https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-641-Breaking-Free-from-the-Water/13685838/
Chapter 642: The Tournament Ends
The vial clinked against the glass, and Madam Pomfrey fluttered around Adam like a nervous bird. After administering the potion, she personally escorted them into the Medical Tent. Several students from the two schools, abandoning their posts, followed in behind.
Wade glanced at the white tent and asked, “Don’t you care about your two companions?”
“Companions?” Clementine snorted, fingers idly twirling a strand of her honey-colored curls. “We’re not partners. We’re just… using each other.”
“An ambush planned in advance?” Wade frowned slightly. “If you’d succeeded, I’d only have one Compass set in my possession. How would the three of you divide it?”
Clementine traced her fingertip along her hair, speaking slowly. “First, we all figured you’d act like last time—impossible to satisfy with just your own share.”
“The rules have changed,” Wade said casually.
“That doesn’t matter,” Clementine laughed. “I made a pact with them. I’d give up everything I took from you—no piece for me at all.”
On the Streaming Mirror screen, Viktor Krum—half-man, half-shark—was seen emerging from the Merpeople tribe with the disk. He turned instantly and dove back into the water with decisive, unhesitating motion.
A ripple of gasps rose from the stands. Karkaroff leaned back, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
Wade turned to look at Clementine, his expression calm, though the ridge of his brow dipped just slightly.
“So you’re saying Madam Maxime no longer cares about her school’s honor, after I eliminated Fleur Delacour?” he asked.
“Oh? Of course she does. She still hopes I’ll bring the trophy back. Though she still favors Fleur the most.”
Clementine’s voice was light, almost playful. She leaned in, her body tilting toward him, eyes locking onto his.
“This is my own choice—understand? I don’t care about winning the tournament. As long as I beat you, that’s victory enough.”
Wade frowned again. “So you teamed up with Kitajima Tachihana and Adam Cagni?”
He thought back. He’d offended many competitors, yes—but Clementine had only barely secured her spot thanks to his actions. What motive could she possibly have?
And her demeanor didn’t suggest resentment at all.
As Wade pondered, Clementine grinned and recounted how the alliance had formed.
“Ms. Fujiwara from the Magic Institute believed you were the biggest obstacle to anyone becoming champion. And defeating you—no matter the method—would be a massive triumph.”
“The Home team from Ilvermorny was mostly convinced by the Magic Institute’s persuasion.”
“So it looks like I orchestrated a three-school alliance. But really, we’re just people like you—drawn to one another.”
She tilted her head upward, gazing at the Streaming Mirror. Light from the screen flickered across her face.
“Did the statues scare you? I only realized it by accident—northern islands excel at manipulating those stone figures. If it weren’t underwater, you’d have seen the paper doll in her hand move like a living thing.”
“Thanks to you, actually. She got the inspiration from your Magic Puppet. As for Adam—well, he truly disappointed my expectations.”
She turned her head, flashing a sweet smile at Wade. “Be careful, Wade. Someone inside is very—very much against you.”
“Who?” Wade asked.
Clementine grinned. “I can’t say. Why don’t you guess?”
Their lines of sight met at a breath’s distance. Wade saw flickers of complex emotion in her pupils—resentment, cunning, defiance… and beneath it all, something faintly familiar.
He turned away, expression unchanged.
The more vivid a person’s presence, the higher their position, the more shadows gather with hatred and envy. Arrows of resentment come from all directions. He might not know every source, nor have ever met some of them.
So Wade didn’t bother guessing. He’d wait—until they stepped forward. Then he’d crush them.
In the wizarding world, the rules differ from those of ordinary society. This is a world ruled by power. A single powerful wizard can match an entire trained army.
Had it not been for Dumbledore’s restraint, the wizarding world would be even more overtly a survival-of-the-fittest realm—harsher, more cruel.
But beneath the veneer of civilization, the truth remains unchanged: rules are built on the scale of power.
Without strength, even the Minister of Magic must cower. If you can’t defeat your enemy, the entire wizarding world must remain silent, even pretending to ignore Gellert Grindelwald’s rising threat—let alone attempt to mask the truth from the people.
“Splash!”
Cedric emerged from the Black Lake, collapsing onto the shore, coughing violently.
Before Madam Pomfrey could check his condition, Qiu Zhang had already dashed down from the stands. But when she reached the edge, she hesitated, hands clasped tightly, standing awkwardly by.
Cedric managed a smile, though it carried a bitter edge.
He’d been injured underwater, and his blood had awakened the sleeping Squid. Though the creature was usually gentle with students, its sheer size made no one dare approach.
Cedric didn’t retrieve the Compass bearing—he returned with only the other two items.
One by one, the remaining champions surfaced.
Krum burst from the water like a sea leopard, the full Compass clamped in his jaws. The Durmstrang students erupted in cheers.
Yet Krum’s gaze swept through the crowd, searching the Gryffindor stands. It settled on Hermione—his usually gloomy expression softened.
Jabari arrived nearly ten minutes later, his arm hanging awkwardly. He waved at his teammates, then paused when he saw Wade, offering a brief smile before walking straight toward the Medical Tent. Madam Pomfrey intercepted him with a stern face.
“Come with me. Your arm needs immediate treatment,” she said, voice firm.
Then came Natalia, leaping from the lake like a graceful Merperson.
“That Squid was terrifying!” she laughed, gesturing wildly to her friends. “I almost became its lunch!”
Next was Hope Cruz from Salem, a dark-haired girl who rose silently from the water. Even her own schoolmates didn’t notice her until half a minute passed.
Now, only Harry remained beneath the Black Lake.
His Bubble-Head Charm had long since faded. He’d swallowed Gill Sac Grass and was now darting through the water with astonishing agility.
