Headstrong

Chapter 53

The next morning Amanda was waiting with the other Champions for the Second Task. Instead of going for a swimsuit, she had put on leggings and a Gryffindor long-sleeved shirt.

Harry arrived late, sprinting as fast as he could. "I'm...here..." He panted.

"Where have you been?" said a bossy, disapproving voice as Amanda rolled her eyes. "The task's about to start!"

"Yay! Percy's here." Amanda muttered sarcastically to Harry, who grinned. "You nervous?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded, before realising something. "Is this why you said 'Hold your breath'? That was a hint?"

"Clever Harry." She grinned.

Harry frowned. "I forgot about swimmers."

Amanda flicked her wand at him out of sight. "Problem solved."

Harry looked confused, but he took the hint and took off his shirt and pants. Underneath, he was wearing swimmers. "Thanks Amanda." He muttered.

She saluted him.

Ludo Bagman then spread his voice out for the crowds to hear. "Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One...two...three!"

The whistle echoed shrilly in the cold, still air. The stands erupted with cheers and applause. Next to her, Harry was stuffing his Gillyweed into his mouth while Amanda sat down casually on the platform.

She flicked her wand over various parts of her legs and the crowd watched in awe as they slowly morphed into one tail. She then flicked her wand at her neck and gills appeared. She grinned at people thinking she was doing Transfiguration. It had taken several weeks, but she figured out how to do a partial transformation into a mermaid.

She dived into the water. She turned and saw Harry struggling, before the Gillyweed finally took affect. She swam over and waved with a smile.

She held up a finger, signalling for him to wait before she swam up to the top of the lake, leaping out of the water, flipping in the air, and diving back down, leaving the roar of applause that greeted her action.

She swam back over to Harry, who gave her a 'Really?' look. She giggled and beckoned for him to follow her.

Soon, a Grindylow grabbed Harry's ankle and she pointed her wand at it, getting rid of it as more Grindylows appeared.

They were grabbing her little brother, dragging him down. She swam over and grabbed his arms, swimming away quickly. Harry pointed to her wand, and she smacked her head as she realised he had dropped his own.

She pointed the way to go, motioning for him to continue as she swam back for his wand. Harry watched her go, then swam off.

Amanda swam through the Grindylows, eventually spotting Harry's wand and made a grab for it. It slipped through her fingers and she swam further, as it fell into a crevice. She stuck her hand into it, grasping the wand. She smiled at her success and went to pull her hand out, before realising that it was stuck.

She cursed. She tucked her wand up her sleeve and used her other hand to dig the sand around her hand. She looked up and saw Grindylows starting to sneak up on her.

She dug faster. The Grindylows attacked. She made her teeth grow into fangs and bared them at the creatures.

Eventually she got her hand unstuck and was able to swim quickly away, healing her bruises and cuts.