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Iwaizumi is still riding on his high from completing the first task of the Triwizard tournament. He fought a fucking dragon like a majestic knight. Well, he did get some help from Oikawa, who smuggled his Firebolt into the holding room so Iwaizumi could Accio it with ease.
He would like to see anyone challenge him to a broomstick race again after today. Especially that pain in the ass Kuroo who keeps goading him all the time.
When he arrives at the common room after the Champions are released from their holding room, he is greeted by a common room full of hollering Gryffindors, congratulating him on his victory.
“Way to go, Iwaizumi!” Hanamaki grins, thumping his back. “That backflip from the broom when you jumped on the dragon was fucking sick, bro.”
“Iwaizumi, you’re a mad man,” Daichi tells him, shaking his head. “It’s no wonder you’re in Gryffindor.”
“Okay, but are we not going to talk about how Iwaizumi literally ripped his shirtsleeves off because they were bothering him?” Nishinoya hollers, poking at Iwaizumi’s lightly scarred arms from where he got cut by the sharp rocks which the dragon flung his way. “Flex to us your battle scars, bro!”
Iwaizumi grins and flexes his biceps, earning a round of shouts and cheers from the common room. Today he finally basks in the spotlight of being one of Hogwarts’ Triwizard Tournament Champions. He has been one of the least likely to win the tournament in the beginning. A lot of people think that he is all brawn and no brains and while he admits that he is more likely to charge into any situation head first, he still thinks about the consequences of his actions. Sometimes.
Which is why he has Oikawa to help him – his best friend and smarter half.
This year’s competition is a tough one with the Goblet of Fire choosing two champions from each school instead of one. The Goblet had first revealed the name of Miya Atsumu from Durmstrang Institute, much to the cheers and swoons of the larger student population. Miya Atsumu is quite the popular figure, being the youngest chaser in the Bulgarian national team despite only being 17.
Next, the Goblet revealed the names of Sakusa Kiyoomi and Kozume Kenma from Beauxbatons Academy. Sakusa is somewhat a fan favourite as well, with an unspoken rivalry between him and Atsumu, while Kenma is a quiet but very intelligent animagus.
The Goblet revealed Iwaizumi’s name next, to the cheers of the Gryffindor table. It was however overshadowed by the loud hollering of the students from Durmstrang when Ushijima Wakatoshi’s name was revealed. Iwaizumi could hear Oikawa rolling his eyes even as he sat far away at the Slytherin table.
The last name surprised everyone as it was unexpected that this person would even put his name in the Goblet. Even Tsukishima Kei himself was surprised when his name was called and he insisted fervently that he did not put his name in the Goblet of Fire. But that was what the Goblet had chosen so the decision was final.
Oikawa is sitting with Matsukawa near the fireplace, being good sports and ditching their green robes for red sweaters to match the festive occasion. “You crushed the competition, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa grins, holding up his fist for Iwaizumi to knock his own onto. “You placed even above Waka-chan! Can you believe that?”
“I’m starting to think that you’re using me to get back at what Ushijima told you last summer,” Iwaizumi says.
Oikawa seethes in his seat at the mere mention of Ushijima’s name and even Matsukawa leans back to not incur Oikawa’s wrath. “Of course, Iwa-chan! It’s so rude of him to assume that I should have gone to Durmstrang just because my parents went there. I’m nothing like them!”
Oikawa’s parents are pure blood supremacists who have a reputation for their elitist behaviour. He has not lived with them since he was 5 years old, being put under the care of his more nurturing aunt, who married a muggle. Oikawa hates it when his lineage is brought up and does everything he can to not be associated with it.
“Okay, but it’s not all about me, you know,” Oikawa snickers. “Now you can finally rub it into Kuroo’s face that you’re not just a muscle-head!”
Hanamaki has gravitated towards the three of them, draping himself over Oikawa as he listens into their conversation.
“Ugh, Kuroo again?” Hanamaki groans, eliciting a chuckle from Oikawa.
“You and Kuroo still feuding?” Matsukawa asks curiously.
“I swear to god they’re like cat and dog,” Hanamaki grumbles.
“Iwa-chan’s the dog!” Oikawa points out helpfully.
“HEY!” Iwaizumi scowls, making Oikawa cower over to Matsukawa.
Matsukawa laughs as he accepts Oikawa into his arms. “Is Kuroo the reason why you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?”
“Well… He said that I couldn’t win the Triwizard tournament…” Iwaizumi trails off, feeling embarrassed to hear it coming out of his own mouth.
His three friends look at him with faces that scream ‘ I’m so done with you ’ and Hanamaki snorts. “I think we’re seeing a pattern here.”
