Recaps

With the second round approaching, Champions from rival schools sought help deciphering their Golden Eggs, while Hogwarts prepared and boarded a ship for the competition. The ship carried them across the Atlantic, where Dumbledore announced their arrival but left the challenge itself unrevealed.

• Malfoy explained that Snape's Water-Walking Potions improved on Gillyweed, and Hermione defended Snape's skill as a potioneer.
• Uagadou Headmaster Ojuweli used a ritual to learn that hatching the Golden Egg would open it, while Madame Maxime contacted Nicolas Flamel for help with Beauxbatons's egg.
• Headmaster Da Silva used a Fountain of Life potion and a magical plant to question Castelobruxo's Golden Egg, and Champions at other schools also sought help.
• As the second round neared, Hermione grew anxious over preparations, and Zhang Xiao encouraged the Hogwarts Champions to trust their training.
• Professor McGonagall gathered the Champions and led them aboard a large ship, where Dumbledore and other headmasters waited with Ministry officials and uniformed House-elves.
• The ship jolted violently before stopping, and Dumbledore announced that the Champions had arrived in the Atlantic Ocean.

Dumbledore transformed the ship into a platform and explained that the second round would send six-person teams to explore magical ruins beneath the Atlantic Ocean. After Zhang Xiao and the Hogwarts team prepared their diving equipment, the competition officially began.

• Dumbledore revealed the underwater ruins, explained the task and rules, and warned the champions that creatures lived inside.
• Ludo Bagman introduced the second round to a huge audience of wizards eager to watch the competition.
• Zhang Xiao prepared Muggle diving equipment, while the Hogwarts team warmed up, checked their supplies, and packed Water-Walking Potions.
• Malfoy led the Hogwarts team out in wetsuits and diving masks, drawing attention from the crowd.
• Dumbledore fired a signal into the sky, and Ludo Bagman announced that the second round had begun.

Zhang Xiao summoned an Animated Corporeal Patronus and rode it into the Atlantic depths, stunning the audience and unsettling the other headmasters. He reached a ruined underwater city and found an enormous barrier blocking his way in.

• Zhang Xiao cast a Patronus that became an enormous Dragon Carp, then rode it toward the deep sea.
• Ludo Bagman announced that Zhang Xiao had produced an Animated Corporeal Patronus, astonishing the spectators and headmasters.
• Dumbledore told Da Silva and the other headmasters that Zhang Xiao’s Eastern cultivation method amplified his spellcasting, easing their concern about his power.
• Zhang Xiao used the Water-Walking Immortal technique to breathe underwater and withstand the pressure as he descended.
• Zhang Xiao spotted an ancient underwater city with signs of magical protection and widespread destruction.
• Zhang Xiao reached the ruins at a depth of 332 meters but found an enormous translucent barrier blocking entry.

Zhang Xiao reached the underwater ruins but found a barrier blocking the way, while the other schools devised ways to handle the Bubble-Head Charm failing at depth. The champions continued toward the ruins, and the next challenge was the cold.

• Zhang Xiao tested the barrier around the ruins, then swam toward a spot that looked like a city gate.
• Ludo Bagman explained that the Bubble-Head Charm became unstable below two hundred meters and showed the audience how dark the seabed really was.
• Martins and the Castelobruxo team swallowed Kazan Seeds and drank green liquid, growing plant coverings that let them continue without Bubble-Head Charms.
• Uagadou and Durmstrang used partial Human Transfiguration, while Ilvermorny protected its Bubble-Head Charms inside helmets and Beauxbatons used breathing masks supplied by Nicolas Flamel.
• Yachigusa Tsuki summoned black Umibozu masks to supply oxygen, then wore a Merpeople Haori and led Mahoutokoro onward.
• The champions' different solutions drew the audience's attention as the cold became the next challenge.

Malfoy and the Hogwarts Champions created a warm, dry, mobile sphere using an enlarged bubble and the Bubble-Head Charm, then sped toward the Ruins. Separately, Zhang Xiao reached the city’s main gate, found its protective barrier still active, and spotted a possible clue at a statue’s base.

