Chapter 642
The game is over
Chapter 642 The game is over
The medicine bottles jingled as Mrs. Pomfrey circled around Adam and his companion, personally escorting them into the medical tent after they took their medicine. Some students from both schools also gave up watching the game and followed them inside.
Wade glanced at the white tent and asked, "Aren't you going to check on your two companions?"
“Companions?” Clementine chuckled, tossing her honey-colored curls with her fingers. “I’m not one of them. We just use each other.”
"A premeditated ambush, a mutual exploitation?" Wade frowned slightly. "If you succeed, I'll only have one set of compasses. How will the three of you divide them?"
Clementine twirled her hair with her fingers and said slowly, "First of all... we all think that you, like last time, won't be satisfied with just taking your share."
“The rules have changed,” Wade said casually.
“That’s alright,” Clementine laughed. “I have a contract with them that allows me to give up everything I’ve received from you; I don’t want a single thing.”
On the screen of the Mirror, Krum, a half-human, half-shark, was shown getting the disc from the mermaid tribe. He immediately turned and swam to the surface, his actions decisive and without hesitation.
A small gasp rippled through the audience. Karkarov leaned back, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
Wade turned to look at Clementine, his gaze calm, though his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
"Does Mrs. Maxim not even care about the school's honor because I eliminated Fleur Delacour?" he asked.
"Hmm? Of course not, Madam is hoping I can bring the trophy home! Although her favorite is still Hibiscus."
Clementine said in a light tone, leaning closer to Wade and looking him in the eye:
"This is my own decision—you know? As long as I can beat you, I don't care about winning or losing the match."
Wade frowned slightly: "So you teamed up with Kitajima Tachibana and Adam Cagney?"
He thought back and realized that although he had offended many players before, Clementine could have easily qualified for the competition because of his actions... Was there any need to target him?
Moreover, judging from her attitude, she didn't seem to harbor any resentment towards me.
While Wade was thinking, Clementine recounted with a grin how the three of them had teamed up:
"Ms. Fujiwara of the Magic Institute thinks you are the biggest obstacle for others to win the championship. And if we can defeat you in the competition—regardless of whether the means are despicable—it would be a great victory."
"That guy from Iphamoni was also mainly persuaded by magic."
"So it may seem like I organized the three schools to join forces, but in reality, you can only say that we are similar people who are attracted to each other."
She looked up at the mirror, the light from the screen reflecting on her face.
Clementine continued, "The statue startled you, didn't it? I only discovered it by accident. Bei Dao is very good at manipulating those statues. If you weren't in the water, you would see that the paper figures in her hands are like they're alive."
"I have to thank you for that—it's said she got her inspiration from your puppet. As for Adam, he really let me down."
She turned her head to look at Wade, gave him a sweet smile, and said, "Be careful, Wade. There are some people who really, really dislike you!"
“Who?” Wade asked.
Clementine laughed and said, "I can't say for sure, why don't you take a guess?"
Their eyes met at extremely close range, and Wade saw a complex mix of emotions flickering in the girl's pupils—
Resentment, cunning, provocation... and a hint of intimacy.
He turned his gaze away, his expression not changing much.
The more prominent a person's presence and the higher their position, the more resentful and hostile gazes they will attract from the shadows. Slanderous attacks will come from all directions; they may not know everyone, and may never have even crossed paths with anyone.
Therefore, Wade had no interest in guessing or speculating; he could simply wait for the other party to jump out and then crush him.
The world of magic operates differently from the social rules of ordinary people. It is a world where strength reigns supreme, and a powerful wizard can be as effective as a well-trained army.
If it weren't for people like Dumbledore who consistently restrained and controlled their power, the dog-eat-dog world of magic would be even more pronounced and cruel.
But no matter how civilized the exterior may appear, the essence of the magical world has never changed—the rules are based on the balance of power.
Without power, the Minister of Magic can only bow and scrape; unable to defeat his opponent, the entire wizarding world can only turn a deaf ear to Grindelwald's activities and even try to whitewash the situation to the public.
