remember anything from the late hours of Thursday night.

She knew she was called into McGonagall's office; everything in that region of her memory was clear - walking through the creaking door, staring down at her uniform and brushing dried mud from her skirt, the small smile that the elder woman shared with her upon noticing her presence. But the words that left McGonagall's wrinkled lips, the strange feeling in her stomach, following the liquid that poured onto her tongue . . . it was nothing but hazed.

As if her brain had become clouded, like the sky on a foggy day.

Or, in her case, under the murky water of the Black Lake.

She could recall tales of mermaids that she was told by her magical parents (which evidently reminded the girl that she had not sent them a letter in a while), but never did she think of being able to study the creatures so closely. Their large and bulging fish-like eyes, sharp razored fangs, with iridescent tails that shone similarly to the ever changing hues of their scaly skin, was a sight of both beauty and fear. Then, she was submerged, and fell into a death-like sleep.

●

Viktor swam at rapid speed, his transfigured shark head heightening his vision. He moved through the undergrowth of seaweed, human legs kicking behind him. A mass of red hair came suddenly into his view; wildly dancing amongst the water, which was not unlike the oceanic plants he had encountered. But these ginger locks belonged to her - and this made it far more beautiful.

"Arabella," he whispered to himself, smiling in surprise when he did not choke on the seawater. He mentally thanked the shark transfiguration for that, and while he hated to admit it, Bella's wonderful ideas yet again always seemed to save him (even if it did go wrong, to his own unfortunate hinderance).

Viktor passed Harry Potter, violently grabbing his girlfriend's arm once he reached her frail figure. He winced at the touch - her body was limp and her lips blue, her skin a blanket of pale snow; her eyes closed as if peacefully sleeping through a state of unconsciousness. With her entranced form trailing behind the Bulgarian's transfigured self, he began swimming up to the surface of the Black Lake.

Arabella's head reached above the water's surface, and immediately she was awoken from her trance in a foreign state of confusion. She gasped at the half-shark beside her, only to quickly transform into Viktor's familiar face. Instantly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, splashing water over her donned Ravenclaw robes as she did so. The Seeker was taken aback by the force, yet he returned the gesture with a gentle kiss upon her cold, wet cheek. "Does this situation seem familiar?" He asked with a small laugh, and when she responded with a questioning glance, he chuckled further. "When we were joking around and I threw you into this lake."

The girl raised her eyebrow. "I've just been unconscious for an hour, and that's what you ask me?" She laughed amongst the frown written in her expression. "And yes, I do remember." She paused for a second when the observing students began cheering at the sight of both Viktor and Harry, as the boy had since arose with Ron Weasley and Gabrielle Delacour. "Although, the last time we were in the lake, you were not a shark with human legs and I was not under a spell."

Harry Potter patted Viktor on the back as he swam past, gesturing for the two lovers to follow him to the stands where everybody watched. The Bulgarian shared a smile with the redhead in front of him. "I'm so glad you're safe."

After obeying willingly, Bella hauled herself upon the wooden planks, only to be smothered with towels by Hermione Granger - of which the Gryffindor did so to Harry and Viktor just moments before.

Arabella was suddenly startled by a pale, wet hand on her shoulder. Clad in yellow of the Hufflepuff house, Cedric Diggory stood beside the girl with a proud smile. "Who came up with the idea of transfiguring into a shark with human legs?" He said with a mocking chuckle.

The Ravenclaw blushed. "Well, it was supposed to be a complete shark but, uh, it seems that things went a little wrong." She paused to stare at the Black Lake underneath her. "That was me, anyway. I thought of it."

"Ravenclaws are always thinking of the complex way around." Cedric teased with a sly wink.

Bella scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean, Diggory?" She turned to look at him with raised eyebrows, although the boy was gone.

"Attention!" Dumbledore yelled amongst the cacophony of chatter that had surfaced. "The winner is . . . Mister Diggory!" The Hufflepuff and his friends erupted into cheers of celebration. "Potter would have been first, if it were not for his determination to not only rescue Mister Weasley, but the others as well; which left him in third. However, we have agreed to award him second place!"

The Gryffindors exploded with joy and, amongst the loud volumes of happiness, Bella caught sight of Fred and George's grins. She smiled to herself a little, thinking of their friendship. "That means Krum is in third, with Miss Delacour unfortunately being unable to finish the task." Dumbledore continued.

After greeting Viktor with a delighted smile, he approached her with a large towel hung around his shoulders, draping onto his torso. Arabella noticed her boyfriend's crestfallen face, and she rolled her eyes. He was seemingly never satisfied. "Why are you disappointed? You got third!"

"C'mere," he invited, his arms open wide. She grinned, walking into his warm embrace where he wrapped the towel around her frame. "Technically I got second, if we're going off the clock."

She shoved herself away from his muscular figure in laughter. "Always a sore loser, aren't we?" The girl audibly sighed when the joy suddenly faded from her face. "I've been thinking, um, and I don't know what to do. I can't stay at Hogwarts in the holidays now that Zoe is going to, and I mean I could go home, but Ellie and my parents are so chaotic with their constant magic practice that . . . I'd rather not. I need to stay somewhere to clear my head, not cloud it back up again."

Viktor gave her a sympathetic glance, and one of hopefulness. "Stay with me in Bulgaria over Easter. Just me, you, and my parents."

