Actually, most of what Harry said was nonsense.
Even if Link hadn't listened to his explanation, he could still roughly analyze what had happened to the other champions by now.
The reason was simple.
Because while Harry was explaining, Krum and Fleur had already appeared in Link's vision, both of them being chased down by a large group of merfolk and grindylows.
Among them, Fleur, like Link, also used the Bubble-Head Charm as her diving tool. Krum, on the other hand, had used some flashy transfiguration.
Unfortunately, Krum's transfiguration wasn't precise. He had only just managed to transform his upper body into that of a shark, while his lower body remained human.
Even so, Krum's swimming speed and attack power had greatly increased.
At least, under the pursuit of the merfolk and grindylows, he looked much better off than the completely bedraggled Fleur.
At the very least, he could still turn his head from time to time and bite a merfolk or two to death.
But Link still didn't think highly of Krum, and even felt that Krum's approach was stupid.
You must know, the reason wizards were the most terrifying creatures on this planet was because of magic and the wands in their hands.
Now that Krum had turned himself into a shark, it looked at first glance like he had gained a huge advantage. But in reality, it was picking up sesame seeds and dropping the watermelon.
Those two also happened to notice Link being chased by the plesiosaur.
Unlike Harry, their choice was to abandon Link, who seemed to be in an even more dangerous situation than they were, and continue swimming toward the merfolk settlement to complete their own task.
The merfolk and grindylows chasing them perhaps feared being accidentally struck by the plesiosaur, so they didn't move toward Link's side, and kept chasing the two toward the merfolk village.
"It looks like they still think this is just a normal part of the tournament," Link said with a mocking look.
Hearing this, Harry, who had just realized the truth, and was at the moment clutching tightly at Link's waist, suddenly said in shock, "Eh? Isn't it?"
Link sneered and said nothing.
Instead, he turned the water horse's head, narrowly dodging the plesiosaur's gaping maw yet again, while the green light on his wand flared brightly, another Killing Curse shot straight at the Barty Jr. clinging beneath the plesiosaur's neck.
The result was still no good.
Once again, Barty Jr. used the plesiosaur as his shield. Though Link's Killing Curse caused another patch of gray, dead flesh to spread on the plesiosaur's body, it still didn't harm Barty himself.
Link wasn't discouraged. While drawing the plesiosaur up toward the surface, he kept looking for chances to strike Barty again and again.
He had already made up his mind.
Since Krum and Fleur thought their mission was more important than his and Harry's lives, then naturally he wouldn't bother with their situation either.
For Link, the most important thing was to kill or capture Barty Jr., this big fish.
The only problem now was that the plesiosaur's body was far too large, and its resistance to magic far too high.
Just moments ago, Link had tried nearly every spell he had mastered.
But aside from the Killing Curse, all other spells, including Sectumsempra and Diffindo, could only inflict trivial little wounds on the plesiosaur.
That was troublesome.
Although, thanks to the water horse's terrifying speed, the plesiosaur couldn't harm Link at all in the short term, Link also had no hope of defeating it quickly.
And unless the plesiosaur was dealt with, killing Barty was just wishful thinking.
But these problems, were only temporary.
Once again, he guided the increasingly obedient water horse to evade an attack. At last, the furrow in Link's brow smoothed.
Because his reinforcements had arrived.
"Whoo!"
A deep horn blast suddenly came from the pitch-black abyss below Link, sounding like the roar of a giant beast, or like the bellow of an army charging to war.
Next, a massive tentacle, several meters thick and covered in countless suckers, reached out from the abyss, brushing past Link, and tightly wrapped around one of the plesiosaur's fins.
The plesiosaur, suddenly attacked, felt no fear at all. Already half-maddened by pain, it swung its long neck violently and bit down on the tentacle with a single snap.
Link was the closest, and he saw it most clearly.
He saw the grotesque muscles of the tentacle contract sharply, and then as the plesiosaur's jaws clamped down, thick black-red blood spurted out, spreading through the water like a mist.
In pain, a deafening roar rang out from the abyss. Immediately, three more tentacles lashed out furiously, wrapping tightly around the plesiosaur's neck.
