The morning of the second task, I was sitting with the other champions at the breakfast table again. Again, at four in the morning. Fleur and Harry seemed more nervous than me and Viktor. Not eating a single bite, just picking at their food.
"Are you guys okay?" I asked.
"Non, Gabrielle wasn't in her bed this morning."
"What do you mean?"
"She was called to Professor McGonagall's office last night. I thought she came back but her bed was still untouched when I left this morning." She was biting her beautiful nails short.
"Hermione and Ron were summoned too. I don't know about Hermione, but Ron wasn't in his bed this morning."
"Has it something to do with the task?" Viktor asked, his accent still thick even with the translation charm.
"We've taken what you sorely miss." I whispered. I looked at them wide-eyed. "They didn't take objects, they took students." The others gasped with me. "They took Gabrielle for you to find, Fleur. I'm guessing Hermione for Viktor and Ron for Harry. Oh, De la Berre, they are in the black lake."
"They can't do that. They didn't agree to participate in the tournament." Fleur hissed in anger. "Gabrielle is just a child."
I wrapped her in a hug as she started to tremble. "It will be okay. Madame Maxime wouldn't let anything happen to her; you know that."
She nodded weakly against my shoulder, but I was trembling myself.
"But who did they take from you?" Harry asked.
Dread filled me. I didn't know. Draco, Angelina? Jack or Jazz? The twins. "I don't know." My voice shook. "I was in the Prefect's Bathroom until midnight, everyone had gone to bed by then."
Now it was Fleur who hugged me tightly against her. "We'll get everyone back, Alec. Everyone."
LB
On one hand I wanted to know who was taken from me, on the other hand I didn't. I thought it would make me nerves even worse. So, the four of us wandered outside again to the large willow tree when we heard students come down from the staircases. Fleur put a warming spell around us as we waited. We tried to lighten the mood with different subjects, but the silence fell more than the conversation.
When we heard students walk past us to the stands in the water, we waited until everyone was up there. Then the four of us pushed our way through the willow's branches and walked over to the cheering crowd. But I didn't feel like cheering, not one bit. My eyes scanned the crowd. I sighed in relief when I saw the twins standing on the lowest stand, looking as nervous as me. Next to them Angelina, Lee, Jack and Jazz. That only left ... I took in sharp gasp as my eyes scanned the crowd. I had stopped walking and Harry placed a hand on my arm.
"Alec?"
"It's Draco. They've taken Draco."
LB
We stepped on the bottom platform of the stands and mister Bagman smiled broadly at Harry.
We took our places at the edge of the platform, glancing at the cold, dark water. After I told Sirius about the dark, he had come up with a spell the next morning, so I was able to see everything around me like in broad daylight. I put the charm over my eyes, then the blood charm against my pulse in my wrist. And lastly the filter over my face, so water couldn't get in.
The Bagman fellow placed his wand against his throat. "Sonorus." His voice echoed over the water. "Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One, two, -" We glanced at one another, ready to dive in and get our friends and family back. "Three."
The whistle was a shrill noise and the stand erupted into cheers as we dove in the water.
Oh, fuck! That was cold. Even with the muggle thermal bathing suit, I was freezing. But I was breathing, sort of. That was the most important part. As I swam deeper and deeper into the water, it became darker, but Sirius' spell worked and made a mental note to thank him later. Seaweeds tickled my bare feet, but I kept swimming. I grabbed the wand out of my holster as I saw a Grindylow stick out his long pointy fingers, ready to grab me. I stunned the creature, then the two that came after him. The rest scattered away when they figured out it was a lost cause.
How in the world am I to find Draco?! Then something lit up in me, something Uncle Moony always said when I was younger. Magic always leaves a trace. I grabbed my wand again. "Appare Vestigium."
Golden traces of magic appeared on my far right and I swam as fast as I could. I didn't know how long I was swimming but at one point, a large building came in sight, covered with alge. Merpeople with tridents were surrounding an open square. In the middle. Oh, De la Berre. Draco, Hermione, Gabrielle and Ron floated there. Their feet tied to a rock, so they didn't float away. But they looked eerie. They were a pale grey colour and looked like they were made in stone. Their eyes were closed, but their mouths hung slightly open. What kind of fucked up magic was this!? I swam to Draco, cupping his cheeks but he didn't move. I slashed the cord lose with a wave of my wand and wrapped my arm around Draco's waist. I looked at the other floating students. Poor Gabrielle, she must have been terrified. I saw two Champions swim closer, one on my right, one on my left. I didn't wait to see who it was. Knowing the others were safe, I swam upwards. The others would follow me soon anyway. And even though, seeing them there looked creepy as fuck, I was sure they were not in any danger. Otherwise, Dumbledore won't know what hit him.
