Squelch— The spear pierced flesh, and blood stained a stretch of water red.
"Merlin's wig!!" Ludo exclaimed.
The spectators saw it clearly: at the bottom of the Black Lake, the enormous shark Harry had transformed into thrashed about, knocking away the two merpeople who had just grabbed him. A spear protruded from his body, trailing great clouds of blood. With a slap of his tail, he knocked the merman who had stabbed him unconscious on the spot.
The shark rampaged through the water, battering the surrounding merpeople until they were dazed and disoriented. Not one dared approach again.
"Potter ate a magical little biscuit and turned into a shark! What an ingenious tactic!"
Harry charged brazenly up to the edge of the waterless area and discovered a transparent magical barrier keeping the water out.
He lunged, his enormous body passing through the barrier into the dry air.
His entrance was rather awkward, however. Once through, shark-Harry plunged headfirst into the dry sand, getting it all over his head. Ron, tightly bound nearby, could only fret helplessly.
Fortunately, this time he had eaten a biscuit specially made by the Weasley Brothers, whose effects would quickly wear off once he left the water. They had originally been worried that Harry might die of thirst after returning to shore, but that precaution helped him now.
Within a dozen or so seconds, Harry returned to normal and wiped the sand off his face. The wound was on his thigh and was still bleeding, but he paid it little mind. Limping over to Ron, he pointed his wand at the ropes binding him. "Diffindo!"
The ropes snapped at once.
"Merlin's pants," Ron said, still shaken. "I thought you were going to die down here."
"Not happening." Harry grinned. "Come on, let's go."
He pushed the