His First Vacation
By Phire Phoenix Chan
Chapter 8
The art of swimming
*** *** ***
"Uh oh." He muttered under his breath, quickly calculating how fast he could swim back to the edge of the pool and pull himself out. Of course, he hadn't reckoned on Sirius and Lupin, the two remaining members of the Marauders, who were by no means ready to let him out of the pool before he got a taste of what it was really like. Ron looked like he was ready to join the fun, and even Hermione seemed slightly surprised he hadn't taken along his wand. He glanced at her helplessly and mouthed "Help me!" She snickered and whispered something to Ginny and Rellis. Harry decided to go open.
"What are you guys doing with your wands out?" Sirius shook his head and spoke slowly, as one would to a dim child who had problems understanding explanations that were too complicated.
"Harry, Harry, Harry." He said, wagging his finger annoyingly. This action forcefully reminded the wandless wizard with a pang of annoyance of Gilderoy Lockhart. He listened to Sirius anyway. "Four years in the wizarding realm and you still don't realize that your wand is like the air you breathe. You can't live without it. And I suppose I told everyone but you that in all-wizard facilities, such as this one, young wizards of fourth grade and over are allowed to perform spells of the third level. Harmless things. Harmless to most, that is, since in all-wizard facilities you're more or less expected to have a wand." He tutted. Harry growled at him.
"Give me a couple of minutes, ok?" He asked pleadingly. He knew his godfather and his best friends very well. If they got an idea into their heads, there was no stopping them. And seeing how they would never let him out of the water to get his wand, he needed another tactic. Oh, they wouldn't let any harm come to him. But that isn't especially reassuring, what with two marauders and the twins in the group and all. He needed to get used to the water. Why didn't he learn wandless spells last year, when he was studying for the third task?
With that thought in mind, he swum a couple of lengths and tried diving. In a situation like this, staying underwater for a bit at a time would actually be a good idea. He still didn't know what the exact function of the pool was, so it only seemed like a good idea. For now, let's humour him, shall we? The problem with even diving is, as he had never really learnt how to swim and the only reason he can even swim lengths is because of his hour or so underwater last year, so he couldn't possibly dive. Yes, he spent an hour underwater, that's what I said, but then he had Gillyweed, now he had lungs. Useful, aren't they?
He would come up spluttering and as soon as he regained his breath, go down under again. Survival of the fittest. His friends and family were conversing in low undertones between them, shooting him a glance now and then. Harry should've paid more attention to them, or he would've noticed the smirks. He might've been tempted to surrender immediately, which probably would've been a good plan. But back on topic. After he had mastered holding his breath for five seconds, yes, holding his breath for five seconds, he decided he could brave it. He didn't think he could stand watching Fred and George smirking at him one more time. He noticed that, at least, if nothing else.
"So what's the deal with the wizard's pool?" He asked, swimming over to the water-treading. Hermione looked like she was an excellent swimmer, or at least that's the impression she gave from the way she effortlessly floated around while still managing to be faster than Harry at his peak. He should try and pull her in as an ally. Rellis glanced at Hermione and smiled. Ginny grinned at both of them, and that last thread of hope was cut off. There would be no help coming from those three.
"We'll let you figure out for yourself." Fred told him nonchalantly. He would've looked comical in his swimming trunks, as Harry was used to seeing his friends in pullovers and robes, but there was something about that shark-like grin on his face that squashed the desire to laugh. Hermione opened her mouth to say something, only to close it again as Rellis nudged her in the side. She had probably been about to tell him about the pool's tricks. No doubt she'd read it in one book or another.
Sirius pretended to look at his watch. George looked at it, too - Sirius' wrist, that is, not his watch. He might've wanted to glance at the real thing if it had been there. At any rate, both of them started the countdown. "Five, four, three, two..." While they said this, Hermione swam a while away from the cluster and came closer to Harry. He was smiling at her foolishly and gratefully, hoping for a hint.
"I'd start swimming if I were you. The pool's effects are most vigorous and noticeable if you're in close range?" Harry turned and paddled off without even saying thank you, his mind swimming with possibilities. Pardon the pun. But, what effects? What did she mean, proximity? Why would range play a matter in this. And what is going to happen to him? He glanced back. George and Sirius had stopped counting and the Rellis gave them the thumbs up. Sirius blushed, but only George noticed as next moment, both of them dove. Harry groaned. Underwater attacks. Maybe diving wasn't such a good idea after all.
