Fun with Mary sue
Chapter 24 – Time for a swim

…

Scotland in February was cold. Whatever moron thought a task in the lake in February was a good idea needed to be taken out and beaten. That was Harry's opinion anyway. He considered the various forms of maiming to inflict as he casually strolled down to the dock that morning, the last of the champions to arrive.

His three competitors were already there. The two boys were looking out at the water while Fleur was standing waiting for him. By the way she was standing it was clear she was trying to draw attention. By the way most of the male audience was staring it was working.

"Cute swimsuit" he said as he walked past her.

"It was not my first choice" she said turning to follow him "but Madam would not let me wear my bikini."

"Probably for the best" Harry said looking out over the frigid lake.

"What's wrong Harry, afraid of the water?" asked Cedric of course referring to the fact Harry was without swimwear.

"I just chose to think 'outside' the box, that's all" Harry replied with a confident smirk.

"Good, good now that everyone's here I'm sure your wondering what it is we've taken from you that you'll be retrieving" said Bagman with far too much enthusiasm for a kidnapper.

Oh Harry knew what they'd taken. And if he ever found out who's idea it was they were going to mysteriously disappear. It was one thing to force the competitors into dangerous situations but it was something else entirely to do it to people who hadn't agreed to be put through the meat grinder.

"So, everyone at the edge of the dock" shouted Bagman.

The champions gathered at the edge of the dock. Three leaned forward while the fourth stood nonchalant.

"Ready, and, go!"

Three splashes immediately followed this order while Harry calmly removed his cloak. Without a care he threw it into the water. Upon landing on the surface of the lake the cloak took shape, becoming rigid and taking on the form of a small boat albeit one still made out of cloth. Harry casually popped down into his cloak craft and with a quick flick of the wand took off out into the water.

The boat slowed as it reached the center of the lake and Harry moved on to phase two of his plan. Taking a pair of wooden cubes form his pocket he dropped them into the water on either side of his boat. He then lay down in his boat.

As he waited the cubes began to conjure up a thick fog. It wasn't half an hour later he felt it was almost thick enough when he noticed a commotion on the dock. A pair of merman were throwing something up on it. After a moment that something moved, revealing itself to be Fleur.

"Well that's not good" better speed things up he decided.

Giving the two wooden cubes in the water a spin to accelerate the process he began to prepare as the fog quickly began to grow and thicken. He pulled a necklace with a small stone tablet from inside his cloths. Given that it needed to touch water to activate it wouldn't have done him any good to leave it inside since he placed powerful water repelling charms on his cloths that morning.

With that done he pulled two cards, one he'd acquired the previous summer, the other a more recent creation.

[Rogue of the Loch]

From on shore a few of the spectators would swear they saw a head poke out above the fog bank but all of them heard the beasts furious cry. It sent a shiver down many a spine.

[Bridle of Obedience]

They had never figured out what had sent the overlarge kelpie into a fury which was why Harry had ultimately had to capture like he had. This of course meant summoning it in the exact same condition. He knew this, hence with a little direction from his alchemy teacher he had come up with a work around.

The bridle calmed the kelpie but Harry could still see the fury in its gaze. It would obey but that didn't mean it would like it. That was fine.

Hopping onto its back and grasping the reigns Harry commanded "down" and the kelpie dove.

A bubble appeared over his head the moment his talisman necklace hit the water. The kelpie swam at a furious pace and with four flippers it was the wildest ride Harry had ever been on. If he hadn't stuck his feet to the kelpies back he would have been thrown off almost immediately.

They came to the underwater village in short order and to his surprise his fellow competitors were already there. Cedric had used a bubblehead charm, basic, but Victor had apparently morphed his head into that of a shark, good for him.

The Victor shark had just disconnected his hostage from the statue when Harry arrived which caused Cedric to miss with his spell as he saw the massive beast Harry was riding. Harry waved, ignored the merman as they panicked and fled then left his kelpie to come free his own hostage. Helen floated lifeless in the water and next to her a small girl in the robes of the French school.

This must have been Fleur's hostage he thought. It was a moments work to free them both but a bit more than that to bring them back to his ride. Sticking them to the kelpie's back as well he gave a tug of the reigns and the willful water horse took off weaving through the water to the surface.

They came out in a thick, near impenetrable fog. The girls coming to life as they broke the surface. Both were soaked and cold as Harry piled them into his little cloak boat. Both were staring at the kelpie as he dismissed it back to the ether. Both started talking at the exact same time as he plucked his fog boxes from the water and set his little boat toward the dock.

He just sat there and smiled.