Voldemort staggered backward as a whole new era of memories flooded Harry's brain. A small, dark-haired boy was being pushed down on the ground by a kid who reminded Harry of Dudley…. The same dark-haired, but clearly older boy was hexing a Hufflepuff while his Slytherin friends laughed…. Tom Riddle was snogging a pretty girl with velvet black hair in an empty room; the door opened and Armando Dippet walked into his office…. He was a snake, talking to Professor Quirrel about what rubbish good and evil was, that there was only power…. It was himself, Harry, scrambling to grab the Triwizard Cup to take him back to Hogwarts….
"NOOOO!" Voldemort screamed, grabbing his head and racing around, almost knocking Kelly over, who had gotten up. Voldemort's memories vanished from Harry's mind just as Voldemort, still thrashing around dangerously, ran into Harry. "STAY OUT OF MY HEAD! STAY OUT, STAY OUT, STAY OUT!"
And he disappeared. In one moment, Voldemort was gone.
More memories started flooding Harry's mind. Two brunette girls were fighting over an ugly, yellow-brown building block…. A six-year-old brunette was standing before Dumbledore, ready to burst into tears…. A different girl whom Harry recognized as Kelly was sitting quietly on the Hogwarts Express near the train driver as Hermione walked in…. Kelly and Riles were in Dumbledore's office screaming at each other, Riles yelling something out being killed, and Kelly about how he, Harry, was fine….
"ENOUGH!" Kelly yelled.
Harry flew backward and across Fraldo's room, hitting the wall behind and smacking his head painfully.
"Harry!" came a little girl's voice. "Harry, are you all right?"
"Yeah… yeah, I'm all right, Macy," Harry said, rubbing the back of his aching head. "How's Kelly?"
"Harry, mate, didn't you hear her shout?" Ron asked, rushing to Harry's aid. "With that attitude? She's fine. She'll be giving orders in no time."
Harry looked up with blurry vision. He pointed his wand at himself. "Impervis!"
His vision became clear. Kelly was slowly standing, a little wobbly, but a snappish attitude that reminded Harry of Hermione during their O.W.L.s.
"Well? Why are we still standing around? Let's--WHOOOOA!" Kelly had tried to walk but just about fallen onto Fraldo. "Sorry, Mr… er…"
"Fraldo. Just Fraldo," Fraldo answered, helping her to stand straight.
"Thank you, Fraldo," Kelly said, attempting to walk again. Harry jumped up and was there when she just about fell again. "I can walk, Harry!"
"Of course you can," Harry said. "I'm just making sure."
"I can walk!" Kelly repeated, agitated, but this time taking a few steps before having to lean on the wall for support.
"As we see," Ron said, walking over to her. "We also see you're back to normal. You didn't give anyone a 'thank you'."
"Thanks," Kelly said, attempting another walk.
Harry turned to Fraldo and Macy. "She's not always this much of a git."
"Well, I wouldn't be, aside from the fact that the sun's going to go down in two hours!" Kelly snapped from the doorway.
"WHAT!" Harry and Ron exclaimed.
"What's the sun?" Macy asked.
"Do you remember that big yellow thing in the sky that cast all that light when your uncle took you to your aunt?" Fraldo asked.
"Yeah… I think so…" Macy said as Harry, Ron, and Kelly left Fraldo's home.
"Thank you!" Harry called. "Thanks for everything, really!"
"Yeah, thanks!" Ron said over his shoulder.
"I owe you one; I get to hit Harry now!" Kelly exclaimed joyfully. "Thanks again!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked, watching her carefully to make sure she didn't start sinking as they swam.
"Were you not warned about entering my memories once you had defeated… Voldemort…?" Kelly asked as they swam, suddenly constricting.
"I was," Harry said, "but that's no reason to--"
Kelly kicked him with her foot. She blinked, then put her hands around her throat. "Gillyweed…"
Harry searched through her left pocket and found some, giving it to her. She shoved it in her mouth, and slowly her gills came back, along with webbed hands and feet.
"Thank you again," she said shaking her head to get used to it. "I'm owing you stuff way too much today. Oh, and you!" She swam over and hit Ron hard upside the head.
"What was that for?" Ron asked, rubbing his head.
"For hitting me with the stupid spell!" Kelly exclaimed. "Now that I feel better, let's go."
"Oh, that's all we wanted," Ron said cynically, "to make you feel better."
Kelly didn't hear him as they started off.
Them swam away from the merman village, with many scathing looks from Hersh and others like him, but Fraldo and Macy swam out a little to wave goodbye, which Harry, Ron, and Kelly returned with smiles.
