There was only one day left before the Second Task began, and the tension at Hogwarts was thick enough to cut with a knife. However, for Aurelian Gaunt, it was just another morning, passing with boring normality.
He was walking down one of the third-floor corridors, heading toward the library, when a long yawn escaped his lips. He had spent most of the night reviewing Gauntcorp's financial reports and had barely slept.
Suddenly, a tall figure wrapped in black robes emerged from a corner, blocking his path.
"Follow me, Gaunt," said Professor Snape in his usual drawling tone, without stopping, passing by him with his cloak fluttering even in the absence of wind. "Now."
Aurelian stifled a yawn and raised an eyebrow.
"Where are we going, Professor?" he asked, turning to follow him.
Snape did not deign to answer. He did not even look back, simply continuing down the stairs at a brisk pace. Aurelian rolled his eyes, let out an exasperated sigh, and followed him in silence, wondering what new waste of time they were getting involved in.
Snape led him to a classroom on the ground floor that, at first glance, appeared to be empty and out of use. But when he opened the door, Aurelian was met with a rather unusual scene.
Inside were Albus Dumbledore, Madame Maxime, and Igor Karkaroff. Next to them were Bartemius Crouch Sr. and Ludo Bagman. But what caught his attention most were not the professors and judges of the tournament, but the motley group standing in front of them: Hermione Granger looked nervous, Ron Weasley seemed frankly confused, and next to him was a little girl with platinum blonde hair—clearly Fleur Delacour's younger sister—accompanied by an aristocratic-looking man and a beautiful woman, the parents of the French champion.
Aurelian knew very well who that man was: Dominic Delacour, the current Minister of Magic of France.
Snape closed the door behind Aurelian and stepped aside.
"Why have you called me?" Aurelian asked calmly, crossing his arms as he surveyed the room.
Mr. Crouch stepped forward, looking as stern and bored as ever.
"Lord Gaunt, we have summoned you because tomorrow morning the Second Task will take place, and you..."
"And we need the treasures!" interrupted Ludo Bagman, leaping forward with an enthusiasm that was completely out of place in the room. "In the Second Task, each of our brave champions must rescue a priceless treasure from the bottom of the Black Lake! And in this case, those treasures are you!"
Bagman pointed with a grin from ear to ear at Ron, Hermione, little Gabrielle, and finally Aurelian.
Aurelian blinked slowly, processing the information. Using Weasley for Potter, Granger for Krum, and the girl for Delacour made logical sense based on the champions' relationships. But his own inclusion was a mistake in the equation; he was friends with Cedric, but he didn't think they would select him to be the hostage.
"Why me?" Aurelian asked, looking at the headmasters and judges with genuine confusion. "If I'm not mistaken, Cedric Diggory is dating Cho Chang from Ravenclaw. Shouldn't she be the 'treasure' to be rescued?"
Mr. Crouch nodded stiffly.
"That was exactly the committee's original intention, Mr. Gaunt. Cho Chang was selected, however..."
"However, I had a much better idea!" Bagman interrupted again, puffing out his chest proudly. "I thought that to keep the show perfectly balanced and even, we should have two boys and two girls! Ron and Aurelian. Hermione and little Gabrielle! A perfect balance for the masses to see!"
The silence that followed that statement was deafening.
Aurelian stared at Bagman, wondering if the man had taken too many bludger blows to the head in his youth. Beside him, Ron frowned and scratched the back of his neck, and Hermione opened her mouth slightly to argue, but couldn't find any words to respond. Igor Karkaroff snorted disdainfully, and Dumbledore sighed. Everyone in the room, from the stern Mr. Crouch to the impassive Professor Snape, thought exactly the same thing: That makes no bloody sense.
But Bagman was the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, and apparently his "aesthetic" whim had won out in the end.
Before anyone could question Bagman's stupidity, Dominic Delacour stepped forward, placing himself between his youngest daughter and the judges. His face showed the fury and concern of a father and the authority of a Minister.
"My daughter is only eight years old," said the French Minister in a grave voice, making the danger clear. "And the Black Lake is infested with dark creatures and freezing temperatures. What guarantees can you give me that my youngest daughter will be safe down there? I will not allow her to be used as bait if there is the slightest risk of her being hurt."
