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Chapter 441: Adventure at the Bottom of the Lake (Complete)
Chapter 441: Adventure at the Bottom of the Lake (Complete)
On the shore, it was already afternoon, and the students were famished. Ludo Bagman’s commentary had become sluggish, but no one chose to leave. The competition was gradually drawing to a close, and most of the warriors, except those captured by the merpeople, had gathered enough golden gemstones. They only needed to reach the final location and gather together to successfully complete the competition.
"The competition has entered its fourth hour, and the warriors are severely fatigued. With the first warrior successfully collecting all the golden gemstones, the entire merpeople tribe has mobilized to patrol the Black Lake, making the warriors' situation even more dangerous", Bagman said in a hoarse voice.
Felix stood by the lake, rubbing his nose, wondering if the merpeople chief had misunderstood the purpose of the magic phonograph and was now working extra hard. For the past one and a half hours, merpeople guards had been leading trained Grindylows, galloping through the Black Lake, capturing the exhausted warriors one by one.
Those who hadn't been caught immediately were now hiding, afraid to show themselves.
...
Ron let out a long sigh, finally making it through. He wasn't sure if this counted as a loophole, but he discovered that if he failed the first time, he could try again, and again. Moreover, he found a second secret: when it came to Muggle Studies or History of Magic, he could choose between open book and closed book.
Knowing this secret, he found the best method to pass—constantly selecting the blue level and opting for open book when he encountered Muggle Studies or History of Magic. He would then look up the answers in the book. He might fail a couple of times, but he would definitely succeed eventually.
After passing, he chose the nearby terrain and found the position of the golden gemstones. He repeated this process, which was slow but reliable, far better than aimlessly searching the entire Black Lake.
He yawned widely. Ron felt as if he had forgotten that he was in the dangerous Tournament and was back in class. He was extremely grateful that he had read "Mick the Young Wizard's Adventures" multiple times, knowing many things by heart...
The blue level and purple level both came with a protective shield, a rare safe zone. Ron took a deep breath, preparing to find the seventh golden gemstone. Just as he was about to step out, a tall, muscular figure swam past him.
It was the warrior from Wagadu. Ron turned his gaze to the direction from which the warrior had come and saw a group of merpeople chasing after him aggressively. Ron grinned and pulled back his foot.
Unfortunately, a merperson noticed him. The tall merperson blew a whistle from his chest, and three merpeople remained, surrounding him. Although merpeople generally looked ugly, Ron recognized the leader by his clothing and bone decorations.
Ron swallowed hard; he seemed to have kicked this merperson before.
The merperson clearly recognized Ron as well, baring a mouth full of fangs and grinning happily. At that moment, several spells illuminated the water.
Two merpeople fell instantly, their hair, which looked like braids, floating around. Ron took the opportunity to raise his wand and cast a Stunning Spell.
The red light of the Stunning Spell penetrated the water, significantly slowed, but fortunately, the distance was close enough for the spell to hit the leading merperson. The merperson stared in disbelief, frozen in place for a few seconds before collapsing into the mud.
Harry and Hermione emerged from a corner, grinning at him.
"How did you two meet up?" Ron asked, his head still tingling from the bubblehead charm.
"After collecting seven golden gemstones, the watch can show the positions of your teammates as three red dots. I guessed it must be a tracking charm... I found Harry first, and I was about to come find you, but we ran into a large group of merpeople... They are too agile in the water. Harry used the light from his Patronus to scare them, making them think it was some powerful magic, and we took the opportunity to escape..." Hermione explained, then looked at Ron, "How many more golden gemstones do you need?"
"Just one, and I already know where it is", Ron said quickly.
"Let's hurry", Hermione said, her face pale, "We've been here too long. I don't know if we are the last group."
"Definitely not", Ron said, "I just saw a Wagadu Warrior being chased by a group of merpeople."
"Oh, I doubt he'll get away unless—" Hermione said pessimistically, then her eyes widened as a loud noise echoed nearby, sending sand and dirt flying.
"Hermione, you and Ron go find the gemstones. I'll go check on what's happening over there", Harry said immediately.
They quickly split up. A few minutes later, Ron and Hermione successfully found the gemstones, but the sounds outside grew louder, with shouts echoing through the water.
A little while later, Harry returned.
"Let's go!" he shouted, his expression terrified. "What happened?" Ron asked, puzzled.
"We'll talk while we move!" Harry said decisively, and they hurried toward the final location. The sound of rushing water grew closer, as if an army was chasing them. A tall waterspout, filled with mud and sand, formed a brownish vortex.
"A few groups of warriors have formed alliances. They stormed the Mermaid Square and rescued all the hostages. I saw the Durmstrang, Ilvermorny, and Cedric!" Harry said, maintaining the Human-Form Armoring Charm.
"And Wagadu", Ron said, his face pale.
"How do you know?" Harry asked casually. They were getting closer to their goal, and the bright platform seemed within reach.
"I saw an elephant..." Ron said, his eyes glazed over.
Harry and Hermione couldn't help but look back. A few hundred feet behind them, a bright light illuminated the lake bottom (Harry guessed Cedric used the Illumination Charm). An elephant was charging forward, kicking up mud and sand, thoroughly churning the lake's bottom. On the elephant's back sat over a dozen people, including Cedric, Collins, Roger, Krum, Fleur, and two more Wagadu Warriors.
"What do we do?" Ron asked hesitantly.
Less than two hundred feet away, a platform stood on the lake bottom, flashing and drawing their attention.
"You two go ahead", Harry said.
"You're not trying to be a hero, are you? They'll be fine..."
"No", Harry hesitated, "I know they'll be fine. I just want to cast a spell. You two go ahead, I'll catch up. This time, we're definitely going to be first!"
"Then hurry up, we're waiting!" Hermione said impatiently.
Harry took a deep breath, raised his wand, and felt fully restored to his normal Magic, ready to give it his all. More importantly, when Professor Hup used the Silver Cloak to travel, he had seen...
This gave him more ideas for the spell.
"Expecto Patronum!"
A massive silver glow erupted, and a solid silver Patronus rode the silver waves toward the elephant, where it was surrounded by hundreds of merpeople. More Grindylows and several sharks formed a large encirclement.
After casting the spell, Ron pulled Harry toward the platform. On the other side—
"What do we do?" Collins asked.
"Does anyone have any Ice Bombs left?" Cedric asked.
"They're all used up", Byers replied.
"We'll charge through!" Graves shouted, his face as white as paper, though it could also be from being underwater for too long.
"Look over there—" Fleur said, her eyes wide.
A large silver stag charged forward, unaffected by the water's resistance. It quickly passed by everyone, positioning itself between them and the merpeople, radiating a series of large silver waves. The merpeople, who had never seen a Patronus before, hesitated and retreated, watching the sudden appearance of this large creature warily.
"Let's go! Use Transfiguration to buy us some time!" Cedric said, recognizing the Patronus.
The elephant charged again, and the rocks and seaweed behind it transformed into hunting dogs, shields, and ropes under the effect of Transfiguration. They ran all the way to the platform's protective range.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat on the platform, exhausted.
(End of Chapter)
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