Following the haunting melody, Maurise eventually arrived at the very center of the Merpeople village—a modest, underwater square.
The ground was paved with smooth sand and meticulously arranged cobblestones, giving it a surprisingly refined appearance. In the center stood an enormous, roughly hewn stone statue of a Merperson.
Gathered around the base of the statue was a choir of over a dozen Merpeople, singing the exact haunting melody Maurise had heard echoing through the water. While their physical appearance was decidedly unsettling to his sensibilities, he had to admit their voices were truly beautiful and mesmerizing.
Maurise scanned the area and quickly spotted the "precious treasures" the song had referred to.
Tied securely to the tail of the massive stone statue were four people.
Ron, Hermione, Kyle, and a small girl with silvery blonde hair who looked no older than seven or eight.
'So the 'treasures' were just hostages all along? How utterly unoriginal,' Maurise thought, shaking his head.
The hostages were clearly the champions' closest companions. Ron was obviously Harry's target, Hermione was likely meant for Krum, and the little girl bore a striking resemblance to Fleur; they were undoubtedly related.
That left Kyle as the person he was supposed to rescue. It made sense; Kyle was arguably his closest friend at Hogwarts.
Maurise swam over to Kyle and examined him. He appeared to be in a very deep, enchanted slumber.
Maurise was likely the very first champion to arrive. Knowing he had plenty of time, he leisurely conjured a bone blade.
The water resistance significantly hindered the speed and force of the blade. With a single, concentrated swipe, the thick ropes binding Kyle were severed cleanly, floating harmlessly away.
Freed from his bonds, Kyle's limp body began to drift gently upward. Maurise reached out, grabbed a firm hold of the boy's collar, and fired his thruster, beginning the journey back to the surface.
On his way back, he crossed paths with the other three champions heading in.
To his distinct surprise, the fastest among them—excluding himself—was Harry.
When Maurise saw Harry's method of underwater locomotion, he immediately understood why. Harry had transfigured his wand into a mechanical propeller! The boy had clearly been inspired by Maurise's impromptu stunt the previous day.
"Impressive."
As they passed each other, Maurise shot Harry a thumbs-up. Harry smiled through his Bubble-Head Charm and returned the gesture.
Next came Krum. Krum's approach was distinctly more traditional, yet utterly bizarre: he had partially transfigured his own head into that of a massive Great White Shark. It looked simultaneously grotesque and completely ridiculous.
Fleur was trailing just slightly behind Krum. She was utilizing the Bubble-Head Charm, but additionally, her entire body was coated in a faint, shimmering silver glow. The magical aura seemed to completely negate the water's drag, allowing her to glide effortlessly through the depths like a true aquatic creature.
Fleur naturally spotted Maurise zooming past in the opposite direction. Her eyes widened in shock as she noticed the unconscious Kyle being unceremoniously towed by his collar.
At that exact moment, a large swarm of Grindylows suddenly darted out from a dense thicket of kelp directly behind Fleur.
The water demons lunged straight for her with terrifying speed, their intentions clear.
Fleur spun around violently, but it was too late. She felt sharp, cold fingers clamp down viciously on her ankle.
"Xul... Noth... Vras." (Fainting Curse)
Maurise intervened. His victory was already an absolute certainty; he was more than happy to lend a minor helping hand.
Several tendrils of grey mist shot through the water and sank into the bodies of the Grindylows. The monsters' movements instantly became sluggish and uncoordinated, and they began to sink limply toward the lakebed.
Fleur, thrashing wildly, suddenly felt the vice-like grip on her ankle loosen significantly. With a powerful kick, she easily shook off the Grindylow still clinging to her leg.
She shot Maurise a highly complex look, her emotions visibly conflicted, and mouthed the word: "Thank you." While she didn't know exactly what he had just done, she was fully aware he had saved her.
Maurise projected his voice directly into her mind using a magical transmission: "You are currently in last place. I am first, followed by Harry, then Krum. If you are holding back any trump cards, I suggest you play them now."
Fleur bit her lip, an expression of fierce, unwilling determination crossing her face.
The task was still underway. She didn't waste another second lingering; she kicked her legs and shot off toward the source of the Merpeople's song.
Five minutes later, Maurise broke the surface and unceremoniously hauled Kyle up onto the wooden pier.
Almost instantly, Kyle's eyes snapped open. He sat up, coughing and sputtering, and spat out a small, frantically wriggling fish.
"Oh, bloody hell," he groaned, sitting up and wiping his mouth in disgust. "When did that get in there?"
His only response was the deafening roar of cheers erupting from the nearby spectator stands.
He turned his head and saw Maurise standing a few feet away, entirely ignoring him while casually drying himself off with a Hot-Air Charm.
Kyle's mouth twitched. "Maurise, a little attention here, please? I was just the victim of a terrible kidnapping, you know."
"Don't act like I don't know you were perfectly safe down there." Maurise shrugged dismissively.
Having his dramatic act seen through so easily, Kyle grinned. "You took first place, didn't you?"
"Naturally." Maurise holstered his wand and turned toward the judges' table. "Come on, let's head over."
"I knew you would!" Kyle pumped his fist excitedly. "Wait up!" By sheer proximity, he felt as though he had actively participated in the Triwizard Tournament himself.
As Maurise and Kyle approached, the expressions of those seated at the judges' table varied wildly.
Dumbledore and Fudge were smiling warmly and applauding enthusiastically. Ludo had already leapt to his feet in excitement. Madame Maxime and Karkaroff, however, were glaring intently at the surveillance crystal balls sitting on the table in front of them, their faces thunderous.
Ludo rushed forward and clapped Maurise heartily on the shoulder. "We saw everything you did, Maurise! Absolutely brilliant performance!"
Maurise gave a polite nod, not saying much.
Ludo enthusiastically held his crystal ball up for Maurise and Kyle to see. "Take a look at the live feed! Your competitors are still trying to free their hostages. You finished with an incredible lead!"
The image swirling within the crystal ball was currently focused squarely on the Merpeople's square. Harry had just managed to free Ron and was dragging him back the way they came. Krum was currently attempting to tear through Hermione's bindings using his horrific shark teeth. Fleur had just arrived and was swimming frantically toward the little silver-haired girl.
It seemed it would be quite some time before the task officially concluded.
Maurise glanced toward the massive spectator stands and noticed that the giant, floating balloons were projecting the exact same underwater scenes on massive, shimmering screens for the entire crowd to watch.
"Well? What do you think?" a familiar, smug voice asked from behind him. "George and I set up the whole system. Not half bad, eh?"
Maurise turned around. Fred and George had somehow slipped down from the stands and were standing right behind him. It was Fred who had spoken.
"Congratulations," George added, popping a candy into his mouth. "Another victory under your belt."
---
More than ten minutes later, Harry finally broke the surface, securing a very expected second place.
Next was Fleur; she had managed to overtake Krum. Maurise noticed that as she hauled herself onto the pier, her legs were transfigured into a magnificent, shimmering silver fishtail—likely an inspiration she had drawn from either Krum or the Merpeople themselves. Regardless of the inspiration, she looked infinitely more elegant than the lake's natural inhabitants.
Krum, completely unexpectedly, came in dead last.
While Madam Pomfrey rushed forward, fussing over the champions and their hostages, checking for injuries and shoving Pepperup Potions down their throats, the judges officially announced the scores. The final rankings perfectly mirrored the order in which they had surfaced.
Maurise took first place with forty-nine points.
Harry secured second with forty-five points. Fleur was right behind him with forty-three points, and Krum brought up the rear with forty-two.
Aside from Maurise's commanding lead, the scores among the other three champions were incredibly tight.