(GoF) CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: Other Half
When she woke up, she was on some sort of boat.
It took several minutes for her eyes to focus enough to make out her surroundings. Once they did, she shot up, no less confused than before. Around her, still unconscious, were Hermione, Ron, and a small, fair-haired girl who looked to be a member of Beauxbatons. Across from her were Professor McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore, and…
"You," Ellie growled at Ludo Bagman, eyebrows narrowing. "I know what you did."
Dumbledore and McGonagall exchanged somewhat curious looks as Bagman asked innocently, "Whatever do you mean by that, dear girl?"
"The money. Fred and George's. You stole it from them. It was all they had."
"Eleanor!" gasped McGonagall, sounding horrified. "Whyever would you say such a thing—"
"It was trick gold," Ellie interrupted. She didn't know why she was so hung up on this when the real question should have been what the bloody hell they were all doing out on that boat, but she didn't care. She didn't get many chances to defend Fred's honor, and she meant to do it right. "Leprechaun's gold. They aren't even of age, Bagman. How despicable can you be?"
"Leprechaun's gold?" repeated McGonagall, glancing at Dumbledore with wide eyes before glancing back at Ellie. "Are you referring to the Tournament, then? To—to the winnings from the betting table?"
"Now, now," chortled Bagman, whose face had become quite red. "That's quite enough of that. Much to do before the commencement of the second task."
Hermione had come to by then, and she was squinting around the same way Ellie had when she woke up. "What's going on? Where are we?"
"You're in the middle of the Black Lake," Dumbledore told Hermione cheerfully. He prodded Ron with his foot, smiling with satisfaction when he came to, then reached out to nudge the young Beauxbatons student a bit more delicately with his hand. She, too, awoke.
"You are here today because you have each been selected as a very important part of each Triwizard champion's life," Dumbledore explained to them. "In order to complete the second task, those members must search for you beneath the lake, find, and rescue you."
"Rescue?" repeated the young girl in a thick, French accent. "But I—I—"
"You will be perfectly safe, Miss Delacour," McGonagall assured her, sounding rather bored. "We will charm all of you into a sort of sleeplike trance not unlike the one you were just in, and it will protect you beneath the water."
"Then why wake us up at all?" grumbled Ron. "And who were we chosen for, anyway?"
"We thought each of you deserved the opportunity to know what's going on when you wake back up," Dumbledore explained to him. "And you were chosen for Harry Potter, Mr. Weasley."
It made sense, Ellie supposed; Ron was Harry's best friend, and was hardly close with any of the other contestants. Given that Hermione had gone to the Yule Ball with Krum, Ellie inferred that she had been chosen for him, and it wasn't hard to connect the rest of the dots from there; the young Miss Delacour for the older Miss Delacour, and Ellie…
For Cedric.
She tried not to curse as she reached for her locket to glow Fred. If they were really going to knock her out again, she'd have to tell him she was okay. And the kind thing to do would be to warn him about the Cedric of it all, right?
"Apologies, Eleanor," said McGonagall, clearing her throat, "but the use of any communication devices from this point on is strictly forbidden."
Ellie tried not to blush as she released the locket.
"The elements of surprise and concern are important for the motivations of our champions," Dumbledore explained to them.
Ellie tried to listen as he and McGonagall explained how the magic would work, but it wasn't easy. Fred had caught her glow and was now glowing her back, sending her messages that, despite not being able to open her locket and read, she still somehow managed to sense: Are you okay? Where are you? They're saying you and Hermione aren't in your room.
She had no idea how she was sensing what he was saying to her without using the device, but she could only pray that it went both ways.
I'm okay, she thought back. Everything's okay. They're just—
But before she could finish, she was knocked out again.
When she woke back up, she was sopping wet, gasping for air, and utterly confused.
"Ellie!" someone was shouting at her. She wanted it to be Fred, but it wasn't Fred. She squinted into the bright light of the sun and up at the person who was treading water for both himself and her.
Cedric.
He'd done it—he'd rescued her. And, judging from the deafening applause in the stands and the fact that they were the only two visible above the water, she had a feeling he'd been the first to do so.
"C'mon," he said gently, wrapping one of her arms around him as he swam them both toward the dock.
She did her best to support herself, but it wasn't easy. How long had she been out for? How had she not had any thoughts at all—not even daydreams—not even…
She tried to squint up into the stands to spot Fred, but she had no idea where he was sitting. She could only pray that seeing her with Cedric again didn't hurt him too badly.
As soon as Cedric helped her onto the dock, he hoisted himself up with such ridiculous ease and strength, Ellie couldn't help but admire him. She had almost forgotten how handsome he was, but here, glistening with water and backlit by a rising sun, she was very much reminded.
Why had she been chosen for him? Did he really still have feelings for her?
