Chapter 228

If one realizes that Barty Jr. is not Barty Jr., everything suddenly becomes clear. Old Barty must have reached an agreement with the Soviets; otherwise, it would not have been so easy to swap out Barty Jr. Perhaps his initial collaboration with the Soviets was merely to rescue his son, but what the Soviets returned to him was no longer the original son.

If the original Barty Jr. was a fanatical and foolish Death Eater, then the current Barty Jr., regardless of his true intentions, is at least on Harry's side. Nine times out of ten, he is an Animagus disguised as Barty Jr., infiltrating Old Barty's side and using Old Barty's political influence to successfully enter the Doctor Project.

If this entire plan centered on Barty Jr. is orchestrated by the Soviets, Harry naturally couldn't help but wonder: is the Ministry's entire project truly the Ministry's plan—or is it the Kremlin's?

Regardless, Harry still endorsed the plan. He saw no flaw in it; perhaps the Soviets were also preparing to confront Voldemort.

Once he considered this, the leaks from his own side and Renata's tactics no longer seemed mysterious. As a Soviet agent, Renata naturally knew Barty Jr.'s secret identity within the Ministry; and as a Soviet operative disguised as Barty, he naturally knew Renata could access his files.

Thus, the fake Barty deliberately leaked information to himself, then instructed Renata to negotiate with him—this not only aligned with the Ministry's plan and aided Harry, but also conveniently helped his own people by sidelining the Beauxbatons contestants.

Moreover, had it not been for Sirius's repeated reminders, had Harry not asked Tonks to explain the nature of Animagi, and had he not mentioned the crucial clue of the werewolf, Harry would never have guessed Barty Jr.'s hidden identity—he would have simply assumed Barty Jr. had repented and was striving to atone.

On his way back, Harry kept telling himself that revealing the truth now would do no good; he would pretend Barty Jr. was still Barty Jr. the reformed Barty Jr. After all, there was no evidence proving otherwise, was there?

Tense days continued for several more days, until even the most difficult logic puzzles were solved through collective effort. Fleur and Elina departed satisfied, while Ron felt a quiet sense of loss.

"Hermione suggested I read a book," Ron said, filling the silence after they left, "Magical Aquatic Plants of the Mediterranean and Their Properties. I suspect it might contain Fleur and Elina's strategy for the next task."

"I've read that book," Cedric said. "It describes a plant called gillyweed—ingesting it allows you to breathe underwater."

"But I think the Bubble-Head Charm is better," Cedric remarked objectively. "After consuming gillyweed, you can't breathe on land—you must dive immediately and cannot return to the surface until its effect wears off. More importantly, its duration is hard to predict; freshness of the herb and individual physiology both affect how long it lasts."

"The problem with the Bubble-Head Charm is, you can't speak to the merpeople," Zhang Qiu said. "Sound loses too much traveling between media—even if you hear something, it's severely distorted."

"What if you try Transfiguration?" Ron suggested. "Transfigure a long straw, extend it above the surface to breathe. When you speak to the merpeople, you can remove the straw."

Harry pondered: though he could rely on Donald's help to open the sea, Cedric had to enter the water first to solve the riddle. If Cedric used gillyweed, once Harry cleared a space, Cedric would immediately struggle to breathe; if Cedric used the Bubble-Head Charm, he couldn't answer the merpeople's questions underwater.

Perhaps Donald, when designing the solution, only considered how to make Harry look impressive, never thinking to assist Cedric.

"A straw, a lung—" Zhang Qiu shook her head. "You can't expel all the air from your throat. As long as your vocal cords still contact air, you can't speak to the merpeople."

"Perhaps the tournament organizers considered this," Cedric rubbed his chin. "The riddle might be answered in writing."

"But I think being able to speak to the merpeople would be a major advantage," Harry recalled the werewolves, who often found real wolves mingling with the crowd the day after the full moon. "Human Transfiguration—can you do Human Transfiguration? Like an Animagus—if you're not skilled, just transform your upper body, or even just your head."

"With Professor McGonagall's help, I did attempt Animagus transformation," Cedric shook his head. "First, she told me transforming only half the body is even harder and more dangerous; second, even full transformation, I haven't mastered yet; third, even if I could, what I'd become would likely be some kind of bird."

