Heart & Soul (The Untold Harry Potter story)

Chapter 47

Castor spotted the bright red hair and wile curls belonging to Ron and Hermione. She swam forward to further inspect the other figures, noticing Cho Chang's dark locks, and Eliza's brunette hair and freckles. The last figure looked very similar to Fleur, and Castor could only assume that this was her younger sister.

The mermaids began to converge on them, and Castor looked around warily at the angry creatures. She turned in every direction, looking for any sign of the other champions. Harry began to work on unlocking the chain around Ron's ankle, working the key into the padlock twisting it to get it to open. The mermaids began to shriek at another approaching figure, and Castor watched as Cedric swam up to unlock Cho from her constraints. The Hufflepuff student tapped the watch on his wrist at them, an indication they were running out of time.

The Hufflepuff seeker grabbed a hold of Cho's arm as he swam up to the surface, until Harry and Castor could no longer see him. Harry grabbed his wand as he tried to free Hermione, until one of the mermaids pointed her trident at his neck.

"But she's my friend too." Harry protested, surprising Castor that he was able to speak underwater. Castor swam forwards, pushing the mermaid's trident away from Harry as forcefully as the water would allow.

"Only one!" The mermaid glared at them until something beyond their shoulders caught their eye. The mermaids scattered, shrieking in fear as they swam away to hide. Castor turned and barely managed to push Harry away from her as a giant shark head shoved itself between them.

Harry startled as the apparent form of Viktor Krum bit off the chain that held Hermione, dragging her away through the water. Castor rolled her eyes and swam forward to begin to unlock the chain that held Eliza as Harry began to work on the chain that held Ron captive. He glanced at Fleur's sister and began to look around for the Beauxbatons champion as he grabbed a hold of his stolen treasure. He then watched as Castor struggled with Eliza's lock, the key jammed and unmoving. She looked up at him and waved him to leave without her.

"Go!" She mouthed to him, wriggling the key in the lock.

"What about you?" She understood his raspy voice even through the water that ran through his gills.

"GO!" She waved him on again, more forcefully as she continued to fight with the lock. Harry pulled out his wand, aimed it at Fleur's sister and released her from her constraints.

~

Above the water, Remus and Pollux watched nervously as Cedric and Cho, as well as Viktor and Hermione broke through the surface, coughing and paddling towards the platforms. Madame Pomfrey waited for them with towels and vials of Pepper Up Potion, the matron nurse cursing Dumbledore's name all while doing her job.

Remus watched Pollux become more worried for his twin as well as Harry, his expression growing more concerned by the minute.

~

Harry struggled to paddle through the water with two people on his arm. He began to feel the effects of the gillyweed wear off, his gills shrinking and the webbing between his fingers and toes disappearing. He looked down to Castor, noticing that she was still struggling with Eliza.

He felt slimy fingers grip his ankle and drag him down. Grindylows, with their sharp teeth and high pitched growls swarmed him on every side, pulling and attacking him for taking a treasure that wasn't his. Harry kicked at the small underwater creatures, dong his best to shake them off. He pushed Ron and Fleur's sister up above him, guiding their forms to float to the water's surface. The Grindylows swarmed around him further though some of them tried to go after Fleur's sister. Several bright white spells stunned the creatures, and the grindylows fell away through the water.