BORN TO DIE ╱ DRACO MALFOY
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ . written by ella . . . © -lostgardens
073 ━━━━━━━━ ❛ the black lake ❜

Laying in bed, the room was dark besides the small tint of green coming in through the window from the lake that Olivia and the other champions would be facing the next morning. Did she know what they would be doing? No, because Snape was keeping his mouth shut this time. He did let it slip, though, that her mother would be there now that she knew Olivia wasn't a total failure in all of this mess.

Olivia felt like a mess.

She and Draco hadn't talked since the night of the Yule Ball, besides short "heys" and "hellos" every time their paths crossed, and most of the time, they weren't even looking each other in the eye. And the only face-to-face interaction they had with each other was when she'd dropped his suit jacket into his lap while he was sitting on the couch in the common room, talking to Theodore and Blaise, and walked away without a word, her chin held high. Other than that, they were silent towards each other, neither wanting to talk about what happened—the almost downright confession of feelings that they—mostly Olivia—spewed in the Astronomy Tower. Most of the time, she had been zoned in on her schoolwork and lessons. Well, not completely; she had taken the time to interrogate Lucas about his secret group of Ravenclaw friends she'd known nothing about.

His name was Akeno Blackwood, and he was the boy Lucas liked—the boy Lucas had gone to the Yule Ball with Evelyn to spy on since he was with someone else. He also had a few other friends, including Luna Lovegood and a girl by the name of Eloise Whitlock, but that was besides the point. Her main focus was learning all about Akeno, and she did just that. She sat and listened, giving her full attention, as her brother explained every gushy and cute (but disgusting to her because she knew she could never talk so lovey dovey without putting a sour taste in her mouth) detail about the boy her brother fancied.

Now, however, she was lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling with her arms resting on her stomach, and Mr. Snake cuddled in the fold of her arm, listening to the complete silence of the room. She and Pansy had just laid down, so her best friend hadn't started on her topic of the night. They really didn't have that much to talk about. Hogwarts had been relatively quiet since the night of the ball. And with Olivia and Draco not speaking, there was nothing for Pansy to analyze.

"Olivia?" Pansy's voice finally broke the silence.

Olivia could hear the sound of the girl's head turning on her pillow to face her as she questioningly said, "Yeah?"

Pansy was quiet for a moment, and Olivia wondered if she was looking for the right words to use for whatever she was about to ask or say. Then she inhaled deeply through her nose and released it through her mouth before speaking. "Have you figured out the message yet? From the golden egg?" She paused, then added, "It's just... You-" She huffed, struggling with her words out of worry for her best friend. "The task is tomorrow, and you haven't really said anything."

"I've figured it out," Olivia replied. She had indeed—with the help of a certain Hufflepuff, whom she was sure had extended that helping hand to all the other champions. Or perhaps just her. Maybe Potter, too. The two underdogs of the tournament—or so most thought. Olivia could practically hear the girl picking at her lip nervously, like she often did. "Don't worry, Pans. I have a plan that's not going to fail. Trust me," she assured. Or she believed.

Pansy just hummed in response. There was a beat of silence, and then, "Goodnight, Olivia."

"Goodnight, Pansy."

And with that, the two girls fell asleep—Pansy peacefully, and Olivia haunted with her recurring nightmare. Except for the fact that it wasn't the same as always. No, this time she wasn't in that home with the five children, two adults, and a faceless man; she was in the Black Lake.

It was just her in the water alone. She seemed fine. The water bobbed back and forth as she stayed afloat in the middle of the lake. She pushed her legs under the water smoothly back and forth and wiped her arms across the surface in the same motion, keeping herself from going under. Her head whipped around, searching for anyone, trying to spot someone or something to help. But no one was in sight. Hogwarts sat on the hill, but it didn't seem to have any life to it. The lake was mostly still, besides where she was, and everything was so silent.

It was almost heavenly, so.

Still, she called out for someone—anyone—hoping she would be found and brought out of the lake. But then something grabbed her ankle and jerked her down before she could even react. She plunged under the water, and her limbs started flaying as she tried to fight it off. The water filled her mouth and her lungs, but she kicked whatever it was hard enough for it to back off and let go of her.

She broke the surface again, shouting with a mixture of gurgling water. Still, she saw nothing. No one was out there with her. She was alone. She had to fight on her own and win on her own. With that in mind, she began swimming forward, trying to get as far away as possible from whatever creature that roamed the lake was trying to get her.

