Chapter 439: The Adventure Under the Lake (Two)
At the shore, Ludovic Bagman exclaid excitedly, "Look! Miss Granger successfully stunned a salmon, at least two feet long! Is this so rare talent?"
Fred and George chuckled, "Hermione won't be too thrilled about this."
"Oh, Professor McGonagall reminded ," Ludovic Bagman continued, "it's the power of ancient runes. Frankly, I don't quite understand this field, isn't it only for translating ancient texts... And about Elephendi, the warrior from Uagadou who chose to abandon the wand earlier, the judges discussed and concluded that since the rules didn't explicitly state the prohibition of abandoning the wand, it falls within the allowed range, despite the difficulties it may pose in retrieval..."
"Let's return to the competition. Ilvermorny's champion successfully tackled the purple challenge. Now he faces a choice: a talisman, an ice bomb, or—look, he chose the second, freezing a small portion of the lake."
"Durmstrang's Krum is nearing the area of Grindylows. His less-than-successful transformation into a shark only added two gills and a shark tooth. Frankly, I hope those rows of fine teeth in his mouth won't co into play. Back to the point, Krum truly lives up to his Quidditch international star status. His robust physique allows him to swim with his wand, not to ntion he unexpectedly found a golden gem midway, boosting himself to two feet..."
"Oh no! He's surrounded. Several Grindylows found him. Normally, these little things wouldn't trouble him at all, but this ti it's different. Can he cast spells agilely? Yes, wisely, he chose to evade, foregoing that blue challenge..."
In the Black Lake, Hermione faced a dilemma.
After solving the puzzle, an echoing voice inford her of rewards: any question within the rules, terrain of a small area around her, or transmitting information to teammates for ten seconds.
Hermione was enticed by each option. After so consideration, she chose the one most needed at the mont—the terrain of the small area around her.
The echoing voice repeated her choice. After a quiet pause, a map materialized in the air. Hermione's eyes glead, morizing the appearance of the golden and purple dots on the map.
anwhile, Harry had completed the Human-Shield Charm a few minutes ago. He almost repeated the developnt process of this spell, luckily for him, due to his frequent visits to Room Seven and the relatively idle state of Professor Snape's mory. The details were well covered.
His Human-Shield Charm looked like a deford Bubble-Head Charm, covering his entire body. This made his movents considerably slower than usual, but nevertheless, he managed to acquire the ability to step out of the protective shield.
After a few seconds of thought, he extended one hand out of the shield, touching the icy lake water. The colorful fish finally grew tired, darting off sowhere for rest. Harry took a deep breath, stepping into the water. He resembled a bubble deford by pressure, limbs relatively intact while his head and torso appeared inflated, akin to a frog on land.
Perhaps this was more energy-efficient, Harry thought with a touch of humor.
He swam upstream, much like he did in Quidditch matches—occupying higher ground, scanning for the golden thief. Only this ti, he searched for a target underwater.
Before him lay an eerie scene of dark greens and blacks intertwined in the black lake. Soft seaweed swayed like fabric strips, small shiny pebbles mingled in dark mud, but that wasn't what he sought.
He first spotted a blue shimring light, the Wisdom challenge... Harry noted the location and decided to explore further. This ti, he discovered a purple glow, the combat challenge.
Harry hesitated but opted to take on the purple challenge. He smoothly arrived at the purple cottage, the transition from water to air sending shivers down his spine. Suddenly, he felt sothing brush against his mind, his practice in Occluncy surfacing, resisting the invasion of this unknown force.
"Phew..." Harry exhaled, narrowly avoiding the ambush.
He entered the purple cottage, searching thoroughly. Yet, he found nothing. He puzzled over it. What was this about? Was it a test? Harry pondered until a possible explanation struck him... Could that intrusion just now have been the test?
Harry eased his ntal guard, waiting silently. Monts later, he found himself in a spacious square. A hippogriff, kneeling, rose, spreading its wings, glaring at him nacingly.
Harry grinned. It was a peculiar half-horse, half-bird creature, but Harry was no stranger to them, having befriended one nad Buckbeak. He was quite accustod, appreciating their naturally transitioning fur: from deep grays, bronzes, reds, and whites to shining chestnuts and finally, jet black.
Bow, don't blink, don't flinch... It was like revisiting the last school year. Harry swiftly befriended it. However, it insisted Harry fly around on its back. Harry worried about how to pass the challenge until the suggestion ca. He tried it, and as the hippogriff settled, the sound of passing the challenge echoed.
"Pass in peace. Please choose: a talisman to freely move underwater for half an hour; ink to obscure vision; a fake wand for three uses of the Ironclad Charm."
Harry blinked, staring at the hippogriff by his side. Suddenly, a good idea struck him.
"I'll take the talisman," he said.
Minutes later, back at the shield, he also managed to pick up a golden gem, slightly increasing his height and revitalizing his magical energy, capable of simple spells.
"Now I have a better chance," Harry thought, donning the talisman and dismissing the unfamiliar Ironclad Charm.
With his wand in one hand and a snail-sized water snail tucked under his arm, Harry gave a deep look at the shimring shield, stepping into the black lake. His body initially felt a chill but soon ward up—the talisman was incredibly effective. It made him feel refreshed and light, moving effortlessly underwater.
Harry asured with his wand; his Holly Phoenix Feather wand was eleven inches, so now he was approximately one foot seven or eight inches tall. After so ti, he successfully located the colorful thief lingering near the shield. It seed tired; perhaps an illusion, but Harry felt it had a small bulge on its head...
"Co on!" Harry shouted, and the colorful thief imdiately turned to look at him. Its eyes nearly popped out. Compared to the re foot-long fish, Harry now seed to have the advantage in height.
Seeing the colorful thief rush toward him with long strides, Harry smiled happily.
Half a minute later, the thief's legs were tied, and Harry was panting. Yet, he was quite satisfied with his accomplishnt, tossing the water snail he had thrown aside next to the colorful thief. It stopped struggling, glanced at Harry, and then lowered its head to enjoy the al. For the next ten minutes, Harry used water plants to craft a crude knot, tying it around the colorful thief.
It had been twenty minutes since he woke up.
Then, holding his wand, Harry undid the knots around the thief's legs. "You take
for a swim, and
I won't hold you accountable for tangling with ," Harry said to it.
He wasn't sure if it was his words, the effect of his introduction, or if it simply wanted to escape, but the colorful thief indeed began to move. Harry hastily grabbed the rope woven with water plants and his wand. In the next mont, he was pulled forward as they swam.
"Wow!"
Harry swiftly moved through the Black Lake, manipulating the thief's head with his wand to control the direction. His goal was those golden gems. Although he had lost so ti earlier, he believed his speed would significantly increase from here on.
...
In the center of the Black Lake, beneath a steep and profound cliff, lay a sunken rocky forest—a low-lying area of the entire lake, ho to a small rfolk tribe.
They possessed unique culture, language, and the ability to ta Grindylows. This rfolk tribe had the authority to inhabit the Black Lake, and every headmaster had promised not to intrude here.
However, despite this, the Black Lake was part of Hogwarts. During this championship, Dumbledore and the rfolk chief reached an agreent; they would beco part of the second task.
At this mont, Felix sat in a small plaza, surrounded by oddly shaped cottages, many rfolk observing from afar.
The rfolk chief was enjoying the gift—a waterproof magical gramophone.
Standing at least ten feet tall, adorned with a necklace of shark teeth, surrounded by rfolk guards holding forks, the rfolk chief's gaze occasionally flickered in this direction.
"I'm satisfied," the rfolk chief spoke with a low, hoarse voice.
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