Author's note: Guys, please… if you can spare some power stones, I'd really appreciate it.
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"On the count of three, then. One … two … three!"
As soon as the signal was given, Harry didn't hesitate. He dug into his pocket, pulled out the fistful of Gillyweed, and shoved it into his mouth. He chewed quickly, forcing himself not to gag as the plant squelched between his teeth. It was disgusting, slimy and rubbery, like chewing on a deflated balloon soaked in rancid cooking oil.
He had to pour all his focus into swallowing it, lest he throw up, and everything around him, the roar of the crowd, the excited commentator, the cold wind rolling off the lake, was pushed aside. Nothing mattered except the foul taste in his mouth and the desperate need to force it down his throat.
He didn't know how much time had passed, and just as the taste in his mouth began to fade, he suddenly felt as though someone had forced a pillow over his mouth and nose. When he tried to draw breath, his head began to spin. His lungs were empty, and although he had never known what it truly felt like to drown, the terrifying pressure in his chest and the desperate struggle for air made that word rise instantly to his mind.
The suffocation tightened around him, stealing his breath and sending panic rushing through his body, and just when he thought it could not get worse, a sharp pain sliced into either side of his neck. Instinctively, without stopping to think, he clapped his hands to his throat and felt two large slits just below his ears, opening and closing against his fingers, fluttering rapidly in the cold air.
His eyes flew wide, and for one wild moment he was certain someone had hexed him with a cutting curse. The pain had been sharp enough to convince him of it. But just as quickly as the panic rose, his head began to clear and the crushing pressure in his chest eased. Air, or something like it, flowed into him with sudden ease. He could breathe. His mind, which had been flailing in alarm, steadied enough to think.
Did it work? He brushed his fingers against his neck again and felt the slits opening and closing beneath his touch. Then he bent toward the lake and stared at his reflection trembling on the surface. The answer stared back at him, thin and ugly, yes, but unmistakably gills, fluttering on either side of his neck.
"Ha!" he wanted to shout in triumph, but the chuckle quickly died in his throat when he realized how strangely quiet everything was around him.
Where's Cedric and the others? he wondered, looking around.
He looked around and saw that only Krum and Fleur remained on the platform with him, both in the middle of performing their magic. Krum had just finished his chant, some spell he had never heard of, and swung his wand in a wide arc, like he was swinging a bat.
Merlin's wet socks! The next thing he saw was the guy's entire upper body rapidly transforming into a massive shark, his skin rippling, his head stretching forward into a snout lined with rows of sharp, glinting teeth.
Was it Transfiguration or some other kind of bizarre magic? He had no idea. Despite looking uglier than a troll, he certainly looked powerful. He was just about to ask if he was okay when the half human, now half shark, spared no one a glance and immediately leapt straight into the lake.
Bit rude, he thought, then turned slightly just in time to see the French beauty finish her magic as well, and this time he recognized the spell. It was a Bubble-Head Charm, executed perfectly. He had to admit that even he might not have been able to cast it that flawlessly.
After finishing, the half-Veela glanced at him, paused just long enough to make sure he was looking, and then gave him a very deliberate wink before diving gracefully into the lake as well.
What's that supposed to mean? He tilted his head, gave it a quick shake, and brushed her gorgeous face out of his mind before stepping toward the edge and preparing to dive as well. The commentator was shouting something, in fact he had not stopped at all, but Harry had not been listening since he shoved that disgusting thing into his mouth.
Here goes. The next moment, he flung himself forward and plunged headfirst into the cold water.
The first gulp of icy lake water through his gills felt like the breath of life. Then he took another, and it felt just as smooth as it passed effortlessly through them. He didn't know how to explain it, only that it felt exactly like breathing. He stretched his hands out in front of him and stared at them, and sure enough, like the book said, they had become webbed. He twisted around and looked at his bare feet. They had elongated, and the toes were webbed too. It looked as though he had sprouted flippers.
Plus, the water didn't feel icy anymore. On the contrary, he felt pleasantly cool and very light. Next, he tested out his newfound hands and feet, and marveled at how far and fast they propelled him through the water. Not only that, even his eyes felt different. He could see clearly, and weirdly, he no longer seemed to need to blink too.
Brilliant, he rejoiced. This way he didn't have to focus on maintaining a Bubble-Head Charm or some other magic and could focus solely on the task.
A quiet grin appeared on his face then he finally raised his hand and looked down at the alchemical instrument encircling his wrist.
Three minutes already up? He checked the time indicator, then focused on the pointer which was apparently meant to direct him to where Ron and Hermione were being held. And right now, it was pointing… well, downward.
He stole one final look upward, watching the pale light ripple through the surface far above, then lowered his gaze to the depths below where nothing but darkness waited, then kicked his fins steadily. Within half a minute he had descended so far that the light vanished completely. Fortunately, whatever the Gillyweed had done to his eyes allowed him to still make out the shapes of things nearby.
His wand was with him as well, and he had already cast Lumos, so visibility was hardly a problem. Another half minute later, he finally reached the required depth. That was him diving at incredible speed thanks to the temporary changes in his body, otherwise he didn't know how long it would have taken to reach so deep.
