"Take the Golden Egg, let's go."
Vid took the lead, stepping out a distance before realizing there were no footsteps following him.
He turned around and saw that Harry was still standing in place, gazing down at the heavy Golden Egg in his hands, the faint firelight dancing on his messy black hair, casting shadows of various depths.
"Harry?"
Vid raised an eyebrow, then suddenly understood, laughing: "Don't think of it as charity—or get any foolish ideas about how you must win the Golden Egg through strength alone for it to count."
Harry looked up, complex emotions flickering in his green eyes.
"Let me ask you," Vid casually twirled the magic wand in his hand, "If the champions from other schools cooperate to help one of them get the Golden Egg, do you think that's against the rules?"
"Of course not." Harry thought of Cedric, answering without hesitation.
He was a person who was more forgiving of others, yet had strict moral standards for himself.
"Then what's there to be guilty about receiving the Golden Egg from me? I helped you this time, maybe next time it'll be your turn to help me."
Vid held a smile at the corner of his mouth: "Anyway, by the second task, I'll definitely be the target of everyone. Would you really turn a blind eye if you saw others ganging up on me?"
Harry shook his head: "No, I would definitely help you."
"So that's settled?" Vid chuckled lightly: "There's only one champion, but until we've defeated all other opponents, we're allies, right?"
Looking at his straightforward expression, the clouds of doubt and hesitation in Harry's heart were swept away like morning mist, and the weight of the Golden Egg felt more reassuring.
"Yeah... you're right."
He smiled and quickly caught up to Vid's pace.
A small blue bird perched on a nearby candlestick, watching the two intently, occasionally flapping its wings.
Harry glanced at his companion and couldn't help but mutter softly, "Since you know this behavior will attract everyone's hostility, why don't you hold back a bit?"
Vid sighed, lowering his voice as well, "Can't help it, the opponents are too weak... this way is more interesting."
Harry: "..."
He glanced sideways at Vid, rolling his eyes, feeling the impulse to hit him even though they were allies.
Walking side-by-side, as they entered, the passage seemed endlessly long; but now heading out, it felt like no time at all before the exit's light was within reach.
Just as Harry began to relax, his peripheral vision caught a shadow at the side of the passage exit—a silhouette that undulated unnaturally... like someone raising a magic wand towards them!
In that instant, he thought of nothing else, his wrist snapping with a flourish, and the wand whipped out!
A blinding red light erupted, striking the shadow precisely, and from the darkness came a muffled grunt as the figure was hurled backwards, crashing heavily to the ground.
The opponent's Magic Spell also veered off course suddenly, smashing into the passage's roof with rubble cascading down.
Without stopping to think, Harry lunged forward like a cheetah, and as he dashed out of the passage, he saw the attacker scrambling up from the ground, reaching for the magic wand that had rolled not far away.
He sprang forward, denying the enemy any chance to rise; just as the man's fingertips neared the wand, Harry swiftly flicked his own wand again.
Two consecutive Disarming Spells, Harry was unaware that he had cast both silently.
"Bang!"
The spell's light struck the man's chest fiercely, sending him flying yet again!
As he landed, his arm snapped with a "crack," and the boy screamed, clutching his broken limb, pale face drenched in cold sweat, resentment gleaming in his eyes as he looked up at Harry.
Harry took another step forward, decisively: "Stupefy!"
The boy's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed heavily.
It was only now that Harry seemed to realize what he'd done, gasping for breath as he cautiously surveyed the Chamber of Secrets around him, then glanced down the other passage.
Vid walked over leisurely, looking down at the unconscious boy.
"Caspar from Durmstrang... what a stroke of bad luck," Vid smirked, a sardonic smile curling his lips. "We were about to leave. If he hadn't attacked, he'd still have a shot at qualifying in the competition."
The traps in the passage had mostly been sprung by those ahead, and all the mechanisms had been dismantled. There were still a dozen Golden Eggs inside the Scorpion Puppet's belly, although they dangled from the ceiling, they wouldn't be too hard to find if he searched carefully.
After all, there was no set time limit for the first task.
"Yeah, he probably didn't even see who was coming out; why ambush us?" Harry pondered, puzzled. "What if his teammate came out instead?"
"Maybe he was afraid that if he missed this chance, he'd lose any hope of getting a Golden Egg," Vid speculated, "We know there are plenty of Golden Eggs left, but from Caspar's perspective, his timing was too late, and most of the eggs might have already been taken by other champions. Even if there were some left, not many would be remaining."
"So... even if it was a schoolmate, he'd still snatch the Golden Egg right from their hands?" Harry shook his head, uncertain of how to judge such behavior.
"Come on, let's go."
Vid stepped over Caspar and headed toward the Golden Compass in the center of the Chamber, pausing as he turned around, feeling like he'd seen something.
Vid halted, glancing sideways back again, noticing Caspar's furrowed brow as a silver necklace peeked halfway out of his collar.
The pendant on his necklace resembled a triangular eye.
Vid's brow furrowed; recognizing it was the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, Grindelwald's former emblem.
This guy... could he be related to the Witch Pure Party?
Yet it might not mean anything; when Grindelwald attended Durmstrang, he carved that symbol on a wall. For whatever reason, they've never removed that graffiti, even to this day.
In the original story, it seems Krum mentioned that some Durmstrang students copied this symbol into their textbooks or onto their clothes to scare others; perhaps Caspar was just such a juvenile thrill-seeker.
Vid pressed down on the sudden ripple in his thoughts, no longer concerned with Caspar on the ground, standing beside Harry by the Compass.
The two exchanged a glance, silently extending their hands simultaneously.
As their fingertips touched the Compass, a powerful force seized them, causing the world to warp and spin, colors blurring into streaks of streaming light...
"Bang!"
The two appeared on a high platform, stabilizing themselves after a slight wobble.
Harry pushed himself up, breathing heavily as he looked around, while Vid's calm gaze swept over the nearby stands.
Hundreds of eyes fixed on them, seemingly frozen in expression, features blurred.
In Vid's view, Dumbledore with his white beard and hair stood out strikingly. The Headmaster wore a familiar and reassuring smile, slowly raising his hand—
"Clap, clap, clap."
The next moment, the stands exploded in a thunderous cheer and applause, countless students wildly waving, eyes shining with fervent admiration.
Harry saw Hermione, Ron, and many Gryffindor students on the stands, jumping in excitement, unable to resist cracking a brilliant smile.
—If only the heads of the other schools didn't look so sullen, this scene would have seemed much more harmonious.