The Hagrid's son

February twenty-fourth marked the beginning of the second task, with large stands built on the shore of the Black Lake. As usual, the Weasley twins had set up a small betting stand "secretly" from the professors.

People turned their heads to the side when they saw Flitwick coming over to scold the duo, and secretly passing them some coins to bet on Harry and Cedric.

"Yes, it was obvious that if the golden eggs had to be submerged to hear their contents, the second task would be underwater," Hermione concluded, watching the giant sphere of water float over the Black Lake, surrounded by the blitzball rings that sustained it.

For once, most of the Hogwarts students didn't group by house as they would for a Quidditch match, but instead mingled with students from the other two schools.

This wasn't by choice, but something the headmasters had asked them to do to encourage forming bonds with more people.

"Where did Barnaby get those things?" Cho said in astonishment beside Hermione. "Professor Babbling is going crazy wanting to study those rings. I've never seen the Ancient Runes professor so worked up…"

In fact, many people wanted to know what those rings were and how they worked. But knowing Barnaby's history, no Hogwarts student bothered to ask.

Perhaps only Bathsheda had a chance since she was part of the faculty.

Unexpectedly, even the Ministry of Magic men in charge of security and assistance didn't interfere.

Some believed it was a trick of Professor Moody!

Hermione pursed her lips in annoyance upon hearing Cho, still thinking that Barnaby needed to stop being so selfish and let people study and protect the creatures he kept bringing in.

She didn't believe they were truly "visitors"; that was complete nonsense!

Monopolizing these magical discoveries as "property" only deprived the world of countless advances in magic and knowledge that could help millions of people.

If she weren't so busy with her organization for house-elf rights, the next thing would undoubtedly be to organize a strong and fair protest against Barnaby's practice.

For the greater good!

"Mmm?" Dumbledore looked around, raising an eyebrow, feeling that a new lamb had joined his flock of light.

Ready to be sacrificed, for the greater good!

"What is it, Albus?" asked Deputy Headmistress McGonagall beside him.

"Just a feeling…" he replied as he stroked his beard and turned to look at Karkaroff and Maxime. "Well, how do you think the champions will perform this time?"

Wizards and witches were accustomed to fighting on land and occasionally in the air when necessary, but they rarely prepared adequately to dive underwater for long periods of time.

The two headmasters exchanged glances, raising their chins slightly.

Clearly, they had confidence in their champions, as this time the clue had been much more obvious and straightforward.

They definitely wouldn't admit that they thought it was another trick, and besides preparing for underwater conditions, they had also taught their students a few tricks to combat fire.

Once burned, twice cautious, right?

"Ah, I see the champions have finished changing and are ready," said Dumbledore as he signaled for the task to begin.

"Witches and wizards! Welcome on this cloudy day, where the second task of the Triwizard Tournament will take place," the voice from the loudspeaker began to echo in the stands, as they extended their legs and elevated everyone to the perfect height to have a close-up view of the water sphere, which was surprisingly crystal clear. "In the previous task, our champions had to steal an egg guarded by a creature, using their wits. But today's task is much simpler and more direct: Underwater Defense!"

The champions stood near the rings, paying close attention to learn the exact details of the task and plan how to perform brilliantly.

"As the name suggests, our champions will be judged on their resilience in this task," the voice over the loudspeaker continued. "They only have to do one thing: defend themselves and last as long as possible against the onslaught of the creature they will face! Pay attention, everyone, because this task has one important restriction: Defense is allowed, but not a single attack!"

The spectators widened their eyes and exchanged glances when they heard this announcement.

So, was the task about determining who was the best punching bag?

The champions also became more serious upon hearing that. A wizard's defense had always been somewhat overlooked compared to attacks, and now they needed to withstand as much as possible.

"I've been asked to clarify that as long as the champions' actions are not aggressive, malicious, or harm the creature assaulting them, it will be considered a defense."

The clue was clear to the most perceptive.

That is, it wasn't necessary to rely solely on shields. Things like restraints, hypnosis, creating obstacles, even swimming away to buy time…

There were many ways to interpret that point!

They were giving free rein to creativity and rewarding its proper use.

"Lastly, just like in the previous task, each champion will face a different creature. Do you see the 'mystery boxes' numbered one to four above the water sphere?" The crowd looked up and indeed noticed that, at some point, four boxes with the "?" symbol next to a number had appeared, spinning slowly above them. "Inside, the creatures the champions will face are already waiting. A word of warning: one of them is a bit stronger than the others!"

The students, professors, and headmasters tried to get a better look at each box to see if there was any clue to differentiate them, but they all appeared identical.

"This time, the champions will personally choose their box based on the previous task's rankings. Therefore, Viktor Krum will choose first, followed by Cedric Diggory, then Harry Potter, and lastly, Fleur Delacour will take the remaining creature."

The crowd adopted thoughtful expressions. While there was an element of luck, where the previous ranking gave the chance to have priority in choosing, it didn't necessarily mean it was a good thing.

Krum had a 25% chance of picking the hardest creature, but chance could result in him making the wrong decision and leaving the easier creatures for the other champions.

Conversely, while Fleur wouldn't be able to choose the creature she faced, she had the advantage of it being unlikely that she'd get the hardest one, given that three others would choose before her.

It was all a matter of perspective.

No matter from which angle they examined it, this method of selection was very neutral in their opinion, and whichever champion was unlucky enough to choose the most difficult creature could only lament their own decision.

"Alright, let the first champion, Mr. Krum, step forward and select the number of the box he wishes," the commentator encouraged. "The creature will drop into the water once the champion enters the water as well, and at that moment, the clock will start. When the champion is knocked out, gives up, or leaves the water, the time will stop."

Krum stepped forward and examined the boxes for a minute.

"I choose that one!" he pointed with his arm. "Number three!" he specified to avoid any mistakes.