"Wow!"
Cedric surfaced from the Black Lake and lay on the shore coughing.
Before Madame Pomfrey could examine him, Cho Chang had already rushed down from the stands, but once she reached the shore, she became too shy to approach and stood by with her hands clasped together, watching.
Cedric looked at her and smiled, but the smile was tinged with bitterness.
He was injured underwater, and his blood awakened the sleeping giant squid.
Although this big guy is usually friendly to students, no one dares to approach him easily when that behemoth moves.
Cedric ultimately failed to obtain the compass bearing, returning only with two other items.
The remaining contestants also gradually made their appearances—
Krum burst out of the water like a seal, the complete compass in his mouth, and Durmstrang students cheered involuntarily.
But Krum's gaze cut through the crowd, immediately turning to the audience, searching among the applauding Gryffindor students, and finally landing on Hermione. His usually gloomy expression softened somewhat.
Jabari was more than ten minutes late, and one of his arms was still hanging down unnaturally. He waved to his classmates, then paused briefly when he saw Wade, smiled, and walked straight over, only to be stopped halfway by Mrs. Pomfrey, who had a dark expression on her face.
"Come with me, your arm needs immediate treatment!" Mrs. Pomfrey said sternly.
Then there's Natalia, who leaped out of the water like a graceful mermaid.
“That giant squid was terrifying!” Wade heard her laughing and gesturing to her friend. “I almost became its lunch!”
Then there was Hope Cruz from Salem, the dark-haired girl who emerged silently from the water, taking at least half a minute for her own students to notice her.
Of the warriors still in the Black Lake, only Harry remains.
His head-bubbling spell had long since disappeared, and he had already swallowed the gill-bag grass, swimming extremely nimbly in the water.
Not far ahead of him, a giant squid was swimming slowly in the water, its tentacles covered with suckers gently entwining a salmon the size of a hound.
Harry stared intently at the few gem bearings that occasionally flashed red light, lingering near the giant squid. He didn't dare to approach rashly, but he was also unwilling to give up the chance to get this one part.
He only needs this bearing to complete the compass from the items in his hands.
Of course, Harry didn't yet know the function of the three parts. He just gritted his teeth, clinging tightly to the giant squid, raising his wand several times, only to have to abandon his spellcasting due to the shifting of the bearing caused by their movements. In Harry's mind, he felt he was probably the weakest of all the champions. This was because he wasn't as proficient in many spells as Wade, nor was he like the other contestants, most of whom were already adults or nearing adulthood.
This "self-awareness" did not make him give up on himself; instead, it made him even more stubborn. Even when his legs were about to cramp up and his ribs were aching terribly from swimming underwater, he still endured the pain and kept his eyes fixed on the giant squid that was hunting.
Exclamations of surprise rang out from the audience every now and then.
Even if such a huge creature doesn't attack intentionally, no one could withstand being accidentally slapped by it.
On the several mirrors, all that could be seen was Harry sometimes getting close to the giant squid and sometimes moving away.
Wade was looking at the screen when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps approaching—
An Iphamoni student came running up, panting, and stood a few steps away, looking flustered, and said:
"Mr. Gray... could you give me Adam's wand?"
"Ah, that's why I came here too." The baby-faced Asada Chinatsu walked over and said, "Kitajima-senpai's wand is also missing..."
She glanced at the two wands that Wade had casually placed on the grass beside her.
Wade returned the wands to them and casually asked, "How are Adam and Miss North Island's injuries?"
"It's alright," said Iphamoni's student. "He's awake, but his chest still hurts a lot."
“Kitajima-senpai is very grateful to Mr. Gray.” Asada Chinatsu bowed slightly and said, “If you hadn’t explained the reason for their injuries in time, Kitajima-senpai would have suffered even more pain.”
“Uh…” Wade coughed lightly, “You’re welcome.”
Asada Chinatsu straightened up and said, "Of course, I haven't forgotten how you eliminated me before. I hope that if there is an opportunity in the future, I can learn from Mr. Gray again."
