Gillyweed--Was Re: On giving JKR a break

[msbeadsley]

No: HPFGUIDX 80618

Aussie wrote:
> Give her a break ... You have to take some things with a grain of 
> salt. eg: If the Dursleys never took Harry anywhere growing up, how 
> did he learn to swim for the 2nd Tri-Wizard task? Answer: I don't 
> know and I don't care! JKR lets us explore another part of the 
> wizarding world by taking us underwater.

GoF, The Egg and The Eye:

"That's it, isn't it?" Harry said excitedly. "The second task's to go 
and find the merpeople in the lake and...and..."

But he suddenly realized what he was saying, and he felt the 
excitement drain out of him as thought someone had just pulled a plug 
in his stomach.  He wasn't a very good swimmer; he'd never had much 
practice.  Dudley had had lessons in his youth, but Aunt Petunia and 
Uncle Vernon, no doubt hoping that Harry would drown one day, hadn't 
bothered to give him any.  A couple of lengths of this bath were all 
very well, but that lake was very large, and very deep ... and 
merpeople would surely live right at the bottom ...

And a second, shorter excerpt from the following chapter, The Second 
Task:

...Harry struck out once more, marveling at how far and fast his 
flipper-like feet propelled him through the water...

"marveling at how" -- It's all the gillyweed.

Sandy aka "msbeadsley"