Albus Dumbledore stepped forward. His presence filled the room, calming the foreign politician's hostility with a single serene and understanding glance.
"You have my word, Minister Delacour," said Dumbledore, his voice conveying a calm authority. "They will be under a deep sleep spell and magical stasis. They will not feel the cold, they will not need to breathe air, and they will be in no danger from the creatures of the lake, with whom I have personally negotiated. And I assure you that if the slightest unforeseen event should occur, I myself will intervene before anyone suffers a scratch."
Monsieur Delacour held the old wizard's gaze for a moment, then reluctantly nodded, squeezing his wife's hand.
Satisfied with the resolution, Dumbledore turned to the Slytherin student.
"Knowing this... do you agree to participate in this manner, Lord Gaunt?" asked the headmaster, scrutinizing him with his blue eyes.
Aurelian thought about it for a second. Being Cedric Diggory's "hostage" was absurd, even foolish, but it also gave him a perfect excuse to be at the center of the action during the test without arousing suspicion, observing Potter's performance underwater firsthand. Besides, the irony of him being the defenseless "treasure" of the Hufflepuff champion was too amusing to pass up.
Aurelian shrugged, and a crooked, almost mocking smile appeared on his lips.
"I accept."
The morning of the Second Task was gray, with a biting wind stirring the dark waters of the Black Lake.
In the Slytherin Common Room, the atmosphere was unusually tense. Hestia and Flora Carrow were furious. They paced back and forth in front of the unlit fireplace, arms crossed and brows furrowed. Aurelian had not returned to the dormitories the night before and had not shown up for breakfast.
"This is unacceptable," Flora hissed, clenching her fists. "Where did he go? He always lets us know."
"If that old Dumbledore has him running errands... I swear I'll burn his office down," Hestia growled, her eyes flashing with a mixture of anger and irritation.
With no other options, they wrapped themselves in their thick winter cloaks and reluctantly made their way to the lake stands to watch the second task. They climbed the wooden stairs, scanning the crowd with sharp glances, hoping to see the black silk robe and elegant posture of their betrothed.
But he wasn't there.
As the minutes passed and the champions lined up on the diving platforms, the twins' fury began to fade, replaced by a cold, heavy knot in their stomachs. Irritation turned to deep concern. They knew how powerful Aurelian was, but the magical world was treacherous, and the idea that something bad had happened to him without them there to protect him or die with him terrified them.
"Flora... what if?" whispered Hestia, her voice slightly trembling, as she grabbed her sister's hand. Flora tightened her grip, unable to respond.
The cannon boomed and the test began.
At that moment, two tall, red-haired figures approached them slowly. Fred and George Weasley, close friends and now business partners of Aurelian, leaned on the railing behind the twins with amused smiles.
"Well, well, Georgie. Look who we have here," Fred said jokingly. "The shadows of Slytherin... without their master."
"What happened, girls? Did you lose your personal Dark Lord on the way to the bathroom?" George added, laughing.
They were going to keep teasing them, expecting a sharp retort or a death threat, but they got neither. The twins turned slowly. There was no familiar murderous rage on their faces, their eyes were glassy, their lips tight, and their expressions screamed a sadness and anxiety that the Weasley twins had never seen in them before.
Fred and George's smiles immediately faded. Discomfort and empathy washed over them as they realized that the girls' distress was genuine.
"Hey," Fred cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck, suddenly very serious. "Hey, I'm sure he's fine. You know Aurelian, he's... well, invincible."
"Yes, don't worry," George added softly, patting Flora awkwardly on the shoulder before stepping back. "He probably just fell asleep in the library. I bet he'll show up any minute now with that know-it-all look on his face."
The girls didn't respond, simply turning their gaze back to the dark waters of the lake, hugging themselves.
Dozens of meters below the surface, in the depths of the mermaid village, Aurelian Gaunt was profoundly bored.
Tied to a stone statue at the bottom of the lake, next to Ron, Hermione, and little Gabrielle Delacour, Aurelian floated in a state of magical stasis. Dumbledore had cast a powerful sleeping spell, but Aurelian's mental defenses prevented him from falling asleep. Although his body was paralyzed and he didn't need to breathe, his consciousness was awake.
