Hermione and Ginny had illuminated the tips of their wands and were making their way farther back into the caverns, the two of them panting like crazy. Surely there had to be another way out. Everything Pansy was hollering out to them only made them scamper deeper into the tunnels. Then a strange sound made them stop dead in their tracks, causing them to stare in alarm at the direction they were heading.
“What IS that, Hermione??”
“I don’t know, Ginny, but it can’t be good!” A moment later there was a rush of water that swept them off their feet.
“HOLD ON! IT’S SWEEPING US BACK TOWARD THEM!”
“WHAT DID SHE DO – TURN THE WHOLE BLOODY LAKE LOOSE ON US??”
“I DON’T KNOW! DO THEY REALLY INTEND TO DROWN US??”
“HANG ON!”
They were forced into a small curvature of cavern, something of a dead end. The two of them were spun around in place, tumbling over each other as water rushed on by. Somehow they managed to scramble to their feet and stay in place, hanging onto a chunk of rock for dear life as well as that of each other.
The flow of water subsided somewhat as the tunnels were partially filled. The two of them ended up totally drenched in their school robes. How they managed to hang onto their wands was anyone’s guess.
In an instant Hermione knew what was happening. “They’re trying to force us back!” she blurted out in alarm. “If we go back now we’ll be captured for sure!”
“I don’t even want to guess what they might do to us!” Ginny gasped, alarmed over how the water continued to rise all around them
“But if the water is coming in from somewhere, that means there’s got to be an exit out of here, right? Will we come out somewhere out in Black Lake?”
“I sure hope so!”
“Ginny, do we go forward or head back?”
The Gryffindor girl looked at Hermione for a long moment. She used her lighted wand to look ahead and then look back in the direction they’d come. Then she nodded grimly at her friend.
“I’m with you all the way, Hermione!” she proclaimed. “I’m willing to look for another exit out of here if you are!”
For Hermione there was no other option. She wasn’t going back to risk ending up in Pansy’s clutches again. Who knows what that Slytherin girl might be capable of!
“Then let’s get going!” she declared, pointing her lighted wand forward. “The water’s rising fast in here! We’ve got to find an exit and get out of here!” And with that the two began slogging their way forward in ever rising water.
It was not rushing through the caverns as swiftly as it had been previously. But with each step Ginny became painfully aware that it was getting higher and higher. It was getting difficult just trying to stay on their feet!
It finally got high enough to where Hermione slipped into a depression in the floor and slipped under the surface. “HERMIONE??” Ginny gasped in alarm. The Granger girl came back up sputtering.
“I guess we start swimming!” she called out, coughing as she shook the water out of her eyes. Ginny Weasley nodded as she too was lifted up off the floor of the cavern. She was forced into a combination of treading water and trying to swim forward while at the same time awkwardly using her wand as a light source.
Both lapsed into uncomfortable silence as they swam, tread water, and grunted from their exertions. They were intent on reaching the lake and finding some sort of exit out of the caverns. But each one contemplated the exact same thought as they continued moving forward, one they were quite uncomfortable sharing with the other…
What if they couldn’t make it out and were forced back into Pansy’s clutches? What would that nutter do to them then??
—
“What the bloody hell?”
All the girls gasped and then turned to see Draco Malfoy standing there staring in complete astonishment. “Would someone mind telling me what’s going on down here?”
“We’ve got Granger and Weasley back there!” Pansy said proudly, pointing at the force field and the water rising behind it. “Now we’re going to find out the exact location of those illegal meetings they’ve been having!”
You’ve got Ron and that mudblood down here in the caverns?” Draco asked with a scowl, shaking his head in amazement. “Are you daft?”
“Not Ron, Draco!” Pansy protested indignantly. “We’ve got his SISTER Ginny! She’s down in the tunnels with that mudblood right now!”
“And you’re going to get the location of these meetings out of the two of them how? …by drowning them?”
“Of course not! They’re going to be forced to come back so we can catch them! Then we’re going to make them tell us where they’re holding those meetings!”
“Force them to come back, eh?” Draco asked dubiously, staring beyond the force field at the rising water. “Well I sure don’t see them coming back, Parkinson! You expect to get information out of a couple of corpses?”
“They’ll come back, Draco; they’ve GOT to! There’s nowhere else for them to go!”
