Harry and Orli floated in the water, clutching each other's arms as they looked around frantically. They didn't need words to understand each other's thoughts—no matter what happened, they had to ensure Hermione's safety before they could leave. But several merpeople were restraining them both, absolutely refusing to let them help Hermione.
Soon enough, the merpeople suddenly began shrieking with delight. Those holding them released their grip and twisted around to look behind them. Orli turned and saw a massive figure swimming toward them—a human body wearing swimming trunks, but topped with a shark's head... It was Krum. Apparently he'd attempted to transfigure himself, but it hadn't gone quite according to plan.
The half-man, half-shark Krum swam straight to Hermione and began tugging and gnawing at the ropes binding her. The problem was that Krum's bizarre new dental structure made biting anything smaller than a dolphin incredibly awkward—he looked like he was about to tear Hermione to shreds.
Harry surged forward and smacked Krum hard on the shoulder, brandishing the sharp stone. Krum snatched it and began hacking at Hermione's bindings. Within seconds, he'd succeeded. He seized Hermione around the waist and, without so much as a backward glance, shot toward the surface with her.
Now only Gabrielle remained. Her tiny body drifted helplessly in the current, her face taking on a sickly blue tinge.
Harry glanced back at Orli, then took the sharp stone from her hand. He raised his wand and aimed it directly at the assembled merpeople. Orli understood his intention immediately—he meant to rescue Gabrielle.
The merpeople's smiles vanished instantly. They stared at the wand with unmistakable fear.
Orli felt a surge of relief. She patted Harry's shoulder and took his wand, keeping it trained on the merpeople. She held up three fingers, then folded one down. Hopefully the merpeople could count... Orli thought as she folded down another finger, silently counting down: 3—2—1...
Thank Merlin. The merpeople slowly parted. They quickly severed Gabrielle's rope, then began swimming upward toward the surface together. Harry grabbed the little girl's robes and kicked his webbed feet frantically, swimming ahead with all his might. Orli helped from behind, pushing Gabrielle upward. But the unconscious child felt like a sack of waterlogged potatoes, her dead weight dragging Harry downward.
They were still far beneath the surface—the water above remained pitch black. Even worse, as they left the merpeople's settlement behind, they entered a region choked with dense underwater vegetation. The weeds grew so thickly they resembled a vast underwater meadow or forest, and something was definitely lurking within those shadows. Harry plowed ahead, head down and determined, when suddenly a hand clamped around his ankle.
A Grindylow! It burst from the weeds, long talons digging into Harry's leg, mouth bristling with needle-sharp teeth. Harry frantically thrust his webbed hand into his robes, fumbling for his wand, but the Grindylow thrashed him so violently that his wand slipped from his grasp. Two more Grindylows lunged toward Harry.
"Harry, get her out of here!" Orli dove forward and snatched Harry's wand from the lake bottom. Her words emerged as nothing but streams of bubbles, but Harry understood her meaning and nodded urgently.
"Relashio!" Orli struck the Grindylow gripping Harry's ankle with his wand. A massive bubble erupted from her mouth, but instead of sparks, the wand unleashed a jet of scalding water at the creatures. Where the boiling stream struck their green skin, it immediately flushed bright red.
Harry finally broke free. He shot Orli one quick look, then summoned every ounce of his strength to drag Gabrielle toward the lake's edge. The other two Grindylows shifted their attention to Orli, seizing her robes and desperately trying to drag her deeper into the murky depths.
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