Chapter 672: Chapter 672: The Second Event (Edited)
[Helga Hufflepuff's Cup (damaged): The personal possession of Helga Hufflepuff, one of the founders of Hogwarts. Before it was damaged, it might have had some special magical power, but now it's just an ordinary cup.]
Tom played with the golden cup in his hands. This cup once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff, but it later became one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, and now it was simply an ordinary cup with nothing special about it. Although calling it ordinary wasn't entirely correct because, magic aside, the cup was made of pure gold and still had significant value.
At this moment, there was a very noticeable reddish-brown streak on Helga Hufflepuff's cup, as if it were oxidized. Yes, gold can also oxidize! Although gold itself is chemically very stable, it has a strong chemical affinity with sulfides and can adsorb hydrogen sulfide gases from the air, resulting in the appearance of dark colors like oranges or reddish-browns on its surface. Furthermore, not to mention the limitations of ancient manufacturing techniques, gold often contains impurities.
Tom knew that this mark was probably caused by Godric Gryffindor's sword, a very valuable sword made by goblins, which had the ability to absorb things that would make it stronger. Who knows how many poisonous magical creatures Godric Gryffindor had killed with this sword, as it only needed one thrust to destroy a Horcrux, no need to strike it twice.
"Have you discovered anything interesting?" Hermione leaned bored on Tom's shoulder, playing with her hair while looking at the cup in his hands.
"If you'd like, you can drink from it." Tom rested his cheek against Hermione's bun, nuzzling her playfully and whispering in her ear.
"No, thanks." Hermione didn't like the idea of drinking from a cup that had once been a Horcrux of Voldemort, so, of course, she wouldn't use it for drinking.
"Very well, as you wish..."
Hermione still wanted to say something, but her face suddenly turned red. She spoke quietly but hurriedly, "Tom, please... it's a public place..."
"Oh? How do I recall that someone has ever been in a library... [oh]?"
Hermione's face was now as red as the sunset.
"It was an accident..."
"An accident?"
"Yes!"
...
While the two were playing, Professor McGonagall suddenly appeared, startling them.
"For making noise in the library, five points deducted from Ravenclaw." Professor McGonagall was also young at some point, and she knew perfectly well what mischief these two young couples had in mind, so she showed no mercy and deducted points from both of them.
"Mr. Yodel, after tonight's dinner, come to my office." After punishing them a bit, Professor McGonagall said calmly.
Tom: ???
His mouth could have held an egg at that moment.
"Professor McGonagall, you must have made a mistake. How could it be me? You'd better choose someone else, and if it's Hermione, let me decline on her behalf." Limited by the confidentiality agreement, Tom couldn't reveal too much, but he chose to playfully hint to Professor McGonagall to choose someone else.
Yes, before the start of the second task of the Triwizard Tournament, the organizers would find the most valuable person to each champion and submerge them in the depths of the Black Lake. The champions would have to pass a series of tests to rescue the most valuable person to them.
Tom felt this was ridiculous. Who was the most valuable person to the champions? Wouldn't the organizer decide that?
Although it was a bit idealistic, Tom simply accepted the situation. But was it too absurd for him to be chosen? Did he have any connection to any of the three champions? Tom thought Dumbledore was up to something.
Professor McGonagall looked at Tom, not saying much more, then left the library, leaving Tom sitting there with a bewildered expression.
"So, what's the content of the second task? Why are you so angry?" Hermione asked, very curious. Both of them were sitting in a corner of the Charms classroom, allowing themselves a quiet and relaxed conversation.
This class was perfect for getting distracted, as they were practicing the Banishing Charm, the opposite of the Summoning Charm, which could send objects away from the wizard. So the classroom was a bit chaotic, which allowed them to speak quietly.
"There's no problem in telling you..." Tom explained to Hermione the reason Professor McGonagall had sought him out.
"Honestly, it surprises me because I don't understand why they chose me. If they had chosen you, it would make sense, but why me?"
Hermione: ...
"Maybe you're the most important person to Miss Delacour," she said sarcastically.
"Are you kidding?!" Tom was surprised, "The most important person to her would be her sister!"
"How do you know she has a sister?"
Tom: ...
They couldn't talk anymore that day.
In the end, Tom went to Professor McGonagall's office at night. When he opened the door, he found Cho Chang, Luna, and Professor McGonagall waiting for him.
