Hogwarts Raven's Claw

Chapter 308 The Late Warrior

On February 24th, the much-anticipated second round of the top three tournament finally arrived.

Since the notice had been issued long ago, almost everyone got up early that day, wanting to arrive at the Black Lake early to grab a good spot to watch the game.

As a participating warrior, Mike was no exception. He got up early and started to enjoy breakfast.

Penelope made breakfast last night before she was taken away by the tournament organizers. Not only did she fully consider the nutrition needed for high-intensity exercise, but she also calculated the amounts to grams so that Mike would not feel sleepy due to eating too much during the competition.

Benjamin and others were afraid that someone would do something to prevent Mike from competing, so when Mike wanted to have breakfast, Benjamin and others stayed by his side and never left his side.

Mike was quite speechless about this, but Benjamin insisted, so he had to accept their kindness.

"Mike, it's almost time." Benjamin looked at his pocket watch, then handed a bottle of potion to Mike and said, "This is what you wanted. I calculated the time. It's just right to drink it now."

"Thank you."

Mike took the potion and drank it all.

As soon as the potion entered Mike's mouth, it turned into a warm current that flowed down Mike's esophagus into his stomach, and then slowly spread throughout his body through the blood.

Mike felt his whole body suddenly become extremely hot, and he didn't feel better until he took off his heavy winter school uniform robe.

"Oh, this feels really good." Mike stretched his body, stood up and walked out of the castle, "Let's go, it's our turn to go on stage."

The group of Ravenclaw students and mutual aid society members behind him shouted excitedly and surrounded Mike to the edge of the Black Lake.

At this time, the Black Lake was already crowded with people. The weather was quite good today, but the temperature did not rise at all. The sun in the sky was like the light in a refrigerator, and it was useless except for providing lighting.

People near the Black Lake were wringing their hands and stamping their feet, trying to resist the cold in this way.

Unfortunately, this method was obviously not effective enough, and they were all frozen with red noses and ears.

At this time, people also noticed Mike and his group walking towards this side, and there was a deafening cheer from the crowd. Mike could even vaguely hear singing, and from the intermittent lyrics, it seemed that this was a song they wrote specifically for Mike.

Ludo Bagman also noticed Mike. He walked quickly over to Mike on the snow and asked anxiously:
"Have you seen Harry?"

"No, I came straight from the Ravenclaw common room. Why? Hasn't he arrived yet?"

"Yes, that's right, he hasn't arrived yet! Merlin's beard! The game is about to start! This kid is really a worry!" Bagman gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, Mr. Townley, you go in first. I will try my best to delay him, but if that doesn't work, he will have to give up!"

After saying this, Bagman quickly ran back to the podium, forced a smile, and shouted in a loud voice:

"Dear audience, the one walking towards us now is the warrior of Hogwarts! Mike Tonley! Let's welcome him with the warmest cheers!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the cheers in the stadium became even louder, and the volume was so loud that even ripples appeared on the surface of the Black Lake.

Mike waved to everyone and was escorted to the edge of the Black Lake, where Fleur and Krum were.

Krum was wearing a thin tights made of unknown material, and his sturdy body stood straight in the cold wind.

His face was a little pale and he forced an ugly smile at Mike.

After nodding in greeting, Mike turned his attention to Fleur.

Fleur looked very unwell at the moment. She was wearing Krum's fur coat, but her body was still shaking. It was unclear whether it was because of nervousness or cold.

She seemed not to notice Mike's arrival and continued to stand there trembling, looking at the Black Lake worriedly.

The time for the game to start has come, but Harry still hasn't shown up.

Karkarov in the referee's seat was almost laughing to death. Although Ms. Maxim's performance was not as exaggerated as Karkarov, she couldn't hide the smile on the corner of her mouth.

Harry currently ranks second in points, just behind Mike.

And if he was really disqualified for being late, Fleur and Krum's ranking would automatically move up one place.

This is a good thing for both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons.

Bagman glanced at the two men who were already extremely amused, and stood up with his wand in hand.

"Our competition is about to begin, but before that, let me explain the rules again!" Bagman paused and continued, "Last night, we took away the most precious treasures of each warrior and hid them in the Black Lake! When the competition begins, the warriors must enter the Black Lake and find their treasures within an hour! If they exceed the time limit, they will lose their most precious things forever!"

Bagman roared with excitement, but the audience didn't quite buy it.

They came here to watch a gorgeous and exciting game, but now the main venue of the game is inside the Black Lake. They can't see the specific scenes inside at all, which is very boring for them.

But Bagman obviously didn't care about these things. He suppressed the smile on his face and said with a sad look:

"There is one more thing. Our old friend, Mr. Barty Crouch, unfortunately missed this game due to health reasons. This is really a very sad thing. However, in order to make up for the regret of Mr. Crouch's absence, we specially invited a more important guest! That is our beloved Minister of Magic! Minister Fudge!"

Cheers rang out again, and Fudge stood up from the judges' seat, waving in response to the enthusiasm of the crowd, then raised his wand to his neck, cast a voice-boosting spell, and began his speech.

The content of the speech was extremely meaningless. As the speech continued, boos finally broke out from the crowd.

But Fudge completely ignored these irrelevant voices and continued to preach nonsense in his emotional voice.

Karkaroff's face in the referee's seat was so gloomy that water seemed to drip out of it. Fudge was obviously stalling for time and waiting for Harry.

But even though he was very angry, he didn't have the courage to interrupt the Minister of Magic's speech.

I don't know how much time passed, but Harry finally arrived.