• Malfoy signaled the Hogwarts Champions to stop, and Hermione enlarged a hollow sphere while Cedric and the others cast the Bubble-Head Charm over it.
• The Champions entered the dry sphere, furnished it with beds and other supplies, and explained its protective charm to the spectators through a cue card.
• Malfoy steered the sphere toward the Ruins as Ron, Cedric, and Neville propelled it with water jets from pipes, while Hermione prepared coffee inside.
• Dumbledore praised the Champions’ ingenuity as other headmasters suspected he had secretly helped them devise their approach.
• Zhang Xiao rode the Dragon Carp to the Ruins’ main gate, found its protective barrier still glowing, and searched the area for a way in.
• Zhang Xiao spotted something at the foot of one of the statues and wondered whether it was the clue he needed.

Zhang Xiao discovered the hidden instructions for entering the City of the Sea and lit the statues’ braziers with the Mending Charm. Rather than kneel and offer a fish, he chose to challenge the guards with a sword as the gates stirred.

• Zhang Xiao used the fracture on a stone tablet to identify it as recently disturbed, then cleaned and repaired it to reveal the entrance instructions.
• Zhang Xiao found pictures showing two ways into the city: kneel and offer a fish, or draw a weapon after lighting the braziers; Dumbledore explained that only the obedient and the brave could enter.
• Zhang Xiao caught a large fish with his Dragon Carp and tried to light a statue’s brazier with Incendio, but the fire went out.
• Zhang Xiao used the Mending Charm on both braziers, causing pale blue flames to burn and the statues to turn toward him.
• Zhang Xiao raised the fish, slammed it onto the seabed, and drew a longsword instead of kneeling, choosing to challenge the guards.

Zhang Xiao triggered the underwater challenge by stabbing the sacrificial fish, awakening two gigantic metal statues that attacked him. After discovering his spells could barely damage them, he summoned a giant water form with Heaven and Earth Manifestation, leaving the fight poised to begin.

• Zhang Xiao stabbed the fish with his longsword, activating the brazier and awakening two enormous statue guardians.
• The statues revealed metal tridents and struck the seabed with enough force to blast waves and rocks outward.
• Zhang Xiao dodged their attacks on the Dragon Carp and bombarded one statue with spells, but its metal body resisted his magic and its scorching current forced him back.
• Zhang Xiao dismounted the Dragon Carp and gathered golden light around himself as the spectators watched in alarm.
• Zhang Xiao formed a towering water giant with Heaven and Earth Manifestation.

Zhang Xiao used Transfiguration to become a Water Giant and fought the two stone guardians beneath the sea, impressing spectators with his martial skill and a sword-like spell. After knocking the guardians down with a crescent of energy, he sensed that something had blocked the strike, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Zhang Xiao formed a thirty-meter Water Man and faced the two stone statues as they raised their tridents to attack.
• Zhang Xiao used the Water Man to seize the statues’ tridents and unbalance them, sending both giants crashing onto the seabed.
• Ludo Bagman and the spectators cheered as Zhang Xiao transformed the surrounding water into a lightning-filled sword.
• Zhang Xiao swung the sword and sent a crescent-shaped wave that struck both statues, while Snape recognized the spell as Sectumsempra.
• Zhang Xiao’s senior martial uncles and the Old Celestial Master reacted to the display of sword qi, and the Old Celestial Master reminded them the battle was not over.
• Zhang Xiao ended his enhanced state and realized something had blocked Sectumsempra, so he prepared for the fight to continue.

Zhang Xiao discovered that the colossi’s crystal cores were vulnerable to physical force and used the River-Turning Palm to destroy them. The two giants fell, leaving the spectators stunned.

• Nicolas Flamel recognized the colossi’s intricate mechanisms as a lost alchemical technique and flew the Alchemy Orb closer to inspect them.
• Zhang Xiao realized the colossi’s pale gold crystal layers could be broken by physical attacks after spells failed against them.
• Zhang Xiao discarded his water sword and prepared to use the River-Turning Palm as the colossi charged.
• Zhang Xiao unleashed the River-Turning Palm, sending water dragons into the fissures in the colossi’s chests and causing a massive underwater blast.
• The colossi’s cores went dark, and both giants fell to their knees as the venue fell silent.