A wave curled up in a ridiculously exaggerated curve, like the waves that the extreme surfers would take advantage of. Harry, too busy watching the water surface and looking out for his godfather and George, failed to notice the fact that it was headed right for him. What he didn't know was that George, who was just as good as Hermione and perhaps even better, was already in front of him, watching the attack. Sirius emerged from the water and waved. He winked at George approvingly. That was when Harry turned around to face front again, only to be smothered by the wave. He sank to the bottom of the two meter deep pool. Caught by surprise, it was a while before he stopped trying to breathe through his mouth. When he remembered, he kicked upwards as hard as he could.
Just as he thought that his breath would die out and he would fail to withstand the first ordeal, his head broke the surface of the water. Sirius and George were nowhere to be seen, and neither were any of the other people. The advantages of having a wand included being able to cast invisibility spells quite effectively without the hindrance of an Invisibility Cloak. Harry treaded the water, staying in one place and thinking hard. You needed to be in close proximity for the pool to take full effect. Sirius had winked at someone right before the wave hit. The others all had their wands with them. George didn't come up at the same time that Sirius did.
My, my, he is a slow thinker, isn't he?
He had almost come to his fateful conclusion when the water beneath him just - well, truth be told, there's not really a good word for it. Dropped away, maybe. The closest thing to it would be the parting of the Red Sea at Moses' command, but if that had happened, Harry's rear end would've been sore for weeks to come. Part of the water fell away, leaving only about a meter left and successfully making Harry splash into the remaining bit. The excess swirled up and formed a dome around him, so that in a sense, he was trapped in a water prison. Slightly panicked and fearing that this was an attack on behalf of the Dark Lord, Harry tried to swim his way out of the strange contraption. But wherever he moved, the dome moved with him. In his frustration, he didn't notice that the waterlevel was slowly rising, and the ceiling of the dome as well.
It was only when he had risen completely out of the water in a translucent dome that he noticed what was happening. Wonderfully done, Harry, he told himself. Just great. Placing yourself in a position of vulnerability for all the world to take advantage of. It didn't occur to him that this was part of his friends' plan. Surprisingly enough, there was enough air for him to breath by, although he noticed that it was quickly becoming stale. What a way to go. He pounded his fists on the wall of the dome, expecting it to roll away like it did when he tried to swim away. Instead, the bubble burst.
There was a moment of silence as he stayed in mid-air, not falling but not going anywhere else, either. It was a lot like those cartoons Dudley watched, where just before the Coyote fell off a cliff, he would be cushioned on air. One glance downward, however, told him what was happening. Rellis had her wand out, and was pointing it at him. She was the only one he could see though.
Rellis, taking advantage of his moment of inattention of looking for the others, withdrew her wand abruptly and cast an invisibility spell on herself again. She could have performed Wingardium Leviosa while being shielded, but it was so fun luring Harry into a sense of security. Besides, the boy's either been treated like a fragile piece of glass or a dog that rolled around in something smelly. It was time he experienced something normal, like April Fools pranks played in July
Harry fell. Again. And instead of falling one measly meter, he fell five. Did I mention the pool's ceiling was extremely high? Hermione quickly cast a spell on the water to make it deeper, so that Harry wouldn't hurt himself while falling down. He woudln't hurt himself on impact with the water. It was just like a cannonball dive. Ron, Sirius and Ginny each stood on a triangulated point, so that the shape they formed would be around Harry. Remus, Fred and George dove underwater, just in case something happened to Harry. Security measures were necessary. On the side, Hermione and Rellis were holding hands and muttering non-stop under their breaths.
The water looked treacherous, roaring like the sea about to swallow Harry up. Those were his thoughts as he closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. And as sure as there were 17 Sickles to a Galleon, it came. He sank into the water, this time at least remembering to hold his breath. The one thing he wished to do was to cast a spell on his friends. Then it came to him - Of course!!! The water responds to magic, whereas it normally wouldn't, because water is an element! So it obeys spells and commands cast by wizards, and in this case, his friends and family. How could have been so STUPID?
Well, I'm glad he agrees with me on that count.
