Chapter 229

Harry only memorized the pronunciation and spelling of the place name, with no time to ponder it, because Krum suddenly approached.

"Harry, I must tell you, this conspiracy is terrifying—perhaps they're targeting you," Krum said, frowning. "Renata entered the water with no preparation at all; she might be fixing the match. Fleur and Elina—at least one of them is fixing the match. Only you and Cedric are in the dark."

Harry blinked. Krum's reasoning wasn't entirely wrong—it was just wildly unconventional.

"After much thought, I believe the mastermind's target is you—he wants you and Cedric dead," Krum said, his face grim. "The third task—no, the Triwizard Cup is definitely a trap. You must be extremely careful."

"Also, I discovered Jack Harkness is secretly brewing Polyjuice Potion. What does he intend to do?" Krum's voice grew increasingly fearful. "Unless… he isn't the real Professor Harkness."

Harry's heart jolted. He had never heard of this, nor paid any attention to that professor.

"There's a shadowy mastermind behind everything—I feel all these events are connected. The Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup—I saw a woman cast it. Perhaps Cassandra is real…" Krum seized this one chance to pour out his deductions to Harry. "It might be connected to the Dark Lord—he's returning to this world. His followers are active again. Renata knows nothing; her mind is full of Muggle nonsense. I'd better keep it from her."

"Why hide it from her?" Harry asked instinctively.

"I don't want her dragged into this. I want her to return safely to the Muggle world. No, she doesn't understand how terrifying the Dark Lord is." Krum trembled slightly as he said the word, too afraid to speak the name. "I received a Divination letter on the final day, at the Burial Ground: speak the answer to the first and most fundamental question—that name—and the war, long over, resumes."

"Who? Who is the Dark Lord?" Harry murmured.

"It's terrifying. I believe this must relate to you or Cedric," Krum swallowed hard. "Better still, if you have nothing to do with the Deathly Hallows—then what I fear won't happen."

These words sent a storm through Harry's heart. Was Voldemort secretly arranging something here? Yes—he knew of the Resurrection Stone…

"And my headmaster—I saw him sneaking to meet someone wrapped in a black robe. I have a feeling this isn't simple." Krum tried to say more, but words failed him. "Just be careful, Harry. This Triwizard Tournament isn't as straightforward as we thought."

"Thank you, Krum," Harry said seriously. "I'll investigate further. I'll be cautious. But right now, the priority is the second task—do your best too."

Krum gave a awkward smile, then nodded slightly and sat down on the other side.

Harry's thoughts were chaotic, but he forced himself to push aside the dark schemes and focus on the competition.

Soon, Madame Maxime had settled the champions ready to enter from underwater and led the three champions preparing to start from shore to the lake's edge. They gazed at each other across the water. Harry calmed his mind and watched the other two champions.

Each checked their watches and confirmed they were waterproof. Fleur had already cast a Bubble-Head Charm on herself; Krum had swallowed a vial of potion that gave him a grotesque frog's head.

At the signal, they dove into the water. Only Harry remained standing idle on the shore.

"Look! The Hogwarts champion isn't moving!" the spectators murmured.

"Does he have no way to enter the water?"

"Perhaps he's waiting for something to fly over—like a diving suit."

"I say it's Hogwarts' special strategy," Donna declared proudly. "He's deliberately lagging behind, because in the first task, the organizers gave special treatment to third place."

Zhang Qiu and Ron sat beside her but made no effort to stop her spreading rumors to the Beauxbatons spectators.

Harry stared blankly at the lake. He wasn't unprepared—he had memorized Zhang Qiu's Earthly Gang Exam Scroll word for word, the Ten Commandments of Moses by heart, and could even recite the entire Book of Exodus on the spot.

But none of that was necessary. For a long time, Harry had never found it interesting to deliberately perform something in public to stand out—he never sought to do so, even though it seemed to be Dumbledore's great pleasure.

