Dark, Twisted and Time Turned

Chapter 20: Wizarding Swimming

(*Warning: Language, discussion of death)

Outside Abraxas's window was a particularly large ring of water that glowed. That, to put it briefly, was the easiest explanation to the appearance of the ring. She scanned beneath the water for the source, able to just barely see the mermaid kingdom below the rippling water. The outside of the ring was encircled with white, seemingly water resistant flames. She stares up in awe at the tower at the centre, built entirely out of water, it seemed, spilling over the sides and forming vertical columns.

"This is your swimming pitch?" She asks, looking around, balanced on the edge of the windowsill with Perseus. He grins, flicking water from his blonde hair.

"Yep. Hogwarts is one of the only places in Europe that still does it, although the Americans play, as do the Pacific countries. There is immense pressure from the Ministry to discontinue it here since theres been several deaths lately." He points upwards at the stone walkways parallel to each other, leading out to two towers out in the water. "Thats where they put the bleachers, when we swim. The rest of the time, thats how we get to class."

"Why are there separate dorms out here?" She asks, as he casts a warming charm on himself. The lake was icy in September.

"Anyone on the swim teams have the option for dorms out here. We practice our swimming on the lower floors where the pools are. It's just so we can practice more, stay in shape. Top of our game so we don't die," He shrugs. "Come on, lets get you across." She holds her arms tight around his shoulders as he takes into the water, and she was now noticing just how much of a fish he was. In his loose school robes, he was tall and lanky. In his simple suit, as all the boys wore, the muscles of his back and shoulders bunched and tightened with every powerful backstroke he did.

"Are you alright? Do you need more warming spells?" He snorts a laugh.

"Trust me, Hermione, I'm used to swimming in cold water. Swim season starts in January, we freeze our asses off even with warming charms. Poor Lizzy has to have four or five, plus it woven into her swimsuit. Small, loses her body heat faster. Everything is so much more competitive when it's warmer, though."

"So, explain it to me. How does a swim match work?" He comes up for breath to answer.

"There's a ball they put at the top of that tower. Called the skit. The tower does just about anything it needs to to protect it from the Flyers, generally the smallest, lightest players. The Callers throw them through the air. We also have to keep the tallet off the water, in the air at all times. It explodes," he pauses, dipping his face back in the water and propelling forward, finally crossing the fire. There's no warmth to it. "Fifteen points if you're holding it when it does. The skit, worth fifty points."

"How do people die? It doesn't even sound that hard." Perseus scoffs at her.

"Oh, please. Swimming and throwing people is hard. And there's Grindylows and bludgers. There's Flyers being flung at a deadly tower of water, Callers who catch exploding balls and throw people. Beaters, hitting bludgers towards us all. Drits, keep the grindylows away from the rest of us, stop the other drits from helping their teams. There's a very high chance of drowning, a good chance of concussions. It's hard." As they near the centre of the ring, she watches the water flowing into the pillar of water. The current was strong enough to drag Perseus towards it.

"Damn, I didn't think about your added weight. I'll have to go under it so we don't get dragged in. Hold tight." She wraps her arms around tighter as he dives beneath the water. She takes a deep breath before she's dragged under with him, and the water chills her to the bone the instant she goes under. She tucks her chin against his back to restrict the drag, listening to the thundering sound of water echoing around her. It took several, agonizingly cold moments before they come out the other side, and he swims faster towards the towers spilling light onto the water.