A/N: This is a story of the gang's strange day at the beach. Please read and review. Check out my other stories. Also I do not own Harry Potter.
Submission for:
The Classic Disney Movie Challenge!: Lilo and Stitch: Write about the discovery of strange creatures (and plants)
Seagulls cawed as the flew low above the sparkling blue-green water. Hermione shaded her eyes with her hand, her large beach towel under her arm, as she looked up and down the shoreline. The beach was empty today and the sun the was not too hot, just like she liked it.
Pointing towards group of shady trees a couple feet from the water's edge, she shouted above the wind, "Let's set up over there!"
Harry, Ron and Neville ran ahead, carrying the large cooler, music player, food stuffs, football and other games among them. Ron jumped up and down on the sand, walking on the balls of his feet as the heat penetrated his thin sandals. Ginny, Luna and Hermione followed behind, chatting amicably.
The girls laid out all the blankets under the shade. Ron flipped off his sandals and then ran out into the surf to cool his feet. Harry turned towards the three girls, "What would you like to do first then?"
Ginny looked up from under her giant sunhat. "Well we could toss the frisbee in Hermione's bag around a bit."
Hermione dug quickly through her large tote. "I completely forgot I threw that in here."
She soon produced the disc and handed it over to Neville. He gave her wide grin as they all walked out from under the trees and moved down the beach for a place to play.
They all stood in a circle - Hermione, Neville, Harry, Ginny, Luna - and threw the frisbee to one another. They had turned into a game, where a missed catch would earn a point to the thrower. Neville was winning and he spotted a distracted Luna talking to the wind and facing the water. "Think fast, Luna!"
Luna looked over at Neville, her dreamy eyes not really focusing on the incoming projectile. It flew over her head in landed into the surf. Neville pumped his fist in the air as Luna ran towards the shallow water. The other teens waited, watching as Luna bent forward to pick up their toy. Suddenly, small tendrils wrapped around Luna's hands and ran all the way up to her arms. She was quiet at first, whispering kind words to the vines and asking them to let her go. She started panicking as they tugged her out to sea. Luna was dragged onto her stomach as she screamed out. Water flooded her open mouth strangling her screams.
Harry and Neville rushed forward, faster than the two girls who came up behind them. They waded into the water and grabbed Luna around her waist and stomach. The small tentacles threatened to wrap around Harry and Neville's submerged legs. Everyone was shocked. What plant was this? Even Neville didn't know. The ropes around Luna's arms thickened and moved up her chest. Her wet hair stuck to her face and her yellow beach dress to her legs. Ginny and Hermione grabbed at Luna's feet and pulled, making sure their feet remained on shore.
Suddenly there was a lurch and Luna was pulled under the water right out of the teens' grasps. Harry and Neville stomped at the vines under their feet before running out of the surf. They parted the water around them but could not see her.
Ginny screamed out, "What happened to Luna!? Neville!?"
Neville was scared and he stammered out, "I- I- don't know. I've never studied that plant before." He turned his head back and forth, scanning the water for their friend. She still hadn't resurfaced.
Hermione called out, "Luna?!"
Then Harry's eyes widened, "Ron?!"
They ran back to their spot and Ron was nowhere to be found as well. His sandals still lay near to the beach towels. The teens ran to their bags and pulled out their wands.
Harry turned to Hermione, "Hermione, what can we do?"
Hermione stood there, her eyes shut and tried to calm her nerves. She had to be level-headed to make a decision and to think clearly. She opened her eyes. "We're going to have to get them ourselves."
The four teens stripped down to their bathing suits before casting a bubblecharm on their faces. Armed with their wands, they re-entered the water. They swam further and further out into the ocean with Harry in the lead. It was slow going as their bodies weren't not used to deep sea swimming but they were determined. They scoured the ocean floor, aiming their wands into every nook and crevice they saw.
