To watch the Second Task being held on the lake, three tower-shaped spectator stands floated above Hogwarts Lake, each resembling the offshore oil platforms used for drilling at sea.
All of the champions except Harry were already waiting, having changed into swimsuits and begun light warm-ups.
Cedric wore a yellow shirt with black, short-pants-style swim trunks. Krum's outfit was gray and red, his well-trained muscles visibly bulging. Fleur, meanwhile, wore a silver competitive swimsuit that emphasized her tall, feminine physique with its soft, graceful curves.
"Cedric's body is insanely good…"
"Krum's muscles are amazing."
"I knew it already, but Fleur's figure is even more outrageous in a swimsuit."
As expected, the spectators immediately began critiquing the champions' swimwear, and naturally, anticipation over "What kind of swimsuit is Elaina wearing?" rose whether one liked it or not.
And then.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
When I finally appeared at the venue.
"Woooooooah… huh?"
A thunderous cheer erupted like a spinal reflex, only to trail off into confusion.
"Whaaaat!?"
"Why are you wearing a jacket!?"
Hey, it's cold.
What I was wearing was a black hoodie-style rash guard. On the bottom, I had black swim leggings, topped with botanical-patterned short pants, completely covering my body in full cold-weather mode. The rash guard was fleece-lined on the inside, warm and insulating, and it blocked out the frigid winter wind with ease.
Honestly, jumping into a lake in a swimsuit in the freezing cold of February is what I would consider abnormal, but from the audience I could clearly feel the unspoken boos saying, "Shut up and give us back our expectations." What a dilemma.
A short while later, Harry appeared in a red-and-black swimsuit, prompting Bagman in the commentary box to stand up.
"Now then, it is finally time for the Second Task!"
Bagman's magically amplified voice carried across the dark lake surface and thundered through the stands.
"Before the match begins, let's take a moment to look back at this Triwizard Tournament!"
With a sharp snap of his fingers, about five enormous transparent veils appeared out of nowhere.
They swayed gently before stopping in front of the tower stands, unfolding in midair like screens as images and captions were projected onto them.
The world's greatest tournament, with a history spanning 700 years.
Revived at Hogwarts for the first time in 200 years.
Interspersed with these familiar promotional phrases, the screens displayed a promotional video for the Triwizard Tournament.
Old archival footage gradually transitioned into more modern scenes, followed by recent Quidditch World Cup match footage, before overly stylish text animations appeared once more.
The legendary Triwizard Tournament is held here and now.
The majestic Hogwarts Castle rose from the darkness as Beauxbatons' massive carriage, pulled by pegasi, flew in from the sky, while Durmstrang's ship burst from the lake in a spray of water, a truly breathtaking sight.
To the accompaniment of classical music, the students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang entered the Great Hall. When Headmaster Dumbledore declared the start of the Tournament, the Goblet of Fire flared up with pale blue flames.
"Viktor Krum! Fleur Delacour! Cedric Diggory!"
The champions' names were called out one after another, each face shown in close-up. Then, in a comedic tone, Harry's blank expression and my smug grin appeared side by side, accompanied by the caption, "And for some reason, observer participants…" At that point, the venue erupted in laughter.
Next came dazzling footage from the Christmas Dance Party, followed by cool shots of each champion battling dragons in the First Task. The finale was a slow-motion clip of the giant knight statue I had created punching a dragon, after which the screen faded to black and text animations appeared again.
An experience no one has ever had before.
A completely new Triwizard Tournament.
The illuminated Ministry of Magic logo expanded dramatically, and as the camera zoomed out, it revealed the proud profile of Minister Fudge, arms crossed as he gazed into the distance.
The British Ministry of Magic supports the Triwizard Tournament.
All in all, it was painfully obvious propaganda.
For the pure-hearted, it probably came across as nothing more than, "The Triwizard Tournament is happening again after 200 years, and the Ministry is sponsoring it."
