"What's going on?" murmured the referees and spectators.
Dumbledore seemed to have finished his exchange with the Merpeople leader. The leader gave Jon a fierce glare before ordering its subordinates to release Viktor Krum and Harry Potter.
The Merpeople swiftly returned to the depths of Black Lake.
Albus Dumbledore, supporting Krum by his shark-like head with one arm and Harry, whose limbs were still webbed, with the other, led them back to the judges' stand.
Professor Karkaroff and Professor McGonagall hurried forward to catch the two students.
Meanwhile, Astoria had regained consciousness.
Jon held her in his arms, gently patting her back. She coughed up several mouthfuls of lake water, opened her eyes, and blinked in the bright light.
"You did it?" Astoria said happily, her voice still weak. "That's wonderful... Professor Snape told me about your mission..."
"Yes," Jon nodded. "And I saved a few more..."
...
"What the hell is going on here?" Karkaroff bellowed, waving his wand frantically over Krum's head.
His efforts accomplished nothing—until Professor McGonagall rushed over and lifted the Transfiguration spell from Krum.
Dumbledore paid him no mind. Instead, he turned to Jon with a curious look. "Ael told me you attacked them, then rescued all the hostages?"
That hideous Merperson was actually female? Hearing the name, Jon couldn't help but be surprised.
"Yes, Professor," he explained calmly, holding Astoria's hand. "Because she's my friend too..."
As he spoke, Jon gestured toward Hermione, who was still unconscious.
"And that little girl..." He pointed to Gabrielle, lying in Fleur's arms. "Her face had turned purple-blue—it was terrifying, she looked like she could die at any moment."
"And her." Jon pointed to Cho Chang, who was still coughing up water. "If she had died underwater, one of my friends would've been devastated."
"If Harry, Krum, and Delacour hadn't arrived in time, they all would have died..." Jon said gravely. "I'm sorry, Professor, but I couldn't just watch that happen. I had no choice."
"Jon, you fool!" Astoria leaned close to his ear and whispered. "You didn't actually believe that song, did you? Dumbledore wouldn't let any of us drown!"
"But... the song said..." Jon protested.
"That was only to make you return within the time limit!" Astoria shook her head. "Professor Dumbledore already promised us—neither the champions nor the hostages would ever be in danger. I only hope you didn't waste time playing hero down there..."
Jon's face fell, stricken with guilt and panic.
"Not a second was wasted," Dumbledore suddenly said with a smile. "And along the way, you eliminated two opponents."
"Eliminated? What do you mean, Dumbledore?" Karkaroff's voice rose sharply.
"Perhaps my phrasing was imprecise. But the match is over," Dumbledore replied calmly.
"Impossible... It was only by chance!" Karkaroff argued heatedly.
"Yes, it's over!" Percy Weasley strode forward with a parchment in hand. "The rules state that once all four champions leave Black Lake, the match ends—whether or not an hour has passed. And now..."
He glanced across the four contestants on shore. "It is indeed over. Only Jon Hart successfully rescued his hostage."
"This is utterly unfair!" Karkaroff roared. "Krum never even had the chance to prove himself!"
"The Goblet of Fire's rules cannot be altered," Percy said dismissively.
"If you can escape hundreds of Merpeople while dragging four people to shore, then you can talk about unfairness, Karkaroff!" Severus Snape barked as he strode from the judges' platform.
Karkaroff flinched and stepped back, too cowed to reply.
"Yes, the boy did splendidly!" Madame Maxime added. "A truly noble act, and a dangerous one as well... Not everyone has the courage to face hundreds of Merpeople."
Ludo Bagman seemed about to argue, but seeing everyone else aligned, he wisely kept silent.
"Since there are no objections, let us begin scoring," Dumbledore proposed.
He shot a glance at the furious Karkaroff and added, "Oh, and Igor—to prevent the same issue as in the first task, where one contestant received a wildly uneven score, we'll add two new judges for this round. When tallying the results, the highest and lowest scores will be discarded."
Judging by Karkaroff's expression, Jon thought he might faint from rage.
"Two new... judges..." Karkaroff stammered.
"Me... and Minerva," Snape stepped forward, speaking with amusement as he cast a sidelong look at Harry Potter, who stood flustered before Cho Chang.
"But first, I have a question." Dumbledore turned back to Jon. "How did you escape with them from hundreds of Merpeople?"
"Besides relying on that poor phoenix..." he added.
"Uh..." Jon opened his mouth, about to explain—
"I found it!" Professor Flitwick's sharp voice rang out. Waving his wand, he seemed to scoop something from the depths.
A massive Ashwinder egg, once the size of a small mountain, rose from the water. Its glow had faded to dullness.
Under Flitwick's control, the egg slowly shrank back to its original size and was sealed once more in ice.
"An Ashwinder egg enchanted with an Engorgement Charm!" Dumbledore exclaimed, realization dawning. Then he burst into laughter. "Kettleburn nearly blew up all of Hogwarts with one back in the day, and now you've nearly blown up Black Lake! How amusing... Perhaps I should add it to Mr. Filch's list of banned items."
...
The referees dispersed.
"Let's go too," Jon whispered, pulling Astoria close, intending to take her somewhere warmer.
Her clothes were completely soaked through.
But before they could leave, someone else approached.