THC/The Houses Competition
House: Gryffindor
Class: Muggle Studies
Prompt(s): [Dialogue] "We haven't come all this way just to watch you flounder about in two feet of water." (Alts, Pronouns: I/We. Tense cannot change) ; [Location] The Black Lake
Word Count: 2677
Beta reading (thank you): Turanga4, CelesteMagnolia and the Gryffindor team
A/N: Thank you to the Hagridizer for enhancing Hagrid's speech. The story takes place during the summer after year 2 (Chamber of Secrets) and is a reimagining of canonical events. Professor N. Mallard is an OC.
Trigger warning: Mild fantasy violence against the Grindylows
Translations (Italian, but taken from a translator, so they may be incorrect):
figli miei = my children
Sbrigati = hurry up
Bravissimo = bravo!
Harry's second magical year at Hogwarts was drawing to an end and he was not excited to return home. Even less excited were his nosy aunt Petunia, his rude uncle Vernon, and his fat cousin Dudley.
Last year, Harry cast a spell that made Vernon's car bump into his neighbour Mr Fellows' on the daily. He made Petunia's puddings turn all sorts of odd colours and scents like 'diaper cream' and 'stinky sock'. He made Dudley grow a second pigtail on his ickle bum.
Even though Vernon was actually not good at pulling out of their driveway, Petunia was actually experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen and Dudley's pig growths were actually abnormally long bum hairs, the trio had blamed Harry for their mishaps.
The Dursleys shuddered to think of what sorts of nasty shenanigans Harry would surprise them with this summer.
So Petunia — drowning in desperation — lit a candle at the local Anglican parish for the first time in ten years and joined hands before the good Lord, asking for a solution. And Hallelujah, the good Lord came through!
"Summer camp at Hogwarts," read the letter, carried like a freshly picked olive branch in the beak of a white owl to Privet Drive. "A new program is offered to wizard children who want extra credit at an additional cost."
Petunia was so happy that she bought very expensive prayer beads and promised to come to every Sunday service the next year.
The only thing standing between the summer camp and putting up with Harry's magic tricks was a fee of 2000 pounds requested by the new professor. Vernon harrumphed but decided that the well-being of his son and his wife's calmed nerves were well worth the weight of his emptied pockets.
It was decided: Harry Potter would be spending his summer in Hogwarts. Splendid!
The only one who was more ecstatic to hear the news was Harry himself, who immediately called his best friends Ron and Hermione on the landline. He was certain that Hermione needed the extra credit and Ron would love to spend time with his two best friends all summer long.
At first, all three agreed that they would be together at the summer camp. Then, Hermione said that she had to go to France with her parents, and Ron was travelling to Romania to see his brother Charlie and his dragons.
Harry was devastated. Sure, he wouldn't be spending the summer with the Dursleys, but he wouldn't be spending it with his friends either. Disheartened, he dragged himself to pack his trunk and ready Hedwig for the trip.
Before he realised it, Hagrid had him strapped into his motorcycle and they zoomed through the skies en route to Hogwarts. Harry reminded himself that he would still be spending the summer in Hogwarts, but excitement was difficult to conjure up knowing his two best friends wouldn't be there to share in his adventures.
"Cheer up Harry!" Hagrid said as they flew over the Black Lake. "Yeh'll see. This new professor has some fun activities planned for yeh."
Harry gulped. He swam in a public pool when his aunt and uncle decided to take Dudley for swimming lessons a few years ago. Harry could see his toes in the chlorine-clean water and felt safe knowing he could reach the tiled bottom of the pool.
Who knew what kinds of creatures would be swimming in the depths of the Black Lake? Hopefully, the new professor wouldn't make the students go swimming there.
Knowing Harry's excellent relationship with good fortune, the new professor did just that.
Professor Nauticus Mallard was broad-shouldered and tan-skinned. He wore flowing Italian, white linen robes that draped over his slender, but taut arms like sails. His eyes were seaweed green and his hair was white like seagull feathers. His Murano jewellery jingled when he spoke, fingers snapping mid-air.
"Figli miei, to swim is to fly through the water. But first, we must learn to stand." He clapped his hands together. "Sbrigati, children!"
He quickly shooed the thirty unfortunate students to the bushes to change into their school-supplied swimsuits. Not only was Harry stuck in summer camp without his friends, but now he was being forced to wear Gryffindor-red speedos in order to partake in an activity that made his stomach churn. If Ron had been here, he would have made a witty joke about their awful swimwear. His lucky friend was probably riding on a dragon's back in Romania, fully clothed and without a care in the world.
The students were instructed to fold and leave their robes and wands on the grass. Professor Mallard walked along the line of shivering pupils dressed in yellow, blue, red and green swimsuits with a roster. He looked at Harry, nodded, and drew a big, fat red check mark beside his name on the register before owling it back to the castle. At least this new professor was not singing accolades of praise in honour of teaching the famous Harry Potter and demanding to see his scar.
