Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything.
Chapter 10 - Ice and Fire
A cannon shot rang out, cutting through the freezing air that chilled Harry to the bone. Not waiting to see what the others did, he imitated Fleur in casting a Bubble-head Charm, grit his teeth and dived into the inky water.
As soon as he came into contact with it, he let out a gasp and would've likely swallowed a mouthful of water were it not for the bubble around his head. He knew he only had around forty minutes, perhaps a little more if he didn't exert himself.
His glasses threatened to come off, and he quickly stuck them on behind each ear with a temporary Sticking Charm.
The frigid temperature of the lake seemed to claw at his torso through the thin Champion jersey, squeezing his lungs and making it difficult to take a breath. The wand holster on his leg dug into his skin.
Harry caught Fleur's eyes as she also adjusted to the icy water. Once they'd realised Gabrielle was Fleur's hostage, the rules of the tournament were meaningless to them.
She gave him a sharp nod, and he started swimming towards the middle of the lake, shorts lightly flapping against his legs. It made little sense to keep the hostages anywhere else, seeing as the middle would be the deepest point and was near enough to the Merpeople.
He checked back periodically, flashes of silver catching his eye and letting him know she was still following.
Noises from beneath drew their attention more than once. Tall, vine-like plants swayed lazily in the depths, rising out of the lake bottom like tentacles. At least twice, Harry thought he saw Merpeople watching them through the black haze. They were as still as statues, and when he looked away, they were gone, lost to the dark tint of the water.
A crack from behind Harry caught his attention, and he spun around to see Fleur rapidly casting stunning spells at a few Grindylows that had risen from the dark recesses of the lake. Their mottled green blended in well with the tall tendrils, but they were no match for a furious Fleur.
Before he was even able to lend her a hand, she'd disposed of the creatures. The glint in Fleur's eyes told him all he needed to know, and she swam past him. Harry did his best to keep up, her urgency not surprising to him as they'd been swimming for at least twenty minutes by now. He did his best to not focus on how well her swimsuit fit her figure. The cold gnawing away at him flushed those thoughts as quickly as they'd come.
More Merpeople were surrounding them now, curiously watching as they passed. A large, crudely-formed tower of dark rock came into view. It stood tall, curling up from the sand like the claw of a dragon. Three figures floated lifelessly in front of it, only restrained by a length of rope around their torsos. One length of rope dangled freely in the slight current.
Fleur was off like a shot towards the small figure with a cloud of identical silver hair around their head. Having no clue who his hostage was, he neared. Only when he saw a similarly diminutive figure did it dawn on him. Her red hair stood out starkly against the inky water. Ginny.
Harry was twice as angry now. After her first year, she'd somehow ended up at the bottom of a freezing lake as a hostage. For him, too, he could only guess. He was no clue how she'd got here, but that was beside the point.
The second thought that entered his mind was that Mrs. Weasley would have his head. Somehow, his relations with the Weasleys had just continued to worsen.
He forced himself to calm down as he felt the air within the bubble thinning.
Drawing closer, Harry fished his wand out and prepared to free her. A noise from Fleur startled him, and he looked toward her. She pointed to the surface some distance away, a disturbance on the surface sending faint ripples across the top of the water. It was too murky to make out what was happening, but it looked like a shape had been hauled out of the lake, into some kind of boat or raft on the surface
Her eyes met his again, and she seemed to weigh her options. Having cut her sister free, Fleur tugged her up underneath an arm, and with another nod, she began her ascent. Harry couldn't blame her, he had a far better chance of taking care of himself compared to her sister. He'd also promised to make sure Gabrielle was rescued safely.
It hit him that the other hostage wouldn't have anyone coming for them if that was a Champion being fished out of the water. Peering around Ginny, he saw a mass of curly brown hair.
His heart stopped for a brief moment as a closer glance confirmed to be Hermione. He recalled seeing her at the Ball with Krum. Oh.
Should he risk his tournament standing further just to get her out? It didn't even seem like she wanted to be his friend anymore. But Harry couldn't just leave her. He severed the rope beneath her with a mumbled "Diffindo."
A sharp pain exploded in the back of his thigh as something struck him. In a panic, his left arm flailed around behind him, searching for the source. Harry grit his teeth again, forcing himself to breathe through his nose to conserve the remaining air. His fingers closed around something cylindrical, and cold to the touch. A gasp escaped him as he jostled it.
