Hogwarts: I will not become the Dark Lord

The second day of the tournament arrived as scheduled. The seats surrounding the Dragon Arena last November were now arranged layer upon layer on the bank of the Black Lake, leaving no space unoccupied. The lake's surface rippled gently, reflecting the lively scene. The judges sat at a long table covered with a golden tablecloth at the far end of the audience seating.

Except for Harry, Jerry, Fleur, Cedric, and Krum were all present, standing quietly to one side of the judges' table, waiting for the competition to begin.

"Oh, it seems like someone is missing!" Ludo Bagman said.

"Harry Potter hasn't arrived. Is he afraid and planning to forfeit?" Karkaroff's tone was laced with schadenfreude.

"I... I'm here!" Harry's voice was filled with hurried breaths as he sprinted towards them, finally stopping abruptly in the mud, causing him to splash mud onto Fleur's robes.

"Where on earth have you been?" a stern voice asked, displeased. "You were almost late! Or did you forget there's a competition today?"

"Easy, Percy, let him catch his breath," Ludo Bagman interjected, his face full of smiles.

Dumbledore gave Harry an encouraging smile, while Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked visibly displeased. Their expressions clearly showed they hadn't expected Harry to appear.

"Jerry, how could you let Dobby steal things?" Harry asked in a low voice after standing next to Jerry.

"Looks like Dobby successfully delivered the Gillyweed to you!" Jerry said with a sly smile.

Harry looked at Jerry with resentment. On the way here, Dobby had mysteriously stuffed the Gillyweed into his hands, telling him he had stolen it from the professor Harry Potter hated most. Harry didn't need to think to know that Jerry had ordered Dobby to do it.

"Just tell me if you're going to use it or not!" Jerry chuckled.

"Do I even have another choice right now?" Harry sighed softly. The Bubble-Head Charm wouldn't last long enough. To avoid drowning, did he have any other choice besides the Gillyweed? Besides, even if he took the Gillyweed to Snape and explained, would Snape listen?

Harry felt indignant, thinking that Jerry had come up with the idea and ordered Dobby to act, while he had been in a passive state the whole time. Why should he be the only one to take the blame in the end? That was so unfair!

Just then, Ludo Bagman stepped into the ranks of the champions. He waved his wand, ordering everyone to line up along the shore, keeping ten feet apart.

Then, as he had done at the Quidditch World Cup, he pointed his wand at his throat and chanted, "Sonorus!" Instantly, his voice thundered across the sky, penetrating the dark lake surface and echoing clearly throughout the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please be aware that our champions are ready to compete. When I blow this whistle, the second task of the Triwizard Tournament will begin. They must rescue the hostages imprisoned at the bottom of the Black Lake within one hour. Now, I will count down, three, two, one, start!"

As Ludo Bagman's loud countdown ended, a sharp, clear whistle pierced the silent, cold winter air. The audience in the stands was instantly ignited, with cheers and thunderous applause intertwining.

The moment the whistle sounded, Harry quickly pulled out the clump of Gillyweed from his pocket, which looked like several slimy, grey-green rat tails intertwined. He took a deep breath and stuffed the plant into his mouth.

Professor Snape, believe me, I was willing!

Compared to Harry, Jerry's actions were more decisive. He strode without hesitation into the deep, dark heart of the lake. The icy lake water pierced his skin like needles, bringing a burning pain, as if his legs were being licked by invisible flames.

When Jerry's entire body was completely submerged in the water, he quickly pulled the Gillyweed from his pocket and unhesitatingly put it in his mouth, chewing vigorously. The grass did not bring any unpleasant odor, but the taste was quite peculiar, both tough and slippery, like an octopus tentacle.

Jerry deftly flipped his body, like a lurking swordfish, diving straight towards the bottom of the lake.

All around was a chaotic and mysterious scene, with darkness and haze intertwined, only a faint light shining within a ten-foot radius around him. He moved through it, each stroke seeming to peel back layer after layer of mystery: undulating lake water, tangled black-green seaweed jungles, and wide sandy areas covered with twinkling pebbles, all unfolded before his eyes.

