Of Course He Wanted Them All, but the Question Was Who to Save First

"Miss Klein," Principal Maxime said in a deep voice with a strange expression, "Isn't this a bit too much for a fifteen-year-old?"

"He is the heir to the Gaius family, and he will face far more choices in the future than he does now," Adrian said meaningfully. "As for his age... his journey officially began when he was twelve, and he is just taking a break now."

Upon hearing this, a sharp glint flashed in Dumbledore's eyes.

"Journey? What does that mean?"

"I cannot comment on that, or rather, given Headmaster Dumbledore's current status and strength, he is not qualified to know," Adrian said directly.

Percy Weasley stared in astonishment, wide-eyed. What had he just heard? Even the White Lord wasn't qualified to know?

This was definitely a major secret of the Magic World, but he knew his own limitations; such secrets were beyond his reach.

Dumbledore, wanting to ask something more, but seeing a pair of calm, expressionless eyes, he inexplicably shut his mouth and wisely refrained from asking further questions.

"Miss Klein," Karkaroff finally recognized the referee's abilities, his voice now tinged with obsequiousness, "Then how should we proceed in this situation?"

"Just be level and upright."

It's perfectly reasonable for one hostage to account for half the points, isn't it? If it exceeds the time limit, then deduct points accordingly.

All I want to see is his decision; I don't care about the outcome of the Triwizard Tournament.

"It's white, it's white."

"What kind of choice does Miss Klein want to see?" Dumbledore asked. "Will Gaius save one or both?"

"This question is meaningless, Professor Dumbledore."

My younger brother doesn't like to get into any trouble, but he's actually more responsible than anyone else. Knowing him as I do, I'm sure he'll save both of them.

"And you..."

"What I want to know is who he will save first?" Adrian said meaningfully. "One is someone who was innocently implicated, and the other is his good friend."

Professor Dumbledore, if it were you, who would you save first?

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore couldn't help but gasp.

Damn it! He's too narrow-minded. He's lived for over a century and this is the first time he's encountered such a tricky question.

Even if both can be saved, the key is who to save first. Whether it's the first reaction or a decision made after careful consideration, it reflects a person's psychological profile.

Adrian calmly awaited Aaron's decision, completely unaware that the other referees were now looking at her with a newfound seriousness and apprehension.

This is something a sixteen-year-old could come up with; compared to her, people their age are just for show.

"Aaron is so lucky to have a sister like you," Dumbledore said, forcing a smile.

"Thank you for the compliment." Adrian humbly accepted it. "It is because of my encouragement as his older sister that his younger brothers and sisters have been able to grow up so well."

Everyone:...

It's quite a hardship for them to grow to such a size.

That's too cruel, too malicious, too despicable.

Aaron also received the message from the Thought Form and learned of Adrian's purpose, and couldn't help but curse inwardly.

He looked at the two hostages in front of him, their faces as wilted as eggplants. He felt a surge of anger in his chest, unable to cough it up or swallow it down, almost causing him internal injuries.

"As expected of my sister! She actually pulled this trick on me?" Aaron smiled somewhat sadly.

Then Harry swam over, and the Mermaid surrounded him, pointing and gesturing.

He looked at Aaron, who was wrapped in a spherical barrier, completely protected from water, and dressed warmly, and then looked at his own hands and legs, and felt a great sense of loss.

I thought the Gillyweed was the secret weapon for going into the water, but I didn't expect there to be another mountain higher than this one. This magic is just too amazing.

But upon getting closer, he was taken aback to find Hermione and Luna standing in front of Aaron, and for a moment he was at a loss.

"What's going on? You're trying to save two people?"

"It's obvious!" Aaron said irritably.

"What are we waiting for? Let's save her!" Harry said urgently, and was about to pull on Hermione's ropes.

"Only one can be saved," a Merpeople warned Harry, pointing a spear at him.

"One?" Harry suddenly realized something, looking at Aaron in alarm. "That means..."

"It's just as you understand it." Aaron shrugged. "But this has nothing to do with you. Leave before the effects of Ron's Gillyweed wear off."

But what about you?

"Get lost!" Aaron said impatiently, his eyes conveying a clear message: Are you going to stay and hold me back?

Harry pursed his lips. He also realized that his gills were making it difficult to breathe underwater, so he couldn't help if he stayed.

Looking at the thick, slippery water plants binding the hostages, he felt he needed a small knife.

Do you have a knife? Can I borrow it?

A string of exclamation marks flashed through Aaron's mind. He shook his head speechlessly. "You're Warlock. Wand is enough. Why do you need a knife?"

Harry paused for a moment, then immediately drew his Wand.

