Just a week between uploading new chapter...I'm so proud of myself! And good thing it was on my BFF's birthday, aka, Abril! Happy Birthday dearest friend, you know this story is only thanks to you. Enjoy!

Chapter 14

Into the Lake

It had been days since there fight in the hallway, and yet, Abril and Lorena still didn't talk to each other. Abril saw her everyday sitting with the girls she supposedly couldn't stand, but there was never a chance to catch her eye or talk to her. She, Abril noticed, seemed very eager to just forget about everything they'd done so far and pretended to be a normal student with normal classes and normal problems.

And although Abril also had her friends and each day she passed more time with Cedric, Abril felt lonely. Things weren't as exciting as they looked like without a friend who knew exactly what was up, and because Abril had kept helping Harry, she was starting to feel the stress about all of it weigh over her. And then, of course, was the issue with Bagman.

When he had cornered her after the fight with Lorena, Abril had trusted that Bagman had only heard part of the conversation, but to her misfortune, Bagman was aware of everything. Even, Abril found out with horror, about the trap they had set for Moody with the Instant Darkness Powder. Bagman had threatened her with telling Moody what they had been doing, thinking it was a childish prank against a teacher, but Abril knew better. Moody, aka, Barty Crouch Jr, already knew she and Lorena had been trying to take Harry as far away from him as possible and offer Harry their help, but if Moody found out they had been the ones who had stopped him that night as well, there would be hell to pay, and it wasn't going to be a simple detention, either.

"You shouldn't be eavesdropping in conversations that don't concern you," Abril told him coldly, but her hands had started to sweat.

Bagman smiled, "Indeed my presence here was a happy coincidence, but I was already having suspicions about you and your friend being involved in not too innocent activities."

"Don't get me wrong, Miss Ortega, I only wish for young Harry's well-being!" Bagman had said after threatening her to tell everything to Moody.

"Oh, of course you want his well-being. If he gets blown to pieces before the end of the Tournament, you will have lost the bet you have with the dwarves, won't you?" Abril murmured angrily, "The only way to save your sorry ass is if Harry wins."

Bagman had gone pale, but immediately recovered and his chubby cheeks tinted with and angry shade of red.

"Listen here, you silly girl," Bagman whispered menacingly, leaning over Abril who, frightened, took a step back, "You better keep that tone of yours down. Now, I don't know where you got that stupid idea about a bet but I suggest, for your own sake, that you keep your mouth shut or else a little detention is going to be the least of your problems."

In exchange for his silence, Bagman had blackmailed her to give him money and Abril had been able to defend herself by exposing Bagman's debts, but the fact still remained. She couldn't let Bagman tell Moody anything, or anyone else, for that matter.

Abril sighed and turned in her seat, trying to pay attention to professor Flitwick, not really listening to what he said.

The weekend before the second task, Lorena decided to go to Hogsmeade to take her mind off things and enjoy an evening alone in the pretty village. Valentine's Day had just passed, so the shops were still decorated with paper hearts, pink tinsel and flowers in every window. Lorena tried not to gag as she walked past Madame Puddifoot's Tea Shop. After a while of walking around, she decided to go to the Three Broomsticks to warm up. There were a few people inside, enough to make it feel cosy but not too overwhelming, and Lorena headed to the bar and ordered a butter-beer from Madame Rosmerta.

"We've got some apple tarts just out of the oven, dear, if you are hungry," Madame Rosmerta told her, putting the mug of butter-beer in front of her.

Lorena smiled kindly, "No thanks, I think…"

"That sounds delightful!" boomed a voice, and Lorena turned to see Ludo Bagman sitting next to her and smiling widely, "Do bring some of those delicious apple tarts, Rosmerta, I'm starving!"

Lorena frowned at Bagman's exaggerated enthusiasm, but ignored him while she sipped her warm butter-beer.

"Nothing like a warm, freshly-made apple tart, don't you think?" Bagman asked Lorena, who only nodded, not turning to look at him, so Bagman went on, "After all the stress of the Tournament, is nice to take a break once in a while."

He then took a massive bite of the apple tart Madame Rosmerta had brought him, and made a noise of satisfaction.

"Say, you and that other Hufflepuff friend of yours are the ones that were in the champions' tent with Harry during the first task, weren't you? You seem to get along quite well with the lad."

If Bagman thought that his words sounded like a friendly conversation, he was very wrong. At once, Lorena stood on guard, but only nodded casually.

"He's nice, yes," she said, now drinking her butter-beer more rapidly.

"Aye, he has a lot of qualities. Of course, one has to have a lot of qualities to get through with something such as the Triwizard Tournament!" Bagman said laughing.

