#398 - Chapter 398 The Second Game Begins

The three of them scrambled ashore from the Black Lake, looking disheveled. Although the warming charms had successfully blocked the biting cold, their soaking wet clothes still made them uncomfortable.

Lake water dripped from the hems of their clothes and the tips of their hair, the sticky feeling irritating.

They grabbed their wands and expertly dried themselves off, then hastily pulled on their clothes. They needed to leave as soon as possible to avoid being seen in this state by students from other schools.

"Harry's potion is amazing. I didn't feel any discomfort underwater at all."

Watching the webs between his fingers slowly recede, Cedric couldn't help but praise, "And there's no uncomfortable feeling back on shore either."

"It's definitely much better than Gillyweed," Malfoy said, pulling on his robes. "I looked it up. After eating Gillyweed, you can't breathe on land and have to stay in the water."

Harry didn't take the credit: "It's all thanks to Professor Snape's potion recipe."

The three of them quickly got dressed and hurried towards the castle.

"The problem is still serious. It's too dark underwater, and our vision is limited. Fighting the merpeople won't be easy, since the darkness in the water is nothing to them."

Malfoy complained, "I just cast a curse at a merperson to test its effect in advance. You saw what happened. Several merpeople immediately ganged up on me. I took a look when I got ashore, and I'm covered in bruises."

"I even got a nasty hit on my backside, and it hurts to walk now. By the way, can you tell if I'm limping?"

"It's only because I'm cultivating my temperament these days. If it were before, I would definitely tell my father and have him cause trouble for these merpeople."

"Stop complaining. You are limping a little. Let's go to the hospital wing together." Harry rubbed his head, he had gone up to help, but was knocked by a strong merperson, and now he feels a little dizzy.

"We need to practice underwater combat more," Cedric said, rubbing his arm, which had also taken a blow. "Did you notice that Grindylows become super difficult to deal with underwater, and there are just too many of them."

"Practice! We have to practice! This is just the first time, and we're not familiar with underwater combat. When we come next time, this young master will definitely give them a hard time."

After the start of school, time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the day before the competition.

Harry found that despite their thorough preparations, each time they practiced underwater, new problems were exposed.

There was never enough time, and now they could only do their best.

With a sense of tension, they welcomed the second task.

On February 24th, while they were still eating breakfast, Harry and Malfoy were called out of the Great Hall by Cedric, who looked very serious.

"I know what the merpeople stole!"

Without waiting for Harry and Malfoy to speak, he continued, "Cho Chang has been missing since dinner last night, and she wasn't seen this morning either."

"So, she is the treasure I need to rescue from the merpeople in the second task. Quick, see if any of your friends have disappeared."

"Astoria!" Malfoy exclaimed, quickly looking towards the Slytherin table. As expected, he didn't see her.

Harry looked closely and saw that Ron and Hermione were there, but the little red-haired girl, Ginny, was not.

The truth was clear: their treasures were their Yule Ball partners.

"We have to be fast, the faster the better! I'm worried they won't be able to handle it. Check the potions and alchemical tools again, and good luck."

The three of them looked serious, quickly finished breakfast, and then quickly returned to their dormitories to organize their final equipment and materials. They carefully checked each item, ensuring nothing was missed, and even repeatedly confirmed the backup plans.

As the start time of the competition approached, Harry, Malfoy, and Cedric gathered in front of the Great Hall. Without delay, they left the castle and headed straight to the competition venue.

From afar, they saw a huge grandstand newly built by the Black Lake, surrounding one side of the Black Lake in a semi-circle, like a giant hand embracing the lake water.

In front of the grandstand, five huge magic screens hung high, with the gleaming emblem of Swan Alchemy behind them.

The lakeside was already crowded with people, many students had obviously arrived earlier than them.

The grandstand was packed, and excited spectators were scrambling to find the best viewing angle, pointing and gesturing towards the center of the arena, with screams rising and falling, full of anticipation and a lively atmosphere.

Harry, Malfoy, and Cedric didn't have time to take a closer look and hurried towards the entrance of the arena, where Ludo Bagman, who had been waiting for a long time, greeted them.

Wearing the bright yellow jersey of the Wasp team, Bagman's face was full of smiles as he enthusiastically greeted them: "Only you three were missing, quick, quick, quick!"

Harry, Malfoy, and Cedric exchanged a few polite words and followed Bagman's lead towards the small pier in the center of the arena.

The pier was newly built and looked very sturdy. The other champions had already arrived and were waiting for the start of the competition.

Everyone was well-prepared, wearing swimsuits, their hot figures causing the young wizards in the audience to scream frequently.

"Fleur is so beautiful, I can't get enough of looking at her!"

"Look at Krum's eight-pack abs, I admit, I'm envious!"

"The champions are all in good shape, the perks of this competition are really good."

"Hey, stay away from me, your drool is about to drip on my robes!"

Seeing this scene, Harry, Malfoy, and Cedric went straight into the changing tent next to the pier. A moment later, they came out in short sleeves and shorts, looking simple and neat.

Unlike the others, they each had a cylindrical alchemical tool tied to their lower left and right legs. Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that the cylinders were hollow, and there was a fan-like blade in the center of the cylinder.

Seeing Harry and the others appear, Bagman smiled slightly: "Last night, we took away the most beloved treasures of all the champions and placed them deep in the Black Lake this morning. Your task is to find the treasures within the allotted time and successfully bring them out."

"The time limit is three hours. Once the time is exceeded, the consequences will be very serious."

With the amplification of the Sonorus charm, Bagman's voice clearly appeared in the ears of every spectator, and the young wizards were very curious about what the so-called treasures were and began to discuss them.

Bagman didn't keep them in suspense but pointed to the big screen: "Now, let's reveal what the treasures are."

Under the public's gaze, the five big screens lit up one by one.

It was a merpeople village, with a huge merperson statue standing in the center of the village.

Around the statue, a circle of fifteen people were firmly tied to the reefs. They were motionless, as if in a deep sleep.

The young wizards could see at a glance that those were their classmates, and the sharp-eyed young wizards also noticed that most of them were the Yule Ball partners of the champions.

Of course, there were some exceptions. Fleur's treasure was her sister Gabrielle, while Krum and another Durmstrang female champion's treasures were their friends.

Sebastian walked up: "I am the safety officer for this competition, everyone is very familiar with me."

"In order to increase the difficulty of the competition, before entering the water, I will place each champion at different entry points around the Black Lake."

He opened an undetectable extension bag, and watch-like alchemical tools flew towards the champions one by one.

"Please wear it on your wrist. This is an alchemical watch that ensures you can reunite with your teammates underwater."

"Next, please relax."