Early the next morning, February 24th—the day of the second task.
Hogwarts was thoroughly shrouded in a tense atmosphere due to the Triwizard Tournament, the excitement and anxiety was practically crackling in the air like static electricity.
At nine-thirty, nearly all the professors and students had gathered by the shore of the Black Lake.
The bitter February wind howled persistently across the water, whipping up small whitecaps and sending icy spray toward the shore. Students wrapped their heavy robes tightly around themselves, hunching their shoulders defensively against the piercing cold.
The thought of diving into the Black Lake in such chilly weather would be absolutely torturous for any normal person—though for wizards with access to warming charms and protective magic, it was hardly an insurmountable challenge. Uncomfortable perhaps, but manageable.
In the spectator stands that had been erected along the Black Lake's shore, Adrian had placed himself strategically in the back row where he could observe everything.
Meanwhile, Dumbledore and the other judges were seated prominently at the front in cushioned chairs, clearly visible to all. The four champions stood nervously before the judges' elevated table as Ludo Bagman announced the competition rules from behind a wooden podium.
Not far from Adrian's position, perhaps ten feet away, Slughorn and Snape were engaged in quiet conversation, their heads bent close together. They were speaking in low voices, but due to the distance and the howling wind, Adrian couldn't make out what they were discussing so intently.
Snape's expression was routinely dour, while Slughorn gestured energetically.
Just then, interrupting Adrian's observation, Ludo cast a powerful Sonorus Charm on himself. His voice suddenly boomed out, magically amplified to reach every corner of the gathered crowd.
"Right then, our four brave champions are all ready for the challenge!" He announced with cheerfulness to the eager audience, spreading his arms wide. "They have exactly one hour to recover their precious treasure from the bottom of the lake. The treasures have been hidden in the merpeople's village. On the count of three, the competition will officially begin. One... two... three!"
A sharp whistle blast cut through the cold air.
As the signal sounded, all the champions except Harry immediately sprang into action, clearly having prepared their strategies in advance.
Cedric Diggory and Fleur Delacour both performed the Bubble-Head Charm—the simplest and most efficient method for underwater survival. The transparent bubbles formed around their heads with barely a wand movement.
All they needed additionally was a properly cast Warming Charm to go with it, and they could navigate the Black Lake's freezing depths with relative ease and comfort.
Viktor Krum, meanwhile, took a completely different and more dramatic approach. He muttered a complex series of incantations in Bulgarian, his wand moving in intricate patterns.
Almost immediately, his head began to twist and transform in a disturbing but fascinating display of Transfiguration. His nose flattened and disappeared, his mouth bulged forward grotesquely, rows of sharp teeth appearing, and within seconds he had given himself a fully functional shark's head, complete with gills.
"Wicked!" Harry exclaimed in genuine admiration, unable to contain his impressed reaction.
Hearing Harry's enthusiastic voice, Krum turned his shark head toward him and managed an awkward nod of acknowledgment before, without wasting another precious second, plunging into the lake. His shark form cut through the water with impressive speed. Cedric and Fleur followed suit moments later, diving cleanly into the dark water.
Harry didn't personally know advanced transformative magic like Krum's spectacular technique, that level of human transfiguration was N.E.W.T.-level work, far beyond his current year. Naturally, he would also rely primarily on the Bubble-Head Charm for breathing.
Of course, he did have another intriguing option available. Just this morning, quite unexpectedly, Dobby had suddenly appeared in his dormitory and pressed a handful of slimy gillyweed into his hands.
Gillyweed was a rare aquatic magical plant that, when consumed, temporarily gave the eater functional gills on their neck and webbing between their fingers and toes, allowing complete physiological adaptation to underwater environments for about an hour.
However, Harry honestly didn't particularly like the unsettling sensation that gillyweed produced. It was deeply different from the external effect of Transfiguration spells or charms.