After defeating the sea-city’s colossi, Zhang Xiao entered the ruins and discovered the remains of a family who had died hiding from the disaster that destroyed the city. He continued deeper into the ruins, while the other Champions searched for a way through the gates.

• Ludo Bagman announced Zhang Xiao as the first Champion to defeat the colossi, and spectators across the tournament erupted in applause.
• Zhang Xiao recovered from the backlash of his River-Turning Palm, and a rune from the colossi appeared on his hand.
• Hermione organized the other young wizards to search the gates while they avoided the colossi and investigated the ruins.
• The rune on Zhang Xiao’s hand opened the barrier, allowing him to pass through the gates into the City of the Sea.
• Zhang Xiao explored an intact house and found four skeletons—a pair of adults holding two children—huddled in its storeroom.
• Zhang Xiao left the house and continued deeper into the ruined city.

Zhang Xiao was surrounded by Armored Skeletons in the City of the Sea, but his Thunderstruck Wood Wand destroyed them with lightning. Meanwhile, the other schools’ Champions surfaced to recover from the cold, while Hogwarts returned to its underwater room; Astoria Greengrass discovered a door appearing in the Seventh Floor corridor.

• Zhang Xiao was ambushed by Armored Skeletons and their arrows while searching the City of the Sea for the Palace.
• Zhang Xiao’s Thunderstruck Wood Wand unleashed lightning that reduced the surrounding skeletons to ash, and Dumbledore explained the wand’s power to Da Silva.
• Martins refused to let his Castelobruxo teammates surface while they searched for a way to open their gateway.
• Pheobe ordered the Beauxbatons Champions to surface after her teammates showed signs of hypothermia, and Champions from other schools did the same.
• Ludo Bagman announced that the Hogwarts Champions could rest in their underwater Spherical Room, avoiding repeated trips to the surface.
• Astoria Greengrass watched a door appear in the Blank Wall on the Seventh Floor.

Astoria entered the Room of Requirement, where Daphne Greengrass disguised as her had searched for a wicker trunk entrusted to her by Voldemort and found it missing. Underwater, Zhang Xiao collected magical equipment from the ruins, set up a sheltered room, and grilled fish, while the spectators watched and grew hungry.

• Astoria entered the Room of Requirement as hidden House-elves watched her, and Glove Lady continued studying Chinese so she could play Zhang Xiao’s games.
• Daphne Greengrass shed her disguise and searched the warehouse for the objects Voldemort had named, but she could not find the wicker trunk.
• Zhang Xiao tested a rune-marked tube and its bolts, collected the equipment and other relics, and stopped only after the orb warned him not to take anything else.
• Zhang Xiao expanded his Traveling Hut underwater and used Water-Repelling Talismans to keep the surrounding seawater away.
• Zhang Xiao bathed, built a campfire, and grilled a fish with Chinese seasonings, leaving the spectators hungry as they watched.

While Zhang Xiao rested, Hogwarts and the other schools discovered how to enter the underwater ruins, with the other teams receiving secret help from their headmasters. Refreshed after his nap, Zhang Xiao set off to explore the ruins before dinner.

• Zhang Xiao cleaned up after eating, lit the fireplace, and took an afternoon nap while the spectators watched.
• Martins found a hidden message under the stone where he had been sitting, and Dacival’s instructions revealed how to enter the ruins; Champions from other schools also received secret assistance.
• Harry, Ron, Cedric, Neville, Hermione, and Malfoy reasoned that the clue might be on a distinctive stone, and Neville suggested a stone stele.
• The Hogwarts Champions found the stele, offered fish to the statues, received marks on their foreheads, and entered the ruins as the statues opened the gate.
• Champions from the other schools also found their steles and entered the ruins, prompting the committee to declare the competition fair and impartial.
• After waking from his nap, Zhang Xiao checked the time, activated Water Immortal, and swam toward the ruins to clear them before dinner.

