Hah, the Contamination from Another World / A Brat's "Clever" Decision

To prevent her from drowning, the Giant Squid, which had been spewing ink, had no choice but to extend its tentacles, wrap them around her body, and toss her directly out of the water...

And so, the spectators, who were awkwardly standing on the shore in the cold wind, finally witnessed the first shock of the competition... Miss Delacour's fish-frying performance!

"Gabrielle... Gabrielle!!"

Falling back into the water from mid-air, Phoebe ignored the pain in her body and struggled to plunge back into the water.

Her sister is still underwater; if it's been more than an hour...

"Hey, you're already like this, can you please stop going any further down?" But at that moment, a clump of water plants suddenly wrapped around her body.

"He's even lost his wand. If he keeps showing off like this, he might die in the water." Sirius, dressed as Harry, was riding on horseback, looking down at the Phoebe in the water.

However, he only glanced at her twice before immediately turning his head away. After all, Phoebe in her current state truly embodied the meaning of "Phoebe," and even Sirius couldn't help but be a little lost in thought.

He wouldn't admit to being interested in a younger girl like that. Did they really think he was as beastly as Lupin?

"Then I have to go back!" Phoebe struggled anxiously in the water, her voice even tinged with a heartbreaking sob, "Gabrielle... if I don't go find her, she..."

"Don't worry, she'll be alright!" Sirius, seeing her distress, quickly whispered, "Even if you don't believe me, you have to believe Harry and Hermione. They'll definitely... uh, no, wait a minute~"

"Believe... who?" Seeing Phoebe about to burst into tears, he was suddenly stunned.

He was just talking about Harry and Hermione, right? Isn't he Harry Granger himself?

"Don't ask things you shouldn't ask, or I'll throw you in the water!" Sirius realized he had said the wrong thing in his haste, so he quickly lowered his voice and threatened.

"Ha, I understand!" However, his tone immediately made Phoebe realize his identity.

So Miss Delacour immediately put on a cheerful expression and began to stagger up to her horse, completely forgetting her earlier worries.

If Harry had really said things like Gabrielle would be fine, Phoebe would probably have thought twice. But after recognizing the true identity of the person in front of her, she wasn't nervous at all.

Hmm... this is probably what they mean by "your values follow your looks."

"Miss Delacour ... I don't care what you know, just don't tell anyone after we get ashore, understand?" Sirius reached out and grabbed Phoebe, leaving her behind him, while continuing to whisper his instructions.

He's now filled with regret; he shouldn't have impulsively tried to save her, and he definitely shouldn't have been so quick to talk to her.

"I know... Really, didn't I tell you to call me Phoebe?" Phoebe nodded obediently, then pouted reproachfully.

"By the way, is this your horse? It looks very impressive, almost as good as Olympe Maxime's Abraxan."

"This is his horse," Sirius replied impatiently.

"Could you please take this horse back?"

Can you please shut up right now?

The two rode the Kelpie to the shore. Sirius didn't think anything of it, but the audience—especially the men—were in an uproar!

What's going on?!

As the referee, it's understandable that Harry saved Phoebe, but now they're not only riding the same horse, but also having a great time talking!

Look, Phoebe has her arm around his waist right now, they're definitely having an affair!

Oh, and at the previous Yule Ball, Harry's dance partner was Phoebe's sister, and Phoebe's dance partner was supposedly Harry's godfather... Now the whole mystery is solved!

Their relatives were just a smokescreen; the truth is Harry and Phoebe were having an affair, and they were afraid Hermione Granger would find out!

There's also the previous the Quibbler about Harry's alleged affair with the Lovegood family Loony, who's also Hermione's dance partner!

Your entertainment industry is really messy...

The little incident that occurred during the second game of the Triwizard Tournament completely convinced the Hogwarts students of Harry's the Quibbler, and at the same time solidified their belief in Harry's scumbag character... while the person involved remained completely unaware of this.

This is a classic case of the sugar daddy betraying his son; it's karma coming back to bite us.

Chapter 696 Ah, the source of pollution that came from another world

Underwater, Cedric Diggory waved his wand in vain, unable to find a way to break free.

