Sirius, who had been waiting anxiously by the Black Lake, immediately jumped into the water when he saw Harry surface and hauled the exhausted boy ashore.
Fleur also broke free of Madame Maxime's restraint at once and leaped into the lake to rescue her sister Gabrielle.
Ron, who had just regained consciousness and spat out a huge mouthful of lake water, was still flailing about in confusion. Watching Harry and the silver-haired little girl get rescued, he had no choice but to swim to shore himself, where Fred and George finally reached out and pulled him up.
"Well done, Harry."
Sirius tapped Harry's shoulder lightly with his wand, clearing away the water and the chill from the lake, then smiled and patted his shoulder encouragingly.
"Um... I didn't manage to rescue the hostage."
Harry was a little disappointed. He had made so many preparations beforehand, yet he had failed to complete the task of rescuing the hostage.
"It's all right, Harry. As long as you came back safely, that's enough," Sirius comforted him softly. "You really don't need to care about the result of the competition."
"But..."
"Mr. Anderson returned with his hostage in just fifteen minutes. I dare say no champion can surpass him. So don't dwell on the scores. That would just be asking for trouble." Lupin also reached out and patted Harry's shoulder, kindly reminding him, "Perhaps you should think about what this competition has brought you. Compared with the points you earned, isn't the event itself far more interesting?"
Harry looked up at Albert, who was talking with a beautiful red-haired girl, and fell silent at once. Lupin was right. There was no need to care about such things. It was simply asking for trouble.
Harry wanted the championship. He wanted to win it in front