Professor McGonagall frowned instantly.
"What do you mean? Lucian, this is not a joke! You have to stay underwater for an entire hour!"
"Yes, I know," Lucian replied calmly.
Then he said something that left everyone present stunned, including Rita Skeeter, who was secretly eavesdropping nearby.
Lucian glanced at the dark, icy lake.
His tone was casual—almost like he was looking at his own bathtub.
"Because I never intended to let the water touch me."
"...What?"
McGonagall was completely confused.
Not let the water touch him?
In a lake this deep?
Was he planning to dry up the entire Black Lake?
Rita Skeeter's Excitement
Nearby, Rita Skeeter pretended to fix her golden curls while secretly listening.
The moment she heard Lucian's statement, excitement flashed behind her jeweled glasses.
Her acid-green Quick-Quotes Quill immediately began scribbling furiously.
Her malicious thoughts turned into twisted headlines:
Arrogance or Madness?
Facing the deadly second task, Hogwarts' mysterious fourth champion Lucian Thornwick has made a shocking claim:
He insists he does not need to breathe underwater—and that the water will not even touch him.
Is this confidence… or reckless insanity?
Rita could already imagine tomorrow's Daily Prophet front page.
She looked at Lucian's calm expression and smiled coldly.
The Start of the Task
Lucian ignored the confusion, suspicion, and worried stares around him.
He simply waited for the starting signal.
His eyes saw no lake.
No danger.
No competition.
Only the most direct path to the merfolk village at the bottom.
BOOM!
The starting cannon fired.
The task began.
Immediately the other three champions acted.
Fleur Delacour cast the Bubble-Head Charm and dove gracefully into the water.Cedric Diggory followed with the same spell.Viktor Krum partially transformed into a shark and plunged into the lake with a massive splash.
Within seconds, all three disappeared beneath the dark surface.
Only Lucian remained on the platform.
Thousands of eyes locked onto him.
Lucian's Action
But instead of diving—
Lucian calmly walked to the end of the wooden pier.
The deepest part of the lake.
Cold wind lifted the edges of his black robe.
He looked small against the endless water and grey sky.
Then he slowly raised his hand.
Not toward the sky.
Not toward the crowd.
Toward the lake itself.
Ron blinked in confusion.
"What's he doing? Everyone else already jumped in!"
Hermione looked anxious.
"This doesn't match any magical theory I know…"
Even Dumbledore frowned slightly.
No one understood.
Lucian's Insight
But Lucian's consciousness had already connected with the vast water elements of the lake.
To him, the lake was no longer an obstacle.
It was a massive system of water molecules governed by physical laws.
And laws…
could be changed.
His extraordinary comprehension activated.
Research topic:
How can one create a spell that temporarily alters the physical behavior of water in a specific area with minimal magical cost?
Evaporating the lake?
Too wasteful.
Freezing it?
Environmentally destructive.
Instead—
He targeted the forces between water molecules.
If those forces were reversed…
water would repel itself, separating away from a central axis.
Thus forming a dry passage through the lake.
Spell completed.
Name:
Water-Separation Spell.
The Miracle
A faint light flashed in Lucian's eyes.
He moved his hand downward.
And spoke softly.
"Water-Separation Spell."
His voice was quiet—
yet it carried the weight of divine command.
The lake trembled.
Not waves.
Not whirlpools.
A deep, impossible vibration.
Then—
in front of thousands of witnesses—
The Black Lake split apart.
Water moved away from Lucian's gesture.
Slowly at first.
Then irresistibly.
Like an invisible sword had sliced the lake in half.
Two towering walls of water rose on either side, dozens of meters high.
Between them—
a dry corridor appeared.
Three meters wide.
Stretching all the way toward the center of the lake.
Fish, Grindylows, and even lake monsters could be seen frantically swimming inside the transparent water walls.
But they could not cross the invisible barrier.
At the bottom lay the exposed lakebed.
Mud.
Pebbles.
Ancient plants.
For the first time in centuries, sunlight reached the depths.
A golden beam pierced the clouds and illuminated the underwater valley like holy light.
And far below—
people could see the faint outline of the merfolk village.
Total Silence
The stadium fell silent.
Thousands of spectators stared in disbelief.
No cheers.
No screams.
Just the sound of thousands inhaling sharply.
Dumbledore gripped the railing.
His hands trembled.
All his life he had pursued the highest mysteries of magic.
But now he realized something unsettling.
Compared to Lucian—
He was still a student.
Karkaroff and Madame Maxime stood frozen like statues.
Fear replaced their pride.
They finally understood.
Lucian's previous feats were not miracles.
They were merely games.
And now—
he had stopped hiding his true power.
This was no longer magic.
This was a miracle.
Walking the Path
Yet Lucian himself remained calm.
He looked at the dry corridor he had created.
Nodded slightly.
Then he began walking down the lakebed slope.
His black robes fluttered gently.
Not a single drop of water touched him.
He walked between the towering water walls like a king inspecting his domain.
The magical screens showed the scene to the entire audience.
The contrast was overwhelming:
A lone boy walking calmly
between mountains of water filled with swimming creatures.
It made everyone's souls tremble.
The Merfolk's Reaction
As Lucian approached the merfolk village, the underwater civilization erupted into chaos.
Merfolk rushed out of their coral homes.
They stared through the water wall in awe.
In thousands of years living in the Black Lake—
they had never seen such power.
Not even in their oldest legends.
Their chief, an elderly merman with a green beard and a trident, raised his hand.
One by one, the merfolk lowered their weapons.
They bowed their heads toward Lucian.
Offering the highest respect their people knew.
To them—
this was not a wizard.
This was a god of water.
The Hostages
Lucian ignored the reverence.
Soon he reached the central square.
Four hostages were tied to a giant mermaid statue, sleeping peacefully.
He saw Cho Chang.
He also saw a small blonde girl resembling Fleur.
Gabrielle Delacour.
As Lucian approached, the magical water weeds binding them withered and broke apart automatically.
He gently lifted Cho with a wave of magic.
Then he turned to look at the little blonde girl—
Fleur's sister.
And paused for a moment.
~~--------------------------
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