Zhang Xiao and the other champions fought through the dangerous City of the Sea ruins, where traps and monsters slowed their progress. Zhang Xiao reached a vast square before finding himself inexplicably back at his starting point, revealing that the next stretch was a maze.

• Zhang Xiao struggled through repeated waves of monsters and reached a large square, where he spotted a grand cluster of buildings beyond it.
• Harry, Ron, Malfoy, Neville, Hermione, and Cedric entered the ruins, defended themselves against a barrage of arrows, and prepared to fight armored skeleton soldiers.
• Other schools’ champions were caught off guard by the ruins’ attacks; one Ilvermorny champion was eliminated when his protective shield activated, while the others retreated outside the gates.
• Yachigusa Tsuki used talismans to defeat skeleton soldiers and urged her Mahoutokoro teammates to keep moving and aim for the top three.
• After entering another stretch of ruins, Zhang Xiao found himself back at his starting point and realized he had encountered a maze.

Zhang Xiao navigated Dumbledore’s underwater maze, escaped a powerful suction trap, and used Void Talisman Formation to clear the water from the passage. As he continued into the maze, the Hogwarts team found the hidden route and fell into the trap.

• Zhang Xiao ruled out a ghost wall, marked the maze’s junctions with waymarker talismans, and discovered a passage concealed by forced perspective.
• Zhang Xiao was nearly dragged into a sudden floor trap but escaped by thrusting his Bright Silver Spear into the walls and holding on.
• Zhang Xiao realized the trap’s force came from seawater rushing into the opening, then used Water-Repelling Talismans to drain the passage and continued onward.
• The Old Celestial Master and Sect Leader Zhou watched Zhang Xiao’s talisman technique, while Dumbledore admired his ingenuity and considered retiring in a few years.
• Harry, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, and the other Hogwarts Champions reached the maze, searched its routes, and eventually found the concealed passage.
• The Hogwarts team entered the hidden passage and fell through the floor into the trap.

After the champions were separated by a sudden collapse, Ron, Neville, Hermione, Harry, Malfoy, and Cedric navigated the underground maze and searched for one another. Zhang Xiao reached the sunken palace, where its royal guards knelt before him after recognizing his rune.

• Ron woke injured in a stone chamber, found his wand, and discovered his communicator was broken before limping toward a door.
• Neville defeated Stone Men, tried unsuccessfully to contact his friends, and marked his route through the maze.
• Hermione burned an Inferius, mapped her route, and continued onward, while Harry sent his stag Patronus to find his friends.
• Malfoy left Galleons as markers and continued searching, while Cedric followed Harry's Patronus and reunited with him.
• The audience praised the Hogwarts champions as Zhang Xiao reached the palace complex and entered its main hall.
• Zhang Xiao's rune detached and shone, prompting the royal guards to draw their weapons and kneel before him.

Zhang Xiao completed the underwater task first, returned to the surface, and brushed off reporters before resting in the competitors’ room. As he watched the other teams, a house-elf brought startling news: Astoria Greengrass had been found sneaking into the Room of Requirement during the competition.

• Zhang Xiao sat on the Golden Throne, was launched through the palace skylight, and was announced as the first champion to finish the task.
• Zhang Xiao rejected reporters’ accusations, praised Hogwarts to the Daily Prophet, and went to rest after Madam Pomfrey examined him.
• Ron searched the dark passage alone and found a Galleon marked with an arrow and D.M.’s signature.
• Harry and Cedric reunited and sent their Patronuses to find their companions, impressing spectators with Hogwarts’ corporeal Patronuses.
• Dumbledore’s maze separated Harry, Malfoy, and Ron from Neville, Cedric, and Hermione, preventing the groups from reuniting.
• A house-elf told Zhang Xiao that Astoria Greengrass had been found entering the Room of Requirement during the competition.

Zhang Xiao learned that Astoria Greengrass had entered the Room of Requirement, prompting him to warn Dumbledore that Voldemort was involving students in his plans. During the tournament, Harry, Ron, and Malfoy were tricked into believing their friends were trapped and injured, and Ron chose to stay behind when the exit demanded a sacrifice.

