(Y/N)'s POV

The water was a lot colder than I expected it to be, but I still dived deeper, following after Harry, who was oddly transformed to look like he had flippers, he was tearing through the water faster than anyone else could manage.

I saw Fleur swimming alongside me, trying not to freak out at the sight of her in a swimsuit, unfortunately, my teenager-ness and her veela-ness, as well as girl-ness, took hold. I gave her a thumbs up and mouthed "Looking good." 

She frowned and used her wand to launch some rocks at me, "Yeah, I deserved that." Honestly the rest of the swim over was a breeze, nothing attacked me, everything was going perfect, until I had a slight cough, the spell was wearing off, I picked up the pace. Only stopping once I found it. 

A whole crowd of merpeople were floating in front of houses that lined what looked like a mer-version of a village square. A choir of merpeople was singing in the middle, calling the champions toward them. Five people were bound tightly to the tail of the stone merperson. Harry was right.

Speaking of Harry, he was in front of me, his eyes darting between Ron and Hermione, I swam up beside him, pointing to Ron, then to Hermione and myself, he shook his head, pointing to the fifth person who I hadn't even registered, but instantly recognised, Luna.

Forgetting about my waning charm I paused to wrap my head around this. So long that Cerdic came along and swept off a girl I now recognised as Cho Chang. But this still didn't make any sense!

So, Hermione was mine yeah? If Ron was Harry, Cho was Cedric, the little girl was Fleur, then Luna was Viktor? Wait, that doesn't make sense. Unless Luna was mine, in which case Hermione was Viktor'.

No, there has to be some mistake, I tried to hurry, cutting the binds around Hermione, intent on taking her as well and then... I didn't get to finish my thought, speak of the devil. At first I thought it was a shark.

I drew my wand to defend myself, but luckily, I saw two duck footed legs kicking behind the sharks torso, and realised it was Krum, who had clearly very poorly tried to transfigure himself, without hesitation he glided over to a still vacant Hermione, grabbed her from me and quickly began to rise to the surface.

I snapped out of it, not wanting to be outdone again by this Bulgarian prat, quickly I severed the ties around Luna and made off after him, kicking my legs as fast as I could, leaving Harry behind after mouthing a quick, "Hurry up!" To him.

I raced with Krum the whole way to the surface, it was getting harder and harder to breathe, I could barely see anymore, there was ringing in my ears as air bubbles flooded out of my mouth, but I wasn't going to let that stop me.

Luckily Krum's janky transfiguration meant he was a little slow, I was able to keep up, rising to the surface frantically, and lucky too because my charm wore off at that moment. As soon as we broke the surface of the water Luna and Hermione were taken out of their trances.

Frantically kicking and spluttering in the water, but it wasn't over yet, me and Viktor scooped up our respective treasures and raced each other to the platform, I just managed to get there before him.

I heaved a drenched Luna onto the platform then also gave Hermione a nudge up. Leaving Viktor to do it himself. I looked at the clock, seventy minutes, new personal best for my charm. I was about to join them when I looked over to see who else had finished. 

Cedric of course, but no Harry, but that wasn't what worried me most, what did was Fleur stood on her own, pacing up and down looking very worried and bone dry. I immediately felt a pit in my stomach, thinking back to that girl under the lake. Hermione offered me a towel, which was tempting.

"Too late, it's gone, it won't come back." Rang in my head and despite cursing myself for my own stupidity I couldn't help myself, casting my second bubblehead charm, rushing past Hermione and diving off, I submerged again. "God, why can I never keep my nose out of things?"

This time round was both much easier, and much more frightening, I had to avoid the merpeople at all costs, they could attack me, all while making my way back to the captured people. 

As I did I saw Harry still there, I swam up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, he jumped at the sudden touch and turned his head to mime confusion, I pointed to the girl, he nodded and pointed to Ron. 

I shook my head, if I took Ron too it would be helping Harry and we'd both be in trouble, we counted down on our fingers and got ready, but the residents of the lake had other plans. One came up behind me silently, her beady fisheyes filled with fury.

She jammed her trident towards me and put its point to my chin "Only one" I pointed to the girl "She stays, Begone from our home!" She said, with that I realised she wasn't alone, there was a small army of them circling the area, each with its own very deadly looking weapon. 

Harry tried to protest and was given the same warning. My plan was to rise in the water a bit and pretend I was leaving, then swoop down and cut her loose, unfortunately I hadn't told Harry this plan, he seemed to sort of panic.

He jinxed the merpeople closest to us and then cut the binds immediately, he told me to "Go!" So doing as instructed I guarded the two vacant bodies from swarms of merpeople as they slowly rose to the surface, paying special care not to interfere with Ron so nobody could get me on a technicality.

My charm wore off before we got there, meaning I had to desperately hold my breath as they slowly rose, all while cursing any merpeople who approached, but they seemed more concerned with Harry, we made it to the surface just as I ran out of breath.

There where dots in my eyes, just like before they broke the surface of the water and woke up, air forced its way into my lungs and I spluttered out some water, my entire body was aching with pain, probably from lack of oxygen.

