Fortunately, Snape was sitting in the stands as well. Not far from him sat Moody. Snape was probably in a thoroughly miserable mood at the moment.
Eda, on the other hand, instantly felt much happier.
Who knew whether the water of the Black Lake could even wash the grease out of Snape's hair? The last thing Eda wanted was to get covered in oil while fishing Snape out.
Wait.
Why did she keep using the phrase "fish out"?
Pulling her gaze back again, Eda stopped thinking about who she would have to rescue. No matter which person the mermaid ladies had abducted, she could not simply leave them there unless she intended to give up on completing the task.
At 9:29, Harry finally arrived, cutting it very close. He sprinted over to the judges' table draped in gold cloth and stopped to Eda's left. Leaning on his knees with both hands, he panted heavily.
"I... I'm here..." Harry gasped. "Sorry!"
"Excellent. Perfect timing. One minute to spare." Ludo Bagman glanced at his watch and said cheerfully, "The task is about to begin."
The champions lined up along the lakeshore, each standing ten feet apart. Eda was first on the left, followed by Fleur, then Krum, and finally Harry.
Eda glanced at Fleur beside her. She was wearing a light blue swimsuit that perfectly showed off her graceful figure. Fleur gripped her wand tightly, her body trembling slightly in the frigid air.
Ludo Bagman's booming voice echoed across the Black Lake.
"Attention, everyone! Our champions are in position. The moment I blow the whistle, the second task will begin. They have exactly one hour to recover what has been taken from them. I'll count to three. One... two... three!"
The shrill whistle pierced the cold, still air.
The stands erupted into cheers and applause.
Krum was the first to enter the lake. The freezing water seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever. Without resurfacing, he disappeared from everyone's sight.
Harry had arrived last, but he was the second to enter the water. He quickly kicked off his shoes and socks, pulled a clump of something out of his pocket, stuffed it into his mouth, and waded into the lake.
Laughter broke out from the stands. Harry's apparent lack of preparation amused the spectators.
In reality, Harry had not done nothing at all.
Eda saw clearly that the thing he had stuffed into his mouth was Gillyweed.
She had considered using the same herb herself. Snape's private stores happened to contain some. In the end, however, she decided against it. Not only did Gillyweed look terrible, like a bundle of slimy gray-green rat tails, it also tasted awful.
Only Eda, still wrapped in her cloak, and the elegantly curved Fleur remained on the shore.
Fleur glanced at Eda, took a deep breath as though encouraging herself, hugged her arms around her body, and walked into the freezing lake.
The Bubble-Head Charm.
After Fleur submerged beneath the surface, Eda clearly saw the bubble of air surrounding her head. That had been another method Eda had considered.
Ever since solving the golden egg's clue and learning that the task would take place underwater, Eda had thought of many possible approaches.
The simplest was the Bubble-Head Charm.
She had even considered "parting the sea."
This ancient magic came from an ancient legend. It was said to be capable of splitting the entire Black Lake apart, exposing its lakebed to the open air.
Opening a path through the middle of the Black Lake would certainly have been an astonishing sight.
But after thinking it over for a long time, Eda gave up on the idea.
There was only one reason.
She was scared.
Eda did not possess Moses' divine power. She could not guarantee that casting such magic would not harm innocent creatures or devastate the aquatic life living in the Black Lake.
She had never used it before.
Since she was not confident, she simply would not use it.
The other three champions had all disappeared beneath the lake. Eda was now the only one left standing on the shore.
Only then did she remove her cloak.
To the audience's confusion, Eda still did not enter the water.
Instead, she began doing warm-up exercises.
Watching her less-than-perfect stretches, the spectators burst into wave after wave of laughter.
Eda paid them no attention. She continued stretching her muscles and loosening her ligaments. If she got a cramp the moment she entered the water, who would she even complain to?
After finishing her warm-up, Eda stopped moving.
The laughter from the stands, however, continued unabated.
She looked up at the audience and thought to herself,
A bunch of country bumpkins. This is called science, you know!