“Everytime Kuroo goads you, you always get provoked and do exactly as he tells you to,” Oikawa says.
“I think if he challenged you to walk off a cliff, your competitive ass would gladly do it,” Matsukawa drawls.
The Iwaizumi-Kuroo feud has been ongoing since their first year, when they met at the Hogwarts Express for the very first time. They sat in the same compartment, along with Oikawa and Bokuto, and Kuroo had challenged Iwaizumi that he could not fit 10 chocolate frogs into his mouth.
Their childish provocations were later brought to the Quidditch field in second year and Care of Magical Creatures in third. In fourth year they duked it out in Duelling Club, much to the then President’s chagrin, and in fifth year with the both of them being Quidditch Captains of their respective houses, their teams were unfortunately caught in the crossfire of their challenges.
“Hajime, Kuroo really has you wrapped around his finger,” Hanamaki points out and Iwaizumi puts him in a chokehold.
When Iwaizumi defeated the dragon, he was awarded with a golden egg which the dragon had been guarding. The golden egg held the clue to the next task of the Triwizard Tournament. He thought that he would simply only have to crack open the egg after all that trouble trying to acquire it, but he should have known that the Tournament is not that simple.
When Iwaizumi tried to open it in the common room with Daichi, Nishinoya and Hanamaki watching him, he unleashed the ear-deafening wails of a banshee all throughout the common room. It was so traumatising that Daichi did not even want to have that thing in his line of sight.
He tried it again with Oikawa and Matsukawa near the Quidditch Pitch and the same thing happened. “What the fuck was that?! I haven’t heard of any creature that sounds like that before,” Matsukawa said, stepping away from the egg.
“Have you tried opening it at other places?” Oikawa asked.
“Yeah, I have. Makki and I made a list, ” Iwaizumi sighed. “We’re trying at every other place in the castle grounds to see whether it works.”
The next few days, Oikawa and Iwaizumi attempt to figure out the clue for the next Triwizard task. Hanamaki gives up after hearing the egg screaming every day for a week. He claims to hear it in his sleep as well and would run away when he sees Iwaizumi holding the egg. Matsukawa goes on recon to see whether Tsukishima has figured out the clue from the egg.
The two of them hit a wall after going through the books at the library (well, Oikawa went through the books, Iwaizumi just gave him moral support).
“This is insane! The task is tomorrow and we still haven’t figured out anything,” Oikawa laments. “Iwa-chan, are you even trying?!”
“You know I don’t do well studying,” Iwaizumi grimaces. He is inspecting the egg closely, trying to see whether there are any inscriptions or openings which he has missed out. But there is nothing on the egg that could be deemed useful.
Oikawa sighs and clears the books on the table, preparing to leave after a fruitless night. Just as they are leaving the library, they are approached by Kageyama, clad in yellow and Tsukishima, clad in green. “Ah, if it isn’t my uselessly adorable cousin, Tobio-chan,” Oikawa greets smugly, causing Kageyama to raise an eyebrow.
Iwaizumi rolls his eyes and holds Oikawa back before he can say anything else. “Hey there, Kageyama. What’s up?”
“Matsukawa said that you’re still trying to figure out the clue for the next task,” Kageyama says.
Iwaizumi nods. “Yeah… We haven’t really made much progress and the task is tomorrow.”
Kageyama elbows Tsukishima, who glares at him. “I’m not helping him if that’s how Oikawa talks to you,” Tsukishima hisses.
“He’s my cousin, that’s just how we talk to each other,” Kageyama retorts back softly.
Iwaizumi glares at Oikawa, who crosses his arms and scowls. His best friend has way too much pride that sometimes it is so difficult to get him to apologise for his mistakes. But Oikawa is more loyal than he is petty, and he understands that Iwaizumi needs all the help that he can get, even if it is coming from Kageyama. “Fine. I’m sorry my dear cousin, Tobio-chan. Are you happy now, glasses?”
Tsukishima steps forward but Kageyama holds him back with a sigh. “Iwaizumi, Tsukishima has to talk to you alone.”
“Whatever you’re gonna tell Iwa-chan, you can tell me,” Oikawa says.
“This is a bad idea,” Tsukishima declares, turning to walk away, but Kageyama pushes him back towards Iwaizumi.
“Talk, both of you,” Kageyama orders, pushing a complaining Oikawa away from the both of them.
Iwaizumi finds himself in the Prefects’ and Captains’ bath that evening. Tsukishima had told him that he should try opening the egg underwater, to which Iwaizumi tilted his head. “Underwater? How did you even come to that conclusion?” Iwaizumi asked.
