I managed to finish this on the plane, though due to lack of internet, I had to edit a few things once we got to the house. I got around 3 1/2 hours of sleep last night, so I've been running on caffeine (from Coke) all day. I feel as if I could just fall asleep at any point in time now... Hope you like the chapter despite its flaws. :)

Shouta followed a familiar snowy-haired shinigami through the maze of seaweed, quickly coming to a clearing of decaying structures and what looked to be mermaids.

Kurosaki, Harry, and Cedric were just grabbing their 'treasures' and looked to be about to head for the surface, though Harry seemed to have gotten Fleur's as well. Hitsugaya-who was smart enough to actually use a charm to breathe-raced for Matsumoto, and the brunette for Bri.

They had just cut the seaweed when an ear-piercing shriek blared throughout the water. And-from the sounds of the students-above water as well.

All the Champions raced for the surface almost frantically, coming up to see what the sound was coming from.

"Surprise, surprise, wizards!" The creature laughed, bloodless lips curled over pointed fangs into a menacing grin. Piercing red eyes looked gleefully at the heads bobbing up and down in the water. It's sleek gray body was covered by a sort of scaly wetsuit, which seemed to make it's clawed, webbed fingers and toes even more prominent.

"What the hell is that?" Ichigo asked, and the laugh turned into a hiss as the creature pointed its rusted trident at the carrot-top.

"Ignorant fool! I am Vellamo!" The creature screeched at him. "The lords told me the Champions have sinned! And sinners must be punished!" Vellamo dove into the water, racing towards them at unimaginable speeds.

"Get out of the water!" Hitsugaya shouted, and everyone began racing for the docks. Harry yelped as he was dragged beneath the water, and the shinigami hesitated.

Krum and Cedric dragged themselves out of the water, along with the students with them. Kurosaki helped get Fleur's sister out.

"Hitsugaya, bring Matsumoto over here! We need to get her out of the water!" Shouta called out as he helped hoist Rukia out. Hitsugaya complied, and he, Shouta, and Ichigo dove back into the water.

Harry (and consequently Ron) was being dragged farther into the depths of the lake. Ichigo-who was currently the fastest swimmer-grabbed Ron and brought him back to the docks while the other two continued to swim after a panicking Potter.

Hitsugaya reached him first, slashing Vellamo's arm with Hyorinmaru. Vellamo screeched and let Harry go, who joined the other two in swimming for the surface. Shouta looked down when a slimy webbed hand grasped his leg, claws digging into his ankle.

"Sinners must be punished." Vellamo hissed, and the brunette had no time to react as he lost Kurotsuchi's invention somewhere in the murky water and was dragged down.

"Harry, are you alright?" Neville asked frantically as the boy dragged himself onto the dock.

"F-Fine." He replied, breathing heavily.

"Oi, where's Shouta?" Ichigo asked, and Hitsugaya's head whipped back to the water.

"He was right behind us a second ago." He replied, frowning.

"What's this?" Fleur murmured as she picked up a small, metal cylinder. Half a second passed as Hitsugaya an Ichigo saw the object, before immediately diving back into the water.

"H-Hey! Toshiro! Ichigo!"

Black and mottled grays were the only thing visible. It was cold…

"Let me take over. I can help you."

"No. I won't let you."

"You'll die. Just give in already. I can save you."

"I don't need to be saved. I'm not going to let you hurt anyone. Not ever again."

"Stubborn fool."

The sleek gray body of Vellamo sliced through the water and towards the two shinigami, trident bared threateningly. "Sinners must be punished." Zangetsu and Hyorinmaru clashed against the metal of the trident, the sound unnaturally ringing through the water.

Ichigo attacked the creature while Hitsugaya held its weapon down. Just as it seemed the blade was going to connect with the demon's side, the creature blocked Zangetsu's blade with a large dagger that had been hidden away.

"Don't think Vellamo is so weak." It snapped, pushing both of them back.

A gun's bullet sliced through the air from behind it, piercing Vellamo's side. The whole lake was filled once more with an inhuman shrieking as a green substance that must have been blood drifted slowly from Vellamo's stomach.

Moments after, Rukia and Matsumoto swam for them, zanpaktou at the ready. The shinigami attacked all at once, blades glinting in the small amount of light there was. Vellamo, surprisingly strong, blocked two with his trident, and another with the dagger.

However, he couldn't stop Ichigo's attack, and Vellamo screeched as the blade finally connected with his side. He swam for the surface, and the foreigners chased after the demonic creature.

By the time they broke the surface though, it seemed Dumbledore and the other professors had the creature under control, holding it down with several spells.

"I'm going to go back down and see if I can find Shouta." Ichigo told them, Zanpaktou morphing back into a ring as he prepared to dive.

Hitsugaya nodded in agreement. "He should be nearby. It was his bullet that we saw. I'm going to take care of him." The Captain nodded towards the docks, where Vellamo was squirming and screeching hysterically.

He dragged himself wearily up onto the structure, glaring at the creature that was still attempting to break free.

"Stop embarrassing yourself. You need to learn when to give up." The shinigami snapped, and Vellamo scowled at him.

"I'd say the same for you, Captain. You seem to have yet to realize that you've already lost." Bloodless lips once again curled into a feral grin. "You've got a double-sided blade." A cackle-though it sounded more like shrieking-resounded through the air, raspy as it slowly quieted. After several minutes, the creature that called himself Vellamo was no more than a pile of ashes.

"Look!" A student shouted, pointing out into the lake. Ichigo broke the surface, breathing heavily as he dragged a limp body behind him. Hitsugaya, Krum, Cedric, Fleur and Harry helped him onto the docks.

He flopped back onto his back, groaning. "I don't know if I ever want to go swimming again." He muttered, propping himself up on his elbows. Shouta gagged and coughed as he regained consciousness, taking deep breaths.

"I never thought I'd be so glad to breathe!" He laughed as he lay on his back, seeming to enjoy the hard surface. "…Thanks Kurosaki."

"No problem. And what about that Vellamo dude? What happened to him?"

"He turned to ashes." Harry explained, pointing to the spot where the creature once squirmed.

"Good riddance." Shouta grumbled, sneezing as he did so. "And now I've got a cold. Great."

Excitement erupted amongst the spectators as Dumbledore and the other judges came up to them. Silencing the crowd, Dumbledore announced the places.

"Mr. Diggory has placed first!" A cheer rose. "However, due to some… unexpected difficulties, I would like to award Mr. Kurosaki second place for his bravery in helping another in a crisis, and Mr. Hitsugaya third for the same reason. Fourth goes to Mr. Potter, for his determination to rescue not only Mr. Weasley, but the others as well. And fifth place goes to Mr. Watanabe, for his quick thinking and actions!"

Potter could see Krum and his Headmaster looking rather upset nearby, but was quickly distracted as Hermione, Fleur, Matsumoto, and Rukia practically fussed over him and the other boys.

"…Do you think Vellamo was sent by Aizen?" Rukia asked quietly, looking at Ichigo, who was still shivering slightly from underneath the mountain of towels.

"It's likely. None the less, this tells us that we need to be on guard, and we need to stay on guard." Hitsugaya replied, still scowling at the water.

"Right."