The Grass Is Always Greener Chapter 17. (Patreon)

Content Warnings: Nothing.

“I did the calculations again,” Neville added a smaller ball of the slimy goop to Harry’s hand. “This should last you for an hour and some extra minutes. Thankfully there was enough in Snape’s store and what Daphne-” Tracey dug her elbow into Neville’s side, glaring at her friend.

“Point is, we have enough,” Neville said, clearing his throat hastily. “I’d give you more but-”

“But just as I can breathe underwater while the effects of the Gillyweed last, I can’t breathe air normally. I’ll have to stay in the water until the effects wear off,” Harry interjected with a reassuring smile, acting much braver than he felt. “You told me, Neville. Relax.”

“Mhm,” Neville mumbled, chewing on his nails nervously.

“Trace, where’s Daphne?”

“I bet she’s in a deeply unpleasant hell right now, mate. I met Hermione early in the morning, she told me Snape caught her and Daphne while they were committing light burglary in his stores last night. Detention with Mr. Greasy Head sucks,” George said, stepping in before Tracey could say anything.

“Why’d he let them keep the Gillyweed? Daphne didn’t mention anything last night. She was simply gone when I woke up.”

“He didn’t find the Gillyweed. They lied and told him they were searching for ingredients for a potion for… uhm…” George pointed at Harry’s crotch. “A problem you’ve been having. As for why Daphne didn’t say anything-” George clapped Harry’s shoulder. “She wants you to concentrate on the Task instead of worrying about the amount of bubotuber pus she has to clean out.”

Harry nodded, before turning to Tracey and staring at his friend intensely, “Daphne and Hermione aren’t in detention, are they?”

Tracey squeaked. “Of course they are! Snape is probably having them scrub every pot and pan in the classroom! What were they thinking, robbing his stores to make a potion for your subpar performance in bed? I mean, I bet he thinks the less time your dick’s in her, the better!”

Harry glanced at George. “Did you really run into Hermione? What’d she really say?”

George sighed. “How did you know?”

“Tracey is a shit liar, mate. You always step in to cover for her. Plus, Daphne would make up a lot of shit, but she delights in annoying Snape these days. She’d never give him the satisfaction of thinking I’m struggling in bed.” Harry shrugged.

“All I know is that I was sneaking back into the Common Room and I ran into Hermione and Daphne. They said Dobby had come to both of them and summoned them to Dumbledore’s office. I don’t know anything more, and I think neither did they at the time. We just didn’t want you to worry, mate,” George said apologetically.

“Where do you think they are?” Tracey asked.

Harry glanced to the judge’s table, at Dumbledore engrossed in quiet conversation with Madame Maxime. “I have a very good idea,” he said grimly. “And if it’s true, there’s going to be hell to pay.”

“Champions to the starting line,” an annoyed voice said from behind them.

George glared at the redhead who was poking Harry’s shoulder impatiently with his wand. “Can you give us a minute airhead?” He growled, glaring at his brother. “What new job has Crouch given you now? Errand boy?”

Percy scowled and puffed up his chest. “I’ll have you know I’m filling in for him today. I won’t tolerate a tone like that from a student Mr. Weasley.”

George waved him off impatiently. “Get bent, Perce.” He leaned closer, whispering to Harry under the guise of giving him a hug, “Fred and I will be constantly patrolling the shores of the lake. In case you need any help, okay?” he whispered.

George finally pulled away from Harry after another impatient cough from Percy, giving the man one last glare before making the trek up to the stands with Neville and Tracey, only to double back and return to the lake’s shore, joining his brother behind a clump of trees.

“Hey Perce, where’s Mister Crouch?” Harry asked, letting the man lead him to his starting spot.

“He is sick. Like I’ve told you, I’m filling in for him today,” Percy said, his voice trembling with pride. He slapped his own chest with the clipboard in his hands as if to congratulate himself before retreating to join the other judges.

Harry frowned. Skipping out on a Ball the man probably found detestable was one thing, but he seriously doubted Barty Crouch was the sort of man who would miss out on the power and attention that came with being a judge in the Tournament. There was something deeply troubling going on behind the scenes, but he was prevented from mulling over it by a familiar voice breaking him out of his reverie.

“Hi,” Fleur said, sounding just as nervous as he felt. She was stripping down to her swimsuit next to him and Harry copied her actions, knowing he had just a few minutes to get ready before the Task started.

