The Second Task! Merpeople: Seriously, Bro?

Believe it or not, although the classmates found it hard to accept, the three girls were quite satisfied with the result.

If it were Ron, it would surprisingly feel quite balanced.

Hermione stood there, barely daring to breathe, and for some reason, she suddenly thought of Jim Hack.

I always feel like Ron and Huck look a bit alike?

"Potter?"

Professor McGonagall's voice rang out; she had entered the Great Hall without her noticing.

"Professor McGonagall." Harry stood up.

"Time is almost up," she said seriously. "I believe you are fully prepared. Let's go."

The warriors from the other two schools have already set off and will arrive at the competition venue shortly. I think Mr. Bagman has just announced the details of the second competition. Good luck.

"Yes, Professor." Harry nodded.

He stood up and walked outside with the three girls.

The students in the Great Hall also set off in small groups, following behind Professor McGonagall, heading towards the Black Lake.

The morning was unusually sunny, but the February temperature was still quite biting. Even the presence of the North Atlantic Current couldn't ward off the morning frost.

Harry walked down the lawn and saw the seats that had surrounded the Fire Dragon Arena last November, now arranged in tiers on the opposite bank of the lake, their reflections shimmering in the water below.

The students went to their seats and sat down, while Professor McGonagall led Harry into the tent.

When Harry entered the tent, he saw Viktor was deep in thought, while Phoebe was drinking a steaming hot drink, looking very anxious.

"It's really cold, isn't it?"

As Harry walked in, Viktor spoke.

"It's definitely cold," Harry nodded. "After all, it's February. We can't expect the weather to be as warm as it is in July, can we?"

This remark had a touch of humor, at least Viktor smiled.

"The competition involves rescuing people from the bottom of the lake," Viktor said. "I really don't understand why such a competition rule would be set—even with a one-hour time limit. I seriously doubt whether exceeding one hour will cause any harm to the hostage."

"It's okay, we're not Russia," Harry joked. "At least the hostages don't have to worry about us being a threat to them."

Viktor looked up and gave Harry a puzzled look.

Upon hearing Harry's words, Phoebe suddenly let out a loud sob.

"What's wrong with her?" Harry asked Viktor curiously.

"Sigh." Viktor shook his head. "I don't know why they would take Miss Delacour Gabri Delacour, who is so young, hostage—"

"Oh, Gabri—," Phoebe sobbed.

"Don't worry, Professor Dumbledore will definitely ensure their safety," Harry said reassuringly. "I think we should trust ourselves more; after all, as long as we're fast enough—"

Phoebe covered her face; the girl looked a little distraught.

It's clear that she loves her sister very much.

Just then, Veratia walked into the tent.

"Ms. Grindelwald!" Viktor immediately stood up straight.

He couldn't help but show respect; Bulgaria and Greater Germany had always been very close, and it was rumored that Bulgaria also wanted to join the Greater German Ministry of Magic.

In other words, Veratia, the county magistrate, is very likely to become the current ruler of the Bulgarians.

"Mm." Veratia nodded and sat down next to Harry.

"How's it going?" she asked with a smile. "How's the preparation going? Or—are you still a little worried? Worried about your good friend's situation?"

When Veratia said "good friend," she clearly emphasized the word.

Actually, she already knew what was going on after hearing last night that Professor McGonagall had called Hermione and Ron away by themselves.

Hermione is unlikely to become Harry's hostage, so there's only one truth: Ron was chosen as Harry's most precious treasure.

Logically, it makes sense, since friendship is one of the most precious treasures in the world.

But despite her understanding, Veratia still felt an urge.

That means you should ask Ron if he thinks Potter would mourn for you.

"I'm fine," Harry shrugged. "I'm not worried about Ron's condition. He'll be alright, don't worry. Don't you know my situation? We're quite familiar with the situation at Black Lake."

"Really?" Veratia asked with a smile.

"Of course," Harry said earnestly. "Remember our first adventure after you came to Hogwarts? It was dealing with those Merpeople at the Black Lake."

"Oh, right." Veratia nodded. "It seems like that's true. The spiders in the forest were rather tactless and came to interrupt our date, weren't they?"

Harry does remember this event quite well. After he and Veratia became more familiar with each other, the first time they went out alone was by the Black Lake.

Veratia even took him to set off fireworks, and then had a friendly discussion with the Merpeople, explaining the pros and cons, and they eventually turned enemies into friends.

Of course, it wouldn't be enough to deal with the spiders that were running rampant in the Forbidden Forest, because they were very uncooperative.

Oh—fireworks!

Harry remembered why Cassandra's face looked so grim back then.

Yes, the first time you were with Cassandra at the Black Lake, weren't you setting off fireworks?

Now Veratia has brought him along to set off fireworks, clearly with ill intentions. It would be strange if Cassandra were happy.

What he didn't know was that Veratia had secretly approached Cassandra and told her about Harry.

Anyway, the gist of it was—I've got my eye on Potter, I'm going to go on a date with him, and I'm here to tell you this queenly trio—which left Cassandra completely stunned.

However, due to her proud and arrogant nature, she simply said disdainfully, "Since you've taken a liking to Potter, then he's yours. He's just a dispensable little follower to me."

However, that night, Cassandra cried until her pillow was soaked.

Harry only learned about these things from Cassandra's memories.

Yes, that was the time when we practiced Legilimency together.

Viktor and Phoebe sat in the corner, pretending to be invisible. They didn't want to witness the romance at all and had no interest in listening to the love story Hogwarts Champion and the Deputy Minister of Greater German Ministry of Magic and Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

"What's wrong with you?"

