bacchusnovels Chapter 500 Professor Phillips is indeed a good person!
Chapter 500 Professor Phillips is indeed a good person!
Chapter 500 Professor Phillips is indeed a good person!
(Some content about Qiu Zhang will be omitted; it will be added tomorrow along with the latest chapter of Fu Rong.)
After a while, the mermaid leader returned to the stone house.
It had barely stepped inside when it was taken aback by the sight before it.
Qiu Zhang floated in the water, her face flushed, her cheeks burning, her hair disheveled, and her robe slightly rumpled. She was shyly and helplessly hugging her arms.
Sean, who had been sleeping, had woken up and was sitting cross-legged on the ground, seemingly lost in thought.
The merman leader gave them a complicated look and slowly said, "It seems you've completed your mission?"
Qiu Zhang lowered his head, avoiding the mermaid leader's gaze, and nodded shyly, his soft voice forming a string of bubbles in the water.
"Yes—I have proven it."
The mermaid leader smiled strangely, asked no further questions, and simply nodded, saying, "Very good, human girl, you've succeeded. Now you can take him away from here."
After saying that, it waved its hand, turned around, and gestured for the other mermaids to step aside and make way.
Qiu Zhang quickly grabbed Sean's wrist and eagerly pulled him towards the outside, his face still flushed.
Meanwhile, Harry and the others rushed to the place where the mermaids were gathered.
Harry saw Cho Chang, his face flushed, pulling someone out to swim away. He felt a little strange, but upon closer inspection, he was stunned.
Isn't this the dance partner who danced with Qiu Zhang at the ball?
What is he doing here?
But Harry quickly shook his head, deciding not to delve into the matter for the time being. He swam swiftly to the hostages being guarded by the merfolk and found Ron still asleep.
The lead mermaid noticed Harry and his companions, slowly stepped forward, and brandished his trident to block their path.
"Warrior, you must also pass a test before you can take him away."
Harry was taken aback, looking at the other person with some confusion: "What kind of test?"
The mermaid leader's lips curled into a sinister smile once more. He glanced back at Cho Chang and Sean, who had just left, and said thoughtfully, "You need to prove your feelings for the hostages."
Harry was completely dumbfounded upon hearing this.
"W-what?"
the other side.
Cho Chang finally surfaced with Sean, sunlight piercing their eyes, and thunderous applause and cheers from the stands reaching their ears.
She was slightly out of breath, trying her best not to look at Sean's subtle expression.
Bagman excitedly raised his wand and announced loudly, "The first to complete the task is Miss Cho Chang, a champion of Hogwarts! Her performance was brilliant!"
The cheers from the stands grew even louder, especially from the Ravenclaw students, who clapped wildly, jumped up excitedly, and some even shouted Cho Chang's name.
Sean turned his head slightly, looked at the girl beside him who was bowing her head and remaining silent, and smiled.
Qiu Zhang noticed Sean's gaze and immediately blushed, her ears burning. She quickly whispered, "Professor—could you—keep what happened just now a secret?"
Hearing the girl's flustered voice, Sean raised an eyebrow and teased, "Of course, I promise I won't tell anyone. But what exactly did you do to wake me up?"
Qiu Zhang was even more embarrassed, his voice barely audible: "I—I just proved what the mermaid asked—"
'
Sean looked at her flushed cheeks, chuckled, and didn't press further. He simply patted her shoulder and whispered reassuringly, "Don't worry, this is our secret."
Having completed the project, Qiu Zhang left the lakeside to go back to the main building to change his clothes.
Sean returned to the main building, transformed back to his original form, and went back to the referee's bench.
Soon after, four warriors, led by Harry, emerged from the water one after another.
Harry, clinging to Ron, looked flustered, seemingly still reeling from the "test" they'd just had. As soon as they reached the shore, Ron excitedly patted him on the shoulder: "Dude, you won't believe how ridiculous my dream was!"
Following that, Cedric and Krum also successfully led their men back to shore. He appeared quite calm and did not encounter much trouble underwater.
Of course, Cedric's final return was also due to Selena.
As mentioned before, her sister is a student at Hogwarts, and this time her target for rescue is her sister.
However, the girl was not tied to the pillar, but locked in a small dark room.
These are some of the privileges that Shawn granted to Selena:
You can take your sleeping sister away without having to play games with the mermaid.
However, Selena seemed somewhat unhappy with Shawn's decision.
She still participated in the mermaid game and won a prize—
Furong's younger sister.
Yes, she also brought Gabrielle, Hibiscus's sister, back from the mermaid.
Selena looked exhausted when she returned to shore, having brought two people back with her.
Bagman began to score the warriors one by one with great interest.
"First up is Miss Qiu Zhang. She was the first to complete the task in the shortest time, and her performance was outstanding! Out of a possible score of fifty, I give her forty-seven!"
Applause erupted immediately, and Qiu Zhang, blushing and smiling, waved to the crowd.
"Next up is Harry Potter. He successfully rescued Ron, but fell slightly behind, scoring forty-five points!"
Harry's expression softened slightly upon hearing his score, and he let out a soft sigh of relief.
"Third place goes to Cedric and Krum, who also performed admirably in rescuing the hostages, earning a score of forty-three!"
The applause and cheers continued, and Cedric and Krum smiled and nodded.
"As for Miss Selena," Bagman said, his expression even more excited, "she not only rescued her own sister, but also Fleur's sister Gabrielle—an extraordinary feat! I give her forty-six points!"
Selena's classmates cheered for her.
However, as the applause gradually subsided, Mrs. Maxim on the referee's stand suddenly frowned, looked around, and said softly, "Wait, it seems a warrior is missing."