Jerry's eyes were wide open, trying to penetrate the grey, slightly eerie lake water, staring at the more dim and hazy area in the distance. Small fish darted past him like silver arrows, leaving fleeting silver trails.

Occasionally, his vision would capture a large outline ahead, but as he approached, those phantoms would vanish, either into thick black deadwood or intricate piles of seaweed.

Jerry didn't see anyone else. The bottom of the Black Lake was too big, and he needed to find a "local guide," or he might really get lost!

Just as he was trying to identify every possible landmark in the shadows, a sudden force grabbed his ankle without warning.

Jerry nimbly twisted his body, and a Grindylow, a water monster with horns on its head and a hideous face, appeared before him. This weak water monster's most dangerous feature was probably just its frightening appearance!

"Get away!" Jerry shouted, but the sound was swallowed by the water, with only a huge bubble bursting beside his mouth. Jerry kicked the Grindylow's head hard, and the monster's eyes rolled back, releasing its claws and drifting weakly with the current.

After Jerry cast a Severing Charm on the unconscious Grindylow, he swam quickly towards the deeper area, following the mermaid's song.

Mermaids are highly intelligent. He planned to grab one as a guide. It didn't matter if the other party understood his words or not. It didn't matter if they were unwilling to lead Jerry. Jerry believed that when his wand was against its head, all problems would be solved!

After at least another twenty minutes of strenuous swimming, Jerry arrived at a completely different body of water.

Here, black silt covered the entire bottom of the lake, and every movement he made stirred the surrounding water, forming circles of inky vortices. Suddenly, the surrounding scenery became rugged and primitive, with rough stones covered in moss forming the main landscape of the area.

Here, Jerry finally saw the merpeople, though their appearance was vastly different from the beautiful mermaids in the bathroom painting.

The merpeople's skin was a cold, iron-gray color, and their dark green hair was as tangled and wild as seaweed. Their eyes and exposed teeth were mottled yellow, and they wore cobblestone necklaces strung on thick ropes, which collided softly with their movements, creating a low sound. As Jerry swam through this area, the merpeople cast malicious smiles at him.

Two merpeople stealthily followed Jerry, one of them wielding a sharp, silver spear. Their fishtails slapped against the lake water, creating bursts of spray, and they approached Jerry with alarming speed.

The spear drew a silver arc in the water, heading straight for Jerry. Jerry flipped over, nimbly dodging it, and then grabbed the spear. Immediately, a dazzling red lightning erupted from his palm, and the current, as if alive, quickly spread along the spear's shaft until it struck the merperson tightly gripping the other end. The merperson shuddered, rolled their eyes back, and passed out.

Jerry seized the opportunity to pull back the spear, his movements fluid and effortless. Then, with a forceful swing, he slammed the spear like a heavy hammer onto the other merperson's head. A "thud" echoed, and the merperson saw stars, their mind reeling. When it barely regained consciousness, it was shocked to find Jerry standing before it, his left hand gripping his wand tightly, his right hand steadily holding the spear, its sharp tip pressed against its throat.

"Take me to the competition's destination, or else... I'll chop you up into sashimi and skewer it to make grilled merperson!" Jerry's voice was low, and with his words, a string of bubbles emerged from his mouth.

The merperson was stunned, its yellow eyes flashing a hint of confusion, unsure whether it didn't understand Jerry's words or was unwilling to lead the way.

Seeing this, Jerry grinned, revealing his ghastly white teeth. He lightly waved the wand in his hand, and a scarlet, blood-like current instantly shot out from the tip, striking the merperson he had previously stunned. The current, as if alive, roamed freely on the merperson's body, causing it to convulse again, twisting its body in pain, and letting out bursts of wails.

The merperson, with Jerry's spear against its throat, nodded fiercely, understanding, understanding, stop it! My brother is almost becoming spicy fish!

"I had no intention of harming, but the world forces my hand. Alas, why bother! Why bother!" Jerry sighed softly, then pulled a highly resilient piece of seaweed from a nearby patch, tying one end around the merperson's neck and holding the other end in his hand.