He squeezed his eyes shut to avoid crying out and then yanked. Bringing the foreign object around him, he now saw that he held some sort of spear. He looked up and saw a large Merman rapidly swimming towards him.
Harry did the only thing he could think of in the moment.
"Stupefy!"
It felt powerful, and sure enough, rocketed toward the Merman. There was no avoiding it. Striking him in the chest, the Merman immediately went limp mere metres away from him.
Shrill screams pierced his eardrums, and he levelled his wand at other Merpeople who neared, furious expressions on their faces.
He let loose a Blasting Curse, aiming to scare them off. It worked better than he'd expected, and he nearly deafened himself when the water pulsed violently outward from the tip of his wand. That was stronger than I expected.
They slowly backed away, eventually fading into the darkness.
He hefted the spear in his left hand and steered it towards the rope around Ginny. As much as the water resisted the movement, Harry managed to cut her free, being sure to avoid nicking her. The rope fell away towards the murky lake bottom, which was barely visible.
Frozen limbs protested as he hefted Ginny's smaller frame to lie over his shoulder, then reached out to grab the rope still around Hermione's waist.
His leg throbbed as he did his best to kick his way to the surface. The air he breathed seemed impossibly thin, and Harry was sure his vision was darkening around the edges. It was like looking down a shrinking tunnel.
Harry breathed in, and this time received a stream of water up his nose. It was then that he realised the bubble around his head had dissipated. Vague shapes danced through the gloom before him, and Harry wasn't sure if they were real or if he was hallucinating. He held his breath as best he could, the brightness above him his only point of reference. He had no clue how many minutes had passed by now.
Just as he thought he'd reached his limits, the surface of the water broke. Harry felt movement beside him, and let go of the rope, gasping. He didn't think he possessed the strength to turn his head whilst he spluttered, trying to cough up the water that had gone down the wrong way.
Ginny stiffened against him, and he did his best to heft her forward and let her slide off him into the water, rather than dropping her head-first back into the water.
Loud exclamations came from somewhere near him, but he didn't understand what they meant. Hands gripped him on either side and pulled him forward. At some point, his feet scraped against the rocky ground, and he struggled to find footing on the loose pebbles.
The hands beneath Harry pulled him up the bank, and he winced as his knees scraped against it. Warmth pooled on the back of his thigh. Shouts came from around him, but he was not conscious enough to discern the words.
Once Harry was out of the frigid water, the wind immediately whipped at him relentlessly. A small hand held his face, and he felt someone lightly kiss his cheek. Too tired to jerk away as his instincts told him to, he let the darkness encroach and found comfort in sinking into the black abyss.
Fleur had a hard time following Harry through the gloom. At one point, she'd used Homenum Revelio to keep track of him, only for the spell to not register any discernible human presence. That had confused her terribly. She opted to mention it to him later.
Finally reaching the hostages, relief had seeped through her at seeing Gabrielle. Swiftly swimming over, Fleur grasped the rope around her waist and severed it with a quiet spell.
A boat above seemed to be hauling one of the champions out. She looked back at Harry, pointing it out. Once he'd noticed, she realised she'd have to make a decision. Fleur was unsure if she should leave him in her desperation to get her sister out, or stay with him to make sure he would be okay.
He turned back to her, and she thought she could see the understanding in his eyes. Making her choice, she grabbed Gabrielle and made her way up through the water as fast as she could. Her usual inner heat did nothing for her here, and by the time she finally got out of the lake she was shivering.
Fleur and her sister were promptly shepherded into the medical tent by the matron, being given towels and Pepper-Up Potions on the way there. There were however no other Champions inside once she entered. She'd at least expected whoever was pulled out to be here. Had whoever had grabbed their hostage first already been released?
Her parents rushed through the tent flap right as they sat down. Immediately, her earlier frustration returned.
"Why did you let them take her down there?" she questioned, glaring at her father, "She was tied to the bottom of the lake!"
To his credit, he looked both incredibly relieved and contrite.
"We didn't know that is what they meant," he replied, "they asked if she could help with the task."
His eyes narrowing, he continued.
"I will be having words with that man."
She assumed he meant the Hogwarts Headmaster or one of the Ministry officials. And she didn't pity them at all. They would certainly regret their actions once her father got a hold of them. She didn't think anyone would ever willingly want to find themselves on the wrong side of that man.
