After a spinning sensation, the world around Harry suddenly dimmed, and he hadn't quite grasped where he was yet.
Gurgling sound!
The strong water pressure and the lake water flowing into his nostrils and mouth made him roll his eyes, and before he suffocated and passed out, a mild voice rang in his ears.
"Remember, don't tell anyone about my appearance; you returned with the help of the sports gear."
Harry was still deep in thought about the significance of that sentence, but the exhaustion he experienced from all of this and the harsh environment outside forced him to faint away.
After Harry lost consciousness, Amostar sighed quietly. This day had finally arrived, and there would be no peace for a long time after this.
After a brief spasm, Amostar turned his wand vigorously. Suddenly, countless bubbles erupted from the dark trench where the group was located. These small bubbles seemed to be attracted and gathered around Amostar. Quickly, a large bubble emerged that could easily envelop everyone, roughly the size of a room.
The water around was displaced, and Amostar landed on a rocky platform jutting out from the wall of the deep and unseen trench. He crouched down, carefully checked Ron and Hermione's condition, and upon confirming they were unharmed, he stood up and directly faced the darkly glowing lake water above him. With his wand, he shot out two streaks of silver light that moved like swimming fish.
It wasn't long before the sound of splashing water came from behind the darkly glowing lake, and a shadow quickly penetrated the water, moving towards them.
It was a Capercaillie, but after passing through the bubbles, its appearance underwent a dramatic change. Sirius appeared in front of Amostar in the shape of Gabrielle, and in his arms, there was also a Gabrielle dressed in sports gear.
"They."
Seeing Harry, Ron, and Hermione lying on the ground, Sirius's face turned pale abruptly, especially when he saw a savage hole in the neck of the clearly dead Barty Crouch Jr. Sirius's body shook violently.
"Don't worry, they are all alive——"
Amosta took Gabrielle from Sirius's arms and gently placed her on the ground. Then, with a light flick of his wand, a wisp of silver mist issued from the tip, entering Gabrielle's brain at the position of her temples.
Sirius's hand rested on Harry's heart until he confirmed that the heart within his chest was still beating steadily. Only then did his face regain its color. Afterwards, he checked on Ron and Hermione again, which caused his face to turn pale once more.
"Don't worry, it's my magic. Once they get back up, they'll wake up soon."
Amosta explained before Sirius could ask.
"What are you doing?"
Sirius opened his mouth, he had too many doubts to start with, and could only ask about what happened in front of him.
"Adjust the girl's memories slightly so she thinks she was acting with Harry and the others. How about it, did anyone notice you?"
Amosta calmly asked.
Sirius shook his head.
"I followed your instructions, sneaking the girl into the mermaid house disguised as a stone. After holding off Krum, I went back to my house, where there were a lot of people in the lake. They searched the bottom of the lake thoroughly, turning it upside down and going through every house in the mermaid village, but they didn't find where I was hiding."
Amosta could sense something was wrong, and his brow furrowed.
"Did the Ministry arrive?"
Before Sirius could answer, the sound of splashing water came again from outside the large bubble. They looked in that direction and saw another 'Amosta' with a bubble on their head racing towards them. Like Sirius, after crossing the bubble, the face twisted dramatically before Remus appeared before the two of them.
His reaction was almost the same as Sirius's. Upon seeing Harry and the others lying on the ground, Remus's breath almost stopped. It wasn't until he confirmed they were still alive that he took a breath and recovered.
"Did Voldemort come back?"
Remus looked directly at Amosta and asked, and this question also caused Sirius's lips to press tightly together, turning his cheeks pale.
"What happened up there? What's going on?"
The thick lake water blurred Amosta's perception, but he vaguely sensed that something was amiss on the shore. Something unexpected had happened.
Remus breathed heavily, as if the events of the past few hours had completely destroyed his composure. He breathed heavily in a disheveled manner and said to Amosta and Sirius,
"After Hermione and the others disappeared unexpectedly, the mermaids immediately came ashore to inform the judges of the situation. They immediately pulled Pansy up from the lake, and then. Madam Pomfrey and McGonagall asked Dumbledore and me for an explanation. That girl named Pansy was almost driven mad, trying desperately to return to the lake to save her sister. The situation became a mess, and then, Moody. Oh, he wasn't Moody at all; that fake Moody suddenly turned into Violet Creevy."
"What?!"
Sirius shouted in alarm.
Amosta's brow furrowed even deeper. What happened, did she forget to take the Polyjuice Potion on time?
"Needless to say, the woman's appearance caused a great deal of chaos among the young wizards who scattered and fled without being stopped. Dumbledore and the faculty rushed forward and surrounded her.”
Remus stared into Amosta's eyes and said.
"She attacked?"
"No,"
Remus shook his head.
"Throughout the whole time, she never even pulled out her wand, but Albus still disarmed her. The Minister of Magic quickly brought senior officials and all the Aurors from the department. They were all quite shaken up, and then, this Violet Creevy told everyone in front of a large crowd that Voldemort had returned, and to prepare ourselves."
Remus breathed heavily again, still feeling slightly dizzy even now.
"She told Albus that the real Moody was locked in a box in her office. Albus immediately sent Severus to save Moody, and the staff at St. Mungo took Moody away."
Amosta was silent for a moment.
"Where is she now?"
"Albus wants to keep her temporarily confined at Hogwarts until the three warriors are found, and then question her. But Umbridge said something to Fudge, and then, Fudge gave an authoritative order for Aurors to take Creevy away. He had Dementors lock her in Azkaban, ignoring Albus's opinion and forbidding anyone from speaking to her."
"What's going on? Why is Fudge so eager to take her away?"
Sirius's forehead and temples were drenched in sweat.
"Last year, I declared to the Ministry that Violet Creevy had been captured and imprisoned in Azkaban, but she suddenly appeared here now. If this gets out, the Ministry will have a hard time explaining things, and she told everyone that Voldemort has returned. This is probably the last thing Fudge wants to hear."
Amosta's voice was low, and he probably guessed that Violet Creevy had planned to appear after the competition to be captured, for self-redemption, and to avoid facing a more intense struggle later on.
"She's been so deeply involved now that even Azkaban cannot help her distance herself from it. "
"You have Albus, did you know she was a fake Moody?"
Remus said solemnly.
"Yes, it was her who made Hermione into a competitor for the Triwizard Tournament, wasn't it?"
"Voldemort has returned. Was this Voldemort and Creevy's plan? Where did Harry and the others just go?"
Sirius was also pressing for answers.
Amosta sighed.
"You two secretly leave the Dark Lake and re-enter Hogwarts through the main gate. Pretend you've just come after hearing the news. Once Harry wakes up, he'll explain some of your doubts to you. Go. I'll take them upstairs."
Remus and Sirius exchanged a glance, both seeing the urgency in each other's eyes. However, as Amosta had said this, they had no choice but to comply with his instructions.
"Right --"
Before leaving, Remus took out a letter from his pocket,
"He said that a villager from Hogsmeade brought this letter to me, saying that someone gave it to him in exchange for gold, and he was cloaked so his face couldn't be seen."
Amosta raised his eyebrows and took the letter, quickly opening it and scanning through the lines. He smiled and folded the paper, slipping it into his pocket.
"Let's go. There's still a lot waiting for me up there."
Amosta said.
(The end of this chapter)
