What Happened Underwater

~We Are The Champions~

I don't own the Harry Potter series, or any of the characters, franchises, or concepts you may recognize.

Harry

When I arrived, I was speed-walked towards the Champion's Tent by an irritated Percy Weasley. "Honestly Harry, late to a task? Tsk, tsk. Anyways, do you know where Ronald, Fred, George and Ginny are, I was meant to pass along Mother's message; 'prosper, be good and don't blow up toilet seats', ha-ha. Anyway-" Percy was blustering, shooting glances at Barty Crouch, who was watching the conversation with growing interest. Strange… Shouldn't he be at the judges table by now? He wasn't at the Yule ball and is looking rather, oh I don't know, psychopathic?! It was starting to scare me.

He's asking where Ron is… So the Weasleys don't know. I wonder when Percy's going to find out… and it's all because of me. I've got to rescue him. If I'm honest, it's for my sake just as much as theirs

I tuned Percy out, until he said something that jolts me out of my haze. "Ah, there they are, you all set, got a plan?" I flush, not wanting to disappoint him and admit that beyond the gillyweed, I have absolutely no clue what was going to happen next. So with, I'm sure, great red letters spelling out liar on my face, I said "Yeah, definitely."

As this rather one-sided conversation was happening, I was forcibly steered into what looked like an undersized circus tent. And of course, I tell him I have a plan just as I walk in the doorway. All the champions jump to their feet, then sit back down when they see who it is. 'Oh, no need to worry, it's just little Potter, the sort-of-champion.' I think bitterly. Fleur's collapsed in a chair massaging her temples, Cedric is sitting on the edge of a chair, his fists clenched, and Krum's hanging off the back of a chair muttering under his breath. The tension in the air is almost physically nauseating.

Breaking the silence, Percy beams obliviously and says "Well, Harry, looks like you're all set! Good luck, I know you'll do great." With that, he exits the tent, leaving me alone to face my stony-faced competitors. "Yeah." I mutter. "Just great…"

Cedric

The tent flap burst open and we all sprang to our feet like the tightly wound jack-in-the-boxes we had all been reduced to. It was just Harry, and good thing too! The task would be starting any minute now. Not that we're counting. Okay, of course we are. The task starts in exactly 3 minutes and 17 seconds. Happy?

One of the Weasleys has a firm (to say the least) grip on Harry's forearm, and is blustering away, with Harry obviously not even listening. Probably Percy, then. He exits without a glance at the rest of us, not seeming to notice the tension in the room, or the hostile stares of the others as he wishes Harry luck.

After standing there rather awkwardly for a moment, Harry walks over and sits down in the chair next to mine. He gives me a tight smile which I return in kind. I keep going over what I'm going to do in my mind. "Aer Orbis, Aer Orbis" I mutter, apparently louder than I thought, because Harry shoots me a strange look, but his expression quickly clouds over and he reaches into his pocket and begins tucking strands of what looks like some kind of plant deeper into his pocket. Well, now I'm curious. I suppose I'll find out soon enough.

Fleur looks like she's about to faint from worry. I can only assume we're all worried about the same thing. Say, I wonder who's hers? And Viktor's? He's so enigmatic and, I don't know, above it all, that it's just hard to picture him caring about someone the way I care about Cho… Cho. Oh, God.

All the thoughts I'd been trying to push below the surface, worry, grief, and the realization that she was, without a doubt the thing I could NOT live without, could not love without, by far the most important thing. She's kind and good and wise and so, so beautiful. And all I want is to be her hero, her Prince Charming, sweep her off her feet, and here's my chance, it's walking through the flap of the circus tent in the form of... Ludo Bagman's head.

"Ready, kids!" It's not a question. "Put on a good show, will you?" He disappears, and a second later we hear "Ladies and gentlemen, wizards and witches! Put your hands together for the champions of the tri-wizard tournament! All four of them" He chortles. His joke is met with silence from the rather large audience, and unnaturally loud cricket noises echo throughout the hastily erected bleachers, likely the contribution of the Weasley twins. "Er... The Champions! From Beauxbatons, Miss Fleur Delacour!"