Ron sort of flailed around, getting his bearings fairly quickly, "Ron go to the platform" I shouted, but doing nothing to help him, he nodded and waded over, see this was when I should have gone back for Harry, but I didn't. 

Instead all my focus was on the little French girl, she was splashing about in a panic and shouting in equally frantic French. Of course, I had to help her. I got in front of her, grabbing her hands slowly to calm her down, giving her as confident a smile as I could manage.

Slowly she calmed down, so a held her hands tightly and leaned back, instructing her to kick her legs while doing the same, like I was teaching her to swim. As we reached the main platform, Ron helped the girl out of the water and Krum helped me up

"Is that how you will make me cry? By making me pity your failure? Throwing away your victory?" he asked, "Shut up you... shut up!" I said, grabbing his arm and heaving myself up. He handed me a towel. "Do not freeze." He said, walking off.

 "Well done shark boy" I patted his back and went off to find the others, the little girl quickly made her way to my side, holding my hand. Everyone watched the water in a tense silence as the clock ticked down.

Suddenly, Harry burst out of the water like a fish out of a stream, landing hard on the platform, looking extremely exhausted, but alive. I rushed towards him, as did many other onlookers, I gave him my towel, it didn't help as I was just as soaked as he was. 

I looked around for my friends and found the one person I wanted to see the most, "Hermione, let's forget this whole fake fighting thing, give me a cuddle I need your warmth" I extended my arms .

"I'm freezing my beloved treasures off out here" I laughed, she came up to me, and hugged me while rubbing my back, then she caught herself, "we shouldn't be..." she trailed off, she looked very cross and then sighed. 

"You would have been second!" I sighed, "Just no pleasing you is there" I was too tired to be mad so I shrugged. "Not the comeback I'd hoped for but what can I say, I see a damsel in distress, and I'm compelled to save her, it's in my contract."

I explained, smiling down at the little girl, she beamed back, "Quel est votre nom, ma chère?" I spoke to the little girl, my French still wasn't the best, but she understood "Gabrielle" "quel joli nom" I said.

She beamed at me again and I lifted her up to my shoulder so she could look for her sister. Hermione smiled at the sight. "You're welcome by the way, could have just left you down there, let Vicky have you" "What?" she said, looking perplexed.

"Oh right, the trance thing...never mind. At least your Bulgarian hero saved you from a life as a bad merpeople art exhibit" She shook her head, "Of course they wouldn't have left us, Dumbledore would never allow that." 

I was mortified, I didn't even consider that in the moment, I tried to play it off. "I know...but...still...that water was really cold" Fleur quickly rushed over to where me and the others were, looking for her sister. 

She found her and pulled the girl into a desperate hug, then she approached me and Harry, "You zaved 'er even though she waz not yours to zave, my little zizter" she pulled me into a grateful hug then kissed me firmly on either cheek.

It was a good thing too, because the blush made me exceptionally warm, well, that nd one other thing. Then she did the same to Harry, then turning to Ron, "And you, you helped" she added, pecking him on the cheek. We were all stunned, Ron broke the silence with a "Merci."

Then Fleur got oddly embarrassed, turning to Luna, "I am zorry, I did not mean too... interv'ere" she said, looking at me with a blush, I was very confused but Hermione, Luna, Ginny and Fleur seemed to understand completely, it was like they had a secret language or something. 

Luna shook her head, "Don't worry, we are just friends" there was a pause, Hermione looked between Luna and me with wide eyes, then Fleur nodded and took her sisters hand, they slowly made their way back to the Bauxbattons students.

Then finally everything clicked, "Oh she thought we were... ohhh" I laughed it off, Hermione still looked confused "Wait... you're not?" "Me and Luna? Don't be silly, maybe in another life, but we're just friends." 

She looked to Luna who seemed unfazed and shook her head quietly, still smiling. Then the scores were announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake," 

"We have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows. . . . "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."

There was loud applause from the stands. "I deserved zero," said Fleur throatily, shaking her magnificent head. "Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour." 

Enormous cheers from the Hufflepuffs in the crowd; I pat him on the shoulder, he smiled widely at me, "We therefore award him forty-seven points." "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." 

Karkaroff clapped particularly hard, looking very superior. "(Y/N) (L/N) used the Bubble-Head Charm, and would have taken second place, however, this was voided when he returned to the water, meaning he was third to return his hostage, although significantly outside the time limit-"

He paused as someone whispered something into his ear. "Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect," Bagman continued, I was confused, he just moved on to Harry, didn't I get any points? Had I been disqualified?

"He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mr. Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own."

"Similarly, Mr. (L/N) also risked his remaining time and placement to free and defend hostages other than his own. Most of the judges," and here, Bagman gave Karkaroff a very nasty look, "feel that these events show moral fibre and merits full marks." 

"However, . . . Both Mr. (L/N) and Mr. Potter score forty-five points." I clapped my hand to my mouth and fell to my knees, exhaustion finally taking its toll, tears were flooding out of my eyes, Harry rushed to my side, as did Ron and Hermione.

