Circa February 1995:

Ever since the yule ball, Hogwarts had been on a high. The hallways seemed brighter, lessons were livelier and the overall atmosphere felt euphoric.

Artemis and Daphne had also turned 15.

They had chosen to have a joint birthday party. Their birthdays were hugely celebrated in the Slytherin common room. Theo and Blaise had managed to get variants of alcohol, resulting in most of their housemates becoming very drunk.

During that night, Draco managed to grab his girlfriend and bring her to the astronomy tower, where he had set up a few blankets and pillows, and even brought her favourite treats.

They spent the night under the stars, counting the constellations they could see, even finding their favourite ones before she drifted to sleep, in his arms. But he stayed awake, smiling down at her, feeling grateful that she was his.

Speaking of Artemis, the young witch walked through the courtyard, basking in the sun, because for once there was not one gloomy cloud in the sky.

She had a free period and was supposed to meet up with her boyfriend in the library so they could finish off a potions essay.

"Brown eyes."

A familiar voice called out behind her, making her halt and swivelled on her heel.

There stood the youngest Jones brother, his hair had grown since she had last seen him 2 months ago at the yule ball. His tanned skin had darkened only a few shades and his eyes still glistened with glee.

"Iziah." she nodded at him stiffly, causing his lighthearted spirit to deflate.

He rolled his eyes, "Can we get over this awkwardness?" he motioned between the two of them, before tugging on his La mente jacket.

"What awkwardness?"

His shoulders slumped as he leaned against a pillar, "You know what I'm talking about."

She scoffed, then folded her arms, "I'm perfectly fine, it's everyone else who keeps saying that you want to talk to me so talk."

He was taken back by her harsh tone, "You don't have to be rude about it." he said eying her up and down,  "I just wanted to see if you were okay," he said, throwing his arms up.

She gave him tight-lipped smile, "I'm fine, are you fine?"

"I guess," he murmured, furrowing his brows.

"Right, well-" she went to turn around but he held his hand out and soft-tugged her back.

"Actually, I'm not. Why are you being like this?" He didn't mean to sound so demanding but he didn't like how weird their dynamic had become.

They didn't speak over the summer, which he had to take with a grain of salt, they had barely spoken during the first term of the new school year, only the occasional smile or wave. He didn't understand it, especially since he knew she had kept in contact with most of his friendship group. Which only lead him to believe that she only had a problem with him.

"This how I am," she muttered, avoiding his vulnerable eyes.

"You were never this rude," he said quietly. As he stared at her, he took the time to realise how much she had changed, physically. Her hair had seemed thicker, curls were tighter and kinkier, and her face structure was more prominent and defined.

She had barely grown, something he found cute even though she despised it.

She huffed, "I'm tired and I have to get back-"

"To your boyfriend?" he asked, more intrigued than annoyed.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, "Go ahead, say what you want to say. He's not good for me, he's only going to-"

He shook his head vigorously, "No I was going to say that I was happy for you." he spoke softly.

She didn't believe the sincerity of his tone, so she scoffed, "Sure you were."

"Why can't you just see that I'm being genuine?" he questioned, the pang in his chest, pained him more.

Of course, when he found out Artemis was dating Draco, he wasn't pleased in the slightest, and the fact the Mafloy wizard had to kiss her in front of the great hall, tore him up a bit... a lot. But he wasn't going to act like a bitter ex, especially over someone he never dated.

She swallowed harshly, before responding, "Because, you being nice to me doesn't make sense."

Confusion furrowed his brows, "Why?"

"Because you like me and I don't like you in the same way that you do," she explained, making him even feel more perplexed.

"So you think that should warrant me acting like a dick?" he took a step closer to her.

"It should," she spoke with certainty as she took a step back.

"That's twisted." he sighed, tilting his head to the side, "why would you think that-"

She cut him off abruptly, "Because the last time I rejected someone I was attacked-"

A look of realisation flashed across Iziah's face, "Artemis." he tried but she continued.