“Fleur,” Harry murmured, giving the older girl a respectful nod. Did she know what the Task actually was? That they’d have to rescue their loved ones within an hour or risk losing them forever? Who was her hostage? Roger? No, from what he’d heard, they’d had a horrible falling out the day after the Ball after the idiot had bragged about bagging a French Veela to anyone who would listen. It had to be Gabrielle.

“You ready?” he asked, stripping down to his swimming trunks. His wand was already safely tucked inside it, charmed by Daphne to ensure it wouldn’t accidentally fall out in the water. Fleur nodded, pushing her own wand against her throat.

Harry took a deep breath and turned his focus to the lake. He quickly pushed the slimy weed into his mouth and began to chew, ignoring the absolutely revolting taste. It felt like he was licking the slime off a jug that had held water for far too long, but he ignored his urge to hurl and swallowed.

“Best of luck,” Harry whispered, genuinely meaning it. He didn’t particularly care who won the tournament anymore, and Gabrielle had become a good friend. A part of him wondered if they could all just work together as a massive middle finger to the judges for putting their loved ones at risk. But he couldn’t talk anymore. His lungs were starting to burn. He could feel an unfamiliar itch on either side of his neck, a sign of the Gillyweed starting to take effect. He had an hour to find and rescue Daphne until she was ‘lost’ forever. Harry didn’t care to find out what ‘lost’ meant in this particular context.

Fleur mouthed ‘best of luck’ since hearing her was now next to impossible. The girl had cast a Bubble Charm, encasing her head in a bubble of breathable air. Harry glanced over at Cedric, to see he’d had the same idea, except he had made a much larger bubble, the weight of which necessitated him having to support the shimmering globe and his head with his hands. Krum was mumbling under his breath, his wand pressed against his chest, but Harry could see no discernible change in the man. He hoped for Hermione’s sake the man figured out whatever he was trying to do.

Ludo Bagman’s voice boomed out across the still water toward the stands. “All the champions are ready. The Second Task will start on my whistle, and they have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them! On the count of three. One. Two… Three!”

A shrill whistle rang out and both Harry and Fleur ran up to the lake with Cedric close behind. Krum stayed by the surf, trying his best to finish the spell he was casting. Harry glanced at him one last time before wading into the icy cold water. His lungs were on fire by the time he dived into the dark expanse, the feeling only subsiding once he was surrounded by water. The gills on his neck fluttered, capturing oxygen for him and enabling him to breathe underwater. What Neville hadn’t told him were the other changes that the gillyweed would cause. Harry stretched out his tingling hands in front of them and stared at his webbed fingers in shock. He glanced at his feet. His toes had become webbed and elongated, turning almost into rudimentary flippers. Despite his less-than-stellar swimming skills, these new modifications helped him propel himself deeper into the murky water, unlike the other two champions who were struggling to wade through the dark and gloomy landscape they suddenly found themselves in. Harry pushed his glasses up his nose and swam deeper into the foggy murk, the cold seeping into his very bones as he swam deeper and deeper into the lake.

He could barely see three feet in front of him, so he relied on instinct and swimming in a straight line to navigate to the middle of the lake. He swam through the oppressive silence, passing nothing but plains of mud with tangled, dark green weeds sprouting out of them. Dull gray stones interspersed the vegetation and Harry suddenly felt like he had been transported to an entirely different world. The other champions were nowhere to be seen. He was alone in the vast expanse of water, with only the occasional silver-scaled fish darting around him keeping him company.

He kept swimming until he reached an abyss. Harry sighed, a stream of bubbles escaping his lips. Despite every instinct of his telling him not to, that it was dangerous, he knew he had to go deeper still. He swam up to and entered the forest of densely tangled, slimy weeds, pushing through it in a desperate attempt to reach Daphne and the others before the hour ran out.

Harry let out a strangled yell when he felt something grab his ankle, its long, taloned fingers sinking into his skin. Except, no sound came from his lips. All that came was a large bubble. He looked back to see a Grindylow grabbing his ankle, the small, horned water demon’s fangs bared in a smile as it let loose a screech to summon more of its colony to their location. Harry pulled out his wand from his trunks and tried to stun it in a desperate attempt to get away before they got swarmed, but it was useless. All he could summon was a jet of water. But just as he was about to give up to despair, the jet slammed into the Grindylow. The creature let loose a screech of pain and released his grip on Harry’s ankle, swimming away with burns on its skin.

