bacchusnovels Chapter 498 Helpless Hibiscus
Chapter 498 Helpless Hibiscus
Chapter 498 Helpless Hibiscus
Upon hearing Sean's question, Barty Crouch Jr.'s expression stiffened slightly, and his hand unconsciously slid towards his waist.
He was not afraid of Phillips.
At least, that's what he kept telling himself before he came.
The reason he was hit by the Crucifixion Curse last time was simply because he was caught off guard and Phillips, that scoundrel, took advantage of the situation to launch a sneak attack.
Yes, that must be it!
Little Barty kept reassuring himself, but his hands couldn't help but tremble slightly.
Damn it! Why is he still so nervous right now?
Could it be because of this room?
Little Barty's eyes scanned the room.
The room was unremarkable, just a simple faculty office—like his—except for the absence of that huge wardrobe, the layout was the same.
Or perhaps it was because of Phillips' expressionless face at that moment?
Little Barty's gaze slowly fell on Sean's fingers, who was tapping the table slowly and deliberately, each tap seeming to strike his heart.
This sound was inexplicably irritating.
He had to admit that it was perhaps Phillips’s unhurried attitude that made him so unbearable.
He was clearly the one in control, and he should have been the one in the initiative!
But why did that subtle sense of oppression reappear when I actually stood in front of Phillips?
The image of being struck by the Cruciatus Curse resurfaced uncontrollably in Barty's mind—the agonizing helplessness, the humiliation of being utterly suppressed—and fear returned to him once more.
Do not!
He immediately and inwardly roared his rejection of the idea.
He was the Dark Lord's most loyal follower, how could he possibly be afraid of this insignificant professor in front of him!
Thinking of this, Little Barty forced himself to raise his head and put on a stiff smile.
Yes, he won't lose.
As long as he doesn't let his guard down, he definitely won't lose to Sean Phillips this time.
Sean looked at Barty, who had a stiff smile on his face, with a slightly puzzled expression, and couldn't help but frown.
What's wrong with this guy?
Did your face twitch?
Is this the side effect of drinking compound decoctions every day—that the face will gradually become paralyzed?
If compound decoctions really have such side effects, then they must be given an instruction manual with side effects listed, just like Muggle drugs.
Or, add these to the potions textbook.
This research finding might lead to the publication of some papers.
Sean was already thinking about a research topic related to "Compound Decoctions".
He had no idea about the dramatic scene that had just unfolded in Little Barty's mind, and even if he did, he would have just laughed it off.
Little Barty quickly realized his lapse in composure, swiftly suppressed his smile, cleared his throat, and said in a seemingly calm manner.
"Professor Phillips, I'm just confirming that we're not interfering with each other. I won't interfere with you, and you won't interfere with me. We can discuss whatever you want afterwards. But the condition is, don't ruin my plans."
Upon hearing this, Sean suddenly stopped tapping on the table.
"What if I refuse?"
Little Barty's magic eyes suddenly darted around, and his expression turned grim.
But before he could say anything more, Sean suddenly smiled.
"I was just kidding, don't go in."
"Professor Phillips, you'd better refrain from making such jokes."
Before leaving, Barty left behind these words.
"It's a pleasure working with you."
In fact, working with Barty Jr. did not conflict with Sean's original plans at all.
Unless—his target is the witches.
Moreover, Barty Jr. has always performed his role as the "ring-wielding old man" quite well, without participating in the project, only offering help to Harry when he is confused (in order to avoid Harry noticing anything unusual).
To be honest, based on this alone, Sean thinks that Barty Jr. did a better job than Dumbledore in some respects.
The other person has the potential to be a professor.
If Voldemort were to one day unify the Ministry of Magic, having Barty Jr. as headmaster might not be a bad choice.
On this sunny day, the surface of Black Lake shimmered in the sunlight, as if it had been plated with a layer of gold.
Almost everyone at Hogwarts gathered by the lake, waiting for the start of the second event of the Triwizard Tournament.
On the referee's stand, Sean stood in the crowd, watching the tense Warriors not far away.
The atmosphere seemed even more enthusiastic than the previous project—which was also related to the "unknown" nature of this project.
Harry stood by the lake, looking somewhat nervous, his hands in his pockets, clutching only the gill grass.