And at last, the owner of those tentacles appeared in Link's vision.
It was a giant octopus.
Its size was so vast that Link couldn't even see its full body, only a pair of massive, ghostly green eyes like twin suns, and a terrifying, flower-shaped maw bristling with teeth, opening and closing again and again!
Although Link knew clearly that this giant octopus was a defensive war-beast deliberately raised in the Black Lake by Hogwarts, and that its temperament was actually very gentle, in fact, not only did it never harm students, but whenever one fell in the water it would rush over and gently lift them back to shore, making it unquestionably an ally.
Even so, when truly faced with such a terrifying creature, Link's body couldn't help but tremble, and goosebumps erupted all over his skin.
As for Harry, he had fainted straight away the moment he saw that monstrous maw.
Now he lay together with Hermione and the others.
There was nothing to be done. Just as merfolk feared wizards, this kind of primal fear of giant beasts and deep water was buried in human DNA.
"Goddamn, it's just Kraken himself, isn't it?"
Link's heart pounded like a drum, and he unconsciously cursed, which made him feel a little better.
At the same time, a troop of armored merfolk swam up, led by the same golden-armored merman from earlier.
The soldiers charged fearlessly toward the plesiosaur, which was locked in battle with the giant octopus.
The golden-armored merman, looking nervous, came close to Link.
"Little wizard, are you all right? We've brought the Kraken to aid you!"
The golden-armored merman's gaze swept back and forth over the unconscious people behind Link, and he spoke to Link with concern.
Once he confirmed that these wizards were all unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief and continued explaining, "Your other two companions, we encountered them earlier as well."
"My son is leading the other merfolk to help them. I think there's been some misunderstanding between us. Those merfolk who attacked you…"
"No need to explain!"
Having finally shaken off his instinctive trembling, Link directly cut him off, "The merfolk who attacked us were sea-merfolk, unrelated to you Black Lake merfolk. See that wizard hanging beneath the plesiosaur's neck?"
"He's the one who planned and launched this attack! Now, I need you to cooperate with me fully to capture him! Otherwise…"
Link didn't finish his words, but the golden-armored merman's face grew dark.
He understood the threat in Link's words.
If they didn't cooperate, then once this young wizard went back, his story might change completely.
And once the blame was placed on the Black Lake merfolk, what awaited them would be the Ministry of Magic's purge.
Not even Dumbledore could save them then.
Staring at the expressionless young wizard before him, anger surged inside the golden-armored merman.
He was the supreme ruler of all merfolk in this Black Lake. And now, he was being threatened by a mere child.
If he could, he would have loved nothing more than to kill the boy outright.
Anyway, afterward, he could just pin the blame on the sea-merfolk and the dark wizard, and probably get away with it.
Unfortunately, that terrible thought appeared only for an instant in his mind before being forcibly extinguished.
The golden-armored merman took a deep breath, and in the end pulled out the horn at his waist, blowing it furiously.
Its sound was similar to Link's wooden whistle, but deeper and with far greater penetration.
And as soon as the horn sounded, the merfolk who had been guarding the village, along with those fighting the sea-merfolk, all surged upward toward the plesiosaur.
As the crowd gathered, the situation for the plesiosaur and Barty Jr. grew even more dire.
Though the merfolk could only attack with their spears and harpoons, and the plesiosaur could kill dozens with a sweep of its limbs, enough ants can still bite an elephant to death.
And now the Kraken's main body had finally dragged itself close with its tentacles.
Its terrifying maw clamped onto the plesiosaur's torso, chomping down again and again, huge clouds of blood mist spreading as the plesiosaur roared in pain, dyeing the nearby waters red.
Most importantly, Link had also driven the water horse forward.
Unlike the Kraken and the merfolk, his target was only Barty.
"Avada Kedavra!"
The green light rippled out again, as the surrounding merfolk watched in fear.
At this point, the plesiosaur was completely restrained by the Kraken and could no longer shield Barty.
Barty had been on guard against Link from beginning to end.