She didn't make it far enough, however, and her ankle was grabbed again. She was pulled back under the surface of the water again. But before she was fully submerged, she swore she saw someone standing at the edge of the lake. She let out a loud shout, continuing to put up a strong fight as she tried to get their attention. But she felt herself growing weaker with all of the water entering her lungs.

She was dragged even further down, and her ears began ringing as she got closer to the core of the earth. Looking below her, she saw a merperson holding onto her. More surrounded the place underneath them, and she knew how aggressive the little buggers could be. So, with all her strength, she brought her free leg up and then down as she kicked the thing in the head, causing it to let her go. Then she swam her way back up.

Being above the height of the water this time, she, without a doubt in her mind, saw someone standing at the edge of the lake. She'd been right. And that white-blonde hair was all too familiar. He wasn't doing anything, though. Not moving, not making an effort to help her—nothing. He was just completely still, there with his hands in his pockets and his usual smug smirk on his face, watching her struggle.

"Draco!" She shouted his name, swimming forward. She hoped that he just didn't see her, and that was the reason he wasn't helping her. "Dra—!" She was pulled back under the water, causing more water to fill her lungs and cut off her words. The waves of the water bounced from blocking her view of him to letting her catch a glimpse.

He hadn't even budged.

She tried to scream, but the water muffled it. She felt herself growing lightheaded as she was dragged further down and down, going into a darker part of the lake. All because of those stupid merpeople—the ones she was going to have to face one way or another in the tournament. She was dragged and dragged further down until the greenness of the lake began to fade into darkness and her lids grew heavy. All while, she had only one thing on her mind:

Draco hadn't even tried to help her.

When she woke, she felt like she was burning and freezing at the same time. She was covered in sweat, her breathing was rapid, and she felt like she had died and come back to life in a sense. It was no coincidence that she had a nightmare about drowning in the Black Lake the night before she would be in said lake; she knew that. But why had Draco been there? And why hadn't he helped her?

Those two questions stayed on her mind all morning—when she got ready for the task, when she went down to the Great Hall to eat breakfast, when she and her friends walked through the corridors, where she was wished luck, and headed towards the lake. Well, most of her group. Lucas wasn't with them, and that made her nervous.

As she and the others passed the Weasley twins, who were asking for bets, Olivia looked around, trying to find a glimpse of that familiar curly brown hair. But her brother was nowhere in sight. She would've liked to think he just overslept, but she knew better than that. Lucas was like her: punctual and never overslept, especially for important matters. She had a pit in her stomach, and she didn't know if it was from breakfast mixed with nerves, worry about Lucas, or panic about whatever the task was meant to be.

"Olivia," Pansy said sternly, stepping to stand in front of the girl. Olivia didn't even have a second to register the girl's voice before she was running into her. She faced forward quickly, coming eye-to-eye with a very worried-looking Pansy, to which she just gave a questioning look. The others stopped behind them as well. "Is your plan one hundred percent fail-proof?" the girl asked, her face twisted into concern.

Olivia gave a soft, reassuring smile that not even she believed to be genuine. It wasn't that she was doubting her plan, but it was just everything else. The looming questions on her mind—the ones about her nightmare and Draco, as well as where her brother could possibly be—and the anxiety of the day. She had won the first task, but she knew that they got harder as they went on, and she'd had a bit of an upper hand the first go around, courtesy of a certain dark-haired professor. This time, all she knew was that she was going to be in the Black Lake with the merpeople, and the plan she had that was tucked away in her pocket was all that she had to help her. That, and her wand. "Yes, Pansy," she replied. "I told you not to worry."

"Okay," her best friend muttered in return. "If you say so."

It was then that Olivia realized that they'd arrived at the boats. Potter and Longbottom were just up ahead, and her eyes met her opponent's. She sent him a small, tense smile, which he somewhat returned. Then she looked down at what he was wearing—a Gryffindor red zip-up hoodie with his name on the back, yellow lines down the sides, and Hogwarts' crest on the breast, with a matching shirt underneath, black pants, and runners. It was much like hers in style, except hers was Slytherin green and had her name on the back of the zip-up, and underneath her clothing, she was wearing a one-piece swimsuit—a matching green of her jacket, of course.

She just moved forward, making her way to a boat as the others followed. She, Pansy, Theodore, and Blaise climbed into one boat, while Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle climbed into another. Olivia wanted to wait on Lucas, but with one more glance around, she still didn't see him. So they began moving. The boat ride was silent as Olivia tried to keep herself calm and focused.