• Cereal reported that Astoria Greengrass had spent two hours in the Room of Requirement and left looking frightened and disappointed.
• Zhang Xiao sent Dumbledore a note about Astoria, and Dumbledore realized Voldemort had broken his understanding that students must be kept out of the conflict.
• Harry, Ron, and Malfoy saw what appeared to be Hermione, Cedric, and Neville wounded behind a barrier and concluded they had to rescue them without help.
• The three reached an exit room whose mural said one person had to die for the others to live, and Harry volunteered to stay behind.
• Ron argued that Harry had a mission and that his own family would cope without him, then revealed his injured leg and insisted on staying.
• Malfoy rejected his fear and joined Ron and Harry in refusing to back down, while Ron declared that there were no cowards in the Weasley family.

Ron sacrificed himself in the Third Task, lighting the lighthouse and completing the competition. Dumbledore brought Zhang Xiao back to Hogwarts, where they discovered that Astoria was Daphne Greengrass in disguise; Dumbledore began questioning her through hypnosis, and Daphne revealed her belief that Voldemort would rule the world.

• Ron petrified Harry, sent him away with Malfoy, and cut his arm on the altar, causing the lighthouse to light and the stone door to open.
• Dumbledore told Zhang Xiao that Ron’s sacrifice had ended the competition, then took him back to Hogwarts by Apparition.
• Dumbledore put the Great Hall to sleep, told McGonagall what had happened, and brought the sleeping Astoria with him and Zhang Xiao.
• In Dumbledore’s office, Astoria transformed into Daphne Greengrass, whom Dumbledore identified as a suitable person to impersonate her sister.
• Dumbledore used a spell resembling hypnosis to question Daphne, who declared that the Dark Lord was about to rule the world and that a glorious pure-blood age was coming.

Dumbledore and Zhang Xiao questioned Daphne and learned that she joined Voldemort’s cause to save her sister from the Greengrass family blood curse, while harboring extreme ambitions and hatred for Zhang’s family. Daphne revealed that Umbridge and Barty Crouch Jr. were directing a secret plan, then disclosed Voldemort had sent her to Hogwarts to retrieve a wicker trunk; the chapter ended with Dumbledore and Zhang relieved that it was not the Diadem.

• Daphne explained that she supported Voldemort because she believed he could cure her sister Astoria’s inherited blood curse and restore the Greengrass family’s standing.
• Daphne described Voldemort promising her family power and a country to rule, then threatened to enslave Zhang Xiao’s family, provoking Zhang’s murderous anger.
• Dumbledore questioned Daphne about the Azkaban breakout, and she confirmed her family had helped plan it while revealing that Barty Crouch Jr. had survived by switching places with his dying mother.
• Daphne said Umbridge and Barty Crouch Jr. were in charge of Voldemort’s secret plan, though she knew neither its details nor how it would work.
• Daphne revealed that Voldemort had sent her to Hogwarts to find a wicker trunk he had left there, and Dumbledore and Zhang Xiao realized the object was not the Diadem.

After Daphne revealed little about Voldemort’s plans, Dumbledore and Zhang Xiao worried over the wicker trunk and the possibility that Voldemort had begun forgetting what his Horcruxes had stored. Zhang Xiao rested in the Room of Requirement as Glove Lady gave him her power, while the rescued students learned Ron’s emotional speech had been broadcast around the world.

• Dumbledore questioned Daphne, then sent her away unconscious and discussed Voldemort’s interest in the wicker trunk with Zhang Xiao.
• Dumbledore suspected Voldemort either concealed something in the trunk or had forgotten its contents because of the effects of Horcruxes.
• Zhang Xiao went to the Room of Requirement and fell asleep after taking a modified Draught of Living Death.
• Glove Lady shaped her essence into a sphere and sent it into Zhang Xiao, strengthening his Golden Light Spell before entrusting the future to him.
• Madam Pomfrey brought Harry, Malfoy, Ron, Hermione, Cedric, and Neville to the lounge after Hogwarts completed its objective and lit the Lighthouse.
• Fred and George explained that Ron’s emotional speech had been broadcast worldwide, leaving him mortified.

