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Chapter 663: You're Thanking the Wrong Person, Miss Delacour!
Chapter 663: You’re Thanking the Wrong Person, Miss Delacour!
Ludo Bagman, standing at the front of the stage, kept his eyes fixed on the Crystal Ball to the right. The moment Ivan emerged from the water, he shouted loudly.
“The first to surface is Hogwarts Champion Ivan Hals! Let’s give him a round of applause!”
At Ludo Bagman’s call, thunderous applause erupted from the stands. Everyone stood up, shouting Ivan’s name in unison, and the atmosphere reached a fever pitch.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the calm surface of the lake suddenly rippled. The water seemed to be lifted by an unseen force, and Ivan, using the wings formed by his robes, struggled to rise from the water and land on the shore.
“Oh, let’s take a look. It seems our Champion hasn’t brought his hostages with him. Instead, he’s carrying Miss Fleur Delacour, the Beauxbatons Champion! My goodness, what a surprise!” Ludo Bagman exclaimed.
Ivan shot Ludo Bagman a fierce glare, then handed Fleur over to Madam Pomfrey, who was waiting nearby. He then went back to the lake to pull Gabrielle out, and finally, Hermione.
He chose this order because Fleur had been unconscious, and Gabrielle was too young. He couldn’t leave the Veela sisters behind while pulling Hermione out first, could he?
“Ivan, are we really okay leaving Harry and Krum behind?” Hermione, now on shore, looked towards the Black Lake, her voice tinged with worry.
“Don’t worry, they’ll swim up!” Ivan reassured her, pointing to the Crystal Ball floating above. “See for yourself!”
Hermione looked up curiously and saw five large Crystal Balls floating above the Black Lake, faithfully recording everything happening at the lake bottom. She could clearly see the current situations of Harry, Ginny, and Krum.
But at that moment, Hermione had no more interest in the others. Her mind was consumed with the memory of kissing Ivan at the lake bottom. She turned her face stiffly and stammered.
“So, everyone could see what we were doing the whole time?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Ivan scratched his head, looking rather guilty.
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Hermione’s face flushed red with embarrassment, and she punched Ivan’s chest in frustration.
The thought of her kiss with Ivan being seen by the entire school made Hermione feel mortified, as if she wanted to drown in the Black Lake!
“I didn’t expect you to suddenly kiss me,” Ivan said, shrugging helplessly. It wasn’t as if he could be blamed for everything, right?
Hermione glared at Ivan, her eyes sharp as knives, but she was at a loss for what to do.
As they were talking, the calm surface of the lake stirred again. Not far from the shore, two heads suddenly emerged from the lake bottom.
Harry took deep breaths of the outside air. After being underwater for so long, the Gillyweed’s effects had worn off, and his swimming skills were abysmal. It was a struggle for him to make it back!
Fortunately, Ginny could swim, and the two of them supported each other as they swam to the shore. Ivan and Hermione helped pull them up.
Krum, however, fared even worse. He was literally carried to the shore by his hostages!
Seeing this, Karkaroff, sitting in the judges’ stand, nearly fainted from rage.
“Gabrielle… Gabrielle!” Fleur, who had been cared for by Madam Pomfrey, had now regained consciousness. She looked around frantically, ignoring the blanket that had fallen to the ground.
Until she saw her sister standing safely on the lakeshore, Fleur's tense emotions finally eased, and she excitedly rushed forward to embrace her.
"Thank goodness, you're safe! Thank goodness! I thought... I thought..."
Fleur held Gabrielle tightly, her emotions getting the better of her, shouting repeatedly. The eight or nine-year-old Gabrielle, however, seemed more like the older sister, gently comforting Fleur and calming her down.
Seeing this touching scene between the sisters, Ivan was also deeply moved.
It was likely that the other Champions, except for himself, had taken the words inside the Golden Egg seriously, mistakenly believing that their most cherished person would be buried at the lake bottom after the time limit.
Of course, this wasn't because the selected Champions were unintelligent. The organizers had accurately gauged their psychology and suddenly announced the news on the field, giving no one time to think. No Champion would dare to risk the life of the person they cared about the most.
Ivan thought that if he didn't know the plot and suddenly heard that Hermione had been thrown into the Black Lake, with only an hour to rescue her, he would have been equally panicked.
After a moment of embracing Gabrielle, Fleur turned her gaze to Ivan, her eyes filled with gratitude.
"Thank you, Ivan!" Fleur warmly hugged Ivan, expressing her deep gratitude.
Although Ivan had led her to the mermaid group at the lake bottom, Fleur didn't hold it against him.
After all, they were opponents at the time, and Ivan not attacking her directly was already a sign of leniency.
It was precisely because of this that Ivan, when about to complete the task, accepted her plea and turned back to save Gabrielle, which deeply touched Fleur.
However, Ivan showed no appreciation for her gratitude. He keenly felt the chill rising from behind him and quickly broke free from Fleur's embrace, not giving her a chance to kiss him. Then, he shook his head coldly and said,
"No, you're thanking the wrong person, Miss Delacour!"
Fleur looked at Ivan, at a loss, not quite understanding his meaning.
"It was Hermione who suggested I save you. If you want to thank someone, thank her!" Ivan pointed to Hermione, who was standing nearby, and explained.
Hermione hadn't expected Ivan to credit her with saving Fleur and Gabrielle. She waved her hand, about to say something, but Fleur had already enthusiastically hugged her and showered her with more words of gratitude, making Hermione feel a bit embarrassed.
"Why did you lie to my sister?" Gabrielle asked Ivan curiously. She had been woken up by Ivan at the lake bottom and thus knew more about what had happened.
Ivan crouched down, looking at the young girl with a half-serious, half-joking expression. "I didn't lie to her. If Hermione hadn't insisted that I save you, I might have left you in the Black Lake to keep the ugly mermaids company!"
Gabrielle smiled, not believing Ivan's words for a moment. She mimicked Fleur's gesture, giving Ivan another hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"This is what my sister owes you!" Gabrielle said with a smile.
Ivan helplessly tapped Gabrielle's little head, his gaze instinctively turning to Hermione. Seeing that Hermione's expression remained calm, he realized she wasn't jealous of an eight-year-old girl, and he let out a sigh of relief.
(End of Chapter)
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