She would do this. She would win this. Her mother was going to be there to watch her in action, and she was not going to be a failure in front of her. She would not let that woman have something else to hold over her head or ridicule her about any chance she got.

When they stopped, they were at three towers in the middle of the Black Lake, where everyone—students, professors, and guests alike—was meant to stand and watch as this task took place. The group got out of the two boats they were in and stepped onto the platforms. Olivia, followed by her friends, found where the other champions were gathered. Potter seemed to have just arrived, but Fleur, Diggory, and Krum were all there already.

Taking in a deep breath, Olivia removed the gillyweed, her main helping hand during this task, and her wand from the pockets of her jacket. Then she unzipped it, showcasing the top half of her swimsuit, before shrugging it off, and Pansy kindly took it. Next, she slipped off her runners and socks with one hand. And finally, when she went to take off her joggers, she realized she was going to need both hands for it.

Her eyes found Pansy's, who was already watching her closely, and she told her, "Stick out your hand." And all she saw was Pansy look at her hesitantly, then glance over at the others. Sighing, Olivia just grabbed her friend's hand with her free one and held it out with her palm facing up. "Hold this, will you?" She placed the handful of gillyweed next to Pansy's and then dumped it into her palm.

Pansy's face twisted in disgust as she looked down at the green worm-looking things in her hand, seeming as if she were about to dump them on the floor. She took a step back and extended her arm so that the plant was as far away from her as possible. "What is this?" she asked, sounding and looking as if she were about to puke.

Olivia handed Theodore her wand and then took off her joggers as she looked up at her best friend. "Gillyweed. That is what's going to help me win this task," she answered, keeping her voice low so that the ones around them were less likely to hear. It wasn't as if her fellow champions could steal her idea; it was a little too late in the game for that. Her joggers dropped around her ankles, leaving her in just her swimsuit. She ignored the eyes that found her and reached behind her neck to unclasp her necklace.

It was an odd action, to say the least, because she rarely did it anymore. She used to take it and her bracelet, which she unclasped from her wrist next, off before her showers, but at some point she stopped doing that and just kept them both on always. Looking down at both pieces of jewelry, she thought about who she wanted to give them to for safekeeping. Theodore would probably drop them; Crabbe and Goyle were out of the question; Blaise was responsible, but Pansy would probably give him all of Olivia's clothes to hold. The only best-bet options were Pansy and Draco. But there was a chance Pansy might hold something of Olivia's, and she didn't want to pile that all on her. So, with that sorted out, Olivia slowly turned to face Draco, who stood with his hands in his trousers pockets, looking out to the water.

He was most likely shocked when she approached him, looking up at him as she waited for him to meet her gaze. No, he was most definitely shocked. She could see it in the expression on his face. She reached for his wrist, gently pulling one of his hands out of his pockets, and held up her other one. Dropping the bracelet and necklace into his hand, she brought her hand to fold his closed, while the other one still held the underside of it. "Keep these safe, okay? They're quite important to me."

She saw his eyes flinch before he simply nodded.

After that, she took a large step back, putting some distance between them again as she dropped her hands to her sides. Draco kept his hand balled shut as he put it by his side, his eyes remaining on her as she moved to Pansy once more. Olivia stuck her hand out for her best friend to put the gillyweed back in, which she happily did, squirming at the feeling of it sliding against her palm as she muttered, "Ew," repeatedly. She bent down and picked up her joggers, handing them to the girl, knowing she would much rather hold those than the plant. Then she got her wand back from Theodore.

"Welcome to the second task." Dumbledore's voice echoed over the speaker a second later, causing Olivia's heart and stomach to drop. She inhaled sharply before sending one last glance in her group's direction. Her eyes found all of them but stuck to Draco's for longer than they should, seeming as if he wanted to say something. She wanted to say something too, but neither of them did. She saw something swirling behind his pupils. But she didn't give herself enough time to place it as she looked away.

Since it was late February, there was still a chill in the air, which Olivia was sure was going to make it a brilliant time in the water. It was cold, though it didn't bother her that much, but it was possible for her to get hypothermia. She could easily cure that, however. Creatures were swimming about below the surface. And she was dressed in nothing but a swimsuit—her and Fleur both. The boys got shorts and sleeveless shirts. It was quite brilliant, indeed.

