Found AIAOY 4

Chapter 15

Fred overtook Harry, as he would have--His legs were longer.  First out of the castle, he shouted to make a path through the crowd waiting.  "Move!"  Harry followed behind, barrelling through anyone who entered the empty space Fred had left behind.

A line had formed, a long one.  Apparently, no one had thought it necessary to alert the bodies of students that they would be taking secondary transportation to the second event and as a result, a queue extended wildly.

Ignoring the shouts of other students--students who couldn't possibly have understood--Fred and Harry launched themselves into the next boat with such force it nearly toppled over entirely.  "Don't these damn things move any faster!"  Harry shouted, reaching over and paddling with his hand to speed the boat farther.  The water was cold as ice, which it had been only a few weeks earlier.

"Can't think about that."  Harry silenced the instant drifting of his thoughts to how cold the girls must be.  "Have to get to them."

Fred leaned over his side of the boat and followed Harry's example, his hand cutting through the water as fast as he could.  Still a handful of boat-lengths from the scaffolding of platforms the students, professors, and other champions were on, Dumbledore's voice began to announce the beginning remarks.

"Welcome to the second task!"  The students all around let out a wave of cheers.  "Last night, something was stolen from each of our champions--A treasure of sorts."  Fred pushed himself to get to their destination faster, though he didn't know what he was going to do when he got there.  "These treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the Black Lake."

Harry let the momentum of the enchanted boat and what he and Fred had added to it take them the last bit, unscrewing the top of the gillyweed.

"In order to win, each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface.  Simple enough--except for this.  They will have but one hour to do so, and one hour only."

Harry jumped from the boat and hit the wood running, shoving the horrid plant into his mouth and pushing his way to where the others were already lined up.

"You may begin with the start of the cannon."  Filch lit the fuse at Dumbledore's direction, the boom of the cannon reverberating through the riggings as the three champions on time dove into the water.

Harry, behind them all, stumble-ran the last few steps.  The skin around his throat had begun to prickle and burn painfully and, in the safety of under the water, his wandering fingers found slits at the source of the pain--Harry could breath underwater through his gills.  The effects of the gillyweed further made themselves clear as he began to swim madly into the Black Lake, his hands and feet now webbed.

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Fred had been restrained by Professor McGonagall at the entrance of the extended dock the three champions had been on before the cannon, the professor trying to speak to him as his shouts attracted the attention of every person on the lake.

"She can't swim!  She can't bloody swim!"  Fred's voice only broke and grew more strained as he loudened himself.  "S-She's afraid of water!"

"Mr Weasley!"  Professor McGonagall shouted over him.  "It is out of our hands now, the tournament has commanded it."  He didn't know that she had had to be restrained herself when Barty Crouch had involved her in the tricking of her students, in the kidnapping for them to be used as bait.

George and Ron reached the dock with Ginny between them at the peak of Fred's screams, hearing as they cut through the crowd the sobs that had begun to replace them.