Chapter 778: Chapter 163: End of the Competition (2)

Krum emerged from the water like a seal, the intact compass clamped in his mouth, and all the Durmstrang students couldn’t help but cheer.

But Krum’s gaze crossed through the crowd, immediately looking towards the audience seats, searching among the applauding Gryffindor students, finally resting on Hermione, his always gloomy expression softened a bit.

Jabari was ten minutes late, with one arm hanging awkwardly. He waved to his schoolmates, then paused briefly when he saw Vid, smiled, and directly walked over, getting stopped halfway by Madam Pomfrey, who was scowling.

"Come with me, your arm needs immediate attention!" Madam Pomfrey said seriously.

Then came Natalia, who leapt out of the water just like a graceful merperson.

"That Giant Squid was terrifying!" Vid heard her laughingly gesture to her friends: "I was almost its lunch!"

Then it was Salem’s Hope Cruise, this black-haired girl silently surfaced from the water, and even her own school’s students noticed her at least half a minute later.

Now remaining in the Black Lake was only Harry.

His Bubble Head Charm had long disappeared, and at this moment, he had ingested Gillyweed, swimming swiftly in the water.

And not far ahead of him, the Giant Squid was slowly gliding through the water, its tentacles covered in suckers gently wrapping around a salmon large enough to be a hunting dog.

Harry stared intently at those few occasionally glimmering red gemstones, orbiting near the Giant Squid, not daring to approach rashly, but unwilling to give up the opportunity to get this one component.

He was only missing this bearing, and the items in his hand would form a complete compass.

Admittedly, Harry didn’t yet understand the purpose of the three components, he simply gritted his teeth, hanging tightly behind the Giant Squid, raising his Magic Wand several times, but had to abandon the Spell due to the changed position of the bearing caused by their movements.

In Harry’s mind, he felt he might be the weakest among all the Champions. Because unlike Vid, he wasn’t proficient in many Magic Spells, nor like other competitors, most of whom were already adults or close to being adults.

This "awareness of his limits" didn’t make him give up in despair, but rather made him more stubborn, even when swimming underwater with his legs about to cramp and his ribs aching terribly, he endured the pain, tightly staring at the Giant Squid that was hunting.

Occasional exclamations erupted from the audience seats.

A creature of such size, even without intentional aggression, nobody could withstand a mere accidental slap from it.

On several Flow Mirrors, it showed images of Harry sometimes approaching and sometimes distancing from the Giant Squid.

Vid was watching the screen, suddenly hearing rapid footsteps approaching——

A breathless Ilvermorny student ran up, standing a few steps away, with an apprehensive expression saying:

"Mr. Gray... Could I have Adam’s Magic Wand?"

"Ah, I came for the same reason." The doll-faced Asada Chinatsu walked up, saying: "Senior Kitajima’s Magic Wand is also missing..."

She glanced at the two Magic Wands Vid had casually placed on the grass beside him.

Vid returned the Magic Wands to them, casually asking: "How are Adam and Miss Kitajima’s injuries?"

"They’re fine." The Ilvermorny student said: "They’re already conscious, but their chest still feels uncomfortable."

"Senior Kitajima is very grateful to Mr. Gray." Asada Chinatsu bowed slightly, saying: "If it weren’t for you promptly explaining the cause of their injuries, Senior Kitajima would have endured more pain."

"Uh..." Vid coughed lightly: "You’re welcome."

Asada Chinatsu straightened up, saying: "Of course, I haven’t forgotten how you eliminated me before either. I hope if there’s a chance in the future, I can still seek advice from Mr. Gray."

After finishing, she coldly glanced at Clementine, then turned and walked away.

The Ilvermorny student hesitated for a while, unsure whether to thank or issue a challenge, finally ambiguously said goodbye, didn’t look at Clementine, and hurriedly left.

Clementine snorted: "Really petty! Just because I ran a bit faster than them? The ambush didn’t succeed, they should have retreated quickly, it was their own fault they ran slow, how do they make it seem as if I betrayed the alliance?"

She turned to ask Vid: "Don’t you think that’s reasonable?"

Vid speechless: "You’re asking me, the one who got ambushed?"

Clementine: "..."

She murmured something, seemingly saying "petty person" again.

At this point, Natalia pulled back the curtain of the medical tent, striding over with her long hair dried and bouncing on her shoulders, the woolen blanket wrapping her fluttering behind like a cape.

"Hey, Vid, Clementine, how many did you collect?"

She shouted loudly from afar.

"Natalia——"

Before Vid could speak, Clementine ran over like a gust of wind, reaching out to hold Natalia’s arm.

"It’s great that you’re alright! I was so worried when I didn’t see you when I came out... I only got the Heart of Steel, how about you?"

She generously displayed her Short Sword, which she found earlier under a seaweed mat.

Natalia also displayed her results, happily saying: "Aha, I just need this one! Where did you find it?"

Like Vid, she rushed ahead and hadn’t got time to search the waterweed area.

"Right under that seaweed mat!"

Clementine continued chatting: "But I was just lucky, happened to run into Magic Institute’s Kitajima Rikka..."

After chatting for a while, Natalia suddenly turned her gaze towards the Flow Mirror.

"Is that Harry Potter? What’s he doing?"

The competitors who had entered the medical tent one after another came out, all watching the images in the Flow Mirror on the grass, either sitting or standing.

They saw Harry suddenly dash to the Giant Squid, casting a Spell swiftly when the Red Ruby Pillar in the tentacles was fleetingly revealed!

The bearing instantly detached from the squid’s suckers, plummeting downward, redirected by the swirling lake water, the boy sped up, desperately reaching his arm towards that direction.

The Giant Squid suddenly spewed out a jet of ink, a pitch-black water curtain immediately shrouding the whole scene, everyone could only hear the intense turbulence of water and the gurgling sound of air pushing the water apart.

After a while, the picture sharply cleared, Harry forcefully kicking his legs, swimming rapidly towards the lake surface, but still slower than before.

The magic power of Herbs was quickly fading, the webbing between his limbs vanished, the gills on his cheeks turned into smooth skin, the muscles near his cheekbones tensed uncontrollably, veins bulging, forming an expression between pain and grimace.

Most of the audience’s minds were captivated by this young Savior.

Suddenly, the boy’s head broke the surface, violently coughing, gulping fresh air, his chest convulsing rhythmically.

The audience burst into loud applause and cheers, and as Harry struggled to walk ashore through the water, the Weasley Twins and Ron eagerly rushed into the lake, pulling him onto the bank.

"Come here, child."

Madam Pomfrey said as she grasped Harry, administering Magic Potion, wrapping him in a blanket, and treating his wounds.

Harry also encountered attacks from Grindylows underwater, then tangled with the Giant Squid for ages, leaving his body bruised and exhausted, the wounds on his legs soaked until whitening.

"Amazing, Harry, you were truly amazing!" Fred enthusiastically patted Harry’s back, proudly saying: "You know? Only four people collected all the items, and you’re one of them!"

Harry leaned on Ron, hearing ringing in his ears. His glasses lost underwater, he couldn’t discern the swaying figures in front, vaguely asking: "Who are the other three?"

But people around were bouncing excitedly, cheering and shouting, none heard what he said.

Only Bagman’s amplified voice was particularly clear——

"Congratulations to Harry Potter for completing the competition, the second task is officially over now!"

"The third——and final task will take place on June 24th. Champions will be informed of the task’s specific content a month in advance! Thank everyone for supporting the champions..."