Chapter 295: New Card: "Reverse-Hatching Egg"! Neville's Mutated Devil's Snare
[Name: "Reverse-Hatching Egg"]
[Tier: Tier Three, Blue Rare]
[Description: Like an insect sealed in amber, death gestating within a living body forms the Reverse-Hatching Egg.]
[Effect: When the shell is broken, a surge of powerful dark energy erupts, attacking everything nearby without distinction and actively seeking out weak living hosts to parasitise.]
[Evaluation: Dumbledore Bane.]
"I do not remember anything like this in the task proposal. Did Ethan add it on his own?"
Under the stormy glares of the Headmasters, Ludo Bagman flipped frantically through his sheaf of parchments, sweat pouring down his temples. His whole career path lately seemed to have Ethan's name stamped all over it.
"When Mad‑Eye came to ask me about the task details, there was no Black Egg in it," he muttered.
He did not think much of it. Mad‑Eye probably asked out of habit. It was not as if he actually meant to stir trouble.
If he did, that would be his own bad luck.
Then Ludo caught sight of the expression on the greatest white wizard of the age.
He blinked, startled. "Are you all right, Professor?"
For once, Dumbledore's usually serene, smiling face was full of shock and grief.
His old eyes fixed on Ethan in the distance as if someone had driven a spike straight through his heart.
"Ah. I am fine, Mr Bagman," Dumbledore said at last.
But his gaze remained locked on the black egg pulsing with a power he knew too well.
His withered fingers clenched in his robes.
An Obscurus.
The same monster that had devoured his sister.
Did Ethan know something? Why this, and why now?
No. Perhaps it was only coincidence.
Dumbledore shook his head and forced the thought down.
"I am getting old," he murmured. "It is nearly time to hand the new age over to extraordinary young people."
Following his line of sight, Bagman saw Ethan down on the shore, grinning in his usual unnerving way.
His face drained of colour. "You… you want to hand the world to the Dark Lord?"
Dumbledore stared at him.
"Do stop talking. The task is about to begin."
"Y‑yes, sir."
On the lakefront, Ethan passed the Obscurus eggs to the three teams.
Under the mix of nerves and battle‑fire in their eyes, he smiled.
With a casual wave, he conjured a blood‑red rose under a glass dome.
"Remember," he said slowly, "when the last petal falls, you will never see your loved one again."
"What have you done with my sister?" Fleur burst out.
"Shh."
Ethan raised a finger to his lips, that sly, unarguable smile cutting her off.
Fleur bit down on her lower lip, furious and helpless.
Ethan lifted his cane; it flowed into a wand and swung up to point at the sky.
His voice, carried clear by the speaking flower pinned to his collar, rang across the arena.
"As always, any champion who defeats the monster wins the right to challenge me."
"By that, I declare the second task of the Triwizard Tournament… officially begun."
"Egg Protection Squad, move out."
His spell burst overhead in a flower of coloured sparks.
The champions, who had been coiled like springs, staggered slightly at the absurd name, black lines practically etching themselves onto their foreheads.
Did he have to make their grand, noble trial sound like a pack‑mule delivery job?
Whatever the name, with a time limit and a Black Egg that would explode on the spot if broken, the second task had suddenly become far harsher, with competition sharpened on every side.
And none of them yet knew what kind of "monster" awaited them at the centre of the lake.
Krum stared out over the vast expanse of water.
Plenty of room out there for something very, very big.
Cedric Diggory spoke first. "I suggest we do not attack each other at the start."
His strong, even features made him look every inch the heroic lead straight off a Chocolate Frog card.
The other champions, all prickling with suspicion, found themselves looking his way.
"Right now, we need to find the correct path across the Glass Bridge and reach the middle," Cedric said. "If we start fighting here, none of us will make it."
"And remember, Ethan said, if a Black Egg breaks, it attacks everything. That will be trouble for all of us."
Calm, ordered, confident.
Neville gazed at Cedric in open worship. It was as if the older boy glowed.
Wait.
He really was glowing.
Neville squinted.
Cedric was very discreetly casting Lumos on himself.
Neville swallowed a laugh.
Well. Even heroes were practical.
Fleur's team conferred briefly, then nodded agreement.
On the Durmstrang side, Krum simply grunted, "Fine. We do it that way. No wasting time," and the matter was settled.
He strode to the edge of the jetty, raised his wand, and called, "Aparecium!"
A fog of magic swept over the water, tracing faint, translucent lines.
It worked.
Krum's eyes flashed.
A moment later the magic faded and the ghost‑trails of the bridge vanished.
"You two take turns casting the Revealing Charm," he told his teammates. "We run it all the way in."
"Got it."
Up in the stands, students leaned forward, nerves humming, voices hoarse from cheering.
"We can see the Durmstrang team doing what they do best—reckle—er, boldly taking the lead," Lee Jordan announced, wilting under Professor McGonagall's glare and hastily correcting himself.
"They are spamming Aparecium, nice and direct!"
"Oh! Beauxbatons are on the move too!"
Down on the shore, Fleur and her teammates swept their wands together. Streams of icy magic sprayed from their tips, frosting the invisible bridge and outlining a narrow path in white.
"They are using a Freezing Charm," Lee said. "Very clever. The range is smaller than Aparecium, but it lasts much longer. No wonder they are called 'ice‑bright and snow‑smart'—"
"Enough. That was freezing," someone groaned.
"I think I just caught a cold."
"Get off and let the Weasley twins handle this!"
Snowballs began to fly.
Dodging wildly and still clinging to the microphone, Lee yelled, "Both teams are on the move! Only Hogwarts is left! What are you waiting for?"
He was not the only one tearing his hair out.
With the other two teams already halfway to the first bend, Hogwarts' three champions were still standing on the shore, making no move to jump in like last time.
Ron was sweating. "They are killing me."
He had not been convinced by this line‑up to begin with.
Now they were proving him right.
Not everyone agreed.
Mandy from Ravenclaw pushed up his glasses. "The first task had nothing but hot‑blooded Gryffindors. Now we have Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw."
"Of course, they will use different tactics."
"I have a feeling they are going to pull ahead."
"Is that the feeling of a top student?" Michael asked with a grin.
She shot him a scathing look. "It is the confidence of three members of Ethan's Morning Star Club."
Meanwhile, on the much‑discussed shore, Neville clutched a handful of seeds, nerves jangling.
"A‑are you sure about this? It is a new strain. It is not stable yet…"
"Relax. You have us," Cedric said, clapping him so hard on the back that Neville's lungs nearly came out.
Luna nodded, calm as ever.
"O‑okay. I will do it."
Neville swallowed hard.
He crouched by the lakeside, pressed the seeds into the soil, and drew a small rubber dropper of vivid green liquid from his pocket.
Very carefully, he squeezed two drops onto the earth.