Grindylows and Grumpy Goblins
Avi struggled to climb the ladder while carrying all the scrub brushes and cleaning supplies. Once up, he sat uncomfortably on the edge of the glass tank and set the bottles of cleaner on the top rung of the ladder. As he looked down he could see sharp coral and thick seaweed ten feet down at the bottom of the tank. Not to mention, all the grindylows gathered around his feet as they dangled just above the water. Now that he was finally up here he was even more unsure about the validity of his plan. He had pulled on some dragonhide wellies over thick rubbery overalls. A pair of dragonhide gloves came almost up to his shoulders, so he should be well protected on that end, but he was not at all certain of Professor Ahron’s spell work. He didn’t even know how long the spell was supposed to last.
The worst part was that there was no ladder on the INSIDE of the tank. How was he supposed to get back out if something went wrong? Not that he wasn’t used to these sorts of situations. The Dursleys often had him do the most dangerous chores like washing the second-story windows, removing the bee hive from the shed, or hanging the Christmas lights in the middle of a snowstorm. He should just be grateful that he had been given any protective equipment at all he supposed. Aunt Petunia hadn’t even bothered to get him gardening gloves to trim the rose bushes in his previous life.
Sighing he lowered himself down into the water, gripping the edge of the tank to keep his head above the water. It took a lot of maneuvering, but he managed to coat the brushes in the cleaner. He knew once he let go of the ledge he wouldn’t be able to reach the bottles again, so he may have used more than he needed, but he didn’t really care. Finally, with everything he needed, he took a deep breath and let go of the ledge.
The big boots seemed to be weighted as they caused him to sink all the way to the bottom. But the clothes seemed to be airtight because only his shoulders and neck seemed to get wet. Nervously he took a sip of air and sighed in relief. The bubblehead charm seemed to be doing its job. The Grindylows circled and snapped at him, but their claws and teeth couldn’t do any damage to the thick overalls and gloves. He ignored the pests and got to work, being careful not to crush the delicate coral under the heavy boots. He took the first brush out of his giant pockets and began scrubbing, watching the bristles foam with the cleaner. The walls of the tank were so coated in green goop that he couldn’t even see out of the tank into the classroom. It mustn't have been cleaned in months! Avi sighed, this would take him hours to clean.
It was hard work scrubbing the green algae off of the glass, and at one point one of the grindylows figured out that his shoulders and neck were not protected. The bugger had bitten his shoulder viciously with his jagged teeth and it was throbbing with pain, but Avi ignored it. He pushed on, keeping a closer eye on the little monsters, and trying to scrub faster to get this stupid chore over with as quickly as possible. He was almost done with the last panel, he could handle a little pain. It would be better than finding out what Professor Markhart would do if he didn’t finish his first punishment. Once he was done with that, he could figure a way back out of the tank and go to the hospital wing.
Unfortunately, the last wall was taking a lot longer as the other grindylows had caught on and he was having to dodge and weave to keep out of reach of their sharp teeth and claws. He had no idea how long he had been at this. Ahron had never come out to check on him, but the light outside the window had dimed and taken on a golden hue. He yelped as claws sank into the nape of his neck. He hurried through cleaning the last corner of the tank, one arm wrapped protectively behind his head. Once finished, he rushed towards the ladder, but the tank was too deep for him to reach the edge of the glass. He tried to jump and kick his legs to get back up, but the boots were too heavy. Suddenly one of the grindylows slammed into the side of his head, causing Avi to scream in surprise. The little gremlin latched on to his bubble and started gnawing on it like it was chewing gum.
Panicking, he tried to pry the little beast off, but the harder he pulled the more the bubble stretched. The thing growled at him and bit down harder until Avi heard a sickening pop. Suddenly all the air around him disappeared and the water was pressing in around him on all sides.
No! This could not be happening! He needed to get out of here NOW!
Avi ripped the boots off of his feat as instinct took over, and he kicked for all he was worth. His wet gloves slipped on the glass, so he peeled them off as quickly as he could. He managed to get a few fingers over the edge, and he gasped in lungfuls of air as he hung over the side. He was just starting to calm down when he felt sharp fangs sink into his foot. Avi let out a startled scream of pain, and he hurried to pull himself towards the latter, but there was nothing on this side to grab onto.
