Good Girl || George Weasley

43

The water closes in on all sides of me, chilling me to the bone and numbing me completely. With the gills, I can breathe, though it feels unnatural — and the webbed feet and hands make it easier to swim.

I risk a glance to my left, only to get the shit scared out of me when I lay eyes on Krum, who has the head of a shark. He's creative, I'll give him that.

But I don't have time to gawk; I only have an hour, and while that sounds like a while, this lake is huge, and I have no way of keeping track of time under here, so I figure that hurrying is my best option either way.

I'm not the greatest swimmer, but I do my best as I make my way through the dark water. I lose sight of the other Champions, which makes my chest tighten with panic, but I ignore it. I need to focus on George, and that's it. Out of the corner of my eye, I see shadowy figures: merpeople. I've read about them, but I've never seen them in person, let alone been this close to them, and it's a little unsettling.

I just need to get out of here, and fast.

Soon, I spot something in the distance — something that I can't quite make out yet, but I know it's where I need to be heading. And I can't see the other Champions, either, so maybe that's a good sign. Maybe I'm in the lead.

But even as I start to move my legs and arms faster, I let out a gasp as I feel something close around my ankle — like a hand with a long fingers. I look back, panic tightening my chest as I see a Grindylow gripping my ankle with surprising force. 

As I instinctively tug my wand out of where I'd tucked it in my swimsuit, I rack my brain for the spell. I've been taught this before, and I talked about with Remus last year, too, when he had a Grindylow in his office.

The Revulsion jinx.

The Grindylow has tightened its grip on me to the point where it's painful, and out of the corner of my eye, I see a figure swim past me, but I can't worry about that now. I twist my body, pointing my wand at the Grindylow as I perform the jinx nonverbally, putting all my energy into thinking, Relashio.

It works beautifully, the jet of water released from my wand causing the Grindylow to let go of my ankle and leave. I can see the marks from its grip, and I can still feel the pain, but I'll have to worry about that later. Now, I have to focus on getting George, and beating whoever passed me to the surface.

I turn, swimming closer, and my heart stops when I lay eyes on them. It's borderline terrifying, seeing the four bodies floating in the water, held down by ropes tied around their ankles. My eyes immediately find George — eyes closed, his hair floating around him. He looks peaceful, almost, but I want to get him the hell out of here.

Next to him is Ron, and at his feet, trying to get the rope off, is Harry. I feel a little relieved when I see him, because if there's anyone that I'm okay with beating me, it's Harry.

But I still want to win.

I'm surprised to see that next to Ron is Hermione, and I assume that she's for Krum, and on the end is a young girl — probably around nine or ten — that, judging by her silvery-blonde hair, is Fleur's little sister. Too young to be involved in all of this.

Pull yourself together, Katie, I tell myself, fixing my attention on George. As much as I hate seeing the others down here, as much as something within me is screaming that they're my friends, too, I have to get George. That's my one goal. Get George, and get out.

Harry turns when I approach him, lingering, even though he's already gotten the rope undone. I widen my eyes, giving him a look that says, what the hell are you waiting for?