Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

……

Just as everyone was discussing the changes in the mermaids, a new situation arose in the mermaid village depicted on the curtain.

Not long after Ayoduale was tied to the stone pillar, two more groups of mermaids emerged from the depths of the village, each group consisting of two people, each carrying a warrior by the arm, and walked toward the clearing behind the stone pillar.

The two warriors had their heads bowed, their robes torn and stained with blood, clearly indicating that they were seriously injured and had lost the ability to resist.

"My God! Two more hostages!" Ludobagman exclaimed in exaggerated surprise. He leaned closer to the curtain, trying to make out the identities of the two warriors. "Let's see which school these warriors, who are about to be tied to the stone pillars, come from..."

As the image became clearer, Ludobagman finally saw the school badges on the warriors' chests. He exclaimed, "They're all Durmstrang students! Franz Schmidt and Maria Wilman! That means two of Durmstrang's three warriors are now hostages, leaving only Victor Krum to act alone. He's Durmstrang's only hope!"

Upon hearing this news, Karkaroff on the judge's platform instantly became agitated. He stood up abruptly, pointed at the curtain, and protested angrily, "This is cheating! Absolutely cheating! The reason our school's warriors were injured and captured is because their wands were switched! Without their own wands, they cannot cast spells properly. This is so unfair to them!"

“Principal Karkaroff, please watch your words.” Madam Maxim spoke slowly, her tone calm yet carrying an undeniable authority. “When the competition rules were first established, all of us principals agreed to the clauses regarding the temporary safekeeping and possible replacement of wands, and no one raised any objections. Now that Durmstrang is at a disadvantage, you’re accusing them of cheating? That’s utterly unreasonable.”

"How can this be the same?" Karkaroff's emotions grew even stronger, and his voice rose considerably. "Your school's warriors all successfully retrieved their wands, so of course they can easily handle the challenge. It's easy for you to talk when you're not in their shoes! Our warriors are holding other people's wands, and they can't even cast basic spells smoothly. This is not fair competition at all!"

Mrs. Maxim helplessly spread her hands and gently fanned herself. A breeze appeared out of nowhere, making Karkarov's hair disheveled.

"If you want to think that way, then think that way."

She ignored Karkarov's protests and turned her gaze back to the curtain, clearly not wanting to argue with him any further.

Karkarov looked at his disheveled hair, feeling both angry and anxious, but unable to find a reason to refute it. He could only sit back in his chair resentfully, his face ashen.

At this moment, Ludobagman's voice, amplified by a megaphone spell, echoed throughout the stands. His eyes gleamed with the excitement of watching a spectacle as he added, "Ladies and gentlemen, I must explain a crucial rule that has been overlooked! I mentioned earlier that the second challenge is difficult, not only because of the magical creatures and mermaids at the bottom of the lake, but also because we set a hidden trap before the warriors entered the lake—when handing in their wands, everyone needs to carefully remember the appearance of the staff member who took their wand, so that they can accurately retrieve their wand at the bottom of the lake."

He paused, deliberately slowing his speech to whet the audience's appetite, before continuing, "Clearly, only the warriors of Hogwarts and Beauxbatons have succeeded in doing so so far!"

“The most interesting part is yet to come!” Ludobagman said with a hint of sarcasm. “Perhaps for some special reason, Durmstrang has had some really bad luck this time.”

……

Upon hearing the news, the Ravenclaw students in the stands immediately launched into a heated discussion.

Anthony Goldstein's eyes gleamed with excitement as he said enthusiastically, "The second project is so interesting! So many traps were set up when we handed in our wands. It not only tested our magical abilities but also our observation and memory skills. It's truly one trap after another!"

Chrismoon frowned, looking confused, and said, "I'm completely confused now. Who took whose wand? Can someone please sort this out for me? Mr. Bagman spoke too quickly; I haven't even processed what he said yet."

"So, it's definitely beneficial to study arithmetic and divination regularly; at least it makes organizing logical relationships clearer!" Michael Corner raised his chin, a hint of smugness in his voice. "The wands there weren't just theirs; there were also other people's wands that had been buried before! They couldn't find their own wands and picked up the wrong ones—it's that simple!"

Ludobagman then shifted the focus to analyzing the impact of the Warriors being relegated to a hostage position on the game.

