Chapter 1833: An Unreasonable Task
Chapter 1833: An Unreasonable Task
To ensure the fairness and integrity of the Triwizard Tournament, the three champions signed a magical contract on the night they were chosen by the Goblet of Fire. This contract monitored the tournament to prevent any cheating during the competition.
Therefore, apart from the Ministry of Magic, which was responsible for organizing the Triwizard Tournament, even the three headmasters were unaware of the details of the first task.
Even if they knew, it wouldn't help. Revealing the information to the champions beforehand would only result in a breach of the fairness contract, which would be utterly counterproductive.
Moreover, each headmaster had great confidence in their chosen champion, believing that they could achieve a good result without cheating. Hence, no one was willing to take the risk of disqualification.
This situation persisted until the morning of the day the Triwizard Tournament was to be held.
Alice, who had just put on her specially designed battle armor, received some concerning news from Daphne.
Headmistress Mcgonagall returned from outside looking very troubled and only told Daphne to inform Alice that if the task was too dangerous, she should withdraw. Then, she hurriedly went to discuss the matter with the other headmasters.
Clearly, Headmistress Mcgonagall wasn't the only one in a bad mood. According to the other champions, the three headmasters had been busy with something early that morning.
"The first task must be very dangerous."
Headmistress Mcgonagall's warning said it all.
"Not just dangerous, I've never seen Madame Maxime so angry", Mathieu said, glancing at the Durmstrang Vice Principal who was leading them. He exchanged information with his two companions in broken English.
"This is the path to the back of the school."
Alward, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, slowly revealing what he knew: "We usually only take this route in the summer. It leads to the highland lake at the back of the school, where the school's large ship is usually docked."
"Highland lake, are you sure?"
"It is indeed this path."
The three champions fell into a brief silence, clearly realizing the severity of the situation.
When the Durmstrang Vice Principal led them to a wooden dock, he suddenly spoke in a language all three could understand: "Your safety is the top priority. Whether you continue with the competition is your decision. As for the outcome of the Triwizard Tournament, let it go to hell!"
As the three boarded the Phantom Ship, a portly Ministry official approached them with a smile, explaining the rules in a continuous stream.
"So, the first task is to dive into the lake and find treasure?" Mathieu suddenly interrupted.
"Yes, you need to draw a treasure-seeking compass. The compass will guide you to the treasure hidden at the bottom of the lake. You have one hour to find the treasure."
The three champions stopped listening to the Ministry official's endless chatter and exchanged a quick glance.
"Perhaps the person who designed this task hopes we'll back down?" Alice fiddled with the treasure-seeking compass in her hand and spoke first. "Even if the lake surface is frozen, the water temperature at the bottom remains around 4°C, so this task is indeed possible, but the risk is quite high."
"The risk isn't just high; it's extremely high. Diving into the lake in this weather is not a rational decision, let alone staying underwater for an hour."
Alward's face was very grim. He knew that diving into the lake in such terrible weather (-13°C) could be fatal.
Moreover, he didn't believe he could survive an hour in the lake without freezing to death.
"Can the champions receive emergency assistance? I feel that the risk of diving into the lake is quite significant. We could accidentally die at the bottom!" Mathieu couldn't help but ask, "Have you ever tried diving to the bottom of the lake in this kind of environment?"
"Of course..."
"Of course not."
Alice stared into the eyes of the official, speaking for him.
"That's perfectly normal."
While Alward was fiddling with his treasure-seeking compass, he had already used magic to immobilize the Ministry of Magic official.
"I do have some ideas, but I’m not willing to take the risk", Mathieu suddenly said. "If you two can manage to stay in the lake for an hour, I can choose to forfeit the competition."
"Don’t look at me like that. I’m fully aware of how terrible the weather is here. This season is absolutely unsuitable for diving into the lake. Even with the water temperature around 4°C, it’s far too cold. Hypothermia could easily take our lives, and I don’t want to lose mine over this foolish competition."
"Neither do I."
Alward also didn’t want to take the risk. He was more familiar with the area than the other two and knew just how harsh the winter at Durmstrang could be. It was no wonder the vice principal had warned them earlier.
Diving into the lake would indeed be a huge risk. More importantly, Alward wasn’t prepared to handle the current situation. He didn’t know if the others had any better ideas, but if all three champions chose to forfeit or fail, they would still be on the same level.
"Perhaps we should find someone to try it out", Alward suggested.
All three turned their gazes to the Ministry of Magic official, who was standing there like a stone, eyes filled with fear.
"That’s a good idea. I think they should prove their worth with action!" Alice stepped out of the cabin onto the deck, using her wand to shatter the ice by the lake, then nodded to the other two.
They immediately understood and cast a Bubble-Head Charm on the unfortunate official before throwing him into the lake.
"Do you think that guy will freeze to death?" Alice watched the stunned audience on the lakeshore with interest.
"If they take proper safety precautions, he won’t have any serious issues. At worst, he might suffer from frostbite."
"If he ends up with severe frostbite, it would mean the safety measures for the Triwizard Tournament were inadequate. In that case, it’s his own bad luck", Mathieu said with a smile, introducing himself to the others. "Let me introduce myself again. Mathieu, Mathieu Delacour, it’s a pleasure to meet you."
As the three champions stood on the deck of the phantom ship, introducing themselves amicably, the audience on the shore and the headmasters, who were arguing about the first task, were all stunned by the scene.
None of them had expected the three champions to sacrifice one of the judges when faced with such an unreasonable task.
The outcome was far from pleasant.
The unfortunate official, who had been thrown into the lake, was quickly rescued by the Ministry of Magic and was said to have suffered severe frostbite. He was immediately taken to the hospital for emergency treatment.
But no one felt sympathy for the frostbitten official.
Not only the three headmasters, but also the Durmstrang students and professors who had come to watch the first task of the Triwizard Tournament, all looked extremely displeased.
Everyone realized that today’s task was highly unreasonable. They even suspected that even if the champions were fully prepared, the outcome wouldn’t be much better.
Testing the champions shouldn’t be done in such a way. This task was clearly designed to create trouble for them. (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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