The Forging of the Bonds

Chapter 10. The task continues.

Weasley blinked, then became angry. "You're telling me this now?"

"I didn't know we'd have to go into the lake!"

Weasley shook his head. "Just stay in the boat," he said.

"One!" Padma Patil said, bringing everyone to attention. "Two! Three!" She sent up a flash of energy out of her wand, which crossed half the sky, leaving a trail of smoke, and exploded; the starting signal.

The three pairs of contestants rushed to the boats. Elizabeth saw Weasley take the oars and nearly laughed.

"Weasley," she said, "are you a wizard or not?"

She tapped her wand, and the oars began to row by themselves.

The boat moved off.

"And the lead is taken by the Krum twins of Durmstrang, with the unlikely duo of Elizabeth Malfoy and Michael Weasley of Hogwarts in second place," Jordan announced.

"Could they find someone less annoying?" she asked.

Weasley shrugged. "Do you have a plan?"

"How? Did any of our classes have a section on fighting hydras?"

"Well, no. But..."

"Just remember not to cut off any of its heads, or--"

"I know what happens when you cut off a hydra's head. How many heads do they start out with?"

"One, like any normal creature. Although... they might not have one by now."

"Great." Weasley tightened his grip on the boat's rudder. "Can you make it go faster?"

"If I could, I would."

A large, scaly head emerged from the water. Weasley turned the rudder abruptly in order to avoid it. Elizabeth nearly fell out of the boat.

"Couldn't you at least give a warning?" she yelled.

"Do something, Malfoy!" he retorted, as he made another sharp turn.

"The Hogwarts team has encountered their hydra!" she overheard Lee Jordan's commentary.

She raised her wand. "Accio swords!"

"What good will that do?!" Weasley shouted, giving the rudder another turn. "You just lectured me on the dangers of cutting--" Seeing the hydra--with two heads, Elizabeth noted--attack them, he drew his own wand. "Aguamenti Calorio!" he bellowed.

A stream of steaming water emerged from his wand, striking one of the hydra's heads. It reeled back.

"There are other things you can do with a sword besides cutting a neck, Weasley," Elizabeth snapped. The other head of the monster lunged at them, and Elizabeth hit it with a Conjunctivitis Curse. She missed the eyes, but it did give Weasley time to turn the boat away.

Then she extended her hand, and caught the sword. The same sword Potter said had bonded to her in detention... made by the hand of Salazar Slytherin.

Although she would die before admitting it, Weasley's idea of using hot water was good. She sent a fountain at the monster's head. It barely slowed the hydra down.

The beast had learned, and closed its eyes. Damn.

The head lashed out with a two-foot long tongue. Without thinking, Elizabeth swung her sword, cutting it off.

"See?" she asked, as the creature turned to frenzy in its pain, but then Weasley nearly broke the rudder trying to steer away from it. Elizabeth fell to the floor of the boat.

"What good is avoiding the hydra if you're going to get us killed with your steering, Weasley!" she growled.

"Get out of the boat! We're here!"

They jumped out and quickly waded from the shallow water.

"Accio pole!" Elizabeth yelled. Nothing happened.

"Worth a try." She shrugged. "Some protective spell. Look out!"

Weasley could see the danger himself--the hydra was coming ashore, blood sprouting from one of its mouths.

"Go!" she shouted at Weasley. "I'll hold it off!"

Seeing that he was about to argue, she aimed her wand at him. "Now!"

Weasley ran to the center of the island. "Incendio!" Elizabeth said, conjuring up a line of fire between herself and the hydra.

"Don't like that, huh? Relashio!" She sent sparks at the water monster. Come on, Weasley. Hurry up, damn you.