When I breeched the surface, I removed the spells I'd put over myself. I looked to Draco, he was gasping for breath. The grey colour was gone from his face, but he still looked pale. Paler than normal. We swam to the deck and the twins were there, their eyes frightened. They pulled me and Draco up. I didn't hear Bagman or Dumbledore speak to the crowd. I just hugged Draco fiercely as the twins' put blankets on our shoulders.
"Are you okay? Please tell me you are okay? Otherwise, Hogwarts will be one headmaster short." I threatened. He grinned.
"I'm fine, Alexandra." He reassured me. "It was like I was asleep the whole time."
I wasn't convinced. "Your mother is going to lose it when she hears about this."
"Probably." He grinned, then he turned to the water. His eyes turned worried.
Then the twins pulled me in a tight hug, me squished between them. "Godric, we were so worried. We couldn't see anything, and we know what kind of things are down there." Fred said with a shudder.
"Shit, you're shivering so hard, I can feel the platform shake. Come here, love." George picked me up, bridal style none the less and sat down against a wooden beam. Fred sat right next to him, and he placed me on both of them, sharing their body warmth with me. They simultaneously stroked my cheeks softly and another bolt shot through me. Triad. Could it really be? I snuggled closer in their warmth as they wrapped their arms around me. Draco was still standing on the edge, looking at the dark water, two blankets now covered his shoulders and Blaise and Theo were beside him.
LB
A few minutes passed when Viktor came up with Hermione. A collective gasp was heard when Viktor's shark head changed back to normal. He helped Hermione out of the water before pulling himself up. Then he proceeded to cover her up with two blankets before taking one of his own. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her cheek. A cute blush spread across her cheeks.
Just before the hour was up, Fleur came up. Alone. She was sobbing as she was pulled out of the water. She refused any blankets that was offered to her. Madame Maxime was whispering to her, and her sobbing slowly stopped. Madam Maxime was finally able to place a blanket on her shoulders.
The only one left was Harry. The twins were rubbing my arms as my gaze was fixed on the water. It seemed like it went on forever but finally the water rippled, and Ron, Gabrielle and Harry popped out of the water. Ron helped Gabrielle to shore. I shrugged off my blankets and climbed out of the warmth of the twins' lap and ran to Harry, helping him out the water. I hugged him, ignoring the cold, wet clothes pressed against me.
I looked him over three times before I was sure he was okay. "You had me worried, Harry James Potter! Couldn't you be back earlier!? This is not good for my poor, old heart."
"You're seventeen." He pointed out. I hugged him again and whispered.
"Always playing the hero, aren't you Potter." I felt him chuckle against me. I stepped away when Hermione came barging over, her arms flying around Harry's neck. I glanced to Draco and the worry had left his face. He looked relieved but also conflicted. The twins called me back and I took the same position as I had earlier. The judges were gathered on the side, discussing the outcome.
I intertwined my fingers with them. I didn't want to ignore my feelings anymore, I needed to know what they thought about triads, what they felt about me. "Can we meet up tonight? I need to talk to you."
"Yeah, sure. Is everything okay?" George thumb caressed the back of my hand.
I hummed. "I just want to talk to you."
"Come to our room tonight. We'll make sure Lee is with Angie." Fred said, kissing my temple.
Then Bagman's voice boomed again. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions as follows. . ." The crowd went silent.
"Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points."
Applause broke out and I applauded with them. But Fleur looked furious at herself as she clutched her baby sister.
"Alexandra Lupin-Black, who used a very rare and difficult spell named Sanguis Oxygeni. I congratulate her on using such an advanced spell and warn the rest of you not to try this without an adult present. Had returned first and with five minutes to spare as she used a tracking spell to find her hostage. Which made her find the hostages at record tempo." My ears almost burst from the applause on the stands. Not only Gryffindors, but all the houses alike. Even Slytherin. "We therefore grant you... FIFTY POINTS!" Another burst of applause and cheers filled the air. The twins were beaming at me, both kissing my cheek softly as they whispered.
"Our little Fae."
"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points." Durmstrang and Karkaroff applauded loudly. Hermione, gathering her courage stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. And there you had it, the famous quidditch player blushed.
"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect," Bagman continued. "He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mr Potter was second to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return the other hostages to safety, not merely his own. Most of the judges," and here, Bagman gave Karkaroff a very nasty look, "feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks. However, Mr Potter's score is forty-five points."
I applauded as loudly at the others and grinned as Harry ducked his head blushing. I saw why, not from the cheering crowd above, but from Draco's intense stare on him as he too clapped.
"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June," continued Bagman. "The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all for your support of our champions."
Relief spread through my body as we had a bit of time for ourselves. I could focus a bit better on classes, on the lessons with the potions' master. On the twins. I sank further into the two red heads, too tired to stand up. But the twins did shift and then I was hoisted in the air, in the strong arms of Fred. I nuzzled my face in his chest as George draped a blanket over me, kissing my forehead. And then I was gone. Asleep in seconds.