bacchusnovels Chapter 496 The Bubble Hair Curse
Chapter 496 The Bubble Hair Curse
Chapter 496 The Bubble Hair Curse
Deep in the Black Lake, the light gradually dimmed, and the water flow became more turbulent.
Sean slowly approached the area with the unusual magical fluctuations, and with a slight flick of his finger, released an even more concealed detection spell.
The magical ripples spread outwards, subtly touching the landscape at the bottom of the lake.
Soon, he had formed a rough map in his mind.
A vast expanse of intersecting stone pillars and caves resembles a natural underwater labyrinth.
In fact, the Slytherin common room is located beneath the Black Lake.
As he ventured deeper, Sean could sense an even stronger magical barrier, like an invisible city gate, enveloping a specific area.
"————Finally found it."
Just as he was about to approach, the water at the bottom of the lake suddenly surged strangely.
A feeling of being spied on quietly descended upon me.
Sean immediately stopped what he was doing, squinted, and slowly scanned his surroundings.
Something was watching him from the darkness.
In the shadow of the water plants, behind the dark rocks, a blurry figure swam slowly—it was so fast that its complete outline could not be seen, only a gray fish tail could be glimpsed.
"—Lake Monster?"
Sean quickly adjusted his position, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.
However, the figure did not attack immediately. Instead, it hovered not far from him for a while before slowly diving into the deeper part of the lake and disappearing into the darkness.
It is not hostile.
Sean narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
The lake monsters are one of the rulers of the Black Lake, but in most cases, they do not actively attack wizards, especially under the management of Hogwarts, where they are in a "semi-docile state".
Just like this time, the lake monster simply "observed" him for a while before retreating on its own.
Admittedly, such precautions are to prevent some idle young wizard from swimming in the Black Lake, or perhaps—
"Phillips?"
Sean was startled, then turned his head and saw a familiar figure emerging from the lake.
"Neil?" he replied.
Neil is a mermaid.
More than a decade ago, the first mermaid Sean saw was Neil.
He initially thought mermaids couldn't speak, so he tried to communicate with Neil underwater using sign language, which resulted in many funny situations.
The most ridiculous thing is that Neil didn't correct him.
When he discovered that mermaids could talk underwater, Neil said to him, "I thought you preferred to communicate using sign language."
After meeting Neil, the trip to Black Lake went much more smoothly.
Just like more than a decade ago, Neil took him to visit the mermaid village.
There, Sean also ran into an "acquaintance".
Meanwhile, after the Christmas festivities came to an end, the warriors from the three schools began to ponder the golden eggs in their hands.
The first to decipher the clue was Qiu Zhang.
Perhaps she herself didn't expect things to develop this way.
At first, she just wanted to take a hot bath to relax—that was all.
In fact, each prefect has its own private bathroom, and Cho Chang, the fifth-year Ravenclaw prefect, happens to be one of them.
The bathroom is located on the sixth floor, behind the fourth door to the left of the Boris the Fool statue.
It was a very large bathroom—
A magnificent candle-shaped chandelier casts a soft glow throughout the room.
Each item was crafted from pure white marble, especially the central bathtub that sank deep into the ground, resembling a rectangular swimming pool. Around the bathtub were approximately one hundred golden dragon heads, each with a gemstone of a different color inlaid on its handle.
In addition, there is a diving board.
White linen curtains hung in the window; a pile of soft white towels lay in the corner; the only decoration on the wall was a painting, framed in gilded glass. The painting depicted a golden-haired mermaid, fast asleep on a rock, her long hair trembling gently with her breath.
Such a description may sound exaggerated.
However, once you have the opportunity to become a prefect at Hogwarts, you'll realize that the above is far too understated.
Every prefect who has visited this place and seen such a shower room cannot help but reflect on one question:
What did I do for this school to deserve such good treatment?
The answer is of course——
After once again putting aside the question that "condemned" his conscience, Qiu Zhang quickly took off his coat and immersed himself in it.
Human progress often stems from flashes of inspiration.
Just like Newton being hit by an apple from a tree, everyone has moments of inspiration.
