#399 - Chapter 399: The Instance in the Black Lake

"Ladies and gentlemen, the second match of the Triwizard Tournament, the Treasure Hunt in the Lake, is about to begin. I am your old friend, Ludo Bagman."

Bagman's passionate commentary echoed throughout the arena. In sync with his commentary, the five large screens began to switch between the champions' images.

"First, we need to thank Swan Alchemy for providing the remote-controlled magical cameras. Thanks to them, we don't have to stand in the stands and brave the cold wind. Instead, we can clearly see all the champions' actions."

"As you can see, with the help of Safety Officer Professor Swan, the fifteen champions have been evenly distributed around the Black Lake and are warming up before entering the water."

Harry stood on the edge of the diving platform, squinting into the distance, trying to make out his teammates' figures.

Malfoy was standing on diving platform number 10 in the distance, while Cedric was on diving platform number 15. The three were positioned around the Black Lake like the vertices of an equilateral triangle. Fortunately, all the champions from all the schools were distributed in this way, so there was no unfairness.

"This distance is really something," Harry muttered softly to himself.

The three had once imagined that they might be forced to act alone during the competition, but they had not expected to be separated so thoroughly from the very beginning.

Their voices couldn't reach each other's ears, and even a simple gesture was impossible. Once underwater, they would have to rely on the alchemical watches issued by the professor to reunite.

He tried pressing the small button on the side twice, but there was no response. The screen was completely black, as if the thing was already broken.

It seems I have to rely on myself in the early stages!

He sighed and glanced at a small black ball floating in front of him—a brand-new model of remote-controlled magical camera produced by Swan Alchemy.

He could imagine that every young wizard in the stands was now watching his every move through this device.

"Don't look around, don't look around," Harry took a deep breath, trying to get into the competition mindset and overcome the tension in his body.

Just then, he heard Sebastian's clear voice in his ear: "Champions, please prepare yourselves."

"3—2—1, begin!"

With the order, Harry leaped and plunged headfirst into the lake.

The cold lake water instantly enveloped Harry's entire body, and the underwater effect of the Gillyweed potion began to take effect.

He stretched out his hands, and soft webs began to grow between his fingers, wide and flexible. A slight tingling sensation came from both sides of his neck. He reached out and touched them, and gills had fully formed, with delicate streams of water passing through them, bringing a steady supply of oxygen, making breathing steady and easy.

As his body changed, Harry felt that the lake water was no longer a heavy resistance, but like a silky road, wrapping him and leading him forward.

He identified the direction, then held out his wand and tapped each of the alchemical devices on his calves.

This was the secret weapon that he, Malfoy, and Cedric had alchemized together to save energy and move quickly underwater—an underwater propeller.

When three men are together, they automatically generate ideas. During the brainstorming session, Harry suddenly recalled the plane they had taken when they went to the United States for the competition.

Imitating the appearance of an airplane engine, they easily alchemized the underwater propeller.

It was very simple, requiring only a shell, a fan blade, and a connecting rod linking the two, and then engraving a magical circuit on the fan blade that would allow it to rotate.

The structure was simple, but the effect was surprisingly amazing. The fan blade began to spin, and a powerful thrust immediately came from his calves.

Harry's body was propelled forward with great force, and a string of bubbles rose behind him in the lake.

In the stands, Bagman's mouth was working non-stop: "Everyone, look! Krum pointed his wand at his head and turned his head into the shape of a shark in less than ten seconds."

"This is very powerful human transfiguration, very dangerous, and only highly skilled wizards can do it."

"Speaking of human transfiguration, the champions from Uagadou are even more skilled at it. In addition to transforming their heads into fish heads, they also transformed their legs into large fish tails, making them look like merpeople, swimming very fast."

"The students from Ilvermorny have conjured transparent bubbles to cover their heads. This is the Bubble-Head Charm. However, they need to swim themselves, so the speed is not very fast."

"Everyone, look! Beauxbatons' scarves are beginning to transform, with one part covering their mouths and noses, forming a special mask, and another part unfolding behind them, turning into two large wings, like two oars. Amazing! I originally thought those scarves were just decorations on their swimwear, but it turns out they are special alchemical items."

"As everyone knows, Beauxbatons' alchemy is very famous, and the famous alchemist Nicolas Flamel came from there, so it's not surprising that they can make such alchemical creations."

Just then, Bagman's tone suddenly increased: "Merlin! How are the Hogwarts champions so fast?!"

"Is it the alchemical devices on their legs that are providing the power? Incredible! I originally thought Beauxbatons' alchemical devices were already powerful enough, but I didn't expect Hogwarts' alchemical devices to be just as good!"

"I bet, at this speed, they will reach the merpeople village in at most ten minutes. Of course, before reaching the merpeople village, they still need to find four gems."

"Look!" Bagman shouted, "Champion Malfoy is the first to find a special location."

At this time, Malfoy was swimming towards a bright spot. As he got closer, he discovered that the glowing object was a small, human-sized house.

A house?

There's definitely something wrong!

He had been to the bottom of the Black Lake so many times before, but he had never found any houses outside of the merpeople village.

Let's go take a look!

Malfoy did not hesitate and immediately canceled the propeller's power. Then, he swam to the side of the house and tentatively threw a stone he picked up from the ground.

There was no reaction, just like an ordinary house.

Seeing that there was no danger, he then confidently placed his hand on the doorknob.

Instantly, a voice rang in his head.

【Wisdom Trial Site No. 5. Champions can obtain a shard of the Wisdom Stone here. Three identical shards can be combined into a complete Wisdom Stone.

Please enter the house to begin the trial.】

A Wisdom Trial, huh? This can't be difficult for this young master!

Malfoy did not hesitate and immediately opened the door and walked in.

With a change of light and shadow, he appeared in a classroom. It was empty, and a large magical television screen was in place of the blackboard.

"It really is a copy!"

Just as he muttered, Malfoy saw the screen light up, with a line of golden text appearing on it. At the same time, a deep narration voice came from behind the screen, echoing throughout the room.

【The Wisdom Trial begins. There are a total of 10 questions. Each question has a time limit of two minutes. Answering half of the questions correctly will grant you a shard of the Wisdom Stone. Are you ready?】