A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts
Chapter 442: Homeward Bound

An African elephant let out a sharp trumpet, collapsing to the ground. It stumbled and jostled, unseating seven or eight individuals. Some, utterly fatigued, seemed to slide down like they were on a slide, their bodies rolling a couple of times on the platform, panting heavily.

For these warriors, be it physically or mentally, they had reached their limits long ago.

Harry found it difficult to even twitch a muscle at this moment. Every inch of his body ached terribly. He wanted to lift his head, but his neck seemed to have given up, allowing him only a sideways glance.

He looked at Ron and Hermione. The trio's breaths resembled leaky old bellows. At that moment, Ron suddenly burst into exaggerated laughter. He lay on the ground, pounding the white marble surface with his fists, tears streaming down his face.

"Look...look at the elephant's nose...haha...it's like a runny bubble..."

Harry and Hermione strained to look. The African elephant lay on the ground, slowly reverting to its human form, but you could still see a bubble hanging at the tip of its long trunk... Harry speculated it was the Bubble-Head Charm, but... a runny bubble?

He couldn't help but shrug his shoulders, trying hard not to burst into laughter. Hermione seemed to be struggling to contain her amusement as well.

Cedric, Colin, and Roger limped over to their side, not too gracefully sitting down on the ground, breathing heavily. Cedric, already quite pale, now looked as though he'd been soaking in water for three days straight, resembling a vampire. Colin seemed to have caught a cold, his breathing producing intermittent whistling sounds. As for Roger, he just lay flat on the ground, engaging in a duet with the warrior beside him, with loud snores.

"He's exhausted..." Cedric pointed at Roger Davies, wearily speaking. "Thanks, your guardian helped a lot."

"Not really," Harry awkwardly replied. He wasn't used to this atmosphere, quickly scanning around - his neck began hurting again, the skin at the back rigid like an old tire. "Is everyone here?" he asked, struggling to replace something to say.

He saw Fleur, pale-faced, speaking to a fellow female student, while Krum, grim-faced, surprisingly robust in terms of stamina, paced around with folded legs, occasionally glancing at the approaching merpeople guards. Gravely's expression matched Krum's as he glared at a warrior who buried his face in his knees.

"He probably shouldn't have stepped out of the protection charm at the start; probably going to lose some points," Cedric remarked following his gaze. "Everyone's here. What about you? Not caught?"

Harry shook his head, a faint smile forming on Cedric's lips. "Then you're lucky."

"Difficult dealing with merpeople?" Harry said, trying to keep any trace of triumph out of his voice, turning his head to look beyond the dais, where hundreds of merpeople encircled it. Yet, he didn't feel much impending danger.

"Merpeople's domain is the water; they have a coordinated method," Cedric explained. "They weave ropes, cables, and even nets from water grass... each one is a skilled ambush artist."

Harry stared at the merpeople's iron-grey skin, seaweed-like green hair, and murky yellow eyes. He had to admit there was some truth in what was said. They were ambushed too, but as Cedric said, they were lucky enough to have two people there at the time.

"...and those Grindylows, relentless like hounds, obeying merpeople commands or not are two different things. These Grindylows can execute simple orders, like holding a rope or such... and the more exhausted we became, the less magic we could muster," Cedric shook his head.

At that moment, a silver light pierced the water's surface, descending straight from above the dark lake with a soft 'thud,' landing gently on the platform.

Felix surveyed the area, his silver cloak unfolding behind him, slowly transforming into sparkling specks of light. He announced calmly to the crowd, "The competition is over. All warriors, stand within the circle; I will now lead you back to the land."

He waved his wand, and the platform beneath their feet suddenly trembled. The outermost ring of stones and sediment shivered and separated. Soon, the white marble platform ascended slowly, enveloping them in a translucent, glowing shield, reminiscent of an enlarged protection charm.

Harry directed his gaze outward. His mood was unusually serene. Fish darted around like small darts, and he even spotted a Chimaera fish, perhaps the same one he had encountered.

Hopefully, it won't be spotted by the merpeople, Harry thought sincerely.

Merpeople guards armed with spears and forks formed two lines, guarding on both sides. After a brief distance, they split from the group. Subsequently, they saw the shimmering waves above their heads. With a 'pop,' they emerged from the Black Lake.

The world on the water was blindingly radiant, dazzling beyond measure. Harry's eyes stung with brightness, tears involuntarily streaming down. His mind filled with dazzling white light.

He heard a commotion, voices growing nearer and louder, merging into a buzzing sound. It took a while before he realized it was the cheering and applause of the crowd.

Ludo Bagman's voice came through timely —

"All warriors safely return! Let us cheer for them; they spent over four hours underwater! Ah, I see Madame Pomfrey rushing over —"

His voice was muffled, quite deep, as if separated by something.

At this moment, Felix reached out towards the half-spherical light membrane with his hand, and where his finger touched, it quickly ignited and turned to ashes. Immediately, a fresh, cool breeze rushed in. Felix took a deep breath, smiling at the warriors who were also taking in deep breaths.

His words were drowned by the suddenly deafening screams. Harry had never felt breathing was such a delightful thing. The distant voices became real. Madame Pomfrey was anxiously waiting on the shore. As soon as the marble platform touched the shore, she hurried over.

"Any injuries?" she asked Felix.

"Maybe some scrapes or bruises, nothing severe. Their issue is exhaustion," Felix replied, watching the sprawled-out warriors, some of whom were already snoring loudly, the enthusiastic cheers having no effect on their quality of sleep.

"Um...alright," Madame Pomfrey said, taking out a narrow-necked bottle from her medical kit, administering the potion to the warriors one by one. The warrior who was sleeping soundly drank it drowsily, rolling over and falling back asleep.

Madame Pomfrey glared at him, bewildered, before moving to the next person.

"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey," Harry said, swallowing the fiery liquid. He, Ron, and Hermione showed no sign of protest, only to divert Madame Pomfrey's attention away from them.

"A stimulant, perhaps with something else added; I can taste the hint of mint," Ron muttered, releasing streams of white vapor from his ears and nostrils.

Percy strode over, grabbing Ron's neck firmly, "I'm going to strangle you, Ron!"

Hagrid and Lupin were seen making their

way through the crowd.

Hermione looked somewhat crestfallen; she hadn't told her parents yet, but perhaps for the third task, she could ask her mom and dad. A blanket was draped over her, and she looked surprisedly at Professor McGonagall.

"I think you need a hug," Professor McGonagall said.

"Oh... um, I suppose," Hermione pursed her lips, giving McGonagall a brief hug. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Professor Snape and Dumbledore squatting by the water, conversing with the merchief.

Felix keenly noticed her gaze, giving her a thumbs-up before refocusing. He was quite astonished, watching Dumbledore emit a string of piercing sounds from his mouth, with the merchief leader responding in the same language. He muttered to himself, weren't merchiefs supposed to speak English?

Finally, Dumbledore straightened up. "Felix, we're going over to have a debriefing with the other judges." The heads of the schools gathered again, Fudge and Bagman rushing over, discussing in low voices.

Dumbledore relayed the information the merchief leader provided — unlike the footage visible only through the warriors' wristwatches, the merchiefs could offer a more dimensional and impartial evaluation.

Fudge offered an objective perspective, "This competition was quite complex; every team showed impressive performances. Let's start by discussing noteworthy aspects..."

>

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