Chapter Twenty-Eight: Angry Professor Kitten
Fred Weasley was watching Jamie Devereaux Bruce from far away. His little witch was curled tightly, her legs up against her chest and her eyes focused on the black lake, where Fred had seen Cedric Diggory disappear under far too long ago to be healthy. Her blonde hair was up in a tight pony tail, with earmuffs pressed against her head. Jamie seemed lost in thought and focus, which made the tall red-head smile. As he approached her, he shed his outer coat, accepting the cold but not minding it too much. Fred placed the thick material around her small shoulders and tugged the hair tie out of her hair, causing her head to jerk back and her eyes to connect with his in annoyance.
"Seriously?" Jamie asked, touching her head where her pony tail once was. She also snuggled under the warmth of his jacket, enjoying being surrounded by the strong smell of cinnamon. Fred smirked at that, plopping himself down on the ground beside her. He leaned in close and nudged her shoulder, supporting his weight on his hand directly behind her.
Jamie looked at him from the corner of her eye, making him smile widely. It was February, and Fred was a month closer to getting to snog the life out of the little witch again. He had replayed the Yule Ball in his mind close to a thousand times. "Is Diggory worried for the second task tomorrow?" Fred asked, conversationally.
The little blonde nodded, "Yea, he is. He's practicing for it right now." Her head tilted in the direction of the black lake and Fred squinted, trying to see the Hufflepuff boy under the water.
The Bruce girl knew Fred would not be able to see Cedric. He was currently several feet deep practicing his bubble-head charm. That charm, along with trying to decipher the prophecy and make it out so that it wasn't Jamie it was referring to, had resulted in the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff spending almost all month together. Professor McGonagall had yet to hear about the Tale, because Jamie was scared that instantly it would be revealed she was the reborn Devereaux, which sounded ridiculous. The entire story was very Jesus Christ meets Julius Caesar to her, and she wasn't a fan of it. Then again, if she ended up with a salad named after her at least there would be some bright-side to everything. "Are you nervous?" Fred asked in his concerned voice that Jamie did not often hear.
She breathed out in a rush, "Yep." Was all she said, curling closer into her body. She didn't want Cedric to get hurt. Last time he had quite literally been lit on fire. This time so many things could go wrong so deep underwater. The bubble-head charm was effective, but how effective could it really be at protecting him.
"Do you know when he's coming out because McGonagall sent me to get you." Fred stated.
Jamie turned her head quickly to look at him, "McGonagall sent you to get me? That's surprising." She stood up and dusted off her robes before handing Fred back his jacket.
"Why is that surprising? She loves me." Fred said, standing up with the little witch.
Jamie scoffed, "No she doesn't."
Fred's mouth opened indignantly, following Jamie as she walked to the edge of the black lake. The long rope that Jamie had placed in the water so Cedric wouldn't get lost was sticking out from the edge. Her hand grasped the edge and she moved it from side to side, creating small ripples in the water to signal the Hufflepuff boy. "What do you mean she doesn't like me? Everyone likes me. I'm adorable." Fred Weasley said from beside her.
Jamie gave him a look, prepared to say something, but a head of hair broke the water as Cedric surfaced. He spluttered a bit and looked up at the duo, not too surprised to see the red-head with his best friend, "You going?" Cedric asked Jamie.
The blonde nodded, "McGonagall wants to see me. I'll see you tomorrow morning, though. You need to get a good nights sleep."
Cedric's eyes widened, "Do you think it's about…" He trailed off, gaze darting to Fred and back.
Jamie shrugged, "Don't know. I'll tell you tomorrow." With a quick goodbye, Jamie and Fred walked up to the castle together, heading in the direction of the Transfiguration Professor's office.
"She also made George get Ron and Hermione so I don't think it has anything to do with you." Fred said, reassuringly. Jamie's brows furrowed in confusion. She couldn't think why she and two thirds of Harry Potter's trio would be called to McGonagall's office. "Interesting that she'd choose the two of us as the messengers, but can't question Professor Kitten."
Jamie stopped walking, "Please never say that again."
"Professor Kitten?" Fred asked, a wide smirk spreading across his face, "But it's a pet name."
Jamie's mouth dropped. That pun would rival any pun that Loren Bruce had ever made. An image of Fred and Loren making brownies and saying dumb puns together came into her mind. "You are ridiculous, Fred Weasley." Fred stepped closer and pulled Jamie against his chest. His hand reached up to tug a strand of her silver hair as he smirked down at her.