She blinked quickly, "And they were excluded so I thought-

"I would never do that to you. I would never hurt you like that." he said cautiously, taking a step forward and this time she didn't back away, "do you truly think of me in that way?" Horrified, he felt horrified if she did feel like that.

She instantly shook her head, "No, I was just scared." she confessed, eyes widening because she said what she was thinking.

Artemis still felt that even if she smiled at someone, it would bring unwanted attention, just like it did with Cassius. She knew she shouldn't blame herself, but sometimes she found it hard not to.

"I wouldn't do that." his brown eyes stared directly into hers, "Is that why you were avoiding me?"

She inhaled deeply, "Sort of and I just didn't want to see you look sad." she admitted, feeling almost ill from speaking the truth. Is this how normal people feel?

A cheeky smile tugged at his lips, "I'm not sad, at least not anymore I guess."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Good." she rolled her shoulders back, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"It's nice to know that you care whether I'm sad or not," he admitted.

Iziah's feelings towards Artemis had grown, but he didn't want to act on them, knowing that she was happy and that he needed to move on. He just felt like he needed some sort of closure.

She squinted up at him, "I guess it's because I..."

"You..." he egged her on.

"Care about you I guess." she blurted out, almost gagging whilst doing so, she slapped her hand over her mouth,  "Ewww."

"Awww." he cooed.

"Shut up." she nudged him, and a smile took over his face.

"It's cute."

She playfully rolled her eyes, "I'm new to the whole feelings shit, so I'm disgusted that I even admitted that." she gagged dramatically, causing him to burst out laughing, "stop laughing I feel weird."

"Because you care about me."

She kissed her teeth, "Don't repeat that." she jabbed a finger at him.

He raised his hands in mock defence, "I won't...for now."

"So annoying." she groaned.

"I know." he shrugged, "and I am happy for you. I promise,"

They exchanged a smile, "Thank you."

"Can I get a hug now?" he asked, apprehensively.

"Fine." she gave in and slowly wrapped her arms around his waist, whilst he embraced her warmly.

"I miss you sometimes," he muttered against her hair.

"The feeling's mutual I guess." she teased and pulled away.

"Such a prick." he shook his head, despite the smile that stayed on his face.

"Can't help it," she said, shrugging innocently.

"Sure you can't."

"I have to go now." she nodded toward the direction she had been walking in.

"Right, to see the snow bunny." he joked and was met with a deadpanned look.

"Draco." she instantly corrected.

"Ferret."

"Watch it." she nudged him again.

"Alright alright."

"Bye Zay." she waved to him and then spun on her feet.

"Bye brown eyes," he mumbled, watching her retreating figure, leaving him to wonder, what if?

***

Tuesday, February 23:

"D, I promise if you can go a week without hexing any Ravenclaws, then I'll buy you that a new knife set." Artemis proposed to Draco, out of boredom as they sat deep within the library.

"The one with the serpent handles?" he excitedly asked then he pulled her onto his lap, making her squeal.

"Yes." she grinned, watching as many emotions flashed across his face at the idea.

She had just finished having another Don's meeting and the other witches had mentioned the more frequent attacks from Slytherin students, which meant Artemis had to deal with it. She knew that it was mainly Draco who had been taking out his anger on anyone he set his eyes on because he didn't have quidditch to turn to. Artemis had also been finding it challenging since she usually channelled any of her angst into the sport, and it was all due to the Triwizard tournament replacing it for a year.

Draco sulked, then leaned his head against a row of books, "But can I just-"

"No hexing for a week or no knives," she stated the terms, trying not to get distracted by the rings on his hands.

His eyes travelled to the Malfoy ring she plucked off and placed on her finger, it loosely fit, but he couldn't stop thinking about their future.

How one day, they will get married, have a few children running around, living preferably in France and their only issue would be which school they would send their children to. His ideal dream.

