Chapter 641: Breaking Free from the Water
“Amazing, truly impressive—no wonder you’re Wade Gray!” Clementine wiped the water from her face, kneeling on the shore as Madam Pomfrey draped a warm blanket around her shoulders. The girl wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, her lips tinged blue from the cold, yet she still grinned. “I picked the most sneaky Horn angle for my ambush—I still couldn’t catch you! Where’s Miss North Island and Adam?”
Wade didn’t answer. He watched as the lake’s surface no longer offered a chance to pull him under, and though he felt no disappointment, he gave himself a Reversion Charm with a quiet wave of his wand.
Moments later, his tail dissolved into legs, his scales melted back into his trousers, and the gills on his cheeks vanished as if they’d never been. He surfaced, dripping wet, and walked steadily toward the bank.
Clementine’s eyes flicked up and down his form with an open, almost teasing admiration, her smile still soft, shy, and slightly mischievous.
Wade ignored her. As soon as he reached the shore, Madam Pomfrey grabbed him by the arm, then a blanket descended from above like a sudden storm, wrapping him tightly. A foul-smelling potion was shoved into his mouth before he could protest.
“Drink this!” Madam Pomfrey urged, her voice sharp with urgency. “Staying under water for hours—especially in the depths—can be deadly! Dumbledore must be out of his mind to approve this Tournament!”
Sometimes, Madam Pomfrey’s intensity could even overpower Professor McGonagall—especially when she started lecturing about safety. Even Snape wouldn’t dare interrupt.
Wade said nothing. He swallowed the burning potion without complaint. Instantly, heat surged from his ears, spreading through his body.
“Your Tournament is over,” Madam Pomfrey said, her tone surprisingly gentle. “Go rest in that tent over there.”
“I’d like to see how the others fared, Madam,” Wade said.
Clementine raised her hand. “Me too.”
Madam Pomfrey’s stern gaze swept over both of them. Seeing they were still alert, she relented and hurried away.
Wade found a patch of dry ground and sat down, placing the extra two wands beside him. He turned to the Streaming Mirror.
Clementine joined him, propping herself up on her hands, gazing up at the screen. “What a disaster… If only I’d mastered the Silent Spell, maybe I’d have had a chance.”
On screen, Kitajima Tachihana and Adam Cagni had paused, then began to struggle—gently, almost imperceptibly. It looked less like combat and more like their bodies trembling with the sway of the algae.
They hadn’t broken free. Their movements were sluggish, like most wizards who’d lost their wands—helpless, drained.
“It’s not that simple,” Wade finally spoke, his voice low. “Underwater, pressure increases by one atmosphere every ten meters. They’re over forty meters down…”
He paused.
“Lake pressure would be crushing their eardrums, impairing their judgment—inducing a state similar to intoxication. They might not even remember what spell to cast.”
“So that’s why you pulled them so deep?” Clementine leaned in, eyes wide with curiosity. “How do you even know that? Did you sneak into the Black Lake before? Go treasure hunting?”
“Me?” Wade smirked. “The Black Lake is full of dangerous creatures. No sane person would dive down there.”
“Guess I’m not sane, then,” Clementine laughed, her eyes sparkling. “If I could turn into a Merperson, I’d swim every ocean, every uncharted sea. I’d go where no one’s ever been—see wonders no one’s ever seen!”
Wade turned to look at her. The girl who’d just tried to ambush him now looked radiant, her eyes alight with a quiet, burning dream.
Farther off, several Aurors floated above the lake on their broomsticks, glancing at their watches, then at the Referee’s stand. Most of them hadn’t looked away from the Streaming Mirror.
Wizards knew the beauty of high-altitude winds, but few understood the invisible, crushing threat of deep-sea pressure. To them, the slow, helpless struggle of the two competitors seemed bizarre—almost unnatural.
“Why isn’t Adam using a Cutting Charm?” Seraphina from Ilvermorny clenched her fists. “Just cut the algae—get out!”
“An Ignition Spell, an Explosion Spell, or even a Counter to the Binding Charm—any of them would work!” students from the Magic Institute murmured. “Just get them out of there!”
But the two in the water couldn’t hear them.
After a while, Adam—relying on a Muggle oxygen tank to survive—began to run out of air. His tank was somewhere deep beneath the surface, impossible to retrieve instantly. The frantic movement only accelerated his oxygen consumption.
On the other side, Kitajima Tachihana saw his eyes suddenly bulge, his face twisted in panic. In that instant, she understood.
She gritted her teeth, staring at the endless black veil of algae surrounding them. Her mind, for the first time in hours, cleared.
There was no chance anyone would return to the shore just in time. Even if someone did come—someone who found them buried under the algae—it would be a miracle.
There was only one way.
Kitajima glanced at the small blue fish filming them from nearby, took a deep breath, and let magic surge through her.
Pop.
The bubble around her head burst. Instantly, lake water flooded her pale face.
At the Referee’s table, two sparks shot into the air.
Ms. Fujiwara’s face remained expressionless, like still water. Egilbert from Ilvermorny sighed, helpless.
The Aurors waved their wands. A moment later, a geyser of lake water erupted from the depths—like a volcano—sweeping both competitors violently to the surface. Mid-air, their Headmasters caught them with a flick of their wands.
“Ghh—” Adam and Kitajima groaned in unison, spitting out bloodied foam. Blood trickled from their noses.
When their bodies hit the ground, they convulsed like fish flung from water. Web-like red marks appeared across their skin.
“Oh my—!” someone screamed from the stands. “What kind of magic caused that? I’ve never seen anything like it!”
Bagman opened his mouth—his carefully rehearsed lines stolen before he could speak.
Clementine stared, stunned. “What… just happened?”
She glanced at Wade, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. She couldn’t believe he’d used such a terrifying Dark Magic in front of everyone. The two victims looked on the verge of death.
On the Referee’s table, several Aurors exchanged wary glances, their eyes fixed on Wade with clear unease.
“That wasn’t magic,” Wade said, voice calm and clear. “They were brought up from dozens of meters below in seconds. Water pressure dropped by eighty percent in just a few seconds. The gases dissolved in their blood suddenly expanded into bubbles—now they’re bursting through their veins.”
Clementine tilted her head. “I didn’t get all that… but in simple terms—does it work like opening a shaken beer bottle?”
She spread her fingers wide and made a sharp “Pop!” sound.
Wade nodded. “Exactly.”
The hostile stares faded. But the Aurors who’d just “rescued” them looked awkward—uncertain, even doubtful.
Wade hadn’t expected the Ministry of Magic’s Aurors to use such a brutal method. If those two hadn’t been wizards, that sudden ascent could’ve ruptured their lungs—and killed them.
Of course, in the Wizarding World, the only real consequence was that Madam Pomfrey would stop testing them for dark magic and instead hand them a new potion—one that bubbled with purple smoke.
“Drink this,” Madam Pomfrey said, her voice laced with pity. She waved her wand, bringing a crystal vial to the lips of the two dazed students. “This kind of injury… you’ll need at least two days in the school hospital.”
(End of Chapter)
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