Tsukishima had shrugged. “Let’s just say it was a trial and error and someone ended up being thrown into the lake with the egg,” he replied.
Iwaizumi thought that he did not want to know what went on in Tsukishima and Kageyama’s friend group. “Why are you helping me out?” he asked instead, curious as to why prickly Tsukishima would even bother to approach him.
“Kageyama said that you’re nice and I think you’re at least nicer than Oikawa,” Tsukishima muttered. “Also, we’re both Hogwarts Champions so school pride I guess.”
Iwaizumi has run a bath and the room is starting to smell like citrus bath salts and lavender soap. He takes off his clothes, leaving himself in just his underwear (lest anyone walks in), and places the egg at the edge of the tub. He gingerly steps into the bath, jolting slightly at the sudden change in temperature when the warm water touches his skin. After fully stepping into the bath, Iwaizumi leans towards the side and relaxes for a moment, letting the bubbles float around him.
He finally takes the egg and puts it in front of him, looking at it nervously as he thinks about what would happen when he opens it in the water. Tsukishima had just told him to put it in the water, so that means it must have caused something different to happen right? Iwaizumi submerges the egg in the water and carefully presses on the clasp which unlocks the egg.
He braces himself for the loud screeching he has been hearing the past few days but his eyes widen when no wailings are heard and the egg starts to glow underwater instead. He is stunned by the development but what does this mean ? He thinks he hears a faint humming and he realises that it is coming from the water. Iwaizumi ducks his head into the water and he hears actual melodious voices coming from the egg.
“Come seek us where our voices sound, / We cannot sing above the ground, / And while you're searching ponder this; / We've taken what you'll sorely miss, / An hour long you'll have to look, / And to recover what we took, / But past an hour, the prospect's black, / Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.”
Iwaizumi resurfaces again after hearing the end of the song and his mind draws a total blank. Seek us where our voices sound? An hour long? What does it all mean?
He feels frustrated for not being able to think of anything. If only Oikawa was here, he would have been able to figure this out within minutes. But Oikawa had to do his rounds around the castle for tonight and would not be free. Iwaizumi knows that he is not Oikawa and his brain does not work shit for things like this. He lets out a groan in frustration and leans his head back on the walls of the bath. All this while, he has been dependent on Oikawa to provide him with the answers and now he feels completely useless.
Maybe… he really does not deserve to be the Hogwarts Champion.
“Woah, big guy. Hogging the bath all to yourself?”
Iwaizumi’s skin crawls at the sound of that voice. He knows who its owner is without even having to look at them. Of course, when Iwaizumi is feeling his absolute worse, fucking Kuroo has to show up.
The tall Ravenclaw captain is standing at the edge of the bath, his hand on his hip as he looks down at Iwaizumi with the most annoying shit-eating grin on his face (Iwaizumi thinks his whole face is annoying, period). Kuroo is naked safe for his underwear as well and judging from the towel he has over his shoulder, he is probably here for a bath.
“Would you let me share the bath with you, oh mighty Hogwarts Champion?” Kuroo asks with the snarkiest tone to his voice.
Iwaizumi can already feel his blood boiling but he does not show it on his face since Kuroo can pick up on these sorts of things. “You can even drown in it for all I care,” Iwaizumi replies.
“Touche,” Kuroo says, stepping into the bath on the other end, away from Iwaizumi.
Iwaizumi tries to ignore Kuroo’s presence in the bath and focuses on solving the clue instead. He wonders what the nature of the second task would most likely be. Since he has to put the egg into the water, it must be something that has to do with water, right? But what would he have to do in the water? And does ‘ past an hour ’ means that there is a time limit?
Iwaizumi pinches his eyebrows together as he feels an impending headache coming. God, he is so stupid that he cannot even think too hard without getting a headache .
“You look like you might burst a blood vessel,” Kuroo voices out from across the bathtub.
Iwaizumi looks up to glare at him but his headache-induced brain picks up an unusual look on Kuroo’s face. Is that... concern?
Kuroo has never shown Iwaizumi concern before. Iwaizumi thinks that this headache might be potentially harmful to his health.
“Are you trying to solve the clue for the next task?” Kuroo asks.
“Yeah…” Iwaizumi replies, choosing not to look at Kuroo because concern is a strange look on him.
“Have you tried putting it in the water? That’s what Kenma said he did,” Kuroo supplies.
“Yes, I did put it into the water,” Iwaizumi says. He looks up, curious about the second statement. “You’re talking to the Beauxbatons Champion?”
Kuroo shrugs. “We were childhood friends before he moved away. Also Ravenclaw is housing the Beauxbatons students so we’re literally around each other a lot.”
