Chapter 607: The Song from the Golden Egg
When Harry stepped out of the tent, he half-expected a grand ceremony. His heart fluttered with nerves as he hastily Scattered his messy hair and frowned at his robe, which stubbornly refused to return to its former state.
But reality turned out to be surprisingly simple. They weren’t taken back to the stadium’s elevated platform to bask in the crowd’s cheers and Applause. Instead, Bagman led them to a new tent. As soon as they entered the door, the first few people inside squinted instinctively at the sudden burst of flashing lights.
“Ah-ha! Here come our champions!” Rita Skeeter chirped, her voice rising with theatrical flair. She wore an outrageously large blue hat, and her Feather Quill immediately began scribbling furiously beside her.
Inside the tent, a young man with freckles bounced up from his seat like a spring-loaded toy, camera flashing rapidly in all directions with a relentless click-click-click.
Harry’s unease deepened. He instinctively halted, then stumbled forward slightly as someone behind him bumped into him, sending him stumbling into the tent.
Bagman paid it all no mind—just as he ignored the blue bird that had flown in behind them. “Well then,” he announced with exaggerated enthusiasm, “let’s officially confirm the list of champions who’ve passed the first challenge—”
“Viktor Krum of Durmstrang,”
“Hope Cruz of Salem,”
“Cedric Digory, Harry Potter, and Wade Gray of Hogwarts.”
Hearing three names in succession—though everyone had already expected it—still drew a fresh wave of attention from the crowd.
“Adam Cagni of Ilvermorny,”
“Natalia Petrova of Kodostoriz,”
“Kitajima Tachihana of the Magic Institute,”
“Clementine Durand of Beauxbatons.”
“Jabari Wiven of Wagadoo.”
Bagman counted them off with mock solemnity. “That’s ten champions. Is everyone clear? Excellent. Now, please—demonstrate your Golden Eggs.”
“Raise your Golden Eggs high! Yes, like that!” The freckled journalist shouted, his camera snapping away like a machine gun.
Bagman remained unfazed by the commotion. He clapped his hands once. “Alright, I just have a few words—”
“The second task will begin at nine-thirty in the morning on February 24th next year. I still can’t reveal what it is…” He paused dramatically, a sly smile spreading across his round face.
“But if you’re clever enough to decipher the clues hidden within your Golden Eggs, you’ll be able to prepare in advance—before the Tournament even begins.”
“Understood? Any questions? Good. You’re dismissed. Go rest.”
…
As Harry stepped out of the tent, he still couldn’t help glancing back.
Rita Skeeter, draped in a vivid green cloak, was grinning as she held onto Jabari Wiven of Wagadoo. “Congratulations, Mr. Wiven. I imagine you were the most effortless among the challengers to cross the Fire Dragon! Successfully advancing to the second round—what would you like to say? And might I ask—why does your Animagus form happen to be a sand rat?”
Behind her, the Quick-Write Feather Quill hovered in the air like a shark scenting blood.
Seeing that the dreaded journalist had lost interest in him, Harry exhaled softly in relief.
“I still don’t know what the clue in the Golden Egg is,” he muttered, staring down at the egg in his hand. “Do you think our clues will be the same? Should we open it?”
Wade scanned the area briefly and shook his head slightly. “Wait until we get back.”
“You’re right,” Harry said, shoving the egg into his pocket. “There’ll definitely be a celebration tonight in the House. I wonder if Cedric’s bones will even be grown back in time.”
Wade wasn’t so sure.
Back then, Harry had only lost one arm’s bones—and it had taken an entire night to regrow. Now, the thigh bones were far more complex, and the regeneration process would be much longer, far more painful.
Still, even if Cedric couldn’t walk tonight, Hufflepuff would probably throw another celebration anyway. They never ran short of food for a banquet.
After parting ways with Harry, Wade first sent a message to his parents—though they’d surely already seen the full Tournament via live broadcast—then called a few friends to celebrate with a magical phone call. Afterward, he asked Machionni for a complete recording of the Tournament.
Next, Wade made his way to the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor of the Castle. As he turned the brass doorknob and stepped inside, the room had transformed into a vast, bright space—comparable to a Roman bath.
At the center stood a pool stretching twenty or thirty meters long. Steam curled gently above the water’s surface, and the white marble gleamed with a soft, pearl-like sheen. Twelve graceful Mermaid statues stood around the edge, each holding an instrument or a vase from which fresh water flowed continuously.
Wade stripped off his clothes and shoes without hesitation, took a deep breath, and leapt into the warm water, swimming a few laps with effortless grace. The surface erupted into sparkling droplets.
The boy moved through the water like a true Merpeople, his body dancing with ease. The soothing warmth washed away the exhaustion of the Tournament. He flipped underwater, descended to the pool’s bottom, and surfaced once more at the edge.
Shaking the wet strands from his black hair, he reached into his pocket—left beside the pool—and pulled out the Golden Egg. He slipped back under the water.
Though the schools had increased and the Tournament’s content had evolved, the challenge still bore the hallmark of the British Ministry of Magic’s official design. Their puzzle logic likely hadn’t changed much—only the difficulty had risen.
Wade opened his eyes beneath the surface. His fingers dug into the crack on the Golden Egg, and with a firm, deliberate twist, he cracked it open.
Instantly, a haunting, ancient melody poured forth—
Come, come and search,
Where our voices rise.
We cannot sing upon the ground—
So think carefully as you seek:
The heart of steel lies hidden in shadow,
The crimson of sunset lingers in the tentacles,
The moon inscribed with stars is sealed behind an ancient stone door.
When the three are one, you shall know your path.
Beware, beware—
To leave the cold nest,
Only wisdom and courage may pass.
Wade surfaced, raised his wand, and cast a Bubble Head Charm over his head. Then he dove back under, listening to the song from beginning to end—twice—committing every word to memory.
“Just as I thought…” He broke the surface, wiping water from his face and pushing his soaked hair back with a quick motion.
“The Tournament’s changed—but it’s still about searching in the Black Lake. But this time, it’s not about finding a person who’s been turned into treasure. It’s about finding three things.”
He conjured a parchment and copied down the lyrics, frowning at the words.
Steel heart… sunset red… the moon with stars?
“It still feels… impossible. Finding three abstract things like that is harder than finding a living person.”
(End of Chapter)
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