A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 441: Adventure Under the Lake

On the shore, as the afternoon settled in, hunger gnawed at the students. Ludovic Bagman's commentary also grew weary, yet no one chose to leave. The tournament was nearing its end; most champions (except those captured by merpeople) had gathered enough golden gems. All they needed was to reach the final location, gather together, and successfully complete the competition.

"Four hours into the match, the champions are severely fatigued. As the first champion successfully gathered the golden gems, the merfolk tribe mobilized, patrolling the Black Lake, making the champions' situation even more perilous," croaked Bagman.

Felix stood by the lake, rubbing his nose, wondering if the merfolk leader misunderstood the purpose of the enchanted recorder he'd gifted. The merfolk guards, accompanied by their trained Grindylow, had been darting through the lake for the past hour and a half, capturing the exhausted champions one by one.

Those not caught immediately were now hiding, unwilling to show themselves.

Ron breathed a long sigh of relief; he had finally passed through. Unsure if this was a loophole, he discovered a method that worked: if unsuccessful on the first attempt, he could try again, and again. He also unearthed another secret; when faced with Muggle Studies or Wizarding History, he could choose between open book and closed book exams.

Armed with this knowledge, he found the best way for himself—constantly picking the blue-level challenges. When luck struck with those two subjects, he'd open the book and search for answers. There might be a couple of failures in between, but success was certain.

Yawning widely, Ron felt as though he had forgotten he was in a perilous tournament; it felt more like being back in class. He was grateful for having pored over "The Adventures of Little Wizard Mickey" several times; it had equipped him with plenty of knowledge.

Blue and purple challenges provided a protective shield inherently. Ron took a deep breath, ready to locate the seventh golden gem. However, just as he stepped forward, a towering figure moved swiftly past him.

It was a Vagado warrior. Ron turned his gaze back to where the warrior had come from and saw a horde of merpeople chasing him. Ron grimaced, pulling his foot back.

Unfortunately, a merperson spotted him. The tall, toothy merperson blew a whistle, and three merpeople stayed back, encircling him. Despite the generally unappealing appearance of merpeople, Ron recognized the leader through attire and bone adornments.

Ron swallowed hard, realizing he might have kicked this particular merperson in the past.

The merperson clearly recognized Ron too, grinning widely, revealing a mouthful of fangs. Just then, the glow of several spells illuminated the underwater surroundings.

Two merpeople dropped instantly, their braided hair floating gently. Ron took advantage, raising his wand and casting the Stupefy spell.

The red light pierced the water, its speed visibly slowing down. Though the distance was short, the spell successfully hit the lead merperson, who stared wide-eyed, then collapsed on the muddy bottom.

Harry and Hermione emerged from a corner, watching him with amused smiles.

"How did you all end up together?" Ron asked, still affected by the stunning spell.

"After collecting seven golden gems, the watches began indicating the positions of our companions, three small red dots. I guessed they had applied a tracking charm… I found Harry first and wanted to come to you immediately, but encountered a massive merfolk movement in the water. They are incredibly agile in the water, but Harry used the Patronus Charm to scare them off, making them think it was some powerful magic, and we took the chance to escape..." Hermione explained, then turned to Ron. "How many golden gems do you lack?"

"Only one left, and I know its location," Ron hurriedly replied.

"Then let's hurry," Hermione said pale-faced. "We've taken too long; I'm not sure if we're the last group."

"Definitely not," Ron said. "I just saw a Vagado warrior being chased by a group of merpeople."

"Oh, he probably won't escape unless—" Hermione said, her tone turning pessimistic. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and a loud sound erupted nearby, sending sand flying.

"Hermione, you and Ron go for the gem; I'll check what's happening over there," Harry immediately decided.

They split up swiftly. Minutes later, Ron and Hermione found the gem but heard escalating noises outside, cries echoing underwater.

After a while, Harry returned. "Hurry!" he shouted, looking utterly frightened. "What's going on?" Ron asked, puzzled.

"Explain on the way!" Harry decisively said as they rushed toward the final spot. The thundering sound behind them grew closer, as if an army was chasing them. A towering waterspout, carrying an abundance of mud and sand, formed a swirling yellow-brown vortex.

"Several groups of champions have collaborated; they charged into the merfolk's arena, rescuing all hostages. I saw Durmstrang, Uagadou, and Cedric there!" Harry, encased in his human-shaped armor, explained.

"And also Vagado," Ron said, pale-faced.

"How do you know?" Harry casually asked. As they approached the target, a bright platform seemed within arm's reach.

"I saw an elephant..." Ron replied dazedly.

Harry and Hermione couldn't help but glance back; a couple of hundred feet behind them, bright light illuminated the lake bottom (Harry speculated it was Cedric's Lumos spell). An elephant charged forward, splashing mud, completely clouding the lake's bottom. On the elephant were several individuals, including Cedric, Collins, Roger and Krum, Fleur, and two other Vagado warriors.

"What should we do?" Ron hesitantly asked.

Less than two hundred feet away, a raised platform stood on the lake bottom, twinkling and captivating their attention.

"You two go ahead," Harry said.

"You're not thinking of being a hero, are you? They'll be fine..."

"No," Harry hesitated, "I know they'll be fine. I just want to use a spell. Go on, I'll catch up. This time, we'll definitely be first!"

"Then do it quickly; we'll be waiting!" Hermione impatiently said.

Harry took a deep breath, raised his wand. Now fully recovered in magical strength and with a newfound insight into the spell from Professor Dumbledore's silver cloak journey, he saw more potential.

"Protego... Guardianum!"

A massive silver radiance exploded. A silver entity of a guardian surged on silver waves towards the direction of the elephant, surrounded by numerous merpeople and Grindylows, forming a massive encirclement.

After casting the spell, Ron pulled Harry towards the platform. Meanwhile—

"What do we do?" Collins asked.

"Anyone got ice bombs left?" Cedric inquired.

"All used up," Byles replied.

"Let's charge through!" Greaves shouted, his face as white as paper, likely from prolonged time in water.

"Look there—" Fleur widened her eyes.

A colossal silver stag dashed through, unaffected by the water's resistance, quickly passing them and standing between them and the merpeople. It emitted rings of silver ripples. The merpeople had never seen a Patronus

before and hesitated, keeping a safe distance, watching this sudden apparition.

"Let's go! Use Transfiguration to buy time!" Cedric was the first to snap out of it, recognizing this Patronus.

The elephant charged again, its surroundings transforming—rocks, seaweed morphing into hounds, shields, and ropes. They ran toward the area enveloped by the elevated platform's protection.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione collapsed onto the platform, utterly exhausted.

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