Iwaizumi does not know what he should be doing with that information but he nods all the same. He goes back to looking at the egg which is still submerged underwater.
“You need any help with that?” Kuroo asks.
Iwaizumi raises an eyebrow. “Since when do you offer help willingly?”
“I’m always this kind,” Kuroo replies and Iwaizumi cannot help but snort.
“Didn’t remember you being that kind when you hit me with the bludger last year and gave me a concussion,” Iwaizumi says.
Kuroo rolls his eyes. “It’s not my fault that you did not dodge it. I thought that you were always able to dodge any bludgers heading your way.”
“How was I supposed to dodge the bludger when you were literally all up in my face?” Iwaizumi retorts.
“What? Are you saying that you were distracted, Iwaizumi?” Kuroo counters.
Iwaizumi freezes and keeps his mouth shut. Everyone was surprised when Iwaizumi let himself get hit by that bludger because he would always, always , have the reflexes to dodge or deflect it. But during that particular match, they had been playing a bit rough and Kuroo’s hair, which would otherwise be tied to a small ponytail, had gotten loose from its hair tie.
His black hair was all over his face with how the wind was blowing and Iwaizumi got so distracted by the way Kuroo ran his hand in his sweat-matted hair to brush it back that the next thing he knew, he was in the hospital wing with the worst migraine he had ever experienced. Needless to say, nobody else knew about Iwaizumi’s terrifying slip up, not even Oikawa.
“Is it about time that your brain finally broke down?” Kuroo asks, snapping Iwaizumi out from his thoughts.
“Shut the fuck up, Kuroo,” Iwaizumi hisses, immediately remembering again why he hates Kuroo with every fiber of his being.
“Do you want my help or not?” Kuroo asks. “Because I can get out of this bath right now and leave you to have an aneurysm from thinking too hard for all I care.”
“Wait, no-” Iwaizumi sighs. He cannot believe that he is so desperate that he needs to turn to his sworn enemy for help. “Stay. Help me out, please.”
Kuroo grins again, that fucking annoying one that gets on Iwaizumi’s nerves. “Since you said please.”
They both meet in the middle of the tub with Iwaizumi holding on to the golden egg. “It glows underwater and there will be someone singing,” Iwaizumi tells him. “You’ll need to put your head into the water to hear properly.”
Kuroo nods, curiously looking at the egg. Iwaizumi submerges it first and he looks at Kuroo, who is looking back as if expecting a cue. Iwaizumi nods his head and they both dive into the water just as Iwaizumi unlocks the clasp to open up the egg.
The haunting singing from the glowing egg reverbs around the water and despite his blurry vision, Iwaizumi watches as Kuroo intently listens to the words coming out from the egg. Once the song is done, they resurface, and Kuroo does that thing where he pushes his hair back with one hand again, exposing his forehead. Iwaizumi tells his brain that now is not a good time.
“ We cannot sing above the ground , that means the next task is underwater, right?” Kuroo asks. Iwaizumi blinks at how fast he came to that conclusion. This is probably why he is in Ravenclaw.
“I… thought that much,” Iwaizumi replies. “But I still don’t know what we’re going to do during the task.”
Kuroo is silent as he thinks. “ We've taken what you'll sorely miss, / An hour long you'll have to look, / And to recover what we took . Maybe you’ll need to retrieve something underwater?” Kuroo suggests.
Iwaizumi’s eyes widen. “That- makes sense.”
“And you will only have an hour to retrieve it,” Kuroo adds on.
Iwaizumi thinks about how the previous task had a dragon, so this task would have another obstacle to make it more challenging, right? Finally, something clicks in his brain and it seems that it is the same conclusion that Kuroo comes to as well because they are both saying, “Merpeople in the Black Lake!”
“The second task is to retrieve something from the merpeople in the Black Lake in the time of an hour,” Iwaizumi says, in awe that he finally solved the clue to the task.
“That’s rough,” Kuroo comments, frowning. “Merpeople aren’t exactly the easiest to deal with. They are fucking petty.”
Iwaizumi gives him a look as if asking, ‘How would you know?’
“Bokuto fell into the lake in fourth year and we had to bargain with the Merpeople not to tear his limbs off. Akaashi was fuming when he negotiated with the Merpeople. It was hilarious,” Kuroo laughs.
“Your humour is fucking weird…” Iwaizumi says, shuddering at the thought of Merpeople ripping his limbs off. He would say that he is a good swimmer but he does not think that he can hold his breath for an hour in the water. That would be crazy . He wonders if there are any spells that can allow him to breathe underwater. But he doubts that he can remember the incantation in time, let alone use it properly. His preferred kind of spells are still offensive at best.