"Listen to my command," Jerry put away his wand, holding the merperson with his left hand and raising the spear high with his right hand, "Let's go!"

Although the merperson was unwilling, it could only do its best to pull Jerry forward with difficulty underwater. And Jerry, during this time, carefully looked around, observing the other things underwater.

After swimming for about ten minutes, as they continued to go deeper, the surrounding stone dwellings became denser, and some dwellings were surrounded by carefully arranged underwater gardens. They arrived at a square that resembled a small merperson village.

A large group of merpeople gathered in front, pointing and talking about Jerry. In the center of the square, a group of merpeople were singing in unison, and behind them, a rough merperson statue carved from huge stones stood out.

On the tail of the statue, five humans were tied up as hostages, and around them, a group of merpeople holding spears stood ready.

"I've arrived at the place, thank you for your trouble this time!" Jerry released the seaweed, smiling, "Next time I come to the bottom of the water, I'll come find you again!"

The merperson, having just breathed a sigh of relief after taking off the seaweed from its neck, was frightened out of its wits by Jerry's words, flapping its fishtail and leaving quickly like a torpedo.

How rude!

Jerry quickly swam to the five hostages who were tightly bound by seaweed ropes. They were all in a deep sleep, their heads drooping weakly, and a string of tiny bubbles occasionally overflowed from the corners of their mouths.

Next to Hermione was the little girl, Gabrielle, but at this time, Gabrielle's condition didn't look too good, her face as pale as paper, her breath faint.

The ropes binding the hostages were carefully woven from tough seaweed, which was both strong and slippery. After Jerry tried it with the spear in his hand, he decisively threw it away, and then used the Sectumsempra curse to cut the ropes on Hermione and Gabrielle.

Six or seven merpeople wielding spears quickly surrounded Jerry.

"You can only take one." The leader was a very strong, rough-looking, and aggressive mermaid. She was clearly the leader of these merpeople.

"Who I take away, how many I take away, is not up to you to decide!" Jerry looked around, sneered, and then waved his wand. The ripples produced by the Sectumsempra curse in the water cut off all the merpeople's spears.

The merpeople retreated, watching Jerry warily, waiting for their leader's next order.

"This is the rule of the competition! You can only rescue your own hostage, the others have nothing to do with you!"

Jerry was too lazy to waste time with these merpeople. Just as he was about to force his way through, Harry swam over from a distance, followed closely by Cedric.

"Ron!" Harry quickly swam to Ron and eagerly looked for tools to cut the ropes. At the same time, Cedric was not idle, he was also searching for sharp objects to cut the ropes on Cho Chang.

"Sectumsempra!" Jerry used his wand to instantly cut off the seaweed ropes on the remaining three people.

"Thank you, Jerry!" Cedric said gratefully, with a huge transparent bubble on his head, "The other two should be here soon!"

As Cedric's voice fell, Krum swam towards them, his lower body maintaining a human form, wearing swimming trunks, while his upper body had turned into a shark's head. Obviously, he had tried to transform, but the result was a failure.

"Now only Fleur Delacour is left, what should we do, time is running out?" Cedric asked Jerry, holding Cho Chang.

"Let's send these hostages up first!" Jerry gestured to everyone, then each carried their own hostage and swam upwards with effort.

The merpeople ignored the others and stopped Jerry.

Jerry was a little impatient, and several Sectumsempra curses accurately hit the arms of those chasing merpeople.

"I said, you can't stop me! I've already shown mercy just now, I advise you to hurry back to heal your injuries, the wounds torn by my curse are not so easy to heal!" After saying that, Jerry ignored them and quickly swam towards the shore with Hermione and Gabrielle.

Several injured merpeople painfully clutched their wounds, but blood still oozed continuously from the wounds. The merpeople's eyes contained both anger and helplessness, and they had to temporarily give up the pursuit and treat the wounded first.

Looking at the wounded, and then looking at Jerry's departing figure, the strong, fierce-looking merperson leader roared angrily.

"I will definitely report you to Dumbledore!"