Tom raised an eyebrow; it was clear now. Hermione was right. Cho Chang was the most valuable to Cedric, Luna to Krum, and, by process of elimination, he was the most valuable to Fleur.
"Professor, there must be some mistake..." Tom felt uncomfortable. What was going on? Why had they chosen him? How would he explain this to Hermione?
Professor McGonagall finally revealed the truth to Tom. It turned out that the organizers had the chance to meet with the three champions and had hypnotized and interrogated them. Then, they modified the memories of the three.
The most important people to the champions were determined from the results of the interrogation.
Upon hearing this, Cho Chang blushed, Luna's eyes shone with joy, but Tom's eyes were filled with fear.
Seeing Tom's stunned expression, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. "Yodel, you're not actually Miss Delacour's first choice... it's just that her first choice left Hogwarts some time ago and is not available now. So we turned to the person she considers most important or longs for the most."
Professor McGonagall seemed to be suppressing a laugh. "Miss Delacour has many grievances against you."
Tom's face became very interesting: all because he declined her dance invitation? Really?
"I hope you can help us, Yodel," Professor McGonagall said with a serious look.
"What if they don't end up rescuing me?" Tom thought maybe Fleur, upon seeing him at the bottom of the lake, would decide to leave him there.
Tom: ...
Reluctantly, Tom finally drank the potion offered by Professor McGonagall and fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, the competition began as planned. The stands by the lake were filled with students from the three schools, and beneath the stands were a series of small wooden cabins surrounding the lake.
Students chatted and speculated about what was inside the cabins.
"There's probably a wizard in each room, and the champions will have to defeat the wizard to move to the next floor."
"But there aren't enough wizards for that... Are some older students involved in the challenge?"
"It doesn't seem like it; I didn't see any older students missing."
As Hermione listened to the buzz around her, she felt uneasy. She didn't understand how her boyfriend suddenly became the most important person to another woman. Tom hadn't had time to tell Hermione the truth before Professor McGonagall interrupted. If Hermione knew that Tom was Fleur's "Plan B" and was included on the list because he rejected Fleur's invitation, she would surely burst into laughter.
But she felt relieved because Tom was her partner now.
What more could Fleur do if Tom Yodel liked Hermione Granger more? Tom Yodel's first kiss wasn't from Fleur but from me, Hermione Granger!
When the three champions gathered, they looked at each other without saying a word.
There was nothing more to say. The three were completely puzzled about the challenge ahead.
After the first task, they didn't get much information about the second. Now, standing by the Black Lake, all three had a bad feeling about what lay ahead.
As everyone gathered, Ludo Bagman stood in a prominent spot in the stands and began explaining the rules of the challenge.
"First, we'll review the results of the three champions in the first round of the competition. Cedric Diggory scored 88 points in the first event, taking the first place. Viktor Krum from Durmstrang scored 40 points, taking second place. Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons, 32 points, needs to improve her score." Ludo Bagman was radiant and excited.
His excitement was simple: he no longer had to pay his debts!
At the final of the Quidditch World Cup, he owed goblins a large amount of money. These goblins had very powerful connections, and even he, as a high-ranking Ministry of Magic official, didn't dare not to pay them. So he had to find a way to pay them. But recently, Gringotts had a crisis, and a group of high-ranking officials were arrested, including some of his creditors.
With no creditors, naturally, he didn't have to pay, so he was very happy.
"In the second challenge, the champions must overcome trials to rescue the most important and beloved people in their hearts, their 'treasures,' who are now... there," Bagman shouted loudly while pointing at the lake.
"Yes, in the bottom of the lake! We've sunk the most important people for the three champions into the lake. They have three hours to retrieve what has been taken from them. If, after three hours, they haven't succeeded... hehehe." Bagman chuckled maliciously, not mentioning the consequences for the three after that time.
The three champions immediately looked towards the lake, but all they saw was the dark water with nothing else.
The black water of the lake seemed capable of engulfing all hope and life. No one knew what lay beneath the water's surface, and this challenge could be enough to make someone with thalassophobia die of fear on the spot.
As they gazed at the deep and seemingly endless surface of the lake, Fleur's face turned pale. In her mind, the person submerged in the Black Lake had to be her younger sister. Due to the magnitude of the commotion caused by Voldemort and his Death Eaters, Fleur had sent her sister home to keep her safe. She wondered how she could be involved if she had already sent her sister back home.