He even received a few letters from his mother and aunts about their impending understanding, but he didn't want to rush anything just yet.

"You drive a hard bargain," Draco murmured, his eyes staying on her slender ring-clad fingers.

"I do, don't I?" she teased.

He sighed, then nodded, "Fine, a week."

"Deal," she went to shake his hand, but he softly grabbed her chin, pressing his lips to hers. They both smiled into the kiss, laughing when they pulled away.

She wiped the lip gloss off his lips, while he smiled bashfully and wrapped his arms around her waist.

The couple were brought out of their little bubble by the sound of someone clearing their throat. They groaned, then stared up at that said person.

Harry was standing there, holding a book tightly, squirming in his stance. Draco's calm demeanour deflated instantly.

"Harold," Artemis nodded towards him, taking notice of his discomfort but she didn't care. She leaned closer to her boyfriend when she felt him squeeze her sides.

"Get lost, Potter," The Malfoy wizard snarled but was ignored by the boy, further angering him more.

Harry stared directly at the witch, "I need to talk to you about something." his tone was stern, although he couldn't help but set his sights on the couple's positioning before his eyes travelled back to hers.

She went to speak, but was cut off by Draco, "Go on, speak."

"Last time I checked you aren't Artemis."

"And last time I checked you weren't old enough to compete in the tournament, but here we are."

Both wizards scowled at one another, their gazes fighting for dominance, and neither backed down.

Well, until Artemis got annoyed, "Both of you shut up." she snapped, all eyes were on her, "what do you want?" she asked getting up.

Draco stared at her in disbelief, causing her to hold her hand out to his, he reluctantly took it and got off the floor.

"I need help with the second task," Harry asked quietly, taking a step forward.

Draco's nostrils flared, "What makes you think she would help you?" he eyed the boy in disdain.

Artemis grabbed his hand, feeling him tremble against her, "D, calm down," her soft voice almost settled him. She turned to the Potter boy,  "and yeah why would help you?" She wondered, sounding more intrigued than irritated.

Harry shifted on his feet, "You're one of the smartest people I know." he admitted.

"One thing we can agree on," Draco murmured and Artemis nodded in agreement.

"What about Granger?" she asked, causing Harry to sheepishly bow his head,  "you haven't asked her yet, have you?" she quickly realised as she huffed out a laugh.

"No-"

"Okay, fuck off and leave us alone." Draco snapped, glaring at Harry, who was quick to mirror the expression.

"Merlin's beard," Artemis sighed, rubbing her thumb over her boyfriend's hand, soothingly. She turned back to Harry, "just tell me what was in the egg, there was a clue right?" she questioned, knowing that the dragon's egg had significance to the competition, especially because the champions were fighting for their lives to get it.

The Potter wizard nodded rapidly, "Yeah I had to put it under water because-"

"It was loud and screechy." she interrupted, gaining confused looks.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Diggory told me."

Draco stared down at her, "He did?"

She waved him off, dismissively, "Besides the point, what was the clue?"

"I'm surprised Diggory didn't tell you anything else," Draco mumbled angrily under his breath, resulting in a side-eye from his girlfriend.

"What did the voices say?"

Harry awkwardly scratched the back of his head, "well the voices were merpeople." he informed, remembering the angelic voices when he opened and listened to the egg, fully submerged in the bath, attempting to ignore Moaning Myrtle floating around him.

Artemis pondered for a moment, before coming to grasp the information, "Right, so the next challenged will be in the black lake." she concluded quickly. She felt her boyfriend play with her fingers behind her, "where the merpeople live."

Harry nodded understandably, "I've been searching for something to help me breathe underwater for that long-"

"I hope you don't," Draco childishly quipped, but it went ignored.

"I surprisingly don't know much about merpeople," Artemis informed the Gryfindor boy, Harry's eyes widened, "yeah I know shocking, but I know someone who does."

"Who?" Harry asked slightly thrilled that she had the answers to his prayers.