After saying that, she glanced coldly at Clementine, then turned and left.
Iphamoni's student lingered for a while, unsure whether to thank her or issue a challenge, before finally mumbling a goodbye and leaving in a hurry without looking at Clementine.
Clementine snorted, "How stingy! I was just a little faster than their men, wasn't I? The ambush failed, so we should have retreated quickly. Those two running slowly is their own problem, why are you acting like I betrayed the alliance?"
She turned to Wade and asked, "Don't you agree?"
Wade was speechless: "You're asking me, the one who was ambushed?"
Clementine: "..."
She mumbled something under her breath, as if she were saying "stingy person" again.
At that moment, Natalia flung open the curtain of the medical tent and strode toward them, her long, dried hair bouncing over her shoulders, and the wool blanket she wore rustling behind her like a cloak.
"Hey, Wade, Clementine, how many have you collected?"
She shouted loudly from afar.
"Natalia—"
Before Wade could speak, Clementine rushed over like a gust of wind and took Natalia's arm.
"I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried when I came out and you weren't there... I only got the [Heart of Steel], what about you?"
She generously took out her short sword to show off, which she had found herself under the algae.
Natalia showed off her find, saying happily, "Aha, this is exactly one I was missing! Where did you find it?"
Like Wade, she rushed ahead too fast and didn't have time to search the area with aquatic plants.
"Right below that algae patch!"
Clementine pulled her aside and muttered, "But I was lucky; I just happened to run into Kitajima Tachibana from the Magic Institute..."
After talking for a while, Natalia's gaze suddenly turned to Liu Jing.
"Is that Harry Potter? What is he doing?"
The contestants who had entered the medical tents gradually came out, some sitting and some standing on the grass, all focused on the scene in the telescope.
Harry suddenly rushed to the giant squid's side, and in the instant the ruby pillar between its tentacles was revealed, he quickly cast a spell!
The bearing detached from the suckers on the squid's tentacle in an instant and fell straight down. It was then swayed off course by the churned lake water. The boy sped up and desperately stretched out his arm in that direction.
The giant squid suddenly spewed out a stream of ink, and a black curtain of water instantly enveloped the entire scene. All the people could hear was the sound of the water surging violently and the gurgling sound of the air pushing against the water.
After a while, the scene suddenly became clear, and Harry was kicking his legs and swimming quickly toward the lake, but he was still much slower than before.
The magic of the herbs was rapidly fading; the webbed hands and feet were gone, the cracked gills on his cheeks had turned into smooth skin, and the muscles near his cheekbones were taut uncontrollably, with veins bulging, forming an expression that was somewhere between pain and ferocity.
The audience was captivated by the young savior.
Suddenly, the boy's head broke through the water's surface, coughing violently as he gasped for fresh air, his entire chest heaving spasmodically.
The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers. As Harry struggled to wade out of the water, the Weasley twins and Ron rushed into the lake and pulled him ashore.
"Come here, child."
As Madam Pomfrey spoke, she grabbed Harry, gave him a potion, draped a blanket over him, and treated his wounds.
Harry also encountered an attack from Grindelwald underwater, and later struggled with a giant squid for a long time, ending up covered in bruises and the wounds on his legs turning white from being soaked in water.
"That's fantastic, Harry! You're absolutely amazing!" Fred patted Harry on the back proudly. "You know what? Only four people collected all the items, and you're one of them!"
Harry leaned against Ron, his ears ringing. His glasses had been lost underwater, and he couldn't make out the figures moving around him. He mumbled, "Who are the other three?"
But the people around him were jumping, cheering, and shouting excitedly, and no one could hear what he was saying.
Only Bagman's voice, amplified by the spell, remained exceptionally clear—
"Congratulations to Harry Potter for completing the competition! The second event is now officially over!"
"The third—and final—project will take place on June 24th. Warriors will be informed of the project details a month in advance! Thank you all for your support..."
(End of this chapter)