This was a live broadcast…
Ivan looked at the witch in his arms with a strange expression, wondering how Hermione would react when she saw the crystal balls.
Thoughts flashed through Ivan's mind, but his hands never stopped moving. He gently tapped his wand on his wizard robe, and the robe once again transformed into a pair of black wings. Then, with a powerful shake, the two of them rushed back in the direction they came from.
After passing through the village of Merpeople, Ivan re-enters the dangerous forest at the bottom of the lake.
Half of the hour was up, due to the lengthy exchange with Hermione at the statue.
Ivan was surprised when he did not see any of the other champions on the way back.
Was she lost? Or was she out of the game?
Yvonne frowned.
A few days ago, he tricked the merpeople into setting up the arena to harass the participating warriors as much as possible. However, in Ivan's opinion, the merpeople were too timid and gave up after two hits, so the competition was not difficult.
Compared to the original time and space, the changes were nothing more than merpeople attacking champions in groups, a dozen Grindylows lying in wait in the aquatic forest, and the occasional giant squid.
They were all non-magical creatures. As long as the warriors held their wands and dealt with them calmly, they should have no problem repelling them.
"Hales!"
Ivan was deep in thought when a faint cry reached his ears, and he glanced down at Hermione.
The little witch shook her head and pointed to the grass behind her, indicating that the noise was coming from there.
Yvonne gripped her wand, wondering if she should go over, as this was most likely a trap.
This was the perfect place for a sneak attack, and since he was the first warrior to rescue the hostages, there was a good chance that a champion would try to ambush him.
During the delay, the shouting became fainter and fainter, to the point where it was almost inaudible.
"Go and see, Ivan…maybe someone's in trouble," Hermione whispered, tugging gently at Ivan's sleeve.
Yvonne hesitated for a moment, but then, in a show of confidence in her own abilities, she nodded, cast an Armour Charm on Hermione, leaned over, and raised her wand high to cast a illumination spell.
The eerie blue light gradually dispelled the darkness, and the scene ahead was far beyond their expectations.
"Fleur?"
Hermione was shocked to see the Beauxbatons Warrior in a state of unconsciousness. Large amounts of black seaweed were twisting and tangling around Fleur's body, binding her so tightly that bruises could be seen on her exposed arms and waist.
Ivan could easily see that this was a trap set by the merpeople…
He speculated that Fleur was injured while trying to escape from the merpeople and was unlucky enough to fall into this trap, causing her to be unable to break free at first.
Hermione looked at the unconscious Fleur and then at Yvonne.
She wanted to plead with Ivan to save her, but she knew that they were in the middle of a match, and Ivan had no need to help her.
Hermione hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Will you save her, Ivan?"
"Save her!" Yvonne didn't hesitate. Fleur was no longer in a position to compete with him.
Moreover, this was a live broadcast, so there was a high chance that saving Fleur would give him an impression. If he did not save her, the students and referees watching this scene would most likely mistake him for being very cold-blooded.
"Diffindo ~ (cracked apart)"
Without hesitation, Ivan waved his wand and cut off the bindings, then used a Healing Charm to heal the wound, lest Fleur bleed out and die on the way.
To Ivan's surprise, Fleur's eyes flew open and she grabbed his arm as he moved closer to her.
Yvonne's reaction was swift. In an instant, the wand was at Fleur's neck, its tip glowing red.
The bone-deep chill made Fleur feel as if death were approaching, but she ignored it and clung to Ivan's arm, pleading.
"Please help…Hales! I can give up this game, please, help me save Gabrielle…She can't stay here…"
Fleur's face was so pale that it was frightening. She cried out weakly, and the arrogance on her face was gone.
Yvonne was left speechless by Fleur's words. It didn't take a genius to work out that the Ministry of Magic and Dumbledore would never sit by and watch something happen to a hostage. The only people in danger were the champions.
Unfortunately, before Ivan could explain, Fleur, who was holding on, fainted again. Only her hands were still holding on to Ivan's arms.
"What a pain in the ass," Ivan muttered under his breath. "I should have left her alone…"
Hermione, who could not bear Fleur's deep pleading, thought for a moment, then turned to Yvonne and suggested.
"Why don't we help her… There's still some time before the end of the game, and the other champions aren't here yet. Even if we go back and save Gabrielle now, we'll be the first to finish."
"It's not that easy…" Ivan shook his head. With Gabrielle, he would have to take the three of them back, which would slow him down considerably.
As Ivan considered this, there was another noise from the black water meadows up ahead, and he instinctively pointed his wand in that direction.
A moment later, Harry's head popped out of the water, and he was in bad shape, with cuts on his arms and thighs and ragged clothes.
Most notably, Harry was carrying Krum, who had transformed into a half-shark.
Like Fleur, he seemed to have passed out, and even when Harry accidentally hit Krum on the head, he did not wake up.
"Harry, what are you doing behind Krum's back?" Ivan looked at him in surprise.
"He was knocked out fighting those merpeople, and I couldn't just leave him there." Harry was breathing hard, the water rushing in through his mouth and out through his neck.