Satisfied for the moment and glad that it hadn't resulted in any harm to her sister, Fleur let the topic drop.
"Have any other Champions come out yet?" she asked eagerly.
Casting a worried glance in the direction of the lake, her mother responded this time.
"Non, they took one on a stretcher up to the castle before you came out," she mentioned, "Where is this boy you have told us so much about?"
Her little sister giggled at that, apparently now being warm enough to engage in the conversation. Fleur followed her mother's gaze, attempting to see out of the tent. She did feel a little guilty over not waiting on him.
"I don't know," she admitted, giving her sister a warning glance, "He should be coming out soon. He wasn't far behind me at all."
A commotion outside got their attention. Fleur immediately sprung up and dodged the matron, who attempted to protest her movement. Not waiting to see if her parents were behind her, she threw the tent flap off her as she barrelled into it and looked down towards the lake.
Harry was on his knees, still semi-submerged in the water looking paler than she'd ever seen him. His former friend stood next to him, holding him up with a hand under his arm and waving frantically toward the gathering crowd. A red-haired girl on his other side gently took his face and kissed him on the cheek, daringly close to his mouth.
Whilst she usually might have seen it as a sweet gesture, Fleur instantly saw red. The heat within her that had been so distant whilst in the lake came roaring back. No one was helping him, and this silly girl was trying to kiss him while he was barely conscious.
She knew how he could be when it came to physical touch, with Fleur somehow being the exception. The thought heightened her defensive instinct for him.
As quick as her legs would carry her, she flew down the bank. Glaring daggers at the two girls, they quickly stepped back and released him, right as he slumped forward.
Swearing loudly, Fleur caught him before he fell face-first into the gravel and picked him up with relative ease. If the circumstances were any different, she would've laughed at the fact that she had him in a bridal carry.
He was also, however, disturbingly light for his size. The thought had never even entered her mind before.
She felt a warm slickness on her left hand as she hurried back up toward the medical tent. Her parents and sister stood at the opening, all wearing teasing smirks that faded as they saw just how distressed she was.
The matron pushed her way through and beckoned Fleur back into the tent, directing her to deposit him on the crisp white sheets of the nearest cot.
Carefully doing her best to lay him down smoothly, she lowered him onto the cot and stepped back. The blood drained from her face as she saw the linen beneath him immediately stain a rich red.
Through her shock, she was moved aside as the matron began waving her wand wildly around his prone form.
Her father's hand on her shoulder startled her, but Fleur did her best to calm down. It seemed an impossible task with the heat still raging through her. She was angry at herself, Harry's hostage, whatever her name was, and frustrated that Harry would somehow get himself into such a situation.
The rational part of her brain took over and reminded her that it was in no way his fault. Fleur lifted her arms and saw the crimson liquid that coated her forearms, tears now threatening to leak out at the sight.
In her near-catatonic state, she was led over to a basin where her father cleaned her forearms with his wand, then gently took them and rubbed each one further with water.
Fleur turned and hugged her father, completely drained. She saw the worried expressions on the faces of her mother and sister, and it did little to calm the chaos within her mind.
She gradually recovered from her shock as her father rubbed her back. Disengaging herself from him, she saw the tent flap swing inwards once again as a red-haired boy came storming through.
"Where's that wanker!?" he shouted, the same red-haired girl from earlier nervously peaking in behind him.
It must've been Harry's former friend, the one that had been jealous about the tournament, she realised.
"You will not go near him," Fleur hissed, narrowing her eyes, "He has had enough from you."
"He's the reason my sister was in that bloody lake!" he exclaimed, "She volunteered to be his hostage!"
His ignorance was beginning to get to her in a big way.
"You contradict yourself. Your sister made the choice herself, as you say," she responded, "so 'Arry did not have a part in it."
In her rage, much more of her accent had begun to slip through than normal. Trying to reign it in, Fleur snapped to his sister. She levelled her best glare at the girl.
"Whilst it may be admirable to volunteer as a hostage, that does not give you the right to kiss him, especially not when he is unresponsive. You should be helping him."
Fleur didn't wait for a response. Instead, she spun back around and went to stand by Harry's cot.
The matron had finished with him for now, yelling at the bystanders that were trailing in to get out, her parents helping. Fleur found she quite admired the woman. She was also relieved to see the red-haired boy amongst those directed out.
