A/N: I have decided that someone following this story counts as a review. Therefore, your new chapter has arrived. (Over 125 people have looked at this, and still no reviews?)
Thank you, LadyCrow1313! Hugs from the twins! ^.^
Disclaimer: You guessed it, I'm still not JKR. Nor do I own HP.
"Watch yer heads, now!" said Hagrid, but Fred wasn't paying attention. Seated in the back of the boat, while everyone else was hunched over, he sat up straight and stared off into space. George tried to warn him, but it was too late. With an almighty clunk, Fred hit his head on a stone wall and tumbled off into the lake.
"Fred!" cried Andi and George. George and Lee seemed petrified. Without thinking, Andi dropped the lantern and dove off the back of the boat into the lake. Their boat was the last in the fleet; no one was behind them to help Fred.
Andi opened her eyes. In the surreal gloom, she could barely see, but there was an indistinct shape below and ahead of her. Fred? Andi swam closer, holding her breath. It was Fred! A trail of bubbles streamed from his mouth. He was unconscious. Andi wrapped an arm around Fred and turned around, swimming back up. She had always been a fairly strong swimmer, especially given her small size, but Fred and the weight of their wet clothing was dragging her down. She had to make it!
Finally, when Andi could barely move for lack of oxygen, she broke the surface and gasped for air. She lifted Fred's head out of the water and, not knowing what else to do, slapped him across the face. He faintly groaned. Swimming around him in the freezing-cold water, Andi tried the Heimlich maneuver, something she had learned in a basic first-aid class years ago. Fred weakly coughed and brought up several mouthfuls of water. Finally, he started breathing, though he wasn't fully conscious.
Desperate, Andi slapped him again. He blinked several times and muttered something about a squid.
"C'mon, Fred, we have to swim to shore," she told him urgently. He seemed to get the message, because he started a meandering front crawl/dog paddle. She didn't know which fit better. After several minutes of no progress, she stopped and told him, "Grab my shoulders and flutter-kick." He did so and they moved considerably faster.
However, Andi's arms and legs grew tired quickly, and it was more of an effort than ever to keep moving. Her feet and hands were numb, and her shoulders burning. Her pulse was going triple its normal rate. She gasped for breath at every pause, and sank lower in the water every few seconds, only to thrash her arms and feet and recover. She stopped and, treading water, looked for any distant light.
Hogwarts was in the distance, but it seemed impossibly far away. Several bobbing lanterns told her that there was a search party out looking along the shoreline.
Remembering her wand, Andi pulled it out of her pocket. She only knew a few spells. But she had read about one to produce sparks. What was it? She tried hard to remember. It was in A Standard Book of Spells.
"Verdillious!" she cried, finally remembering the incantation. Green sparks shot high into the air, exploding and multiplying for almost 10 seconds. Then, she treaded water, supporting Fred with one arm.
After what seemed like an eternity, a larger rowboat arrived with four people in it. Andi ducked under the water and boosted Fred up before being helped up herself.
Shivering, she noticed that the other people in the boat were Professor McGonagall, George, Bill, and another witch she didn't recognize.
The boat moved much faster towards the castle than the first boat had. They arrived at the dock in minutes. George and Bill supported Fred on the hike; Andi was helped along by Professor McGonagall. They were led to a room Andi knew must be the Hospital Wing. The next thing she knew, she was lying down and a potion was in her mouth. She swallowed it and another. First, she felt as though she was being heated up by a roaring furnace. Then, she fell into a silent, deep sleep.
I loved that chapter even though it's short, Fred gets a blonde moment ;) Review please?