“Are you SURE about that?”
“Sure I’m sure!”
“Then why don’t I just wait here with you,” he said sourly, folding his arms and planting himself firmly in place. “This I’ve just GOT to see!”
—
“Hermione, the water’s getting higher! Are you sure this is such a good idea?”
“We can’t go back now, Ginny! They’ll catch us for sure! Who knows what they’ll do to us! Maybe we’ll get expelled for invading their common room!”
“Can’t we just tell someone how they kidnapped you?”
“Tell who… Umbridge?” Ginny immediately nodded her head, knowing that was clearly not an option.
“You’re right – you’re right! So what do we do now?”
“We’re committed, Ginny! We’ve got to keep going forward! The exit to Black Lake has GOT to be up here somewhere! All this water has got to be coming in from SOMEWHERE!!”
Ginny nodded… and then slipped under the surface with a burble. She came back up sputtering, “Just a minute, Hermione!” Then she slipped under the surface again.
Hermione Granger paused as she turned and flashed her lighted wand around. But her friend did not resurface right away. “Ginny??” she cried out anxiously, frantically waving the light around to locate her friend. “GINNY??”
The Weasley girl came back up panting loudly for breath. “I ditched my shoes, Hermione!” she blurted out. “They keep dragging me down! I think I’m going to ditch my robe too before I drown myself!” Then she slipped back under.
Hermione held her light over the area and was able to see her friend work her way out of her robe and tie until she was only in her bra and knickers. Then she came back up. “It’s bloody cold, but at least I won’t keep sinking!” Ginny explained to her bemused friend.
Hermione paused and then nodded. “Hold my wand,” she asked, handing it over to Ginny. Then she took a deep breath and went under.
Ginny waved both wands over the area, watching as Hermione struggled with her footwear. She finally got them off her feet, bubbling like crazy as she next fought with her robe. Then there was a big burst of bubbles that panicked Ron’s sister.
Ginny tucked both wands into her bra and then slipped under to help. She grabbed Hermione and struggled with her robe to help get it off. It finally came free and they both came back up, coughing and sputtering…
“Thanks, Ginny! I think I’m going to keep my shirt – oh bloody hell; just forget it!” Then she slipped below the surface again.
Ginny pulled both wands back out to keep a close eye on her. But she wasn’t visible directly below the surface now! Where had she gone??!!
“HERMIONE – HERMIONE??!! WHERE ARE YOU??!!”
The soaked blouse popped up and started drifting back into the caverns. Then there was a sudden gasp as Hermione came up partway down the passage. She had to swim back to their position where Ginny handed over her wand.
“For a minute there you scared me!”
“For a minute there I scared myself! Now let’s get going! This water is bloody cold!” Then Hermione turned and headed further down the darkening passageway.
Ginny held her wand up and saw how close the ceiling was. Then she gulped nervously as she set out after her friend. The water felt like it was getting colder. Surely that meant they were getting closer to the exit and to the frigid waters of Black lake!
—
Back near the common room Draco Malfoy impatiently tapped his foot while Pansy Parkinson and her girls waited with growing anxiety. “Well, Parkinson?” he finally sighed with contempt. “I don’t see them yet! Got any more bright ideas?”
“They’ll be back here any moment now!” Pansy protested indignantly. “I’m SURE of it! They’re not going to go drown themselves, are they?? That would be stupid!!”
“I wouldn’t put anything past that mudblood nutter,” Draco scowled. “This was a brilliant plan, Parkinson; simply brilliant!” But the disgust in his voice clearly indicated he felt exactly the opposite. All Pansy and the others could do was watch and wait with growing apprehension, wondering if perhaps they had just inadvertently drowned a couple of Hogwarts students…
—
“Hermione, we’re running out of air!” Both girls had paused up in a diminishing air pocket, their heads tipped back as they gasped for breath.
“I KNOW that, Ginny!” her friend gasped in growing alarm. “But what else can we do?”
“We’ve got to go back!”
“We’ve come too far! I don’t think I can hold my breath that long; can you?”
“Do you know that bubble-head charm?”
“No I don’t; do you?”
“Me either! Hermione; how are we going to hold our breath??”
“I don’t know, Ginny! But this air pocket is going fast! We’ve got to find another one! Come on; follow me!”