He'd tried consuming a bit experimentally—the gillyweed's innate magic would twist and reshape his body from the inside like molding putty, his throat burning as gills forced themselves through his skin. It wasn't exactly a pleasant or comfortable experience, more like his body was betraying him.
Instead, Harry raised his wand with confidence and performed a modified version of the spell. A transparent bubble expanded smoothly from the wand tip, quickly enveloping his entire body in a perfectly sealed membrane, like coating himself completely in a layer of invisible, flexible film.
"A modified Bubble-Head Charm? When did the boy learn that advanced variation... who taught him that technique..." Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall began whispered to each other in the stands, their expressions showing surprise and interest.
Seeing this, Adrian was also somewhat surprised.
It appeared that Harry was now genuinely beginning to explore various creative ways of using standard spells on his own initiative, rather than simply following textbook instructions to mechanically recite incantations and wave his wand in prescribed patterns.
How gratifying.
Harry bounced experimentally in place twice, testing his weight distribution, to confirm the protective magical membrane around his entire body was working properly and maintaining integrity. Satisfied with the seal, he then unhurriedly walked into the water, showing none of the panicked rush of the other champions.
The icy water should have been shocking, but the warming charm and bubble kept him perfectly comfortable.
Now an important question arose.
How would the audience on shore see and follow the champions' performance underwater? The lake was deep and dark—surely, they wouldn't just stare at empty water for an hour?
Naturally, the tournament organizers had considered this problem.
Ludo Bagman stepped forward prominently and tapped his wand sharply on a crystal ball that had been placed conspicuously on the judges' table. He announced loudly with showman's flair, "To allow everyone present to properly appreciate our champions' spectacular performances beneath the surface, we've prepared special broadcasting magic at considerable expense!"
The crystal ball immediately burst with dazzling white light that shot up like a geyser. Four enormous water screens, each perhaps thirty feet tall and twenty feet wide rose majestically from the center of the lake. They looked like transparent movie screens or massive aquariums, clearly displaying real-time footage of the four champions as they descended into the underwater environment.
When Harry's determined face appeared prominently in the center of one screen, everyone present erupted spontaneously in loud cheers and applause. The Gryffindor section was particularly loud.
Ludo Bagman nodded with considerable satisfaction at the crowd's enthusiasm.
This crystal ball and its associated projection magic was truly worth the extravagant price they'd paid. The enchantments alone had cost several thousand Galleons.
They had spent quite a large sum of Ministry money on acquiring it from a specialist in Constantinople.
What's that? You're asking if there were any financial irregularities or corruption involved in such an expensive purchase?
Ludo indicated with pretentious innocence that he could swear on Barty Crouch's departed name that he personally hadn't embezzled a single Knut from the transaction. The money had gone exactly where it was supposed to. Probably.
The magical perspective shifted smoothly to follow Harry Potter as he descended.
His spell had worked perfectly—there was no leaking water at all, and he couldn't even feel the surrounding water pressure that should have been increasing with depth. The bubble adjusted automatically to external conditions.
The Black Lake's water was surprisingly clear despite its dark appearance from above, and the morning light penetrated fairly well in the upper levels. When Harry looked around curiously, adjusting to the underwater environment, he could see his surroundings with reasonable clarity.
The three champions who had entered the water before him were nowhere to be seen, having obviously already begun swimming toward their respective retrieval tasks. Krum's shark form had given him a significant speed advantage.
For Harry, however, the Black Lake wasn't particularly unfamiliar or frightening territory at this point.
After obtaining the crucial clue from the golden egg, he had already visited the lake bottom several times during his preparation, scouting the route and testing his magic underwater. He knew generally where he was going.
He made his way with growing confidence toward the merpeople's village at the lake bottom, the treasure they needed to recover must be kept there, according to the song's ridding lyrics about "what you'll sorely miss."
But the question that had been nagging at him resurfaced as he swam.
What exactly was the treasure? What would he "sorely miss"?