Harry exchanged glances with Cho Chang, a new classmate he'd never spoken with before until now.
"My parents thought I'd be doing extra homework here," she said with a smirk as they walked to the shore. "They never let me go swimming."
"Why's that?" Harry asked.
"Allergies."
Harry felt bad for Cho. How much extra homework did her parents make her do that she would find swimming in the Black Lake while having a water allergy the better option? At least she was happy to be here.
When Harry dipped his toe into the freezing water, his verdict was clear. He hated Hogwarts summer camp.
Professor Nauticus rubbed sunscreen on himself. His voice rang clear beneath his wide-brimmed hat, "Sbrigati, sbrigati, figli miei! I haven't come all this way just to watch you flounder about in two feet of water."
The professor sounded pushy, but at least he wouldn't actually push him into the water like fat Dudley used to.
The professor took no notice of Harry. He lay back in his peach-striped beach chair, slipped a pair of sunglasses onto his button nose, cracked open a small glass bottle of fizzy orange liquid and poured it into a tall champagne glass decorated with a paper umbrella.
The other students slowly inched down the rocky decline, wincing every time the water crawled up another centimetre on their goosebump-covered thighs. Harry waddled until the water covered the waistband of his awful red speedos.
Harry looked for Cho, but her blue rubber hat bobbed far in the distance of the lake like a buoy. Harry grumbled. Cho must be as big an overachiever as Hermione. Even during the summer, she seemed eager to impress her professor. Harry wished Hermione had been here to meet Cho. Although on second thought, she wouldn't have liked the competition.
Harry had little choice but to brave the cold. Sucking in his breath, he dove into the lake, hoping his glasses wouldn't float away in the process. His cheeks stung and his ears felt as though they would shrivel up and float away. Chilled to the very bone, Harry swam up for air. About to wipe his bangs away from his forehead and glasses, something pushed Harry's head back underwater.
Harry flailed his arms, desperately wishing he had stayed in Privet Drive until September. This was how he was going to die.
Thankfully, the force didn't keep him submerged for much longer and allowed him to resurface. Gasping for air, Harry saw the blurry image of his icy-blue-eyed nemesis glaring back at him.
"Fancy seeing you here, Potter." The incorrigible Draco Malfoy laughed, twirling something thin and familiar looking in his hand. "Guess you can't say the same."
Harry grabbed his nose only to realise that Malfoy had in fact stolen his glasses. Malfoy nudged the two blobs standing beside him. Unless Crabbe and Goyle had become twice as thin and grew a few feet taller since Harry last saw them days ago, he could only assume that Malfoy found himself some replacement henchmen. Some things never changed.
"No, I can't," Harry said. "Why did your father send you back to Hogwarts? Tired of listening to your whining?"
Harry wished he could have seen the expression on Malfoy's face that accompanied his undignified grunt.
"Shut up. Father's away on business," Malfoy retorted bitterly. "Bet your Muggle relatives were happy to ship you off again."
"Give me my glasses, Malfoy."
The blurry frames came back into Harry's view. He reached for them, only to have Malfoy snatch them back up at the last second.
"They're yours if you fetch them."
Harry watched as his glasses were tossed back and forth between replacement Crabbe and Goyle. He was tempted to jump after them, then remembered how Malfoy toyed with Neville Longbottom's Remembrall in the first year and restrained himself.
"What's wrong Potter? No longer the teacher's pet?" Malfoy barked and howled, earning himself a skittish laugh from his henchmen.
Harry's fists tightened. The toe-curling water was suddenly too hot for comfort.
"Give me back my glasses," he repeated, a touch more loudly.
A small crowd had begun to form around them. Blurry heads swam into view, some cheering for Harry, others edging Malfoy and his henchmen on with whooping chants of, "fight, fight, fight!"
Even though his face was blurred, Harry could see a dangerous grin stretch out Malfoy's cheeks.
"No."
Encouraged by the energy of the crowd, Malfoy wiggled Harry's glasses in the air. Then he lay back in the water like a seal and pushed himself into the deeper waters.
"Think I might feed them to the Giant Squid instead. What do you say to that?"
The crowd's choice was obvious. Whether wanting to earn Malfoy's approval or hoping to see some excitement during this otherwise boring swimming activity, they whooped as Malfoy swam further into the centre of the Black Lake with Harry following suit.
The blood pumped in Harry's veins as he dipped his head in and out of the water, parting the waves with a desperate sidestroke. For once he was happy that the Dursleys had been taking Dudley to swimming lessons for three years. Dudley had not learned to swim, but Harry, who was permitted to swim in the shallow side of the pool, had learned to do a few types of strokes.
