Well... you've forced my hand.
Seeing more and more Grindylows swarming around her while Harry had already swum out of sight, Orli aimed the wand at them and shouted fiercely:
"Sectumsempra!"
Along with the stream of bubbles from her mouth, a powerful current erupted from the wand's tip—like countless invisible hands whipping the water before her into a frenzied whirlpool, spinning at breakneck speed to form an unseen grinding machine.
The dozen or so Grindylows at the front were instantly torn to pieces, their blood staining a vast stretch of water crimson. Orli seized the moment and swam frantically toward the shore. Several times she felt herself brush against severed Grindylow limbs. Finally, she escaped the weed patch. The few remaining Grindylows stared at her in terror before retreating into the underwater vegetation.
The shore felt impossibly distant... Orli found herself increasingly breathless. She became acutely aware of how damp and cold the lake water felt in her mouth... but the heavy darkness was gradually lightening... she could see daylight above...
She kicked desperately with both feet... dizziness began to cloud her mind, as if her head and lungs were filling with water again. She was running out of air, but she knew sunlight and fresh air lay just ten feet above... she had to reach it... she must...
Suddenly, her head burst through the surface.
Wonderful, fresh, cool air swept across her wet face, though her ears still throbbed with dull pain. She gulped down air greedily, feeling as though she'd never truly breathed in her entire life. Several green-haired, gray-skinned merpeople surfaced alongside her. She was just about to get her bearings when she heard Snape's furious voice.
"Where is Waters? What have you done with her?!"
Orli turned toward the sound and saw Snape gripping Harry by the collar, nearly lifting him off the ground.
"Lake... she..." Harry tried to answer but couldn't catch his breath.
Snape snarled: "You left her at the bottom of the lake?!"
"I... no..." Harry was on the verge of suffocation.
"Professor! I'm right here!" Orli quickly called out to them. She paddled hard a few strokes, bringing herself to the shoreline.
The stands erupted in chaos—shouting and clamoring as every spectator seemed to leap to their feet. The judges all stood at the water's edge, watching her.
A bit farther away, Madam Pomfrey was fussing frantically around Hermione, Krum, Cedric, and Cho Chang, all wrapped in thick blankets. Fleur was clutching Gabrielle tightly, the two of them locked in a trembling embrace, still clearly shaken.
The moment Orli reached the shallows, Madam Pomfrey plucked her from the water like a chick, dragging her over to Hermione and the others. She wrapped Orli snugly in a blanket and forced her to drink a vial of potion. Warmth immediately flooded through her body.
"Orli! You finally made it up!" Hermione dropped her own blanket and rushed over to embrace her.
"The water suddenly started churning earlier, then all this blood came bubbling up from below—I thought..." Her voice caught, and she hugged Orli so tightly it felt like her ribs might crack.
"Thank Merlin, thank Merlin," Harry said, rubbing his neck as he approached. Orli glanced behind him—Snape had somehow already disappeared.
"But Harry, we went over the time limit, didn't we?" Orli asked anxiously. "Have your scores been announced yet? Did I surface too late?"
Dumbledore was crouched by the water's edge, deep in conversation with a particularly fierce-looking female merperson who appeared to be their leader. Dumbledore was making the sharp, piercing sounds that merpeople produced above water—clearly, he spoke Mermish. Finally, he straightened and turned to the other judges.
"Let's have a brief meeting before announcing the scores," he said.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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