“Hey, would you happen to know if it’s possible to breathe underwater for an hour without using spells?” Iwaizumi asks Kuroo.
Kuroo gives it a thought. “Well, there is an ingredient that can help you with that. It’s called Gillyweed.”
Iwaizumi has heard of Gillyweed before. One time Professor Irihata had shown them in potions class and it looked so nasty that Hanamaki nearly gagged into his cauldron. “Where can I get Gillyweed?” Iwaizumi asks.
“I think the potions ingredients room might have some,” Kuroo replies. “I could ask Akaashi to take some for you if you want.”
Iwaizumi is surprised by the proposition but he nods all the same. “Yeah, that would be good. Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” Kuroo replies. “The task is tomorrow, right? Do you want to meet up before the task so I can pass you the Gillyweed?”
“Sure? That would be fine,” Iwaizumi says. He must have been giving Kuroo a weird look because Kuroo clicks his tongue and turns away.
“I don’t hate you at all, you know, if that’s what you’re thinking,” the Ravenclaw tells him.
“You don’t?” Iwaizumi asks, genuinely surprised.
“Nope. I just challenge you to crazy stuff because I know your incredibly dumb ass can achieve them,” Kuroo casually replies.
Iwaizumi narrows his eyes. “Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?”
Kuroo chuckles and makes his way out of the bath. “It’s however you want to see it.”
Iwaizumi watches as Kuroo steps out from the bath, his long toned body dripping water on the floor. He looks back at Iwaizumi, who is still speechless from their conversation. “Don’t stay in the bath for too long. You need to rest up for tomorrow too.”
The Gryffindor startles again and stutters. “Uh.. Y-yeah.”
Kuroo smiles, one that Iwaizumi has never seen on his face before. “See you tomorrow.”
As Kuroo walks off, Iwaizumi wonders whether his body is flushed from the bath or from the way Kuroo smiled at him. What kind of alternate dimension has he stepped into?!
Iwaizumi went back to the common rooms late so he was not able to give Oikawa an update on his discovery. He thought that he could just tell Oikawa in the morning anyway since they would have some time before the task to devise a plan.
But the next day when Iwaizumi walks into the Great Hall with Hanamaki in tow for breakfast, he is confused to see that Matsukawa is sitting at the Slytherin table by himself. “Where’s Oikawa?” Iwaizumi asks the Slytherin.
“He said that the Headmaster called him in for something. He’s been gone since morning,” Matsukawa replies.
The Gryffindor figures that it is probably regarding prefect stuff again so he does not read much into it. He takes a seat at the bench with Hanamaki and tells the both of them about his discovery at the bath yesterday.
Instead of focusing on the revelation of the task however, the two of them are more intrigued by the fact that he was at the bath with Kuroo . “Why was Kuroo at the bath with you?” Hanamaki asks, face contorted in horror.
“It’s a Prefects and Captains’ bath. Any prefect or captain can use it,” Iwaizumi mutters.
“But you were in the same tub… with Kuroo,” Matsukawa raises an eyebrow and shifts his eyes to Hanamaki.
The pink haired Gryffindor flashes a sinister grin at the way the Slytherin looks at him and together they start to chant, “Two bros, chillin’ in the hot tub, five feet apart cuz they’re not gay!”
Iwaizumi looks at his friends with absolute dread, thinking that this may be another muggle-born joke which he does not get.
“Okay but seriously though, Kuroo helped you out with the egg?” Hanamaki asks.
“Yeah, he did,” Iwaizumi says. “He offered to get me some Gillyweed for today too.”
Matsukawa makes an intrigued noise. “If Tooru was here he definitely wouldn’t let that go,” he points out. Hanamaki snickers while Iwaizumi huffs, turning away.
“I hope Shittykawa comes back soon. I still have no idea how to go about this retrieval thing,” Iwaizumi mutters.
“Hajime, you doubt yourself too much,” Hanamaki tells him. “You can definitely get through this without Oikawa’s help. You even solved the clue from the egg without him.”
“Even Tooru tells me that he thinks you’re capable of completing the task without his help,” Matsukawa adds on. “And I agree with him.”
Iwaizumi sighs and smiles as he looks at his friends. If this is all the belief that he needs to get through today, he thinks that it is more than enough.
“Where’s Kuroo?” Iwaizumi asks when he sees a lithe sharp-eyed Ravenclaw on the path towards the Black Lake instead of Kuroo. Iwaizumi racks his head for a name and deduces that this is probably Akaashi.
