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TWENTY.
BELLA COULDN'T 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."