"You love it, Jamison, don't lie."
Jamie looked up at him, her breathing quickening almost instantly. She wanted to say something. Tell him that she wanted the six months to be up already. Or tell him that she needed a longer amount of time. More than anything, Jamie wanted to tell Fred about the Tale of Devereaux and the bizarre prophecy that was almost certainly about her. But she didn't want him to look at her differently, like how everyone had been looking at Hagrid since the article had come out. It didn't matter that Dumbledore was standing behind Hagrid and his half-giant lineage, people were worried about what Hagrid might do. If Jamie had to see Fred look at her like that, she would never recover. Slowly her hands moved up Fred's chest and pushed him back an inch, "So handsy." Jamie pulled a small baggie with one of Loren's brownie's in it out of her robe, "Here. For you."
Fred's heart soared hugely at the gesture. It was the first time he didn't have to steal the brownie from the little blonde. Without thinking about it, Fred immediately took a large bite of the chocolaty brownie. Within an instant he felt feathers burst from him and the familiar sensation of transforming into a canary overcame him. Jamie's loud laughter reverberated off of the walls at the sight. She began jogging away from him in the direction of the Transfiguration office, "See ya, Fredward!"
Despite currently having a beak, Fred couldn't help the smile that overcame him. Fred kicked off into a run, feathers flying off him in fluffs. Her short legs carried her through the halls of Hogwarts, but she wasn't nearly quick enough to escape his long strides. Jamie's hair flew behind her and she turned a corner sharply, skidding a bit and laughing loudly when the sight of a half-Canary Fred Weasley was in her peripheral vision. "Devereaux!" Fred squawked, just as he reached her. He grabbed her and the pair of them collapsed in front of McGonagall's office in a heap of libs and feathers. Jamie giggled, rolling onto her side to look at Fred that was on his back in pain after taking the brunt of the fall.
"You didn't like my special friendship brownie?" Jamie Devereaux asked in a falsely sweet voice.
Fred's eyes narrowed in response, "You are a mean, mean little girl."
The blonde stuck out her tongue at him, "You're just mad because I tricked you at your own game."
"These are fighting words, Jamison. Don't invoke my wrath or I swear I will begin Prank War II." Fred warned, reaching a hand out to pull a feather out of her long silver hair. When it was removed, his hand stayed tangled up in the strands. He was still on his back looking up at his little witch, while she leaned on her side looking down at him. Jamie's dark eyes darted down to his lips before jolting back to Fred's eyes in a panic.
The door of Professor McGonagall's office swung open, "What is going on here?" Minerva McGonagall asked in a high-pitched, disapproving tone. Jamie Devereaux Bruce scrambled to her feet, with Fred quickly beside her.
"Angry Professor Kitten." Fred whispered into Jamie's ear, causing a sharp laugh to escape her.
The transfiguration professor looked at the Weasley twin with suspicion, "Mr. Weasley, thank you for bringing Miss Bruce to me, but your services are no longer necessary." Jamie watched as his tall figure disappeared behind the corner before walking into the office after her favorite professor.
Cedric Diggory was frantic the morning of the second task. He was pacing the halls and kept looking around for the familiar head of silver hair, or the obnoxious yellow hat that said "TEAM DIGGORY" on it, which he knew she would be boasting. When he saw a collection of Gryffindor sixth-years he immediately headed over. Angelina Johnston saw him first and a look of concern crossed her face, "You alright, Ced?" She asked.
The Hufflepuff exhaled, "Have you seen Jamie? She told me she'd meet me this morning but I don't see her anywhere."
Angelina and Alicia shared a look before turning back to the Hogwarts Champion, "No, we haven't. She wasn't in her bed this morning when we woke up. We thought maybe she had fallen asleep in the common room again or in the library with you, but she hasn't been down here all morning." Alicia said. She then slyly looked at the tall figure of Fred Weasley, who was next to his twin. The two of them were surrounded by younger students all clamoring to place their bets about the second task.
Cedric's mouth dropped open at the implied look Alicia had given, "You don't think she—" without finishing his words, he broke through the crowd surrounding the Weasley twins, matching Fred in height, "Where is Jamie?"
Fred blinked in shock at the sudden appearance of the Hufflepuff, "I have no idea. I dropped her off at McGonagall's office last night and haven't seen her since. Why?"
"No reason." Cedric mumbled, his shoulders relaxing.