As Akiharu relaxed completely, she unconsciously recalled the mystery surrounding the second project.
That golden egg.
As for the process of association, it's rather complicated.
The general reasoning process is from thinking about the meaning of life to why Professor Phillips likes her, the emotion of being helped when she was involved in the first project, and how she should handle herself in the second project without Professor Phillips worrying about her.
As for why she pondered the meaning of life, it's quite simple.
Everyone experiences moments of clarity and wisdom after going through certain experiences, doesn't everyone?
After changing the water in the bath, Qiu Zhang took out the golden egg she always carried with her from her changing bag and examined it carefully.
For her, the flash of inspiration wasn't simply putting the golden egg into the water, but rather the sudden scream that startled her when she opened it.
The golden egg slipped from her hand and fell heavily into the water, thus revealing its secret:
Seek us, where our voices resound; we cannot sing on the ground.
When you search, please think carefully:
We stole your most beloved treasure.
You have only one hour to find and reclaim what we took. After an hour, all hope is lost; it will be gone forever.
Based on the lyrics, Qiu Zhang effortlessly deduced the second item:
Go to the lake to find the mermaid, and then—
"Miss Akiharu, you mean the second activity is to search for mermaids in the lake?"
Harry looked at Cho Chang with a puzzled expression, his brows furrowing slightly.
Qiu Zhang nodded: "That's right, the second project is to search for the mermaid in the lake." She paused, then added, "The riddle in the golden egg points to this."
She told Harry this information as a way of repaying him for revealing the contents of the first project to her earlier.
Harry looked down at the golden egg in his hand, feeling a bit troubled. He had tried countless times, but no matter how he listened, all that came out of the golden egg was a piercing scream, not any hints at all. So how could he be sure that Cho Chang was right? In other words, how did Cho Chang know?
Seemingly sensing Harry's doubts, Cho Chang looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then lowered his voice and said, "You need to listen underwater."
"Underwater?" Harry was taken aback.
"That's right," Qiu Zhang said softly. "Those sounds are distorted in the air, but in water, they become clear."
Harry looked thoughtfully at the golden egg and suddenly realized why he hadn't been able to hear any clues.
In fact, the questions set up for this golden egg were indeed very buggy.
Who would put a golden egg into water for no reason?
He looked up at Qiu Zhang and gave her a grateful smile: "Thank you, Miss Qiu Zhang."
Cho Chang shook her head: "No need to thank me, you helped me before too." Her gaze fell on the golden egg in Harry's hand, and she added softly, "But it's best to try it in a safe place, so no one finds out."
Harry nodded, already pondering in his mind where exactly the "safe place" was.
Thus, the second dissemination of the message was completed.
Compared to Qiu Zhang's flash of inspiration, this process of dissemination was concise enough, and also fast enough.
Not long after, the same conversation took place between Cho Chang and Selena.
Since the two formed a "deep" friendship at yesterday's Christmas ball, this development is not surprising.
Selena then told Krum, who was also from Durmstrang.
In addition, Cedric had actually discovered the secret before Christmas.
At this point, all five warriors understood the secret of the golden egg.
After successfully verifying Cho Chang's method, Harry found his two companions, Hermione and Ron.
However, the atmosphere between the two could not be described as friendly.
As Harry approached the common room, he heard Ron's persistent voice: "Hermione, just tell me who it is, what's wrong? We all know each other anyway."
Hermione crossed her arms, her impatience palpable: "I told you, this is none of your business."
Ron frowned, looking like he was determined to get to the bottom of things: "But you didn't tell us who you went with the whole day."
In fact, the reason for their argument was still the dance that day.
For some reason, Ron suddenly became interested in Hermione's dance partner and kept subtly inquiring about who she was.
How could Hermione possibly tell him?
As a result, the atmosphere between the two became somewhat unpleasant.
Harry blinked, glanced around at them, and tried to ease the tension: "Uh—I just tried the golden egg's clue, and it really does have to be listened to underwater."
Hermione turned to Harry: "Great, at least we don't have to worry about this anymore."
