"You are the love of my life," Y/N said. "I love you."
"If loving me comes with shame," Hermione breathed in a shaky breath. "I don't want your love."
In a matter of seconds, Y/N's world came tumbling down. Hermione's words hit her...
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Twenty past nine.
It was twenty past nine. More precisely, it was ten minutes before the Second Task would begin. Yet Harry was nowhere to be seen. Y/N scanned the area and ran a hand through her wind-ruffled hair every few seconds.
"Hey," Evangeline tapped her shoulder. "I'm heading off now. Principal Fontaine's calling for me."
"Alright," Y/N nodded, mustering a fleeting smile. "Good luck."
"You too," Evangeline said, stepping onto the boat with hesitant steps. She looked over her shoulder and waved Y/N goodbye.
With seven minutes remaining, Y/N impatiently tapped her foot. People bustled past her, but Harry, along with Agil, Ron, and Hermione, were missing. Through gritted teeth, Y/N hurried to the dock when the five-minute mark approached.
Before she could, a familiar voice choked out through breathy pants, "I'm . . . here!"
One foot on the deck, Y/N turned around to see Harry lankily rushing towards her. She cursed him out under her breath before dragging him onto the boat. The boy collapsed, breathless, onto the creaky thwart.
"Where have you been?" Y/N pushed — with a bit of aggression — an oar to his chest.
Harry rowed after Y/N while he panted out his explanation in a slur of words. "I . . . I went back to the library. Because I needed to figure out how to survive the Second Task, I fell asleep halfway through a book."
"You went back to the library!?" Y/N eyes widened.
"I did," Harry nodded, fiddling with his collar. "But it's alright now. Dobby, he was there, and he helped me."
"Helped you?" Y/N saw the looming towers ahead. "How?"
Harry stopped rowing and reached for his pocket, retrieving a clump of slimy gray-green worms. Y/N gagged and covered her mouth in disgust. "The fuck is that?"
"It's Gillyweed," Harry said. "Dobby said it'd help me breathe underwater."
"You sure?" Y/N turned her nose up.
"I don't know . . ." Harry sucked in his teeth and — with hesitant, trembling hands — brought the Gillyweed to his mouth. "But it's better than nothing."
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"Welcome to the second task!" The speakers boomed with Dumbledore's distorted voice.
Y/N shrugged her jacket off, exposing her long-sleeved compression shirt underneath. At first, she was supposed to wear a one-piece — but she insisted on a wardrobe change. The February breeze brushed against her neck, forming goosebumps on her skin; and no, the shorts didn't help. She set her jacket aside and glanced over at Harry — who was hanging onto the railing, green-faced and coughing.