 I looked up at them with a smile "Comeback, told you" then we laughed and started applauding hard with the rest of the crowd. "There you go, Harry!" Ron shouted over the noise. "You weren't being thick after all — you were showing moral fibre!"

Fleur was clapping very hard too, Hermione wrapped her arms around me in celebration, Krum didn't look happy at all, I managed to catch his eye, smirking I said "Don't cry Vicky" over the noise, he scowled. 

He attempted to engage Hermione in conversation again, but she was too busy cheering to listen. "The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty fourth of June," continued Bagman.

It wasn't until we were on dry land that Hermione brought it up Fleur's confusion again, seeming oddly chipper. "I mean, can you blame her? You do spend a lot of time with her, even I thought... never mind." 

I shrugged "Yeah I guess, but I spend time with you more than anyone and she doesn't think I'm snogging you, does she?" I countered. "Well, snogging's a bit strong, but she wouldn't be entirely wrong" I whispered to her, chuckling at her face she blushed.

We quickly dropped the subject. After spending a while with Luna, I apologised that she was put into that situation because of the confusion with Skeeters article, she assured me that she didn't mind, and found the whole experience very exciting. 

In the weeks that followed I spent more time with Hermione, there was still the odd tension between us, but it seemed to fizzle out after the second task which of course led some rumours about us, and while they weren't necessarily untrue, they were still a pain.

Unfortunately there was one place where I couldn't avoid teasing. Classes. Why was Hermione my partner in like, everything? Potions was always the worst, Slytherins were snickering at us, it wasn't long until I realised why. 

An article was dropped in front of us, in the centre pages, Hermione pointed to what we were looking for. Me, Harry and Ron leaned in closer. A colour photograph of Harry headed a short piece entitled: "Harry Potter's Secret Heartache." 

I couldn't stop my smirk. "Oh this is gonna be great" I said, eyeing him as he scanned the words. "-A boy like no other, perhaps, yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence, writes Rita Skeeter." 

"Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter thought he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Little did he know that he would shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss."

"Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy. First it was the equally tragic (Y/N) (L/N), another tri wizard champion who was a close friend of Harry's before Miss Granger came between them." 

"Since the arrival at Hogwarts of Viktor Krum, Bulgarian Seeker and hero of the last World Quidditch Cup, Miss Granger has been toying with the boys' affections."

"Krum, who is openly smitten with the devious Miss Granger, has already invited her to visit him in Bulgaria over the summer holidays, and insists that he has "never felt this way about any other girl-" 

"Bloody hell. Did he?" I asked Hermione, "No!" She insisted. "Keep reading!" "-And (L/N), who has been close to Miss Granger since the start of his time at Hogwarts seems to consider her to be his "Beloved-" 

They all looked at me, "I HAVE NEVER SAID THAT" I said, suddenly very embarrassed they shrugged and moved on "However, it might not be Miss Granger's doubtful natural charms that have captured these unfortunate boys' interest." 

"She's really ugly," says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth-year student, "but she'd be well up to making a Love Potion, she's quite brainy. I think that's how she's doing it." Love Potions are, of course, banned at Hogwarts," 

"No doubt Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims. In the meantime, Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart on a worthier candidate."

"Spiking us with love potion Hermione...shame on you" I teased, she stuck her tongue out briefly, "How'd you get me, Butterbeer? Pumpkin Juice?" It was all very funny to me, knowing there was not a spec of truth in it.

What wasn't funny, was when Snape decided to recite specific sections to the entire class, utterly embarrassing us. And said "Well, I think I had better separate the three of you, so you can keep your minds on your potions rather than on your tangled love lives." 

"(L/N), join Miss Bulstrode. Weasley, you stay here. Miss Granger, over there, beside Miss Parkinson. Potter, that table in front of my desk. Move. Now." I tried to protest, arguing it was too late to switch partners, we had already started.

 Snape looked down his hooked nose at me and sneered, "Ah yes, we wouldn't want to cause you any more heartbreak (L/N) and separate you from your beloved" he smirked triumphantly, the whole class burst into laughter, even some Gryffindors.

I blushed deep crimson, looking around the room at all the laughing faces, not even thinking about it I shoved past him, barging him aside, I just stormed out of the room, head down, teeth gritted, he probably shouted at me, but I didn't hear it. 

I don't know why it embarrassed me as much as it did, but I couldn't stay there and suffer. I was already at the lakeside before I even registered that I was walking anywhere, I moved my hand to my face, realising that several hot tears were already there.

I wasn't upset, just frustrated, not that the Slytherins would care, great, can't wait until the whole school hears about this. I don't know how long I was there, I just sat at the bottom of a tree, I suppose it's what some would call sulking, personally I preferred calling it brooding, sound's cooler.

I only trudged my way back to the castle when I started getting cold, then I realised I had left all my stuff in Snape's classroom, even my wand, and knowing him, it was still there, he knew I would have to come back to get it, where he would lecture me and give me a detention. Lovely.

I pushed the door open, hoping to just slip in and get my stuff, but no, Hogwarts is an old castle, with very creaky doors, Snape turned to face me, he was grading essays, he sighed and pointed to a chair across from him. "Sit" was all he said.