The Second Task

Two months passed in relative calm following the fateful night of the ball. Destiny awoke every morning convinced it had been a dream until Draco would tug her into an abandoned closet to say good morning. She was happier than she had ever been: someone cared about her!

Draco, too, was happier than anyone had ever seen him. He didn't sneer as much in the corridors, and he had taken to actually volunteering in class. Blaise and Pansy teased that he was turning Gryffindor on them, but Draco didn't care – he was happy, and he was with Destiny.

Valentine's Day rolled around, and Draco surprised Destiny (with the help of a few well-meaning house elves) with a private tea in an abandoned classroom. He spared nothing and decorated the entire room with pink, red, and white floating hearts that sparkled with glitter. Both of them enjoyed the private and quiet time together without the worry of someone unwelcome peering around a bookshelf or barging in on them (the house elves had made certain that the room was locked and protected from unwanted visitors).

Before the school could completely get over the high of the Yule Ball, the Second Task made its way onto the scene. Destiny was vaguely aware of the fact that Harry had still not solved the mystery of the screaming egg having heard Hermione berate him earlier in the week, but she could not bring herself to care all that much.

She and Harry had not really spoken since the night of the ball despite Harry's attempts to engage her in conversation. Part of her knew she was being petty: he hadn't meant to be cruel. But, a larger more dominant part of her didn't care that she was being petty: she wanted to prove a point, so she did.

"How long do you reckon he would survive without those two?" Draco smirked, nodding at Harry, Ron, and Hermione pouring over books in the library the night before the task.

"I think he'd already be dead," Destiny replied simply. "Pass the potions notes please."

"You know, you should probably learn to be good at potions on your own at some point," he teased as he handed them over.

"And miss my one chance to be with you in class where no one says anything? No way! I'm milking my inability as long as I can."

Draco laughed and returned to his charms essay. "So, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about," he said after a moment.

"Oh?" Destiny acknowledged without looking up from her potions essay. "What's up?"

"I was wondering…I know we're keeping us quiet for a while, but…I was just thinking…could I tell my mum about you?"

Destiny looked up from her essay and met Draco's eyes. "You're asking me if you can tell your own mother you have a girlfriend…are you ok, Draco?"

"I didn't want to do anything without talking to you," he explained in a rush. "I mean…don't you want to tell Sirius?"

"I was waiting to do it in person, to be honest," Destiny admitted with a sigh. "I'm afraid of putting it in a letter in case someone intercepts it. Since he's hiding in the mountains near here, I thought I could see him over the next Hogsmeade trip. So, yes tell your mother! I hope I'm good enough for her…"

Draco shook his head and took her hand over the table. "Don't worry about that. She already likes you; I've told her about you over the summers, and she loves you. When I told her about the ball and your situation, she told me to go ahead and buy you whatever I wanted. She's going to be over the moon about us seeing each other, don't worry."

Destiny flushed scarlet and tilted her head down to let her hair cover her face. "Would you like to come with me?"

"Where?" Draco asked in confusion.

"To see Sirius during the Hogsmeade trip," Destiny explained. "I mean, you don't have to, and I'll completely understand if you don't want to, but I thought I'd ask."

Draco hesitated. He wanted to support his girlfriend, and he knew how important Sirius was to her: almost like her father. How childish and pathetic would he sound if he said no, but could he bring himself to agree?

"Dray?" Destiny prompted, using her new shortened version of his name. "You ok?"

Draco shook himself and forced a smile. "Of course, I'm fine. I was just thinking about my essay, sorry."

Destiny frowned. "Do you want to come with me or not?"

Draco sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I want to, but…I don't know…I'm not exactly the best choice you could have made for a boyfriend. At least, I'm sure that's how he'll see it."

"Oh is that what you're worried about?" Destiny sighed in relief. "Don't worry! Sirius will be fine with it, I know he will."

"How do you know?"

"Because he loves me and wants me to be happy," Destiny shrugged. "You make me happy, so he'll be fine with you."

"But think about who I am!" Draco argued. "My father-"

"Your father only has the amount of influence you let him have," Destiny cut across him. "You are not your father, and you do not want to be your father, so stop hiding behind him. You're hiding behind the expectation the world has of you because of him. Break it if you don't like it – it's as simple as that."

"It's not that easy," Draco sighed. "But, if you think it'll be alright, I'd love to go with you next Hogsmeade."

Destiny smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Awww look at them, George!" a voice cooed nearby.

"Absolutely adorable, Fred!" a second voice replied.

"Hello you two," Destiny smirked. "What brings you to the library? I know it isn't work."

"Personally I think Fred's here for the view," George teased, jerking his thumb at the table behind them where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were still working.

"Oi!" Fred snapped, smacking his twin in the back of the head. "What happened to trust between twins?"

"It's just Des," George laughed. "She knew anyway!"

"I'm not exactly alone here, boys," Destiny reminded them.

"Oh yeah: hey Draco!" they said together.

"How do they know?" Draco hissed.

