The Dark Lake Trial Pt1
Harry walked down the open stretch leading to the Dark Lake at an unhurried pace. He could already see the stands from there, along with the noise coming from them, full of excitement as they waited for the trial to begin.
Harry walked toward the edge of the lake, where a table covered with a cloth had been set up, with the judges seated there waiting patiently. And beside the table, the other champions were already standing there, turning to look at him as he arrived, since he was the last one.
"I'm here," Harry said with a calm smile, not the least bit bothered that he had made everyone else wait.
"Where were you? The trial is about to begin," an eager voice said suddenly, making Harry shift his gaze toward the judges' table, where he found Percy Weasley sitting in the spot where Barty Crouch should have been.
Looks like this time he'd be filling in as a judge for the trial.
Harry had never liked this Weasley all that much. He remembered that every time he saw him back when he was still a student, Percy had been a complete suck-up, especially whenever they crossed paths with him while Harry was with his family, uncles, or godfather. Percy had always been quick to try and worm his way into their good graces. And now that he had a position, which honestly wasn't even all that high-ranking in the Ministry, he seemed to carry himself as if he were the Minister of Magic himself.
Maybe he needed a reality check… or two.
"Alright, alright, Percy," Ludo Bagman said with a cheerful smile when he saw Harry arrive.
As always, that overly pleased smile he wore whenever Harry showed up for each trial made it feel like the man had something planned, though it didn't seem dangerous.
Harry ignored that and looked over at the other champions. Every single one of them had a truly serious expression.
Normally they would already be throwing competitive nonsense at each other the moment they saw one another, but right now none of them seemed to be thinking about the others at all. Instead, their eyes were fixed on the lake, as if they wanted to see straight through it and find the object that had been taken from them.
Then Harry's gaze shifted toward Sirius, who, the moment he noticed Harry looking at him, quickly avoided his eyes, as if he feared some future revenge might fall on him.
Though that would surely happen if Harry failed to recover what belonged to him.
But that would be impossible.
Ludo walked back toward his seat at the judges' table and picked up the magical microphone, while at the same time the champions lined up along the small dock that had been built for them, standing about two or three meters apart from each other.
Screens appeared in the sky, just like in the previous trials. Large, bright, and floating above the lake as if even the castle itself wanted to watch and see who would survive down there.
After all, not many people could actually see what the hell was happening underwater.
So they wouldn't have to spend an hour standing out in the cold just staring at the surface.
"Well then, all champions are ready for the next trial, which will begin the moment the whistle blows. You will have one hour to recover what was taken from you. You will face the dangers hidden in the depths of the Dark Lake, a place filled with creatures that may have lived here since the very founding of Hogwarts itself. If you fail to recover your objects, you will lose them forever. It may be harsh, but that will only make the urgency of victory all the greater. Are you ready? Prepare yourselves," Ludo said as he looked toward the six champions.
Luciel, Fleur, Harry, Draco, Viktor, and Marton all removed their robes at the same time, revealing the full-body swimwear they had on underneath. Their wands were strapped to their arms in holsters so they could access them easily.
Even though they still covered quite a bit, that didn't stop several girls from letting out excited little squeals at the sight of the male champions, nor did it stop more than one boy in the stands from staring at Fleur a second longer than necessary.
But none of the champions cared about that, and they were all ready to jump into the water on Ludo's count of three.
"1, 2, 3," Ludo said before blowing the whistle hard, making its sharp sound carry across the entire lake.
Then each of the champions moved straight toward the water, each of them pulling out something different. Though Harry was curious about what each of them was using, he was far more focused on his own preparations and on recovering his most precious object.
So he pulled out a small vial he had been holding in his hand the whole time and looked at it for a moment before putting what was inside into his mouth without much hesitation, then jumped into the freezing water.
Only his upper half remained above the surface for a moment while he chewed with a look of disgust on his face, which also gave him enough time to glance to the sides at the other competitors who had jumped in.
Draco, his best friend, had put on a silver pendant, which, the moment he entered the water, gave off a faint glow, and suddenly Draco's hair began to move strangely like seaweed. Draco shot him a look, and seeing that the effects of whatever Harry had used still hadn't kicked in, gave him a look that clearly said Harry was already late and that he'd be the winner before fully diving under. The moment he did, the water rippled sharply, showing just how fast he had already taken off.
Then there was Luciel, who simply jumped straight into the water with his wand in hand and sank, disappearing beneath the surface.
Viktor did the same, while Fleur took out her wand and recited an incantation as she spun it above her head.
Then, as she cast the spell, her body was covered from head to toe in a transparent blue veil. A lot of people looked disappointed when her swimsuit was completely hidden from view; Harry included, even if he'd never admit it.
Fleur gave Harry a mocking smile before jumping into the water.
Seeing that, Harry chewed faster on what was in his mouth before swallowing it, then made a disgusted face and dove in properly.
The moment he slipped beneath the surface, the first thing he noticed was how quickly his eyes began to adjust, allowing him to see everything perfectly. Then he felt an itching sensation in his neck, and while he held his breath, both sides of it suddenly opened and began pulling in water, carrying oxygen to his brain. His hands, now slightly greener, began developing webbing between his fingers. And his feet had stretched out, with even larger membranes between them, like two oversized frog feet… or rather, two fins.
And the temperature of the water seemed to become more and more comfortable, even enjoyable. Harry let out a slight smile when he realized the Gillyweed had worked perfectly.
Harry moved his hands and feet, and his body surged through the water as if it had now become completely his territory. And as he did, he crossed paths with Fleur for a brief moment, who seemed to be using spells to propel herself through the water. She must have sensed something, because she turned and saw Harry flying right past her at full speed, while Harry gave her back the same mocking look she had given him earlier.
Fleur's eyes widened when she saw him, and she immediately tried to catch up.
But by the time she reacted, Harry had already become a blurred shadow vanishing deeper into the dark waters.