Laughter rang through the hall. Eight different voices, Eight different laughs. Eight bodiless laughs, more importantly. Harry kicked up to the surface again, but his hand touched something on his way up. Out of instinct, he snatched it. It was a cluster of hair, and an anguish-filled 'ouch' followe by gargling and spluttering was to be heard by the seven people present. Five of them materialised, and Harry glared at Sirius, Remus, Hermione, Rellis and Ginny. He hooked an arm around the offending person's neck and said, as sinister as he could, "stop, or your friend gets it." Sirius laughed.
"You know, Harry, you're not that great of an actor." Harry scowled, but couldn't quite pull it off and it turned into a grin instead. The glories of vacation. He was about to reply when he felt a wet pressure on his shoulders and he was pushed underwater again. A pair of hands pried at his arms and pried the body from him. When he came up again, panting and trying to fill his lungs with air, three more heads had joined the crowd: Ron, Fred and George. They were smirking at him goodnaturedly
"So which one of you did I snatch?" He asked curiously. "I know it was one of the twins, but I couldn't tell which one." George nodded at him, a big smile still plastered on his face.
"Me." He rubbed his scalp dramatically. "You must've pulled off a handful there."
"Teach you for playing a trick on me"
"Teach you for leaving your wand"
"Teach you for..."
And so they went on, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. You get the idea. Not to mention quite a few more spells were pulled on Harry, so that by the time they climbed into Sirius' car, ready to go home, Harry was clutching his head, with his eyes closed and moaning like there was no tomorrow. Remus, however, just laughed. You couldn't trick a man who's sick that often very easily, and he knew that Harry was just faking.
But that didn't stop Harry from doing it anyway. It was fun.
"That was some move I pulled on Harry." Rellis boasted on their way back on Sirius' magically expanded car, winking at Harry. Hermione agreed fervently.
"Which one did you pull?"
"The water dome. I got the inspiration from a muggle comic I was reading the other day." Hermione looked at her, a bit surprised.
"You read muggle comics?"
"Yup"
"Which ones have you read?"
"Eh, I think they were called Mang-Ga or Manga or something along those lines. They had freakish hair and huge eyes."
"Get out, I love those!"
"Ginny! Watch your language!" Ron protested in an imitation of Percy, earning a roundful of laughter from the group.
"Makes you feel left out, doesn't it?" Fred muttered to Harry as the girls continued their discussion of Muggle comics. Harry nodded, and watched with fascination as Fred pulled a few pouches out of his pocket and handed one each to Harry and Ron. George pulled one out of his pocket, too. He glanced at the girls and the two adults before motioning for the other three to lean in closer. "Now this is what we're going to do." Fred whispered to Harry. He pointed to the pouches. "Those are magical powder we've been developing, a lot like the Hair stuff which we don't have a name for yet. Now these are in the testing stages, so the girls can be our guinea pigs."
"Guinea pigs? Why guinea pigs?" Ron asked puzzledly. Fred sighed.
"It's a muggle thing, bro. You'd do well to learn some of it, it'd be great as a secret language." Harry was about to point out that it was, in fact, not so different, but thought better of it. He was more interested in what the new powder did, or at any rate was supposed to do, than having an argument about Muggle Speech and Wizard Speech.
"But anyway, this new powder, it writes nasty words across your cheeks. Mostly your worst nightmares. For example, if I sprayed this stuff on Ron, it would probably write "I love Malfoy" or something." Ron winced. "So we'll throw a bit of it on each of the girls, and keep quiet about it. See what it'll write and how long it'll take them to notice." Harry shook his head.
"That shouldn't take too long, as they're all looking at each other. But it'd be real fun."
"There are three girls and four pouches though." Ron pointed out. George rolled his eyes.
"I wouldn't let a perfectly good opportunity go to waste, oh brother of mine. I'll be strewing this bag of goods on the adults."
Smirks. Oh god, the smirks. They were all over the place.
***
All of them slept in the next day, hoping that by delaying their meeting a little longer, they would gradually forget who cast which spell on whom. Revenge was sweet, but it was painful, too. Especially at the receiving end. For in the after math of the powder, curses had started flying every which where, not even stopping when they had to get off the car. A simple Finite Incantatem cured their magical maladies, but the memory stays. And memories could be dangerous.