Hermione slipped under the surface and pulled with her arms, bubbles trailing out of her mouth and nose as she moved further down the cavern tunnel, all the while using her wand to help illuminate the way. The greenish walls helped reflect the light back to them. But it seemed they were rapidly running out of time… and options!
Ginny tried to stay right on her heels, bubbling out of her nose as she followed along. The water was really cold; she was starting to get numb all over! If they didn’t get out soon they were either going to drown or die of hypothermia! And if they disappeared in Black lake, Pansy might not tell anyone what happened! Their bodies might never be recovered!!
Hermione found another air pocket and emerged up into it. She was forced to tip her head back even more, gasping wildly for breath. She was chilled to the bone and was starting to lose hope. But she felt she had to stay strong for Ginny’s sake as her friend emerged up into the pocket with her a couple seconds later.
“Almost… there!” she gasped. “We… have to be… almost there!” Ginny nodded bravely, but she didn’t believe a word of it. She was already starting to wonder how her friends would react once they both turned up missing…
—
“Uh-oh,” one of Pansy’s girls muttered in alarm as a Gryffindor tie drifted into view. It was ominously followed by a robe the current had pushed back toward them. But there was no sign of their quarry.
Pansy gasped in horror. Then her shoulders slumped in defeat. She turned toward Draco but she couldn’t bring herself to face him.
“Brilliant, Parkinson!” he told her, shaking his head in disgust. Then he angrily pointed toward the caverns.
“Their bodies are drowned somewhere back there in our caverns… and it’s YOUR OWN BLOODY FAULT! Now you’d better drain all this water and then get rid of their bodies, ok? I’m not taking the heat for this!” Then he spun on his heels and angrily marched out of the caverns, muttering to himself about the stupidity of the female gender.
Pansy looked at the other girls around her who were starting to slink away. “Where do you gits think you’re going?” she demanded. But she no longer had power over any of them, not after killing a couple of Hogwarts students. Soon she found herself all alone.
“Bloody hell!” she muttered under her breath. Then she cast a spell in the direction of all that water behind the force field…
—
“Hermione; we’ve got to get moving! The air is almost gone!”
Ginny’s friend nodded tiredly and then gasped for breath, filling her lungs with as much air as she could. But she wasn’t sure where the next air pocket was going to be. And she wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold her breath anymore down here. The cold was really sapping her strength!
She thought about heading back, but by now it certainly had to be much too far away to make it on one breath. She now believed they were either too far from the entrance to Black lake, or there was simply no exit to find. Hermione Granger firmly believed they were both going to drown down here.
What would happen then? Would Pansy find them and bring them out? Not bloody likely. She would probably let them disappear in the maze of tunnels or end up drowned somewhere at the bottom of Black Lake. She would never get to see Harry again, would never get to tell Ron how deeply fond of him she had become.
She looked at Ginny who was still gamely swimming with her. She felt sorry for her as she knew Ginny had feelings for Harry. Now those feelings would never be fully explored.
Her lungs heaved and she lost a burst of air. Instinctively she headed upward for the cavern ceiling. But there was no air to be had. A moment later her lungs simply gave out…
Ginny bubbled in horror as she watched Hermione’s body start to jerk and convulse in the throes of drowning. She cried out in horror and rushed over to her, scooping her up in her arms. But there was no air pocket to be had; nothing she could do for her as her own lungs were on fire! Soon she would be drowning too!
She suddenly became aware of the current taking them both forward. Somehow her mind told her it was Pansy making sure their bodies would end up in Black Lake and not found somewhere in the caverns to incriminate the Slytherin house. She shuddered from the cold, bubbling weakly as Hermione continued to spasm in her arms.
It suddenly grew lighter; were their wands brightening the tunnels? She looked around but the cavern walls were suddenly gone. Ginny began kicking upward with all her might, noticing that the bubbles she released were now going quite a distance upward.
She kicked harder, her lungs on fire as her stomach heaved insistently. Her body felt numb all over; it was only a matter of moments! Remembering what Harry had done at the Tri-wizard competition, and with her arms clutched tightly around Hermione’s body, she pointed her wand upward and cast a spell.