Lorena raised an eyebrow.

"Do you doubt his ability to succeed?"

"No, no of course not! Hell, I want him to win the competition!" Bagman exclaimed, eating the last apple tart.

Lorena refrained from snorting, and murmured into her mug, "I bet you do."

Lorena saw with the corner of her eye how Bagman suddenly tensed and narrowed his eyes at her, so she put her now empty mug in the bar and turned to leave.

"Farewell, Mr Bagman," she said, her back already facing him.

"Good day, miss. How unfortunate your friend couldn't join us, but I suppose you haven't made peace, yet."

Lorena stopped and turned abruptly at him. Bagman was drinking from another mug of butter-beer, and when he put it down and thanked Madame Rosmerta before leaving, he turned to her with a wide smile.

Lorena stared suspiciously at him, "How do you know we fought?"

Bagman just stood up and walked past her, fixing his robe and opening the door of the pub, then pausing to look at her.

"Sometimes we do good things that look bad, and sometimes it's the other way around. I suggest you talk with your friend. She'll know all about it, I think." And with this, he closed the door behind him, leaving Lorena with a twinge of anxiety.

If Lorena thought that the January weather was chilly, it seemed that February was doing everything to prove her wrong.

"I don't wanna," said Lorena stubbornly as she wiggled in her seat and wrapped her robe and scarf more tightly around her.

"This is ridiculous, Lorena, you can't stay here," Emma told her irritably as she and Violet stood next to her after having breakfast in the Great Hall.

"Yes I can," Lorena opposed, "I'll stay here where I'm relatively more warm and have a nice cup of hot chocolate while you freeze to death standing next to the lake. Five galleons on Harry."

Emma grunted impatiently and tried pulling Lorena on her feet.

"But you can't miss the competition! We have to be there!" she insisted, yanking at her arm.

"Is there a special reason you don't want to attend?" Violet asked, her expression bored.

"The cold is my special reason," Lorena said, not in the mood for Violet's antics.

"You can use a warming charm!" Emma exclaimed, "Or put on every damn sweater you own and go! You're being irrational…"

"I said I don't want to GO!" Lorena shouted, standing up.

The students that were still left in the Great Hall turned their heads at them, surprised. Emma gawked at her and Violet narrowed her eyes.

"Come, Emma," Violet said after a pause, taking her friend's arm, "She's made herself quite clear."

With a last glance at her from Emma, the girls turned around and left the Great Hall. With a sigh, Lorena sat down again, and started playing with the hem of her scarf. The cold was just an excuse, obviously. But an excuse to what, that, Lorena did not know. She just didn't feel like going out and cheer with the rest of the crowd. The grey, clear sky outside the castle seemed to reflect her feelings. She felt empty. Nothing. No, that wasn't entirely true. She did feel something. A knot of guilt had settled in her stomach since the day Abril and her had fought, but she was too afraid to show it. At least, what she had done a couple a days ago would be enough to reduce a bit of that guilt, and she honestly hoped it had worked.

"It's strange to see you sulking like that," someone said then, and Lorena raised her head to see Lorcan sitting in front of her. She was about to shoo him off, but to her surprise the look on his face showed real concern.

"I don't feel too good today, that's all," she said with a shrug. Her initial surprise increased when Lorcan leaned over to touch her forehead.

"You don't seem to have fever," he said, then crossed his hands over his mouth and stared at her intently, "So, what's the matter?"

Lorena frowned at him and diverted her eyes, but Lorcan didn't move. After a while, none of them had said anything, so he stood up and grabbed his and Lorena's bag as well.

"C'mon," he said simply, holding out his hand. Lorena looked up at him for a moment, then she sighed and stood up, ignoring his hand.

They walked past the huge doors and out to the cold grounds, where they could already hear the cheering and whistling of the crowd coming from the Black Lake. It was strange to be walking beside Lorcan after trying to stay away from him for so long, but he didn't seem to have any desire to talk, and so Lorena and him made their way silently to the stands. Just as they were arriving, a blur passed near them, almost making Lorena loose her balance, and they saw Harry rushing towards where the judges and the champions were.

"That boy loves living on the edge," Lorcan commented.

Lorena snorted and turned to the stands, "You have no idea. I'll go seat with the girls." she said, leaving Lorcan behind, and then after a moment, she looked back, "Thanks."

Lorcan only bowed his head and left to where the Slytherins sat. Lorena climbed with a bit of difficulty the slippery steps of the stands and pushed her way among the crowd until she finally arrived to where Emma and Violet were.

"You took your time," Violet said, making Lorena look nastily at her.