Cedric deserved better than this. Her heart ached for him.
"It's… good to see you again," she said lamely when she had finally caught her breath. "Thanks for the save."
He granted her a laugh at that, though his eyes were a poignant mixture of sad and concerned. "It's good to see you, too, Ellie. Even if under slightly mortifying circumstances."
"Mortifying?" she repeated, shaking her head. "Don't be embarrassed, Ced. It's not…" But she couldn't quite think of how to finish her sentence.
"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked her, seeming determined to change the subject. "Were you conscious at all, down there?"
She shook her head. "No—it was fine. Last thing I remember was being on the boat."
He nodded, and for a short instant, they both were silent. But then she saw his gaze flicker behind her—probably toward whatever judges or Ministry officials were coming to check in on them—and he straightened up. "Look, Ellie—I know you don't want to be with me, and I'll stop pushing it. But I do think we ought to consider being friends again—that is, if you feel the same."
Again? Had Ellie and Cedric ever really been friends? They'd been acquaintances her first few years at Hogwarts, then ramped things up from zero to sixty at the end of the previous summer.
Still, his words touched her. She liked Cedric. She liked this side of him in particular.
So she nodded. "I'd like that."
He grinned, rising to his feet and offering her a hand. "Do me a favour, though?"
She waited.
"Try not to be soaking wet next time we see each other. Really gives you an unfair advantage."
She actually laughed out loud at that, shoving him playfully. The truth was, the advantage was no more hers than his; Cedric Diggory looked quite good wet, himself.
Bagman made it to them at that point, handing Ellie a towel as gingerly as if her skin was on fire and mumbling something about promising to make things right. She wasn't entirely convinced he meant it, but she accepted the towel, shot Cedric a polite smile, and headed back toward the stands.
It wasn't hard to find Fred. He was standing as close to the stanchion as physically possible, watching her with an expression that was nearly impossible to read—though she was certain she caught hints of pain in it.
He didn't voice the pain first, though. Instead, he took her face in his hands and scanned her urgently. "You're alright?"
She nodded, lifting her own hands to meet his and squeeze them. "I'm fine. I tried to tell you ahead of time. They—"
"I know." He stepped over the stanchion at that point, taking her in his arms and hugging her close, until one of the Ministry men came over to urge them back to the other side. She glanced behind her toward the lake, wondering what the fates of her friends might be, but decided that being with Fred right now was more important. So she took his hand and led him back toward the castle.
"Did they explain it to you ahead of time?" he asked her as they walked. "Why you were chosen?"
"Just that we were… important to them," Ellie said carefully. "And so we would be used as hostages."
Fred nodded, jaw tight and expression uncomfortable. "Said about the same out there."
"Hey," she said softly, coming to a stop. "You know it doesn't mean anything, right? I mean, it does make me a bit sad for him, y'know—knowing he doesn't have anyone else he's close with, like Ron is for Harry or whatever, but—"
"I know," Fred said, running a hand through his hair. "It's just… seeing you two out there, looking like angels coming out of the water—hearing the crowd cheer for you—watching you laugh with him—it just… made sense."
She knew she should have left sooner. "That's not true, Fred. We never made sense. We never would have even been at all, if not for Aleks."
"But why?" Fred pushed. "Because of me? Because I was pushing you to be with me?"
"Pushing me?" she repeated, shaking her head. "Don't be ridiculous, Fred. You know how badly I wanted to be with you. It would never have been him."
"But… why?"
She blinked, suddenly taken aback by his question. He wanted to know why? Why she felt these intense, overwhelming, confusing, amazing feelings for him?
Well, if he wanted to know, she'd tell him.
All she wanted was to take his pain away.
"Because you get me, Fred. Because the things I have to rack my brain to even begin to explain to everyone else, you just understand without me having to say anything at all. Because you have the ability to make me laugh even when seconds earlier I thought I might never smile again. Because you make me feel safe—loved—happy—special. Because you make me feel seen—not for the pretty pop star the rest of the school thinks I am, but for who I really am."
It was working. His eyes were starting to glitter with something she recognized now—happiness.
But she wasn't stopping there.
"Because you have the greatest hair out of anyone I've ever met, including your twin," she said, reaching out to touch his messy, red hair. "And the warmest, kindest eyes—the ones that always seem to smile, even when your lips don't."
His eyes crinkled in that same smiling way she had just described, but his cheeks turned pink. "Now you're just embarrassing me."
She took a step closer to him, ignoring him, as she wrapped her hands around his neck. "Because you're my other half, Fred," she whispered. "Because nothing makes sense without you."
Oh, the feels! These two are so perfect together, aren't they? Surely it will last, no matter what happens... or are those famous last words? Stay tuned to find out, and don't forget to review and follow!
