Chapter 313: Completing the Tournament
Chapter 313: Completing the Tournament
This is actually Chapter 311, set before the victory in the 311 Tournament. I missed it when sending the draft, sorry.
When Liam arrived at the clearing, he found the situation was completely different from what he had imagined: Harry was tying up a male wizard on the ground under Hermione's guidance, and Ginny had already been released and was watching Harry and Hermione's work with interest.
Hearing Liam jump from the trees to the ground, everyone tensed and pointed their wands in his direction. They relaxed when they saw Liam emerge from the forest.
"Harry, how did you manage that?" Liam asked, looking at Gustav, who was tied up like a mummy on the ground. Based on his assessment, Harry's combat skills were actually below those of the Durmstrang contestant. In such a situation, it was impressive enough that Harry could hold his own, let alone win.
"I think it was just pure luck", Ginny, who had been standing idly by, chimed in. "At first, Harry and that guy were hiding in the forest, firing spells at each other, but neither could see the other, so they missed. Then Harry used a spell to launch a bottle from his waist toward the other guy's position.
The bottle hit a tree and exploded into a small cloud of red mist. The other guy screamed and clutched his face, falling to the ground. Harry easily stunned him with a Stunning Spell."
"Was it the Devil Pepper Extract Powder?" Liam asked, recalling Ginny's description.
"Yes, I used Professor Lupin's Waddiwasi Charm to launch the bottle of Pepper Essence Powder", Harry said, standing up after tying Gustav. "By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late to use the Bubble-Head Charm. I saw him instinctively rub his eyes and then drink a potion, but it didn't seem to help. He kept banging his head against the trees, so I stunned him to prevent him from hurting himself further."
Harry truly was a kind person. Seeing Mr. Gustav, whose eyes were swollen like walnuts, Liam was also concerned about the damage. He took a bottle of green cleansing agent from his waist pouch and poured it over Gustav's eyes. The cleansing agent, prepared to avoid accidental injuries, was quite effective. As soon as the liquid flowed over Gustav's eyes, even his furrowed brow relaxed in his unconscious state.
After treating Gustav's eyes, Liam and the others began moving toward the final checkpoint. Harry showed Liam a gold coin he had found on Gustav, a prize from the contest.
However, the speed of the four-person team slowed down because Ginny was less accustomed to the rough forest paths. Fortunately, they successfully obtained their final gold coin. But luck didn't last, and on the way to the exit, Ginny unfortunately twisted her ankle.
"Oh no!" Ginny clutched her ankle and sat on the ground. She had tripped over a tree root and injured her foot.
"Maybe Harry and I should stay behind and find a way, while you and Hermione go ahead", Ginny suggested, with Harry nodding in agreement.
"Are you kidding? This is a team tournament; we can't leave you behind!" Liam and Hermione gathered some branches and vines nearby and turned them into a stretcher.
For the rest of the journey, Hermione used a Levitation Charm to float the stretcher carrying Ginny in the air, following them. This made it easier to navigate difficult terrain, and with Ginny no longer slowing them down, their overall speed actually increased.
"Rustling, rustling." When they were less than 300 meters from the exit, they suddenly heard the sound of bushes rustling nearby.
"Is it an enemy, or a creature from the Forbidden Forest?" The four of them tensed and stared at the bushes. Suddenly, the bushes parted, and a wild goat ran out, causing Harry to breathe a sigh of relief.
Not all creatures in the Forbidden Forest were magical; in fact, most were ordinary animals. So seeing a wild goat here wasn't particularly unusual.
However, life’s disappointments always come one after another. Just as Harry was about to relax, Liam’s angry roar echoed over: "Prepare to attack Magic."
Due to the training he had undergone over the past few days, Harry instinctively raised his wand and aimed it at the spot where the wild goat had just run out. Only after he was prepared did he realize he wanted to ask something, but before he could open his mouth, he heard rustling sounds coming from ahead.
"What—" Before Harry could finish his question, a Spider the size of a Foal emerged from the bushes. It eagerly moved its large pincers, producing a series of clicking sounds.
Just as the Giant Octo-Eyed Spider was about to pounce on Liam and Harry, Liam and Harry’s Stunning Spells hit it, sending it flying backward.
During the second-year battle to exterminate the Spiders, Liam had joined forces with the forest’s Centaurs and Unicorns to eliminate most of the Spiders. Unfortunately, a small number managed to escape. Although the Centaurs and Unicorns hadn’t stopped hunting the remaining Giant Octo-Eyed Spiders, these scattered Spiders had learned to hide. Additionally, it was difficult to track them down after they dispersed, so they were never completely eradicated. The Giant Octo-Eyed Spider they faced now was likely one of the few that had escaped.
Liam volunteered to walk into the bushes to inspect the Giant Octo-Eyed Spider, while Harry turned to Hermione and asked, "Hermione, what is this thing? It looks like an enlarged Spider."
"This is a Giant Octo-Eyed Spider", Hermione explained. "They are native to the jungles of Borneo and have intelligence close to that of humans. The reason they are not considered intelligent beings is because they enjoy eating human flesh."
"What!" Harry exclaimed in shock. Liam, who had just emerged from the bushes, immediately used a Fire Charm to incinerate the unconscious Giant Octo-Eyed Spider. Fortunately, these Spiders were covered in hair, so they quickly turned into a pile of charred remains.
"Monsters like these should be eliminated completely", Harry agreed after hearing Liam say he had killed the Giant Octo-Eyed Spider. "I know many students have a habit of wandering around the Forbidden Forest. What if these Spiders attack the lower-year students? Bringing these Southeast Asian Spiders to the Forbidden Forest was a huge mistake."
Liam thought to himself, _Luckily, Harry doesn’t know that his friend Hagrid was the one who released them, or he would be devastated._
The rest of the journey went smoothly, and ten minutes later, the Hogwarts team successfully exited the passage. The stands that had been set up by the lake were now moved to the exit of the Forbidden Forest. When the audience saw the three of them carrying a stretcher out of the exit, a loud buzz filled the air.
"Good heavens, it’s the Hogwarts team!"
"Yes, it’s them. What on earth happened that they had to carry a stretcher out?"
"Could there be a Dragon in the Forbidden Forest, causing such heavy casualties in the team?"
Fortunately, Ginny managed to stand up with Harry’s support, preventing the audience from speculating further in a more dire direction.
Soon, Bagman walked over from the judges' stand. "Gentlemen, please hand over your Gold Coins." Liam and the others took out the twelve Gold Coins they had collected from their waist pouches.
When Bagman returned the Gold Coins to the judges' stand, the faces of the other two schools' Headmasters immediately darkened. With Hogwarts students securing half the Gold Coins, the outcome of the Tournament was now a foregone conclusion.
However, Liam didn’t see this. After handing over the Gold Coins, they were escorted into the medical tent by Madam Pomfrey.
(End of Chapter)
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