Both Krum and Cedric looked uncomfortable, quickly seeking solutions and ways to stay underwater for several hours.
"We've said that the advantage gained in the first task would carry over to the second, so now, please approach, the three champions. The organizing committee has provided you with some small items that may assist you in solving this challenge," announced Bagman to the three.
Immediately, the three approached him.
Bagman made a hand gesture, and a table appeared in front of the champions with two objects on it. On the left, there was a mass of greenish-gray intertwined rat tails, and on the right, a metal canister with a meter and a connected breathing apparatus, along with a small booklet.
Cedric, coming from a wizarding family, was puzzled by the object on the right but recognized the plant on the left as "gillyweed," which allowed people to breathe underwater.
Both Fleur and Krum had some knowledge of the Muggle world and recognized the objects on the table as scuba diving equipment used by Muggles. It was self-contained underwater breathing apparatus equipment that allowed divers to breathe freely underwater.
"What you see in front are two small items that can help you. The 'gillyweed' on the left requires 30 points to redeem, and the scuba diving equipment on the right needs 20 points. But wait, there's more to say. You can't enter the Black Lake directly; first, you must go through those cabins. But we can simplify that process by using points!" Bagman stopped Cedric when he was about to take the "gillyweed," indicating that he should listen to everything first.
"In those cabins, there are three levels of tests, but you can choose to skip the tests by spending points. One test can be skipped for 30 points!"
Upon hearing this new rule, the three champions immediately began calculating in their minds.
There were only two items available, which meant that if the first two champions chose them, Fleur, who was in third place, would have no chance. But Krum's score was a bit awkward; if he bought the item, he couldn't skip the test, and if he got stuck in the test without being able to get out, it would be a problem.
The items also had advantages and disadvantages. The "gillyweed" was better than scuba diving equipment. In addition to the unknown ability of the three wizards to use scuba gear, just the weight of the scuba gear made them reconsider: if they chose it, they would have to carry it while completing the tests. If there were intense physical tests, they would definitely be exhausted.
"Well, let's decide in order of the score. Mr. Diggory, have you made a decision?" Bagman looked at Cedric with some expectation. Cedric thought for a moment and made his decision.
Chapter 673: Chapter 673: The Person Who Designed This Level Must Have Some Psychological Issue (Edited)
"Scuba diving gear, skip two challenges," Cedric decided quickly.
He didn't choose the seemingly better "gillyweed" but instead opted for Muggle scuba diving equipment. The reason was that this way, he could maximize his points: 20 points for the equipment and 60 points to skip two challenges. This way, he would only have to complete one challenge to reach the Black Lake and rescue the submerged person.
"Unexpected but reasonable choice," Bagman nodded, handing the scuba diving equipment to Cedric, helping him put it on and giving him the accompanying booklet.
When Cedric opened the booklet, he realized it was an instruction manual for the scuba diving equipment. For a moment, Cedric didn't know what to say.
From a certain point of view, the organizers were quite considerate.
After Cedric made his choice, Krum approached the table. After considering for a moment, he decided not to take the gillyweed but to skip a challenge using his points.
He had already devised a strategy for moving underwater, so he didn't need to spend points on buying items. Instead, he would use his points sparingly to skip a challenge.
Krum made this decision also because Fleur still had 32 points, which meant she could afford both the gillyweed and skipping challenges. If Fleur could only afford the gillyweed and couldn't skip challenges, Krum wouldn't hesitate to buy the gillyweed and make things complicated for Fleur.
Often, competition depends not only on the upper limit but also on the lower limit.
Amid the deafening applause, the three champions began their journey. Cedric would start on the third challenge, Krum on the second, and Fleur, who purchased the gillyweed, would start from the beginning.
Bagman led the three to the entrance of the wooden cabins.
As they approached, they could see more clearly: it was a three-story building. Fleur was left on the first floor, Krum on the second, and Cedric was taken to the entrance of the third floor.
"Push the door, and there you will have your challenge. Of course, if you prefer to breathe some fresh air outside, that's perfectly fine," Bagman encouraged Cedric with his characteristic smile. It wasn't because Cedric was a British wizard or because his father knew Bagman; it was simply that Cedric winning the Triwizard Cup would benefit Bagman more.
Yes, the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports was open to betting again.
