“You’ve got until three!” Harry shouted; a great stream of bubbles burst from him, but he held up three fingers to make sure they got the message. “One . . . ” (he put down a finger) “two . . . ” (he put down a second one)—

They scattered. Harry darted forward and began to hack at the ropes binding the small girl to the statue, and at last she was free. He seized the little girl around the waist, grabbed the neck of Ron’s robes, and kicked off from the bottom.

It was very slow work. He could no longer use his webbed hands to propel himself forward; he worked his flippers furiously, but Ron and Fleur’s sister were like potato-filled sacks dragging him back down . . . He fixed his eyes skyward, though he knew he must still be very deep, the water above him was so dark . . .

Merpeople were rising with him. He could see them swirling around him with ease, watching him struggle through the water . . . Would they pull him back down to the depths when the time was up? Did they perhaps eat humans? Harry’s legs were seizing up with the effort to keep swimming; his shoulders were aching horribly with the effort of dragging Ron and the girl . . .

He was drawing breath with extreme difficulty. He could feel pain on the sides of his neck again . . . he was becoming very aware of how wet the water was in his mouth . . . yet the darkness was definitely thinning now . . . he could see daylight above him . . .

He kicked hard with his flippers and discovered that they were nothing more than feet . . . water was flooding through his mouth into his lungs . . . he was starting to feel dizzy, but he knew light and air were only ten feet above him . . . he had to get there . . . he had to . . .

Harry kicked his legs so hard and fast it felt as though his muscles were screaming in protest; his very brain felt waterlogged, he couldn’t breathe, he needed oxygen, he had to keep going, he could not stop—

And then he felt his head break the surface of the lake; wonderful, cold, clear air was making his wet face sting; he gulped it down, feeling as though he had never breathed properly before, and, panting, pulled Ron and the little girl up with him. All around him, wild, green-haired heads were emerging out of the water with him, but they were smiling at him.

The crowd in the stands was making a great deal of noise; shouting and screaming, they all seemed to be on their feet; Harry had the impression they thought that Ron and the little girl might be dead, but they were wrong . . . both of them had opened their eyes; the girl looked scared and confused, but Ron merely expelled a great spout of water, blinked in the bright light, turned to Harry, and said, “Wet, this, isn’t it?” Then he spotted Fleur’s sister. “What did you bring her for?”