A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts - Chapter 439: The Adventure Under the Lake (Two)

At the shore, Ludovic Bagman exclaimed excitedly, “Look! Miss Granger successfully stunned a salmon, at least two feet long! Is this some rare talent?”

Fred and George chuckled, “Hermione won’t be too thrilled about this.”

“Oh, Professor McGonagall reminded me,” Ludovic Bagman continued, “it’s the power of ancient runes. Frankly, I don’t quite understand this field, isn’t it only for translating ancient texts… And about Elephendi, the warrior from Uagadou who chose to abandon the wand earlier, the judges discussed and concluded that since the rules didn’t explicitly state the prohibition of abandoning the wand, it falls within the allowed range, despite the difficulties it may pose in retrieval…”

“Let’s return to the competition. Ilvermorny’s champion successfully tackled the purple challenge. Now he faces a choice: a talisman, an ice bomb, or—look, he chose the second, freezing a small portion of the lake.”

“Durmstrang’s Krum is nearing the area of Grindylows. His less-than-successful transformation into a shark only added two gills and a shark tooth. Frankly, I hope those rows of fine teeth in his mouth won’t come into play. Back to the point, Krum truly lives up to his Quidditch international star status. His robust physique allows him to swim with his wand, not to mention he unexpectedly found a golden gem midway, boosting himself to two feet…”

“Oh no! He’s surrounded. Several Grindylows found him. Normally, these little things wouldn’t trouble him at all, but this time it’s different. Can he cast spells agilely? Yes, wisely, he chose to evade, foregoing that blue challenge…”

In the Black Lake, Hermione faced a dilemma.

After solving the puzzle, an echoing voice informed her of rewards: any question within the rules, terrain of a small area around her, or transmitting information to teammates for ten seconds.

Hermione was enticed by each option. After some consideration, she chose the one most needed at the moment—the terrain of the small area around her.

The echoing voice repeated her choice. After a quiet pause, a map materialized in the air. Hermione’s eyes gleamed, memorizing the appearance of the golden and purple dots on the map.

Meanwhile, Harry had completed the Human-Shield Charm a few minutes ago. He almost repeated the development process of this spell, luckily for him, due to his frequent visits to Room Seven and the relatively idle state of Professor Snape’s memory. The details were well covered.

His Human-Shield Charm looked like a deformed Bubble-Head Charm, covering his entire body. This made his movements considerably slower than usual, but nevertheless, he managed to acquire the ability to step out of the protective shield.

After a few seconds of thought, he extended one hand out of the shield, touching the icy lake water. The colorful fish finally grew tired, darting off somewhere for rest. Harry took a deep breath, stepping into the water. He resembled a bubble deformed by pressure, limbs relatively intact while his head and torso appeared inflated, akin to a frog on land.

Perhaps this was more energy-efficient, Harry thought with a touch of humor.

He swam upstream, much like he did in Quidditch matches—occupying higher ground, scanning for the golden thief. Only this time, he searched for a target underwater.

Before him lay an eerie scene of dark greens and blacks intertwined in the black lake. Soft seaweed swayed like fabric strips, small shiny pebbles mingled in dark mud, but that wasn’t what he sought.

He first spotted a blue shimmering light, the Wisdom challenge… Harry noted the location and decided to explore further. This time, he discovered a purple glow, the combat challenge.

Harry hesitated but opted to take on the purple challenge. He smoothly arrived at the purple cottage, the transition from water to air sending shivers down his spine. Suddenly, he felt something brush against his mind, his practice in Occlumency surfacing, resisting the invasion of this unknown force.

“Phew…” Harry exhaled, narrowly avoiding the ambush.

He entered the purple cottage, searching thoroughly. Yet, he found nothing. He puzzled over it. What was this about? Was it a test? Harry pondered until a possible explanation struck him… Could that intrusion just now have been the test?