"No matter, she's here!" Emma said, and then muttered excitedly at her, "Potter just arrived! Everyone thought he'd backed down at the last minute."

"Yeah, we saw him running like a devil was chasing him," Lorena said, blowing into her hands and rubbing them.

"We?" asked Emma.

Lorena nodded, her eyes glued to the place where the champions were, "Lorcan brought me."

Harry was still breathing heavily after his race, and Lorena saw Bagman lean over Harry and whisper eagerly at him. When Harry nodded, Bagman gave his shoulder a squeeze and then his eyes focused on Lorena, glowering at her, his eyes menacing. Lorena glared at him in return. What the hell was wrong with that man looking at her like that? Creep. What he had told her that day at the Three Broomsticks had had absolutely no sense, and he had mentioned Abril knew all about it. About what? Lorena wondered.

Speaking of, she didn't recall seeing Abril this morning or yesterday, as a matter of fact. Lorena craned her neck to look for her Hufflepuff friends and found them sitting on the far side of the stands, closest to the champions. And yet, Abril was nowhere to be found. "Maybe she feels like I did a moment ago", Lorena thought and turned her attention to the champions when Ludo Bagman blew a whistle and the champions plunged into the freezing, black waters of the lake. The crowd roared excitedly and clapped as the second task of the Tournament began.

Lorena had watched Cedric as he took out his wand and made a complicated motion. His wavy hair swayed with the wind and the few rays of the sun that filtered through the cloudy sky made his skin almost… glow. Suddenly, Lorena burst into a hysterical laughter, making Violet and Emma looked at her strangely.

"Sorry, sorry," Lorena apologized, pausing for air but still laughing, "It's just…Edward Cullen." And she burst into fits of laughter again.

"Who?" Violet asked, frowning.

Lorena sighed and waved her hand dismissively. If Abril were here, she would have understood. Lorena then turned to watch Harry, the only champion that was still in the shore, as he jerked and sputtered something. The Slytherins started laughing and pointing at him, and Moody gave him a strong slap on the back, that only served to make Harry choke. He started opening and closing his mouth like a fish, his face turning a bit purple. At last, with wide eyes, he dived into the water and started swimming until his figure got lost in the blackness of the depth. Lorena let out the breath she'd been holding and nodded approvingly. The cheering died out when it was announced that the four champions were now on their way to retrieve that which had been stolen from them, and the multitude started shifting and standing up, still speaking excitedly until it was time for the champions to return.

"I'm going to walk around," Lorena told the girls, and drifted towards the centre of the stands.

"To find a certain ginger, no doubt," Emma whispered at Violet, who nodded.

Lorena saw Malfoy and his gang flashing their stupid badges that read POTTER STINKS and huffed. She kept walking across the stands, meeting friends along the way and stopping to talk to them. She noticed, with no surprise, that nor Ron nor Hermione were there. She saw Cedric's friends laughing and pushing each other playfully, and then a flash of red hair appeared in one of the stands just above her.

"Hey, Lorena, up here!" George called, and Lorena smiled as she tightened her scarf and started climbing towards where George, Fred, Lee Jordan and other Gryffindors stood. Although she had been careful while stepping, her foot slipped momentarily and she whipped her arm to grab onto something. When she gained her footing again, she realized she had grabbed a girl's arm painfully.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, I almost fell down and I didn't see you there," Lorena apologized quickly, helping the girl, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, it's fine, don't worry," the girl said and turned to her with a stern smile, still holding her arm, and Lorena was shocked to see it was Cho Chang, "It is quite slippery."

Lorena gawked at her and stammered, confused, "Why…but…aren't you supposed to be somewhere else?"

Cho looked puzzled at her, "What do you mean somewhere else?"

Lorena blinked and then gave a significant look at the lake, "You know…there."

Cho just stared at her.

Lorena shook her head, still not understanding, "But…you went with Cedric to the Yule Ball!"

"Yeah…" Cho said slowly, now looking at Lorena with concern, who shifted her eyes from the lake to Cho and then back to the lake, "Hey, is everything ok? You seem a bit… lost."

Lorena looked at her, not really seeing her.

"I don't get it," Lorena said frowning deeply, "Then who…?"

Reality then hit Lorena so hard she tumbled backwards and stepped on a few feet, but the complaints from the people behind her slipped past her as she widened her eyes in utter horror.

Without thinking, she spun and almost flew through the crowd, ignoring the cries of the students she hit or stepped on until she got to the end of the stands, and leaning over the barrier, she bellowed at the water.

"ABRIL!"