Fleur drew in a deep breath, stood, flipped her air and walked out of the tent. I think we all roll our eyes, but it's not so much in exasperation as in amusement. We hear the audience applaud politely, the boys near the front perhaps louder than the rest.

"From Durmstrang, Mr. Viktor Krum!" Krum got to his feet and walked out into the blinding sunlight. More enthusiastic applause this time, probably due to his fame in the Quidditch business. "And from Hogwarts, Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter!"

Here we go…

Fleur

'Zat ridiculous Ludo Bagman poke his head in the tent, and tell us "put on a good show". Ha! As if we care, as if I care about putting on a show. My sister, my little sister is in danger, and he wants a good show. I'll give him a show.

"From Beauxbatons, Miss Fleur Delacour!" I stand, look at the others, who stare at me with a strange mixture of empathy and dread. I flip my hair, not sure why I do, unless to keep up the charade, to quash the intense worry in the pit of my stomach with the superficial façade which is after all, only what people expect. In my mind's eye, I focus on my sister's smiling face, and walk out into the sunshine.

I blink, disoriented, and open my eyes to the murky lake, the lush grass and forest and hundreds of schoolchildren in floating metal stands. Bagman motions me onto the dock, grips my shoulder and whispers "Wave, girlie. Smile and wave…" I grit my teeth and do so, while the pig calls for Viktor. He steps out of the tent, and, shoulders hunched, makes his way to the dock. I hear Bagman say "Alright Viktor, smile and wave, all the ladies love you, my man."

Viktor gives him an incredulous look, then raises his hand in a princess wave and widens his eyes, soon adding a sadistic smile. He drops his hand, and raises his eyebrows at Bagman. A smile forms on my lips as Bagman says "Or, er… Don't. Yes, please don't" Then he bellows "And from Hogwarts, Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter!" They walk out of the tent, blinking and walk to the dock. Bagman claps them on the back, not even bothering telling them to wave, as I'd dropped my hand long ago.

I look around at the faces of my competitors, and I notice something. There's a common gleam, in our eyes, of motivation and empathy that I'm sure wasn't there before. I wonder for a moment, when did they become something more than obstacles on the path to victory, when I saw them as human. I wondered when we all started caring, but I realized that I already knew.

Now, instead of simply fighting, we have something worth fighting for. All these people have someone they care about under that water, someone they love as much as I love Gabrielle. And if love is as powerful as my grandmother taught me, then with people like this, and love like we have, then we could very well be unstoppable.

"The Champions of the Tri-wizard Tournament!"

Viktor

"The Champions of the Tri-Wizard Tournament!"

Champion… When did it become so much more than a title? I want so badly to be her champion, her hero, I want to be worthy of this fame. Yes, I want to win, but first comes her. I love her, I'm over my head in the twisted, naïve, bittersweet illusion that is young love.

Ludo Bagman announced, beaming "Something these champions love very much has been stolen from them, indeed, the very thing they will miss the most. It has been given to the care of the merpeople, and our champions must race to rescue it, lest it be lost forever. If all the hostages are not rescued by sunset… Their champions will be out of the running, and the law of the merfolk will be put into effect. The first to return will receive 50 points, the second 40, the third 30, and the fourth 20. Points will be added or subtracted based on the… condition of their hostages. Good luck to all. On my whistle, everyone."

I quickly, wordlessly transfigure my head into that of a shark. Harry stuffs something into his mouth and chews furiously, making a face. "Aer Obis" is heard twice, once after the other. Fleur and Cedric look at each other, then quickly away. I met Fleur's eyes, then Harry's, then Cedric's. I saw myself reflected there, and I somehow didn't want to beat them, not really. Not if it meant they'd lose someone they loved that much.

That's why when we dove in, and Harry Potter signed for a truce and motioned for us to follow him, I didn't hesitate. I swam after him.

A/N Hi! This was really fun to write, and I'm happy with the result. Mint and honey tea is amazing! Random thought, sorry.

(EDIT) A/N: Okay! I'm finished rewriting/editing chapters, and I'm working on the next chapters now. I've decided that once they all get together and the plot starts to build, it will switch to third person, but for a few more chapter, it'll still be four different first-person POVS. It'll always alternate between the hostages ad the champions, though. Thanks for reading!

Love, Leviosa