Harry eased his mental guard, waiting silently. Moments later, he found himself in a spacious square. A hippogriff, kneeling, rose, spreading its wings, glaring at him menacingly.

Harry grinned. It was a peculiar half-horse, half-bird creature, but Harry was no stranger to them, having befriended one named Buckbeak. He was quite accustomed, appreciating their naturally transitioning fur: from deep grays, bronzes, reds, and whites to shining chestnuts and finally, jet black.

Bow, don’t blink, don’t flinch… It was like revisiting the last school year. Harry swiftly befriended it. However, it insisted Harry fly around on its back. Harry worried about how to pass the challenge until the suggestion came. He tried it, and as the hippogriff settled, the sound of passing the challenge echoed.

“Pass in peace. Please choose: a talisman to freely move underwater for half an hour; ink to obscure vision; a fake wand for three uses of the Ironclad Charm.”

Harry blinked, staring at the hippogriff by his side. Suddenly, a good idea struck him.

“I’ll take the talisman,” he said.

Minutes later, back at the shield, he also managed to pick up a golden gem, slightly increasing his height and revitalizing his magical energy, capable of simple spells.

“Now I have a better chance,” Harry thought, donning the talisman and dismissing the unfamiliar Ironclad Charm.

With his wand in one hand and a snail-sized water snail tucked under his arm, Harry gave a deep look at the shimmering shield, stepping into the black lake. His body initially felt a chill but soon warmed up—the talisman was incredibly effective. It made him feel refreshed and light, moving effortlessly underwater.

Harry measured with his wand; his Holly Phoenix Feather wand was eleven inches, so now he was approximately one foot seven or eight inches tall. After some time, he successfully located the colorful thief lingering near the shield. It seemed tired; perhaps an illusion, but Harry felt it had a small bulge on its head…

“Come on!” Harry shouted, and the colorful thief immediately turned to look at him. Its eyes nearly popped out. Compared to the mere foot-long fish, Harry now seemed to have the advantage in height.

Seeing the colorful thief rush toward him with long strides, Harry smiled happily.

Half a minute later, the thief’s legs were tied, and Harry was panting. Yet, he was quite satisfied with his accomplishment, tossing the water snail he had thrown aside next to the colorful thief. It stopped struggling, glanced at Harry, and then lowered its head to enjoy the meal. For the next ten minutes, Harry used water plants to craft a crude knot, tying it around the colorful thief.

It had been twenty minutes since he woke up.

Then, holding his wand, Harry undid the knots around the thief’s legs. “You take me for a swim, and

I won’t hold you accountable for tangling with me,” Harry said to it.

He wasn’t sure if it was his words, the effect of his introduction, or if it simply wanted to escape, but the colorful thief indeed began to move. Harry hastily grabbed the rope woven with water plants and his wand. In the next moment, he was pulled forward as they swam.

“Wow!”

Harry swiftly moved through the Black Lake, manipulating the thief’s head with his wand to control the direction. His goal was those golden gems. Although he had lost some time earlier, he believed his speed would significantly increase from here on.

…

In the center of the Black Lake, beneath a steep and profound cliff, lay a sunken rocky forest—a low-lying area of the entire lake, home to a small merfolk tribe.

They possessed unique culture, language, and the ability to tame Grindylows. This merfolk tribe had the authority to inhabit the Black Lake, and every headmaster had promised not to intrude here.

However, despite this, the Black Lake was part of Hogwarts. During this championship, Dumbledore and the merfolk chief reached an agreement; they would become part of the second task.

At this moment, Felix sat in a small plaza, surrounded by oddly shaped cottages, many merfolk observing from afar.

The merfolk chief was enjoying the gift—a waterproof magical gramophone.

Standing at least ten feet tall, adorned with a necklace of shark teeth, surrounded by merfolk guards holding forks, the merfolk chief’s gaze occasionally flickered in this direction.

“I’m satisfied,” the merfolk chief spoke with a low, hoarse voice.

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