Harry desperately kicked his legs, speeding through the hunting grounds of the Grindylows to get away from them as fast as possible. He kept his wand ready, shooting a jet of hot water at any Grindylow that dared to come close.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he finally emerged from the forest of weeds, exiting the hunting grounds of the Grindylows scratched and exhausted, but mostly unscathed. He doubled over and took a minute to catch his breath. A slight shimmering next to him caught his attention, and he looked up to see Fleur standing next to him. Her silvery blond hair floated in the water, glinting in the pale green light that suffused their surroundings. She was in much worse shape than he was, and he suddenly understood why the Grindylows had gone easy on him. Most of the colony had concentrated on another target, and he wondered if Cedric and Krum had even managed to make it past the vicious creatures. He pointed at the massive gash on Fleur’s shoulder that was staining the water around them with blood, but she shook her head and nodded to the sight in front of them. The ledge they were on looked down on a village made up of crude algae-covered stone huts and populated by creatures well-known to Harry from Daphne’s research.

Merfolk.

Except they were nothing like the mermaids he had seen on Muggle television growing up. As they swam down from the ledge, a few of them exited their huts to inspect the interlopers in their village. The merfolk had gray-green skin and long, dark green hair. Their eyes were yellow and their teeth were sharp. And without fail, each and every single one of them was armed with a spear or axe. He also knew from Daphne’s very effective ‘lessons’ (what made them effective was her rewarding him with a kiss every time he got an answer right.) that they weren’t the biggest fans of Veelas. And, judging from Fleur’s scowl and the way she clutched her wand, the feeling was mutual.

Still, they let them pass through their village unaccosted. Instead, more and more of them gathered the deeper they ventured, surrounding them and singing the song from the egg. Except, they kept changing the time the champions had, reminding both Fleur and him that they were on a clock.

Fleur kicked her legs to come to a halt as they entered what appeared to be a recreation of a village square. A large crowd of merpeople had gathered there, singing and taunting them. Harry paused next to Fleur, taking in the sights as his eyes adjusted to the gloom. Cedric had arrived before them. He had already freed Cho Chang from the stake she had been tied to, carrying her limp body up toward the surface of the water and to freedom. Krum was nowhere to be seen, and Harry’s eyes flickered over to Hermione’s unmoving body, his heart sinking at the sight of his best friend tied to the stake, staring lifelessly in front of her.

Harry decided not to wait for Krum anymore. He waded towards Hermione, only for four mermen to close ranks around them and point their spears at his chest. Harry got a feeling that they’d be all too happy to hack him to death.

“No help,” one of them growled, thumping his spear against the stone floor.

The merfolk who weren’t singing roared in approval.

Fleur rolled her eyes. She spotted a large, smooth rock and transfigured it into a knife, before doing the same with another and tossing it to Harry. Then, she raised her wand and pointed it threateningly at the merfolk, miming at Harry to do the same. Harry obliged, and the merfolk stared warily at the wands, slowly parting ranks to let Harry swim up to the hostages.

Harry got to work freeing Daphne first, keeping his eyes focused on her wrists and ankles to avoid looking at her long, gorgeous blonde hair floating around her head and the panicked expression on her face. Oh, there would be hell to pay for this, he decided. They could have picked anyone… Hell, had he known he would have happily forfeited the Task. He’d have suffered anything to protect his princess. Once she was freed Harry wrapped an arm around her waist and waddled over to Hermione, keeping his wand clutched tightly in his hand. The mermen roared in disapproval as he began to cut his best friend free, but the mere pointing of his wand in their direction was enough to make any who tried to come close swim away once again.

He dropped the knife and wrapped his free arm around Hermione, beginning to swim straight up with both of them pressed into his sides. It was slow going. He could no longer use his hands and thus had to resort to kicking his flipper-like feet furiously in an attempt to get them all to the surface of the lake.

Harry let loose a soundless scream at the sharp pain in his calf, a large bubble escaping his lips. He glanced down to see that a merman (either braver or stupider than the rest) had swum up to him and impaled his calf with the stone spear he held. Dark red stained the waters around them, the large gash starting to leak blood. The merfolk roared in approval, whipping themselves into a frenzy. Harry tried to aim his wand at the merman, but it was impossible with both Daphne and Hermione in his arms.

