The Admiral of Hogwarts

Professor Sprout was a very enthusiastic professor, especially when it came to matters concerning the honor of the school. So, after Harry asked her, she quickly recommended Gillyweed to him.

"I think with this, I'll be able to get through the competition." That afternoon in the library, Harry carefully took out a glass bottle from his robes and said to Hugo and the others.

Inside the glass bottle was a clump of herbs that looked like countless slippery, grey-green rat tails, which was quite unpleasant in appearance.

"Gillyweed is indeed suitable for the problem you're encountering now." After looking at this messy clump of things, Hermione quickly found the corresponding information from the vast amount of data in the Admiral Network.

"But you'd better learn some combat magic now, because the bottom of the Black Lake isn't a safe place. Competing there will definitely involve fighting a lot of messy things."

"Do you have any—never mind, forget I asked." Harry originally wanted to inquire further, but after recalling how Veneto utterly crushed the dragon in the first task, he abandoned the plan.

Because the combat methods for the dangerous aquatic creatures that Lupin mentioned last year that might appear at the bottom of the Black Lake were basically all melee-based, it was estimated that they definitely wouldn't be a match for Veneto.

And just like that, a month passed in the blink of an eye, and the time for the second task quickly arrived. The weather on this day wasn't very good. Dark clouds hung low in the sky, especially over the Black Lake, giving people a sense of oppression.

The night before, while Hugo and the others were reading in the library, a Ravenclaw lower-year student ran over and called Hermione away, obviously for tomorrow's task.

"I didn't know the Goblet of Fire could screen out the most important person in the contestant's heart!" Veneto said to Hugo through the Admiral Network while eating breakfast this morning.

"Fortunately, this screening is based on magic, so I can just hide my true thoughts through the Admiral Network and then have your sister take your place."

"This is also the result of our previous discussion. Hermione believes that as the core of the grand plan, it's obviously inappropriate to put you in avoidable danger."

"I'm really not that fragile," Hugo said with a wry smile, shaking his head. For the ship girls, the Admiral's safety is naturally the most important thing, so they would naturally stop him in this situation.

"It doesn't matter, actually I think it's quite comfortable staying in the water." Hermione's voice came from the Admiral Network at this time. "It even feels more comfortable than on land."

"The only thing that doesn't feel good is that this Gillyweed doesn't seem to be of much use to me, but then again, I don't need that kind of potion to survive underwater anymore."

"But it's quite boring being here alone. The merpeople swimming around me are all ugly. So Veneto, I hope you can get me out of here quickly."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely be the first to get you out," Veneto said in the Admiral Network. "Although compared to those destroyers or light cruisers, my ship-retrieval skills aren't high, but among the big ships, I'm an excellent ship retriever."

Soon, Hugo and Veneto finished breakfast, and then walked together towards the location of the Black Lake. At this time, only about 1/3 of the students had finished breakfast, and they were walking forward along the road in twos and threes.

Soon, the two arrived at the competition venue and said goodbye to each other. Veneto went to the tent to prepare for the battle, while Hugo climbed onto the stepped grandstand by the lake.

At this time, there were already many people on the stands. Everyone chatted and discussed the competition events for today. Although it hasn't been officially announced yet, most people have already guessed that the competition should be held in the Black Lake.

The weather is still a bit cold now, so the Weasley twins are running around selling pendants that can warm the body, selling each pendant for two Sickles on average.

"Who do you think will win today?" Fred bent down and asked as he walked to Hugo's side. "We're betting with the Durmstrang students, betting one Galleon that Miss Veneto will win."

"Then you'll definitely win the bet," Hugo said with a smile. "I can tell you with 100% certainty that, compared to other venues, Veneto has unprecedented advantages in this kind of water event."

"That's good—" George popped out from another place and said. "Those Durmstrang students are still saying that Miss Veneto is just strong, and definitely won't be good in the water."

"By the way, I have a question," Hugo asked after chatting with the twins for a few words. "If the competition is really held in the Black Lake, what will we watch for the entire competition?"

"We should only be able to stare at the lake surface and see nothing," After hearing Hugo's question, the twins looked at each other, and then said hesitantly. "After all, others definitely won't be allowed to cast spells in the Black Lake at this time."

To be honest, wizards do have some magic that is similar to having a portable camera effect that can see someone's actions, but because this competition involves multiple schools, it is not appropriate to cast this kind of magic.

After all, everyone can't pick someone who is generally recognized as fair to cast the magic, and if the principals of each school take the initiative to cast it, it is likely to be considered as helping their own students cheat.

That's why in the original text, Headmaster Dumbledore needed to communicate with the merperson leader to know what the contestants were doing below the surface of the water. After all, this is just a competition, and fairness, at least superficial fairness, is very important.

However, this doesn't mean that the Headmaster didn't do anything, especially since there was Harry, who inexplicably joined the competition. According to Hermione, the entire space around the Black Lake is now chaotic, prohibiting all teleportation.

At the same time, the various reconnaissance methods that Hugo and the others placed in the secret chamber where the giant tree and the red and white twin dragons were located also told them that the Headmaster used the power of Hogwarts Castle, at the cost of weakening the castle itself, to extend magic to the Black Lake.

"It seems that the Boy Who Lived is absolutely important in Headmaster Dumbledore's heart, otherwise he wouldn't have adopted such a strict defensive tactic," Hugo thought, observing the situation of the Black Lake after the Weasley twins left.

By about 9 o'clock in the morning, everyone had basically arrived. And the previous contestants all walked out of the waiting area tents and lined up on the shore of the lake.

The three headmasters and some staff members then came to everyone's side to give each person pre-match instructions, and then returned to their seats on the main stage.

Ludo Bagman said a few words to Harry and squeezed Harry's shoulder hard, before turning back to the judges' table.

Then he pointed his wand at his throat and, as he had at the Quidditch World Cup, said, "Sonorus!" and his voice boomed across the dark lake to the stands.

"Well, all our champions are ready to compete. I am about to blow my whistle, and the second task will begin. They have precisely one hour to recover what has been taken from them. I shall count to three. One … two … three!"