*** *** ***
How'd you like it? I'm a bit out of practice
By Phire Phoenix Chan
Chapter 8
The art of swimming
*** *** ***
"Uh oh." He muttered under his breath, quickly calculating how fast he could swim back to the edge of the pool and pull himself out. Of course, he hadn't reckoned on Sirius and Lupin, the two remaining members of the Marauders, who were by no means ready to let him out of the pool before he got a taste of what it was really like. Ron looked like he was ready to join the fun, and even Hermione seemed slightly surprised he hadn't taken along his wand. He glanced at her helplessly and mouthed "Help me!" She snickered and whispered something to Ginny and Rellis. Harry decided to go open.
"What are you guys doing with your wands out?" Sirius shook his head and spoke slowly, as one would to a dim child who had problems understanding explanations that were too complicated.
"Harry, Harry, Harry." He said, wagging his finger annoyingly. This action forcefully reminded the wandless wizard with a pang of annoyance of Gilderoy Lockhart. He listened to Sirius anyway. "Four years in the wizarding realm and you still don't realize that your wand is like the air you breathe. You can't live without it. And I suppose I told everyone but you that in all-wizard facilities, such as this one, young wizards of fourth grade and over are allowed to perform spells of the third level. Harmless things. Harmless to most, that is, since in all-wizard facilities you're more or less expected to have a wand." He tutted. Harry growled at him.
"Give me a couple of minutes, ok?" He asked pleadingly. He knew his godfather and his best friends very well. If they got an idea into their heads, there was no stopping them. And seeing how they would never let him out of the water to get his wand, he needed another tactic. Oh, they wouldn't let any harm come to him. But that isn't especially reassuring, what with two marauders and the twins in the group and all. He needed to get used to the water. Why didn't he learn wandless spells last year, when he was studying for the third task?
With that thought in mind, he swum a couple of lengths and tried diving. In a situation like this, staying underwater for a bit at a time would actually be a good idea. He still didn't know what the exact function of the pool was, so it only seemed like a good idea. For now, let's humour him, shall we? The problem with even diving is, as he had never really learnt how to swim and the only reason he can even swim lengths is because of his hour or so underwater last year, so he couldn't possibly dive. Yes, he spent an hour underwater, that's what I said, but then he had Gillyweed, now he had lungs. Useful, aren't they?
He would come up spluttering and as soon as he regained his breath, go down under again. Survival of the fittest. His friends and family were conversing in low undertones between them, shooting him a glance now and then. Harry should've paid more attention to them, or he would've noticed the smirks. He might've been tempted to surrender immediately, which probably would've been a good plan. But back on topic. After he had mastered holding his breath for five seconds, yes, holding his breath for five seconds, he decided he could brave it. He didn't think he could stand watching Fred and George smirking at him one more time. He noticed that, at least, if nothing else.
"So what's the deal with the wizard's pool?" He asked, swimming over to the water-treading. Hermione looked like she was an excellent swimmer, or at least that's the impression she gave from the way she effortlessly floated around while still managing to be faster than Harry at his peak. He should try and pull her in as an ally. Rellis glanced at Hermione and smiled. Ginny grinned at both of them, and that last thread of hope was cut off. There would be no help coming from those three.
"We'll let you figure out for yourself." Fred told him nonchalantly. He would've looked comical in his swimming trunks, as Harry was used to seeing his friends in pullovers and robes, but there was something about that shark-like grin on his face that squashed the desire to laugh. Hermione opened her mouth to say something, only to close it again as Rellis nudged her in the side. She had probably been about to tell him about the pool's tricks. No doubt she'd read it in one book or another.
Sirius pretended to look at his watch. George looked at it, too - Sirius' wrist, that is, not his watch. He might've wanted to glance at the real thing if it had been there. At any rate, both of them started the countdown. "Five, four, three, two..." While they said this, Hermione swam a while away from the cluster and came closer to Harry. He was smiling at her foolishly and gratefully, hoping for a hint.
"I'd start swimming if I were you. The pool's effects are most vigorous and noticeable if you're in close range?" Harry turned and paddled off without even saying thank you, his mind swimming with possibilities. Pardon the pun. But, what effects? What did she mean, proximity? Why would range play a matter in this. And what is going to happen to him? He glanced back. George and Sirius had stopped counting and the Rellis gave them the thumbs up. Sirius blushed, but only George noticed as next moment, both of them dove. Harry groaned. Underwater attacks. Maybe diving wasn't such a good idea after all.
