No one knew whether it was because Albert had not told the three of them to keep quiet, or because other students had seen them diving into the lake that day.
In any case, news of Albert diving into the lake quickly spread throughout Hogwarts Castle.
As everyone began speculating that it had something to do with the second task, the secret of the Golden Egg was leaked by someone and became common knowledge. The merpeople's song was no longer a secret either. What everyone was most curious about now was who the champions' treasures would be.
Someone had opened betting pools on the Hogwarts black market. Rumor had it that anyone who guessed everything correctly could win ten-to-one odds.
The second task of the Triwizard Tournament had quietly been laid bare before everyone. Many students suddenly realized why they had often seen Krum swimming in the Black Lake. It turned out the Durmstrang champion had been preparing for the next task all along.
As for Albert, he had undoubtedly finished preparing. He had even found the merpeople village directly.
In fact, Hogwarts students had not even known that merpeople lived at the bottom of the Black Lake. After learning the news, all sorts of rumors about merpeople began spreading around the school.
According to information leaked by Fred and George, the merpeople village was well hidden by water plants and was not easy to find. Champions would need to pass through areas thick with aquatic weeds, where Grindylows often ambushed passing swimmers.
The Weasley twins had already used their own experience to warn the other champions that without proper preparation, it was easy to get surrounded by a large group of Grindylows. One careless mistake could even result in being dragged into the lake and drowned.
A lot of