But once your heart gets a little grimy, you start seeing things like, "The British magical world has recovered enough peace and prosperity to revive the Tournament after 200 years. This is all thanks to the Ministry and Minister Fudge. We even held the World Cup, how impressive. So please overlook inconvenient issues like Sirius Black or Death Eaters and continue supporting the Ministry." The administration's self-praise was practically transparent.
The finale was a rush of sponsor logos. Among them were Lockhart Publishing, prominently featuring Professor Lockhart striking a smug pose within a wreath-like emblem; the heavy, imposing designs of Nott Magic Instruments; and Greengrass Pharmaceuticals, with its memorable green-and-white regular octagonal parasol motif.
Last of all appeared the simple logo and catchphrase of our own company, General Magitics, a shield-framed monogram with silver "GM" lettering.
What's good for GM is good for the magical world.
Our company really went all in on this…
That said, GM's strength lies in being a venture company with strong ties not only to the Ministry of Magic but also to the conglomerates of old Slytherin pure-blood families. Someone like Farley-senpai probably pitched it as, "You'll need to prepare for the next election anyway, so why not use our new technology to showcase your achievements?" and then roped in other companies along the way.
For the Ministry, whose approval ratings were slumping due to scandals, it made for excellent propaganda. GM got funding from the Ministry along with promotion for its new tech and brand, and the other sponsors benefited from positive publicity as well.
And just as I was thinking that.
"Now then, since the Second Task will take place underwater, an innovative magical device has been introduced so that everyone can witness the champions' feats. These floating curtain-style communication mirrors have been improved by the up-and-coming GM Corporation and manufactured by the trusted Nott Company!"
Bagman, did you take money from both our company and the Nott family?
"And here we have the device that will record the champions' performance, the filming drone Snitch!"
What Bagman held up resembled a brass Snitch. Unlike a real Snitch, however, the ball portion had an eyeball attached, like Moody's magical eye, giving it an unsettling, distinctly magical feel.
The five filming drone Snitches fluttered over to us and then plunged straight into the water. As they did, their wings absorbed moisture, puffed up, and transformed into fins like those of a goldfish, beginning to swim.
"These filming drone Snitches have two modes, flight mode and underwater mode. They will track the champions in real time on land and underwater, live-streaming everything to these curtain-style communication mirrors!"
Eyeballs with fins swimming underwater were unsettling, to say the least, but just as Bagman said, each of the five mirrors displayed live footage from a different angle. With this, the audience could clearly enjoy the action with a strong sense of immersion.
"So while the champions are underwater, you won't just be staring at the lake surface the whole time. Rest assured!"
Bagman joked, drawing laughter from the stands, then paused briefly before continuing.
"Now then, before we begin, let me explain today's task! The champions will enter the Black Lake, face this trial using every ounce of their courage and ingenuity, and within exactly one hour, retrieve what has been taken from them!"
The crowd murmured again as Bagman smiled with satisfaction.
"And here is what has been taken!"
With another snap of his fingers, the images in the five communication mirrors switched.
Five hostages bound to pillars underwater.
In the center of the plaza, merpeople with gray skin and dark green hair gathered, with a rough-hewn stone statue shaped like a massive merperson standing behind them. Looking closely at the statue's tail, six magically sleeping hostages were tied there.
"Ron!"
"Dad!"
Harry and Cedric shouted. Fleur gasped, covering her mouth as she stared at a small girl who looked just like her. Krum fixed Hermione with a serious gaze.
As for what was taken from me.
"Why is it Saya…?"
She appeared to be under a sleeping spell, her cheeks faintly flushed and a slight smile on her lips, as if she couldn't wait to be rescued. That must be my hostage.
I glanced toward the judges' table, where Headmaster Dumbledore smiled at me warmly.
(We had been partners in a practical sense, if only temporarily, but still…)
Is this really okay?
Well, realistically speaking, since Cedric and I were already paired as representative champions, the organizers probably struggled to choose hostages and came up with this as a desperate solution.