Ron had no quarrels with eggs or seaweed on their return trip. He did look like he desperately wanted to follow some mysterious lights that had once turned up, though refrained from stern looks from both Harry and Kelly. They had seen a Plimpy once, too, its long legs in a knot, showing them that the merpeople had found this particular Plimpy first. Ron wanted to go touch it, but again didn't say anything after receiving deadly looks from his companions. They thought they saw another Kelpie, in a Kelpie's usual form, but it moved so fast they weren't sure, and they certainly didn't follow. The grindylows had made their usual snaps, but after Kelly heard of her unconscious experience with them, she started letting them have it, suddenly in a towering temper about everything. She huffed away from twelve grindylows out cold without a swish of her hair and not a look back.
The water had been extremely cold at the bottom of the lake, though with great difficulty no one complained. As the lake water suddenly became warmer, however, Ron gave a little whoop of appreciation. They might actually make it out of this adventure alive! Kelly did give him a scathing look, but winked at Harry when Ron wasn't looking. Even if she didn't say or show it, she was as happy for this encouraging sign as Harry or Ron.
But none of them could have been more happy when daylight actually showed through. It wasn't much daylight as it was little more than an hour from daybreak, but all three were extremely happy and couldn't be put out of their delight until a little before they reached the surface.
Ron had finally dared to speak. "So… where do you think Hermione is? We've only got a little over an hour… but we have to keep trying, right?"
"Of course!" Kelly said. "But where to look…?"
"Er… I'm just about as clueless, so don't look at me," Harry said, as the two turned to him.
"Well, my next guess, I suppose, would be to look in the Forest or something, but that would seem really obvious…."
"Yeah, maybe she's in the--" Ron yelped and flew backward.
"RON!" Harry yelled, not wanting any more adventures just yet.
Harry looked down and saw the Kelpie they thought they'd seen earlier dragging Ron downward with its mouth, an expression of triumph and manic determination for revenge on its fellow species glinting in its eyes.
"Kelly, go on, I'll get him!" Harry said, swimming toward a flaying Ron and Kelpie.
"You're not getting me to stay behind!" Kelly said as she swam toward Harry.
The Kelpie was much faster than they were. In moments, the Kelpie and Ron were engulfed in the darkness.
"We'll have to use magic to catch up to them," Harry stated, taking out his wand. "But what spell…?"
"I know!" Kelly said, whipping out her wand, too, and pointing it behind her. "Pravici Raltido!"
Kelly zoomed away and was out of site in a moment.
Harry pointed his wand behind him. "Pravici Raltido? WHOOOOOOOOOA!"
A surge went from his wand to the water behind and Harry flew off, faster than even the Kelpie had been going. "Pravici Raltido, Pravici Raltido, Pravici Ralitdo!" Harry sped up more and more, faster and faster until Kelly finally came into view.
"They're just up ahead!" Kelly said as Harry joined her. "Come on! Pravici Raltido!"
Sure enough, the Kelpie and Ron came into view, Ron struggling fiercely against his captor. His eyes lit up in relief when he saw Harry and Kelly.
When in line with the Kelpie, Harry, hoping this was right, moved his wand from behind him to in front of him. Amazingly, the wand stopped the surge. Harry grabbed onto the Kelpie, not sure what to do, only knowing that he was slowing the Kelpie down a little.
Kelly grabbed her wand from her robes and pointed it at the Kelpie. "Brishnal!"
A pure white bridal appeared on the back of the Kelpie. The manic gleam in its eyes disappeared, and it slowed to a stop.
Harry sighed in relief. "Well, at least that was quick."
"Agreeable," Ron said, taking the back of his shirt out of the Kelpie's mouth. "I didn't have to be a captive for long."
"Aww, I needed a camera! Ron as a damsel in distress! Kodak moment!" Kelly grinned.
"Um… whatever a camera and Prozac moment is, but I certainly am not a danny in distress!" Ron said firmly.
Harry snorted. "Nope, Ron. Definitely not a danny in distress."
Ron nodded sharply once, finalizing that he was not a danny in distress.
"C'mon, you lot," Kelly said, grinning. "Get on or use the Propelling Charm, but--Harry, Ron, are you all right?"
Harry and Ron couldn't breathe. The gillyweed was wearing off.
"Oh, here…" Kelly said as she jumped off the Kelpie and started rummaging through her pockets. "Oh no… no, I can't be… apparently I can. Guys, I'm out of gillyweed." She looked at them and did some quick thinking. "Er… the Kelpie. Get on!"
Harry and Ron did so, about to drown. Kelly hopped on and said, "Go!"
The Kelpie flew through the water just as the dolphin had, but Harry paid no attention. He couldn't get air through to his lungs, and unless they reached the top soon, he and Ron weren't going to make it….
The light wasn't very bright, it being near nightfall, but he could see it, if they could just reach it….
Kelly suddenly staggered. Her gillyweed was up, too. Grasping her throat, she looked at them.
Everything was slowly getting darker, even as they neared the light….
Harry couldn't breathe; they weren't going to make it….
He blacked out before breaching the surface.