The instant he saw the green light, he decisively abandoned the plesiosaur that had been shielding him.
With a wave of his wand, he stirred the currents with a burst of magic, darting dozens of meters away.
Link, far from discouraged, was delighted, and immediately spurred the water horse to pursue.
Link believed that once Barty abandoned the plesiosaur, his defeat was already certain. In these waters, he could never outswim the water horse. Being captured was only a matter of time.
But what surprised Link was that after darting dozens of meters, Barty didn't keep fleeing. Instead, he turned back to face him.
At the same time, Barty's free left hand pulled a lidded goblet from his robes.
In Link's heightened senses, that goblet was suffused with a peculiar magic.
It was similar to the magic when a Floo Network fireplace or Apparition spell was activated, magic unique to space-based spells.
Which meant, that goblet was a Portkey sealed shut.
"Damn bastard, trying to run!"
Link instantly judged, cursing furiously in his heart as he raised his wand.
But before the magic at his wand tip could even gather, Barty flipped the lid open with his thumb.
A tremendous suction burst from the goblet's mouth, madly drawing in the surrounding lake water.
BOOM! Whoosh!
An earth-shaking sound exploded in everyone's ears.
It was the sound of countless torrents violently surging.
Under the massive pull of spatial magic, a huge twisted whirlpool opened in the lake.
Currents roared as all nearby people and beasts were dragged toward the vortex.
And Barty, who had opened the goblet himself, was the first to be sucked in, his body twisting into a distorted shadow as he dove into it.
At the last instant before disappearing, he pushed back his hood and sneered coldly at Link.
Link's final, hateful Killing Curse struck nothing but emptiness, failing to hit the target.
As he watched, after swallowing Barty, the suction dwindled, and the goblet-shaped Portkey began collapsing into nothing.
Link slammed his fist onto the water horse's back in rage.
Perhaps from pain, or perhaps sensing the fury in Link's heart, the water horse gave an enraged scream.
Even without Link's control, it swung its head toward the still-struggling plesiosaur.
That roar jolted Link back a little to his senses. His eyes, faintly red, locked onto the plesiosaur. With a vicious grin, he raised his wand once more!
———
[On the Shore, Half an Hour Earlier]
Madame Maxime and the others stood with tense expressions, staring unblinking at the lake's surface.
Though Link held overwhelming power, rules had still placed restrictions on him.
So, they still held a sliver of hope for their own school's champions.
The only odd one out among the judges was Dumbledore.
Unlike the others, not a trace of tension or worry was on his face. At this moment he was happily playing with Arkam and Yoyo, sometimes stroking Arkam's head and teeth, sometimes poking Yoyo.
As for Yoyo, it had long since curled into its shell, ignoring him.
Arkam, with no escape, had already started swearing.
The stream of colorful curses it had learned from Link kept pouring out of its mouth.
If Dumbledore could understand Parseltongue, he would surely have cast a spell to seal its mouth by now.
The audience in the stands, on the other hand, were much more excited.
Just as the champions had entered the water, Bagman had explained their rescue mission to them, and also announced the list of each champion's "treasure."
In an instant, the spectators erupted in uproar.
Everyone was baffled that Harry's treasure was Ron.
It wasn't hard to understand why.
The other champions' treasures were either beloved girls or close family members.
But Harry's was a same-sex friend.
And thinking back to the Yule Ball, when neither Harry nor Ron had really been close with their partners, instead dismissing them and sticking together with each other,
That made the whole matter even stranger.
George and Fred even beat their chests, swearing that after this was over they would give the two of them a good beating, to make them understand this was not right!
Krum's choice of treasure also left many present deeply disappointed.
Especially the Slytherins.
All along they had treated the Durmstrang students as their own kind, showing them great respect, and even doing their utmost to pair him with the Greengrass girl.
And yet now Hermione, a "mudblood" with no pureblood lineage, had become Krum's most important treasure?
To the Slytherins, this was nothing short of disgraceful.
It was utterly disappointing.
Such a Krum had no right to stand with them at all.
Fortunately, they still had Link.
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