"Neville."

Immediately Draco perked up, more disturbed than Harry but both wizards were perplexed.

"Longbottom?" The Malfoy boy screeched.

Harry couldn't believe he was just as shocked as Draco, "Really?"

Artemis nodded, not caring about their expressions, "He's smart, ask him." she stated, aware of how Nevile is a very underrated academic.

He was a bookworm, just like her. The two sometimes found each other reading similar books, which lead them to discuss them together.

Artemis couldn't keep track of all the soft spots she held for people she wasn't close to. She just hoped that they would all be okay.

A smile overtook Harry's face, "Well, thank you Artemis." he was antsy to go and find the Longbottom wizard, especially because the second task was only tomorrow.

"You're welcome." she plastered on a smile and watched when he slowly backed away.

"I hope you lose Potter," Draco exclaimed loudly.

"Shove off Malfoy."

Draco's scowled, as the couple watched the boy wobble away, "I'm not going to last a week am I?" he asked Artemis, referring to the bet they had just made.

"Nope."

***

Wednesday, February 24:

It was the day of the second task and everyone had to take small boats out to the black lake to watch the tournament.

As they journeyed, the Weasley twins kept asking anyone and everyone if they wanted to place a bet on any of the champions, despite the disapproving looks they received.

Harry, Cedric, Viktor, and Fleur stood next to each other, each waving to their friends and fans, who were cheering from the stands.

Professor Moody was standing on the other side, ready to push them all in when the canon went off.

The four champions shivered from the cold, the only thing shielding their bodies from the climate was their swimsuits.

The Spectres stood next to each other by the front, leaning against the rail, waiting for it to start.

"Welcome to the second task. Last night, something was stolen from each of our champions." Dumbledore announced, "A treasure of sorts. These four treasures, one for each champion, now lie at the bottom of the Black Lake. In order to win, each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface. Simple enough," he explained.

Artemis caught Moody instructing  Harry put something in his mouth, before the canon went off, startling everyone.

The Professor pushed everyone into the water, causing ripples and splashes against the surface.

It seemed like everyone in the crowd was on edge, waiting to see who would win and more importantly who would survive.

"I don't care about all of them, but this challenge seems a bit fucked up," Blaise whispered, staring directly at the water, feeling lots of discomfort, because no one had resurfaced.

Daphne hummed, "The last one involved Dragons."

"Wonder what the next one's gonna be." Artemis only hoped that it was nothing too extreme, but then again she knew wishing for that, is like trying to find a needle in a haystack or a galleon in the black lake... it would be pointless.

Theo shrugged, "As long as Cedric wins, I don't care."

"Same," they agreed, apart from Draco, who wore a grimace.

"As long as it's not Potter." the Malfoy wizard said bitterly, hoping that he failed.

Theo squinted down at the meek water, "We making bets or..."

"I hate to say it, but it seems wrong to do that now."

They all turned to Draco, alarmed by his exclamation.

"If Draco has got a moral compass, then we are truly fucked." Theo joked, making them laugh.

"Shut up."

"I can't see anyone, can you guys?" Artemis asked, but didn't want to get too close, cautious that something would shoot out and grab her.

"Nope," Theo shook his head, feeling something wasn't quite right.

But someone's shrieking made them all snap their heads in that direction.

"Oh my god! I've killed Harry Potter!" Neville exclaimed loudly, panicking as he turned around, not facing the water, when the Potter wizard suddenly resurfaced and flipped in the air, making everyone cheer,  "What?" Neville asked, wondering why everyone seemed so delighted.

"Turn around Longbottom," Theo yelled and the timid boy do so.

Daphne sighed, staring out longingly, "I would love to be a mermaid," she had read up on different folktales and although she loved being a witch, she also had a desire to be a merperson.

Artemis exchanged a smile with her, "I used to want to be one."