"Last night, something was stolen from each of our champions. A treasure of sorts," the old man continued over the speaker. Olivia's gut dropped even further and churned even harder, now realizing that the night before was the last time she saw her brother. She swore if they did something with him... "These five treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the Black Lake."

How wonderful! she thought.

"In order to win, each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface," the Headmaster explained as Olivia, still holding onto the gillyweed and her wand, made her way over to where the other four champions—Potter, Diggory, Fleur, and Krum—were lined up at the edge of the middle tower. She shook her arms, trying to loosen her nerves, then put her wand in the holster on her thigh. "Simple enough," he added as Olivia lifted her hand to her mouth, shoveling in the gillyweed. The taste was disgusting, and she almost spit it out. "Except for this, they will have but one hour to do so. And one hour only." Olivia could feel the effects of the gillyweed already working as he went on. "After that, they'll be on their own. No magic will save them." Looking at the ones beside her, she saw Potter gagging like he was going to reintroduce his breakfast to everyone, and her lip curled in disgust. "You may begin at the sound of the cannon."

Then the cannon fired, causing the crowd to start cheering. Fleur, Krum, and Diggory jumped into the water at the same time, making a giant splash in the water, then Olivia snapped back into focus not even a second later and joined them. She supposed Potter followed along as well. As soon as she broke the surface of the water, Olivia felt the gills and webbed toes and fingers start to form, and she looked down at her feet, then lifted her hands to her line of sight.

It was safe to say she was glad no one was going to see her like this besides the other champions, who would be too focused on the task to care, and the lake's creatures.

She began swimming forward, in search of this so-called treasure that she had a nagging feeling was going to be her brother. She hated that feeling. And she hated Dumbledore and the Ministry rats for doing this. It was one thing for her to be in danger, but for Lucas? She would rain hell if he was hurt.

It felt like forever she was swimming, going deeper and deeper into the water as she passed by fish, coral, and all different kinds of magical creatures. But in reality, it was only about twenty-five or so minutes, which was still almost half her time, and then she heard the sound of the merpeople singing. She swam closer to the tall—very tall—seaweed that blocked her view of the other side of the lake. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Potter doing the same. Not focusing too long on the other champion, Olivia began swimming between the large pieces of seaweed, trying to get closer and closer to the merpeople she would have to face. It didn't take her long to get through the majority, but then the merpeople started approaching.

Olivia reached down for her wand, pulling it out of its holder and gripping it tightly in her web-fingered left hand. She continued to swim, going as stealthily as she could to go unnoticed. But she also needed to go fast if she were going to make it to her brother, whom she was now sure was her stolen "treasure." She could feel it in her gut. She finally reached the other side of the seaweed wall, coming upon an old archway that was falling apart and surrounded by a few merpeople. But there, just at the top of the archway, through the murky water, she could see five floating people, all looking unconscious as they were held in place with a rope tied around their ankles.

As she moved closer, her suspicions were confirmed. Between Granger and Weasley was Lucas, her brother, the one she was going to have a few choice words about for whomever chose him to be a part of this. She swam as fast as she could, knowing that she was the first there.

The merpeople just watched her curiously as she came to a stop in front of her brother. She looked down the line of treasures, seeing Weasley, Lucas, Granger, Cho Chang, and some little girl, whom she believed was Fleur's sister. However, she quickly put her focus back on her brother when she heard movement behind her. She was sure if it was a merperson or another champion, but she did not care at that moment. She was going to save Lucas and win this.

Her eyes scanned her brother's face, seeing it completely relaxed with his eyes shut. Then she looked down at the rope tied around his ankle. To her side, Potter came up to Weasley. The two of them shared a glance just before his eyes found the other treasures. She zoned in on the knot of the rope, not wanting to waste any more time being distracted. She drew her wand back, nonverbally casting "Diffindo," and the rope broke. She grabbed hold of Lucas and placed her wand back in its holster as Potter watched, and Diggory came up to Cho. Her mind did not stay on them as she began barreling towards the surface of the water and back to where she'd come from.

It felt like eternity, with the pressure of trying to make it there faster than the others looming over her. But finally, she could see the light of day approaching as she got closer and closer. And then she broke the surface of the water, allowing the gillyweed to wear off. The crowd cheered as Lucas woke up, looking around in confusion as he gasped for air. Olivia began helping him over to the platform, which was quite the feat, seeing as he weighed just slightly more than her. Their friends came to the edge of the tower they were standing on, with Blaise and Theodore reaching down to help Lucas up. They easily pulled the boy up as Olivia let out deep breaths.

