In the blink of an eye, February arrived, and it was time for the second task of the Triwizard Tournament.
Early on the day of the competition, Cho Chang was summoned by Dumbledore along with three others.
Alaric knew they were to be hostages hidden at the bottom of the Black Lake.
Ironically, Cho Chang was essentially a stand-in for Alaric as a hostage. Despite being Hermione's good friend, their relationship had soured lately.
Hermione had become clingy, wanting to be with Alaric all the time, even avoiding the library. This had caused several conflicts between the two girls.
After breakfast, the young wizards walked along the riverbank to the edge of the lake for the second task.
The spectator stands were packed on the opposite side of the lake, reflecting in the water below.
The judges and contestants sat at another table beside the water covered with a golden tablecloth.
Hermione, Fleur, and Krum stood beside the judges' table, waiting impatiently until Harry arrived late, panting.
"I... I'm here..." Harry gasped, slipping in the mud and accidentally splashing dirt on Fleur's robes.
"Where have you been?" a haughty voice demanded. "The competition is about to start!"
Harry turned his head. Percy Weasley sat beside the judges' table—Mr. Crouch hadn't shown up again.
"Alright, alright, Percy!" Ludo Bagman interjected. Spotting Harry, a relieved expression crossed his face. "Let him catch his breath!"
Dumbledore smiled at Harry, but Karkaroff and Madame Maxime did not look pleased to see him. From their expressions, they clearly thought he wouldn't show up.
Ludo Bagman went among the champions, instructing them to line up along the shore with ten feet between each.
Fleur and Hermione, dressed in swimsuits, were at the front.
Harry was at the back, next to Krum. Krum wore swimming trunks and already had his wand out, ready.
"How are you feeling, Harry?"
Bagman led Harry a few steps forward, avoiding Krum, and asked in a low voice, "Do you know what you need to do?"
"I do," Harry gasped, massaging his ribs.
Bagman gave Harry's shoulder a squeeze and returned to the judges' table.
He pointed his wand at his throat, as he had during the World Cup, and said loudly,
"Sonorus!"
His voice thundered across the dark lake surface, reaching the stands.
"Listen up, everyone! Our champions are ready. On my whistle, the second task will begin.
They have one hour to retrieve what has been taken from them. I'll count to three. One... Two... Three!"
A sharp whistle echoed in the cold, still air. The stands erupted in cheers and applause.
Hermione leaped into the lake first, executing a perfect arc and diving straight into the water—she had been practicing for days for this.
Fleur and Krum performed spells on themselves first.
Fleur used the Bubble-Head Charm, creating an air bubble around her head that allowed her to breathe freely underwater.
Krum transformed himself into a shark, though his mastery of the spell was not perfect—he ended up with a shark's head, but at least his mouth and gills had completed their transformation.
Harry didn't watch what the other champions were doing; he hadn't even prepared his swimming gear.
He quickly took off his shoes and socks, pulled out the Gillyweed from his pocket, and stuffed it into his mouth before wading into the lake.
"Good heavens, our contestant Miss Granger has jumped into the lake first," Bagman enthusiastically commented.
"Just like the previous match, she didn't use any magic, I still don't know what she's going to do to be comfortable underwater."
"Miss Delacour and Mr. Krum have both used magic on themselves, the former used the Bubble-Head Charm.
This is the most suitable magic for this match, the latter transformed himself into a shark and seemed to be able to move freely in the water."
"Mr. Potter seems to have stuffed something into his mouth and then jumped into the water with his clothes on.
What did he eat?
Oh, our judge Alaric suggests he ate a plant called Gillyweed, which reportedly causes gills to grow on the cheeks and webbed hands and feet, allowing them to move underwater."
"Damn thief!"
Professor Snape thundered from the teachers' seats.
"I finally know who broke into my storeroom."
Next was Alaric, responsible for monitoring the safety of the contestants, so he too needed to enter the water.
However, he only took off his outer robe and didn't prepare any magic.
By now, he could hold his breath underwater for a long time, so the mere hour-long task was nothing to him.
But when he took off his clothes, screams and whistles erupted from the girls' stands.
Hogwarts girls rarely had the chance to see him naked. Now that Alaric had finally taken off his outer robe, his perfect muscles amazed everyone.
"Wow, our judge Alaric is really strong," Bagman said loudly, somewhat enviously.
"Teachers say they've never seen a wizard with such a great physique. Back in the day, I..."
As he spoke, he remembered his days as a Beater and couldn't help but boast about it.
Meanwhile, Alaric had already submerged into the water, swimming in the strange, dimly lit scenery of the pitch-black lake, surrounded by silence.
The water of the Black Lake wasn't clear, and he could only see within a radius of about ten feet.
Every stroke revealed new scenes emerging suddenly from the darkness ahead: forests of undulating, tangled black water grass, wide, sandy bottoms scattered with glittering pebbles.
He swam deeper and deeper, heading toward the center of the lake.
His eyes were wide open, looking through the gray and strange lake water, looking at the black shadow in the distance, where the lake water was dark and hazy.
There was no way to find the Champions like this, so he closed his eyes slightly, and when he opened them again.
It was no longer the pair of pitch-black eyes, but a pair of golden vertical eyes. These golden eyes were blazing, as if there were golden flames burning in them. This is not a human eye, but a dragon's eye.
The scene in front of him immediately became much clearer. Even at the bottom of the dark and turbid lake, he could now see scenes hundreds of meters away.
It was time to see what the champions were up to.
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