Surrounded by a thick, black ink, he couldn't see anything at all, and he also had to be careful of the sharp horns and tentacles that might attack at any moment. The physical and mental pressure he was under was unimaginable.

Fortunately, after a period of standoff, he seemed to have figured out a trick... if he didn't make any rash moves, these guys underwater would just surround him and wouldn't launch an attack.

However, while this gave him a brief respite, it also left him feeling deeply disappointed.

My skills are still too weak; they were just playing around, and I'm already unable to break through.

Moreover... who knows what formidable opponents we might encounter after navigating this ink-stained landscape?

Rumble!!

But just as Cedric Diggory was feeling somewhat discouraged, a strange roar suddenly came from the pitch-black water.

"What... what is this?"

Cedric Diggory was astonished to find that the lake water around him suddenly began to churn restlessly, and soon swirled into several chaotic eddies!

The turbulent lake waters frantically pulled his body in all directions. In this strange event, all Cedric Diggory could do was maintain the Bubble-Head Charm with all his might, and then he could only let his body be twisted and turned by the water like seaweed.

It must be her... In his struggle, Cedric Diggory thought of someone.

If this anomaly was caused by magic, then among the four Champion, she should be the only one capable of doing so.

As expected, this wasn't a competition between two different levels; the opponent had even taken down Dragon head-on...

Cedric Diggory was right; the one who caused all of this was indeed Hermione, who was trying to break through!

Harry's instructions to the Merpeople were to stop all the Champion, including Hermione, but from Hermione's perspective, she didn't want the Merpeople to take on all the work alone.

Suddenly, she gathered her magic power and unleashed a powerful gust of wind towards the dark waters ahead!

"Whirling Wind Surge!"

With a muffled roar, a violent vortex suddenly spread from the tip of Hermione's wand, instantly engulfing a large area of water in front of her!

The Whirling Wind Surge, essentially Scourgify version of the curse, capable of summoning a whirlwind to tear apart and attack enemies. Hermione unleashed it underwater, directly stirring up an increasingly violent waterspout!

The pitch-black ink contracted in an instant, and countless Grindylow were squeezed together. They cried out and pushed each other anxiously, but the suction force at the center of the vortex made them unable to move at all!

"Full-Speed Knockback!"

Hermione, seizing the opportunity, unleashed another powerful Knockback Jinx at the center of the whirlpool, not only pushing it far away but also causing it to explode in the water ahead!

In an instant, the water burst open, and countless bubbles scattered. Grindylow, who had been caught in the turmoil, curled up in the water, looking like a series of completely silent mines.

With a double curse, Hermione forcefully tore through the encirclement in front of her and, before the other pursuers could react, swam away from the current waters like a fish and arrived in front of the Merpeople who was on guard.

"Uh... Miss Granger, what brings you out here?"

Seeing this, the Merpeople couldn't help but wear a mournful face. Good heavens, this lord's wife is too fierce! Our encirclement is practically nonexistent!

"Hermione? What's going on..." Merkus, the Merpeople leader, also noticed the commotion. When she saw Hermione, she froze on the spot.

This isn't what Harry agreed on, so what should we do now?

"I came here to help you." Regardless of whether the Merpeople could understand her, Hermione explained on her own, "Although Harry said that those troublemakers might be targeting Cedric Diggory, it would be best if there was someone with magic guarding the hostages, otherwise it would be too much trouble for you to run back and forth between the two sides."

Of course, this wasn't Hermione's whole thought.

While she needed to protect Luna Lovegood closely to feel at ease, Hermione also wanted to act as an insurance agent for the Merpeople.

She has just demonstrated that if the wizard really goes all out in his attack, he could very well break through the Merpeople's defenses.

Therefore, Hermione felt she should also join the plan, so that if the Merpeople missed any troublemakers or Cedric Diggory, she could immediately take action to resolve the situation and prevent any changes to the plan.

"Well... alright, the hostages are being held in our village. Just swim in this direction." After considering it for a moment, Merkus also felt that it would be safer to have Hermione's help, so he kindly gave her directions.

"Oh, Miss Granger, there's one more thing." Just as Hermione was about to leave, another Merpeople called out to her, "The Champion from Beauxbatons has withdrawn from the competition, and we've retrieved her lost wand. We'll return it to her after the competition."

