HP: Wormwood and Lightning Wood

Harry turned into a snake.

He crawled on the cold floor, using the strength of his abdomen to move, and from the doorway to behind the sofa, away from the blazing fire.

He raised his head and rested it on the soft armrest of the sofa, and saw a strange baby curled up inside.

The baby's skin was deathly pale, tinged with an eerie blue, and his familiar blood-red eyes were half-closed. He opened his mouth and uttered a sharp sound: "Was Crouch's operation successful?"

"Master, it seems there are no problems so far." A curly-haired woman knelt on the ground, her expression fanatical. "But if you ask me, I should have participated in this event! I can complete the mission before Crouch!"

"Enough, Bella," Voldemort snapped. "Your duty is to protect your master at his side! Great Lord Voldemort!"

Bella lowered her head in fear and stammered, "Yes, my dear master..."

Harry felt Voldemort's gaze fall on him, which made his hair stand on end—well, he was just a snake now, without a single hair.

"My poor Nagini, are you starving? Once I get a physical body, I'll definitely get some people to fill your belly..."

Harry woke up with a start. He sat up, feeling a throbbing headache, and quickly grabbed the potion from the bedside table and gulped it down.

"Nagini...?" Harry recalled his dream and felt puzzled. How could he have turned into a snake?

"Harry...? So early in the morning..." Ron was woken up by Harry's noise, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

Harry waved his wand, and time materialized in the air. 6:10.

"I'm getting up now," Harry said hastily, heading into the bathroom to take a shower.

When Harry came out, Ron was already dressed, and the two walked together toward the Great Hall.

"Pre-match anxiety?" Ron muttered. "We might be the first ones to arrive at the Great Hall... Are you sure you're okay, Harry? The match is about to start."

Harry said calmly, "Don't worry, Ron, I'm fine."

For some reason, Harry really wanted to see Draco as soon as possible.

When they arrived at the auditorium, there were only a few people inside.

Harry and Ron were eating breakfast when more and more students started arriving.

Harry looked involuntarily toward the Slytherin table and saw that Pansy and Blaise were there, but he didn't see Draco.

Ron was also puzzled: "Where's Hermione? She's usually one of the first people to arrive at the Great Hall."

Harry stood up and walked over to Pansy and Blaise.

"Good morning, Parkinson, Zabini. Have you seen Draco?" Harry asked gently.

Pansy looked Harry up and down, which made Harry feel a little uncomfortable.

"He was taken away by the dean this morning and hasn't returned yet," Blaise said. "No need to worry, Potter."

Harry nodded. "Okay, thank you."

Harry recalled the details of the second competition and realized that Draco was the most important person to him, but he was still a little annoyed that he couldn't see Draco.

"By the way, Potter, when is West coming back?" Pansy suddenly asked.

"Uh, why are you suddenly asking about this?" Harry scratched his head. "Maybe soon—actually, I don't really know."

Most of the Slytherin snakes are quite perceptive. Pansy, for example, is remarkably perceptive and noticed the unnatural look in the Savior's eyes.

Seeing that she couldn't get any answers, Pansy shrugged. "Okay." She just had a bold guess she wanted to verify.

Harry returned to Ron's side, clutching the gill sac grass in his pocket, feeling much more at ease. Ron was still searching for Hermione, biting his lip, somewhat anxious.

Harry knew that Hermione was probably the most important person to Krum, but he thought about it and didn't tell Ron, otherwise Ron would definitely explode.

Half an hour before the match, Harry and Ron arrived at the venue. Ron found a good spot in the stands, waved to Harry, and kept looking around with his eyes darting about.

"Harry Potter! Come here!" Ludo Bagman shouted excitedly when he saw Harry. Cedric, Fleur, and Krum were also around him.

"You'll be standing right here in a minute—I think you're all ready, right?" Bagman said.

Harry's gaze met West's on the judges' panel, and West nodded at him.

"Of course." Krum looked exceptionally confident; Fleur tossed her long hair and tied it up; Cedric smiled.

Harry was somewhat distracted. He was worried about Draco at the bottom of the Black Lake. Draco was always sensitive to the cold; had anyone cast some warming spells on him? How could he possibly withstand the icy chill of the Black Lake?

