"No!" he hissed, wide-eyed. "It's not Neville, God! And keep your voice down, Skeeter's bound to be around here somewhere."
Cedric looked apologetic, glancing around for any sign of the blonde reporter. "That is weird, actually; she's usually right on top of the action. Maybe your lawyer finally scared her off."
"I can only hope," Harry said ruefully.
It drew closer to the starting time, and as the stands began to fill with people Bagman cast Sonorus on himself, striding out to the water's edge and starting up a chatter to pass the time. "All four champions are ready and raring to go! For those of you who aren't aware, the second task is thus; each champion has had a person they care about taken from them, stolen away into the depths of the lake by its resident clan of merpeople. It is up to the champions to find what has been taken from them and retrieve them within the hour!"
At Bagman's words, all four champions shared horrified looks. "A person," Viktor murmured grimly.
"Cho!" Cedric gasped, casting panicked eyes on the water's surface. Harry gripped his arm to stop him diving in then and there.
"They're safe, they have to be. The task hasn't started yet." He wasn't sure which of them he was trying to reassure.
"But after an hour…" Fleur trailed off, her blue eyes fearful. "I do not know 'oo zey 'ave taken from me." She disappeared, hurrying over to her headmistress, and there was a rapid conversation in French that ended with Fleur's hands sparking with fire in her fury. "Gabrielle!" The quarter-veela stomped over to Ludo Bagman, grabbing him by the front of his robe and hoisting him off his feet, glaring. Her hair had flames licking at the tips, and Harry could smell burning ozone. He hadn't realised Fleur had that much of her heritage in her. "If anyzing 'appens to my leetle sister, I will kill you, Bagman," she declared spitefully. Harry's jaw dropped. Fleur had talked about her little sister before; Gabrielle was barely nine years old! How could they possibly think it was a good idea to put her at the bottom of a lake?
Bagman looked like he was about to wet himself, but he bravely patted Fleur on the shoulder. "Not to worry, Miss Delacour," he said, voice shaking. "We've got every precaution in place."
That didn't seem to satisfy Fleur, but she huffed, dropping him to the ground and turning on her heel back to the other champions. Harry could see several boys in the stands watching with a mixture of fear and awe; even he had to admit that was terrifyingly impressive, watching her pick up Bagman with one hand.
"Remind me never to piss her off," Cedric muttered. Harry and Viktor both hummed in agreement.
With Fleur pacing like a caged tiger, Bagman and the other judges seemed to realise it was best to get started as quickly as possible.
Harry stripped off his robe and shoes when the other champions started doing the same, leaving him in the swimming shorts and tank top he'd been supplied with the day before. The other male champions were dressed similarly, and Fleur wore a silver one-piece swimsuit, oblivious to the looks she was getting once she dropped her robe. She was too focused on her sister and the lake.
"Champions,
you
have
one
hour!" Bagman announced, still eyeing Fleur warily. "Start on my whistle. One… two… three!" Bagman blew his whistle, and they immediately jumped into action. Harry shoved the gillyweed in his mouth and began to chew, wading out into the freezing cold water. All three other champions blazed past him, disappearing under the surface of the water. Harry refused to do so until he was absolutely sure this whole thing would work.
I really should've tested this, he thought to himself as he swallowed the slimy plant, ignoring the faint laughter he could hear from the stands as he stood in the shallows like an idiot. Don't fail me now, Snape.
When it finally started working, it kicked in remarkably quickly, and Harry had to throw himself into the water to avoid choking on air. His feet elongated into flippers, his hands webbing between the fingers, and he grinned to himself as he swam forwards, the water feeling more room temperature than the near-ice he knew it was.
Snape hadn't let him down. He could do this.
.-.-.-.
Much more than an hour later, Harry burst through the surface of the lake and took a glorious gasp of air, having lost his gills about fifteen feet under. He dragged Ron and Gabrielle with him, both of them regaining consciousness once they were above water. Gabrielle's eyes immediately filled with tears as she splashed and gasped her sister's name, and Harry let go of Ron, letting the little girl wind her arms around his neck. "There you go, I've got you," he soothed, unsure how much English she spoke. "Fleur is okay," he said, though truthfully he didn't know what had happened to the French girl. "Can you swim?" Gabrielle sniffled and made a so-so gesture with one hand, the other gripping Harry's shoulder tightly.
"Harry, hurry up! What's she doing here?" Ron asked, impatiently treading water, his red hair plastered to his forehead.
"Fleur never showed up, I couldn't leave her there." Harry started to swim the best he could with Gabrielle hanging on his back. He was glad for all his time in the pool at Seren Du now.
"You idiot, you didn't seriously think they'd let us die down there, did you?" Ron burst out.
"That's not a risk I'm willing to take with the life of a nine year-old girl," Harry retorted sharply. "Just swim." The closer he drew to the bank, he could see a crowd gathered with their wands out, fire flaring from somewhere in the middle. Madame Maxime towered over it all, looking like she was struggling to keep hold of something. Or someone. Fleur.
"Gabrielle!" The crowd was forcefully parted as Fleur broke away from her headmistress' hold in a blast of flames, rushing towards the water's edge. On Harry's back, Gabrielle perked up, calling for Fleur.
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