As Harry walked out of the tent, he thought there would be a grand ceremony. Feeling anxious, he quickly ruffled his messy hair and looked at his robe, which couldn't be fully straightened, with some dismay.
However, reality turned out to be surprisingly simple. They did not return to the high platform of the arena to receive cheers and applause from the audience.
Bagman simply led them to a new tent. As soon as they entered, those at the front squinted from the glare of flashlights.
"Aha, our champions are here!" Rita Skeeter said with a rising tone, wearing an exaggerated blue hat, while the quill beside her started writing furiously.
Inside the tent, there was also a freckled young man who looked like he had springs on his feet. The camera in his hands was flashing incessantly at the crowd.
Harry immediately felt a bit afraid and instinctively halted his steps, only to be accidentally bumped into the tent by the person walking behind him.
Bagman turned a blind eye to it all, just as he didn't bother with the blue bird flying alongside the crowd into the tent. He simply said enthusiastically:
"Oh, now let's officially confirm once more, the list of champions who passed the first task is—"
"Victor Krum from Durmstrang;"
"Hope Cruise from Salem;"
"Cedric Diggory, Harry Potter, Vid Gray from Hogwarts;"
Hearing three consecutive names, although everyone already knew this, they still turned to look at them once more.
"Adam Kagami from Ilvermorny;"
"Natalia Petrova from Kodostorians;"
"Kitajima Rikka from the Magic Institute;"
"Clementine Durand from Beauxbatons."
"Jabari Viven from Uagadou."
"Just these ten people, no problems, right?" Bagman counted out forcefully and then said: "Please show your golden eggs."
"Could the champions please hold up their golden eggs! Yes, just like that!"
The freckled reporter shouted excitedly, and the sound of the camera shutter was as loud as a machine gun.
Bagman still ignored the commotion beside him. He clapped his hands and said, "Alright, I have just a few words to say—"
"The second task will begin at 9:30 AM on February 24th next year. I still can't tell you what the content of the second task is..."
At this point, he deliberately paused, a sly smile appearing on his round face:
"But if you're smart enough to solve the clues provided inside the golden eggs, you'll be able to prepare before the competition arrives."
"Is that clear? Any more questions? Great, you can go back to rest."
...
Walking out of the tent, Harry glanced back with lingering apprehension.
Rita Skeeter, dressed in a bright green robe, was smiling widely as she grabbed Jabari from Uagadou and asked:
"Congratulations, Mr. Viven. I suppose you were the most relaxed in crossing the Fire Dragon! You've successfully entered the second round. Is there anything you'd like to say? Would you like to introduce to us why your Animagus form is a sand rat?"
Behind Rita, the shorthand quill hovered in the air, as excited as a shark smelling blood.
Seeing that this formidable journalist seemed to have lost interest in him, Harry subtly breathed a sigh of relief.
"I still don't know what the clue of the golden egg is." Harry looked down at the golden egg, asking Vid: "Do you think our clues might be the same? Shall we open it and see?"
Vid glanced around, shaking his head slightly: "Let's wait until we get back."
"You're right." Harry shoved the golden egg into his pocket: "Tonight, the academy will surely have a celebration party, and I wonder if Cedric's bones will grow back in time."
Vid doubted it.
Back then, when Harry had only the bones in his arm removed, it took the whole night to grow back. The bones in the thigh are much longer than the bones in the arm, and the regeneration process is certainly much more prolonged and painful.
Though, no matter if Cedric can't get up tonight, Hufflepuff will definitely hold another celebration for him afterward, as they never lack food for hosting feasts.
After parting ways with Harry, Vid first assured his parents that he was safe—despite them probably already having watched the regular competition via live broadcast—then some friends called using the magic version of the phone to congratulate him. After chatting, he also asked Machioni for a complete recording of the competition.
Thereafter, Vid went to the Room of Requirement on the castle's eighth floor. As he grasped the brass door handle and opened it, the room had already transformed into a spacious, bright space as magnificent as a Roman bath.
The bath at the center of the room was twenty to thirty meters long, with steam gently rising from the surface, and the white marble gleamed with a pearl-like luster. Twelve statues of merpeople stood all around, holding musical instruments or treasure vases, from which fresh water continuously flowed.
Vid swiftly removed his clothes and shoes, took a deep breath, and jumped into the water, swimming several rounds vigorously, splashing crystalline droplets on the surface.
The youth, as agile as a merperson in the water, had the warm pool water wash away the fatigue of the competition. He flipped and submerged beneath the water and when he surfaced again, he was already at the pool's edge.
Vid shook his wet black hair, then fetched the golden egg from his clothes pocket at the poolside and dove back into the water once more.
Although more schools joined the competition and the content was not completely the same, since the officials of the British Ministry of Magic still designed the tasks, the mindset of setting puzzles likely wouldn't change much.
It was just that the difficulty of the competition content had increased significantly.
Underwater, Vid opened his eyes, his fingers gripping the seam of the golden egg, and with a forceful twist, he opened it.
Instantly, an eerie, ethereal song began to flow—
[Come on, come searching,
Where our voices rise.
We cannot sing upon the ground,
When you search, please ponder:
The Heart of Steel slumbers in the dark,
Red of Sunset lingers at the tentacle's touch,
The Full Moon engraved with stars sealed by an ancient stone door,
When the three are united, you will know where to go,
Beware, beware...
If you wish to leave the icy nest,
Only wisdom and courage can lead the way...]
Vid surfaced, picked up his magic wand and cast a Bubble Head Charm on himself, then dove underwater once more, listening to the complete lyrics twice from start to finish, memorizing every line.
"It is indeed like this..."
Vid broke the surface of the water, wiped the droplets from his face, and lifted his hand to comb back his soaked hair.
"The content of the competition has changed, but we still search in the Black Lake... This time, however, it's not searching for people as 'treasures,' but searching for three things..."
He conjured a piece of parchment and wrote the lyrics on it, frowning slightly as he stared at the words.
"Heart of Steel, Red of Sunset, Full Moon?"
"Somehow it feels...much harder to find than a living person..."