Malfoy's figure was so close. Harry lunged forwards only to receive a mouthful of Lacewing Flies. Spitting them out, he spun around in search of Malfoy's blond head of hair. Instead, a shrill and familiar voice broke over the murmur of the waves.
"Harry! Watch out! The Grindylows!" Cho yelled. To Harry's horror, Cho was swimming much closer to the shore than he and Malfoy were.
Then, someone screamed. Harry instinctively reached for his wand, only to remember it was laying in the grass far, far away on the shore. He tucked his feet under him as his heart skipped a beat. He hated deep water. Swiping at his toes, Harry tossed away bits of seaweed.
The scream was coming from a few feet away. Harry turned to find Malfoy floundering in the water as though someone had tied ropes around him and was pulling him beneath the surface. Harry had two choices: to leave Malfoy in the jaws of the Grindylows or to help him out, potentially drowning in the process.
Harry hated the deep. He didn't like Malfoy very much either and he could probably make do without his glasses for a couple of months until Hagrid could take him to Diagon Alley to purchase another pair. However, judging by what he'd seen of Professor Mallard, and his current absence from the scene, no other help would come for Malfoy.
In a split-second decision, Harry raced towards Malfoy. Water stung his eyes and he hoped the flies wouldn't go into his nose with how heavy he was breathing through it. He grabbed Malfoy's underarms, only to be hit square in the forehead.
"Help…help," Malfoy spluttered. "My father will-"
"I'm trying to help you!" Harry yelled, kicking at the slimy tentacles wrapped around Malfoy's body.
The two of them thrashed about in the water, seemingly winning against the Grindylows. Suddenly a slick head with two large almond eyes peered out at them. A set of sharp, tiny teeth pulled into a wicked grin and clamped down on Harry's leg. Harry screamed as he had never screamed before and the world turned murky green around him.
Mouth full of water, he watched as the light of the sun grew fainter and fainter as the Grindylow dragged them down into the water. Harry wished he had his wand with him and one of Hermione's helpful spells. This was the end.
And then, he had an idea. He grabbed his glasses, still clasped in Malfoy's hands, and stabbed the plastic arms into the creature behind him. And then he did it again and again. A small trail of red oozed through the water before him. The grip of the tentacles loosened enough so he and Malfoy could kick their way to freedom.
The taste of lake air was the freshest and best breath Harry had ever taken in his life. Malfoy bobbed beside him, coughing up his lungs.
A huge, white bird flew towards them from the shore. When it approached closer, Harry heard the clink of jewellery and smelled sunscreen. Professor Mallard loomed over them like a giant seagull. Hovering mid-air he extended two long, linen sleeves into the water, urging the boys to grab hold of them. The fabric was surprisingly strong and held the two of them as the professor flew back to shore.
Shivering, Harry welcomed the warm cotton towel Cho wrapped around his shoulders. He winced as she tied a bandage over his bleeding leg.
Harry couldn't see Malfoy over the crowd of spectators surging around him.
Professor Mallard parted the gathering and knelt down before Malfoy. He grabbed both of Malfoy's shoulders and Harry was sure he was going to give him a good scolding. Instead, two wet kisses were placed on both of his marble-white cheeks.
"Bravissimo! That is what I call swimming!" rang Professor Mallard's voice.
Malfoy, who was likely going to threaten the Professor with his father's vengeance, froze, startled by the sudden compliment. Cheers erupted around Malfoy and he was hoisted into the air by his adoring peers.
Harry slumped on the grass. Malfoy didn't deserve any of this praise. The world was utterly unfair and now, also very blurry.
"Malfoy is a right proper git," Cho said quietly as she sat by Harry's side.
"Tell me about it."
As Malfoy was practically carried back to the castle in the hands of his classmates, Harry and Cho walked quietly side by side, listening to the rustle of the trees around them.
"What were the Grindylows like?" Cho whispered.
"Had sharp teeth and tentacles," Harry said. "Pretty scary, actually."
"Oh, I'm sure you weren't scared."
Harry looked at Cho to see her blurred face turning very red like a beet. This was probably the allergies. Quickly, she tucked a strand of black slick hair behind her ear and hid her face in her towel. Cho was very odd, but at least she didn't scold him for being reckless and cite one of Hogwarts' many 'unbendable' rules as Hermione would have. It was nice to be admired. Harry's chest grew very warm and he felt his cheeks flush with heat. Maybe this water allergy was contagious.
"Well, I was only a little scared," Harry said, his voice suddenly trembling like an out-of-tune flute. "Good thing Professor Mallard came in time to pull us out."
"You're very brave, Harry," Cho said, flashing him a smile. It made Harry's insides feel all bloated and stuffy like he'd eaten a million marshmallows. It was uncomfortable but also kind of nice.
Even though Hermione and Ron were not with him, Harry was now certain that this summer was not going to be so awful.