"Thank God! You're finally here!" Professor McGonagall shouted anxiously, clutching her chest. "Go over there quickly! Everyone is waiting for you!"

Harry looked like he hadn't woken up yet, and was pushed and pulled to Mike's side by Professor McGonagall in a daze.

At this time, Fudge on the podium finally stopped his speech, winked at Mike and Harry, and said with a smile:

"Okay, now I declare that the competition is officially open..."

"Wait a moment!"

Everyone's eyes turned towards the source of the voice. Everyone wanted to know who was so bold as to interrupt the minister's speech.

"Mr. Minister, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but there is something I must bring up." Karkaroff's face flushed, he stood up tremblingly and said, "It's been ten minutes since the scheduled start of the game. Contestant Harry is undoubtedly late. I suggest that he be disqualified!" As soon as these words came out, Harry, who was still a little dazed, immediately woke up.

His face turned pale and although the weather was cold, beads of sweat still appeared on his forehead.

Harry was extremely nervous at the moment. He could hardly imagine what would happen to him if Professor McGonagall and his classmates knew that he was disqualified because he overslept.

Fudge narrowed his eyes and looked at Karkaroff unfriendly.

He really didn't expect that Novkakalov, who had betrayed all his companions, would have the courage to say such words.

'It seems that the lesson I gave him was not enough.'

Thinking of this, Fudge put on a warm smile and said:

"Personally, I am willing to give Player Porter a chance. Since we disagree, why not take a vote?"

Karkaroff nodded with difficulty, knowing very well that this was already a very good result.

"Well, judges, please raise your hands if you are willing to give Harry a chance."

Fudge raised his hand as he spoke, and Bagman beside him raised his hand before Fudge even finished speaking.

Everyone's eyes fell on Dumbledore. There were only five referees, and if he raised his hand again, Harry could continue the game.

Karkaroff and Maxim both clenched their fists.

In the past, they all despised Dumbledore's rigid and absolutely fair character.

But now they really hope that Dumbledore can continue to be rigid.

'Don't raise your hand! Dumbledore! You must remember! You are the most fair person in the world!'

Karkaroff roared in his heart, but Dumbledore looked at Harry in the audience.

At this moment, Harry was also looking at Dumbledore with expectant eyes.

Their eyes met in mid-air, and Dumbledore seemed to understand the meaning of Harry's eyes.

I saw him nodded slightly, and then slowly raised his hand.

"Oh! That's great!"

"Long live Dumbledore!"

……

The crowd was in an uproar, everyone was shouting Dumbledore's name and praising his wise decision.

Harry exhaled deeply, and he felt that his whole body was soaked with sweat.

Amid the cheers, Karkaroff slumped down on the referee's chair with a pale face.

"Hahaha!" Fudge laughed upon seeing this, "In that case, I declare that the competition officially begins!"

As soon as these words came out, Krum took the lead and moved.

I saw that he had taken off his shoes and socks at some point and was now running quickly towards the Black Lake.

While running, he was waving his wand, casting some unknown magic.

Then an astonishing scene happened. With the waving of the magic wand, Krum's upper body began to deform. His handsome face and bronze strong muscles were all gone, replaced by rough and tough skin and a ferocious and hideous shark head!

"Merlin! Human Transfiguration! Krum is actually using Human Transfiguration! This is too dangerous. You know, Human Transfiguration can cause irreversible damage. The last guy who used Human Transfiguration in front of me hasn't recovered yet!"

Bagman explained excitedly, and Cedric, who was watching nearby, looked dark when he heard it.

"No! Krum's human transformation failed! Only his upper body turned into a shark, while his lower body remained the same!" Bagman said regretfully, "It's too late to fix it. Krum has already reached the lake and he jumped in! Oh! Well, let's wish him good luck."

Many of the onlookers laughed out loud. The sight of Krum running desperately with the thick body of a shark on his legs and finally diving into the water was so funny.

The other three people on the field couldn't laugh.

Fleur and Harry were pulling desperately at their shoes and socks. Harry seemed to be too impatient and couldn't take off his socks.

It was just a short delay as Furong took off her fur coat and shoes and socks, put on a tights that showed off her devilish figure, cast a bubble head spell on herself, and jumped into the black lake.

Seeing this, Harry became even more anxious. He tried his best to tear off the damn socks, but it was still of no use.

Harry now hated the pair of socks that Dobby the house-elf had given him as a Christmas present. He swore that Dobby had not studied the differences between human feet and house-elf feet when he made these socks.

At this moment, Harry discovered that the pair of colorful socks on his feet suddenly turned into a pair of frogman flippers. He looked at the flippers in confusion, but Mike's voice came from behind him at the right time.

"What are you still standing there for? Run!"

Turning his head woodenly, Harry saw Mike, wearing a frogman's outfit, roaring at him.

"Oh! Oh! Thank you! Mike!"

Harry instinctively said thank you and hurried towards the Black Lake.

The flippers made his posture look very funny, and the crowd burst into laughter again, with Malfoy even falling to the ground laughing.

But Harry couldn't care about anything else at the moment. He came to the lake, stuffed a green thing into his mouth, and then dived into the black lake.

"What did I see? Mike gave up the chance to enter the Black Lake first and chose to use the Transfiguration Spell to help Harry solve the problem of the socks that he couldn't take off! This is really noble!"

Bagman was explaining passionately, while Mike on the field waited until he saw Harry enter the Black Lake before he slowly walked towards the Black Lake. As he walked, he also cast a Bubble Head Charm on himself.

Under the anxious and expectant gaze of everyone, Mike finally slowly entered the Black Lake.

(End of this chapter)