Fudge sat next to Dumbledore, wearing a pinstripe dark green robe, his usual bowler hat casually placed on the table.
Upon seeing Morris, he gave him a very warm smile.
"Alright, Champion," Ludo walked up to them, clapping his hands enthusiastically, "There are only a few minutes left before the game starts. I've come to confirm that you all know what you need to do, right? Morris, I heard your Golden Egg has cracked open. Do you have any information?"
"Yes," Morris said. "Don't worry. I already know."
Harry, Krum, and Phoebe all nodded in agreement.
"Very good," Ludo, pacing happily in front of them. "You still have time to prepare; you'll be going into the water soon. Oh, it's so cold today, you know? I just did a test lap—and if you ask me, when I was younger, I could definitely have..."
"Enough with the long-winded talk, Ludo," Fudge interrupted him. "Let the Champion prepare themselves for a while."
"Of course." Ludo's smile remained bright.
Immediately afterwards, Fudge turned and whispered something to Dumbledore.
It was most likely not about the match, because Fudge's expression was unusually serious. Dumbledore hand, remained as calm as ever, nodding occasionally and glancing at Morris and Harry from time to time.
Morris glanced around; Harry, Krum, and Phoebe all looked extremely nervous.
He turned to Phoebe, who was closest to him, and asked, "Do you know what treasure we're trying to retrieve?"
"I don't know," Phoebe shook her head. " Mr. Bagman didn't tell anyone."
She still had her long hair down, which wasn't suitable for underwater activities.
Perhaps noticing Morris's gaze, Phoebe smiled and said calmly, "I've enchanted my hair; there's no need to worry about it getting in my way."
Morris looked away, nodded, and didn't ask any more questions.
In his opinion, searching for things at the bottom of the lake was much safer than facing the fire dragon.
Dumbledore would undoubtedly arrange for rescuers—if he wasn't mistaken, they would be the Merpeople living at the bottom of the lake.
When the Ship in a Bottle went down, he discovered a large Merpeople village in the Black Lake.
He even went up to chat with them.
Unfortunately, he didn't understand the Merpeople's language and could only communicate through gestures.
The Merpeople were fairly friendly. Although they were initially reluctant to communicate with him, their attitude improved considerably after he demonstrated his bone spike magic, suggesting they greatly admired his magic.
" Morris," Phoebe suddenly countered, "And you? Have you thought of a plan yet?"
"Probably," Morris replied.
He also made some preparations for the competition.
Phoebe stared at him for a few seconds, then a smile curved her lips, "Do you think you've already won?"
Morris was silent for a moment, then said, "Yes, that's what my subconscious thinks, and I can't deny it."
That's what he thinks; denying it would only make him seem hypocritical.
Phoebe said defiantly, "Just you wait and see."
After such a long period of contact, she had a general understanding of Morris Black's personality.
The other person is an extremely confident, even somewhat arrogant, man at heart.
This had completely ignited her competitive spirit.
Harry looked at Morris and Phoebe with a puzzled expression.
He was somewhat unsure whether the relationship between the two was good or bad.
Just then, Morris noticed that each referee had a crystal ball that looked somewhat familiar.
Isn't this the Surveillance Crystal Ball that Fred and George invented?
So that's what those two meant by "big project."
He looked around and noticed several balloon-like objects floating in the sky.
If he wasn't mistaken, those balloons also had the function of Surveillance Crystal Ball.
It's probably used for live streaming of matches.
"It's almost time!"
Ludo's voice came through, and Morris put aside unnecessary thoughts and focused on the game.
Soon, Ludo led the Champion to the Black Lake, where they stood in a row.
" Sonorus."
"Cough cough."
"Can you hear me? Oh, sure, everyone, please turn your attention to me, okay?"
Ludo's voice is full of tension, as if he were performing a play.
"Today, our four Champion will dive into the depths of Black Lake to find their most treasured artifact! They have only one hour! If they don't return within an hour, the consequences will be unimaginable."
"Ladies and gentlemen, once the Champion reach their destination, you will be able to see how they carry away the treasure from those devices floating in the sky. Special thanks to George Weasley and Fred Weasley for their technical support."
As soon as he finished speaking, cheers erupted from the stands.
Morris became even more curious about what the treasure was.
Unthinkable?
What kind of unimaginable scenario would that occur?
"Now," Ludo turned to them and announced, "I will count to three, and the match will officially begin. One, two, three."
"Start!"
Morris, wearing his robe, stepped directly into the water.
The water near the shore is shallow; he needs to walk a distance towards the center of the lake before he can swim.
The sounds of others entering the water could be heard nearby; everyone was doing the same, wading through the lake.
Soon, the water had submerged Morris's head.
He calmly cast a Bubble-Head Charm on himself, then tugged at his robe.
The gray-black robe began to shrink and Transfiguration, eventually transforming into a simple underwater propulsion device, which was then fixed to its back.
Magic-powered, lightweight and efficient.
This is how he prepared for the competition.
If you were to swim across, it would take at least half an hour, at which point you would naturally need to use tools.
With the thrusters activated, a continuous surge of power came from behind, and Morris adjusted his direction, rapidly advancing towards the center of the lake.
The scene at the bottom of the Black Lake remained the same, with aquatic plants growing everywhere. Occasionally, a few fish would swim by, startled by the noise he made and scattering away.
The only difference is that there seem to be an unusually large number of Grindylow at the bottom of Black Lake today.
These water monsters with sharp teeth and claws may not be considered particularly ferocious, but they move exceptionally fast in the water and have a strong desire to attack.
Unfortunately, Morris was faster than them.
About five minutes later, Morris heard the Merpeople's beautiful singing voice coming from ahead.
The direction is correct.
The singing became clearer and clearer.
Finally, Morris entered the Merpeople village, and the visibility suddenly became excellent.
In Morris's eyes, Merpeople looked pretty much the same, with gray skin, green hair, and often carrying spears.
He saw many Merpeople swimming out of the stone house, looking at him curiously.
Morris approached one of the longer-haired birds and greeted it, "Hello."
The Merpeople flicked its tail and immediately darted into its house.
They still don't seem very willing to communicate.