(Saya would probably volunteer to be a hostage herself, and Cedric's father works for the Ministry, so if an important person told him to do it, he wouldn't be able to refuse…)
Incidentally, in the lower right corner of the mirrors, a small caption read, "Filmed with the participants' consent and with safety considerations in place." It was the correct compliance move, but it did slightly undermine the tension.
"Now then, let the match begin! One… two… three!"
The whistle shrieked sharply, and the champions all moved at once.
"Ebublio Capto-Whelm, Bubble-Head!"
The first to act were Cedric and Fleur. They pointed their wands at their faces, and something like a veil formed over their noses and mouths. It was the fairly standard Bubble-Head Charm, supplying oxygen through the veil so they could breathe underwater.
Krum, on the other hand, chose a far more dramatic approach, transforming his upper body into that of a shark as he tackled the Second Task.
If one fully transforms into a shark, however, they gradually forget they were ever human, and returning to normal requires help from another wizard. To avoid that, one must become an Animagus like Professor McGonagall, which is difficult to master and doesn't even guarantee the form you want.
By transforming only his upper body, Krum managed to retain just enough human thought while gaining the ability to breathe through gills. As long as you ignore the visuals, it was an inventive and interesting method.
As for Harry, he jumped into the lake without casting any spells at all, which worried me. But soon, he leapt out of the water like a fish. His hands and feet had webbing like a frog's, and something resembling gills had grown from beneath his ears down his neck.
(Ah, right. Gillyweed is an option too…)
I briefly imagined myself with gills and webbed limbs.
"…"
Correction. No, absolutely not. I might look mysterious and sexy with a Bubble-Head Charm veil hiding my mouth, but shark-human and gillyweed aesthetics are not to my taste.
So.
"Glacius, become a glacier."
As I cast the spell, the lake's surface rapidly froze over, forming ice thick enough to support at least one lightweight person.
I tested it by walking a little, and thanks to my light weight, it showed no signs of cracking. So, freezing the surface slightly ahead of me with my wand, I strolled leisurely across my makeshift ice path in beach sandals.
"Elaina, that's super plain!"
Taunts flew from Millicent and the others in the Slytherin cheering section, but you can't be picky about methods when there's a goal to achieve. From watching the lake through the Slytherin common room windows, I knew exactly how dangerous this place was.
(In some spots, there's thick aquatic vegetation that can tangle you up, the water is cold and dark with poor visibility, and there are water demons and even a giant squid…)
It seemed I would ultimately have to dive in to retrieve what was taken, but there was no need to jump into the water right away.
My plan was to search safely from the surface first, narrow things down, and only dive at the very end.
(Emotionally speaking, I am not exactly enthusiastic about going to rescue Saya-san, but fortunately or unfortunately, she is easy to locate.)
I loosened the zipper of my rash guard slightly and took out the pendant hanging around my neck. It was the matching one Saya-san had given me during the Christmas Dance Party.
"Avenzigim, trace."
After casting a spell that tracks an object back to where it originally belonged, the pendant pointed in a specific direction, as if being pulled by a magnet.
Since this pendant originally came from Saya-san, following it should lead me to her location by the shortest route.
And so, I leisurely walked along the lake, freezing the surface as I went to create an ice path, following the direction indicated by the pendant.
After a while, the spectator stands grew noisy. When I listened more closely, I heard the news that Fleur had been attacked by a Grindylow and eliminated. Well, that is unfortunate.
＊＊
By the time I had moved far from the stands, the pendant began pulling downward instead of forward. It seemed Saya-san was directly below me.
"Then I suppose it is time for me to dive as well."
As I raised my wand, one of the filming drone Snitches that had been flying around me moved ahead and went into standby mode. Unlike the other champions, I had not been traveling underwater, so it remained in flight mode.
I could have used the Bubble-Head Charm like Fleur and the others, but keeping both the audience's eyes and the scoring criteria in mind, I chose to use a different spell instead.
"Protego Impervius, waterproof guard."