Ron muttered, "If only some people could be this straightforward—"
Hermione glared at her fiercely, then turned and left.
Harry sighed and looked at Ron: "What exactly did you say while I was away?"
Ron tugged at his collar, his gaze darting away: "—It's nothing."
Harry was skeptical, but judging from Ron's expression, he knew he wouldn't bring it up. So he sighed and decided to leave the topic for now.
"Never mind," he continued, "at least the golden egg issue is resolved. What do you think the second project will be?"
Ron, still caught up in the argument, shrugged absentmindedly: "It's just going to the lake to find mermaids, right? Hopefully we won't actually end up fighting them—"
Harry looked at the golden egg in his hand, but a feeling crept into his heart that things weren't so simple. If it were just about finding the mermaid in the lake, how could that be the challenge of the Triwizard Tournament? There must be other problems waiting for them.
"We need to figure out exactly what we're going to do," Harry said. "We might be staying in the lake for a long time."
Ron then came to his senses and frowned: "For a long time? But we're not fish, how can we stay underwater for so long?"
Harry didn't answer; his gaze drifted in the direction Hermione had left.
Perhaps, once she calms down, they can ask for her opinion.
This opportunity arose during dinner that evening when the two bumped into Hermione at the entrance of the Great Hall. She seemed to have calmed down a bit, but when she saw Ron, she couldn't help rolling her eyes.
Harry gestured for Ron to shut up, then turned to Hermione: "Hermione, we're thinking the second project might require spending a long time in the lake. Do you know any ways to do that?"
Hermione glanced at him, realizing he was changing the subject, but answered anyway: "There are a few ways, such as using Transfiguration to become a creature with gills, or using the Bubble Head Charm to create a bubble cover for yourself. But these all require advanced spells."
Ron was stunned. "Wait, you mean someone can turn themselves into a fish?"
Hermione gave him an impatient look: "Of course, it's nothing new."
Ron muttered under his breath, "—This sounds even more unbelievable than asking who your dance partner is."
Hermione glared at him, her emotions, which had just calmed down, were stirred up again.
Harry quickly interjected, "Hermione, which method do you think is the most reliable?"
Hermione took a deep breath, forcing her attention back to the matter at hand: "The Bubble Charm is relatively simple, but it might affect movement. The Transfiguration is more complex, but if successful, the effect will be better."
Harry considered it for a moment and felt that the Bubble Head Curse sounded more feasible, since he didn't have much time to master complex transfiguration.
"Then let's try the head-soaking spell," he said.
Hermione nodded and decided to help Harry practice.
That night, the three of them secretly slipped into the first-floor bathing room during a break in the auditorium.
"Alright, Harry, stand still." Hermione took out her wand and carefully recalled the key points of the spell. "The key to the Bubble Head Charm is to form a stable bubble, otherwise the water pressure will crush it."
"That sounds reassuring," Ron muttered to himself.
Hermione ignored him, instead raising her wand and pointing it at Harry: "Ebublio!"
In an instant, Harry felt something quickly envelop his face. He took a deep breath and realized he could still breathe—his head was covered by a transparent bubble!
"It worked!" Hermione said with satisfaction. "Harry, try speaking now."
Harry opened his mouth, his voice a little muffled: "Uh—that sounds weird."
"It's better than suffocating," Ron shrugged. "But it looks kind of stupid, like stuffing your head into a giant soap bubble."
Harry rolled his eyes, then bent down and dipped his head into the bath to test it. The bubbles clung tightly to his neck, the water didn't seep in, and he could breathe freely.
He looked up, water droplets sliding off the bubbles, and a smile spread across his face: "That's fantastic!"
Hermione raised her chin triumphantly: "Now you can breathe in the lake."
Ron tilted his head and looked at it for a while, then hesitated and said, "What if the bubble pops?"
Hermione's smile froze slightly, and Harry frowned as well.
"Uh—" Hermione cleared her throat, "Then you might have to surface as soon as possible."
Harry gave a wry smile, looking at the round bubble on his head in the mirror, hoping it would hold up during the competition.
He then began to learn the Bubble Head Charm under Hermione's guidance.
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