Bella spared a brief moment to contemplate. "I don't know, Viktor. I suppose it is the safest option, but I'm not sure how I feel about staying with your parents after we've only been together for such a short time. And besides, you're a Quidditch celebrity in the Wizarding world; I don't want the publicity. I couldn't cope reading another Rita Skeeter article about us."

"I'm thinking about your safety, Bella. You said it yourself - staying in Bulgaria is the safest option." The Seeker persisted.

She shifted weight onto her right foot; the left was beginning to throb. Much like her head. "Yeah, fine. You're right. I'll stay with you. I will have to write to my parents first to make sure it is okay with them, though."

●

Arabella sat in the Ravenclaw Common Room, amongst the aura of the cooling blue tones. The redhead sat cross-legged on the floor (as she chose to do so, despite there being an array of empty sofas surrounding her), with a parchment and quill in hand. Using her History of Magic textbook as a desk, she dipped her quill in ink and sat for a moment; pondering what to write in the letter.

Dear Mum and Dad,

Sorry I haven't wrote to you in so long. The Triwizard Tournament has made me very busy - I've been helping Viktor Krum with the tasks. Speaking of Viktor . . . he's my boyfriend.

(Just in case you didn't realise from the articles in the Daily Prophet showcasing our 'romance'. Don't lie; I know you've read them.)

He's invited me to stay with him in Bulgaria over Easter, I hope you don't mind. I wanted to ask you first in case you didn't want me to go. But just know that I trust him, and love him, very much. Actually, he's the safest thing I have right now. Being in Bulgaria is safer than being at Hogwarts - or anywhere in England - at the moment, so believe me, I am making the right decision.

Eleanor is fine, too. I think she's enjoying second year, although she's so busy with extra lessons and I'm so busy with the Triwzard Tournament, that I feel as if I rarely see her these days. I'm sure you probably know this already: I'd imagine that she's been writing to you far more often that I have.

Again, sorry about that.

Hope you're all well,

Bella x

With a sigh, she closed the letter tightly in an envelope, and began trudging up the staircase to the Owlery.

Her owl, Henry, greeted her with a hoot upon recollection of her smiling face. "Hi," the redhead acknowledged, stroking his feathers. Sometimes she wished that the bird could talk; he was, in an unusual way, her only connection to home. Especially that she was not going to see her parents in the Easter holiday, as she normally would. Whilst she knew that spending it in Bulgaria was the best option for her own - and possibly her friends' - safety, it was apparent that the girl would miss her family heavily. "Take this to Mum and Dad, will you?"

Arabella placed the envelope into his beak, watching as the bird left the tower through an open window.

She became suddenly startled at the sound of loud, hurried footsteps running up the staircase, causing her to turn swiftly upon her heel. Then, she noticed her familiar Ravenclaw friend, and her posture relaxed.

Deanna pushed her glasses further up her nose. The brunette's complexion was red and flustered, her chest rapidly rising and falling as she attempted to catch her breath. "I've just ran this whole way from the Astronomy Tower— Trelawney's classroom. I was tossing and turning all night about the crystal ball reading that Trelawney gave about your future. So I went to her room, not long ago this morning, and asked that she predict your future again. There was a glimmer of hope in me that things could have changed overnight." She paused, a joyous grin on her face. "And they did. They changed for the better, Bella."

The redhead stood, completely floundered. "Deanna, wha— what do you mean? I don't understand. Trelawney said in the reading that I was in grave danger, and I'm assuming she means that Zoe is the danger. Zoe can't have just changed her mind overnight, that she suddenly doesn't want to get revenge anymore."

"No, no she hasn't changed her mind. She still wants to harm you, apparently." Deanna replied.

"Oh, well that's reassuring."

The bespectacled girl continued. "But according to Trelawney, her dangerous intentions are going to be stopped by somebody exposing her to Dumbledore. He hasn't expelled her yet, because he doesn't know. He only knows that she may be a werewolf, and that somebody burned her. Everyone is focusing so heavily on finding out who used the spell - lest we not forget that it was your boyfriend who did it - that Dumbledore is blind to the fact that Zoe is a bloody psychopath."

"So what's your point, Dea? Am I still in danger or not?" Bella questioned, sceptical.

"Well, the crystal ball predicted that you're not. So I'm trusting it. With luck, if I've interpreted the prediction correctly, Zoe should be turned in and then Dumbledore will deal with her. Expelled, suspended; whatever. But she definitely won't be at Hogwarts anymore, if she does actually get found out.

Arabella's expression illuminated with happiness. "That's good news," she chuckled as her friend nodded in agreement. "But I've already agreed to go to Bulgaria with Viktor over Easter, and I did it to escape Zoe. Now I don't really need to go."

"So long as Zoe hasn't been exposed yet, she's kind of still a threat. You're wise to go anyway, even if you don't need to."

The redhead pulled her roommate into a hug. "Oh Merlin, thank you. Thank you for doing this for me."

Deanna huffed in contentment against the warmth of her best friend's fiery red hair. "Always, Bella."

That quote steal was unintentional I promise 😂

I'm going to change the time frame so that the Easter holiday lasts for two weeks rather than one (pretty sure mine is normally one week anyway lol). It won't affect any other timings because the Third Task will still take place after the holiday, it just means that Bella will spend slightly longer in Bulgaria which will benefit hers and Viktor's relationship.

Anyway sorry for the really long and probably really boring author's note ;) gold star if you've read all this ahaha

pls comment and vote ok byeee xoxo