Breaking Apart ; Harry Potter [2]

Chapter 19

Harry walked through the crowds with Neville and Ron. His nerves were rising again. More than ever.

Harry heard Fred and George shouting. Something about betting. Harry couldn't bring himself to smile.

His grip on the plantlife in his hand grew stronger. He was putting all his faith into Neville. Harry knew he shouldn't be worried about that but a small part of him was.

"You're sure about this Neville." The bespectacled boy couldn't help but ask, looking for any type of reassurance.

"Absolutely." Neville gave Harry a small confident smile before his eyes flickered back to the Black Lake and the large mountains surrounding it.

"For an hour."

"Most likely."

Alarm flared inside of Harry like a ticking time bomb preparing to go off. "Most likely?"

"Well there is some debate among Herbologists as to the effects of freshwater versus saltwater." Neville shrugged lightly.

"You're telling me this now? You must be joking."

"I just wanted to help." Guilt covered Neville's words.

Harry sighed. "Well that makes you a sight better than Robyn and Hermione." Harry managed to smile slightly at Neville. "Where are they anyway?"

"I dunno mate. They should turn up soon." Ron said, shrugging it off.

Anxiousness built up inside Harry. He wanted to see his two best friends. He needed to see them. To maybe get some reassurance and to know they're okay as he hadn't seen them in a couple of hours.

"You seem a little tense Harry." Neville observed.

"Do I?" Harry shook it off and began to look through the crowd of people to see if he could find Hermione and Robyn.

"Welcome to the Second Task. Earlier something was stolen from each of our champions. A treasure of sorts. These four treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the Black Lake. In order to win, each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface. Simple enough. Except for this, they will have one hour to do so and one hour only. After that they'll be on their own." Dumbledore's voice boomed across the Black Lake.

"Put that in your mouth." Moody hissed to Harry.

Harry hesitated before putting the Gillyweed into his mouth. His first instinct was to cough. It tasted awful.

"You may begin at the start of the cannon."

"Good luck mate." Ron smiled before Harry was ushered forward with the other three champions to the edge of the wooden dock, ready to dive into the depths of the Lake.

The next few seconds were a blur to Harry. He remembered a ringing in his ears. The cannon being fired. Then looking around to see the three champions gone. Then, suddenly, him falling into the dark abyss of the water. It seemed to be never ending as Harry struggled around.

Pain coursed through Harry's body. The Gillyweed taking hold. Harry struggled for minutes, his body twitching and convulsing from the pain and freezing needles from the Lake.

His body and limbs were beginning to grow weak and his lungs grew tired, wanting air.

Harry involuntarily screamed but only water gushed down his throat, making him shut his mouth immediately. The water burned his lungs and Harry knew he needed air and needed it fast. His surroundings were getting darker and darker.

As if a switch had just been flicked, the pain left Harry's body. He found it was easier to swim and his limbs felt light as if he was floating in midair. His lungs sighed in relief as he could breathe again. Why could he breathe again?