Chương 38: The Grindylow Encounter
Harry sat at the edge of the lake getting ready to begin his first real underwater exploration. After hours upon hours of research he had determined that there was nothing in the lake beyond his capabilities to handle as long as he did not anger the Merpeople village. Merpeople had their own brand of magic that rivaled that of humans. No one was really sure which was better because there had never been a true war between humans and Merpeople. The fact that one lived on land and the other underwater seemed to keep them separate enough to ease any conflicts that might arise.
After casting a warming charm and the bubble head charm Harry dove under the water. He immediately noticed that the bubble head charm seemed to help his visibility underwater a little as if he had been wearing goggles. Still, the visibility was poor towards the shore but as he swam farther out he was relieved to find that it was improving. This part of the lake appeared to be calm and Harry took the time to stop swimming and observe his surroundings.
The lake was far deeper than he had thought it would be. The first fifty feet or so from the shore were shallow but that was followed by a steep drop that led to the main part of the lake. From his vantage point Harry could a large, dark shape gracefully moving in the distance and assumed it was the giant squid. Schools of fish were swimming away from the squid as quickly as they could. The floor of the lake was covered with green plants that swayed in the currents. Elsewhere, Harry could see the ruins of what was once an impressive stone building and he briefly wondered what had happened to it. He could not see the Merpeople village from here, but guessed that it would be in a deeper part of the lake in the direction the giant squid had come from.
Having no desire to meet the Merpeople yet, Harry began swimming in the opposite direction and continued trying to remember the layout of the lake. It was going to be much more difficult than he had anticipated, he realized, because the lake was far larger than he had assumed. Even if he spent all of his free time in the lake there was no way he could map out all of it by the time of the second task. Perhaps simply exploring the lake was not the solution he had been looking for. Frowning slightly, Harry realized he would have to start thinking of another way to ensure victory in the next round.
For the next hour Harry continued to explore, slowly coming to the realization that he much preferred life on the ground or in the air to that underwater. On the ground he could run and on his broom he could soar through the air at even higher speeds, but under water he was painfully slow. He attempted to use blasting hexes to propel himself forward but all that did was blow a hole in a nearby rock. He made a mental note to look up spells that would help him move underwater and continued on.
Harry was swimming through a deep valley when he noticed group of creatures approaching him. As they got closer he saw that they were Grindylows and there were four of them. The pale green animals have sharp green teeth and horns. Although aggressive on their own, it is as a pack that they become truly dangerous. Four Grindylows should not be ignored, but are not a real threat. That was when Harry noticed that the group of Grindylows in front of him was not his only problem. Four more Grindylows had managed to sneak up on him from behind. Harry cursed, wondering how he had let that happen, and then realized that he could hear very little of what was going on underwater. A fact that was probably made worse by the bubble head charm he was using. 'There's another reason to use the gillyweed in the tournament' Harry thought as he drew his wand and prepared to fight off the underwater beasts.
"Relashio!" Harry called, sending the revulsion jinx at the group in front of him. One of the books he had read recommended the jinx when fighting Grindylows but he was disappointed to see that the spell merely knocked them back a few feet and made them angry. Groaning at his spell's failure, Harry turned and sent a powerful banishing charm at the group behind him which knocked them back far enough so that he would have time to take on the first group. Those four angry Grindylows were rapidly advancing.
"Defodio!" he said, pointing his wand at one of the Grindylows. He wasn't quite sure what the gouging curse would do to a Grindylow and cast it more out of curiosity than anything else. He was quite surprised to see a large chunk of the creature's chest fall off its body as it briefly screamed before dying. 'That was a little disgusting…' Harry thought as he prepared to cast the next spell. A quick wave of the wand and a yell of "Diffindo" was enough to sever the head of another Grindylow leaving only six of them left.