"We cornered her and demanded she tell us why she's been so happy lately," Fred explained.

"Besides, we saw you two at the ball together," George added with a shrug. "We've known about her liking you for ages, so we figured it was about time."

"Don't worry, we'll keep it quiet," Fred promised. "We get why you want to."

"Not that we agree with the rest of the world, mind you, but we know you don't have a choice," George added reassuringly.

"You two never answered my question," Destiny reminded them. "What are you doing here?" she repeated when they looked confused.

"Oh that!" George grinned. "Fred, you go get Granger, I'll handle things here."

Fred smirked and crept through the shelves towards Hermione.

"McGonagall wanted you in her office, Des," George explained, glancing over his shoulder at his twin every few seconds.

"Why?" Destiny frowned. "What does she want?"

"Didn't say," George shrugged. "She wants Granger too, hence brother mine over there. Looked a bit grim though, McGonagall, so you may want to hurry up."

Destiny sighed and packed away her things.

"Will you come back here?" Draco asked quietly – George took the hint and moved away from the table.

"If it's not too late when she gets done with me," Destiny nodded. "If it is, I'll see you tomorrow morning before breakfast."

Draco nodded and stood up to hug her. "See you, then," he said before kissing her cheek.

"See you," Destiny replied with a smile, shouldering her bag and following George from the library.

000

Draco couldn't find Destiny the next morning. She had not returned to the library the night before, and Draco hadn't worried as she had said that might happen. But, when he couldn't find her the following morning before, during, or after breakfast, he began to really worry.

"Where could she be?" he hissed at Blaise as they traveled with the other students across the grounds towards the lake.

"Relax, mate!" Blaise waved a hand. "You know she likes to have a lie in sometimes. I wouldn't worry until Alexis does; she knows her better than anyone."

"Blaise!" Alexis was suddenly there gripping Blaise's arm with a look of deep concern on her face.

"Now you can worry," Blaise amended sheepishly to Draco as they both looked at the distraught girl. "You can't find her either?"

"She never came back to the dorm last night!" Alexis breathed. "I thought she was with Draco until just now. Nobody's seen Hermione either, and they were together in McGonagall's office."

"I'm sure they're both fine," Blaise said, trying to keep the other two calm. "They're tough girls, alright?"

Draco nodded, but he couldn't help remembering the last time those two girls had disappeared together: they had been found petrified on the floor.

The students filed into the stands that had been set up surrounding the edge of the lake while the four champions stood shaking (whether from cold or nerves, it was difficult to tell) by the water waiting for their cue to begin the task.

"Wonder what they've got up their sleeves this time," Blaise said, turning to Draco who was distractedly scanning the crowd, oblivious to his friend's words.

"Attention everyone!" Ludo Bagman's voice rang over the stillness of the lake. "Welcome to the Second Task of this Triwizard Tournament. Last night, something valuable was taken from each of the champions and is now hidden at the bottom of the lake. The champions will have exactly one hour to retrieve their hostage and bring them back to the surface."

"'Hostage'?" Blaise repeated with a raised eyebrow. "What, they didn't take people did they?"

Draco's face had paled as he began to put the pieces together. Granger was missing, he had heard Fleur babbling about her sister being missing, Destiny was missing, and, after a quick glance around, he saw that Chang was missing. "'Something valuable was taken from each of the champions'," Draco repeated slowly, his fear being quickly replaced with anger.

"What?" Blaise frowned.

"They took the people that are valuable to the champions!" Draco sneered. "That doddering old fool put Destiny in the bottom of the lake for Potter to save!"

"Bloody Hell…" Blaise breathed as Alexis gasped.

"And I have to sit here for an hour trusting Potter to save my girlfriend!" Draco growled. "I'll kill him."

"Potter or Dumbledore?" Blaise checked.

"Both."

000

The hour mark was nearing, and Draco was close to his breaking point. He wasn't entirely sure if he was going to curse someone, cry, or jump into the lake after Destiny himself. Fleur had already returned empty handed, and Bagman had said something about Grindylows forcing her return. That had done nothing for his comfort levels.

"Breathe, mate," Blaise reminded him. "Potter loves being the hero, and I have yet to see him pass on an opportunity to be one. He'll get her out of there, and then she'll slap him. You'll see."

Draco breathed angrily through his nose as he stared at the clock ticking closer and closer to the hour.

The hour sounded…and no one appeared above the water.

"I'm going in," Draco announced, and Blaise had to practically tackle him to keep him in his seat.

"Look!" Alexis gasped as bubbles appeared on the surface.

All three held their breath as two heads broke the water, but it became quickly clear that it was Cedric and Cho, not Harry and Destiny.

Blaise resumed his tight hold on Draco as Alexis continued to stare at the water. "Calm down, will you?" Blaise sighed as Draco continued to fight him. "They aren't going to let any of them die!"

"Besides, if you go down there you'll die," Alexis reminded him. "You don't know how to get to the bottom of the lake without air, Draco."

"And Potter does?" Draco argued.