Once Lucas was settled on the floor of the tower, they focused on Olivia, still in the water, and offered their hands to help her. She dismissed them and began trying to help herself up. But then she felt something brush against her ankle, just at the sound of someone else breaking the water. Before she could even glance over her shoulder to see who it was or react to the thing brushing her ankle, her leg was grabbed, and she was yanked down.

Her hands slipped on the wet wood floor as she was pulled. Then her forehead smacked the wood, leaving her slightly dazed as she felt the rush of water around her, heard the gasps of the crowd, and missed how Theodore and Blaise tried to grab her before it was too late. Water filled her lungs in an instant as she sucked in a breath. Her head was throbbing, and she swore she could feel blood trickling down her forehead, despite the water. She kicked her legs, however, trying to fight against whatever had her.

It was just like her dream. She looked down, seeing a merperson. Rushes of water continued filling her lungs as she fought and fought and fought. She grew lightheaded as she went further and further down into the water. Throughout her trashing in the water, she didn't hear the sound of someone entering it. She continued to fight and fight, growing weaker with each movement. Her eyes grew heavy, her lungs were exasperated, and her body was tired.

She was dizzy. Weak. And suddenly her kicks became less, her thrashes became mere jolts, and her eyes fell shut and didn't open again. She fell unconscious just before the someone, the one who had jumped in the water after her, grabbed a hold of her waist, cast a spell at the merperson, hurting it enough so it'd swim away, and began bringing her to the surface. And then she was pulled onto the platform by three pairs of helping hands, while the someone climbed up there with her. Her lips were purple as they stared down at her in her unconscious state, lying on the ground with abnormally pale skin besides the streak of red across her forehead and emotionless features.

"Anapneo!" This person's wand was pointed at the girl, and suddenly, she was coughing and coughing and coughing, turning on her side. No water was escaping her mouth since there was none, courtesy of the spell used. But still, she sounded as if she were dying, dry-heaving. People were gathered around her, either finding entertainment in her situation or worrying about her safety. If she weren't hacking up her lung at the moment, she wouldn't know which was more accurate.

She felt a hand on her arm, and her eyes snapped open. Her coughing lessened just for a moment as she glanced over her shoulder with hurting eyes. That familiar white-blonde hair, cloudy gray eyes that looked more blue than ever as they were filled with concern, and the pale skin that looked just a shade paler came into view. Her eyes softened when she realized who he was and what he'd done.

Draco had saved her. He had saved her, unlike her nightmare.

"You saved me," she muttered, moving a little closer to him, her eyes brimming with tears and a quivering chin. Her hand reached up to cup the side of his face as he stared down at her, searching her eyes like he didn't know if she was truly okay or not.

"Of course I did," he whispered back.

And then she was hugging him, with her arms wrapped around his neck and her cheek resting on his shoulder. She felt his hands slowly brush across her back as he wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her just the slightest bit closer, with his head resting in the crook of her neck. Their moment of peace only lasted a moment, however, until Olivia's eyes landed on her mother standing next to Snape just a dozen feet away, staring at her with wide eyes. It didn't seem as though she was upset about the fact that her daughter was hugging the Malfoy boy. No, she looked almost... worried.

Had she been panicked about Olivia's near-drowning?

As Olivia lifted her head from the boy's shoulder to give her mother a questioning look, Pansy blocked her view of the woman, squatting down next to her. "Oh, Olivia," she whined, with her brows furrowed as she wrapped a couple of towels around the girl. Then she slung her arms around her. "I was so worried about you! What the hell was that all about?" She pulled back, keeping her hands on her best friend's shoulders as she stared into her eyes, looking for an answer.

"I don't know," Olivia admitted. She truly didn't. She hadn't done anything to the merpeople, so why had they tried to kill her? Well, not all of them, just that one. "I'm either entirely unlucky or someone is trying to kill me." Her voice was barely above a whisper, only loud enough for Pansy and Draco to hear, causing the two of them to share a concerned look.

"Attention!" Dumbledore's voice echoed around before anyone could say anything else. "The winner is... Mr. Diggory," he announced, causing people to cheer, "who showed innate command of the Bubble-Head Charm."