Ahead of him, the Squid glided slowly, its many tentacles—covered in suction cups—gently wrapping around a salmon large enough to be dog-sized.
Harry kept his eyes fixed on the faint red glimmers of the Gemstone Bearing. He circled the creature, cautious but unwilling to abandon the chance to claim the final piece.
He was just one bearing away from completing the Compass.
Of course, Harry didn’t yet know what the three pieces did. He simply gritted his teeth, doggedly trailing the Squid, raising his wand again and again—only to lower it each time as the creature’s movements shifted the bearing’s position.
In Harry’s mind, he was the weakest of all the champions. He didn’t master spells as effortlessly as Wade. He wasn’t an adult, like most of the others.
But this self-awareness didn’t lead to despair. Instead, it fueled his stubbornness. Even as his legs cramped and his ribs ached, he pressed on, eyes locked on the creature in the water.
From the stands, gasps erupted now and then.
Even if the giant creature wasn’t attacking, an accidental brush from its massive body could be fatal.
Multiple Streaming Mirrors displayed Harry’s movements—close, then distant, close again.
Wade watched the screen when suddenly, rapid footsteps approached.
An Ilvermorny student arrived, panting, and stopped a few paces away, looking flustered.
“Mr. Gray… could I have Adam’s wand?”
“Oh, I’m here for the same reason,” said Asada Chika, the girl with the doll-like face. “The North Island senior’s wand is also missing…”
She glanced at the two wands Wade had casually set down on the grass.
Wade handed them over. “How are Adam and the North Island girl doing?”
“Better now,” the Ilvermorny student said. “They’ve woken up. But their chests are still in bad shape.”
“The North Island senior is deeply grateful to you, Mr. Gray,” Asada Chika said, bowing slightly. “Had you not explained why they were injured, she would’ve suffered even more pain.”
“Uh… you’re welcome,” Wade said, clearing his throat.
Asada straightened. “Of course. I haven’t forgotten how you defeated me earlier. I hope, if given the chance, I can learn from you again.”
She shot a cold glance at Clementine, then turned and walked away.
The Ilvermorny student lingered, unsure whether to thank or challenge. In the end, he mumbled a goodbye and left without looking at Clementine.
Clementine snorted. “So petty! I just ran faster than them. The ambush failed—so we should’ve retreated immediately. Their slow speed was their own fault. Why do they act like I betrayed the alliance?”
She turned to Wade. “Right?”
Wade just stared, unimpressed. “You’re asking me—the one who got ambushed?”
Clementine: “….”
She muttered under her breath, “Tiny-minded.”
At that moment, Natalia tore open the Medical Tent’s curtain and strode out, her long hair now dry, bouncing over her shoulders. Her wool blanket flapped behind her like a banner in the wind.
“Hey, Wade! Clementine! How many did you collect?”
She called out loudly from a distance.
Before Wade could answer, Clementine shot forward like a gust of wind, wrapping her arm around Natalia’s.
“You’re okay! I saw you weren’t in the tent, and I was so worried! I only got the Heart of Steel. What about you?”
She proudly displayed her short sword—retrieved earlier from beneath the Algae Belt.
Natalia showed off her own prize. “Ha! I just needed this one! Where’d you find it?”
Like Wade, she’d charged ahead too fast to search the underwater grass areas.
“Right beneath that Algae Belt!” Clementine whispered, pulling her close. “I was just lucky—happened to meet Kitajima Tachihana from the Magic Institute…”
They chatted for a while. Then Natalia’s eyes snapped to the Streaming Mirror.
“Is that Harry Potter? What’s he doing?”
One by one, the champions who’d entered the Medical Tent emerged. Some sat, some stood, all focused on the screen.
Harry suddenly surged forward, seizing the moment when the red gemstone pillar between the Squid’s tentacles was exposed. In an instant, he cast a spell.
The bearing tore free from the suction cup and fell—only to be swept off course by the churning lake water. Harry sped up, stretching out his arm, desperately trying to reach it.
The Squid unleashed a jet of ink. The screen was instantly swallowed by a pitch-black curtain of water. All that could be heard was the violent thrashing of the lake, the gurgling rush of displaced water.
After a long moment, the image cleared.
Harry kicked hard, surging toward the surface, but his speed was noticeably slower than before.
The Herb magic was fading fast. His webbed hands were gone. The gills on his cheeks had transformed into smooth skin, and the muscles around his cheekbones were tensed, veins bulging—his face caught between agony and grim determination.
The entire stands were held in suspense by the young Savior.
Suddenly, Harry’s head broke the surface. He choked, gasping for air, his chest heaving in violent spasms.
A thunderous wave of applause and cheers erupted. As Harry waded through the water, barely able to stand, the Weasley Twins and Ron charged into the lake, grabbing him with both hands and feet, hauling him onto dry land.
“Here, child,” Madam Pomfrey said, catching him, pouring a potion down his throat, wrapping him in a blanket, and treating his wounds.
Harry had survived Grendilo’s attack and fought the Squid for ages. His body was bruised, his legs soaked and blistered.
“Brilliant, Harry! You’re absolutely brilliant!” Fred said, clapping him hard on the back. “Only four of us collected all the pieces. And you’re one of them!”
Harry leaned on Ron, ears ringing. His glasses were lost in the water. He couldn’t make out the blurred figures before him.
“Who else?” he mumbled.
But everyone was too excited—jumping, shouting, cheering. No one heard.
Only Bagman’s amplified voice cut through clearly.
“Congratulations, Harry Potter! You’ve completed the Tournament! The second task is now officially over!”
“The third—and final—task will take place on June 24th. The champions will be informed of the details one month in advance. Thank you, great ones, for your unwavering support to all the champions…”
(End of Chapter)
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