He spoke rapidly, yet each word was clear, and every key point was explained in detail: "Attention, viewers, if a warrior is severely injured at the bottom of the lake and loses the ability to continue fighting—like Schmidt and Wilman of Durmstrang, whose injuries are so severe that their companions cannot heal them on the spot—our mermaid friends from the Black Lake will lend a helping hand."

"Of course, the mermaids' help is not free!" He paused deliberately for a second, whetting the audience's appetite. "They will first use special underwater herbs to heal the warriors' injuries and ensure their safety. After that, they will take these warriors who have lost their fighting ability to the mermaid village and turn them into hostages who need to be rescued. This will undoubtedly be a huge test for the remaining warriors."

Ludobagman's tone grew increasingly impassioned: "Without a companion, dealing with hordes of magical creatures will become drastically more difficult—tasks that could have been divided and coordinated will now be undertaken by fewer people, inevitably slowing down the collection of light points significantly. More importantly, the lack of manpower will create gaps in the team's defenses, multiplying the probability of someone else being injured or taken hostage. Therefore, judging from the current situation, Durmstrang's predicament is extremely dangerous!"

He emphasized, "If Krum also fails and becomes a hostage, Durmstrang's failure in the second project will be completely irreversible..."

At this point, Ludobagman glanced subconsciously at the projection screen in his hand. On the screen, Viktor Krum was swimming rapidly toward the mermaid village with a determined look in his eyes.

"It seems Krum has made his final decision and is prepared to fight to the death!" Ludobagman's expression instantly became excited, and his voice rose a few decibels. "Given his current situation, the only thing he can do is go to the mermaid village and try to rescue the hostages! If this rescue succeeds, Durmstrang's three warriors will reunite, and they will have a chance to collect enough light points before the hourglass runs out to complete the second project; but if they fail... perhaps our mermaid friends will have to thank Krum, after all, he delivered himself to their doorstep, saving them the trouble of searching everywhere."

Since these were hostages who needed to be "rescued," the mermaid village naturally arranged for tight security.

The screen clearly showed three mermaid guards patrolling around an open space with stone pillars. They were tall, bare-chested, and their muscles were faintly visible in the lake water. One hand tightly gripped a spear made of deep-sea reef, the tip of which gleamed coldly. The other hand held a thick rope woven from seaweed, the end of which was tied to a hideous Grindylo.

The Grindillo had grayish-green skin, slender limbs, and sharp claws. It would occasionally let out a low growl as it wandered around the stone pillars, warily scanning every corner.

Viktor Krum moved forward at an unusually slow pace, pressing his body as close as possible to the rocks at the bottom of the lake, his expression solemn as he gazed at the mermaid guardians in the distance.

To avoid being discovered, he used the dense aquatic plants as cover, his body almost blending into the lake water. Every time he moved a short distance, he would pause for a few seconds to observe the guards' movements and only continue to approach the stone pillar after confirming it was safe.

All the spectators in the stands who were focused on the Mermaid Village held their breath, their expressions extremely solemn.

Some people clenched their fists instinctively, while others leaned forward slightly, staring intently at the curtain, afraid that even their breathing might disturb Krum's stealth. Everyone was holding their breath for this Durmstrang warrior.

When Krum was only about ten meters away from the stone pillar, an unexpected event occurred. One of the Grindylos seemed to sense an unfamiliar magical fluctuation, abruptly stopping in its tracks. Its previously lowered head quickly rose, and its murky eyes stared intently in the direction of Krum. Then, it extended its long, sharp claws, pointing directly at the area with dense seaweed, and let out a piercing scream.

"Oh no! We've been spotted!" someone in the stands couldn't help but whisper.

Viktor Krum made a decisive move without hesitation. He immediately swung his limbs, increasing his swimming speed several times over. He abandoned his attempt to get closer and instead fled quickly away from the mermaid village, disappearing into the dense seaweed in the blink of an eye.

"Sigh!" Seeing Krum forced to abandon the rescue and flee in a sorry state, many spectators in the stands sighed with regret.

Karkarov, sitting on the referee's platform, had a face so dark it could drip water. He stared intently at the image of the mermaid village on the screen, gritting his teeth and muttering, "What's going on with these mermaids? Why are they working so hard to guard the hostages? When did they become so agreeable? Someone must have tampered with this!"

