Infinite Magic (Male Reader x Harry Potter)

The Second Task

Harry: I'm... here...

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.  Harry skidded to a halt in the mud and accidentally splattered Fleur's robes as he tried to catch his breath.  He'd almost been late.

Percy: Where have you been?  The task's about to start!

Harry looked around.  Percy Weasley was sitting at the judges' table, as Mr Crouch had failed to turn up again.

Bagman: Now, now, Percy, let him catch his breath!

Dumbledore smiled at Harry, but Karkaroff and Madame Maxime didn't look at all pleased to see him.  It was obvious from the looks on their faces that they had thought he wasn't going to turn up.  Harry bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for breath.

YN: You alright, buddy?

He nodded, breathing heavily.  Ludo Bagman was now moving among the champions, spacing us along the bank at intervals of ten feet.  I was on the very end of the line.  Next to me was Harry, and on the other side of him was Krum, who was wearing swimming trunks and was holding his wand ready.

Bagman: All right, Harry?  Know what you're going to do?

Harry: Yeah.

YN: Are you sure?  Last night you didn't-

He held up his hand.  I guess he figured something out.  Bagman gave Harry's shoulder a quick squeeze and returned to the judges' table.  He pointed his wand at his throat as he had done at the World Cup.

Bagman: Sonorus!

His voice boomed out across the dark water toward the stands.

Bagman: Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle.  They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them.  On the count of three, then.  One... two... three!

The whistle echoed shrilly in the cold, still air, and the stands erupted with cheers and applause.  Without looking to see what the other champions were doing, I put my wand to my mouth, and said the incantation for the Bubble-Head charm.  I then dove into the water, using Lapse Blue to drag myself towards the center of the lake.  After about thirty seconds, I noticed... is that Myrtle?

YN: Myrtle?

My voice echoed around the bubble, but she apparently heard me because she giggled.

Myrtle: Hi YN.

YN: What are you doing here?

Myrtle: You have to go that way.

She pointed to my right.

Myrtle: I'd come with you, but... they don't like me much.  They always chase me away.

YN: Thanks Myrtle.

I held my hand in front of me, and propelled myself through the water in the direction Myrtle had pointed.  I shot through a wall of seaweed, and stared in awe at the sight in front of me.  A cluster of crude stone dwellings stained with algae had emerged suddenly out of the gloom on all sides.  Here and there at the dark windows, I saw faces... faces that bore no resemblance at all to the painting of the mermaid in the prefects' bathroom.  The merpeople had grayish skin and long, wild, dark green hair.  Their eyes were yellow, as were their broken teeth, and they wore thick ropes of pebbles around their necks.  They leered at me as I swam past.  One or two of them emerged from their caves to watch me better, their powerful, silver fish tails beating the water, spears clutched in their hands.  I sped on, staring around, and soon the dwellings became more numerous.  There were gardens of weed around some of them, and I even saw a pet grindylow tied to a stake outside one door.  Merpeople were emerging on all sides now, watching me eagerly, pointing at his webbed hands and gills, talking behind their hands to one another.  I sped around a corner and a very strange sight met my eyes.  A whole crowd of merpeople was floating in front of the houses that lined what looked like a village square.  A choir of merpeople was singing in the middle, calling the champions toward them, and behind them rose a crude sort of statue.  A gigantic merperson carved from a boulder.  Five people were bound tightly to the tail of the stone mer person. My eyes widened.  Ron was tied between Hermione and Cho Chang.  There was also a girl who looked no older than eight.  I recognized her as Fleur's sister.  And the fifth person...