Fleur had already kicked off with Gabrielle and was well on her way to the surface before she realized Harry was not behind her. She looked down, spotting the merfolk swimming up to Harry and the hostages in his arms. Half of them had their weapons pointed at Harry, the other half at Hermione and Daphne.

“Fuck,” she swore under her breath, knowing what she was about to do would break half a dozen laws and treaties. She raised her wand, aimed it at the merman closest to Harry, and stunned him.

The jet of red light raced through the water and slammed straight into the menacing creature’s chest, dropping him right where he stood. A terrible screech echoed throughout the village, every pair of yellow eyes in the settlement shifting to the Veela who had dared to intrude in their realm and attack one of theirs.

They all dispersed as further stunning spells rained down on them, ducking into huts for cover and to grab every weapon they could find. Harry ignored the throbbing in his thigh and kept kicking his legs in a desperate attempt to swim up to Fleur before the merpeople rallied and realized they outnumbered their opponents a hundred to one and needed no magic to overwhelm them.

It was slow going without the use of his hands, and by the time he reached Fleur, they were being pursued by an entire army of armed and angry merfolk. Half a dozen merfolk fell to Fleur’s stunning spells, but they were far too many to overcome and Harry could see she was tiring due to the combined effort of spell-casting and keeping Gabrielle afloat. Both of them raced desperately to the surface in an attempt to outrun the creatures, their thrusting spears knicking their legs, the dark blue water around them soon turning red.

Just as he was about to give up, certain that escape was impossible and they would be overwhelmed, the attacks stopped. Harry looked down to see the Giant Squid protecting them with his body, its enormous tentacles slamming into groups of merpeople and driving them back to the depths of the lake.

Harry looked at Fleur who gave him a nervous smile. His lungs were burning again, but this time he knew it was because the effects of the Gillyweed were finally wearing off. The two champions tiredly waded through the remainder of the water above them, the bell that was meant to announce the one-hour mark ringing just seconds after they both breached the surface of the water.

As soon as they hit air the spell keeping the hostages in stasis broke, and three very confused women opened their eyes, spluttering and gasping for breath as they coughed out water. Harry and Fleur helped them back to the shore before collapsing into the surf, exhaustion seeping into their very bones.

Cedric was already there with Cho on his lap, both of them wrapped in a massive blanket and being fussed over by Madame Pomfrey. Harry tiredly looked at Krum. He had seemingly tried to transfigure himself into a shark, only it had gone horribly wrong and left him with flippers, a tail, and the nose of a shark, but nothing that was of practical importance. He sat alone on the surf, holding his head in his hands.

Harry numbly let Madame Pomfrey take Hermione from his arms, turning his attention to a violently trembling Daphne.

“Hey,” he whispered, gently pushing wet strands of her hair away from her face. Daphne wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest, breaking down into sobs. Harry gently rocked her but it was of no use, the mere presence of the lake worsened her panic.

Ignoring his burning and bleeding leg Harry slowly climbed to his feet, carrying Daphne in his arms and letting her burrow into him like a Koala. He cautiously began to limp back to the castle, trying to get her as far away from the lake as possible.

“Where are you going?!” Percy shouted, running after Harry. “You can’t leave before the judges score your performance. Not like you did great.”

Harry turned and glared at Percy. “Percy? I don’t give a rat’s ass. Let them give me whatever score they want, I don’t care.”

“You broke the rules, rescuing another champion’s hostage. You were outside the time limit.”

“I don’t care,” Harry growled again. He turned and started to walk towards the castle once more, Daphne nuzzling deeper into his chest.

“Potter if you don’t-”

Percy didn’t get to finish his threat. Tracey marched right up to him and socked him straight in the jaw.

“He said he didn’t care, Weasley,” she growled, towering over the redhead who had slumped to the ground, groaning in pain.

Notes:

As requested by some of you, more Twins and more Tracey in this story! I always thought Krum was the most likely to fail, given that Human Transfiguration is the hardest magic there is, and changing from human to fish has to be up there in complexity. Plus I was getting tired of the old Gabrielle needing to be rescued plotline. Hermione being in danger makes Harry's anger even worse, not that he needs it. Daphne's condition is enough for him to go ballistic. Remember, use the Invite Link in my Pinned Post to join my Discord Server!