A red light shone on the ropes binding Ron, causing them to detach automatically, and Ron's body floated upwards uncontrollably.

Harry quickly went over and took his arm. "I'll get Ron ashore first, then I'll help you."

"No, please!" Aaron exclaimed, stopping Harry in alarm. "You probably don't have a second Gillyweed, right?"

"Oh, this..."

"Please, I'm begging you, don't cause me any more trouble, okay?"

Harry's lips twitched slightly, and he nodded awkwardly before leading Ron upstairs.

Shortly after he swam over, Cedric also swam over.

"Isn't your spell a bit too exaggerated?" Cedric said enviously.

The Bubble-Head Charm can only create bubbles around his head. Although it allows him to breathe underwater, it is completely incomparable to Aaron's magic.

"Want to learn? But I can't teach you. This is a closely guarded secret of the Gaius family." Aaron said this nonsense with a straight face, explaining it to Cedric as well as to the viewers watching the game through the light screen.

Percy, who was sitting in the referee's seat representing Barty Crouch, turned very ugly when he heard this. He knew without a doubt that Aaron would not contribute this magic, and his dream of promotion and a raise was largely shattered.

"So how did the two of them get together?"

"It has nothing to do with you. It's probably because I had two dance partners at the Christmas Ball." Aaron said meaningfully, then gave a wry smile. "Unless you want to help me, you'd better leave quickly."

Cedric immediately realized that the two hostages were probably arranged by Adrian for Aaron. He couldn't understand the love-hate relationship between the siblings, but he knew he couldn't get involved.

He glanced at his dance partner, Qiu Zhang, and a spell snapped the ropes binding her. "Take care."

Aaron sighed silently, then glanced at his watch. Less than a quarter of an hour remained, and he had to make a choice within that short time.

Once more than an hour has passed, those Merpeople's spears might be aimed at him.

Aaron reached into his pocket, pulled out a Gold Galleons, and muttered to himself while telling the others, "I don't believe in fate, but I have to admit that sometimes you have to leave it to fate."

"Save Luna on one front, save Hermione on the other—it's a happy decision."

The Gold Galleons was tossed into the air and landed face up in his hand.

Without hesitation, Aaron cast a spell to untie Luna's ropes and also cast an Iron Armor Charm on her.

He then grabbed Luna's arm, preventing her from rising.

It's not that we can't, but that we dare not.

Besides Grindylow, the Black Lake is also home to Giant Squid and all sorts of other dangerous creatures. Sending Luna alone would be risky; if something were to happen to her on the way, it would be too late to regret it.

Adrian, watching this scene from the referee's stand, couldn't help but smile. "As expected of my brother, he actually knows how to use such a simple and crude method."

"Although it smacks of escapism, it's still a tactic," Dumbledore commented, and Karkaroff and Maxime both nodded in agreement.

A few minutes later, a shark's head charged and crashed into the statue, scaring the Mermaid into scattering and fleeing.

This is Viktor Krum, who transformed his upper body into that of a shark to breathe freely underwater.

He tried to bite the rope binding his dance partner with his teeth, but because shark teeth are not very convenient, it took him a lot of effort to bite through the rope.

"Etc."

Just as Krum was about to leave with his hostages, Aaron stopped him.

"Do me a favor and take Luna with you."

Krum paused for a moment, a look of confusion flashing across the shark's face, unsure whether he should help him.

"I might be a bit tired in a bit and won't be able to take two people away." Aaron pointed to Hermione, who was still tied to the sculpture, and continued, "It's just a small favor for you to take her away for me."

In return, I'll help you with the Third Task once, if the opportunity arises.

Krum hesitated for a moment, then grabbed his dance partner with one hand and Luna with the other, and darted rapidly toward the water.

"Why aren't you here yet?" a Merpeople asked, puzzled. "Time is almost up. You should know what that means."

Aaron remained silent; he couldn't very well tell them that he had to finish the competition last for some reason!

Next, all he had to do was wait for Phoebe to arrive with her sister Gabrielle, and then he and Hermione would charge out. If they ran fast enough, even the Mermaid might not be able to catch him.

However, time passed second by second, and there were less than five minutes left until the one-hour deadline.

Aaron's mood gradually grew heavy. He turned to look at Hermione and Gabrielle and couldn't help but complain, "What's going on? Don't let us down at this crucial moment!"

With less than four minutes left, he paced anxiously at the bottom of the lake.

With only three minutes left, even if he didn't want to believe it, he had to suspect that Phoebe was in trouble, otherwise she wouldn't have abandoned her own sister here.

He gritted his teeth, took out Captain Jack's Compass, and put on a heartbroken look, saying, "I never thought I would waste my last chance on my competitor."