Eleanor trudged into the potions classroom with ingredients in tow for the next week's lessons.
Snape, without looking up, said to her, "Dumbledore wants to see you in his office."
"What for?" she sighed as she put another heavy container on the table.
"Go and find out."
She rolled her eyes and turned away. "Professor, I've noticed the stores of some ingredients going awfully fast. Polyjuice potion hasn't been one of the lessons has it?"
""No, why?" Snape sneered as he looked over.
"Because the boomslang skins and lacewing flies, and, well, the gillyweed have been cleared out recently, along with some other things. I didn't notice for a little while, since we've been using them in class but… but they're lower than they should be."
He stared at her, brows knitting together, until she left through the creaking door.
Tentatively, Eleanor leaned over the side of the boat and peered down at the black water. Dumbledore pressed a white stone in her hand and smiled reassuringly.
"So, they'll just come up to talk?" Eleanor asked him again.
He nodded.
"And they won't hurt me?"
Again, he nodded.
Filch, oars in hand, growled at her, "Get moving!"
"Right." She stood at the side again and, with great hesitation, jumped into the dark water. She immediately came up for air, gasping. The water was freezing. She took a deep breath and dove under the water.
She regretted consenting to help. The water was so cold it hurt. She cast a bubble-head charm and took a deep breath. Find the merpeople. Show them the stone. Lead them to Dumbledore. Simple task. She glanced around and couldn't see anything moving around in the tall stalks of plants that rose from the depths of the deep lake.
She swam on, the water beginning to feel less cold. Far below, she noticed movement, something swimming up towards her –fast. Panicked she began to rise towards the surface before the creature appeared just below her, eyes wide. Her fingers unclenched from the white stone and she revealed it to the creature. It stared at the little object and looked upwards.
Eleanor and the merperson both surfaced near the little rowboat. Dumbledore greeted the mermaid in a foreign tongue as Ella wrapped an arm around the side of the boat. Filch glared down at her as Dumbledore motioned for her to come closer.
"She will help you take the students down and get them ready. She knows where they need to be," Dumbledore smiled and clapped her on the shoulder.
Eleanor looked over to the mermaid as Filch lowered a frozen Ronald Weasley into the water. She caught him around the arm, he seemed heavier than she thought. The mermaid took a young blonde girl. The two of them disappeared under the water, Ella following the mermaid down into the center of the lake, where ruins of arches stood among the weeds.
There were others down there, waiting. They tied the two students down with long strands of seaweed. The sight of them made Eleanor uneasy as she brought down the fourth student - Miss Granger it seemed – to the depths of the lake. The Tournament was beginning to become more unsettling.
Red sparks floated up to the surface of the water. Eleanor leaned over, rubbing her arms to keep warm in her swimsuit, and watched them disperse into the air feebly and vanish. Dumbledore nodded to her and she took off down the stairs to the lower platform and dove into the water. She cast her charm and traced back to where the sparks had come.
Again the chilliness of the water had taken her by surprise. Searching for the caster in the murky water, she could see movement up ahead. Dumbledore didn't want to see anyone drown. Neither did Eleanor. She kicked towards the swirling mess up ahead and saw a blue swimsuit behind a swarm of grindylows. They were furiously attacking the poor girl like mad, overwhelming her. Eleanor whipped out her wand and sent a series of hexes at them, hoping for them to disperse quickly.
A few started to swim at her, and she ended up kicking a few away while trying to get the rest to leave. At last she was free of their slimy little tentacles, and the blonde girl floated weakly up ahead. Grabbing Fleur by the arm, she tugged her towards the surface. Always, it seemed, the surface seemed so much farther away when she was swimming towards it. Fleur was like a dead weight, stunned by the attack.
The two of them gasped for air when they surfaced, their charms popping into nothing. Fleur coughed as the crowd collectively shouted their disappointment. Eleanor helped the girl swim over to one of the platforms where she was taken away by a swarm of blue uniforms and swathed in a cocoon of towels.
Eleanor pulled herself onto the platform, shivering in the breeze. She wrung the water from her hair as some kind soul with dark hair handed her a towel before she flopped down with exhaustion. She couldn't wait to return to her room and curl up by the fire. As time ticked away and only two of the champions surfaced successfully with their friends, Eleanor began to worry she would have to go back in. But at last, Harry Potter and the remaining two victims surfaced and were received by a screaming crowd.
Relief.