"Ninety-seven... ninety-eight... ninety-nine... one hundred," he counted mentally, sighing in his mental space. He had been waiting for the badger to appear for almost an hour.
Suddenly, he noticed a sudden movement in the water in front of him.
Harry Potter, with gills on his neck and membranes on his hands, was swimming toward them. Harry cut the ropes binding Ron with a sharp stone. Before leaving, Potter paused. He turned his head and saw Aurelian tied up there. Underwater, vulnerable, a twisted smile full of resentment appeared on Harry's face. The boy raised his wand and, pointing directly at Aurelian's chest, fired a stinging curse.
The spell traveled through the water and stopped a millimeter from Aurelian's chest, dissipating into tiny bubbles. Aurelian's Infinity, that passive barrier that slowed any threat until it disappeared, absorbed the impact effortlessly.
Harry frowned in annoyance and fired two more spells that bounced harmlessly off the barrier.
Aurelian, fed up with the annoyance, decided that enough was enough. He slowly opened one eye, his cold black pupil staring directly at Harry. He let out a tiny fraction of his magical aura. Releasing a pressure that managed to tint the water around him with an almost imperceptible dark green hue. It was the only warning he would give the fool Potter.
Harry froze. Pure terror paralyzed his heart. He felt as if the abyss itself were staring back at him. Panicked, Harry grabbed Ron by the collar of his robe, kicked desperately at the water, and fled toward the surface as fast as his webbed feet would carry him, completely forgetting his stupid inferiority complex and the other hostage.
Just as Potter disappeared into the darkness, Cedric Diggory swam up with a bubble of air around his head.
Cedric quickly cut Aurelian's ropes. Once free, Aurelian looked toward the statue. Little Gabrielle was still tied up, and Fleur was nowhere to be seen. In this reality, Potter had abandoned her.
Aurelian shook his head and signaled to Cedric, pointing to the blonde girl and then upward. Cedric nodded, understanding instantly. Between the two of them, they cut Gabrielle's bonds, took her by the arms, and began the rapid ascent toward the sunlight.
Breaking the surface of the lake was like crashing into a wall of ice. The clamor of the crowd was deafening.
Aurelian, Cedric, and Gabrielle swam toward the platform where the judges and medical staff were waiting for them. As soon as Aurelian set foot on the wet, slippery boards, two human projectiles slammed into him.
"Aurelian!"
Hestia and Flora tackled him so hard they almost knocked him back into the water. They clung to his neck and chest as if their lives depended on it, burying their faces in his soaked shirt.
Aurelian felt the wetness of their hot tears mixing with the cold water on his tunic. They were shaking uncontrollably.
"You're an idiot," Hestia sobbed, weakly pounding his chest with a clenched fist. "We thought something had happened to you!"
"Why didn't you tell us you'd be down there?!" Flora reproached him, her voice breaking as she clung to his back, caring little about ruining her own image in front of the whole school.
Aurelian softened his gaze. He wrapped his arms around them both, hugging them tightly, ignoring the cold and the curious glances of the onlookers and the Weasleys who watched, smiling from a distance.
"I'm sorry," Aurelian whispered in their ears, stroking their hair to calm them down. "It was a last-minute decision by the judges. I swear I'm fine. No one could hurt me, you know that. It's over now."
The girls sobbed a little more, breathing in his scent to convince themselves that he was real and safe. Slowly, panic gave way to something much more familiar within them.
Hestia lifted her face, her black eyes now shining with a mixture of reproach and something... possessive. She leaned close to his ear, her lips brushing Aurelian's earlobe, while Flora did the same on the other side.
"You scared us so much, my love..." Hestia whispered sweetly.
"...and you're going to have to make it up to us tonight," Flora finished with a small smile, her warm breath sending a shiver down Aurelian's spine that had nothing to do with the lake water.
Aurelian felt the blood rush to his cheeks. He blushed deeply, coughing a little to cover it up, knowing exactly what kind of "compensation" his dangerous and affectionate betrotheds were referring to.
---------------------------
I have a Patreon account. If you would like to support me, I would greatly appreciate it. You will be able to read up to 15 more chapters, listen to all chapters as audiobooks, and view images of the characters in the story for free. Thank you very much for reading my story :D
patreon.com/Daoistrg