𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔞𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔭𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔦𝔰
dix-huit. — it's beautiful beneath the sea, but if you stay too long, you'll drown!

Icy blackness clouded Persephone's vision as she sank down. Her lungs screamed in protest as the icy depths clawed at her body and held her captive beneath the freezing surface. Her eyes stung and her arms were heavier than bricks as she tried and failed to swim upwards.

Her lungs cried out for air as she flailed desperately around, Persephone's lungs, and brain were set alight it seemed. A terrible pounding and burning feeling consuming her entire being. Her mind short circuited and she found herself stilling ever so slightly as she sank deeper and deeper.

Looking around she found that though dark, it was also beautiful beneath the surface — a different world existing right below their feet. Her lips remained tightly sealed even though she felt the feeling akin to her head exploding. She wouldn't or rather couldn't open her mouth to let the water in.

She wondered briefly, manically if this was how she would die. A stupid way to die really when she thought about it, pathetic. Persephone thought of all the people who would perhaps briefly miss her before moving on, the way she would be forgotten having no real family and never having achieved anything. Perhaps they'd feature her in a small section of the Daily Prophet, call it a tragedy and move on.

Persephone did not find this idea appealing.

She knew she had much to offer the world, she had so many ideas — spells to create, sights to see, feelings to experience. And yet her she floated at the bottom of a lake, deaths icy grip clasping itself around her throat as it rattled menacingly in her ear, the sound blending with the ringing and pounding in her brain that all at once became too much to bear, black dots clouding her vision.

Persephone opened her mouth, and let the water in.

—————

For Tom it seemed as though time had slowed. One moment Persephone had been standing on the other end of the ice, seemingly content and the next her face was a mask of horror as the loud cracking sound filled the air. And then she was gone, consumed by the icy, vast depths.

Druella's horrified scream filled the air as Cynus held onto her tightly to the prevent her from running to the unstable patch of ice. Whilst Abraxas stood seeming motionless, one word escaping his mouth in an anguished cry, "Persephone!"

Noting that all the morons seemed frozen in their shocked stances Tom gripped onto his wand and rushed towards the ice, she must have drifted away from the spot she had fallen into by now so he commanded his followers in a sharp tone to search the ice for her figure. Spreading out they were looking for what felt like far too long when the bumbling fool Nott suddenly shouted out as he shined a light from his wand at the spot on the ground.

The group rushed over, it was dark beneath the thick surface and the only reason they could see Persephone's floating unconscious figure was because of the illuminating white of her dress. With a single look from Tom everybody stood back, the boy lifting his wand and shouting loudly, "Bombarda Maxima."

The ice blew apart in seconds and Tom reached down, grabbing onto her arms harshly as he heaved her up onto the shore, laying her soaked frame on the ice. Tom stared at her with wide curious eyes, her chest was not moving and her eyes were shut tightly with no signs of reopening.

Yet Tom could still feel her soul, vibrant, pulsing.

Shaking his head he pressed his ear to her chest listening for any sign of a heartbeat as everyone else ran around like headless chickens waiting for the matron. Interlocking his fingers he began pressing on her chest, the witches and wizards looking at him incredulously, "What in Merlin's name are you doing?" Druella cried out aghast sat on the other side of Persephone's body, tears and snowflakes melting on her flushed skin.

"CPR."

The wizards all murmured hesitantly amongst themselves, Tom was not surprised they did not know of it. The only reason he knew of such things was because when he was eight he had made Billy Stubbs choke on his rations at supper — Mrs Cole promptly managing to dislodge it from his throat with strange movements that Tom's mind did not understand. A week later he had made the twenty minute trek to the library and stolen a medical journal to read. It was fascinating, for a muggle book. And Tom soon found himself practicing some of the techniques spoken of in the book and some of his own creation on animals and children alike.

There was one of his own he had not tried himself yet. In his further study at Hogwarts he found that dementors could administer a kiss of death, and wondered could life also be breathed into someone? Tom was unsure for once if he should be the one to test this, his kiss would surly taste like ashes — the boy so tainted by darkness and death could not created life, surly.

At least that was until—

—Shaking himself from his thoughts he tilted her head back, a hand resting firmly in her hair whilst the other pinched her nose, Tom placed his lips over her cold, blue lips and breathed in, he repeated this twice all the pureblood students looking quite appalled before Persephone shot up and coughed up heaps of water as she was turned to her side, Tom patted her back roughly. He was facing away from her so he did not see her eyes flash with a golden ring.

But Druella did.

"Blimey Riddle, I didn't know you knew necromancy!" Nott managed to splutter out. His followers who always admired him with equal amount fear and admiration looked at him akin to a god.

He liked that look.

Seeing both Dumbledore and the matron making their way down from the castle, he pried Persephone from Druella's tight grip, lifting his hands under her knees and letting her wrap her arms around his shoulders. Her lips brushed against the cold skin of his neck, a tired thank you leaving them as she shivered in his arms.

The breath that now left her lips came from him.

—————

"You were dead, Persephone!" Druella spoke from her bedside in the hospital wing as she begged to be discharge — the rest of her friends having been dismissed by the impatient Matron.

"I didn't feel dead," she mumbled with a sigh from her swaddle of blankets that had been forced on her after she had been dried off and changed. And she was telling the truth, once she had fallen into oblivion she had not felt dead nor alive — she simply felt nothing back into the darkness she so often dreamed of. Deep inside she had known she was not truly gone, "And I'm fine now! I just want my own bed."

Quitting her pacing Druella dropped into the seat beside her, a tired sigh escaping her lips as she grasped onto Persephone's hand, "Would you just stay here for tonight?" The girl opened her mouth to object, Druella quickly interrupting, "For me? I was so worried, please."

"Fine." Persephone rolled her eyes with a huff, though she already felt better. The chill in her bones already having evaporated and the soreness in her throat seemingly having disappeared.

"Seph, I saw something earlier," Druella ran soothing circles over the girls hand as she stated deeply into her green eyes — seemingly looking for something, "you're eyes, I can't explain it— but they seemed to glow this vibrant gold colour."

"I know it sounds mad—,"

"It's not mad, Dru," Persephone's lips twisted into a pout as she pulled her hand from Druella's, "there's something you need to see. But you have to promise not to freak out."

"Why would I freak out?" Persephone raised an eyebrow, "Okay I promise."

Picking up her wand from the bedside table she drew it vertical down her palm a spell whispered beneath her breath. Immediately the skin split apart and gold liquid leaked over and stained her pale skin, a few seconds later her skin began a slightly slower process that usual of her skin stitching over leaving an unblemished palm.

Druella had turned pale as she watched, her eyes wide and frantic as she went to open her mouth — only for Persephone to interrupt, "You promised not to freak out!"

Closing her mouth briefly she nodded, "Yeah, I'm not freaking out. This is completely normal," Druella took a deep breath and whispered under her breath, "who doesn't have golden blood and magical healing powers right?"

"Look Druella, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. But I didn't know how to tell you — I don't know who or what I am."

Swallowing harshly, Druella once again joined hands with her, not minding the gold staining her palm, "Then I'll help you figure it out, Seph."

"You don't have to deal with this alone anymore."

AUTHORS NOTE!
Right so this chapter is kind eh with me it was hard to write and finish but I hope you guys liked it. Once again I am leaving you guys with more questions than answers lmao.

Anyone catch the Tom blitz/Seph drowning parallels??

Also keep an eye out guys I have a new Tom Riddle fic coming soon it's a short story called 'Teacher's Pet' and I hope to have it published soon!

Stay safe! Remember to vote, comment and or share please lovelies if you enjoyed <333

Unedited
—summer