Chapter 21 ~ Sea Thrift

''Let's see it again Albus, just to double check.'' Lily adressed the holder of the shell. Albus sang a verse of ''Goblin Town'' as loud as he could and the shell opened to reveal the eye, and the then pictures once more. 

''Ok, so, the black lake's easy enough, that's where it'll be held.'' Lily watched the images. ''Mer village, we'll probably have to go there - and that's where the treasure chest'll be, I think.'' The images drifted through the ball of blue. ''Then the temple. We take whatever's in the chest to there - and then I think we unlock those doors - meaning that there must be a key in the chest.'' She looked at Albus. ''Correct?'' 

''Yup.'' He let the shell close. ''Well, I 'spose we've done all we can. I like to know what's behind those doors though.''

Lily shrugged. ''Probably just a way out.'' She stood up and grabbed her bag. ''Right, time for potions. We'll have to get the Sea Thrift off Professor Batyaeva today, as the task's tomorrow.'' Albus nodded and followed her out of the common room, still feeling slightly uneasy at the idea of growing a tail...

***

''Ok, there you go.'' Professor Batyaeva handed Lily two of the dried flower heads in a small jar. ''Remember, only cosume them when you're touching the water.'' She glanced at Albus, who was still looking unsure. ''Don't worry Albus, it's just a great way of getting around underwater. You're lucky I have some, it's very expensive. Just owe me back be getting this task done well.'' She smiled. ''Hogwarts needs to win this year.''

***

''Follow me champions. You should all have swimming costumes on underneath, like I instructed.'' Katie Bell made ready to march them down to the lake. They all nodded in answer to her question, all feeling slightly nervous, though not nearly as bad as they had been with the first task. They had had more preparation this time.

The sun was shining cold on the grey-green surface of the lake, but the wind was cold and the sun did little to warm them, the six champions all shivering openly, even the Durmstrang boys, who had thick furs on. They crossed a small wooden causeway that connected with the large jetty built in the center of the lake. The viewers wouldn't be able to see what was happening, but they would wait there until the task was over, sitting up in the sheltered seating areas.

Albus wished they were up there, the feeling growing stronger as the wind got strengthened, making large, frothing waves on the surface of the lake. The Beaxbatons didn't seem altogether keen of jumping into the icy water either, they stood there glaring at it sullenly, as if that would make it heat up a bit. The sneering Durmstrang boys, however, seemed confident with the arrangement, and his fellow champion had set her face in the determined expression he saw often.

Once most of the school had filed in, the champions were nearly frozen solid, but had to make themselves move as they took of their robes to reveal the swimming gear on underneath, in which they turned blue. Katie Bell didn't seem to notice the slow, freezing colour change, and instead went on to explain, in depth, what they would have to do in for the task. After taking ten minutes in going through it in detail, she gave the frozen champions a last summary of the required actions for the task before they were permitted to dive in;

''Ok, so, each team must retrieve  a chest from the Mer village, getting past the creatures in any way possible, though attacking them, I can assure you, will not help. Your chest will be open, and you will know it is yours by the school symbol or symbols on the lid. You must then take the key that will be in the chest, and find a small underwater structure within the lake which will contain three doors. Your key will only fit one of these doors. Behind the doors lye a network of large pipes, it will be up to you to find your way out of here and up to the surface of the black lake once more. You have two hours to complete this task.'' She nodded to the champions, and Albus and Lily dove in to the grey water, sea thrift in hand.

It was like hitting an icy brick wall as the breath was rammed out of them whilst the cold water almost paralized them. Trying to ignore the temperature, Albus turned to Lily, who was writhing about and-

She'd grown a tail. A silvery, grey-green fish tail, and then the gills appeared. He wished he could gasp underwater, that's what he felt like, but instead he surfaced, took a deep breath and dived back down to her. She was now smiling, then gestured at his hand, where his lot of sea thrift lay. 

Shutting his eyes he prepared for the worst, jamming the plant into his mouth and letting the syrupy taste fill it before gulping it down.

And that's when he realized why Lily had been writhing about. The plant made you ticklish. The water was tickling him everywhere, and he was laughing, squirming about. Then he felt a wave of warmth over him, despite the icy cold water around him, and a cramp in his legs. Until they became a sleek blue tail.

His breath grew short and the gills appeared, after a slight feeling of suffocation, and he let his body relax, inspecting his new features. The long tail felt comfortable, and was so powerful he could zoom through the water. The changed body parts also made him more at home in the water, and he grinned back at Lily after a minute or so, who was doing the same thing.

''Ok.'' He stopped, surprised. His voice wasn't his voice, it was hauntingly beautiful, it had a sing-song tone. but was perfectly clear underwater. Massaging his throat, he went on. ''Let's get to the mer village.'' 

Lily nodded and began to propel herself with her tail, swimming off to fast that she was out of sight in a few seconds. He grinned and called; ''Hey, wait up!'' Zooming through the water after her, the grin remaining on his face. 

Sea thrift was certainly enjoyable.