Hearing Karkaroff's complaint, Dumbledore, sitting to the side, smiled faintly. He leisurely stroked his white beard, his eyes showing a hint of understanding, but he didn't say a word, simply continuing to calmly watch the game on the screen.

"It seems that Krum won't be able to come up with a better rescue plan in the short term..." Ludobagman sighed as he watched Krum's departing figure on the screen. He then quickly composed himself and said into the microphone, "In that case, let's temporarily shift our focus from the mermaid village and take a look at the latest situation of the other groups of warriors. Maybe there will be some new surprises."

"Let's take a look at Beauxbatons' progress!" The screen switched again, showing Beauxbatons' three warriors advancing along the trench at the bottom of the lake. "Beauxbatons' progress is also quite impressive! Judging from the brightness of their bracelets, more than half of the light spots have been accumulated inside. The yellow light in the transparent tubes is particularly eye-catching. They might be one of the first teams to complete the collection of light spots!"

In the scene, Fleur Delacour's performance was particularly outstanding. Her hair floated gently in the water, and a light blue film surrounded her body. She swam with the agility of a real fish. "Merlin's beard! Delacour's performance is amazing! She looks like a real mermaid!" Ludobagman couldn't help but exclaim. "And her reaction speed is extremely fast. Just now, two Heracles attacked from the side, but she neutralized them with her freezing spell in time. She has saved her companions from danger several times. She is definitely the core strength of Beauxbatons' team!"

"Finally, look at the heroes of Hogwarts!" Harry, Cedric, and Draco appeared on the screen, standing back to back on a flat rock, with several defeated Heracles corpses scattered around them. "The heroes of Hogwarts performed exceptionally well! They possess a rather unique protective magic, their entire bodies covered in a pale silver membrane of light. Even after being repeatedly struck by Heracles, this protective magic remained unbroken, firmly protecting their safety."

Ludobagman's tone was full of pride: "They have accumulated quite a lot of light spots. The golden light spots in the bracelets are converging together, becoming brighter and brighter, and have changed from the initial pale yellow to a striking orange! According to the competition rules, as long as the light spots change from orange to deep red, they will have completed the core test of the second project and will be teleported back to shore by the door key!"

……

At the bottom of the lake, Harry glanced down at the orange glowing bracelet on his wrist, then turned to Cedric beside him and said, "Cedric, look, the bracelet has turned orange. Are we almost done with the test?"

Cedric also looked down at the bracelet, nodded, and said with certainty, "I think so."

Dylan had previously analyzed that the rules of the second project were closely related to alchemy, and now it seems his judgment was entirely correct.

He further explained, “I have read many alchemical texts in the library, and they all contain similar records—in the process of alchemy, when the ‘treasure’ being refined changes from yellow to orange, and finally turns crimson into dark red, it means that the entire refining process is basically complete. According to this logic, we are indeed not far from completing the test.”

……

On the referee's platform, Ludobagman heard Harry and Cedric's conversation through the curtain. He exclaimed into the microphone in surprise, "This is truly unexpected! I didn't expect Dylan Hawkwood to have guessed the complete rules for the second event so early on! You know, even we, the organizing committee members, only received the final rules explanation right before the competition."

Fearing the audience might misunderstand, he quickly added, "However, I can guarantee with my personal integrity that Hawkwood absolutely guessed it using his own wisdom! Neither I nor the other referees revealed a single secret about the rules. His ability to deduce the rules through his knowledge of alchemy is enough to prove how outstanding his magical skills are!"

“Since we’ve mentioned Dylan, why don’t we…” Ludobagman was about to slide the screen to check Dylan’s progress when the scene on the screen suddenly changed—the lake behind Harry and the others began to ripple violently, and a group of unknown creatures were rapidly approaching them.

"Wait! Everyone, look behind Potter!" Ludobagman's voice rose instantly. "That's a Loba worm! A dangerous magical creature that can spray venom! Their venom has a paralyzing effect; once you're sprayed with it, you'll lose all your strength!"

Worse still, new threats appeared simultaneously on the left and right sides of the screen—a dozen mermaids wielding spears were rapidly approaching the three, while three Grindylo followed behind them, staring at them fiercely.