"I understand." Hermione nodded and turned to swim towards the Merpeople village.

With Phoebe withdrawing from the competition midway, it means Gabrielle will have no one to rescue her. Once things are over, I can take her out with me.

After a period of turmoil, the underwater world returned to calm, and with Hermione's help, the Merpeople prepared an even more elaborate ambush.

Soon, a small ripple appeared somewhere in the lake.

The ripples continued to expand underwater, until finally, as if someone had randomly inserted a sewer pipe there, spraying out all the filth and grime inside.

The water immediately became murky, and even more algae emitting a foul stench appeared, along with two humanoid creatures with webbed feet and fish gills.

However, they were completely unaware of the pollution they had actually brought to the lake that had been cleaned up, and were still looking at each other with smug satisfaction.

"It really works to breathe underwater? She was right, the Gillyweed really does work!" The blond boy laughed triumphantly, but then he spat out a string of bubbles.

"Albus, let's hurry and find her cousin Cedric Diggory! Although we failed last time, he definitely won't bother us underwater this time!"

He excitedly urged the black-haired boy beside him, and then sprayed out a lot more foam.

"Let's hurry... wait!"

The black-haired boy couldn't hear his friend's words at all, but he knew that time was limited and he couldn't delay. However, just as he was about to leave, he suddenly saw a scene that made him freeze in place!

The Black Lake more than twenty years ago was much clearer than it was back then; you could see very far even underwater.

The two boys had traveled to a place quite close to the Merpeople village, so when the black-haired boy looked into the distance, he almost immediately saw that red figure in the water!

No... there's something wrong with the person who's tied up!

Chapter 697 The Brat's 'Clever' Decision

The person is wrong...

After swimming a little closer to confirm, the black-haired boy Albus finally realized that the 'plot' had deviated even more drastically than before.

According to the information they had gathered, the people who were originally held hostage there, besides their father's first love, were their aunt's younger sister, and the remaining two were their uncle and aunt... that is, Ron and Hermione!

But the ones tied up there now weren't the two of them at all. The blonde one was probably Luna Lovegood Scamander. Albus had seen her as a child in old family photos, and it was said that his sister's middle name came from her...

As for the last one, that red-haired girl, she was clearly his mother, Ginny Potter!!

"Scorpius, the situation is different! We need to split up!!"

At that moment, Albus, his mouth full of murky foam, made what he considered the wisest decision of his life.

History has deviated too far now, especially with that bastard father of mine. He didn't become Champion in the Triwizard Tournament; instead, he rode Hippogriff and became some kind of referee!

Moreover, in the last match, he actually knocked himself down!

Please, I'm your own son! Can't you have a little more restraint?!

Speaking of which, the last experience was definitely something Albus about—well, actually, it was something that left him extremely scared.

He only felt a beam of light strike him, and then he completely lost consciousness.

Later, his friend Scorpius secretly told him... He had been struck unconscious by the spell, and his wand had fallen to the ground. Fortunately, the Time-Turner's time limit expired, allowing them to escape together.

Albus learned of these things more than half a month later.

That's right... After being struck by that curse, he was unconscious in bed for a full two weeks!

During this time, his father tried everything but couldn't wake him up. In the end, he even went directly to the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts to inquire about the painting of the vice-headmaster who shared his name, and only then did he manage to come to a conclusion.

"The one who cast the spell is too powerful; you cannot break it alone. You can only wait until the spell's effects weaken before combining the power of several people to dispel it."

When his friend recounted the story to him in a condescending tone, mimicking the painting, Albus felt as if thunder had struck him.

Can you believe that?

My bastard father, at forty years old, doesn't even have as much magic as he did at fourteen. Has he been joking all these years?!

"He's the Head of the Auror Office? Pshaw!"

But despite the complaints, no matter how useless that guy was, he was still his father...

Besides, even if it weren't for him, Albus would have to think about himself.

If the 'plot' continues to veer off course like this, he might really just disappear suddenly.

At this moment, the countdown on the Time-Turner was, in Albus, nothing less than a countdown to his own demise!

So he decided that he must rescue his mother in advance and then personally take her to the water!

What else could he do? His bastard father wasn't Champion, so who was it that treated his mother like a 'precious treasure'?