CH6 : Oh Shit!
Harry POV
Bella and I were scaling the outside of Gryffindor Tower on our way out for the evening. Ron & Hermione took the Witch's Hump passage and Ginny was flying below us. Where their sense of adventure was I'm not entirely sure.
Gred and Forge had1 made vast improvements to the handheld sticking charm and we were able to scale the castle without issue, getting back up later was going to be… interesting. I needed a drink.
I looked down over my right shoulder and muttered a quick 'damn'. Bella was going to beat me to the ground. She jeered back, "Head in the game Potter!"
It was then that we really began our descent in earnest; each of us trying to outpace the other. We hit the ground at the same time, I may have chosen to jump the last few feet…but, hey competitive Gryffindor here!
Ginny handed us our cloaks and we took off for Hogsmead. Bella walked a bit ahead of Ginny and I, giving us our space to do our couple-y things.
She was a mind reader that one.
She quickened her pace a bit as we rounded the last bend and passed the lake. She stood stock-still for a moment, turned and mouthed something to us, pointed her wand at her head, and then promptly jumped into the lake! Ginny and I stared at each other for a moment, waiting for her to resurface. When she didn't, we ran a bit closer. When we did, we saw what she saw. I threw the invisibility cloak over Ginny and we booked it towards the forest.
Dumbledore and a gang of merry folk were walking up the path towards us!
Gin whispered a quiet "Ah, fuck" as we reached the forest's line. We were about three or four trees back from the edge and maybe 90 meters from the path they were on and there was NO way even they could see us, but still… I felt like they all knew exactly where we were situated.
Dumbledore carried on his merry way, explaining this and that as he went. Waving his cloaked arms around in a grand fashion. You had to admit, the man's got style.
I was still worried about Bella, but she must've done a bubblehead charm before she went in. That was her recommendation for the second task in fourth year, but I never could get it right. Once the band of Dumbledore's guests entered the castle, Gin and I sprinted to the lake. Bella was fond of the lake and a strong swimmer, but she would've come up to check by now. I began to get a little nervous and sent Gin to the Three Broomsticks to fetch Ron & Hermione while I jumped in to get her.
I'd been in the water for a few minutes, with a moderately successful bubblehead charm when I spotted her. She was floating there, her jeans-clad legs tangled in kelp and without her bubblehead charm. As I swam towards her I immediately assessed the situation.
The grindelows lived in this kelp and they must've attacked her, just like they did with Fleur! I tried not to panic, but I had no idea how long she'd been out of air. A quick Accio brought her to me and then I propelled us both out of the lake just as Ron, Hermione, and Ginny came sprinting up the path. I was panicking. I had no idea what to do! We hadn't covered healing in any of our classes; It was at that moment I realized how incredibly stupid it is to teach magic to a bunch of teenagers without teaching any healing. I digress, I was panicked! I couldn't think straight, but it was more than that though, I felt like I was losing a part of me, like if she died my whole world would implode. All of these thoughts ran through me in the span of a heartbeat, or what would've been one if Bella's had been pumping. I listened for her heartbeat and heard nothing.
Ron barely yelled an 'Oi-' before Harry knew it Bella was out from under him and one of Dumbledore's guests was pushing on her chest breaking her ribs!
Ron launched himself at the person and tried to get him off of Bella, but before he could do it there were four more of the guests one of whom explained that this so-called 'Edward' was attempting to revive her.
Hermione, ever clever, moved to the opposite side of Bella and revived her quickly with a series of complicated wand movements and rapid-fire 'resuscitatio'. Bella, with eyes wide, coughed up more water than I thought possible, looked briefly at the chest breaker, coughed once more, and promptly passed out.
She was in' Edward's' arms in a moment headed up to the castle before I could think and all I could manage was, "At least cast a warming charm you-!" Edward had stopped, some 200 meters away already, and run back to the group before I could properly finish the last portion of my not very nice sentence.
"Do it" Edward muttered. Hermione, always the first to react, warmed Bella and conjured a blanket.
Still fuming, I yelled at the group "You don't even know where the infirmary is!"
At this, a woman stepped forward, and politely asked, "Could you please show us to the infirmary, we seem to share the same goal, to see Bella warm and dry."
At this Ron began to move again, "Oi, this way- let's go- it's bloody freezing out here and as fun as it would be to explain to the rest of my family how I killed Bella, I'm sure the twins would be understanding, let's not do that, moving on."
And that is how Madame Pomfrey woke up to the strangest band of strangers she has ever seen in her infirmary.