Seeing Harry lost in thought, Veratia asked with concern.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about why Cassandra was so angry back then," he said with a laugh. "But that's all in the past, and Cassandra won't be angry anyway."

Just then, Ms. Skeeter. Rita Skeeter walked in with her camera.

Her eyes lit up when she saw a pretty girl sitting next to Harry, but when she saw the girl's face clearly, she lost all her composure.

It's not Ms. Grindelwald—

Then, she encouraged herself again.

As a journalist, she still maintains a high level of journalistic ethics.

Oh, you mean she works as a paparazzi, writing all sorts of gossip and even distorting the facts?

Isn't this just a journalist's basic skill?

"Mr. Potter," Ms. Skeeter said, sitting down opposite Harry, and then greeting Veratia, "Hello, Miss Grindelwald, it's a pleasure to meet you on this occasion."

"Ms. Skeeter," Veratia nodded, then smiled and asked, "It seems you've come here intending to do an exclusive interview, right? Then—would it be convenient for me and Harry to do an interview?"

Ms. Skeeter clearly hadn't expected Veratia to ask her for an exclusive interview, especially one with Harry.

This is an absolutely huge piece of news! It's even more exciting than the news about the entire Triwizard Tournament.

It's easy to imagine how much traffic the Daily Prophet will gain because of this interview. Just think about it: the Hogwarts Champion, the Savior of the British wizarding world, and the love story of Miss Grindelwald. Ms. Skeeter can't bear to think any further. Every cell in her body is cheering and eager for her to start this interview.

"Shall we begin now?" Ms. Skeeter asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Oh, no rush," Veratia said with a smile. "We have plenty of time. What you need to do now is conduct the interviews with the three warriors. Perhaps we can schedule another time, what do you think, Ms. Skeeter?"

"Of course, of course!" Ms. Skeeter said happily. "Whatever you say, Ms. Grindelwald."

Phoebe looked at Ms. Skeeter and Miss Grindelwald with wide, swollen eyes as if she had seen a ghost, her expression one of utter bewilderment.

No way, this woman, who's so difficult and troublesome, is actually so submissive in front of you?!

She was truly astonished, knowing that Rita Skeeter was incredibly difficult and extremely annoying during her interview.

How could Miss Grindelwald not be surprised that he was now bowing and scraping before her?

On the contrary, Viktor showed no surprise, as if he had expected this outcome.

That makes sense, really. How many people with the surname Grindelwald are easy to deal with?

Ms. Skeeter quickly got into the zone, and perhaps because Veratia was there, she behaved with extreme seriousness, showing absolutely no desire to pry into secrets, much less any inclination to embellish or distort the facts.

This made Viktor and Phoebe feel a little uncomfortable.

Oh, to use Rita Skeeter's words, these two are "Bulgarian strongman" and "France Veela."

When it comes to being sharp-tongued, Ms. Skeeter is in no way inferior to Professor Snape, but her methods are even more... well, indescribable.

After asking Viktor and Phoebe, Ms. Skeeter then asked Harry.

"Mr. Potter, as the only warrior under the age of seventeen, what are your thoughts on this Triwizard Tournament?" Ms. Skeeter asked in a very formal and formulaic manner.

"I am honored to participate in this Triwizard Tournament," Harry replied officially. "Hogwarts is holding such a grand event, which is a once-in-a-century event, based on the principles of fairness, impartiality and openness. As a fourth-year student, I think it is something to be proud of."

"Okay." Ms. Skeeter asked again, "I heard that Professor Karkaroff of Durmstrang wasn't entirely fair during the first competition. What's your opinion on his score for you?"

"I've always believed that I'm not Galleon, and it's impossible for everyone to like me," Harry said, spreading his hands. "People are biased, and perhaps my approach isn't the kind Professor Karkaroff prefers, don't you think?"

"Hmm." Ms. Skeeter nodded, then asked again, "What would you like to say to Professor Karkaroff?"

"Professor Karkaroff?" Harry thought for a moment, then said, "Then I wish him good health."

After completing the interview, Ms. Skeeter glanced at Veratia with lingering interest, then bid farewell to the warriors and left the tent.

"You can tell," Harry said with a shrug. "She's nervous, isn't she?"

Veratia covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

Just then, Mr. Bagman walked in.

"Hello, Miss Grindelwald," Mr. Bagman greeted Veratia first.

After Veratia nodded, Mr. Bagman said to the warriors, "The competition is about to begin. Warriors, get ready one by one. This competition is different from the last one. You don't need to go out one by one—well, I mean, you can all go out together to participate in the competition, Mingbai?"

The three warriors nodded.

"Alright, let's go out together then." After saying that, Mr. Bagman turned and left the tent.

They followed Mr. Bagman all the way to the shore of Black Lake and stood in front of a makeshift wooden diving platform.

The diving platform isn't high; it's actually less than five feet above the water.

After settling the warriors in, Mr. Bagman cast an Amplifying Charm on himself.

"Listen up, everyone, our warriors are in position. At my whistle, the Second Task begins. They have a full hour to reclaim what was taken from them—I'll count to three..."

,-.-... three!"

A sharp whistle pierced the cold, still air, and cheers and applause erupted from the stands.

Harry paid no attention to what the other brave souls were doing. He calmly took out his wand and pointed it at the Black Lake.

A purple sphere flew out of Harry's wand and fell into the lake.

With a loud bang, water splashed dozens of meters high, as if the entire Black Lake had taken flight.

"Wow!"

A gasp of surprise came from all around the venue.

No one expected that Harry would not only not go into the water, but would also use such powerful magic.