Harry to the Rescue

Disclaimer: Does anyone ever read these? I don't own Hp.

Harry looked around. The merpeople were laughing; about half of them carried axes and spear. He tried to seize a spear from a nearby merman. "We do not help!" he shrieked. Harry pulled away and tried to hack at the ropes binding Kitty which gave away after a few minutes. Harry turned to Hermione and started working on her ropes too. Immediately the merpeople seized Harry from behind. "You take your own hostage," one of them said to him. "Leave the others..."

Harry looked up and saw Cedric swimming toward them. There was an enormous bubble around his head, which made his features look oddly wide and stretched. Feeling enormously relieved, Harry watched Cedric pull a knife out of his pocket and cut Cho free. He pulled her upward and out of sight.

Harry turned and saw something monstrous cutting through the water toward them: a human body in swimming trunks with the head of a shark...It was Krum. He appeared to have transfigured himself - but badly.

The shark-man swam straight to Hermione and began snapping and biting at her ropes; the trouble was that Krum's new teeth were positioned very awkwardly for biting anything smaller than a dolphin, and Harry was quite sure that if Krum wasn't careful, he was going to rip Hermione in half. Darting forward, Harry hit Krum hard on the shoulder and held up the jagged stone. Krum seized it and began to cut Hermione free. Within seconds, he had done it; he grabbed Hermione around the waist, and without a backward glance, began to rise rapidly with her toward the surface.

Now what? Harry thought desperately. If he could be sure that Fleur was coming...But still no sign. There was nothing to be done except...

He snatched up the stone, which Krum had dropped, but the mermen now closed in around Kitty and the little girl, shaking their heads at him. Harry pulled out his wand. There was no way he was leaving the other girl. She was Fleur's sister, and Harry knew how he would have felt if he thought that Kitty was in danger.

"Step off!" he shouted at the merpeople, "You've got until three!"A great stream of bubbles burst from him, but he held up three fingers to make sure they got the message. "One..." (He put down a finger) "Two..."(he put down a second one) -

They scattered. Harry darted forward and began to hack at the ropes binding the small girl to the statue, and at last she was free. He seized the little girl around the waist, grabbed the neck of Kitty's robes, and kicked off from the bottom. It was hard work, swimming up to the surface with Kitty and Fleur's sister. He kicked with his flippers, only to find that they were feet. Water was flowing into his lungs.

And then he felt his head break the surface of the lake; wonderful, cold, clear air was making his wet face sting; he gulped it down, feeling as though he had never breathed properly before, and, panting, pulled Kitty and the little girl up with him. All around him, wild, green-haired heads were emerging out of the water with him, but they were smiling at him.

Harry looked at Kitty, who looked confused, and said, "What did you bring her for? She was Fleur's hostage."

"Fleur didn't turn up, I couldn't leave her," he panted. They helped Fleur's sister between them and swam towards the bank. Kitty could see Madam Pomfrey fussing over Hermione, Krum, Cedric, and Cho, all of whom were wrapped in thick blankets. Vandyll, was standing on the bank, white faced, reaching out to Kitty, to help her out of the water.

"Gabrielle! Gabrielle! Is she alive? Is she 'urt?"

"She's fine!" Harry tried to tell her, but he was so exhausted he could hardly talk, let alone shout.

"Come here, you," said Madam Pomfrey. She seized Harry and Kitty and pulled them over to Hermione and the others, and forced a measure of very hot potion down their throats. Steam gushed out of their ears.

Harry's feeling of stupidity was growing. Now that he was out of the water, it seemed perfectly clear that Dumbledore's safety precautions wouldn't have permitted the death of a hostage just because their champion hadn't turned up. Why hadn't he just grabbed Kitty and gone? He would have been first back...Cedric and Krum hadn't wasted time worrying about anyone else; they hadn't taken the mersong seriously...

"You saved 'er," she said breathlessly. "Even though she was not your 'ostage."

"Yeah," said Harry, who was now heartily wishing he'd left the other girls tied to the statue.

Fleur bent down, kissed Harry twice on each cheek (he felt his face burn and wouldn't have been surprised if steam was coming out of his ears again). "You 'elped too!" she said to Kitty. "Not really, it was Harry who acted the hero," said Kitty. Fleur ignored her and gave her a big hug.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows...

"Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points."

Applause from the stands. "Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour." Enormous cheers from the Hufflepuffs in the crowd; Harry saw Cho give Cedric a glowing look. "We therefore award him forty-seven points."

"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points."

"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect," Bagman continued. "He returned last and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mr. Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own." Ron and Hermione both gave Harry half-exasperated, half-commiserating looks.

"Most of the judges," and here, Bagman gave Karkaroff a very nasty look, "feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks. However...Mr. Potter's score is forty-five points." Harry's stomach leapt - he was now tying for first place with Cedric. Ron, Kitty and Hermione, caught by surprise, stared at Harry, then laughed and started applauding hard with the rest of the crowd.

"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June," continued Bagman. "The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all for your support of the champions."

While they trudged back to the castle, Harry told Kitty and the others, about Dobby, and how he had given him gillyweed at the last minute. Kitty felt that she could give Dobby socks for the rest of the year.

One result of this task, was that Rita Skeeter had printed an article in the Daily Prophet about Hermione, accusing her of toying with Krum's and Harry's affections. The Slytherins lost no chance to taunt Hermione over this. Snape, on the other hand, seemed to be convinced that Harry had broken into his private stores, and stolen the Gillyweed.

"They should've left you in the lake, Potter," shouted Malfoy one morning, as the first years made their way to the greenhouses. Kitty saw Pansy Parkinson, standing with him, and an evil idea came into her head.

"Well, if they would've, how would you have been able to ask me the next time we had a ball, Malfoy?" she said. Pansy scowled and said something to Malfoy. Zabini, who looked incredulous and said, "You asked that blood traitor to the ball, Draco?" Kitty and Vandyll laughed and set off across the grounds.

"Kitty!" yelled Harry, running up to her, "Wait! You didn't tell me that Malfoy asked you to the ball!"

Kitty closed her eyes and muttered, "Oh, why did Harry have to hear that!"

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