Cedric definitely wouldn't waste valuable time for fresh air. He just adjusted his attitude, pushed the door, and entered the third floor of the wooden building.
Once inside, the sight was somewhat unexpected for Cedric. He expected to find a guardian or door wizard who wouldn't let him pass without defeating him, or perhaps strange and magical creatures guarding the way out. But once he entered, he realized it was just an empty room.
To call it a room didn't seem quite right; "courtyard" might be a more appropriate description. The world beyond the door looked more like an outdoor courtyard, with artificial rocks and pine trees, and looking up, you could see a clear blue sky. However, it was precisely this clear blue sky that made Cedric understand that all of this was a magical illusion: in the Scottish Highlands in February, there would never be such good weather!
The door behind Cedric closed at some point, and the event officially began.
Cedric took out his wand and placed the scuba gear on his back, carefully entering the courtyard. There was nothing unusual in the courtyard, and the rocks and pine trees gave no clues.
However, at the base of a pine tree, Cedric found a sundial buried in the ground, with a silver needle. Cedric used his wand to touch the sundial, but found nothing unusual. The needle on the sundial seemed to be moving, but a part on the right side was stuck by the pine's roots.
After some investigation, Cedric felt that this was just a decoration for the initial location. His gaze crossed the courtyard and settled on the wooden door at the end of the courtyard. He felt that the real challenge should be behind that door.
He approached the door, took a deep breath, and opened it. He didn't know what awaited him, but he knew the challenge was about to begin.
Behind the door was a room that was decorated like a common living room, with sofas, stools, and a hanging lamp, and with the red and gold color combination, it looked very similar to the Gryffindor common room.
Not only did Cedric think so, but the students watching from the field had the same impression. However, the Gryffindor students were quick to debunk it and claimed that while it had a similar style, it wasn't the original Gryffindor common room.
Seeing the decoration and considering that there were three floors in the cabin, Cedric made a bold assumption: the first and second floors might be designed based on the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang houses, respectively.
Now he realized that it was worth spending those 60 points. He didn't know much about those two schools, and if he encountered unfamiliar styles, he was likely to get stuck, and that would be disastrous.
At the end of this "Gryffindor common room," there was also a similar door. Cedric approached the door with a trial attitude and pushed it.
It turned out that the door was locked.
Clearly, this was a challenge and not a display of Hogwarts' decoration. Cedric drew his wand with little hope and tapped the lion-shaped lock.
"Alohomora!"
But the lock didn't respond.
Cedric: ...
A riddle? He thought as he looked at this "lion's head." Suddenly, he remembered the Ravenclaw entrance ring his girlfriend mentioned during their chat.
Could it be that this lion's head will work like the Ravenclaw entrance ring and require guessing the riddle? Considering Gryffindor's style, could it be something like having to win a real fight to pass?
With a cautious look, Cedric touched the "lion's head," but nothing happened.
Cedric was perplexed: this is going to make me look stupid!
Indeed, his careful and cautious appearance was quite comical, and the stands were already filled with energetic laughter.
After his guess proved wrong, Cedric began to pace around the common room. Finally, he found something unusual.
"There are too many lion elements here, aren't there?" He noticed that there were many lion statues, each about a meter tall. He counted a total of thirteen, which was a lot, even considering that the lion was Gryffindor's symbol.
Cedric winced in pain and immediately began examining the lion statues carefully. He quickly discovered that the bases of these statues could be rotated.
After a careful observation, he looked toward the door through which he had entered this room. Next to the door was also a lion statue, which was slightly larger than the others inside the room.
Cedric first pushed the sculpture, but he realized it didn't move at all, which was different from the other statues. Cedric immediately realized that this sculpture had some issue.
After pondering the knowledge acquired in class and combining it with knowledge of the magical world, Cedric tapped the lion's head with his wand.
This was common knowledge in the magical world: all sorts of magical mechanisms could be activated with a wand, like the back wall of the Leaky Cauldron. The wand was an important item for distinguishing wizards from Muggles, so using a wand as a means to activate a mechanism was the most common way.
Not surprisingly, the lion's head that was hit spat out a small ball of golden and red fire. The fire floated slowly and flew toward the mouth of another lion statue not far away, then changed direction and continued flying until it reached the wall and disappeared with a burst.
Cedric looked at the statue in front of him and then at the lion lock on the door on the opposite side, and suddenly he understood.
