Whelp

another year or two, at least.

Draco grinned at him and kicked off, hovering a few feet above Harry. 'Ready then?'

Harry nodded, and they were off!

Draco swooped by him, and then to the side, so they were on the same level. The two of them cruised, side by side, just above the surface of the water. Despite the summer sun, the air just above the lake was chilly. Together with the wind in their faces, Harry was shivering in fairly short order.

Though Draco had to keep at a slower speed than he could have done, since Harry's broom had child safeties on it, they still flew in tandem, making sharp turns and steep-ish climbs that turned into dives, and all of Harry's fears of the escapade quickly slipped away. He really loved flying. He yelled as much to Draco on one of their quick turns, when their knees collided and he jiggered sideway to avoid a splash down.

Draco laughed and yelled back, 'Me, too!'

Just then, something erupted from the lake right in front of them, too close for either of them to swerve. A wave of water crashed over Harry, who pulled frantically on his broom to avoid the long, pink sucker-covered tentacle that curled toward him. He darted under one of the squid's 'arms' but his broom couldn't react fast enough to keep him from flying right into the next one. The tentacle swept around him and grabbed him tight around his chest. One arm was pinned to his side, his good arm, and the other flared in pain.

He couldn't breathe!

'Harry!' Draco screamed, and Harry twisted and turned in the squid's grip, but couldn't find his friend. The tentacle wrapped him tighter still, and his chest was caving in. Whipped to and fro, high in the air, his stomach knotted and he could barely see anything. He was sure he heard something snap. Arm? Ribs? Draco screamed again.

No! He had to get to Draco! Let go! LET GO!

A series of popping sounds echoed in his ears before he fell a long way through the air and crashed into the lake. Before he'd had a chance to catch even a tiny breath, water covered his head, and he sank down, down, down, into darkness. . . .

---

'Uncle Sev!' Draco shrieked as he hurtled through the castle's corridors. 'Uncle Sev!'

Severus almost bowled him over as he ran, full tilt, towards the Main Entrance. Mere moments ago, he'd once more been accosted by a bright flash of light in the form of a winged snake – Harry's accidental Patronus – and he'd barreled out of the dungeons toward whatever scrape his son was in now.

Draco skidded to a stop in front of him, clinging to one wall and dripping wet. A gouge across his cheek was raw and bleeding. Shivering, he grabbed Severus' arm and yanked him toward the main doors. Gasping for breath, he panted out, 'Harry . . . fell . . . squid . . . the lake.'

Merlin, no . . . Shaking loose from Draco's grip, Severus raced down the steps and tore off across the grounds. Every conceivable scenario flashed through his mind; Harry was dead; the squid had eaten him; he'd drowned; he'd been captured by grindylows and ripped to shreds . . .

As he neared the lake, he caught sight of two small lumps by its edge, only one of which seemed to be moving. He angled in that direction and, despite the stitch in his side and his burning lungs, he ran even faster. Once he closed in on them, he could see that the lump that was moving was Nelli, and she was turning the non- moving lump on its side, and patting it on the back.

Harry.

Please, no.

Severus slid the last few paces to his son's side, and was on his knees before he'd even come to a halt. Nelli wrung her hands as Severus looked the boy over. Once again, Harry's lips were blue from lack of oxygen, and Severus had his wand out in seconds, waving it over him. Desperation had him shouting the spell, 'Respiro Coactum!'

The spell worked this time, and with a hacking, rasping cough, Harry breathed, leaving Severus faint with relief. Another fit of coughing brought water, tinged red with blood, pouring out of the boy's mouth. His eyes were unfocused – he'd lost his glasses – and his skin was pale as death. He shivered all over and coughed up more water, and tears and snot ran down his face in equal measure.

When he tried to get up, Severus gently pushed him down, this time on his back. 'No, Harry, stay still a minute.' He continued doing a diagnostic with his wand, and was not surprised to find two cracked ribs, a shattered clavicle, and more water in his lungs along with numerous contusions. He fished in his pocket for a pain relief potion and held the boy's head up while feeding it to him, cradling his hurt shoulder.

'Dra-draco?' came a soft stutter, in between coughs.

'He's fine, Harry. Shush, now.' He glanced back to see Draco standing just behind him, looking paler than usual.

Tears tracked down the bigger boy's cheeks. 'S-sorry, Uncle Sev. I couldn't reach him. I tried, but then the squid just exploded!'

Harry had lapsed back into unconsciousness, though at least he was breathing, and as he eased the boy into his arms, Severus looked over the lake. Smears of blue, viscous slime floated atop the water along with chunks of what looked like a tentacle. He would have to find out what exactly had happened – was it more of Harry's admittedly powerful accidental magic? But for now he needed to get Harry inside and warm and dry. After lurching to his feet, he carried the boy back towards the castle. Nelli trotted alongside them, looking fearful and shocked at the same time.

'Did you fish him out of the water, Nelli?' Severus asked her as they neared the castle.

'Nelli did, yes, sir. Master Harry is going down, under the water. Screaming, and water goes in his mouth, and Nelli had to get him out of the lake, yes, Master Snape.'

'Good, you did well.' He have a talk with the house-elf later about letting the boys near the lake in the first place, but he did have her to thank for the fact that Harry had not drowned. What had they been doing? 'Go let Madam Pomfrey know we're on the way up.'