Chapter 442: Howard Bound
An African elephant let out a sharp trumpet, collapsing to the ground. It stumbled and jostled, unseating seven or eight individuals. So, utterly fatigued, seed to slide down like they were on a slide, their bodies rolling a couple of tis on the platform, panting heavily.
For these warriors, be it physically or ntally, they had reached their limits long ago.
Harry found it difficult to even twitch a muscle at this mont. Every inch of his body ached terribly. He wanted to lift his head, but his neck seed to have given up, allowing him only a sideways glance.
He looked at Ron and Hermione. The trio's breaths resembled leaky old bellows. At that mont, Ron suddenly burst into exaggerated laughter. He lay on the ground, pounding the white marble surface with his fists, tears streaming down his face.
"Look...look at the elephant's nose...haha...it's like a runny bubble..."
Harry and Hermione strained to look. The African elephant lay on the ground, slowly reverting to its human form, but you could still see a bubble hanging at the tip of its long trunk... Harry speculated it was the Bubble-Head Charm, but... a runny bubble?
He couldn't help but shrug his shoulders, trying hard not to burst into laughter. Hermione seed to be struggling to contain her amusent as well.
Cedric, Colin, and Roger limped over to their side, not too gracefully sitting down on the ground, breathing heavily. Cedric, already quite pale, now looked as though he'd been soaking in water for three days straight, resembling a vampire. Colin seed to have caught a cold, his breathing producing intermittent whistling sounds. As for Roger, he just lay flat on the ground, engaging in a duet with the warrior beside him, with loud snores.
"He's exhausted..." Cedric pointed at Roger Davies, wearily speaking. "Thanks, your guardian helped a lot."
"Not really," Harry awkwardly replied. He wasn't used to this atmosphere, quickly scanning around - his neck began hurting again, the skin at the back rigid like an old tire. "Is everyone here?" he asked, struggling to find sothing to say.
He saw Fleur, pale-faced, speaking to a fellow female student, while Krum, grim-faced, surprisingly robust in terms of stamina, paced around with folded legs, occasionally glancing at the approaching rpeople guards. Gravely's expression matched Krum's as he glared at a warrior who buried his face in his knees.
"He probably shouldn't have stepped out of the protection charm at the start; probably going to lose so points," Cedric remarked following his gaze. "Everyone's here. What about you? Not caught?"
Harry shook his head, a faint smile forming on Cedric's lips. "Then you're lucky."
"Difficult dealing with rpeople?" Harry said, trying to keep any trace of triumph out of his voice, turning his head to look beyond the dais, where hundreds of rpeople encircled it. Yet, he didn't feel much impending danger.
"rpeople's domain is the water; they have a coordinated thod," Cedric explained. "They weave ropes, cables, and even nets from water grass... each one is a skilled ambush artist."
Harry stared at the rpeople's iron-grey skin, seaweed-like green hair, and murky yellow eyes. He had to admit there was so truth in what was said. They were ambushed too, but as Cedric said, they were lucky enough to have two people there at the ti.
"...and those Grindylows, relentless like hounds, obeying rpeople commands or not are two different things. These Grindylows can execute simple orders, like holding a rope or such... and the more exhausted we beca, the less magic we could muster," Cedric shook his head.
At that mont, a silver light pierced the water's surface, descending straight from above the dark lake with a soft 'thud,' landing gently on the platform.
Felix surveyed the area, his silver cloak unfolding behind him, slowly transforming into sparkling specks of light. He announced calmly to the crowd, "The competition is over. All warriors, stand within the circle; I will now lead you back to the land."
He waved his wand, and the platform beneath their feet suddenly trembled. The outermost ring of stones and sedint shivered and separated. Soon, the white marble platform ascended slowly, enveloping them in a translucent, glowing shield, reminiscent of an enlarged protection charm.
Harry directed his gaze outward. His mood was unusually serene. Fish darted around like small darts, and he even spotted a Chimaera fish, perhaps the sa one he had encountered.
Hopefully, it won't be spotted by the rpeople, Harry thought sincerely.
rpeople guards ard with spears and forks ford two lines, guarding on both sides. After a brief distance, they split from the group. Subsequently, they saw the shimring waves above their heads. With a 'pop,' they erged from the Black Lake.
The world on the water was blindingly radiant, dazzling beyond asure. Harry's eyes stung with brightness, tears involuntarily streaming down. His mind filled with dazzling white light.
He heard a commotion, voices growing nearer and louder, rging into a buzzing sound. It took a while before he realized it was the cheering and applause of the crowd.
Ludo Bagman's voice ca through tily —
"All warriors safely return! Let us cheer for them; they spent over four hours underwater! Ah, I see Mada Pomfrey rushing over —"
His voice was muffled, quite deep, as if separated by sothing.
At this mont, Felix reached out towards the half-spherical light mbrane with his hand, and where his finger touched, it quickly ignited and turned to ashes. Imdiately, a fresh, cool breeze rushed in. Felix took a deep breath, smiling at the warriors who were also taking in deep breaths.
His words were drowned by the suddenly deafening screams. Harry had never felt breathing was such a delightful thing. The distant voices beca real. Mada Pomfrey was anxiously waiting on the shore. As soon as the marble platform touched the shore, she hurried over.
"Any injuries?" she asked Felix.
"Maybe so scrapes or bruises, nothing severe. Their issue is exhaustion," Felix replied, watching the sprawled-out warriors, so of whom were already snoring loudly, the enthusiastic cheers having no effect on their quality of sleep.
"Um...alright," Mada Pomfrey said, taking out a narrow-necked bottle from her dical kit, administering the potion to the warriors one by one. The warrior who was sleeping soundly drank it drowsily, rolling over and falling back asleep.
Mada Pomfrey glared at him, bewildered, before moving to the next person.
"Thank you, Mada Pomfrey," Harry said, swallowing the fiery liquid. He, Ron, and Hermione showed no sign of protest, only to divert Mada Pomfrey's attention away from them.
"A stimulant, perhaps with sothing else added; I can taste the hint of mint," Ron muttered, releasing streams of white vapor from his ears and nostrils.
Percy strode over, grabbing Ron's neck firmly, "I'm going to strangle you, Ron!"
Hagrid and Lupin were seen making their
way through the crowd.
Hermione looked sowhat crestfallen; she hadn't told her parents yet, but perhaps for the third task, she could ask her mom and dad. A blanket was draped over her, and she looked surprisedly at Professor McGonagall.
"I think you need a hug," Professor McGonagall said.
"Oh... um, I suppose," Hermione pursed her lips, giving McGonagall a brief hug. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Professor Snape and Dumbledore squatting by the water, conversing with the rchief.
Felix keenly noticed her gaze, giving her a thumbs-up before refocusing. He was quite astonished, watching Dumbledore emit a string of piercing sounds from his mouth, with the rchief leader responding in the sa language. He muttered to himself, weren't rchiefs supposed to speak English?
Finally, Dumbledore straightened up. "Felix, we're going over to have a debriefing with the other judges." The heads of the schools gathered again, Fudge and Bagman rushing over, discussing in low voices.
Dumbledore relayed the information the rchief leader provided — unlike the footage visible only through the warriors' wristwatches, the rchiefs could offer a more dinsional and impartial evaluation.
Fudge offered an objective perspective, "This competition was quite complex; every team showed impressive performances. Let's start by discussing noteworthy aspects..."
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