Once everyone else had slipped into the water, Tver leisurely straightened his clothes.
"Professor, you're not planning to give us another lecture, are you?!" a student shouted from afar, his shrill voice setting off a burst of laughter.
They couldn't see what was happening in the Black Lake anyway. Even if the professor wanted to teach from the shore, there was nothing he could do!
That was exactly why the students dared to tease him.
At least this time they wouldn't have to take notes while watching the competition like last time~
"I'll record everything that happens in the Black Lake and explain it during class later. And I guarantee there'll be a question on the final exam about dealing with aquatic creatures in the Black Lake. Don't say I didn't warn you!"
Tver pointed toward the group laughing the loudest. Their grins froze instantly, like they had been plunged into ice.
Only then did he step off the platform under their stunned gazes.
Yet something miraculous happened.
The surface of the water beneath his foot was as solid as a floor. The ripples calmed immediately, and it even supported Tver's full weight!
Then he simply walked toward the center of the Black Lake as if strolling across ordinary ground, step by step, unhurried and relaxed.
As he walked, he even shot Dumbledore a smug eyebrow raise.
Tver could figure it out even if he used a cupcake to think. Dumbledore had definitely arranged something else for him somewhere inside the Black Lake.
But so what?
All he had to do was casually walk across the water until he was above the merpeople settlement, then dive down.
Even underwater, Tver didn't think anything could threaten him.
But if he could slack off a bit, or rather clear the task more easily, why wouldn't he?
He strolled leisurely while musing to himself. If the situation allowed, he might even take out a few cookies and have a snack~
Before long, although his long legs moved at an unhurried pace, he steadily left the shore behind. The students' astonished, disbelieving cheers faded until they were nothing more than a row of tiny black dots in the distance.
Only then did Tver slow down.
From time to time he cast a detection spell into the water below.
Under normal circumstances, searching like this would be like looking for a needle in the ocean. Even for the other champions who were relying on their eyes underwater, finding the merpeople's village in the enormous Black Lake would be nearly impossible.
But if the information from the golden egg was accurate, the merpeople would guide the champions with their singing.
And all Tver needed to do was "hear" that song and follow the direction where it was loudest.
So—
"…Do not delay. Half the time is gone, lest what you seek rot away here…"
"Found you!"
Tver pulled his wand back out of the water.
Immediately, the currents stirred to life. Beneath his feet, the water gathered into a rapidly spinning vortex that slowly carried him downward.
When the water surface closed above his head, the vortex did not disappear. It simply slowed, gradually turning into a swirling undercurrent like those found deep underwater.
The difference was that ordinary currents flowed parallel to the lake's surface.
But the water around Tver moved vertically, defying common sense yet perfectly magical, allowing him to remain upright.
Then he began drifting forward toward the source of the song at a speed that rivaled the stunned fish swimming beside him.
Soon he spotted a massive rock rising from the lakebed. Through the murky water he could just make out paintings on its surface: merpeople holding spears and chasing a giant squid.
Tver studied it with interest.
The rock clearly had some age to it, and the giant squid in the painting was probably the one living in the Black Lake.
If that was the case, that squid might have been living here for hundreds of years.
After indulging his curiosity for a moment, Tver continued drifting forward.
This time he began to see small stone dwellings.
Because they were underwater, the stones were covered with algae and other growths. The merpeople didn't seem to mind. Some even peered curiously out of window-like openings, pointing and whispering about Tver.
Tver had seen pictures and illustrations of merpeople in books before, but this was the first time he had ever seen the species in person.
The language of merpeople was actually quite interesting. In fact, the languages of magical creatures in general, when they had them, were all fascinating.
Take Parseltongue for example. It contained a magical power that allowed the speaker to control snakes. Simply imitating the sounds without inheriting the talent would never allow someone to command them.
The merpeople's language worked in a similar way.
On land, humans only heard an extremely harsh, tearing shriek. But underwater, the sound interacted with the water itself and transformed into words humans could understand.
In other words, it was still the same shrill noise underwater, but to human ears it sounded almost as if it carried meaning.
None of that stopped Tver from finding the merpeople rather unpleasant to look at.
Their skin was iron gray, their long hair dark green, and with yellow eyes and jagged, broken teeth, they looked like the corpse of a child that had been soaking in water for far too long.
Their tails, at least, were fairly normal: silver fish tails, probably the only beautiful thing about them.
Even though they lived within Hogwarts' territory, the merpeople seemed to rarely see humans. Many of them grabbed their spears and swam out of their caves, curiously surrounding him.
Tver was used to attracting attention and paid them little mind, instead surveying the merpeople village.
The stone dwellings here were sparse, but further ahead they became denser, more refined, and noticeably cleaner.
Looks like merpeople have a wealth gap too~
With his direction confirmed, Tver continued forward.
Soon a wide open space resembling a plaza appeared before him.
But the most eye-catching thing wasn't the gathered merpeople. It was the enormous statue standing in the middle.
Judging by its size, the merperson statue was as large as Hagrid, an absolute giant compared to ordinary merpeople.
And tied to the statue's tail were four sleeping children.
Ron was bound between a Beauxbatons girl and Cho Chang, while Hermione was tied at the far right. All four were sleeping deeply, their heads drooping limply to their shoulders, thin streams of bubbles drifting from their mouths.
But the problem was…
"Where's Draco?!"
Tver looked in surprise at a rough-looking merwoman who seemed to be their leader. Even underwater, his voice carried clearly.
The merwoman froze for a moment. Since she couldn't use magic, she clearly didn't realize the voice was reaching her through a form of soul communication.
"So you're the champion Tver Fawley?" she said, flashing an ugly, smug grin. "The hostage you came to rescue isn't here!"
"Then where is he?"
"There!"
Following the direction of her finger, Tver looked carefully for a moment before finally spotting the giant squid circling around the merpeople village.
And tied to one of its tentacles, swaying back and forth as it swam, was a very small Draco.