Pansy just scoffed. "That's not fair!" she interjected, standing up from the ground with narrowed eyes directed at Dumbledore. She pointed to her best friend on the ground as everyone focused on her, including the Headmaster as well as the deemed winner and his friends. "Olivia got Lucas up here first! Before Diggory got the Ravenclaw!" She put her hands on her hips, scowling at the man. "Not to mention, she almost died, and you don't even seem to care." She looked him up and down in disgust and judgment.

Some muttered along in agreement.

Dumbledore simply dipped his head in acknowledgement. "While that is true, Miss Parkinson, Miss Mallard herself did not come up onto the tower until after Mr. Diggory." He completely ignored her last words, just proving her point.

Olivia rolled her eyes at this. Those clearly weren't the rules, but it didn't matter. She herself was too tired to argue. But Pansy wasn't.

"That is bloody ridiculous!" Pansy fired back, taking a heated step forward with her fists balled at her sides. "You're an idiot, sir, if you think that's a suitable judgment. She was above the water first; her 'treasure' as you so put it, was above the water and saved first, before any of the others! She deserves first!"

"Pansy," Olivia said, catching her best friend's attention before she called their Headmaster something worse than an idiot. Pansy looked over her shoulder questioningly. "It's all right."

"Yes, if I may continue," Dumbledore went on, sending one last look at the girl. "Miss Mallard placed second, seeing as she would have finished first if it weren't for that unfortunate accident." Olivia rolled her eyes again. An accident, it was not. "While Mr. Potter, who would've finished second had it not been for his determination to rescue not only Mr. Weasley but the others as well, we've agreed to award him third place!"

"Bloody ridiculous," Pansy grumbled under her breath, turning to face Olivia and Draco again. Her face was twisted in an annoyance-filled sneer. She just took her seat next to her best friend, and Olivia sent her a soft smile. Blaise just came to stand next to her, running his hand along the top of her hair, in a way to calm her. It seemed to be working.

"It's okay, Pans. I'm okay with second," Olivia told her, then her head fell back onto Draco's shoulder.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

Sitting in the common room, the fire was going as Olivia, Lucas, and Draco were on one of the couches as they warmed up from their water-filled adventure. Olivia's head had been healed just after she'd gotten off the boats and returned to the castle. And luckily, she hadn't had to deal with her mother at all, the woman being nowhere in sight after Olivia had seen her with Snape. She had her head rested on Draco's shoulder as the other Slytherins cheered on behind them. Not just for Olivia—for Lucas and Draco too. Lucas for being the "treasure" and Draco for jumping in to save Olivia. They were cuddled in blankets instead of towels, giving them more warmth than before, though it wasn't really doing much.

It took a little bit longer before the celebration died down, and only about ten Slytherins lingered around the common room, not including Olivia and her group. Finally, they could go and change into warm and dry clothes. Olivia stood up, and Lucas and Draco followed her. They all dropped the blankets on the couch before Lucas went to the right staircase and Olivia went to the left. Draco followed the boy before he glanced over his shoulder once and saw Olivia. Something lingered in his mind, and he couldn't fight it back, so he turned and was hot on her heels.

He followed her until they got close to her bedroom door, then he called out her name. She turned around to face him, her brows raised. He came to a stop in front of her, looking over her and seeing her dressed back in her joggers and zip-up jumper to cover her swimsuit. Then his eyes met hers. "Uhm, I was wondering..." He cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Why did you seem to give up so easily when being dragged? I mean, you were kicking, but you didn't reach for your wand or anything, and then after a moment, you just gave up and didn't try to stop it."

Olivia opened her mouth to respond, but she didn't know what to say as she looked down at the ground. If she had given up, it wasn't something she realized she had done. She was putting up a fight, grew weak, and then... Merlin. She did give up.

Finding Draco's gaze, she saw him giving her pleading-for-an-answer look with dazzling blue-ish gray eyes. "I suppose I didn't want to," she admitted with a short shrug. "In that moment, I didn't want to fight, and I don't know why. I just wanted to give up." She didn't miss the small flinch from him at her answer, but neither addressed it. "Now that I think about it, it was sort of peaceful, being under the water, having no worries for a moment, with the light at the end of the tunnel slowly dying." Her eyes somehow drifted to the floor again, so she looked back at him with a small smile. "But then the light came back when you saved me." She took a step forward and hugged him again, her arms connecting around his neck. She rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes falling onto her wrist. And that was when it hit her...

"Draco?"