Eda slowly walked into the lake, adjusting the time on the dive watch strapped to her left wrist as she went. There were about fifty-five minutes remaining. More than enough.
The water was freezing.
Goosebumps rose on her long legs from the cold. Eda thought that if she ever developed chronic joint pain in the future, she was definitely going to settle the score with the geniuses who came up with this task.
The water gradually rose past her knees, and Eda finally understood why Fleur had hugged herself while walking into the lake. When it reached her waist, she took a deep breath and dove beneath the surface.
The spectators in the stands exchanged puzzled looks.
Another fool who had done absolutely nothing before diving into the lake.
Was she planning to hold her breath for an entire hour with Harry Potter?
Or was she planning to die together with Harry Potter, drowning in the Black Lake and leaving behind the legend of two ghosts haunting its waters?
Just as the audience was wondering what was going on, Eda suddenly surfaced near the stands.
Good.
She had not drowned yet.
Then, with a powerful leap, Eda burst completely out of the water. She traced a graceful arc through the air before diving beneath the surface once more.
Expressions of astonishment spread across the spectators' faces.
What had they just seen?
The cheers and laughter vanished. Everyone replayed the brief moment of Eda's leap in their minds.
Her golden hair had been soaked by the lake water.
Her swimsuit clung tightly to the curves of her body.
Her lower body...
That was it.
Her legs had become a fish's tail.
Her long, slender legs had disappeared, replaced by shimmering scales and a powerful tail fin.
The surface of the lake quickly returned to calm, but the hearts of the spectators did not. It was as though someone had tossed a pebble into still water, sending ripples spreading outward.
A mermaid.
A living one.
For nearly everyone present, it was their first time seeing one.
The hands of the clock continued to move slowly as everyone stared fixedly at the motionless surface of the lake.
They could not see anything happening beneath the water.
The second task was practically invisible to the audience.
Even so, their enthusiasm did not fade.
They wanted to see which champion would emerge first.
They also wanted another glimpse of Hogwarts' own mermaid.
The sun climbed higher and higher, its light sparkling across the surface of the lake.
Deep beneath the water, however, everything remained dim. It took Eda's eyes quite a while to adjust to the murky surroundings.
The concealed slits on either side of her neck supplied the oxygen she needed.
The movement of her lower body and tail fin propelled her forward, allowing her to glide gracefully and freely through the water.
Eda's method for dealing with the second task came from the "simplified Animagus transformation" she had obtained during the previous school year.
Although the technique originated from that, Eda was not actually an Animagus. Besides, Animagi could not transform into merpeople.
She had merely gained insight into the secrets of human Transfiguration through it and benefited greatly.
Using the knowledge provided by the system, Eda had transformed herself into a fish.
Or rather, a fish-like creature.
She possessed gills, scales, and fins while retaining her human upper body, allowing her to move safely through the dangerous waters of the lake.
The gray, eerie water.
The swaying tangles of black waterweed.
The broad sandy lakebed scattered with glittering pebbles.
Schools of fish swimming all around.
Everything beneath the water seemed within reach.
It was a completely new experience, something no aquarium could ever offer.
If only it were not for the Grindylows lurking among the weeds.
These dark creatures of the water constantly sprang out from the aquatic plants, trying to attack Eda as she passed.
Other than the Grindylows, however, Eda encountered no major difficulties.
Apart from the challenge of maintaining her bearings and the pressure of the deep water, the second task did not seem especially difficult.
As she descended deeper and deeper, Eda felt increasing pressure on her eardrums. Even the organs inside her body seemed to be compressed.
Everything around her was silent.
Her vision was limited, allowing her to see only a few feet in every direction.
The oppressive darkness filled her with unease.
Without realizing it, her right hand tightened around her wand.
Anxiety and fear welled up inside her.
For a brief moment, she even considered giving up and swimming back to the surface.
Eda slowed down, forcing herself to overcome her fear and anxiety as she listened carefully.
In the dim, shadowy water, she heard a faint, beautiful song drifting through the lake.
It meant she was getting closer and closer to where the merpeople lived.
...
(～￣▽￣)～Read 12 Chapters ahead:
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