A wave curled up in a ridiculously exaggerated curve, like the waves that the extreme surfers would take advantage of. Harry, too busy watching the water surface and looking out for his godfather and George, failed to notice the fact that it was headed right for him. What he didn't know was that George, who was just as good as Hermione and perhaps even better, was already in front of him, watching the attack. Sirius emerged from the water and waved. He winked at George approvingly. That was when Harry turned around to face front again, only to be smothered by the wave. He sank to the bottom of the two meter deep pool. Caught by surprise, it was a while before he stopped trying to breathe through his mouth. When he remembered, he kicked upwards as hard as he could.
Just as he thought that his breath would die out and he would fail to withstand the first ordeal, his head broke the surface of the water. Sirius and George were nowhere to be seen, and neither were any of the other people. The advantages of having a wand included being able to cast invisibility spells quite effectively without the hindrance of an Invisibility Cloak. Harry treaded the water, staying in one place and thinking hard. You needed to be in close proximity for the pool to take full effect. Sirius had winked at someone right before the wave hit. The others all had their wands with them. George didn't come up at the same time that Sirius did.
My, my, he is a slow thinker, isn't he?
He had almost come to his fateful conclusion when the water beneath him just - well, truth be told, there's not really a good word for it. Dropped away, maybe. The closest thing to it would be the parting of the Red Sea at Moses' command, but if that had happened, Harry's rear end would've been sore for weeks to come. Part of the water fell away, leaving only about a meter left and successfully making Harry splash into the remaining bit. The excess swirled up and formed a dome around him, so that in a sense, he was trapped in a water prison. Slightly panicked and fearing that this was an attack on behalf of the Dark Lord, Harry tried to swim his way out of the strange contraption. But wherever he moved, the dome moved with him. In his frustration, he didn't notice that the waterlevel was slowly rising, and the ceiling of the dome as well.
It was only when he had risen completely out of the water in a translucent dome that he noticed what was happening. Wonderfully done, Harry, he told himself. Just great. Placing yourself in a position of vulnerability for all the world to take advantage of. It didn't occur to him that this was part of his friends' plan. Surprisingly enough, there was enough air for him to breath by, although he noticed that it was quickly becoming stale. What a way to go. He pounded his fists on the wall of the dome, expecting it to roll away like it did when he tried to swim away. Instead, the bubble burst.
There was a moment of silence as he stayed in mid-air, not falling but not going anywhere else, either. It was a lot like those cartoons Dudley watched, where just before the Coyote fell off a cliff, he would be cushioned on air. One glance downward, however, told him what was happening. Rellis had her wand out, and was pointing it at him. She was the only one he could see though.
Rellis, taking advantage of his moment of inattention of looking for the others, withdrew her wand abruptly and cast an invisibility spell on herself again. She could have performed Wingardium Leviosa while being shielded, but it was so fun luring Harry into a sense of security. Besides, the boy's either been treated like a fragile piece of glass or a dog that rolled around in something smelly. It was time he experienced something normal, like April Fools pranks played in July
Harry fell. Again. And instead of falling one measly meter, he fell five. Did I mention the pool's ceiling was extremely high? Hermione quickly cast a spell on the water to make it deeper, so that Harry wouldn't hurt himself while falling down. He woudln't hurt himself on impact with the water. It was just like a cannonball dive. Ron, Sirius and Ginny each stood on a triangulated point, so that the shape they formed would be around Harry. Remus, Fred and George dove underwater, just in case something happened to Harry. Security measures were necessary. On the side, Hermione and Rellis were holding hands and muttering non-stop under their breaths.
The water looked treacherous, roaring like the sea about to swallow Harry up. Those were his thoughts as he closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. And as sure as there were 17 Sickles to a Galleon, it came. He sank into the water, this time at least remembering to hold his breath. The one thing he wished to do was to cast a spell on his friends. Then it came to him - Of course!!! The water responds to magic, whereas it normally wouldn't, because water is an element! So it obeys spells and commands cast by wizards, and in this case, his friends and family. How could have been so STUPID?
Well, I'm glad he agrees with me on that count.
