Chapter 16

Cold. That was the first thing Harry felt as the water passed over his body. They had forgotten one of the biggest problems with going into the lake this time of year. The water was barely above freezing temperatures, and remaining in it for a long time would definitely not be the best idea. But for Harry's sake he did know a few spells that would keep himself warm enough to survive.

It took him a few moments to remember which direction he needed to go. He swam along, before soon transfiguring his shoes, giving them a more flipper-like shape, propelling him along quickly through the water. Within only a few moments he came across the end of the shallow lake edge and made to dive, but he noticed he wasn't the only one who had reached this spot.

Fleur and Cedric were nearby as well. Harry watched them before deciding to swim over. He was not aiming to remove them from the competition but rather help them if he could. After all, nothing in the rules said they could not provide assistance to each other. As he got closer they both soon noticed not just him, but each other as well. Harry grinned, noticing they had all taken the same idea to complete the task. The Bubble Head Charm.

Harry pulled out his wand, and wrote brightly glowing letters in the water. "Work together?"

Fleur looked a little surprised, before shaking her head and diving down. Cedric, on the other hand, nodded, getting a smile from Harry. Cedric, noticing Harry's shoes, replicated them, before they finally followed Fleur down into the dark depths of the lake. The lake grew increasingly darker, and soon Harry and Cedric lit their wands to see, before finally the steep cliff-like edge leveled off as they reached the bottom of the lake.

Harry and Cedric leveled out above the long weeds that covered the lake bottom. They knew more than a few creatures tended to hide among these weeds thanks to Professor Lupin last year. Skimming a good few feet above the weeds, they moved along slowly through the water, listening and looking for the mermaid village that was in the lake.

Then in front of them came a flash of blonde hair. Harry sped up and soon saw Fleur struggling against a group of Grindylows. Harry reacted quickly as he saw her Bubble burst. With a quick flash he sent spells down on the attacking creatures. Then finally Harry pulled Fleur clear of the weeds before grabbing out a handful of Gillyweed and shoving it into her mouth. It was her only chance to survive at this depth.

Fleur fought for a few moments before finally swallowing and going limp. It was a few moments before finally life came back to her body as she looked at Harry confused. Her hands changed and soon were webbed, Harry with a quick flick of his wand freed her feet as they shifted as well.

"You okay?" Harry wrote with his wand as Cedric swam up to them.

Fleur nodded after few moments, feeling the gills that formed along her neck. She looked surprised, not only that Harry had helped her escape from that attack, but also that he had saved her from dying.

"Gillyweed. Gives gills. Forty-five minutes left." Harry wrote out, explaining Fleur's now strict time limit.

"Together," Cedric then wrote.

Fleur smiled after a few moments before nodding. Together the three of them set out again into the murky depths. Swimming along they soon heard song coming through the water. They stopped and looked about, before deciding as well as they could on the direction the sound came from. As they swam along they soon found a large area of cleared lake bottom, with lights beginning to appear along the ground.

Harry was surprised just how much like a normal town the Merman and Mermaid village looked. While it was below water, most every part of the town looked like it could have been above ground, with a few exceptions. The houses themselves looked to be made out of large rocks, and there were no panes of glass in the windows.

The mermen and mermaids, on the other hand, were nothing like Harry expected. While most legends and stories depicted a half human half fish, these were more like a human and fish truly blended together. It was creepy to say the least, and Harry could not help but feel like he was the odd ball out as everyone in the village stared at them as they passed, heading towards the singing.

Soon they reached the center of the town where a massive statue stood, and around it were tied four people. Harry recognized two of them right away, the first being Hermione, and the second Cho, who had been Cedric's date at the Yule Ball. The other two were a young girl, who looked to be related to Fleur, and an older woman.

Harry looked at the others, before pointing his wand at the ropes tying Hermione to the statue. With a small flash she was freed. Cedric and Fleur followed his example, getting their own hostages free. Harry then glanced at his watch and sighed lightly. It was not working, meaning he did not know how much time they still had before the task was over.