As Harry pondered the true nature of what had been taken from him, he nimbly avoided the jagged rocks jutting up from the lake bottom and steered clear of the darker patches of water.
Suddenly, without warning, a dense cluster of slimy water plants ahead shook aggressively and unnaturally, making him immediately alert. Years of dealing with danger had honed his reflexes. His wand instinctively pointed in that threatening direction.
Several greenish little monsters burst out from the vegetation with surprising speed.
Harry relaxed slightly but maintained his guard.
These were Grindylows, a relatively common type of water demon found in lakes throughout Britain and Ireland.
Small and thin in appearance, barely two feet tall, with disproportionately sharp long claws and bright green skin covered in bumps and warts, they stared at Harry with aggressive eyes that glowed faintly yellow. Their long fingers flexed menacingly, showing those dangerous claws.
However, though they were distinctly ugly in appearance and highly aggressive by temperament, particularly toward anything that invaded their territory. They posed no real serious threat to trained wizards who knew how to handle them properly.
Simply put, they were minor obstacles. Small fry.
"PROTEGO!" Harry cast the spell quickly and confidently.
An invisible magical barrier materialized between himself and the approaching Grindylows, stopping them completely.
The frustrated water demons scratched futilely at the magical barrier with their sharp claws, making shrill, frustrated cries of rage like a pack of cats blocked by an impenetrable glass window. They couldn't understand why they couldn't reach their prey.
Harry found their helpless fury somewhat amusing despite the situation.
However, he didn't waste time continuing to pay attention to these minor nuisances. He still had important business to attend to, and the clock was ticking.
After swimming steadily toward the center of the lake for several more minutes, descending gradually deeper where the light began to fade, the merpeople's distinctive song rang out ahead through the water—the original version, not translated into human speech.
It was terribly unpleasant to hear: a screeching, wailing sound that made his teeth ache.
In fact, Harry had also tried to learn some basic Mermish phrases in recent days from a library book Hermione had found, but unfortunately, he still couldn't understand the actual meaning of the original lyrics they were singing now. The language was simply too outlandish to human speech patterns.
But regardless of understanding, he was definitely traveling on the correct route toward the village.
As he continued forward, the water growing murkier and colder, two vague figures appeared ahead in the reduced visibility. That area of the lake was much darker, the water thick with sediment, and from a distance Harry couldn't make out their appearance or identity at all.
He approached cautiously, wand ready, and discovered with some surprise that it was Fleur.
She appeared to be in some kind of awkward situation, being persistently pestered by a tall, gangly merman who was blocking her path.
Merpeople were classified as a highly intelligent aquatic magical species, some even argued they should be granted the same rights as wizards, given their complex language and culture.
According to Newt Scamander's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, merpeople living in warm Mediterranean or tropical waters were generally more beautiful by human standards, with relatively agreeable facial features.
Northern merpeople, however, were considerably rather ugly by comparison, adapted to colder waters with facial features that seemed harsh and alien.
As for those dwelling in the Black Lake's frigid Scottish depths... well.
They were absolute paragons of ugliness, setting new standards.
Harry had never seen what anyone might consider a beautiful merperson to this day, and he'd now met quite a few during his scouting trips.
He moved a bit closer, trying to understand the situation, and was surprised to hear the merman speaking in heavily accented, broken English. The creature was stuttering badly, "Oh, beautiful... lady, I... Bud... Gist Bud..."
It was genuinely strange and rather remarkable that a merperson could understand human language well enough to speak it, however poorly, and had even apparently given himself a human name.
Harry hadn't known they did that.
Fleur didn't bother answering the merman's awkward attempted conversation. Her expression showed clear irritation. Seizing a momentary opening when the merman gestured too enthusiastically and moved slightly aside, she maneuvered skillfully around him and swam determinedly straight ahead into the darker distance.
________________
You can read more chapters on:
patreon.com/IamLuis