"No, no, no, no. Please, don't let this be true. This can't be happening," Lorena kept mumbling desperately as she walked quickly in the direction of the judges' table.

In her haste to get down from the stands, she had twisted her ankle, but she ignored it as she limped across the muddy ground.

"…Some blankets for when they come up. That water must be freezing!" Mrs Pomfrey was saying as she rushed in and out of a tent near the shore as Lorena drew closer.

"Excuse me," Lorena tried to say, but it came not louder than a whisper. She cleared her throat and tried again, "Excuse…"

"Miss Rodríguez, what are you doing here? The students must be sitting in the stands," professor McGongall interrupted, appearing next to her and gripping her shoulders to take her back to the stands.

"No…you don't understand…there has been a mistake," Lorena said flustered, trying to rid herself from her grasp.

"What mistake? Please, Miss Rodríguez, do stop the squirming!" McGonagall told her angrily.

"But…but… Abril is down there!" Lorena screeched, making the judges, teachers and merpeople sitting in the table stare at them. Lorena took advantage of the attention to get away from McGonagall and quickly turned to professor Dumbledore.

"Professor Dumbledore, I…" Lorena paused, suddenly overwhelmed. This was the first time she addressed the Headmaster.

Dumbledore only smiled and looked at her from behind his half-moon glasses.

"You seem to be in great stress, or so I've heard, Miss Rodríguez?" Dumbledore asked her gently, turning in his chair where he had been chatting with the Merchieftainess, a rather ferocious-looking female. The other people gathered there stared curiously at Lorena, and she gulped.

"You see sir, my friend is down there…"

Dumbledore nodded, "Yes, Miss Ortega, isn't it? Mr Diggory is the one who must retrieve her."

Lorena paled, "But...she wasn't supposed to be the one down there."

Dumbledore blinked, "What do you mean, Miss Rodríguez?"

Lorena realized that she must have looked ridiculous, stammering nonsense. But that didn't lessen the worry she felt for Abril.

"I just…thought…that the ones who were going to be in the lake were the champions' partners during the Yule Ball. And, well…Cedric went with Cho Chang so I was just…surprised," Lorena tried to explain.

She heard an exasperate huff and saw Percy rolling his eyes. Most of the people there just smiled and Karkaroff openly laughed.

Dumbledore smiled kindly, "Although Mr Krum did go with Miss Granger to the Yule Ball and now has to retrieve her, the same cannot be said for the other champions. Mr Potter for instance, will retrieve Mr Weasley, and as far as I know, they didn't go together to the ball."

Lorena tried to smile at the Headmaster's joke, but only achieved a grimace, "Do you mind if I stay here until they come up? ...Please! I just want to make sure she's okay."

McGonagall looked at Dumbledore, who nodded.

"Very well. But come here near the tent. Poppy, do you mind giving her a blanket?" McGonagall said as she guided her where the tent was.

Lorena kept looking up nervously at the huge clock tower as she wrapped herself tighter with the blanket. To her wonder, there had been coffee inside the tent, and now, she sat at the edge of the lake on the cold ground, the steaming cup safely kept between her hands. The only thing that had happened so far was when it was announced that Fleur Delacour would withdraw from the competition because of an incident with some grindylows, and then when she had resurfaced, she had been escorted to the tent, shivering and with wide eyes, mumbling something in French.

Now, Lorena's feet were freezing, but she did not move, for her eyes gazed sternly at the quiet surface of the lake, just minutes before the hour passed and the champions started to appear.

Just as the clock tower rang, the surface of the water broke and out came Cedric, gulping air desperately, and beside him, Abril appeared, spurting water and blinking rapidly.

The next thing Lorena knew was that she was splashing into the water towards them, yelling Abril's name frantically. She didn't have to go very far, though, as Cedric and Abril were quickly making there way ashore. Besides, Abril didn't need any help; she swam better than Lorena anyway.

"Abril…"Cedric said with difficulty, preventing her from falling into the mud, but Abril only opened her arms at Lorena and both friends embraced in a bear hug.

"I was so worried!" Lorena told her.

Abril hugged her tighter and then let go, "Really?"

"Of course! I almost had a heart attack when I realized you were in there! I was ready to jump in and drag you up myself."

Abril beamed. She'd never seen her friend so demonstrative and it touched her to know she had been so concerned about her.

"I was surprised when McGonagall fetched me, but I thought it would be cool," Abril said smiling, to which Lorena only stared at her and then raised her eyes to the sky, defeated.

"All right, all right, you three, now come here before you catch pneumonia," Madame Pomfrey said curtly, and then wrapped them in a warm, dry blanket.