With strength that didn’t seem real for their size, the grindylows pulled him back under. Their powerful tentacles wrapped around his limbs as they pulled him down. Their serrated suction cups biting deep into his now exposed skin. Avi struggled with all his might, but there must have been some kind of toxin in their tentacles because he could feel the fight draining out of him. He let out a whimper of pain as his back was slammed into the rough coral floor of the tank, the Grindylows pinning him down. Avi watched with a detached fascination as a few bubbles of precious air left his lips and drifted slowly toward the surface. A place he was becoming more and more sure he would never reach again. He hoped Severus wouldn't be mad at him for not trying harder.
Blackness was closing in on the edge of his vision when Avi heard a door banging open in the distance. He could hear muffled shouting, then suddenly he was airborne. Avi coughed and sputtered as he hovered over the tank. Terry Boot and Professor Flitwick stared up at him in anger from below. Avi tried to curl up into a protective ball as he met their furious gaze, but the spell held him fast. Terry lifted his wand and sent a volley of stinging hexes his way, but instead of striking Avi as he expected, they struck the Grindylows that were still clinging to his body.
Avyaan shivered and coughed as he was gently lowered to the ground. Terry rushed to his side and took off his cloak to wrap the younger boy up in. They both flinched as another door slammed open. “What is all the commotion?! Can’t you clean quietly while I grade my student’s-”
Fillius let out a guttural growl, stopping the other professor in his tracks. “And how exactly is having an eight-year-old clean a 30 ft Grindylow tank an appropriate task? Let alone leaving a child in a dangerous situation unsupervised? ”
Ahron visibly swallowed, before pasting on a condescending smile. “Come now, Fillias? A couple of Grindylows, dangerous? They’re nothing more than a seafaring pest!”
“Then why are they part of the third-year hazardous beasts section of the curriculum? I should hope you are well aware of the risks they pose, as you are required to teach them!”
“He had all the protective equipment! It's not my fault if the idiot took them off! I even gave him a bubble head charm because he said he couldn’t swim!”
The room got deadly silent. “You left a child that could not swim, alone in a 15 ft tank of water?” the half-goblin whispered in a deadly calm voice. With a flick of his claw-tipped hand, Flitwick Accioed Ahron to him by his ear. The much taller man yelped and had to hunch over awkwardly for the shorter professor to tug him along by the ear like a naughty child. As Fillius dragged the enraged man along, he looked over his shoulder at the two boys huddled on the floor. “Terry, please escort Mr. Snape to the hospital wing. Professor Markhart and I need to have a little chat with the headmaster.”
Avyaan looked up at the older boy with wide eyes, “I thought Professor Flitwick was the cheerful and nice professor?”
Terry swallowed, “Normally, he is. I’ve never seen him get so much as act even a little cross in my life! Let alone mad… Usually, when one of us gets in trouble, he just uses logic to explain how we went wrong and makes us write a paper on what we should have done instead.” Terry shook his head and stood up, pulling Avi up with him. “Come along then. It's best we get all those bites seen to. Grindylows can be quite venomous.”
Avi giggled slightly hysterically. “At least someone knows the difference between poisonous and venomous.”
Terry rolled his eyes, “What idiot doesn’t know that?”
It was past curfew by now, so the halls we deserted as they made their way across the castle. “I’m sorry.” Terry blurted.
“What for?” Avi said, tilting his head in confusion.
Terry ran his fingers through his black hair and looked away. “It’s my fault you were in this mess in the first place. If I hadn’t snapped at you-”
Avi shook his head, “From what it sounded like, that big kid was already looking for a fight. He just used you as an excuse, so it’s not your fault.”
“Still, once classes were out for the day, I went looking for you to apologize but none of the other kids had seen you around. When it was getting close to curfew, I finally went to Flitwick to ask if he knew where you might be. If I had only gone to him sooner you might not have gotten hurt.”
Avi was a bit shocked at how much time had passed. It took a lot longer to clean that tank than he thought. looking at the dark. sky outside, he must have been scrubbing for at least four hours! Looking at Terry, though, he could see how upset the other boy was, so he just shrugged, “I’m just glad you came to get me at all. With Severus in the Hospital wing, No one would have known to come look for me. So thanks. You probably saved m-” Suddenly, there was a bang. Both boys turned, startled to see an open window swinging back and forth in the wind.
Terry let out a shaky laugh, “Thank Merlin, it’s just the wind!”
Heart still pounding, Avi walked over and re-latched the window shut. “We better get to the hospital wing before we get caught out after curfew and get into even more trouble.”
Terry nodded and they both hurried along the dark corridor.