When the Starlight Shone Brightest

The Merpeople Mermaid, with her little ponies, set off in a grand procession to seek true love and excitement.

William looked down and found himself bound to the rough Mermaid Statue by seaweed.

Now that you're awake, there's no need to stay tied up here.

His wand is on the Safety Watch and cannot be used, but he can Wandless Magic.

With a slight movement of his right hand, the rope automatically slipped off and transformed into a water snake.

Seeing that the ropes binding William had been untied, many Merpeople gathered around.

The leader of the Merpeople held a spear, had a dot on his forehead, possessed shark-like teeth and gill slits, had long wavy hair, and had a righteous appearance.

William had assumed Merpeople were short, but this guy was a full two meters tall.

Indeed, the physical constitutions of different fish are not the same.

The princesses, on the other hand, were all ugly and strangely shaped.

"You mustn't run around; you have to wait until the Champion rescue you."

The Merpeople, holding a spear, impaled the water snake and spoke in broken English.

William barely managed to understand him. This kind of communication was too tiring, so he switched to Mermish and said:

"I won't leave; I'm waiting for my Champion to awaken me with a kiss."

The Champion gave the princess a kiss to wake her. Hermione is now the Champion, so she should do the opposite and give William a kiss.

Unfortunately, the Merpeople Mermaid ruined this beautiful scene.

I hope Cedric will help me get revenge; I want to kill the Merpeople princess tonight.

"You can speak Mermish?" The Merpeople's eyes widened.

All I know is that Dumbledore speaks our language!

The Merpeople mermaids huddled together, exclaiming "Wow!" and "Ah!" as they stared at the young wizard with great curiosity, finding it incredible.

"I learned it from Professor Dumbledore," William explained with a smile.

The principal is truly a genius; there's no field he doesn't understand except for having children.

"Come on, let's eat and chat," William tried to strike up a conversation.

He took out his wand, waved it gently, and conjured a stone table and several stone benches.

He then took out several bottles of rum and a large quantity of algae.

Merpeople don't like whiskey; they prefer Muggle rum.

Algae are also a favorite snack for them, especially Algae, which has a fatal attraction for them.

The Merpeople couldn't resist the temptation and gathered around.

The Merpeople singing in unison were originally calling for Champion, seeking guidance.

Now he doesn't sing anymore, he just comes here to freeload.

The Merpeople didn't sing, William suddenly realized that without a map, the Champion would probably get lost.

Okay, Hermione and the others all have maps. As for the rest of them, getting lost is fine; everyone gets lost before.

After a short while, William, thanks to the delicious food, became friends with these Merpeople.

The Merpeople is named Shaxing, and he is the leader of the Iron-Blooded Eighteenth Army in the Merpeople village.

He had never been in contact with wizards before, and now he was like a curious child, asking all sorts of questions.

"What's this?" He held up a bright green food.

"This is a specialty from a foreign land called 'Polly seaweed'," William said, making things up.

"Hold it in your mouth, don't swallow, and touch it repeatedly with your tongue... You will taste the flavor of the sea."

Shaxing looked on with a bewildered yet impressive expression.

This is actually food made by Hagrid, which involves roasting seaweed and then adding oil, salt, and other seasonings.

It tastes really good, at least better than the Rock Cakes he makes.

"By the way, could you please put my classmate down first?" William asked, holding up his cup.

There were twenty-three Champion, and naturally, just as many hostages underwater. Moreover, most of them were Hogwarts students.

There's no way around it; more than half of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang's students are Champion.

Even if each Champion gets one student from their own school, it's still not enough to go around.

So, if there aren't enough people, dance partners will fill in.

Ron and Harry have a special relationship, so Harry is definitely his darling.

Fred is George's darling, there's no doubt about that.

Both Qiu and Cedric are Champion, so the baby can only choose his friend.

Cho is trying to save Marietta, and Cedric is his Quidditch teammate, Warrington.

During the first time loop, William infiltrated the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team.

It was always Cedric who seduced his teammate, and that teammate was Warrington.

He pretended to confess his feelings, then tricked Warrington going to the men's restroom, where he knocked him unconscious.

Therefore, their relationship was actually quite unusual.

Upon hearing William's offer to release the hostage, Shaxing hesitated.

William didn't make things difficult for him, pointing at Gabrielle and saying:

"Just release her."

Gabrielle's face turned pale, and she looked as if she were sick.

"Releasing just one person is fine," Shaxing grinned.

The Merpeople, wielding spears, lowered Gabrielle down.

William held the little girl in his arms, raised his wand, and said to her, "Rennervate."