Ginny Weasley was suddenly aware of movement as they both shot upward together. Then they were out of the water and arching back downward. They landed roughly upon a section of sand next to some rocks, an unconscious Hermione landing on top of her and knocking the breath out of her.
She coughed and sputtered, all dizzy and disoriented. Then she realized Hermione wasn’t breathing. She had to do something or she was going to lose her!!
She remembered some CPR training she had taken so she started pumping on her friend’s chest, trying to pump the water out of her lungs. Then she bent over her mouth and blew a couple of deep breaths into her. Hermione’s chest rose and fell… rose and fell again…
…and then she coughed once, spewing water out of her mouth.
“Hermione?? HERMIONE??!!” But there was no further movement.
Ginny tried pumping her chest again several times. Then she pressed their lips together and blew two more deep breaths into her lungs. Hermione’s chest rose and fell… rose and fell again…
…and once more water was coughed out of a set of lungs. Then the Granger girl’s eyelids fluttered.
“Hermione?? HERMIONE?? BREATHE! YOU’D BETTER BLOODY WELL BREATHE FOR ME!”
Hermione blinked again… sputtered up more lake water… and then went into a coughing fit. Ginny grabbed her and lifted her up into her arms, immensely relieved as she hugged her tightly… only to realize how bitterly cold her friend was!
With all her remaining strength she eased Hermione back down onto the sand long enough to go around and gather up any driftwood she could find, gathering it into a pile. Then she started what soon became a roaring fire. She got her friend as close as she dared without singing her, doing her best to rub warmth back into her terribly chilled body.
Hermione coughed again but she was breathing better… breathing on her own now. She blinked her eyes in confusion before curiously looking at her friend. “Ginny, did you just… kiss me?”
“That’s ALL you can think about??” Ginny Weasley said with a laugh of relief as tears streaked down her cheeks.
Hermione looked all around. Then her face registered her surprise at where they were. “How did we… get out of the caverns?”
“I don’t really know,” Ginny admitted. “I think maybe Pansy figured we drowned so she reversed the direction of the water. I guess the current took us out into the lake.”
“That git!” was all her friend could say.
“You said it, Hermione. So what do we tell the others?”
Hermione looked at the two of them sitting there wearing only their bras and knickers and looking quite bedraggled. Then she smiled wryly. “I say we tell them nothing. I don’t want any of the boys trying to imagine how we came out of the water looking like this! I say we find some clothes and then get back into Hogwarts without saying one bloody word!”
“Brilliant,” Ginny agreed with a nod. Then she paused before asking, “So what do you think Pansy will do when she sees us tomorrow?”
“If she knows what’s good for her she won’t say a word,” Hermione surmised. “She’ll probably treat it like it never happened. I say we do the same. And we never tell Ron or Harry what happened or they will be blooming mad and will want to seek revenge.” Again Ginny nodded her agreement.
“Let’s get warmed up,” Hermione told her, finally able to smile a little now that it was all over. “Then let’s see if we can find some clothes somewhere and then get back into Hogwarts without having to explain ourselves.” Then she shivered as she added, “I’d forgotten how bloody cold that water is! No more swims for me!”
“Me either,” Ginny replied. There was an awkward moment before she murmured, “Oh bloody hell!” as she reached over and hugged her friend. Hermione warmly hugged her back, totally oblivious to the chill as well as their current state of attire…
—
At breakfast the next morning Pansy Parkinson nearly choked on her oatmeal when she saw Hermione and Ginny calmly walk to their table and then sit down to eat. Some of the other Slytherin house girls gasped and then started murmuring among themselves in utter amazement. “You are bloody lucky, Parkinson.” was all Draco whispered to the girl who wanted to be his girlfriend.
When they sat down to eat Harry wanted to know where the two had been all night long. “Girl talk.” was Ginny’s coy response. “And that’s all we’re saying on the matter.”
“Girls!” Ron Weasley sighed heavily in exasperation as he went back to his meal. “I’ll never understand them!”
“Don’t even try, Ron,” Harry said, shaking his head as he went back to his oatmeal. “Don’t even try.”
As it turned out, the incident would be quickly forgotten the moment Headmaster Delores Umbridge summoned another teacher to her office, seeking to use a special serum to loosen some lips…
© 2015 (written for JQPublic Aug 2 ’15 by riwa)