Hermione stood in the crowd, occasionally cheering Harry on, but couldn't help glancing curiously at Sean.
"Welcome everyone to the second event of the Triwizard Tournament!"
Bagman announced excitedly.
"Listen up, everyone, our warriors are all in position. I'll blow my whistle, and the second event will begin."
They had a full hour to get their stolen goods back. I counted to three. ———
Two—three!
A sharp whistle pierced the cold, stagnant air, and deafening applause and cheers erupted from the stands.
Ignoring the actions of the other warriors around him, Qiu Zhang quickly took off his shoes and socks, pulled out his wand, and steadily aimed it at his own head.
"Head-soaking spell!" she chanted the incantation.
The next moment, a transparent, shimmering bubble instantly enveloped her head, like a soft helmet, completely shutting out the cold air.
After making preparations, she immediately waded into the lake.
The lake water was icy cold, and my skin burned with pain from the chill.
Qiu Zhang gritted her teeth; her soaked robe became heavy, dragging her down with all her might.
The lake water quickly reached my knees, and my numb feet slipped several times on the smooth, sticky mud and pebbles at the bottom of the lake.
When the water reached her waist, she didn't hesitate to lean down and plunge headfirst into the water.
The lake water instantly surrounded her, but it couldn't penetrate the magical bubble protecting her. Qiu Zhang opened her eyes and was delighted to find her vision exceptionally clear, with the scenery at the bottom of the lake clearly visible.
She quickly adapted to the state of the "bubble head spell," pushed off with her legs, and swam forward rapidly. Her body was light and agile, and she quickly swam a long distance, leaving no trace of the lake shore behind her.
It rolled over and plunged headfirst into the depths of the lake.
She was enveloped in a dark, hazy, and strange landscape, surrounded by deathly silence, with only the soft echo of her even breathing reverberating within the magic bubble.
Underwater visibility is very low, with a field of vision of only about ten feet.
With each forward stroke, a new scene slowly emerges from the darkness: densely intertwined black seaweeds resemble a strange jungle, and glittering pebbles are scattered on the wide and flat mud and sand.
She swam deeper and deeper, gradually approaching the center of the lake.
Qiu Zhang opened his eyes wide, trying to see through the gray-green and dark lake water to make out the hazy and ominous black shadow in front of him.
Some small fish darted past me like tiny silver darts.
Her heart would occasionally race as she thought there was some enormous thing slowly moving in the distance, but upon closer inspection, she would find it was just dark tree branches or tangled giant seaweed.
She saw no other warriors, no mermaids, and no giant squid; she was all alone.
As she cautiously continued forward, a thick layer of lush, green aquatic plants appeared ahead, like a green carpet spread across the lakebed.
Qiu Zhang held her breath, preparing to identify the shadow in the darkness, when suddenly, without warning, something grabbed her ankle tightly.
Qiu Zhang turned around in alarm and saw a Greendylo—a small water monster with horns on its head—emerging from the water plants. Its long claws gripped her leg tightly, and sharp fangs were exposed in its open mouth.
She hurriedly reached into her robes, fumbling for her wand.
But before she could even grip her wand properly, two more Grindylows emerged from the seaweed and grabbed her robes, pulling them down with all their might.
"The force is released!"
A powerful jet of hot water gushed from her wand, striking the Grindylows and instantly turning their green skin bright red, causing them to scream and retreat.
Qiu Zhang struggled to break free of the entanglement and swam rapidly forward, occasionally turning back to release a few jets of hot water to drive away the pursuing Grindylo. She felt as if she had kicked something, and looking down, she saw a Grindylo floating away into the distance with its eyes glazed over.
The remaining Greendylos waved their fists at her, then angrily retreated back into the seaweed.
She finally slowed down, tucked her wand back into her robe, and cautiously surveyed her surroundings. She slowly turned the scroll a full circle, but could only feel an oppressive silence, heavy as a pincushion on her eardrums. She knew she must have reached the depths of the lake, for there was nothing around her except dense seaweed.
How's your progress?
A voice suddenly rang out, almost causing Qiu Zhang's heart to stop.
She turned around in alarm and saw the weeping Myrtle floating in front of her, squinting at her through her thick, pearly glasses.
