Chapter 317: A Ray of Hope
Chapter 317: A Ray of Hope
Harry's mind was a mess.
Although he knew he shouldn't act rashly, he couldn't help but think about all sorts of things.
It was very dark around him, and he could barely see anything. However, the mermaid holding him seemed very familiar with the underwater darkness, moving purposefully as if searching for something, rather than darting around aimlessly like a headless fly.
The uncomfortable feeling of breathing through his gillweed and the persistent pain in the back of his neck quickly brought Harry back to his senses.
He had no time to speculate about who had ambushed him. Even if he figured it out, it wouldn't change the outcome. He needed to find a way to escape and get back to the surface of the lake.
Harry didn't understand why the mermaid hadn't killed him while he was under the stunning spell but instead dragged him underwater. However, he was acutely aware that the effect of the gillweed was about to wear off!
Breathing through his gills was already difficult, but if the gillweed stopped working, he would drown in the water, no one else needed to do the job.
As for the competition, he had no interest in thinking about it at all.
Harry tried to calm himself down, not letting his nerves get the best of him. He slowly slid his other free arm into his sleeve.
Either the mermaid was overconfident, thinking Harry couldn't possibly wake up, or simply forgot to take his wand. As long as Harry still had his wand, he wasn't completely helpless.
He quietly gripped the wand hidden in his sleeve, waiting patiently for the right moment.
The mermaid dragged Harry through the murky water, and because the mermaid was focused on searching for something, he didn't pay much attention to Harry behind him.
This created the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack.
After about thirty seconds, the mermaid named Ritchie seemed to have found his target. He paused briefly in the water, then started swimming faster.
And this was exactly the moment Harry had been waiting for!
He suddenly extended the hand that had been gripping the wand, aiming it at the mermaid in front of him. He waved the wand and cast a spell!
"Stupefy!"
Harry opened his mouth, but only a few bubbles escaped. In the water, he could breathe through his gills, but he couldn't speak normally.
However, even without a verbal command, the stunning spell still worked.
A red light flashed at the tip of his wand, but just as the spell shot out, Ritchie quickly released Harry's arm. His half-human, half-fish body twisted and accelerated forward, evading the spell.
The water currents created by Harry's wand movements alerted Ritchie, who, with this forewarning, managed to dodge the stunning spell at such close range.
Harry, being young, panicked after his first attempt failed. His body instinctively thrashed, trying to swim to the surface to seek help from a professor.
But Ritchie wasn't about to let him get away that easily.
After successfully dodging Harry's first spell, Ritchie used his superior agility in the water to quickly close the distance between them. He reached out to try to grab the wand from Harry's hand.
The Mermaid is a magical creature, but their uniqueness is primarily in their ability to live in water and the magical power in their songs. In other respects, they are not much different from ordinary humans and cannot learn proper magic. In this regard, they are even inferior to house-elves and goblins.
However, in the water, their natural advantages are unmatched by any other race.
Harry realized his mistake at this moment. Trying to escape directly underwater in front of a Mermaid was undoubtedly the worst choice. Now, Ritchie had already closed in on him, and Harry had lost the opportunity to cast a spell.
The two began a struggle over the wand in Harry's hand.
Not only was Harry at a disadvantage underwater, but at just fifteen years old and still growing, he had no chance of matching the strength of an adult Mermaid like Ritchie.
The tussle lasted less than two minutes before Harry's wand was successfully taken by Ritchie, and he was once again under control.
Trapped in a desperate situation, Harry was nearly in despair.
Ritchie watched the entire process with a blank expression, as if looking at a corpse.
The Mermaid raised the fork in his hand high, intending to use the handle to knock Harry unconscious again.
It seemed that Ritchie had no intention of killing Harry; otherwise, Harry would have had several holes in his body during the struggle.
At that moment, a massive shadow suddenly blocked the few rays of sunlight that managed to penetrate the dark lake.
Both Ritchie and Harry instinctively looked up.
They saw numerous thick tentacles, covered in suckers, descending from above!
The Giant Squid that lived in the Black Lake extended its tentacles, swiftly wrapping around both of them and forcibly separating them. It then began to swim rapidly toward the surface.
When Harry saw the squid, the despair in his heart was completely lifted.
Every Hogwarts student knew that the Giant Squid living in the lake was a gentle and friendly creature. George and Fred often came to the edge of the Black Lake to feed the squid with bread.
If a first-year fell into the water during the boat crossing, the squid would kindly use its tentacles to right the boat and save the first-year.
This terrifying-looking creature now gave Harry a great sense of security.
The Gillweed on his body was gradually losing its effect. Judging by the current time, if the other three contestants had gone smoothly, they should have already rescued their hostages.
Harry could only secretly hope in his heart that either Fleur or Cedric would have the kindness to rescue Ron as well. As for the competition results, he had no time to consider that.
Just as the gills on his cheeks disappeared and his nose regained the ability to breathe, the squid brought him and Ritchie to the surface, allowing Harry to breathe the fresh air of the land!
From the lake, he could see a crowd of people gathered on the shore, the scene looking chaotic. As the squid continued to swim toward the shore, Harry began shouting and waving his arms, and finally, someone noticed him.
(End of Chapter)
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