"He'd be back up by now if he didn't," Blaise pointed out. "Someone must have helped him figure it out."

"Here comes someone else!" Alexis gasped as the water bubbled again.

This time, it was Krum and Granger that came to the surface, and Draco had had enough.

"I'm going down there, and I don't care!" he snapped. "It's been fifteen minutes outside the time limit! What if whatever is keeping her safe wears off or something?"

"Do you really want the whole school to know you care?" Blaise hissed. "I thought you two were keeping it quiet."

"We're going to be keeping it silent if she dies down there!" Draco argued.

"LOOK!" Alexis cried, pointing at the lake again. Three heads had broken the surface of the water and began gasping instantly.

"Des!" Draco breathed in relief. "Thank Merlin!"

"Come on, let's move closer," Blaise whispered. "I think we can manage that without causing suspicion."

The three moved closer to the edge of the lake where the champions and their hostages were wrapping up in towels and trying to keep warm. A swarm of people had gathered around Harry while Destiny, it appeared, had been left to fend for herself.

"Attention!" Bagman called over the crowd. "The judges have reached their decision. Since Mr. Diggory arrived back first using the bubble head charm, although outside the time limit, we have agreed to award him 47 points. Mr. Krum arrived second using transfiguration and also outside the time limit: 40 points. Ms. Delecour did not reach her hostage but did show command of the bubble head charm: 25 points. Finally, Mr. Potter who arrived last using Gillyweed, but was first to reach the hostages. His late return was due to his determination to return all hostages and not merely his own. For this display of moral fiber, we have agreed to award him 45 points!"

Draco cursed under his breath as everyone cheered and surrounded Harry again, leaving Destiny even more alone on the shore. No on from Gryffindor even checked to make sure she was alright.

Once the crowd began to disperse, Draco hurried forward and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. "Are you alright?" he demanded, carefully examining her face and body for any signs of damage.

Destiny nodded, and shivered violently. "J-j-just freezing," she admitted.

Draco whipped off his coat without another word and wrapped it around her tightly, rubbing her arms.

"You alright there, gorgeous?" Blaise asked with a grin. "Bit soggy?"

Destiny smiled a little before shivering again.

"Let's get her inside," Alexis advised. "She could get really sick being wet in this cold."

Draco helped her to her feet and guided her back across the grounds and into the castle. "Let's take her to the kitchens," Draco suggested. "They have a fire there, and we can get her some tea or something to warm her up."

Once they were settled in the kitchens (Destiny practically sitting in the fire with blankets piled on top of her), Draco spoke again. "Better now?" he asked gently.

"Much, thanks," Destiny smiled, her voice leveling out and color returning to her face.

"What happened, Des?"

"I went to McGonagall's office last night with Granger, and Cho and this little girl were there too."

"Fleur's sister," Blaise supplied quickly. "That was the little girl."

"Dumbledore came in and explained what was going on. He said that we were what the champions had to rescue from the bottom of the lake because we were valuable to them. He told us he would put a spell on us to keep us asleep until we were above the water again, and that's all I remember."

"Why you, though?" Alexis frowned. "I mean, Hermione and Cho I get because Diggory and Krum actually liked them, and I get Fleur's sister, but why you? Everyone knows you and Harry have been at it since the ball."

"That is a good point," Blaise admitted. "Why would they pick you for Potter?"

"Maybe Dumbledore got lazy and just picked Cho and me because we went to the ball with Cedric and Harry. Madam Maxime could be the outlier who thought a different way."

"Maybe…" Draco agreed. "But I'm still going to kill him for putting you in danger like that. What if Potter hadn't saved you?"

"I'm guessing the mermaids would have brought me up, but I appreciate you caring about me."

"Would Miss like some more tea?" Tilly asked in concern.

"No thank you, Tilly, I'm alright," Destiny smiled. "What I really want is sleep."

"Do you want to go to the hospital wing for the night?" Draco asked.

"No, I'd rather go back to Gryffindor tower," she admitted. "I'm fine, Draco, I'm just tired."

"I'll watch her, Draco," Alexis promised.

Draco nodded, although he didn't look happy. He pulled Destiny into a tight hug and whispered in her ear. "I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

Destiny nodded against his shoulder. "Tomorrow."

"Good night, Des," Draco muttered. He kissed her gently on the lips before pulling away and allowing Alexis to guide her up the stairs towards Gryffindor tower while he and Blaise slowly made their way back down to the dungeons.

I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so, SO SORRY for being away so long! I guess I got busy and other things were just coming easier, so I let this one go a bit. It's been over a year…gosh it felt good to write this again! Anyway, I hope you can forgive me for being gone this long, and I certainly hope you're glad to see this new chapter.

I will do my best to keep updating, but I make no promises in terms of a schedule because I am in the middle of student teaching, so lesson plans and assignments kind of have to take priority. I also have about four other stories that need my attention, so all I will say is I will do my absolute best to keep up with everything.

Thank you all so much for your continued support, and I hope you all enjoyed this. Again, I apologize for being gone so long.

xxx

Karen Weasley