Link and Harry knew nothing of what had happened after they left, and simply kept a certain distance between them as they continued their own competition.
Because Link had already, just earlier, almost completely slaughtered the vast majority of Blast-Ended Skrewts in the Forbidden Forest, along with the trees nearby, Harry's journey afterward was exceptionally smooth. Without much effort, he successfully reached the Black Lake.
At the same time, Link, who had been closely watching Harry's situation, saw that Harry hadn't suffered a sudden ambush from Death Eaters. Somewhat disappointed, he shook his head and entered the Black Lake ahead of Harry.
The moment he went underwater, a thick cluster of dark green water weeds shot up from below, winding around his body.
But Link didn't panic, because the weeds' movements were very gentle. Sure enough, not long after, a massive horse-like head, somewhat similar to a dragon's, drifted closer.
"Oooooh~"
A long, resentful groan rumbled from the mouth of the kelpie, bubbling as if to complain that Link had taken so long to come visit it.
Link laughed heartily, pulled a chunk of beef out of his Bottomless Pouch, and stuffed it into the kelpie's mouth. At the same time, he reached out to stroke its head.
This act of comfort was powerful. The kelpie's mournful cries quickly turned into a sound very much like a cat's purr. It even kept nudging its head against Link's hand, hoping he would scratch harder.
But at that moment, unusual disturbances in the water current caught Link's attention.
He spun his head sharply, only to see a terrifying anglerfish, more than 50 meters in diameter, staring directly at him.
Its mouthful of vicious fangs gleamed coldly under the chilling light from the "lantern" dangling above its head.
The overwhelming killing intent and malice were so dense that even without relying on his Hyper-Perception Spell or Legilimency, Link could feel them.
This was absolutely a monster more terrifying than the Azure Dragon from last time.
The moment the kelpie saw it, all the weeds around its body shrank back in fear, as if hesitating whether it should grab Link and run immediately.
But Link remained utterly calm.
Unlike last time, when his power had been artificially restrained, this time he was at his absolute peak.
"Arkam, come out."
At Link's call, the shrunken Arkam instantly shot from his collar like an arrow toward the monstrous anglerfish.
To an outsider, this would seem like suicide. But in the next instant, the magical seal on Arkam's head shattered.
Arkam's true form burst forth, his giant serpent body coiling tightly around the anglerfish as his enormous jaws clamped directly onto its lower jaw.
"ROOOAR!"
A roar beyond description rippled through the waters from the anglerfish's mouth, shaking the lake and forcing the kelpie to retreat.
Not only that, the "lantern" extending from the anglerfish's forehead suddenly sparked with ghostly blue lightning, lashing out at Link like a whip.
"You're not stupid, go for the king first, huh?"
Link laughed aloud, but his wand flicked sharply.
Massive water currents condensed into a straight lance of water. In an instant it smashed apart the lashing "whip," while the electricity dissipated harmlessly inside the vacuum Link had deliberately formed with the water flow.
That, was the source of Link's confidence.
Even without that so-called mermaid princess, with full-power Arkam and his water-control ability, underwater Link was unbeatable, unless he faced someone of Dumbledore or Voldemort's caliber.
"ROAR!"
The anglerfish's roar grew weaker. The venom Arkam had injected was eating away at its very soul, dragging it down toward oblivion.
Seeing this, Link raised his wand again, ready to grant it a merciful death.
But then, a burst of crisp clapping echoed from above his head.
"That was quite a performance!"
Princess Jenny clapped as she exclaimed.
Two mermaid knights in unknown metallic armor, standing atop killer whales, flanked her.
"This thing was yours?"
Link pointed at the dying anglerfish, his tone unfriendly.
"Of course not!" Jenny quickly denied.
"That ugly thing is one of the sea beasts we brought here to guard the Black Lake. Normally it's fine, but it's too stupid, it never understands my orders properly, so it mistook you as an enemy. See? As soon as we noticed, we rushed here to save you!"
Her eyes sparkled with light as she circled him, looking him up and down in surprise.
"But I didn't expect you to be so strong! To deal with that ugly brute without a scratch!"
She glanced at Arkam and the kelpie. "And you even raised a little snake and a little horse! Amazing! Especially this snake, so cute!"
"Oh! Will you give it to me? I really, really love it!"
Link didn't answer, his face still cold.
Though he could tell she was speaking the truth, being thrashed by a supposed ally before even encountering the Death Eaters was a bitter pill.
Arkam, still coiled around the anglerfish, seemed to understand. He opened his jaws toward Link, "Hissss, hiss hiss hiss!~" (This fish-thing, what is it saying? I think it's badmouthing me. Why don't we eat her instead, Link?)
"Hiss hiss hiss hiss!~" (If you want fish, I'll give you a feast later. For now, quiet! Don't cause trouble!)
At that, Arkam fell silent and nodded happily.
Jenny, however, gaped in shock. "You… you can talk to it? Are you a Parselmouth?"
Link still didn't speak, only glaring at her impatiently.
Jenny pouted, "Don't be mad! How about this, I'll have Ugly apologize to you!"
"If apologies worked, why would we need Aur..."