Harry's peaceful countenance reassured her, but he was unnaturally still. Unfortunately, she suspected there were a few hurdles to overcome before she would see that expression more often. Her guilt swelled as she recalled the last few days. She'd been frantically studying in preparation for her exams after the third task, just a few months away. Fleur hadn't seen him for nearly a week and regretted it deeply.
She was glad that the nurse had thought to clean and dry him as well. She didn't think she could manage the spells at the moment.
Combing her fingers through his silky hair, she looked up to see the girl approach cautiously, a towel over her shoulders. Fleur saw the worry in her eyes and chose to give her a chance.
"Is he okay?" she whispered, gazing down at Harry.
"I don't know," Fleur replied, "the matron has not been back yet."
Fidgeting with the towel around her shoulders, she spoke again, a little louder this time.
"I'm Ginny, by the way," she mentioned, "I'm sorry that I volunteered, I thought it was something I could do for him."
Her sincerity caused Fleur to bite back a scathing reply. She would do her best for Harry's sake.
"I'm Fleur," she replied. "Do you know Harry well?"
"I'd like to think so," Ginny said, "He is, or was, Ron's best friend. We've had him at our place a few times during the holidays and took him to the Quidditch World Cup with us."
Ginny stalled, eyeing Fleur dubiously.
"He also saved me in my first year," she added, wringing her hands.
"Saved you? How?" Fleur asked, genuinely confused. Harry hadn't mentioned anything like that to her.
"He hasn't told you?" Ginny asked, eyes widening, "Harry saved me from a twenty-metre basilisk under the school. He killed it with a sword."
Her hand stilled in Harry's hair.
"Hard to believe, isn't it?" she added, seeing Fleur's shell-shocked expression.
"A basilisk?" Fleur questioned weakly, still trying to process the thought, "How does a basilisk get into Hogwarts?"
"It's not entirely my story to tell. If he hasn't told you that, I won't even start on his other years at the school," she said, giving her a grim smile. "You'd better ask Harry yourself."
Contemplating what she'd just learnt, she scrutinised the younger girl.
"You care for him, don't you?" Fleur asked, quite bluntly.
To her credit, Ginny didn't seem to be caught off-guard by the question. Averting her gaze, she responded.
"Yes. He's had enough to deal with."
Fleur decided to press further.
"Like what?" she asked, "Outside of school?"
This time, Ginny did look like she was grappling with herself to answer.
"I don't know how much he'd be okay with me telling you," Ginny replied, "but I'll tell you because I think he needs someone to ask him about it. We don't think his relatives treat him very well. Mum's always going on about how thin he is, and he doesn't eat a whole lot at mealtimes either."
Pieces of the puzzle fit together slowly, but surely. The ease with which she'd picked him up. The way Harry withdrew at times. His strong but silent personality. His averseness to the physical touch of others, excepting herself, of course. She wondered why he'd let her do so. The rest painted a chilling picture.
Fleur was not ready at all for this conversation. She struggled with the realisation and had to acknowledge her ignorance of the warning signs.
"Thank you," she managed. As loathed as Fleur was to admit it, she had a grudging respect for the younger girl. "Do you know what happened to him?"
"No," Ginny said, "I did hear that Dumbledore was going to speak with the Merpeople to find out what happened before the scoring, though."
"Okay," Fleur sighed, "I hope we find out soon."
"Thanks, too," Ginny added with a tight grin, "You're good for him."
Giving her a small smile and a nod, she refocused her attention on Harry. It was obvious the younger girl was somewhat jealous of Fleur's relationship with him, but she handled it admirably and Fleur had hope that she would eventually get over it.
Harry needed all the friends he could get.
Her parents were now headed back over. She wasn't quite sure how to explain everything she had found out. And that didn't even include what she had discussed with Harry.
Fleur's hand unconsciously began to move again, lightly stroking through Harry's silky hair.
A/N
I'm grateful for the reception this story has gotten so far. Currently, I am slowing it down to what I think to be a better pace, but I'm not going to have repeated uneventful/boring chapters where nothing of note occurs. The aim is for it to be an entertaining read the whole way through.
Your nit-picks, reviews and PMs are much appreciated, they truly do mean a lot and help with the writing aspect (whether that be motivational or constructive). Massive thanks also to those of you that are repeat reviewers :)