A transparent membrane spread from the tip of my wand, expanding like a spherical barrier and completely enclosing me. It was a variant of the Shield Charm with its effect limited to waterproofing, resembling a giant water balloon.
Since I could not move like that, I immediately followed up with another spell.
"Descendium, descend!"
This time, since I was only diving, I used a descent spell. Technically, using "Wingardium Leviosa" would also allow free movement underwater, but its speed is rather slow. If surface travel is possible, it is faster to reach the destination first and dive only at the end.
"Lumos, light."
As I descended with a light illuminating my surroundings, I soon caught sight of the hostages bound to the merfolk statue.
The hostages were gathered in a plaza-like area, surrounded by rough houses carved from underwater caverns. A large number of merfolk loitered nearby. Around the houses were gardens of aquatic plants, and some even had pet Grindylows tied to stakes outside their doors.
(Come to think of it, I had seen merfolk from the Slytherin common room window before, but this was my first time seeing their homes.)
The merfolk, with gray skin and dark green hair, had yellow eyes and bared chipped yellow teeth as they whispered among themselves while staring at me. Even more of them stood guard around the plaza with spears in hand, singing in eerie chorus.
As I approached the hostages, all six were still bound. It seemed I had arrived first.
(All right…)
I moved in front of Saya-san and extended only the tip of my wand from the waterproof membrane.
"Diffindo, cut!"
The ropes binding Saya-san snapped, and I lifted her into my arms. Just then, I saw Harry, now with webbed hands and feet, swimming toward us.
He noticed me as well and gave a small wave in greeting. Normally, we would exchange a few words, but since this was a competition, I simply nodded and excused myself.
"Ascendio, rise!"
Without any interference from the merfolk, we rose to the surface. As soon as Saya-san and I broke through the water, cheers erupted from the stands.
"Yes! Elaina is first!"
Starting with Draco Malfoy's voice, people shouted, squealed, and stood up to get a better look.
At that moment, Saya-san woke up.
"Ah…"
She opened her eyes, looked at me, and her expression melted into a loose grin.
"Elaina-san, you came to save me!"
Well, that is the point of this event.
"And you were the first one too, so that means you really care about—"
"For now, please let go of me and get up onto the ice over there."
"No! I am never leaving Elaina-san ever again!"
"I will tell Professor Snape."
That finally made her let go. As expected of Professor Snape, he is reliable in moments like this.
Before long, Cedric surfaced with his father, and shortly after that, Krum emerged carrying Hermione.
However, Harry still had not returned.
"Hm?"
I tilted my head.
"That is strange. It looked like Harry arrived earlier than us."
When I asked Cedric and Krum, they explained that Harry seemed to be trying to rescue not only Ron but the other hostages as well.
It appeared he had taken the merfolk's song at face value.
"He really is earnest, or maybe just stubborn. The Ministry would not allow anyone to die, and they even displayed a safety disclaimer."
"Huh? Was there something like that?"
"It was displayed in small text at the bottom right."
"Sorry, I might not have noticed. I was focused on my father."
Cedric scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
Unlike me, who remained oddly calm since my hostage was Saya-san, the other champions had clearly been shaken. Harry also tends to lose sight of his surroundings when he gets worked up, and since he did not know Fleur had already been eliminated, he likely believed the hostages would be killed if he did not act.
Sure enough, when I listened carefully, I could hear Bagman's surprised commentary from the stands.
"Oh! Champion Harry Potter… what is going on here?"
"According to the drone Snitch footage, it appears he is attempting to rescue Delacour's hostage as well. However, we have instructed the merfolk not to allow the rescue of additional hostages, so he seems to be facing interference."
After Professor Flitwick's explanation, Bagman shouted in astonishment.
"Incredible! Harry Potter is willing to sacrifice his own score to save complete strangers!"
Cheers erupted from Gryffindor, spreading to the other houses, as well as Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.
(Oh, this is that kind of situation.)
I glanced at Cedric, who silently nodded as if to say he understood. When I looked at Krum, he also nodded, clearly ready.