"Not just Loba bugs! There are also mermaids and Grindylow! They're attacking Potter, Malfoy, and Diggory from both sides simultaneously!"

Ludobagman quickly realized what was happening and explained loudly, "I understand! This should be the final test of the second event! When the warriors' bracelets turn orange, it will trigger the mermaids' attack—this is the ultimate challenge set by the organizing committee! Don't forget, Grindylo and Loba Worms are both 'pets' kept by the mermaids. Although they haven't been enlarged, the mermaids themselves are quite intelligent magical creatures who know how to use tactical coordination. This battle will be even more difficult than before!"

……

At the bottom of the lake, the three Greendylows moved with astonishing speed. They swung their long, slender limbs like three arrows, rushing straight toward Harry with a clear objective—to grab Harry's hands and feet and restrict his movements.

The Ironclad Charm that Harry is using now is a special technique that Dylan taught him through magic sharing.

Once he has mastered this technique, he can evenly cover his body with magical energy, forming a light film that adheres tightly to his skin, instead of forming an invisible shield like the traditional Ironclad Charm.

This protective method is extremely effective in dealing with the impact of a Chirac fish, as it can disperse the impact force to the maximum extent and protect the body from injury.

However, this armored spell proved somewhat ineffective against Grindylow's sudden attack—the light membrane could only withstand physical impacts, but it couldn't stop Grindylow from grabbing his body.

Once your hands and feet are controlled by three Grindelows at the same time, it becomes extremely difficult to break free.

"Loosen the power!" Harry reacted quickly, immediately waving his wand at Greendylow who was approaching from the right.

A jet of scorching water shot from the tip of the wand, carrying a powerful impact as it flew straight toward the chest of the Grindylow.

Grindylo had no time to dodge and was hit hard by the water jet. He instantly lost his balance and flew backward, temporarily losing his ability to attack.

However, the other two Grindylows gave Harry no chance to catch his breath. Taking advantage of the moment when Harry was dealing with the enemy on his right, they lunged at Harry's legs with their sharp claws almost touching his calves.

Harry quickly bent his knees and twisted his body to one side, his feet landing squarely on the heads of the two Grindylows.

Using the reaction force, he leaped forward and swam more than two meters, barely escaping Grindelwald's pincer attack. But the mermaids and Loba worms behind him were getting closer and closer, and a new crisis awaited him.

Seeing Harry step on Grindylow's head to escape the pursuit, Ludo Bagman could no longer contain his excitement and shouted into the microphone, "My God! This is absolutely incredible! Faced with two Grindylows relentlessly pursuing him, Potter actually dared to step on their heads and escape their attacks in such an almost insane way! This courage and reaction speed absolutely deserve the title of 'warrior'!"

In the stands, Sirius Black had been watching Harry's figure on the screen intently. When he saw Harry narrowly escape Grindelwald's attack, he slapped his thigh and exclaimed in admiration, "This kid is just like James when he was young! He has this fearless spirit in his bones, and he's always willing to take risks, especially in dangerous situations!"

Lupin, sitting next to Sirius, was not so relaxed.

He keenly noticed a subtle change at the edge of the curtain—a mermaid wielding a spear was quietly circling behind Harry, preparing to launch a sneak attack.

Lupin's expression instantly turned serious, and he said in a low voice, "Hopefully Harry will notice the danger behind him soon... that merman is ready to attack!"

……

The two Grindylows that Harry stepped on were completely disoriented and couldn't tell friend from foe.

They shook their drowsy heads, waved their long, sharp fingers, and pounced on each other, tearing at each other, completely forgetting that their original target was Harry.

Taking advantage of the brief moment, Harry exhaled a deep breath of air that had been trapped in his chest, and raised his hand to adjust the bracelet on his wrist—the specks of light that had escaped from the corpses of several Chirac fish that had been caught in the crossfire when he repelled Grindylow were slowly flying toward him, and the bracelet automatically absorbed these specks of light, making the orange light in the transparent tube even brighter.

Before Harry could even catch his breath, a strong sense of danger suddenly came from behind him, and at the same time he heard the sound of rushing water, as if something was rapidly approaching him.

Without the slightest hesitation, Harry instinctively twisted his body to the left.

"Whoosh!" A sharp spear slashed past where he had just been standing, narrowly dodging it. (End of Chapter)