“A professor called for him this morning. He told me to pass this to you directly,” Akaashi replies, holding out a small bag in his hand. “You have to immediately jump into the water after eating it or else you’ll suffocate.”
Iwaizumi shudders as he accepts the bag. “Thanks for the advice?”
Akaashi nods. “Kuroo also told me to tell you good luck. So… good luck.”
The Ravenclaw walks off without another word, leaving Iwaizumi stunned in his spot. He wonders if Kuroo would be back in time for the second task. He would definitely be watching that champion from Beauxbatons, right? Something ugly rears its head in Iwaizumi’s chest but he ignores it and heads over to the champions’ holding area.
When he reaches, he sees that most of the champions are already there and looking antsy. As he starts to strip off his jacket and shiver in his sleeveless compression top, Iwaizumi wonders why everyone is particularly on edge today.
“Iwaizumi,” Tsukishima calls out in a small voice. He turns to see the tall Slytherin looking pale in the face.
“Tsukishima, hey,” Iwaizumi frowns. “You doing okay?”
“I think they took my sister,” Tsukishima mutters. “The thing that they’ve taken from us- I think they are the people who we treasure.”
Iwaizumi’s eyes widen. He is suddenly reminded of how Oikawa has been gone since the morning and his blood runs cold. “How sure are you about this?”
“Hitoka has been missing since this morning. Miya Atsumu was talking about how he couldn’t find his brother anywhere. Kenma hasn’t seen Kuroo since he left the common room. Oikawa wasn’t around this morning too, was he?” Tsukishima asks.
“No, he wasn’t…” Iwaizumi replies, his voice trailing off.
Tsukishima is shaking and Iwaizumi is reminded that he is the youngest out of all the champions. “A- After Akiteru, I- I can’t lose Hitoka too,” Tsukishima says shakily.
“Tsukishima, calm down. It’s alright,” Iwaizumi assures him, rubbing his shoulders to calm him down. “We’ll save your sister and make sure she’s safe and sound, okay? I promise.”
Tsukishima nods, but he still looks a bit pale. Iwaizumi knows that he should not make false promises but perhaps he knows that his head-first personality may just be able to achieve it. He may not be as smart as Oikawa, but when his best friend is concerned he will do whatever it takes. His eyes glance over to the quiet Beauxbatons Champion with blonde hair and dark roots. He hopes Kuroo will be okay too.
The champions are told to line up at a make-shift pier before the commencement of the second task. The spectators are seated on raised boxes above the jetty and there is a hovering screen with the image of six bodies in the water projected onto it. Iwaizumi’s heart sinks when he sees that Oikawa is one of them.
Tsukishima’s sister, Hitoka, is beside Oikawa while Kuroo is all the way at the other end. Iwaizumi is not able to properly make out who the other 3 bodies are but he thinks one of them may be Miya Atsumu’s brother, Miya Osamu. The other two are a Beauxbatons girl and a boy in Ravenclaw robes. He can feel the other champions getting even more anxious as they see their loved ones on the screen.
Iwaizumi stretches his body and takes out the Gillyweed from the bag Akaashi gave him, grimacing at the slimy ball of what looks like rat-tails. He prepares his wand on his other hand, making sure to stretch his arms too.
A loud bang indicates the start of the second task and the crowd cheers as the champions dive into the water. Iwaizumi tries his best to swallow the Gillyweed down his throat, fighting the urge to gag at the slimy and uncomfortable texture. He immediately dives into the water, remembering Akaashi’s advice, and he gasps underwater when he feels a scratching sensation at his neck.
The Gryffindor feels an uncomfortable sensation on his fingers and toes and he struggles to fight against the water resistance. After a while, he realises that it is easier to breathe underwater and his arms and legs are not resisting the water as much. He looks to his limbs to see that he has webbing in between his fingers and toes and he touches his neck to find that he has grown gills. Iwaizumi grins at this discovery and powers forward, heading deeper into the lake.
He reaches an area where there are ruins and figures swimming among them. Upon further inspection, he sees that the figures are actually the Merpeople of the Black Lake. The Merpeople are holding spears and tridents in their hands and Iwaizumi flinches when one of them swims too close. He finally sees the six unconscious bodies, tied by the feet to a weight in the water.
One of the champions, Sakusa, has reached the bodies first. He is trying to get the bindings off the Beauxbatons girl and finds that physical strength is not enough. As he is about to take out his wand, a figure with a shark head quickly swims past Iwaizumi and heads straight towards Sakusa, knocking the champion’s wand from his hands. The figure uses his wand to blast the bindings off of Miya Osamu and Iwaizumi thinks that it might be Miya Atsumu. Sakusa retrieves his wand back and blasts a jinx towards Atsumu’s direction, causing him to be unable to move forward.