Blaise sucked in a deep breath, "Until Aunt Celly made you do Ballet." he blurted out, laughing at the glare on his cousin's face.

They turned to the Seramore witch, very amused by the information, Draco was already aware of the fact, but it still made him laugh.

Theo covered his mouth, trying to conceal his laughter, "Oh my god you did ba-"

"You said you wouldn't tell anyone." Artemis hissed, elbowing her cousin in the stomach.

"Is that why you're so light on your feet." Daphne quickly realised.

Artemis rolled her eyes, "Shut up." she hoped that they would stop laughing but they only continued.

Their laughter died down when they turned to see Fleur resurface without her 'treasure', looking exhausted and distressed.

"The Beauxbatons Champion, Ms Delacour, has unfortunately been forced to retire. So she will take no further part in this task" Dumbledore announced, offering the french champion a sad look.

She was quickly covered with a towel and crowded by her fellow supporters.

But what everyone didn't know was that Gabrielle Delacour, Li Mei Zhou, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley, remained under the water.

But suddenly, Cedric resurfaced with  Li Mei, gasping for air, as they were brought out of the water.

Artemis felt relieved that he was okay but then realised that the treasure was someone that must be important to each champion, meaning 5 people in total remained in the black lake.

The crowd went silent, the ominous atmosphere was practically suffocating.

Unexpectedly Viktor and Hermoine resurfaced. Harry emerged soon after, with Ron and Gabrielle.

Everyone cheered once they saw all the contestants out of the water; many people surrounding Harry.

"You're alright," Dumbledore checked over the Potter wizard, "He's alright! Barty!" he called to Barty Crouch Sr.

Fleur was quick to go over to the youngest champion, "You..saved her even though she wasn't yours to save" she grinned excitedly, completely overcome with relief,  "My little sister! Thank you!" she hugged Harry. Then turned to Ron, 'And you, you helped!"

"Helped? I didn't-" he was interrupted when she kissed him on the cheek and walked away holding her little sister's hand, leaving him blushing.

"Attention!" Dumbledore shouted with his wand to his throat, increasing the volume of his voice, "The winner is...Mr.Diggory!" He announced. Cheers came from Hogwarts students, mostly Hufflepuffs and a few Slytherins, meanwhile, the Durmstrangs were booing.

Blaise, Artemis, Theo and Daphne all clapped, happy about the results.

"However, seeing as Mr Potter would have finished first, had it not been for his determination to rescue not only Mr Weasley but the others as well," Dumbledore explained.

"100 points to Gryffindor for breathing," Blaise mumbled and Draco nodded quickly with a glare on his face.

"We've agreed to award him, second place!" Dumbledore announced, happily, making many of his supporters cheer.

Draco, Blaise and Theo all roll their eyes.

"For outstanding moral fibre!" Dumbledore added, causing more Durmstrang students to continue booing, outraged by the results.

The professors were quick to escort everyone back to the boats back to land, due to the cold weather.

Cedric sent the pureblood 5 a smile, it widened as nodded at the witches.

"If he looks at you like that one more time, I'll make sure he doesn't survive this tournament," Draco muttered, staring directly at the Hufflepuff champion.

Artemis grabbed the back of his neck and whispered into his ear, "Then you won't get your knives." and with that he immediately shut up, feeling flustered all of a sudden.

"So whipped." Theo snickered along with Daphne and Blaise.

Draco flipped them all off, "Shut up."

***

a/n:
pureblood 5 love the astronomy tower.

artemis had been avoiding iziah because she was scared of turning someone down that she actually cares about. also because the last time she had turned someone down that she knew, (Cassius Warrington) he had ended up assaulting her and then getting expelled, so she was being precautions.

thoughts on iziah?

thoughts on artemis and Neville's friendship?

I hate writing the challenges.

'dusk till dawn' feels like Arty and dracos song.

Are you scared for next chapter, which last chapter in this act btw? (containing the last task and the fallout from that) how do you think artemis will react to that?