Next, he continued adjusting the angle of the lion statue until the fireball finally flew toward the door lock. After hitting the lion's head, the lion lock shuddered and transformed into a handle.
Cedric approached and pulled the handle, and the door opened.
Behind the door, there was another room decorated in bronze and blue tones, clearly the "Ravenclaw common room." In this room, Cedric also saw several bronze statues of ravens and a door with a raven's head.
Although it was a bit repetitive, for Cedric, it was great to be able to solve two challenges with the same logic. So he tried the same thing again, but this time, when the golden and red fireball hit the raven's head, it didn't change at all.
Cedric: ???
He tried again, but this time, the result was the same as before.
Cedric fell silent: it seemed that the challenge designer wouldn't allow him to solve two rooms with the same logic.
So, he carefully examined the room in front of him and finally noticed something unusual. The fire in the fireplace in this room wasn't yellow but blue!
And blue was Ravenclaw's color.
Cedric tried again, this time deliberately letting the fireball enter the fireplace. The fire didn't disappear but turned blue. Now, the door to Ravenclaw would also open.
After the "Ravenclaw common room," came Hufflepuff's.
However, this time Cedric fell silent upon seeing the four small badger statues on the ceiling.
The ceiling was about six meters high, and he couldn't reach it even standing on a table.
Just one table wouldn't be enough... Cedric thought for a moment and then offered a simple and straightforward solution: why not use two more tables to reach it?
The tables in this room seemed quite sturdy, not of poor quality that would break with a single step. Plus, Cedric knew a useful spell that could reinforce these furniture pieces, making them capable of bearing more weight.
Cedric was a practical person, so he did what he thought at that moment. He approached one side of a table, stuck his hand underneath, and pushed hard.
Pushed hard!
Hard?
The table didn't budge.
Cedric: ???
Then he realized that no matter how much force he applied, the table in front of him wouldn't move an inch. Even if he used magic, he couldn't move these tables from their place.
"Epoximise!" Cedric realized that all the tables were held in place by the Permanent Stick Charm.
He felt a sense of despair and then realized what he had to do.
He waved his wand and transformed the cushions one by one into something he could use to stand on. He stacked them layer by layer until he could reach the badger sculptures on the ceiling.
When the orange flame opened the previously locked door, Cedric showed a smile on his face. This room was testing the transformation skills of the brave! Those wizards who couldn't transform the cushions into footholds would be trapped in this room.
Fortunately, his transformation skill was quite good!
Seeing how Cedric overcame the challenge, Dumbledore had a facial spasm and an expression that was a mix of laughter and tears.
"What's wrong?" Madame Maxime keenly perceived Dumbledore's change in mood.
"Well... Cedric used a... well... rather unexpected method to solve the riddle," Dumbledore said with a laughing yet helpless expression.
"What's the correct method to solve the riddle?" Madame Maxime was quite intrigued.
"In the room, there's a support, when you pull it down, the room flips, and the badger sculptures on the ceiling will be on the floor... that's why I put the Permanent Stick Charm on all the furniture that could have hurt someone," Dumbledore explained, shrugging a bit helplessly. "Students always find strange and surprising ways to solve problems."
Madame Maxime heard this and couldn't help but laugh, and the atmosphere in the stands became cheerful.
"But if you thought the challenge only had that, then you were very naive." A gleam of light shone in Dumbledore's eyes. "The real fun is yet to come!"
While the two headmasters chatted, Cedric had quickly solved the last Slytherin-themed room and opened the door.
Behind the door was a corridor, but when he reached the end of the corridor and opened the door, he was stunned.
He had returned to the courtyard where he started, nothing was as he expected!
The young wizards in the stands also exclaimed in amazement, no one could understand why this was happening.
From their point of view, Cedric had always been moving forward, and the wooden building he was in was also curved from the outside, not a closed ring.
Why then did he return to the starting point? It could only be that the corridor was playing tricks on him, or there were more than four rooms in the challenge...
Cedric quickly ran through the courtyard and entered an extremely familiar room; it was like a small Gryffindor common room.
Everything returned to the starting point, and he stood stunned in front of the lion sculpture.
Seeing the familiar layout, he couldn't help but curse: the designer of this challenge must have some mental problems!
The room's arrangement was identical, even the angles of the lion sculptures hadn't changed.
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