Iwaizumi swims over to both Oikawa and Hitoka, but when he is about to blast both their bindings off, one of the Merpeople waves their spear at him and hisses, “ Only one! ”
Ushijima, Kenma and Tsukishima have now arrived as Sakusa and Atsumu are engaged in an underwater duel. Iwaizumi moves aside to let Tsukishima check on Hitoka and he can see the relief in Tsukishima’s face when he sees that she is only under a deep slumber spell.
Ushijima blasts the bindings off the Ravenclaw boy, but his area of impact is so big that it sends a shockwave in the lake. This seems to have angered the Merpeople, who immediately start to swarm them. Iwaizumi quickly shoots a spell towards Oikawa’s bindings and helps Tsukishima with Hitoka’s. Atsumu, Ushijima and Sakusa are fighting off the Merpeople, shooting spells from their wands while trying to protect the bodies that they are holding.
A misdirected spell shot from Atsumu’s wand hits Kenma, and the Beauxbatons champion is flung back, separated from Kuroo. Kenma’s bubble-head charm wears off from the impact and the champions watch in horror as he struggles to breathe. Sakusa immediately swims over to Kenma and holds him with one arm, while he has the Beauxbatons girl in his other. Atsumu and Ushijima are fending the Merpeople off with blowback spells and Sakusa quickly swims to the surface with the two people in his arms.
Tsukishima points to where Kuroo is still in the water but Iwaizumi pushes him towards the surface. ‘ You go first ,’ Iwaizumi communicates to Tsukishima with his eyes.
Tsukishima looks at Iwaizumi with anxiety but he quickly pushes forward before the Merpeople can get on his tail.
Iwaizumi thinks he has about 10 minutes before the hour is up and he quickly gets to work. He pulls Oikawa along with him as he swims over to Kuroo. Kenma has removed his bindings, making his job slightly easier, but then the Merpeople have caught up to him and are pushing their spears towards his direction. “ Only one! ,” they hiss again.
“But he won’t be saved otherwise!” Iwaizumi argues.
“ Then his fate shall rest with us ,” the Merpeople cackle.
Iwaizumi throws a jinx towards the Merpeople’s direction and they screech as they charge towards Iwaizumi. The Gryffindor pushes Oikawa first as he is much lighter while he struggles to pull Kuroo with his other arm. He keeps throwing spells towards the Merpeople to get them away but they latch onto Kuroo’s body and start to pull him down.
Iwaizumi gasps as he feels himself getting pulled down with Kuroo. He quickly thinks on how to get out of this situation and it suddenly comes to him. He points his wand towards Oikawa and uses a spell to push him towards the surface. Knowing that Oikawa has at least surfaced, he focuses all of his attention on saving Kuroo. He blasts away the Merpeople who have their hands on Kuroo and pulls the Ravenclaw close to his body.
Iwaizumi does not know how much time he has left but he can feel his gills slowly fading and his arms and legs getting weaker against the water resistance. From the corner of his eye, he notices that Kuroo’s eyes are starting to open. The Merpeople are catching up and Iwaizumi panics. He pushes Kuroo’s body upwards so that the Merpeople do not get their hands on him. He hisses in pain as the sharp edges of the Merpeople’s spears and tridents cut his face and arms while he fights them off.
He successfully kicks back one of their faces, using it as leverage to push forward. His body is starting to get heavier as the effects of the Gillyweed are wearing off and Iwaizumi feels dread in his chest. Is he going to die?
His eyes are wide as they shift to where Kuroo is now half-conscious. The Ravenclaw is weakly making a flicking motion with his hand and Iwaizumi remembers that he can still use a spell to blast them out of the water, just like what Ushijima did earlier.
Iwaizumi points to the bottom of the lake and looks up to where he sees Kuroo limply holding out an arm. He shoots the spell and lets the shockwave push him forwards, catching Kuroo’s arm and propelling both of them to the surface.
Iwaizumi takes in a big gasp of air when he finally resurfaces to the deafening cheers of the audience. Kuroo is leaning towards him, still weak and trying to catch his breath as well. “Iwa- Iwaizumi, fuck . You’re incredibly dumb,” Kuroo pants.
Iwaizumi does not even even get offended by that, instead he laughs because he is so so relieved that Kuroo is okay. He supports Kuroo with one arm while they both swim to the pier.
“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa shouts with tears in his eyes, holding out a thick blanket. Iwaizumi is pulled out of the water by Oikawa and Tsukishima and he is immediately wrapped in a blanket by his best friend, who is crying uglily with snot running down his nose.
