Did I Use Too Much Magic?

Chapter 22

Ron's POV

I open my eyes and peel my right cheek off the pages of a book. I wearily look around the room, the Common Room, and remember how last night the other boys went to bed but I knew I had to stay awake, turns out I couldn't. I concentrated my gaze at a clock across the room and noticed it was nearly eleven o clock... I'd slept late.

Oh, Merlin's beard.

The second task starts in ten minutes, I don't have anything to help me complete it. I'm going to have to go to the lake and tell the teachers I can't do it. That I failed. I'll let everyone down.

I'm just standing up to go when Harry bursts in, "There you are! Get changed NOW!"

I run upstairs with a new sense of urgency, Harry on my tail. I get in to some trunks, jumper and cloak and we head back downstairs. As we leave the Common Room I say, "But Harry, I've got nothing to compete with,"

"Do you think I'm that useless?" he pushes a green, slimy lump in to my hand, "This is Gillyweed, I had Dobby get me some this morning," he continued, seeing my puzzled face.

"What does it do?" I ask, looking skeptically at the Gillyweed.

"I don't know but Dobby said it worked," he shrugged.

I turn to face him and grabbed his shoulders, "You are going on what a house elf said? You didn't find this in a book? You didn't think to ask the house elf in question how the hell it's going to help?!"

"No, I got stressed and asked Dobby and this was the answer," seeing my face he quickly added, "But Ron, what else do you have to use?"

I sigh, knowing he was right and we ran the rest of the way through the grounds to the lake. The crowds of students were all in stands a little way away from the shore and the champions were stood at the edge along with the judges, "Harry, where's Hermione?"

He didn't have time to respond, McGonagall grabbed me and chastised me, "Where have you been Weasley? Hurry up!"

I quickly strip down to my trunks and walked backwards to the shore scanning the crowd for Hermione, who I still couldn't see. All the champions nod at each other sharing tentative glances. Professor Dumbledore then uses his wand to project his voice, "Students, as the champions already know they have to go in to the lake and search for something that is very important to them. They have one hour to complete this task and they are awarded points effectively for the order they exit the lake, good luck to you and let the task begin,"

Here goes nothing.

I shove the Gillyweed in to my mouth and chew. The consistency was like fatty meat, where your teeth can't chew it enough but then once you got to the middle it got all squelchy and it tasted rank. The other three champions had already dove in to the lake whilst I stood in excruciating pain at the sides of my neck. Once the pain had disappeared I found I couldn't breath. I pull my hands away from my neck and see they have become attached through web like skin.

I then become all to aware that I have wasted roughly 2 minutes of my hour.

I jump in to the lake with a roar of applause from the crowd. Once I get in to the water I can breath again... I have gills! Dobby was right! I would have to buy that elf a new pair of socks soon!

I then realise how vast this lake is and how little time I have to search it. I swim with ease through the weeds and other plant life and quite enjoy the freedom even with the task at hand. I must have been swimming for coming up to an hour and I'm starting to panic, the poem said once the hour has come my important thing is lost forever.