Hermione seemed to think about that for a moment and then gave a little nod in agreement. "I suppose you're right. If nothing else I will be there to help him research whatever he is going to face. Thanks Daphne, I needed to hear that."
"Sure." Daphne shrugged and then went back to her essay. Hermione recognized that as the end of their conversation and left the table so that Daphne could get back to her essay. Hermione didn't know why she had originally thought it would be a good idea to ask Daphne about her worries but was glad she did. As she walked out of the library Hermione's mind was racing as it tried to think of ways to objectively determine what branches of magic she was best at. Pictures of charts and graphs showing the results of her experiments were already popping up in her head.
...
Harry sat at the edge of the lake getting ready to begin his first real underwater exploration. After hours upon hours of research he had determined that there was nothing in the lake beyond his capabilities to handle as long as he did not anger the Merpeople village. Merpeople had their own brand of magic that rivaled that of humans. No one was really sure which was better because there had never been a true war between humans and Merpeople. The fact that one lived on land and the other underwater seemed to keep them separate enough to ease any conflicts that might arise.
After casting a warming charm and the bubble head charm Harry dove under the water. He immediately noticed that the bubble head charm seemed to help his visibility underwater a little as if he had been wearing goggles. Still, the visibility was poor towards the shore but as he swam farther out he was relieved to find that it was improving. This part of the lake appeared to be calm and Harry took the time to stop swimming and observe his surroundings.
The lake was far deeper than he had thought it would be. The first fifty feet or so from the shore were shallow but that was followed by a steep drop that led to the main part of the lake. From his vantage point Harry could a large, dark shape gracefully moving in the distance and assumed it was the giant squid. Schools of fish were swimming away from the squid as quickly as they could. The floor of the lake was covered with green plants that swayed in the currents. Elsewhere, Harry could see the ruins of what was once an impressive stone building and he briefly wondered what had happened to it. He could not see the Merpeople village from here, but guessed that it would be in a deeper part of the lake in the direction the giant squid had come from.
Having no desire to meet the Merpeople yet, Harry began swimming in the opposite direction and continued trying to remember the layout of the lake. It was going to be much more difficult than he had anticipated, he realized, because the lake was far larger than he had assumed. Even if he spent all of his free time in the lake there was no way he could map out all of it by the time of the second task. Perhaps simply exploring the lake was not the solution he had been looking for. Frowning slightly, Harry realized he would have to start thinking of another way to ensure victory in the next round.
For the next hour Harry continued to explore, slowly coming to the realization that he much preferred life on the ground or in the air to that underwater. On the ground he could run and on his broom he could soar through the air at even higher speeds, but under water he was painfully slow. He attempted to use blasting hexes to propel himself forward but all that did was blow a hole in a nearby rock. He made a mental note to look up spells that would help him move underwater and continued on.
Harry was swimming through a deep valley when he noticed group of creatures approaching him. As they got closer he saw that they were Grindylows and there were four of them. The pale green animals have sharp green teeth and horns. Although aggressive on their own, it is as a pack that they become truly dangerous. Four Grindylows should not be ignored, but are not a real threat. That was when Harry noticed that the group of Grindylows in front of him was not his only problem. Four more Grindylows had managed to sneak up on him from behind. Harry cursed, wondering how he had let that happen, and then realized that he could hear very little of what was going on underwater. A fact that was probably made worse by the bubble head charm he was using. 'There's another reason to use the gillyweed in the tournament' Harry thought as he drew his wand and prepared to fight off the underwater beasts.
"Relashio!" Harry called, sending the revulsion jinx at the group in front of him. One of the books he had read recommended the jinx when fighting Grindylows but he was disappointed to see that the spell merely knocked them back a few feet and made them angry. Groaning at his spell's failure, Harry turned and sent a powerful banishing charm at the group behind him which knocked them back far enough so that he would have time to take on the first group. Those four angry Grindylows were rapidly advancing.
"Defodio!" he said, pointing his wand at one of the Grindylows. He wasn't quite sure what the gouging curse would do to a Grindylow and cast it more out of curiosity than anything else. He was quite surprised to see a large chunk of the creature's chest fall off its body as it briefly screamed before dying. 'That was a little disgusting…' Harry thought as he prepared to cast the next spell. A quick wave of the wand and a yell of "Diffindo" was enough to sever the head of another Grindylow leaving only six of them left.
....
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