In anxious anticipation, the agreed-upon fifteen minutes were nearly up. Harry began to chant the Ten Commandments slowly, clearly, and softly. He feared mispronouncing even one syllable, worried it might break the connection to Donald's secret ritual.

And if the connection failed, Harry had prepared: he had stuffed his pocket with Gillyweed and an Invisibility Cloak enchanted with a Water-Repelling Charm. He believed that even if he started fifteen minutes late, he could still complete the task within the time limit by using invisibility to avoid combat.

"The tenth commandment: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, nor his wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's." As Harry finished, he felt something connect along the nape of his neck to his body—a familiar sensation, like the first time he held his wand.

Now came the "wand's" incantation. Harry's voice grew louder: "Flowers, trees, sky, breeze…"

Some spectators, seeing him open his arms and murmur to the lake, suddenly stirred. They began whispering: Harry had finally moved! The stands erupted in excitement.

"…pebbles, sand, earth!" As he finished the incomprehensible incantation, Harry felt a vast surge of magic flood into his body—as if someone were guiding his hands to cast the spell. His arm rose unconsciously; his wand pointed straight ahead.

The lake boiled. After a series of thunderous cracks, the water split cleanly in two, slowly receding to either side, revealing a muddy riverbed below. Harry stared, thrilled—this scene, drawn from myth, reminded him of his first glimpse of Diagon Alley's brick wall opening. Magic always created astonishing wonders.

The crowd roared as the water curtain parted. When the underwater scene fully unfolded, the earlier fading clamor exploded again.

Though nearsighted, Harry recognized Renata and Elina by their distinctive clothing—they were dueling.

Earlier, they had exchanged spells underwater. But once Harry's spell took effect, Elina was the first to tumble out of the water curtain.

"Harry, you're just in time!" she laughed, barefoot on the mud, stumbling and running. Renata's spells couldn't hit her. In the water, Renata, hampered by movement, struggled to evade Elina's spells and could only defend desperately with a Shield Charm.

At first, Harry wondered why Renata refused to leave the water wall. But as he walked down the riverbed, he saw the fin-like growths on her face—he guessed she had used Gillyweed and could no longer breathe air.

"You're not allowed to do this!" Krum suddenly leapt from behind Elina's water curtain, raising his wand. "Ribbit! Fall down!"

Perhaps his frog head distorted the pronunciation—his wand reacted not at all. Krum hesitated, then charged at her.

"Perfect—I've had enough of these formalities," Elina popped her Bubble-Head Charm. "Now I'm Caslana, a Valkyrie!"

While the two grappled, Renata whirled and fired a spell at Fleur, who was trying to sneak up on her.

Harry sprinted along the riverbed. Cedric also swam toward the water curtain—he had still been some distance from the dry land Harry had revealed.

Now, two pairs of champions were locked in combat below. Harry and Cedric seemed to hold the advantage, but they were still far from the lake's center—even sprinting at full speed, they'd need over two minutes to reach it.

Elina clearly had some combat training. Though her height and strength were clearly inferior to Krum's, she gained the upper hand in hand-to-hand fighting. Harry wasn't surprised—she was Donald's student. Krum, relying on the muscle he'd built on the Quidditch pitch and the enhanced senses from his frog head, struggled to counter. His attacks mostly missed—but in truth, this meant Elina dared not block Krum's punches, and her constant dodging broke the rhythm of her own strikes.

When Harry reached a distance where his wand could intervene, and Cedric finally left the water curtain, popped his Bubble-Head Charm, and began running along the riverbed, Renata finally stunned Fleur with a Stunning Spell. She turned, raising her wand to fire at Harry.

Harry saw Fleur being pulled upward by her own Bubble-Head Charm and stopped worrying about her, focusing entirely on Renata's attack.

By now, no one cared why they were fighting. The rules didn't forbid champions from attacking each other. Once the first spell was cast, peace was impossible. The cauldron lay within reach of all—but the spectators all silently agreed on one conclusion: only the last champion standing had the right to input the password.