Just minutes after they had gathered near the judge's table, the surface of the lake splashed again and a monstrous figure emerged, carrying a soaked Hermione beside him. The figure, which was actually a half-transformed shark-man, wiggled into its original self and Viktor Krum appeared, dragging Hermione up to the shore with the others. Cedric helped them out and Hermione went to join Lorena and Abril.

"Well, that was a refreshing experience!" Hermione exclaimed, wrapping the towel she had been given tightly around her frame.

Abril nodded, "All I want now is to have a warm cup of... something!"

"There's coffee inside the tent if you want," Lorena suggested.

"Oh, Lorena! How nice to see you!" Hermione said then, seemingly haven't noticed she was there.

"You seem to get happy now every time you see me," Lorena joked.

Hermione laughed, her teeth chattering a bit, "And it's the same reason as before. Why didn't you tell me you were going to the kitchens the other day? We could have gone together!"

Lorena smiled just as Krum arrived and gave each of the girls a mug of hot coffee.

"Herm-own-ninny?" Krum said quietly, and Hermione turned to look at him, "Can we haff a word? In private?"

Hermione blushed and said goodbye to the girls, leaving with Krum.

"I wonder how she knew I went to the kitchens," Lorena murmured, looking at Hermione.

"Why…?" Abril started asking but the sudden wild screams of the crowd made them turn their heads back to the lake just as Harry appeared, gulping air. Ron and Fleur's sister floated beside him, Ron spurting water and the little girl looking scared and confused. Both Harry and Ron helped the little girl through the water, back towards where the judges now stood, the merpeople of the lake accompanying them from a distance and the crowd making a great deal of noise.

Everyone then went to meet them when they finally arrived at the bank, and Bagman was quick to help Harry. Percy had run to help his brother, and Fleur was hysterically calling her sister.

Madame Pomfrey seized Harry and pulled him over with the others, wrapping him tightly. Hermione then congratulated him enthusiastically, much to Krum's dismay.

"Skeeter," Abril whispered then to Lorena, watching as Krum tried to brush away a beetle that was stranded in Hermione's hair.

Madame Pomfrey quickly gave everyone some Pepperup Potion, and Lorena and Abril smiled amused when they saw Fleur kissing Harry and Ron for rescuing her sister, Ron looking absolutely dazzled and Hermione looking absolutely furious. Just then everyone jumped when Bagman's amplified voice boomed beside them.

After the judges awarded the marks to every champion, everyone being surprised and excited about Harry being just below Cedric for the first place, the cheering of the crowd died out and Bagman announced that the third and final task would take place the twenty-fourth of June, then bid everyone goodbye.

As everyone was herded back to the castle to get into dry clothes, Harry left Ron and Hermione to join Lorena and Abril, who walked some steps in front of them.

"I wanted to thank you," Harry told them with a genuine smile, "I don't think I could have done it without you, guys."

"Well, in the end you did all the work down there, but nevertheless, your very welcome, Harry," Abril said happily.

"I was surprised when I saw you," Harry told her as they climbed the stone stairs back to the castle, "I didn't know Cedric and you were so close."

Abril only blushed.

"I'm just glad it's over. For now, at least," Lorena said.

Harry then turned to her, and lowered his voice "Oh, thanks for the gillyweed! Dobby told me you went to fetch him so he could give it to me. I don't want to imagine what would have happened if I hadn't have it."

"I found about it in a book and thought it would work nicely. Besides, Dobby was very excited to help you."

Harry smiled fondly. Some people started calling his name and he waved them goodbye before leaving.

Abril and Lorena walked in silence, in contrast with everyone around that still shouted and talked excitedly. Now that the thrill of the task had passed, they felt a bit awkward after not talking to each other for the past weeks.

At last, Abril broke the silence, "You asked Dobby to give him the gillyweed?"

Lorena nodded, "I thought he wouldn't have time to find anything, and Moody helping him again wasn't an option."

Abril was silent for a moment, "Then…you do care…"

With a sigh, Lorena stopped walking and motioned Abril to follow her to an empty classroom. Lorena sat in one of the desks, holding her blanket.

"I guess… if we're already here, it wouldn't do to ignore what's happening," she stated, looking at the floor.

Abril smiled and went to join her.

"It'd be better if we're in this together," Abril told her, "Let's do whatever we can."

"But nothing too reckless," Lorena said warningly but then smiled.

Abril smiled back, happy to be friends again, but then remembering something, she frowned and sighed.

"I'm afraid we have a bigger problem now, though," she said quietly.

"Which is?" Lorena asked, worried.

"Bagman." Abril said, then went on telling Lorena everything.