It was the end of February, and the difficulties faced by the champions were far greater than just facing the Merman Guard. The cold waters of the lake were also constantly sapping their already meager stamina.
Realising this, Harry and Krum swam frantically towards the centre of the lake almost as soon as they hit the water.
The Black Lake covered a large area, and an hour was a very short time. Moreover, they would have to spend some time looking for the location of the Merman village.
Ivan, who had been left behind, appeared relaxed. He had scouted the area ahead of time and had been there a dozen times. Even with his eyes closed, he could swim to where the hostages were being held.
However, it was a match, and with so many spectators watching, Ivan could not simply cheat, so he waved his wand to turn some of the rocks at the bottom of the lake into swimming fish, pretending to have them scout the way.
Within a few minutes of swimming, however, Ivan was keenly aware that something was following him.
At first, Ivan thought the merpeople in the lake were after him, but when he looked back, he saw that they were not merpeople at all, but the champion of Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour…
Despite the depth of the Black Lake, the lack of visibility, and the distance between them, Ivan was able to guess who the intruder was.
"Are you planning to clear the level with me?"
Yvonne instantly understood what he was trying to do and smiled. It would not be easy to take advantage of her!
Seven meters away, Fleur was watching the figure in the distance, swinging her body vigorously to keep up with it.
After seeing the images in the crystal ball on the shore of the lake, Fleur was worried for her sister Gabrielle's safety, but her eagerness did not destroy her sanity.
The Black Lake at Hogwarts was simply too big, and she had never been there before. Finding the Merpeople's village quickly would be a pipe dream, and the guards there would not be easy to deal with.
So she came up with the bold idea of following someone who was certain to finish the game, such as Ivan Hals, who won the first game with a perfect score!
During her time at Hogwarts, Fleur had asked some Ravenclaw girls about their exploits, and each piece of information she received was shocking enough to shock her!
When she heard that they had killed a twelve-foot-tall troll in their first year and a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor before the end of term, she wondered if they were telling a fairy tale.
However, her first match forced Fleur to admit that these stories were likely true, as the opposing team did something even more outrageous — they defeated a dragon head-on!
Because of this, Fleur believed that Ivan would be the first warrior to find the location of the Merpeople's village and rescue the hostages, and that she would only have to follow him to get through.
This was very easy and relatively safe…
If there was danger ahead, he did not even have to do it himself, as the other party would naturally deal with it.
The only thing to watch out for is the possibility that the Hogwarts champion will attack me. After all, this is a match, and they are now rivals!
Fleur gripped her wand tightly, careful to maintain a distance where she could react quickly and not lose sight of him.
Ivan would have to waste a lot of time trying to subdue him.
In today's race against time, wasting time is equivalent to handing over victory to another champion.
Therefore, she was betting that the other party would not attack her to ensure their victory!
Even as she thought this, Fleur became nervous when Ivan stopped and looked at her.
Fortunately, Ivan's next reaction was exactly as she expected. He didn't seem to have any intention of attacking her. After a few seconds, he moved on.
Fleur let out a slow sigh of relief and hurried to catch up with him, a smile on her lips, feeling very pleased with herself.
However, she had a vague feeling that something was wrong, as Ivan was moving deeper into the Black Lake. It was getting darker and darker, and visibility was slowly decreasing. Her field of vision had shrunk to less than ten feet, forcing her to close the distance between her and Ivan to avoid being left behind.
To Fleur's further discomfort, there were strange noises coming from the surrounding darkness, and she could see the occasional movement of something in the darkness.
"Lumos ~ (flickering)" Fleur gently waved her wand, and a ghostly blue glow spread out in all directions, illuminating the hideous, ugly faces of the fish, and the faint gleam of steel forks in their hands.
They were merpeople!
Fleur almost cried out in alarm, for there were far too many of them for her to face alone. She turned her head to look for Ivan, believing that she would only be able to escape if she joined forces with him.
Unfortunately, when she turned around, she was shocked to find Ivan long gone…
"He must have done it on purpose!" Fleur hissed through her teeth. She knew at once that Ivan had lured her here on purpose and would have fled by now.
Yvonne's ruthlessness far exceeded her expectations, and she left her alone. Fleur cursed her, but there was nothing she could do.
When the light hit the Murlocs, they attacked Fleur as if they had been provoked, throwing countless shadows at her.
"Impedimenta ~ (encompassing obstacles)" Fleur waved her wand and cast a barrier spell, which was quickly broken by a shower of rocks and coral.
Fleur quickly cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself in an attempt to escape from the merpeople, but she clearly underestimated their ability to sense the waters of the lake. The spell was easily seen through, and she had no choice but to fight and flee against them.
Ivan was watching from a distance, maintaining the Disillusionment Charm. His magic was much better than Fleur's, so he was able to remain hidden.
"These merpeople are too cowardly. There are so many fish against one wizard, but they only dare to throw rocks from afar…" Ivan couldn't help but complain in his heart.
It was hard to say if the merpeople were scared of wizards, or if it was because of Dumbledore's orders.
Perhaps it was both…
Ivan shook his head and, realising that Fleur's life was not in danger, plunged back into the forest of black water plants ahead, where the Merpeople's village lay.