Sensing that the other group of Grindylows had recovered from his banishing charm, Harry turned and cast "Expulso!" The explosion curse was surprisingly effective, taking out two of the Grindylows and injuring a third. The other Grindylow in the group seemed to realize that the battle had been lost and fled, taking along its injured fellow attacker with it. Harry returned his focus on the last two Grindylows to see that they were surprisingly close. Harry summoned a rock towards him and then banished it at the vicious little creatures head, knocking it out or killing it (Harry wasn't sure), as its friend reached Harry and bit into his ankle. Harry screamed in pain and then sent a "Reducto" at the animal which hit it in the chest with enough power to disintegrate almost half of its body.
As Harry cast a healing charm on his ankles he looked around the valley, surveying the damage he had caused. Pieces of the Grindylows were still floating everywhere and the water was pink with their blood. It was enough to make Harry feel a bit nauseous. All in all he had done well getting out of what was basically an ambush with only a few little bite marks. Even his spell variety was better than it had been against Barty Crouch Jr. Of course he had not been frightened today like he had been against the Death Eater, but perhaps it was also a sign that he was getting more and more used to fighting. He also felt a little more confident about the second task, knowing that a pack of angry Grindylows was one of the most dangerous things that a wizard could expect to find in the lake. 'I've had a productive day.' Harry thought as he began swimming to the surface, happy with the day's events.
...
Daphne found Harry shortly after he re-entered the castle from his trip to the lake. Harry was walking swiftly towards the Gryffindor dorms when she saw him pass by, though he apparently did not notice her. Grinning, she decided that simply calling out his name was too easy of a way to get his attention. When her silent sticking charms hit his shoes and pinned them to the ground Harry's eyes began darting around, looking for danger. By the time he noticed Daphne standing off to the side laughing he had already dispelled the sticking charm.
"Ten points from Slytherin, Ms Greengrass. There is to be no spell casting in the halls, you know that." Harry said playfully.
"Just checking your reflexes, Mr Potter." Daphne answered as she walked towards him and took his arm. They had taken a few steps when she stopped and sniffed the air. "What is that smell? What have you been doing all day?"
"I've been in the lake for the last few hours actually. As for the smell, I suspect it might be Grindylow guts. I was actually on my way to get cleaned up."
"You obviously need it." she replied. "So, how did the first time under the lake go?"
"Pretty good, but I think the gillyweed will definitely be a better solution. I can't hear or smell anything with the bubble head charm, I won't have that problem with gillyweed." Harry answered as they continued walking. "Plus gillyweed is supposed to change your hand and feet to make them better suited for swimming. I am going to have to look for a spell to increase my speed under water if that doesn't work."
"I see. What about mapping out the lake?"
"It's too big. I'll keep going down there and learn the major landmarks, but I won't have time to do more than that. I need figure out where they are going to hide whatever they take from me." Harry said, still a little frustrated that his original idea didn't work out.
"Or a way to find it…" Daphne said as a thought struck her. "There might be a way to do that, assuming you can figure out what they are going to take. Think about it."
"Alright. Are you still interested in coming with me next time?"
"Yes, assuming I don't end up smelling like you." she answered, smiling. "You need to talk to Hermione."
"Why?" Harry asked, wondering if his friend was in trouble.
"Not my place to say. Just do it." Daphne commanded. Harry nodded, hoping there wasn't a problem.
"I will." Harry promised. "Hey Daphne, next weekend is a Hogsmeade weekend and I was wondering if you would like to go with me."
"A second date then Harry? My, I must have made a good impression." Daphne said while Harry blushed. "Of course I will, Harry. I'd kiss you, but I have no desire to let that smell taint me. Go get cleaned up first."
"Great!" Harry said, now sporting a huge smile. "See you after dinner, ok?"
"Sure, now go. Your stench is making me sick." she joked as they both turned and went their separate ways. Neither of them had noticed Draco Malfoy standing in a nearby doorway listening to their conversation. Nor had they seen him grin as an idea began to form in his mind.
....
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