Link began to snark automatically, but stopped halfway.
Because her "apology" was… unusual.
Jenny simply shouted a couple of phrases in Mermish. The dying anglerfish suddenly summoned its last strength, barely breaking free of Arkam's coils. Then, with an eerie movement, it bit itself in half.
Link glanced at Jenny's sly smile, wariness flashing across his face.
She must have some kind of ability to forcibly control sea beasts, powerful enough even to make them commit suicide. If that's the case, are Arkam and the kelpie also within her control range?
"Relax. I can't control your snake or your horse, their intelligence is too high." Jenny, seeming to sense his thoughts, explained. "So now, you're not mad anymore, right? I mean, it already apologized that much."
Link silently stepped off the kelpie and onto Arkam's back, his face blank as he asked, "Tell me, what's the situation in the Black Lake now?"
Jenny smiled sweetly, as if reporting credit, "Very good! Lots of Death Eaters tried sneaking in through the underground water tunnels, but I stationed sea beasts at every entrance. With their help, not a single Death Eater has gotten inside!"
"Impressive."
Link's tone was flat, without feeling.
Jenny looked disheartened, but the truth was, Link truly couldn't be happy.
If the Death Eaters couldn't get in through the lake, that meant Voldemort hadn't considered the Black Lake a main battlefield at all. Which meant Link had lost his home-field advantage.
"Oh, and one more thing!" Jenny suddenly perked up. "That classmate of yours, Harry Potter, he's already entered the Black Lake. Looks like he's started his challenge."
"You can tell that too?"
"Of course! Nothing in this lake can escape me!"
She planted her hands on her hips, sulking. "Don't believe me? Watch!"
A silvery pool of water rippled open before Link. Harry appeared within it, dog-paddling clumsily as he struggled forward.
"For this contest, Hogwarts really set up a lot. There are four trials just in the lake! But they're all too easy. One of them is even a Grindylow swarm. What a joke! Grindylows, no matter how many, they can't kill anyone!"
She scoffed, but as soon as the words left her mouth, the Harry in the water image was swarmed by Grindylows.
He flailed his wand desperately, but they kept biting, the scene quickly spiraling out of control.
And that wasn't even the worst of it.
The deranged Tournament Committee had even placed a chest of Boggarts at the bottom of the lake.
Poor Harry barely escaped the Grindylows, only to stumble straight into a pack of Boggarts transformed into Dementors.
Watching him suffer in agony, Jenny's expression shifted, from scorn, to blankness, to suppressed laughter.
"Looks like not every Hogwarts student is as strong as you."
She couldn't hold back anymore, giggling.
Link, however, stayed silent.
Harry's weakness was just too much.
Any seventh-year about to graduate from Hogwarts could have handled these watery trials without such humiliation.
Seeing his silence, Jenny leaned closer, teasing further, "Link, aren't you one of the champions too? Why don't you try these trials yourself?"
"Go play the clown in your little circus show, for you to watch?"
Link's eyes narrowed coldly.
"That's not what I meant! It was just a suggestion, you're overthinking!"
"Whether I'm overthinking, you know the truth, prin-cess."
Link spoke each word slowly. Then he patted Arkam's scales. The serpent darted forward, swimming gracefully away.
By now, with Princess Jenny guarding the Black Lake, the Death Eaters clearly had no intention of striking here.
On the other side, Harry was almost free of the Boggarts and about to clear the whole lake.
With things at this point, Link saw no reason to linger.
Seeing her rare playmate leaving, Jenny immediately tried to follow.
But midway, Link waved his wand. Under his control, the water currents around Arkam and the kelpie shifted, no longer resisting, but instead pushing them forward like a giant harpoon.
In a flash, they sped far ahead, leaving Jenny behind, and reached the shore.
Splashhh!
Link and Arkam burst from the water.
He instantly dried both himself and the serpent with a flick of his magic. Arkam shrank back into his miniature form, nestling against Link's chest for warmth.
The kelpie, meanwhile, crouched pitifully in the shallows, poking just its head out to stare at him with pleading eyes.
"I'll visit you again next time."
Link waved to it, then turned toward Hogwarts Castle in the distance.
Creatures like the kelpie had too little practical use, he had no interest in keeping it as a pet. More importantly, he already carried enough pets with him. If he took in another, Arkam and the others would get jealous.
Buzzz~
The moment he approached the castle, the long-absent alchemical hummingbirds appeared again, their reflective mechanical eyes fixed on him.
This time, Link didn't destroy them. He only cast a cold glance and ignored them.
Truthfully, his mood was sour.
The final Triwizard task was already halfway through, yet Voldemort and the Death Eaters still hadn't acted.
That could only mean one thing, the only battlefield left was Hogwarts Castle itself.
But that, was Dumbledore's lair.
Not only filled with countless magical statues and armor, but also with endless portraits, serving as Dumbledore's eyes to watch everything inside.
Would Voldemort really be so reckless as to strike here?
Link doubted it.
But for now, all he could do was take things step by step.
"Ahh…"
With a deep sigh, he finally entered the looming, shadowy Hogwarts Castle before him.
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