After the second Super Goblet of Fire task, Zhang Xiao faced rumors about his power and hid Astoria’s condition from Malfoy and Harry. The task’s impact spread through the Wizarding World, while Dumbledore arrived at the Ministry of Magic.

• Zhang Xiao told Glove Lady he suspected Voldemort had tried to return to Hogwarts to search for a source of power, but she only remarked on his imagination.
• Hogwarts students praised Zhang Xiao’s performance, while some repeated rumors that he had used forbidden magic; Malfoy defended him and frightened the students questioning him.
• Zhang Xiao and Malfoy discussed Ron’s public embarrassment, and Malfoy called him a brave idiot despite still thinking he was foolish.
• The second task inspired new magical travel houses and curiosity about Muggle inventions, while Ron’s public declaration brought him unwanted attention and left Mrs. Weasley distraught.
• Malfoy asked about Astoria, and Zhang Xiao lied that she had gone home to recover; Harry then arrived and asked Zhang Xiao if he had seen her.
• Dumbledore exited a telephone booth at the Ministry of Magic and headed toward an office.

Dumbledore learned that Barty Crouch had hidden his son’s escape and agreed to advocate for him at a future trial. After the second task, Ron enjoyed his new fame, but Harry’s scar began hurting and he asked Zhang Xiao to go to the Room of Requirement.

• Dumbledore confronted Barty Crouch, who confessed that he had kept Barty Crouch Jr. under the Imperius Curse before Death Eaters helped him escape.
• Barty Crouch explained that he had moved into the Ministry for safety and was searching for his son, then pleaded for time to fight the Death Eaters before facing trial.
• Dumbledore agreed to advocate for Barty Crouch at his trial, and Barty broke down in tears after Dumbledore left.
• Ron recovered from his embarrassment and became admired for his performance in the second task, while Zhang Xiao helped Professor McGonagall reassure Harry that Astoria had gone home to rest.
• Harry told Zhang Xiao that his scar hurt and that he had suffered nightmares, so Zhang Xiao hurried to take him to the Room of Requirement.

Harry’s scar let him glimpse Voldemort discussing a secret plan with Nagini, revealing the final Horcrux and suggesting Voldemort was using Muggle-made objects. Dumbledore began investigating Voldemort’s Muggle connections, while Zhang Xiao’s day continued with Hagrid’s niffler lesson until Professor Sprout urgently called for him.

• Harry told Zhang Xiao that he had seen Voldemort in a Muggle house with Death Eaters and Nagini, and that Voldemort believed his plan was going well.
• Harry explained that he had seen events from Voldemort’s perspective and understood his Parseltongue conversation with Nagini, including Voldemort’s remark that Muggle inventions were useful.
• Zhang Xiao informed Dumbledore that Nagini was likely Voldemort’s final Horcrux, and Dumbledore said he would investigate the Muggle world.
• Hagrid taught the students about trained nifflers, and Ron won the contest to find buried coins.
• A Hufflepuff student told Zhang Xiao that Professor Sprout needed him because the ginseng she had planted had disappeared.

Zhang Xiao investigated Professor Sprout’s missing ginseng and discovered that the plants had become talking ginseng dolls. They revealed that a bright beam and a woman’s voice had awakened them on the day Zhang Xiao returned to Hogwarts, leaving him to wonder what had caused their transformation.

• Professor Sprout told Zhang Xiao that two naked children had vanished into the ground and that her ginseng plants were missing.
• Zhang Xiao contacted Zhang Chengdao, who explained that ginseng dolls were nearly impossible to retrieve once they reached the earth and that red cords could restrain them.
• Zhang Xiao spotted the ginseng dolls, stopped them with the Levitation Charm, and spoke with them through his Dharma Eye.
• The ginseng dolls explained that they had fled because the mandrakes nearby were noisy, and Professor Sprout became excited about their singing and talking in their sleep.
• Zhang Xiao returned the dolls to their pots, and they said a bright beam and a woman’s foreign-language voice had awakened them about a month earlier.