Wizet's act of splitting the Black Lake in two with the "Dissendium" spell had happened so suddenly and so quietly that the other Champions knew nothing about it.
At most, the other Champions could sense that the underwater creatures were behaving strangely. Seizing this rare opportunity, they pressed their advantage, hoping to gather more motes of light.
"Relashio!" Harry thrust out his wand, striking the nearest Grindylow. A speck of light flew into his wristband.
"What's wrong with them? Could they be controlled by some kind of magic..." A possibility suddenly occurred to him. "Could it be Voldemort? Should we stop following them?"
He had crossed paths with Voldemort several times, and it seemed that whenever something strange happened, Voldemort was involved.
Having had so many experiences connected to him, whenever Harry encountered a similar situation again, Voldemort was the first culprit that came to mind.
Hearing Harry say the name "Voldemort," Draco's wrist jerked involuntarily, causing his Extraction Charm to miss the Grindylow.
"Don't say You-Know-Who's name outright!" he said through gritted teeth. "What are you thinking? Why did you suddenly bring up that name?"
Just as Harry opened his mouth to answer Draco, Cedric's voice rang out. "Harry! Draco! Get back, quickly! They've come to their senses! We chased them too far!"
"Come to their senses?"
Harry and Draco both looked ahead and saw the Merpeople in the distance turning around, raising their spears in their direction, and opening their mouths to say something to the Grindylows.
As though they had received an order, the Grindylows turned around as well and charged fiercely at Cedric and the others.
Harry made a snap decision. "Launch one round of attacks first! Draco, cover our retreat!"
Three scorching jets of water shot from the tips of their wands. Harry and Cedric