Chapter 39: The Omniscope Eye and the Underwater Wardrobe Malfunction part-1
I had a full hour to mess with the rescue.
I could make the seaweed untie her clothes. I could make the water pressure... interesting.
And Harry would be the hero who had to drag her to the surface.
(System,) I thought. (Does the shop sell 'Waterproof Recording Orbs'?)
"New Item: The Omnisocpe Eye (500 points). Records events from any angle, unaffected by magic or water."
I checked my balance. I had plenty.
The Second Task was going to be a cinematic masterpiece.
The morning of the Second Task was cold enough to freeze the breath in your lungs before you even exhaled. The Black Lake was a sheet of steel-grey water, rippling ominously under the overcast sky. The stands that had been erected along the bank were packed with shivering students, swathed in scarves and cloaks, stamping their feet to stay warm.
I sat in the front row of the Gryffindor section, nestled between Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley. I was shivering theatrically, but internally, I was burning with anticipation.
"Where is Hermione?" Neville asked, looking around anxiously. "And Cho Chang? I haven't seen them all morning."
"They are the hostages, Neville," I said, putting on a grim face. "The thing the champions will miss the most. Since Harry and Hermione have been... well, joined at the hip lately, she was the obvious choice."
"Oh," Neville gulped. "I hope she is alright. It is freezing in there."
"She will be fine," I assured him. "Harry will save her."
(System check,) I thought.
Current Status:Name: Ron WeasleyPoints: 635Active Skills: Liquids Manipulation (Minor), Poltergeist Proxy, Telekinesis, Illusion.New Purchase: The Omniscope Eye (500 points).
(Activate Omniscope Eye.)
"Activation complete," the system replied. "Deploying invisible sensor orb. Visual feed linking to host's optic nerve."
Suddenly, a small, transparent screen appeared in my peripheral vision. It showed an underwater view, murky and green. I mentally steered the invisible orb down into the depths of the lake, scouting the location of the Merpeople village.
"Welcome, one and all!" Ludo Bagman's voice boomed magically across the lake. "To the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament! Our champions have one hour to recover what has been taken from them!"
The cannon fired.
Harry Potter, standing on the dock in his swimming trunks (shivering violently), shoved a handful of Gillyweed into his mouth. He gagged, grabbed his throat and then dove into the icy water.
I watched on my private screen as Harry transformed. Gills sprouted on his neck and his hands and feet became webbed. He shot through the water like a torpedo.
(Follow him,) I commanded the Omniscope.
The view shifted. I was now tracking Harry as he navigated the kelp forests. He looked determined.
(Time to make this interesting,) I thought.
(Liquids Manipulation: Create a localized current against the other champions.)
I focused my mind. I sent a surge of water pressure against Cedric Diggory and Viktor Krum, slowing them down. Harry needed to get there first. He needed uninterrupted time with the hostage.
Harry fought off a few Grindylows—blasting them with a jet of hot water from his wand—and finally reached the Merpeople village.
It was a haunting sight. Crude stone dwellings, merpeople with grey skin and yellow eyes and in the center, a large statue of a merperson.
Tied to the tail of the statue were four figures.
Cho Chang. Gabrielle Delacour. And Hermione Granger.
They were floating in a ghostly slumber, suspended in the water.
Hermione was wearing the ceremonial robes provided by the tournament officials: long, flowing grey robes made of a shimmering, lightweight material. They drifted around her like smoke.
(Ceremonial robes,) I critiqued silently. (Elegant. But entirely dependent on the sash tied around the waist.)
Harry swam up to Hermione. He looked at her sleeping face. Bubbles escaped his gills. He reached out and touched her cheek.
The Merpeople watched, spears in hand.
Harry took out a jagged rock he had found (since he couldn't use his wand for cutting effectively underwater without speaking). He began to saw at the ropes binding Hermione's ankles to the statue.
(Now,) I decided. (While he is distracted with the ropes.)
(Poltergeist Proxy: Target the sash of Hermione's robes.)
The invisible force reached out. The knot of the sash was simple.
Tug.
The sash came undone. It floated away into the gloom.
Harry didn't notice. He was focused on the ropes.
Snap.
The ropes binding her ankles broke. Hermione was free from the statue.
But she was still unconscious. She began to float upward.
Now came the physics of underwater drag.
The ceremonial robes were loose and heavy with water. Without the sash, they were just draped over her shoulders.
(Liquids Manipulation: Create a vertical updraft.)
I generated a strong current of water moving straight up, hitting Hermione from below.
The water rushed under the loose robes. It acted like a parachute opening in reverse. The robes billowed up over her head.
Harry looked up just in time to see the grey fabric lift completely off Hermione's body. The robes floated away, caught in the current I had created, leaving Hermione drifting in the water.
Underneath the robes, the tournament officials had dressed the hostages in standard white swimming attire, assuming they would be wet.
However, Hermione Granger had been taken in the middle of the night. She wasn't wearing a swimsuit. She was wearing what she had gone to bed in.
Which, after the "Wet Silk" incident in the bath, was a pair of very sensible, very small, white cotton panties and a matching camisole.
But white cotton, when submerged in water for an hour, becomes... well, we have established this.
(...cough...)
Harry froze. His gills fluttered rapidly.
He was floating face-to-face with a sleeping, floating Hermione who was effectively wearing nothing but transparency. The water magnified everything. The pale curve of her waist, the dark shadow of her navel and the undeniable fact that the water was very, very cold.
.....
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