Heroes at Hogwarts

twenty-five | swimming and situations

harry

Hermione, Seamus, and Michael joined them out at the lake. It was late, just before dinner, and Michael had green hair.

"Um, what's with the hair, mate?" Ron asked with a chuckle.

Michael scowled. "We ran into Bianca and Zoe. Hermione won't make it go away."

Neville laughed and waved his wand. Michael's hair went back to normal. Other than Hermione, Neville was the only one that could fix charms gone wrong. Every time Ron or Harry tried, they made the charm get worse. At least they were better than Seamus, he'd have made Michael explode.

Ginny popped up from under the water and spit some out like a fountain. Harry laughed as Percy popped up right beside her.

"You guys," Ginny yelped, "the squid is right there!" She pointed straight down into the water.

Harry stood, pretending to try to see. "Can't see anything, Gin."

She rolled her eyes. "Ok, smart-aleck."

Percy chuckled. "No really, it's right beneath us."

"Don't you get to see the squid all the time?" Dean asked. "As a Slytherin?"

Percy turned to him. "What?"

"There's a rumor that the common room is in the lake." Seamus piped in. "Is that true?"

"No." Percy laughed. "It's not in the lake. How would we get there?"

Harry sat back and sent a look to Ron and Hermione. When they were younger, they'd once snuck into the Slytherin common room. Percy wasn't lying, the common room wasn't in the lake.

Neville hummed. "I guess that is a flaw in the theory."

Ginny splashed Harry. "Come on, you're the only one who hasn't gotten in!"

Harry pointed to the three that had just walked up. "That's not true. Hermione, Seamus, and Michael haven't gotten in."

She frowned at him. "Suit yourself."

When Percy surfaced again he sent Harry a smile. Ever since his girlfriend, Annabeth, had arrived earlier that day, he'd seemed more lively. More like the boy that had arrived at the beginning of the year. Percy splashed him.

Harry glanced down and frowned. The splash just went right by him, and hit Hazel and Will siting behind him.

"Percy!" Hazel screeched, and she dove into the water after him. Will laughed. Harry pulled his feet up so they wouldn't get wet.

It wasn't that he was being a bore. He just felt...weird to think about water. Two days ago he'd been trying to shower when the water hitting him didn't get him wet. The next day he hiccupped and Luna's water cup exploded. They'd blamed it on Seamus, but for some reason Harry was certain it was him. Something strange was going on. What would happen if he sneezed next to the lake? Harry didn't want to think about it.

Dean jumped back into the water, and this time the water did hit Harry, but he didn't even feel it. No water droplets, nothing. It seemed to just dry as soon as it touched his skin. What if he tried swimming? There were some things his friends were bound to notice if he hopped out of the lake completely dry.

Hermione laughed. "You're all going to need to get out if you want to be dry for dinner!"

Percy got out of the water while Ginny plopped down into the lake one last time. Dean ran out, getting everyone on the bank- except Harry- wet. They all laughed and shoved him back into the water.