Gabrielle woke up groggily, clutching her aching head.

She had a problem with sleeping in certain beds, and being tied to the statue made it very uncomfortable for her to sleep.

William examined her and didn't find anything seriously wrong.

"What's going on? Where am I, William? Is the match over?"

When Xiao Ya saw William, she immediately calmed down. But when she didn't see her sister, she became worried again.

"No, the game has only been going on for five minutes."

William gestured for Gabrielle to sit on the stool next to him.

But the little girl didn't move, still nestled in his arms. Then, she stared longingly at the rum in his hand.

Seeing Gabrielle's longing look, William raised his glass to her lips. The young girl, fearless as a newborn calf, took a small sip and smacked her lips together.

William found it amusing and simply gave her the whole glass of wine, only instructing her to drink it slowly.

Then he left her to her own devices, letting her entertain herself with a glass of wine and chat with Shaxing.

William deliberately steered the conversation, and soon the topic turned to Merpeople sacrifices.

During Christmas of their second year, William and Hermione went to Nicolas's house. As they dived into the Black Lake, they happened to witness a Merpeople ritual.

Then, a mysterious witch appeared.

"We don't have a fixed time; we only perform the ritual when the starlight is at its brightest," Shaxing said, holding a bottle of rum.

"When is the starlight at its peak?" William asked, squinting. "When is the starlight at its peak?"

"This... only the clan leader knows." Shaxing shook his head.

"Do you know who the woman who appears during the sacrificial ceremony is?"

"Of course it's the Siren." Shaxing said with a pious expression.

William asked and asked, but he couldn't get any more information out of him.

But that woman was definitely not Siren. She wasn't Merpeople, but a witch.

Soon, a gondola sped towards us from afar.

Hermione executed a graceful drift, then came to an abrupt stop a short distance away. She opened the hatch and jumped out.

William stood up with Gabrielle, glanced at the time, and asked, "Why are you so slow?"

Fifteen minutes have already passed; at the speed of a gondola, it should arrive in less than ten minutes.

"The Merpeople have blocked off all the waterways and are conducting an inspection," Hermione said, somewhat puzzled. "They seem to be searching for something."

"They're searching for Cedric," William said. "They probably realized you're a witch, so they let you go."

Hermione nodded, grinning, "Alright, I've saved you. We should go now."

"And what about me, William?" Gabrielle asked hastily.

"You wait here for your sister. Hermione is taking you away. Who is your sister going to rescue?" William explained.

"But..."

"It's alright, don't be afraid." William patted her head. "Or should I hypnotize you again and keep you tied to the statue?"

Gabrielle quickly shook her head; she'd rather collect seashells at the bottom of the lake.

She just saw several beautiful seashells.

William gave Shaxing a few instructions, told him to watch over Gabrielle, and then boarded the gondola with Hermione.

The stands were bustling with noise, shouting and yelling. The audience seemed excited, but they were actually quite bored.

They couldn't see anything, only felt the cold wind blowing.

Therefore, this match was nowhere near as interesting as the previous one.

Just then, ripples appeared in the middle of the lake.

Hermione emerged from the water, William still in her arms, and flew with him.

The crowd seemed to be paused, remaining silent for two seconds before erupting into chaos.

The time limit was one hour, and only twenty-five minutes have passed, yet some Champion have already completed the mission.

"Merlin, that's fast!" Li roared. "I thought it would be impressive if we could finish on time."

I didn't expect Granger to be so fast... no wonder he was number one in the last round!

The students clapped enthusiastically, and someone from Gryffindor House shouted, "Granger!"

Soon, cheers erupted across the field. Everyone was shouting wildly, "Granger!"

It's like a cult.

"You two come here." Madam Pomfrey walked over quickly.

She grabbed Hermione and William and wrapped them tightly in a blanket.

Madam Pomfrey then forced the burning potion into their mouths, and hot breath immediately came out of their ears.

She couldn't help but complain, "The Triwizard Tournament has to end! What if these children drown?"

So dangerous!

"..."

"We'd like to go down and rest for a while, madam," William said. "We were exhausted from what we did at Black Lake."

"Go ahead, there are tents over there, you can go." Madam Pomfrey nodded.

William pulled Hermione toward the tent, whispering, "We still have to go to Black Lake."

"Go save Cedric?" Hermione asked, looking up.

"Yes, he might be stuck and needs some help." William pulled her into the tent.

After he cast the Disillusionment Charm, the two figures quickly disappeared and walked towards the reeds in the distance.

(Please vote with your recommendation tickets and monthly passes, everyone!)