“Iwa-chan, you dumbass!” Oikawa cries as he tightly hugs Iwaizumi in his arms. “Why do you have to be so heroic and risk your own life?! Do you know how scared I was when you didn’t come up?”
Iwaizumi is too tired to say anything else so he only leans against his best friend. “Sorry... Shittykawa,” Iwaizumi murmurs.
He sees Tsukishima with his sister by his side, hovering over him as well. “Iwaizumi, I’m glad that you’re okay,” the golden-haired Slytherin says. “I- uh… Thank you.”
Iwaizumi smiles tiredly. “Don’t mention it kiddo.”
His gaze wanders off to where Kuroo is hugging a distraught Kenma, rubbing a soothing hand up and down the shaking champion’s back.
Iwaizumi feels his heart clench in his chest but he ignores the feeling and leans towards Oikawa instead.
Despite finishing in last, Iwaizumi placed fourth because he managed to save two people. With his high standing in the first task, he is currently one of the top three in the Tournament.
Even though it is a cause for celebration, Iwaizumi is feeling a bit out of it so he stays away from the common room lest he gets jumped by another surprise party. Oikawa stops coddling him after he reunites with Matsukawa, basking in the attention of the taller Slytherin instead.
Hanamaki knows that Iwaizumi just needs some time alone and gives him a comforting hug before the three leave him be.
Iwaizumi is still in his attire that he did the second task in and he thinks that he should stop by the infirmary to treat the cuts on his arms and face. Before he can turn to make his way there, he hears someone calling out his name. “Iwaizumi.”
The Gryffindor does not need to turn to know the owner of that voice. Kuroo jogs up behind him and Iwaizumi turns to see that he has changed out of his clothes from when he was in the water earlier. “I thought you’d be with your entourage,” Kuroo says. “Oikawa looked like he was never going to let go of you.”
“He’s getting his boyfriend’s attention,” Iwaizumi tells him. “I think my friends are all just shaken up by this.”
Kuroo makes an ‘o’ with his mouth and nods. “And how about you? What are you doing out here on your own?”
Iwaizumi shrugs. “I’m tired as fuck but I don’t want to go back to the common room yet.”
“Well, you look the part,” Kuroo comments, stepping closer towards Iwaizumi. The Gryffindor has always hated how Kuroo is taller than him. It always makes it seem like Kuroo is looking down on him. Iwaizumi had wished that he was a few centimeters taller so that he could at least look Kuroo at eye level when he talked trash to him.
But he has never realised how perfect Kuroo’s height is for Iwaizumi to press his forehead on his shoulder. Kuroo pulls him close, gently pushing Iwaizumi’s head onto his shoulder while his other hand is on Iwaizumi’s waist. The Gryffindor freezes, but he does not make any motion to pull away.
“I’ve always thought that you were uselessly reckless. Every single time I come up with a challenge, you would never hesitate to accept it,” Kuroo murmurs to Iwaizumi’s ear. “Each time, I kept making my challenges more difficult than the last but you never backed down. Eventually I wondered if maybe you could be invincible and I just want to keep pushing all your buttons to see how far you could go.”
“When I opened my eyes in the water and saw you struggling, I thought that you were so dumb to forget that you had your wand with you. But you forgot because you were thinking of something else, weren’t you?”
“I didn’t want them to hurt you,” Iwaizumi replies, curling his fingers in the hem of Kuroo’s shirt. “I had a one-track mind to get you out of the water so I wasn’t thinking of anything else.”
Kuroo pulls Iwaizumi away from his shoulder and cups his face in his hands to look at him. “It shocks me that I’m attracted to how incredibly dumb you are,” Kuroo mutters.
Iwaizumi grins at Kuroo’s statement but then he remembers the aching feeling that he felt in his chest earlier. “Are you not dating Kenma?” he asks, embarrassed by how small he sounds.
Kuroo chuckles. “You thought I was dating Kenma? He doesn’t like guys… or girls for that particular matter. We’re just really good friends.”
“I thought you were dating Oikawa,” Kuroo confesses. “I was so jealous of him when I saw that he got to comfort you after you got out of the water. But when you confirmed that he had somebody else, you have no idea how happy I was.”
“I guess it’s because I’ve always been dependent on Oikawa to come up with smart solutions,” Iwaizumi sighs. “But after today, I realise that I can fight my own battles.”
Kuroo smiles. “You always could, you know. You’ve been fighting me all this time.”
Iwaizumi chuckles, his heart full as he tugs at Kuroo’s shirt to pull him closer. “Just shut up and kiss me already.”