"Myrtle!" Qiu Zhang called out.
"You should try going over there," she floated, pointing into the distance, "but I won't go with you—I don't like them; they always chase me whenever I get close."
Qiu Zhang gave two firm thumbs-up to express his sincere gratitude, and then set off again.
This time, she made a special effort to swim higher and away from the tangled weeds to avoid being ambushed by Greendillo again.
After swimming for about twenty more minutes, the lakebed turned into vast stretches of sticky, black silt. Each time she paddled, the silt swirled up large plumes of black mist, further obscuring her vision. Finally, after a long silence, she heard the mermaid's ethereal and strange song—
We only have one hour to find and retrieve the items we took.
Qiu Zhang quickened his pace and soon saw a huge rock appear in the murky lake ahead, painted with many mermaids holding spears, hunting several creatures that looked like giant squid.
She darted quickly past the rocks, following the increasingly clear mermaid song:
—Stop delaying! Half the time has passed, and if you don't come looking for it now, it will rot.—
Suddenly, rows of rough stone houses appeared around her, their surfaces mottled and covered with dark green algae.
Qiu Zhang vaguely saw some strange faces peeking out from behind the dark window—faces that were completely different from the exquisite mermaids she had seen in the picture frame in the Class Monitor's bathroom.
Their skin was iron gray, and their long, thick, dark green hair was disheveled and floating; their yellow eyes were alert, and their uneven, yellow teeth were also yellow; they wore pebble necklaces made of thick rope around their necks.
As she passed by, the merfolk all revealed malicious smiles. Several merfolk even swam out of the stone house, holding sharp spears and slapping the lake water with their thick, powerful silver fish tails, staring intently at her.
Qiu Zhang's heart tightened, and he quickly swam forward, cautiously scanning his surroundings.
More and more stone houses appeared, some even with simple gardens, and a struggling little Grindelwald was tied to one of the doors.
More and more mermaids swam out of the house, gathering around the bubble cover on her head with great curiosity, pointing and whispering among themselves.
She quickly turned a corner and suddenly found herself in a strange sight:
That seemed to be the central square of the mermaid village, with rings of houses surrounding the square, where a large number of mermaids were gathered. The mermaids in the middle were singing in high-pitched and eerie voices, beckoning the warriors to come.
In the very center of the square stands a large mermaid statue carved from rough stone, with five sleeping figures firmly bound to its enormous tail.
Compared to Qiu Zhang's smooth sailing, Fu Rong's experience was extremely bad.
This morning, she suddenly received a message that instantly threw her into a panic—her sister, Gabrielle, was missing!
Furong's first thought was the core of the second project. She quickly realized that Gabrielle was lying deep at the bottom of Black Lake, waiting for her rescue.
However, soon after entering the water, a series of accidents occurred.
Her initial attempt at the Bubble Head Charm wasn't entirely successful; the bubbles on her head kept wobbling slightly, occasionally letting in a trickle of lake water, nearly suffocating her. After finally managing to correct it, she was attacked by a large group of Grindelwalds while swimming through the water plants, and her wand almost slipped from her grasp.
At this moment, Fleur broke free from Grindelwald's grasp in a disheveled state. Her long silver hair floated haphazardly in the water, her vision blurred. Exhausted and anxious, she was almost in despair.
"Gabrielle—" she whispered helplessly in her heart, desperately swimming deeper into the Black Lake, "Wait for me!"
The dark lake bottom seemed endless. Furong's strength was rapidly depleting, her limbs were becoming heavier and heavier, and anxiety and fear were gradually eroding her reason.
Just as she finally heard the faint singing of a mermaid in the distance, a familiar scream came from behind her again—Grindillo had caught up with her once more!
Fleur turned around in terror, her wand spraying out jets of scalding water, but she couldn't stop the water monsters from relentlessly pursuing her.
She finally ran out of strength and her movements became increasingly sluggish. Taking advantage of this, a Greendylo grabbed her ankle and dragged her into the black mud at the bottom of the lake.
"No—Gabrielle!"
Furong struggled helplessly, her vision blurred.
Her younger sister's smile flashed through her mind, and Furong felt as if her heart was being torn apart, yet she gradually lost the strength to resist.