Vid walked to the judges' table, nodded at Dumbledore and several judges, and greeted Harry and the others.
Natalia stood at the table's edge with her arms crossed, raising an eyebrow as she asked, "What was that guy babbling to you about? He has no sense of timing!"
"Machioni?" Vid replied, "He was just discussing some business matters with me."
"At this moment?" Natalia glared at Machioni, then snorted softly, "Talking endlessly to a competitor before the match, I think he's just trying to disrupt your state of mind!"
"Machioni tends to forget other things when he's focused, he..."
Vid hadn't finished speaking when Bagman walked over, his steps light and upbeat, "Excellent, all champions have arrived on time, so let's get ready to start!"
His gaze swept across everyone, seemingly expecting someone to raise some questions, but there were none.
At the judges' table, several eyes were fixed on Vid, carrying an invisible pressure within them.
Vid adjusted his cuffs and took out the Merperson Gummies, placing them in his palm.
"Sonorus!"
Bagman pointed his magic wand at his own throat, uttered a spell, and then his voice echoed thunderously throughout the entire venue—
"Two months ago, our champions braved the Fire Dragon's interception and obtained a Golden Egg in the deep Chamber of Secret, in which a song is hidden—"
"Come now, come search where our voices ring. We cannot sing above the ground, when you seek, ponder with care: the Heart of Steel sleeps in darkness, the Red of Sunset lingers at the tentacle's edge, the Full Moon marked with stars is sealed behind ancient stone doors. When the three become one, you will know where to head!"
"This is the clue contained within the Golden Egg!"
Bagman looked at the ten champions lined up and said, "Some of you may have solved the puzzle, some may not. But remember, for the second task, you are required to find three items in the lake—Heart of Steel, Red of Sunset, and Full Moon With Stars!"
Among the ten young wizards, some appeared pale, some were visibly tense, yet none showed any signs of surprise. Clearly, over the past two months, everyone had decoded the clues within the Golden Egg.
However, this was the first time most of the audience heard of this matter, prompting a buzzing discussion among the stands.
Bagman raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet, and then continued:
"Champions, you have three hours to search underwater for the targets—"
Harry's heart tightened immediately.
His Bubble Head Charm was still difficult to maintain for such a long period. Of course, it was possible to recast the spell underwater, but if the water proved exceptionally treacherous, merely protecting the bubble from getting damaged might be challenging enough.
He instinctively touched his pocket containing the Gillyweed, feeling slightly reassured.
"—If you fail to find the targets and return to shore, it will count as forfeiting your qualification for this round; but as long as you find any one item, you can advance to the third round of the competition."
Bagman's booming voice seemed to make the Flow Mirror tremble as he continued rapidly:
"But let me remind you, those who gather all three items will gain a significant advantage in the third task! So keep searching... don't give up until the very last moment!"
"Now then, when I blow the whistle, the second task begins! I'll count to three."
"One... two... three!"
The piercing whistle sliced through the chilly air, and applause and cheers erupted from the stands as the ten champions sprang into action.
Vid swallowed the Transfiguration Candy in one gulp, shrugged off his cloak, and leaped into the water. While he was still in mid-air, his body was completely enveloped by the smoke produced by the Transfiguration.
The crowd heard only a "splash," and as the wind dispersed the smoke, the figure had vanished.
Bagman said excitedly, "We can see, Vid Gray is the first competitor to enter the water! Transfiguration Spell, Bubble Head Charm, he hasn't used any spells I know on himself, is it..."
"Oh, heavens, look!"
Bagman shouted excitedly, and the competitors who hadn't entered the water yet couldn't help but turn to look.
The large Flow Mirror placed by the lake finally displayed an image that one of the Mother Mirrors managed to capture in a fleeting moment.
Coliver pushed aside his assistants, personally adjusted the image, replayed it, slowed it down, and moments later, the crowd saw what happened underwater—
Vid Gray's skin appeared almost blue, his upper body retained a human contour, but his lower body transformed into a silver-blue fish tail!
His black hair floated like seaweed in the water, scales shimmered with silver light in the dark waters, his powerful tail fin maneuvered with speed, quickly swimming out of the Mother Mirror's range.
"Look, Vid Gray has turned into a Merperson!" Bagman shouted excitedly, "This is unprecedented! As far as I know, Animagi can't transform into Fantastic Beasts, at least there's no precedent for it! Isn't that right, Professor Dumbledore!"
Dumbledore nodded slightly, "That is indeed correct, however..."
"I know, I know!" Fred suddenly bounced up from his seat, like a cannonball, dashing to Bagman's side and shouted, "It's the Illusion Gummies! Vid must have used Illusion Gummies!"
A blue bird quickly darted over, capturing Fred's flushed, excited face up close as the filming lens.
George ran over a step behind, hastily joining in, "The Illusion Gummies are a product we developed together with Vid, allowing someone to transform into various animals you can think of—including Pegasus, Unicorns, Merpeople, Slimes, and even Fire Dragons!"
Fred mischievously winked at the lens, "Of course, our candy's transformation is into a cute version, Vid must have modified it himself!"
George shouted, "He's a genius Alchemist, everyone knows that globally!"
"Want to be as cool as him?" Fred waved his arms and shouted, "If you long to experience transforming into different creatures just like Vid Gray, even if you can't be an Animagus, contact Weasley Brothers' Joke Shop!"
George magically produced a can of glittering candy and shook it, saying, "And of course! Although our joke shop isn't officially open yet, you can also order by mail! Pre-opening special, just five Silver Sickles for an Illusion Gummy..."
"Send letters to Hogwarts—"
"Recipient: Fred and George—"
Before the brothers could finish their words, Bagman hastily pushed the blue bird aside to occupy the lens, shouting, "Hey, young lads, this isn't the place for you to advertise!"
The audience erupted in laughter and applause, as some students couldn't wait to dig out their pocket money.
Fred and George clapped their hands forcefully, their shoulders bumping together, celebrating their worldwide advertisement.
"Ahem." Bagman said, stifling his laugh, "The competition continues, let's see how the other competitors are doing..."
Harry snapped back to reality, noticing all other competitors had jumped into the water, realizing he was the only one still on the shore.
He hurriedly took off his coat and shoes, cast himself a Bubble Head Charm, and quickly jumped into the lake.