping past him. As he managed to get into the clear, the vast body of water ahead of him daunted. She could be anywhere... As he began to sink down and stop swimming, something grazed his ankle and he flinched, suddenly swimming ferociously as he tried to put space between him and whatever had tried to grab him.
"Lumos-", the words where blurred through the water as the glow from
His wand was also impaired. He began to look further around, trying to make out objects as far as his eyes would allow him so that he was covering more space quicker. Something flickered in his peripheral vision and he swam quicker again, fearful something was after him. As he swam, he made it to another clearing and at the pit, he could make out the merpeople, circling something...
He swam slowly, the pressure of the deep pressing down on his head, his hair splaying out around him as he came to a stop. Narcissa. He could make her out, just about. She was lifeless and for a moment, he contemplated that she was dead. That they'd killed her - the vile, fang toothed swimmers that were holding her hostage. He dived deeper, getting closer to her, but in his efforts, the animals that had captured her swam up to him, one behind him grabbing one of his ankles and pulling him backwards through the water. He kicked around, trying to get them off, push her away and as he did so, one of them spoke, it's voice piercingly painful through the lake, rasping against his ears.
"You can't have her... You don't deserve her after what. You. Did-", the words hit hard, angering him. He aimed his wand at the one who had spoken as light erupted from his wand and blew it back. As the others went back to grab him, scratching at his skin, he again aimed his wand over and over until a clear path formed towards her. He swam, more desperate than ever to get to her, knowing that as soon as he touched her, they'd have to let them both go. He stretched out an arm and as he was mere inches from her, another reached for his leg, yet he was quick to kick it away, knocking it out as it sank to the floor of the lake.
He reached for Narcissa's hand, expecting a response from her as he did so. She didn't move and he became frantic in trying to wake her, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her violently, however the movement was slowed by the water. In a last attempt, he waved his hand past his face and the bubble keeping him alive, disappeared. He grabbed the collar of her cloak with both hands and pulled her close, their lips colliding through the icy depths. She instantly stirred, the shock of the water causing her to be confused as her hands fumbled for him. Running out of air, he took her hand and began pulling her up to the surface, barely reaching it but managing a last spurt of energy to pull them both up. They surfaced, gasping for the air, treading water together.
"Come on-", he grabbed her collar again with one hand and started pulling her through the water towards the jetty, trying to swim with one hand. Slowly, they got closer and he pushed her in front of him so she could get to dry land quicker. The force of him pushing her got her to the jetty, yet she didn't have strength to pull herself out and so clung to the wooden stilts until he reached her. He climbed out, muscles flexing as he did so and then he outstretched a hand for her. Grabbing onto it loosely, she momentarily lost all energy and sank back under the water and he pulled her out, putting his hands under her arms to lift her the rest of the way. Letting her body flop onto the rafters, she lay there limply as he tried to bring her back, shaking her shoulder.
"Cissa... Cissa! Please don't leave me... Don't leave me...", he pleas were drowned out by the rest of the school coming towards him, some people running towards his evident moment of victory. As tears stung his eyes, he was thankful that the water from the lake hid his weakness. He knelt next to her, holding her head in his lap, rocking back and forth with her, whispering to her. "Please, please please please... Not now... Please don't leave me now-", he kissed the top of her head as Dumbledore's face changed, concern flooding his eyes. Professor McGonagall ran ahead of him, pursuing Miss Black. As she neared them, she too knelt beside her, tapping Narcissa's cheek to try and get a response, yet when nothing happened, she turned around, shouting back for help.
"Someone get Madam Pomfrey! Quickly!-", and as she was frantic, Lucius also became flustered, shaking Narcissa by the shoulders trying to gain her consciousness, begging for her not to dead.