"…"
And so, the three of us exchanged glances and dove back into the lake. The scene was broadcast in real time through the drone Snitches to the curtain-like communication mirrors, prompting Bagman to shout again.
"What a development! Inspired by Potter's actions, the other champions are once again diving into the lake without regard for danger!"
Professor Flitwick let out a pleased chuckle, smiling as he said, "Ah, the friendships of young students truly are wonderful."
Thus, Cedric, Krum, and I descended once more into the underwater plaza, where armed merfolk awaited us.
This was a touching moment, so let us not call it shameless point-scoring through theatrical heroics.
"?!"
Seeing us return, Harry's eyes widened in surprise. He probably tried to say something like "Everyone?!" or "You came back for me!" but unfortunately, underwater bubbles made it impossible to hear.
The merfolk quickly realized our intent when they saw the three of us intervene.
"Take only your own hostage!"
They lunged at us with furious expressions, thrusting their spears forward. But Cedric and I were faster.
"Impedimenta, hinder!"
"Expelliarmus, disarm!"
We disrupted their movements with jinxes and blasted their spears away. Krum, still with his upper body transformed into a shark, bared his sharp teeth threateningly. The merfolk, frustrated, retreated.
Watching their figures scatter, Cedric let out a relieved breath.
"Phew… we managed to drive them off. I am glad everyone is safe."
"Um, maybe we should avoid saying things like that before we reach a safe zone…"
I tried to caution him, but unfortunately, bad premonitions have a habit of coming true.
From the direction the merfolk fled, something dark began approaching. It rapidly grew larger, closing in at terrifying speed.
"Grindylows!"
See, I told you.
What appeared was a swarm of Grindylows. These water demons are magical creatures about 150 centimeters long, with pale green skin, long fingers used to strangle prey, and octopus-like lower bodies.
"Cedric, Krum, please take care of Harry and the others."
"What about the Grindylows?"
"Leave them to me."
Cedric looked worried for a moment, but quickly switched gears. "Do not push yourself," he said before swimming off toward Harry. Krum followed, and the four of them made their escape toward the surface.
Left behind as the rear guard, I gave a fearless smile and extended my wand from the waterproof membrane.
"Confringo Maxima, massive explosion!"
The blasting spell detonated in front of the Grindylows, unleashing a powerful shockwave and bubble pulse.
Explosions underwater are far more destructive than those in air, and when bubbles are formed, the repeated expansion and contraction of gas and water pressure creates a phenomenon known as bubble pulse.
Depth charges used to sink submarines rely on this principle. While my spell was far less extreme, it was devastatingly effective against the Grindylows.
Frightened by the underwater explosions, the Grindylows hesitated. By the time they recovered, Harry and the others had surfaced, leaving them no reason to continue the attack. The creatures retreated.
Thus, the Second Task came to an end, and when I returned to the stands, I was greeted by thunderous applause.
"Elaina has returned! She stood her ground against countless water demons and became a shield to protect her friends until the very end. Please give her a huge round of applause!"
As the crowd roared at Bagman's announcement, Fleur Delacour stepped in front of me.
"You… you also saved my sister."
Her voice trembled as she slowly approached.
"She was not your hostage, and yet you helped her."
"Well, it was nothing."
In the next moment, Fleur leaned down toward me.
Soft.
A gentle, plump sensation brushed against both my cheeks.
"Woooooooooooooo!!?"
The loudest cheer yet erupted, as if the lake itself had exploded.
"Aaaaaaaaah!?"
This time, it was Saya-san's dying scream.
Despite the already overwhelming chaos, the incident did not end there.
Click!
Startled by the sound of a shutter and the explosive flash of a strobe, I turned around to see Rita Skeeter and her cameraman, eyes gleaming.
"Did you get that shot properly?"
"Of course I did!"
With a lecherous grin, Rita twisted her lips and said,
"Hehehe, a kiss between two beautiful girls. I have got a perfect front-page photo for tomorrow!"
(End of chapter)
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