"Actually, I've seen human Transfiguration," Zhang Qiu suddenly said. "You'd never guess how it happened."

"Do you remember second year, when we took Polyjuice Potion to investigate Malfoy?" she said. "Hermione drank it too, but she found nothing, right?"

Harry was about to admit it when he saw Cedric's startled look—he quickly denied it. "No, no, no, that never happened. Zhang Qiu, you must've mistaken a false divination for truth."

"Fine, go ahead and chat about your wild imaginings and false divinations," Cedric said, slightly annoyed. "I'll pretend they actually happened—but I won't tell Professor McGonagall about these falsehoods."

"Ah, yes," she awkwardly smoothed her hair. "From that false divination, I saw Hermione accidentally added cat hair instead of her own to the potion, and ended up growing a cat's face. Later, I asked her—during that brief time with the cat's head, she could understand some simple meows."

"But I clearly remember she looked perfectly normal that day," Harry recalled his second year.

"Because she quickly went to Madam Pomfrey. Though the fur took two or three days to fade, the Polyjuice Potion's effect had already worn off, so she could safely drink another dose of her own potion," Zhang Qiu said. "I helped her in third year."

Perhaps the truth was, Hermione never mixed up the hair and cat fur—it was third-year Zhang Qiu, to fulfill the divination, secretly swapped the hair she prepared, then later provided more potion containing Hermione's own hair to cover it up.

But Harry didn't voice this suspicion—it would only upset Ron.

"So, what if you try Polyjuice Potion?" Zhang Qiu scratched her head. "Add a bit of animal hair to briefly gain its abilities?"

"That's the same problem as gillyweed," Cedric shook his head. "Even less reliable."

"What if you pick an amphibian?" Ron suggested. "Donald told me about a magical creature called a merman—it lives in colonies along the west coast of the Americas—"

"Stop," Cedric dismissed the proposals. "I think this is far too dangerous. With less than a month until the tournament, brewing Polyjuice Potion is impossible. I'll use the Bubble-Head Charm. If needed, I'll communicate with the merpeople using a slate."

Harry nodded in full agreement. Of course—this was Cedric. If the Polyjuice Potion wasn't brewed by his own hands, he'd consider it unfair and refuse to use it.

The discussion among the Hogwarts champions ended. Their plan was set: Cedric would enter the water using the Bubble-Head Charm, while Harry prepared his "powerful spell" on shore. Though he didn't elaborate, Cedric already knew the spell's effect resembled Moses parting the sea, and Ron and Zhang Qiu also knew it came from Donald.

After two weeks of mild anticipation and relaxed calm, the second task finally took place beside the Meiledihe. Harry and Cedric entered the arena through the champions' passage, noticing massive metal plates blocking both upstream and downstream of the river, leaving only a central stretch resembling the Great Lake.

"Now, I will announce the rules of the competition," Madame Maxime called out to the champions. "Each pair must act separately: one begins on the surface, the other must enter the water in advance. Once you meet, proceed to the lake's center and open the chest there—that completes the second task."

"Those preparing to enter the water may follow me now—merpeople will guide you to your starting point," Madame Maxime continued. "Your starting point is equidistant from the lake's center, and your partner will begin from the farthest shore."

Cedric squeezed Harry's shoulder, then strode over to Madame Maxime. Harry noticed Renata chose to enter the water—perhaps she thought Krum's intelligence was insufficient to remember the riddle's answer, or perhaps she didn't trust him at all and never told him the clue.

Elina eagerly shed her robe, revealing a swimsuit beneath: blue-and-white checkered shorts with a frilly hem, adorned with an extravagantly large sunflower. She proudly thrust out her ample chest, casting a defiant glance at Renata.

Harry thought this behavior was distasteful; Fleur frowned too. But neither said anything, letting Madame Maxime lead them away.

"Champions beginning from shore, you may rest for half an hour," Prince Montbardon said. "Afterward, Madame Maxime will return to guide you to your positions. I will now reveal half the password—and the location of the third task: Trenzalore."