"Yeah," he quietly replied.

She pulled back from him, keeping her arms resting on his shoulders as she looked into his eyes with hers slightly narrowed. "Where are my bracelet and necklace?" she asked rather sharply. His mouth hung open as he thought. She took a step back, placing her hands on her hips. "You didn't jump into the water with them, did you?" she practically accused him, raising her brows.

"N-No." He shook his head. "I gave them to Theo."

That didn't ease her, not one bit.

"I'll get them back," he reassured her with a short nod.

"Good." She lifted her chin. And for a moment, he lingered, but then he nodded again and began walking away, no doubt going to get her bracelet and necklace from Theodore before the boy lost them. Olivia stuck out her hand, grabbing ahold of his wrist and stopping him in his tracks. He looked back at her questioningly. She took a step closer as she dropped her hand from his wrist, brushing her fingers against his before moving her hand to her side. "I just wanted to tell you that you're not getting rid of me just yet. I can assure you that." Her finger was pointed at him tellingly.

The corners of his lips turned up, and he took a step closer to her. He lifted his hand to tuck some hair behind her ear. "I hope to never get rid of you," he told her, his touch ghosting against her cheek, then traveling down to her bottom lip and across it before he dropped it to his side.

Olivia took a breath, trying to banish the flutters in her stomach, then sent him another small—this one slightly tense—smile. "All right. I'll catch you later; I need to go shower and warm up," she explained, taking steps back towards her door. She felt around for the door handle while keeping her eyes on him, and when she found it, she turned it and pushed open the door. Then she turned quickly and entered the room without another word, closing the door behind her.

Her back fell against the wood, and her hands covered her face as she tried not to smile and took deep breaths, in and out. She felt like a little schoolgirl with a crush on some boy she merely thought was cute. Well, that was sort of exactly what she was. But it was different. She didn't know how it was different, but it was.

She wanted to curse herself for it.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

Walking back into the common room, dressed in fresh and dry clothes after her shower, Olivia made her way back over to the couches, where her friends still sat—Lucas and Draco included. She took her seat in between her brother and Draco once more. The blonde boy lifted up her necklace and bracelet for her to see, both looking completely intact. He had a sly smile on his face as hers brightened at the sight of them.

She took them in her hands as he watched her. Then her eyes met his. "Shall you do the honors?" she asked, then glanced down at the pieces of jewelry.

He stuck out his hand for her to hand them back to him, and she did. Then she turned so that her back was to him, allowing him to brush her hair to the side and bring the necklace in front of her so he could clasp it around her neck. Once he did, her hand fell onto the charm, and she faced him again. Then he gently took hold of her wrist and wrapped the bracelet around it, clasping it on.

"Ah, there she is. The Olivia that we all know and..." he trailed off, not seeming to want to finish his sentence.

Olivia raised her brows, giving him a questioning look. Then she narrowed her gaze and leaned forward slightly. "And?"

"...and know," he finished, smirking.

"The Olivia Mallard we all know and know?" she questioned.

He gave her a short nod, his grin deepening. "Yes."

She bumped his shoulder with her own, a smile on her face. He bumped her shoulder back, and then both of them did that a few times before Olivia did it again for the last time, letting out a giggle. The shock took over her mind for a moment, though it didn't show on her still-smiling face. She did not giggle, especially not because of Draco Malfoy. She watched as a smile cracked onto Draco's face at the sound, and she couldn't help the feeling that overcame her.

What was happening to her?

"At least we now know why she rejected everyone that asked her to the ball," someone behind them whispered to their friend, staring at Olivia and Draco as they looked into each other's twinkling eyes with bright smiles on their faces and pink tints on their cheeks.

Everyone knew, indeed.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
don't ask me why it took me over a week to finish this chapter bc i don't really know tbh 😭😭

also, i'm so sorry that updates have been so lacking- it took me so long to write the third task chapter, i've been busy planning my other fics, my personal life as been so chaotic as of late, and i haven't had time to edit any chapters. but now, everything is calming down, i finally have the third task chapter complete, and i'm almost done with act four thankfully!! i just have four more chapters left to write (seven left to publish), and then it's on to act five!

i really hope you enjoyed this chapter! and make sure to comment and vote 🫶🏻

kisses.

━━━━━━━━━━ born to die,
© -LOSTGARDENS, apr 2024

word count: 6688.   written: 4.6-15.24.   published: 4.28.24.