They saw a sudden drop as the sea floor disappeared. The girls looked to Harry apprehensively. Everyone was scared to swim over the open water. They didn't know what other mysterious creature or plants they would encounter. Harry frowned but then turned to his friends. He gave them a nod and then swam out.
A little ways out they saw some of the largest fishes they had ever seen, twice the size of their bodies. However, it seemed they were safe as the fish was only interested in eating the leaves of the tall seaweeds that swayed underneath them by unseen ocean currents.
Then Ginny's eyes widened. She brightened her wandlight and alerted her friends. She pointed her wand towards two large objects within the tall seaweed. The tight vines that had taken Luna were now wrapped around the entirety of her body, as well as Ron's, only leaving their heads uncovered. The light cast an eerie glow on the blue faces of their friends. Their hair wafted above them, swaying along with the seaweed. They remained asleep, their mouths open, while suspended in the foliage. They swam closer and realized that the vines had actually embedded themselves in their friends' skin. Small roots burrowed under their flesh and seemed to pulse under the water. They were feeding on them.
Harry casted a quick Relashio. A jet of hot bubbles erupted from his wand and hit the seaweed. They parted slightly from the force, their tips crinkled from the heat, but their friends remained bound.
Harry and Ginny looked towards Hermione and Neville. They were best suited for this problem. The seaweed ghosted below them and they floated in thought. Then Hermione had a thought. She mimed to Harry, Neville and Ginny and they nodded.
Harry and Neville grasped Ron and Luna by their heads, careful to not come in contact with the seaweed themselves. Then Hermione and Ginny cast the Relashio again. The seaweed parted again giving a little room for the boys to pull upwards. Their plan seemed to be working. The water around them quickly heated but Harry and Neville held on.
There was a loud screech throughout the water and the teens held their hands over their ears. The seaweed started to grow, pulling Ron and Luna further within its clutches and towards the teens. They swam away quickly but not fast enough. One the long leaves latched onto Ginny's ankle and tried dragging her towards the centre of the forest. She screamed out silently under her breathing bubble. Harry and Neville pulled on her extended arms but the seaweed was very strong. Hermione casted the Relashio and the seaweed snapped.
Ginny's ankle was red with small little holes in her flesh where the roots started to bore into her skin. She gritted her skin and clutched on her ankle as the salt water stung the exposed opening, but she focused back on saving her friends. The teens looked back into the forest. It was harder to see the captives as they were deeper inside the seaweed forest. When they spotted them, they saw that their friends were no more than large lumps, like trapped flies in a spider webs. Their faces were now completely covered by the seaweed.
There was low sound nearby and they all turned around. The large fish they saw had come closer along with some of its brothers. Behind them in the place they had first seen the animals was now low, the tops of the seaweed raw and tattered but not regrowing. Then Neville had an idea. He swam up to one of the gentle creatures cautiously. When he was right beside it, he patted its side near its large eye. The fish did not run. It seemed to trust Neville. Neville coaxed the fish closer to where their friends were. Harry, Ginny and Hermione realized Neville's plan, and they too swam over to the fishes.
They eventually got ten of the fishes feeding on the seaweed. They ate the forest lower and lower. Hermione pointed as Ron and Luna's head were now near the top of the forest. They swam up and held their heads again as the fishes ate around the bodies. They pulled as the seaweed disappeared until their friends were finally freed. Without the seaweed however, their friends started to pull in water. Hermione cast the bubblehead charm on them and they all swam back to the shore.
Ron and Luna laid on the couches at the Burrow as Hermione and Ginny rubbed a potion on their injuries. Ron hissed as the potion stung his wounds but Luna just smiled. Everyone was now dry and dressed in more comfortable clothes.
"Tell us again what happened?" Ron said, gritting his teeth.
Harry said, "You got pulled under water and trapped in some killer seaweed that was eating you alive."
Ginny laughed, "You're lucky those fish were nearby. We had no idea what to do."
Ron groaned. His skin felt itchy around the little red holes. "Let's go to a pool next time, please."