"Alright, everyone to your positions!" Bagman stood on the command platform. "For the second challenge, you have one hour to dive to the bottom of Black Lake and retrieve your own treasure! Remember, be quick!"

"Alright! Ready, go!"

As Bagman whistled, Harry took out a gill sac and put it in his mouth before leaping down.

Harry felt a sharp, knife-like pain on the lower sides of his cheeks, as if they were splitting open. Soon, he found himself able to breathe freely and easily underwater.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and swam deeper into the lake. The cold water enveloped him, and all sorts of magical aquatic creatures swam past him, but Harry remained unmoved.

Frankly, he wasn't paying attention to or appreciating his surroundings. Draco was still waiting for him.

Just then, several Greendylows sprang out from the seaweed below, grabbed Harry’s ankles with their long, strong fingers, and tried to drag him into the depths.

Greendillo is a pale green underwater creature that lives in Black Lake, with green teeth and sharp horns.

Harry remained calm. His Defense Against the Dark Arts gave him ample experience to deal with these magical creatures, not to mention the considerable training he had received from West.

Harry took out his wand, aimed it at the Grindylows, and said, "Relax and Dissipate."

Several Grindylows uncontrollably loosened their grip, and Harry took the opportunity to swim away. Soon, he saw a cluster of stone houses huddled together, forming a village.

Harry discovered that in the center of the village stood four pillars, each with four people tied to it, surrounded by several mermaids holding forks.

"Draco..." Harry murmured in surprise, picked up a sharp piece of gravel from the ground, and cut the ropes binding Draco.

Draco's normally fair skin shone even more brilliantly in the dim lake. He closed his eyes, fast asleep, his pale golden hair floating in the water like an alluring siren.

Harry hugged Draco, then looked at Hermione beside him, and was about to put Hermione down as well, when two mermaids blocked his way. "You can only take one person with you."

"She's my friend." Harry stood firm, drawing his wand. He pressed it against Draco's face, feeling an astonishing coldness. He had to hurry.

Seeing Harry's somber expression, the mermaid, fearing he might really be planning to attack them, quickly explained, "If no one rescues them, we'll send them up in an hour, so don't worry."

Harry frowned, then caught sight of Cedric and Krum out of the corner of his eye. Confirming that Hermione could be rescued, he picked up Draco and prepared to leave first.

The return journey was even smoother than the way there, and Harry quickly led Draco out of the Black Lake.

The moment he broke the surface of the water, Draco took a deep breath and regained consciousness.

"Harry?" Draco exclaimed, instinctively wrapping his arms around Harry's neck. The cold lake water made him shiver uncontrollably.

"It's alright, Draco," Harry said, bending down to leave a soft kiss on Draco's blond hair.

A wave of applause swept through the venue.

"Harry Potter! Our youngest warrior has once again killed the game in record time!" Bagman cheered at the top of his lungs, his face and neck flushed with excitement.

With Bagman's help, Harry carried Draco onto the platform, where Madam Pomfrey was already waiting. She took out prepared towels and wrapped them around Draco and Harry. "Merlin! Poor children, dry yourselves off, lest you catch a cold!"

Harley-Ten cast several warming and drying spells on Draco, and Draco's complexion gradually warmed up. "Not bad magic, Harry."

The second to come up was Fleur. Because of Grindelwald's nagging, she hadn't been able to finish the race and was now anxiously staring at the water, "My sister's still down there... oh..."

"Maybe I should have brought her sister up..." Harry suddenly felt a pang of regret. "She's still a child..."

Draco smacked Harry's messy head in annoyance. "Saint Potter! Even if you don't save her, Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic won't allow anything to happen to her, okay?"

Harry chuckled, the guilt on his face fading. He pulled Draco's hand down, cupped it in his palm, and placed it against his chest. "Are you still cold?"

The noisy Draco quieted down, his grey-blue eyes fixed on Harry.

Harry Potter was nearly drowning in this mysterious grey-blue bay, his cheeks flushed an eerie red as he struggled to maintain his composure.

"Harry," Draco asked, his eyes fixed on Harry, "why am I the most important person to you?"