Laughter rang through the hall. Eight different voices, Eight different laughs. Eight bodiless laughs, more importantly. Harry kicked up to the surface again, but his hand touched something on his way up. Out of instinct, he snatched it. It was a cluster of hair, and an anguish-filled 'ouch' followe by gargling and spluttering was to be heard by the seven people present. Five of them materialised, and Harry glared at Sirius, Remus, Hermione, Rellis and Ginny. He hooked an arm around the offending person's neck and said, as sinister as he could, "stop, or your friend gets it." Sirius laughed.
"You know, Harry, you're not that great of an actor." Harry scowled, but couldn't quite pull it off and it turned into a grin instead. The glories of vacation. He was about to reply when he felt a wet pressure on his shoulders and he was pushed underwater again. A pair of hands pried at his arms and pried the body from him. When he came up again, panting and trying to fill his lungs with air, three more heads had joined the crowd: Ron, Fred and George. They were smirking at him goodnaturedly
"So which one of you did I snatch?" He asked curiously. "I know it was one of the twins, but I couldn't tell which one." George nodded at him, a big smile still plastered on his face.
"Me." He rubbed his scalp dramatically. "You must've pulled off a handful there."
"Teach you for playing a trick on me"
"Teach you for leaving your wand"
"Teach you for..."
And so they went on, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. You get the idea. Not to mention quite a few more spells were pulled on Harry, so that by the time they climbed into Sirius' car, ready to go home, Harry was clutching his head, with his eyes closed and moaning like there was no tomorrow. Remus, however, just laughed. You couldn't trick a man who's sick that often very easily, and he knew that Harry was just faking.
But that didn't stop Harry from doing it anyway. It was fun.
"That was some move I pulled on Harry." Rellis boasted on their way back on Sirius' magically expanded car, winking at Harry. Hermione agreed fervently.
"Which one did you pull?"
"The water dome. I got the inspiration from a muggle comic I was reading the other day." Hermione looked at her, a bit surprised.
"You read muggle comics?"
"Yup"
"Which ones have you read?"
"Eh, I think they were called Mang-Ga or Manga or something along those lines. They had freakish hair and huge eyes."
"Get out, I love those!"
"Ginny! Watch your language!" Ron protested in an imitation of Percy, earning a roundful of laughter from the group.
"Makes you feel left out, doesn't it?" Fred muttered to Harry as the girls continued their discussion of Muggle comics. Harry nodded, and watched with fascination as Fred pulled a few pouches out of his pocket and handed one each to Harry and Ron. George pulled one out of his pocket, too. He glanced at the girls and the two adults before motioning for the other three to lean in closer. "Now this is what we're going to do." Fred whispered to Harry. He pointed to the pouches. "Those are magical powder we've been developing, a lot like the Hair stuff which we don't have a name for yet. Now these are in the testing stages, so the girls can be our guinea pigs."
"Guinea pigs? Why guinea pigs?" Ron asked puzzledly. Fred sighed.
"It's a muggle thing, bro. You'd do well to learn some of it, it'd be great as a secret language." Harry was about to point out that it was, in fact, not so different, but thought better of it. He was more interested in what the new powder did, or at any rate was supposed to do, than having an argument about Muggle Speech and Wizard Speech.
"But anyway, this new powder, it writes nasty words across your cheeks. Mostly your worst nightmares. For example, if I sprayed this stuff on Ron, it would probably write "I love Malfoy" or something." Ron winced. "So we'll throw a bit of it on each of the girls, and keep quiet about it. See what it'll write and how long it'll take them to notice." Harry shook his head.
"That shouldn't take too long, as they're all looking at each other. But it'd be real fun."
"There are three girls and four pouches though." Ron pointed out. George rolled his eyes.
"I wouldn't let a perfectly good opportunity go to waste, oh brother of mine. I'll be strewing this bag of goods on the adults."
Smirks. Oh god, the smirks. They were all over the place.
***
All of them slept in the next day, hoping that by delaying their meeting a little longer, they would gradually forget who cast which spell on whom. Revenge was sweet, but it was painful, too. Especially at the receiving end. For in the after math of the powder, curses had started flying every which where, not even stopping when they had to get off the car. A simple Finite Incantatem cured their magical maladies, but the memory stays. And memories could be dangerous.
*** *** ***
How'd you like it? I'm a bit out of practice