"From the moment we discovered it until now, we've lost over a dozen warriors."
The Merpeople Leader said gravely, "If you can help us get rid of this creature, you will become a friend of our tribe."
"No problem, leave it to me." Kael said, swimming towards the Kelpie.
Under the relentless attacks of the Merpeople, the Kelpie was on the verge of going berserk, thrashing desperately and trying to transform into different shapes to break free from the ropes binding it.
The Kelpie was like a Metamorphmagus among Fantastic Beasts, able to change itself into all sorts of forms.
But the Merpeople seemed to have suffered from this trick before, always managing to loop a fresh rope around it the instant it transformed.
Kael originally wanted to try to calm the Kelpie down a bit, but it wasn't listening to anything right now. As soon as it saw Kael, it lunged to bite him.
Kael wasn't surprised by this at all, and he had several ways to deal with it.
But all of them took time, and with an hour ticking away, he didn't want to waste any more than necessary.
So, he chose the most direct and brutal method.
He raised his wand, and a small, golden-red fish made of flames burst from the tip.
In an instant, the icy water of the lake began to heat up rapidly; Merpeople screamed and fled into the distance.
Then Kael flicked his wand again, and the fiery fish vanished.
Kael was already quite adept with the Fiendfyre Curse; since he was underwater himself, he purposefully kept the fire to its weakest, so he wouldn't get caught up in it.
Even so, the effect was obvious.
First, the cold lake water became pleasantly warm, like soaking in a hot spring.
Second, the Kelpie calmed right down—standing motionless and looking at Kael with clear, bright eyes, not a hint of madness left.
"Should've done this from the start." Kael swam up beside the Kelpie and whispered, "Easy now, I'm here to rescue you... Come with me, the Merpeople won't attack you anymore."
He untied the ropes wrapped around the Kelpie, then swung himself onto its back.
The Kelpie stayed quiet the whole time.
Kael naturally grabbed onto the wide, leafy cattail growing from its body, and pointed ahead.
"This way—go faster, I'm on a bit of a time crunch."
Sensing the ropes gone, the Kelpie glanced at the approaching Merpeople, let out a shrill whinny, and shot forward.
Compared to Kael swimming by himself, the Kelpie was several gears faster... Kael felt like he was riding an underwater broomstick—his bubble helmet got warped out of shape by the rushing water.
Grindylows and all sorts of other creatures were left far behind; all Kael had to do was hold tight to the Kelpie to avoid being thrown off.
It was less than five minutes before Kael began to faintly hear singing.
"The hour is almost up...
How much longer will you delay...
Come retrieve the treasure we've taken away."
Kael patted the Kelpie, swimming towards the direction of the voices.
Soon, he arrived at the center of Black Lake, beside a rocky pillar painted with Merpeople designs.
This seemed to be the Merpeople's settlement, as there were other stone huts clustered around the pillar, resembling little homes.
Some had gardens, and by some doors, he spotted little Grindylows tethered like pets.
Seeing Kael, the Merpeople rushed over from all directions, excitedly slapping at the water with their strong, silver tails, as if trying to intimidate him.
Then... they saw the Kelpie Kael was riding.
The melodious singing instantly turned into shrill screams; the nearest Merpeople scattered, shrieking and scrambling for their weapons.
"That monster's back again..."
"Run, the Leader got eaten by it..."
"Get weapons, get weapons..."
Chaos broke out. Clearly, as fellow aquatic creatures, the Merpeople had a natural fear of the Kelpie.
That actually worked in Kael's favor—he gave no explanation, simply went straight to a stone-carved Merpeople statue.
Tied to the tail of the statue were three people.
The one on the far left Kael didn't recognize, but judging by the outfit, he was probably from Durmstrang.
Karkaroff hadn't been seen at the castle lately, and neither had Krum or the others. Kael honestly had no impression of this guy.
In the middle was an eight-year-old girl, Gabrielle—Fleur's little sister.
On the right was Conna, who hadn't appeared since Professor McGonagall called her away last night.
All three appeared to be in a deep sleep, heads drooping weakly against their shoulders, mouths bubbling constantly.
They were chained to the statue by three round, heavy locks—interlocked, and you'd have to open all three to free them.
Kael had no keys, but his wand was plenty.
He reached out with his wand, and the Kelpie beneath him suddenly shifted anxiously... It seemed to recognize the wand and wanted to bolt.
Kael soothed it hastily, "Don't worry... You're safe..."
The Kelpie was still uneasy, but much calmer.
Kael raised his hand again.
"Sectumsempra."
An invisible wind seemed to cut through the water and slash through the three round locks, slicing them all neatly in half.
Kael lifted Conna onto the Kelpie's back, then rescued Gabrielle the same way.
Yep, that'll do...
Kael glanced behind, where a huge crowd of Merpeople with long spears were charging over. He patted the Kelpie's neck.
...
On the Black Lake shore stands, everyone was grumbling quietly.
An hour ago they'd been cheerful, expecting a spectacular competition. Instead, they'd spent an hour freezing by Black Lake, seeing nothing.
"Whose idea was this second task anyway..." Fred muttered, bored, tugging at a loose thread on his flag. "First the Forbidden Forest, now underwater—there's nothing to see here."
"Couldn't Headmaster Dumbledore just move the Auditorium ceiling here?"
George couldn't help saying, "That ceiling's enchanted to show the outside weather—surely it could show what's happening inside the lake, right?"
"Exactly—headmaster's so stingy," Fred sighed. "I just wish I knew what's happening to Kael down there."
"It should be soon," Cedric checked the time. "Only a few minutes left of the hour. I believe in Kael—he'll definitely finish in time."
"Me too, but still nothing—"
George cut off mid-sentence, rubbing his eyes in disbelief, staring at the lake.
Merlin, was that a horse charging out of Black Lake? But this was Black Lake, not the field outside Forbidden Forest...
Even more bizarre, Kael was riding on its back like a heroic knight, leaping onto the surface of the lake.
This... George felt like his brain was short-circuiting, but still clapped along with everyone else, pure reflex.
"That's a Kelpie!" Cedric shouted nearby. "They're as fast in water as broomsticks in air—can't believe there's such a Fantastic Beast in Black Lake!"
The stands erupted; people shouted and stood up, the judges applauded too. None knew if anyone was genuinely moved, but at least they were clapping.
Meanwhile, as soon as Kael left the water, Conna woke up from her unconsciousness, blinking in the bright sunlight.
"I knew you could do it," she said, looking at Kael.
"I'll admit you have good taste," Kael grinned, "And we're the first ones out."
Conna smiled too, but quickly remembered something and asked in a hurry, "Where's Fleur—did Gabrielle get rescued? She's so young, the professors shouldn't have let her go in the lake."
"I can't say for Fleur, but Gabrielle's fine now..." Kael turned, letting Conna see Gabrielle, who was lying on the Kelpie's back.
The little girl was awake too, spitting out a huge mouthful of lake water and looking around in confusion, clearly unsure what had just happened.
Then Conna realized something was odd—she was sitting on a big moving mound of aquatic plants.
"What is this?"
"A Kelpie I rescued from Black Lake," Kael explained. "As thanks, it's happy to give us a lift."
...