He glanced at the last hostage before pointing up to the surface. He wanted to remain around, but they were moving as a team, and he had no clue just how much longer Fleur had before the Gillyweed ran its course. As such for them it would be better if they were near the surface rather than down in the deep of the lake.

Slowly they began moving towards the surface, making sure not to drop who they were carrying. Fleur seemed to be having the most trouble in spite of her body's advantages. Harry gave her a worried look, but when she noticed a few moments later she just smiled and gave him a thumbs up signaling she was doing okay. Finally the group of six broke the surface of the lake.

Fleur was not able to remain above the water as long as the Gillyweed was still in effect. They were saved from a rather hard swim back as all but Fleur's hostage woke up once they had broken the water surface. This let them all swim back with only the smallest among them acting as dead weight. Harry applied a few warming spells to the group as they swam along.

"Is everyone okay?" Harry asked as they moved along.

"Okay, just cold," Hermione said.

"Okay here as well," Cho said.

"Why did they take human hostages?" Cedric wondered out loud.

"More incentive," Hermione answered.

"But we were never told that a person had been taken from us. Only that is was something precious," Harry said, swimming with the young girl.

"Isn't that the same?" Cho asked.

"I suppose you're right," Cedric said.

They kept swimming along and soon the docks where they had started came into view. Harry waved and got shouts and cheers as the six got to the dock. Fleur by this time was able to get out of the water, but her sister still had yet to awaken. They were all moved into a large tent where Madam Pomfrey was waiting for them.

She at once set about getting new clothes on them, before giving them large doses of Pepper Up Potion to heat them up. Hermione then lit a magical fire in a metal basin, filling the small tent with a wall of warmth. They remained this way, feeling the warmth that was now slowly filling their bodies again. Fleur's sister did not fully wake up till nearly ten minutes after they had entered the tent.

It was about this point that the timer went off, signaling the end time for them to complete the task. Harry gave a small sigh of relief, realizing they had done a lot better than they had thought. The only questions now were where Krum was, and how well they had done overall.

"Thank you for helping us," Fleur said, holding her sister close.

"You're very welcome. It's my hobby saving people from certain doom," Harry said, chuckling.

"Trust me it is," Hermione said.

"How did you know about the Gillyweed?" Fleur asked.

"We actually found it on a Chocolate Frog Card. Kind of by accident really, but sometimes accidents are the best aids," Harry said.

Cedric nodded, "Those cards have some useful facts."

"By the way, why is your sister so tired?" Harry asked.

"We are part Veela on our grandmother's side. And as our magic from them is geared more towards fire and wind, being under water is extra hard on our bodies. So until we had warmed up enough she was not able to wake up. I am older so my magic is much more powerful and can keep the effects of the cold water off better," Fleur explained.

"I see," Harry said.

"That means you have been at a disadvantage this whole tournament so far," Hermione said.

Cedric looked at Hermione confused, "Why's that?"

"While Fleur's magic may come from fire and wind, in the first task a dragon well outdoes her in that. Plus in the second task her magical power would be greatly suppressed," Hermione explained

Cedric nodded in understanding after a few moments, before looking at Harry, "So why did you ask to work together?"

"It was kind of a spur of the moment thought. After all, we have a better chance working as a team than apart," Harry commented.

"I am glad you did, but you seem different than when I first met you back when your name first came out of the goblet," Fleur said.

"I had been dealing with a few mental issues at the time. It was not till after the weighing of the wands that I was close to normal again," Harry explained.

"Okay," Fleur said.

It was at this point that another cheer was heard as Krum made his appearance. Harry grinned, happy that everyone was now safely back where they belonged. Soon Krum was in the tent as well, while the judges began going over just who would get points. Harry personally did not care at this point, he was now over half done with the Triwizard Tournament.