HP: Harry From The Ancient House Of Black [ Chapter 58 ]

Aries was torn between going to save her and continuing on but his choice was made for him. Fleur blasted back one grindylow just as the other's long finger popped her bubble.

He reacted on instinct and his spell hit Fleur before the water pressure crushed her skull, but the momentary loss of concentration was enough for the grindylows to swarm her.

Suddenly the water was alight with magic as spell after spell flew from Aries' wand and hand. The water turned red as his spells ripped and blasted the dark creatures apart before the last few swam away frantically.

He kicked hard to get over to the veela and a wave of his wand sealed up her wounds but she had lost too much blood.

A blasting curse pushed them up and he let go of her body, casting a spell to make her float, just before he broke the surface. He pushed the tip of his wand out of the water and shot up red sparks that hopefully would alert someone.

Aries turned back and swam as hard as he could back towards his goal, knowing he had wasted too much time dealing with the grindylows.

Diggory was just releasing Chang as he approached the hostages but Potter was floating next to Susan, seemingly looking for something.

They made eye contact and he shook his head before nodding at Fleur's hostage. It was then that he noticed his own hostage, Draco Malfoy, as he floated next to Susan, both in their respective Hogwarts uniforms.

A cutting curse released him but as he went to free Fleur's hostage a trident found itself against his neck.

"Only one!" hissed one of the Merpeople. Aries raised his wand threateningly but that only seemed to agitate the small clan more.

He moved quickly and his cutting curse hit the first mermen as he pushed back away from the trident.

Potter followed his lead and freed the veela, pulling her and Susan upward after Draco. Bending the water around him Aries threw a current towards the Merpeople, blasting them back and away from them.

He used the force of the current to push himself upwards, towards the surface where Potter and the three hostages waited for him. As he broke the surface the effects of the ritual ended and Aries enjoyed the breath of fresh air.

"No!" Aries turned quickly at the sound of Susan's voice just in time to see Potter's head go underwater.

He lowered his own and growled at the Merpeople dragging Thomas down. Before anyone could stop him, he took a deep breath, diving after the Hogwarts champion.

Two of the clan came after him but a well aimed cutting curse sliced them in half. Aries flicked his wand three times sending long torpedo-like spears flying into the next three that came at him. His lungs were starting to burn and Potter did not seem to be faring much better.

Accio! The spell struck true and Potter came speeding towards him in the water. He pushed himself to the side allowing Potter to reach the surface. A sharp pain erupted in his side and he turned angrily back to mermen.

Eviscero! The merman that had grabbed Potter suddenly wailed in agony as his entrails were ripped from his body.

Merman blood filled the water as Aries frantically swam towards the surface of the water and the merpeople retreated.

Draco's face was paler than normal when he reached him and he followed his eyes back down to the still red water, except the trail of red was coming from him. Blackness began to creep into him and darkness consumed him.

"Aries!" A voice called to him. "Aries please wake up." That was another voice, someone familiar. "Please wake up." He recognized the Spanish voice and at last he opened up his eyes.

"Am I dead?" Aries had often wondered about the after-life, but if he really was dead and the after-life meant having a gorgeous French girl, a beautiful English girl, and a breath-taking Spanish girl wake you up, then perhaps immortality was not so great after all.

"No, you decidedly are not dead Mr. Black." The matron of Hogwarts said and pushed the three girls out of the way before she started waving her wand all around him.

"You let yourself get stabbed by a trident and it pierced you good. A few minutes later and my spells and my potions might not have been enough."

Now that his vision was clear Aries realized that he was back on the platform. Potter and Diggory were holding their respective girlfriends close, no doubt seeking warmth after the coldness of the Black Lake.

Fleur had her arms around her sister tightly but her eyes were on him and him alone. He could feel a slight pull towards her and briefly wondered about the possibilities of a life debt from the French girl before arms wrapped around him fiercely.

The sweet smell of Arianna's hair came to him at the same time Daphne's possessive growl reached his ears, though it did not deter the Spanish girl.

Her small hands cupped his face before she hugged him tightly again. Daphne was glaring daggers into the girl's back and he wondered if he would finally get that cat fight he was dreading.

"Aries please forgive me." Arianna begged. "I was foolish and I should not have pushed myself away from you." Aries knew this was a sensitive moment.

Between Arianna's own guilt and the radiating jealousy of Daphne he needed to handle this tactfully. He pulled her hands off his face and held them softly, but not intimately.

"You will always be my friend Arianna. So long as I am yours." She flinched at the slight emphasis he had placed on friend, but she nodded with a smile before pulling back and walking over to Haydn, Ivan, and Draco.

It looked like she was having a similar conversation with them and he hoped they would show her more warmth than he allowed himself to show.

Daphne gratefully went into his arms as he came to his feet. Jealousy still poured from the girl and Aries had to admit he very much liked it.

Often throughout the year she had frightened off anyone that had shown interest in him but she had never acted so possessively. Her icy glare went next to Fleur, who answered it with a smile.