In a secluded coral cave in the merpeople's village, a huge, softly glowing bubble kept out the cold lake water, creating a warm, dry private dining room.
At the center of the bubble, a huge white scallop shell was being heated by magic. Inside, a milky broth bubbled, giving off a rich aroma of herbs and sea salt.
This was their hot pot at the bottom of the lake.
Plates of ingredients floated nearby, so fresh they were still trembling slightly:
Crystal-clear "Moonlight Shrimp," as though moonlight had taken solid form; thinly sliced "Rainbow Fish" shimmering with seven colors; and clusters of tender "Sea Lingzhi" that looked as though they had been carved from jade.
Hermione, Cho Chang, and Pheobe's younger sister, Gabrielle Delacour, sat around this marvelous hot pot.
"Oh, look!" Cho Chang pointed nervously at the enormous Water Vapor Screen before them, which showed panoramic coverage of the competition. "Cedric... he's stopped."
On the screen, Cedric was carefully skirting a clump of seemingly harmless dark green kelp, while in another view...
Krum, who had recklessly charged ahead, was already entangled in the kelp, writhing in the water without a shred of dignity and fighting the urge to burst out laughing.
"That isn't ordinary kelp."
As Hermione spoke, she deftly speared a slice of Rainbow Fish with a silver fork, swished it in the boiling broth for a few seconds, then popped it into her mouth, narrowing her eyes in satisfaction.
"It's Weasley elite-exclusive tickling kelp, I'm guessing. Psychological torment rather than physical harm-that's Professor Holmes's usual design philosophy."
Gabrielle curled her lip elegantly and said in heavily French-accented English:
"How barbaric and... unimaginative. My sister would never let herself end up in such an embarrassing predicament."
No sooner had she spoken than Pheobe waved her wand on the