For the next twenty minutes Cedric Diggory continued to look around for his best friend, but when all of Hogwarts was called down to the black lake, he resigned himself to not being able to talk to her before the task. Cho Chang walked down with him, holding his hand reassuringly. Her kind, calm presence visibly relaxed him and he found himself able to think a bit more clearly about the fact that he was going to be swimming in a very dark, deep lake with only a bubble and a stick to protect him.
Harry Potter was swimming hard at the bottom of the black lake. His webbed fingers and toes assisting in propelling him through the waters and the gunk that lay in the lake. Harry's heart was beating quickly. After seeing Moaning Myrtle and Grindylows so closely together, he didn't know what else to expect. Faintly, he heard singing. The same voices that had emerged from the egg were guiding him further into the lake. He had no idea how much time had passed, only that there was surely not much left. The mermaids that he saw as he finally reached their underwater castle were not at all like the muggle's image of mermaids that had been painted in his mind. Their teeth were much sharper and their tails looked a bit like weapons. For the most part, they ignored him. The mere-people watched as he kicked his legs furiously, looking for an object that they may have taken. It wasn't until he saw two heads of glimmering silver that he finally found Ron.
Lined up together and tied to a rock was Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Jamie Devereaux, and a young girl that Harry had never seen before. They were all still and looked blank in the face. His chest began to race in panic at the idea of time running out before all of them could be saved. Harry turned, looking around for the other champions but seeing no one. Where were they? He thought to himself. He felt himself fill with dread and doubt.
He turned to look at the petrified students and studied Jamie Devereaux's face. He didn't often get to look at it because he was afraid of getting caught staring, either by Fred or by Jamie herself. The blonde witch looked much more relaxed and carefree in this state than she usually did. For some reason, staring at her made his panic and emotions feel like they were going away. He felt lighter, studying the way her silver hair flowed long behind her and the way her nose looked softer than usual. Just as he was thinking about how he wasn't sure what color her eyes were, suddenly they were open. The dark green, large eyes looked at him in shock.
Jamie Devereaux couldn't breathe. She was looking at the face of Harry Potter, her eyes were blurred thanks to the dark water of the lake, and she was incapable of speaking. She was also tied to something very heavy and large. Jamie tugged at it, bubbles exploading from her mouth and pure panic and dread setting in.
The mere-people around the Hogwarts students were stilled in shock. They had not prepared for one of the students to wake up in the state that Minerva McGonagall had placed them in, and they were at least a hundred feet away from the surface. There was movement as one of them pulled out their spear.
Without thinking, Harry grabbed the spear that was clutched in the merman's hand and slashed through the vines that were surrounding Jamie's slim body. The blonde's eyes were wide in panic, bubbles that were extremely vital to her were exhaling from her body far too quickly. Harry looked at the other students, who all continued to be motionless and fear overwhelmed him. What if this was about to happen to Ron? He couldn't be sure. All the fourth-year knew was that in that moment of time, Jamie Devereaux Bruce was about to drown and only he could help.
Jamie began to swim, she kicked up off of the rock that three people who she couldn't make out in her current state were tied to. She wished more than anything for her wand to propel her out of the murky water. Harry was holding her arm, moving much faster than she could for some reason. Jamie's school robes were weighing them both down, and it seemed like every time she kicked it actually was hurting the pair, instead of helping.
Her head began to constrict in herself, her lungs were straining and her chest felt tight. She had never drowned before but the overwhelming feeling of being surrounded by water and incapable of getting out was horrible. Her eyes were straining, her legs frantic as her hand clinging onto Harry Potter for dear life. She didn't know how far the surface was and no tell-tale light was bringing her any hope. Jamie wished for her mother. Loren Bruce wouldn't know what to do when she heard that her only daughter drowned. She hoped her mum could move on and continue her life without her. She thought of Devereaux and how he had ruined her life without ever being in it. Then she wished for Fred. She wished she could see him one more time before dying in this embarrassing way.
Harry Potter grabbed Jamie, pulling her up toward the surface, watching her legs move quickly at first before slowing as the last of her air was tugged out of her. Jamie's eyes began to fall and Harry had to pull her closer to him. He willed himself forward and out of the water.
When he broke the surface the cheering was deafening and ironic. They had no idea that there was a lifeless body currently in his arms. Harry tugged, trying his hardest to bring Jamie onto solid ground. Two mere-people emerged from the water beside him, taking Jamie from his arms and pulling her toward the platform. The cheering stopped as the soaking wet, small figure of Jamie Devereaux collided with the wood in a dull thump. Her usually tan skin looking impossibly pale.