Occasionally, his enhanced eyes caught sight of fish darting past, but there was nothing alarming. Only silence pressed against his ears as he glided a few meters above the lakebed. Though his vision was improved, he could still only see a few meters around him at this depth, so as he sped through the water, new scenes seemed to loom suddenly out of the approaching darkness, forests of rippling, tangled black weed, wide plains of mud scattered with dull, glimmering stones.
He swam deeper and deeper, following the pointer in that direction, while small fish flickered past him like silver darts. Once or twice he thought he saw something larger moving ahead of him, but when he got nearer, he discovered it was nothing more than a dense clump of weed.
There was no sign of the other champions, no merpeople lurking in the shadows, and no dangerous sharks like the ones Cedric's dad had warned them about. And thank Merlin, there was no sign of that giant squid either.
A few minutes later, he slowed his pace when a vast wall of green weed loomed ahead, stretching like endlessly. Each strand rose dozens of meters tall, like a meadow of wildly overgrown grass swaying in the depths.
Going through all that would have been terrifying, so he chose to swim over it when, without warning, he felt something grab hold of his ankle.
He twisted his body instinctively and saw a small, ugly, horned, water-imp-like creature poking out of the weed, its long fingers clutched tightly around his leg, its pointed fangs bared. It was a Grindylow.
He had read about them, well, Hermione had read about them and told him while researching the creatures said to lurk in the lake. Nasty little things, but apparently not dangerous, at least according to her.
Regardless, it was creeping him out the way it was trying to drag him downward. So without a second thought, he flicked his arm, activating the wand holster, retrieved his wand, and pointed it. But by then, two more Grindylows had risen from the weed and seized his other leg, pulling with greater force as they tried even more relentlessly to drag him down.
"Relashio!"
At least that was what he thought he had shouted, except no sound came out and only a large bubble escaped from his mouth. But it didn't do nothing, and his wand, instead of casting the Revulsion Hex at the creatures, blasted them with what seemed to be a jet of boiling water.
That was one down, but he could already see three more closing in.
Merlin!
He yanked his ankle out of the annoying creature's grip and swam as fast as he could, occasionally firing more hexes at random and sending bubbling, scalding jets of energy through the water, but the little creatures were as persistent as ever.
Before he realized it, he had a swarm of them on his tail, and unless he wanted to be turned into imp food, he had to do something. His Gryffindor brain then landed on the only solution it knew: plain brute force. Yes. That would do. And with that thought, he came to an abrupt stop, gripped his wand with both hands, and began to chant, summoning as much magic as he could muster.
##&%*#&*^^*^%
Only Merlin Knows what spell he had used, but it worked. The water in front of him flared as though set ablaze, a blazing light illuminating the entire area, and the Grindylows, their eyes widening at the sudden brightness, broke off the chase at once and sank back into the depths.
He took a moment to catch his breath, the gills on the sides of his neck devouring the oxygen around him. Merlin's beard, he could not help but chuckle. That was one thrilling and creepy experience he never wanted to go through again.
After a final sweep of his eyes across the dim lakebed, he checked his wrist once more and adjusted his course. Fifteen minutes were already up, and there was no sign of Ron or Hermione, or anyone for that matter.
As he put more distance behind him and followed the direction of the pointer, he realized that the surroundings were slowly beginning to brighten. He had no idea why, but a bit more light was always welcome.
There was also no need to keep Lumos active anymore, so he gave a small wave of his wand and canceled the spell while carefully surveying his surroundings. The weed-like trees were much larger now, and he was no longer swimming above the jungle of them but within it. They surrounded him on every side, tall and swaying, and if not for the steady guidance of the pointer, he was certain he would have lost his way.
The farther he went, the brighter it became, and soon he could see clearly… well, a whole lot of weed. Then suddenly, he felt a large silhouette pass to his right, and he turned his head, eyes widening. It was a massive shark, and he could have sworn it was grinning from ear to ear.
Immediately, he swung his wand and sent a blasting hex, but because he was underwater, it did not execute properly and, like before, shot out as a jet of burning, bubbling water.
Unfortunately, it was too slow, and the shark was far too fast. The monster made only a subtle movement with its massive body, effortlessly dodging, and before he knew it, its jaws were open in front of his face.
#%&#^$#&%
He closed his eyes, throwing his wand hand over them, but instead of feeling shark teeth crunching into his head, he heard only a muffled thud and then felt a small shockwave send him slightly backward.
Slowly, he opened his eyes again and saw a shimmering shield, a perfect Protego, in front of him, with the shark swaying as though it had the worst headache of its life, clearly having rammed headfirst into the barrier.
"That's ten points from you, Mr. Potter."
He turned his head sharply and saw the short, cheerful Professor Flitwick with a bubble around his entire body, smiling at him.
But he did not have time to feel thankful as realization struck. He had just been saved from a critical attack, which meant he had already lost one tenth of his points.
"Better luck next time, Mr. Potter," he heard Professor Flitwick say again before disappearing. His brows furrowed. The biggest problem was that he could not cast the powerful spells he normally used verbally because he was underwater. Glancing at the gadget on his wrist, he saw that half of the allocated time was already gone as well. He needed to do something.
He gave the situation a quick but deep thought, and only one solution came to mind, so without thinking further, he lifted his head and, like a jet, swam straight toward the surface.
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Author's Note:
🔥 Drop those Power Stones! 🔥
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