The referees all turned to look, only to realize with surprise—
Furong hasn't returned from the lake yet!
The scene immediately became chaotic. Spectators stood up and looked out at the lake, while the referees whispered among themselves, looking bewildered.
At this point, the time limit for the second project had expired.
"She might still be trapped underwater," Professor McGonagall said anxiously. "We should send someone to check on her right away."
Dumbledore nodded solemnly, and just as he was about to say something, Sean stood up.
"I'll go," he said. "I'm more familiar with the bottom of the lake."
Before the other referees could react, Sean took off his robe, drew his wand, cast a practiced head-soaking spell on his head, and then quickly walked to the lakeside and plunged into the icy water.
The crowd stared in astonishment at the splashing water on the lake, their expression quickly turning to anticipation and worry.
When Qiu Zhang saw this scene, his heart skipped a beat, and his eyes were filled with complex emotions.
At this moment, her thoughts were roughly the same as everyone else's:
Professor Phillips is indeed a warm-hearted and helpful person!
The icy lake water enveloped Sean's body as he swam rapidly downwards, heading straight for the cave where Hibiscus had just been.
A little while later—
A fair-skinned body appeared before his eyes.
Furong was about to give up the struggle.
Her limbs were tightly entangled by the water plants, and her strength was slowly draining away. The chill of the lake water seeped into her bones, and even her thoughts became sluggish.
Just as her consciousness was fading, a familiar figure suddenly entered her field of vision.
Professor Phillips?!
Furong's heart jolted, and her exhausted body seemed to regain a bit of strength in an instant.
He came to save her.
What should have been a moment of ecstatic joy turned into a wave of intense shame that overwhelmed her, making it hard to breathe.
Her current appearance————
Almost completely naked, tightly bound by these damned water plants, like a lamb awaiting slaughter, passively suspended in the lake.
Her legs were bound so tightly that she couldn't close them, her wrists were restrained at her sides, and she couldn't even make the slightest movement to cover herself.
Even in the icy lake water, Furong could still feel the burning shame spreading rapidly from her chest to her limbs, and even her tender white toes couldn't help but curl slightly.
What will he think?
Does he feel ridiculous? Utterly pathetic, waiting for rescue, unable even to cover himself up—
Furong's eyes darted away for a moment, not daring to look Sean in the eye.
Her throat felt blocked; she wanted to say something, but could only watch as a series of bubbles escaped from her mouth, bursting and floating to the surface of the lake.
She wanted to escape, to hide, to find a place to bury herself, but the water plants still entangled her tightly, making her unable to move.
She didn't even have a chance to turn her back; she could only face Sean's gaze directly and passively accept his stare.
At this moment, Furong had never wished so much that she could immediately turn into bubbles and disappear completely into the bottom of this lake.
Sean stopped at the cave entrance, his gaze falling on Fleur, who was entangled in front of him.
He frowned slightly, his gaze quickly sweeping over her condition. Water plants coiled around her limbs and waist like some kind of living creature, holding her firmly in mid-air, her snow-white skin shining brightly in the dim lake water.
Her silver hair floated, slightly obscuring her expression of shame and indignation, but her deep blue eyes could not hide the emotions within them.
Sean's gaze lingered on Hibiscus's face for a moment before quickly shifting away, his expression showing neither surprise nor embarrassment.
"The force is released and the energy dissipates."
A gentle magical wave spread out, and the water plants that were entwining the hibiscus seemed to sense a threat, twitching suddenly before slowly loosening their grip.
Suddenly freed from her restraints, Furong swayed slightly, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes.
She instinctively tried to cover herself with her arms, but having just regained her freedom, her limbs were still somewhat numb, and her movements were much slower than she had expected.
However, Sean didn't let the awkward situation last long.
He took a steady step forward in the water, took off his long robe, and neatly draped it over Furong's shoulders.
The icy lake water was separated by thick fabric, bringing a touch of warmth and causing Furong's heart to skip a beat.
She paused slightly, then looked up blankly at Sean, who was standing right in front of her.
At this moment, an indescribable emotion was brewing in my heart.
Sean remained extremely calm, his expression indifferent, as if he were dealing with the most ordinary thing.
"Can you swim?" His voice came through the Bubble Head Spell.
Bringing her back to reality with Sean's voice, Hibiscus realized what she had just done—she had actually spaced out at such a crucial moment!
This wave can be seen as the result of Sean's recent achievements.
Furong's small mouth opened slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but under Sean's questioning gaze, she just bit her lower lip hard, shook her head in shame, and her cheeks were burning.
Sean frowned slightly, but without hesitation, he reached out his hand, gesturing for Hibiscus to come closer.
Furong's body stiffened slightly as she looked at the hand that was steadily floating in the water and reached out.
Sean didn't give Fleur much time to adjust; with a gentle pull, he brought her close to him.
At the same time, he placed his other hand on her waist, stabilizing her swaying body.
Furong froze completely.
The chill of the lake water still lingered on her body, while Sean's warmth slowly seeped in through her robes, making her cheeks even hotter.
She barely dared to look up at him, only lowering her eyelashes and feeling the constant masculine presence around her.
"Relax," Sean whispered, "Take a moment to adjust, then we'll leave."
After saying that, he grabbed Furong's lower back with one hand and put his other arm around her knees, then lifted her up in his arms.
This posture forced Furong to—
The soaked clothes clung to my body, making it almost impossible to feel the fabric.
Admittedly, it feels very comfortable.
It makes one's heart leap with joy.
This comfort was relative. Furong's rationality was frantically sounding the alarm, but her body was completely unable to resist this closeness. She could feel her soft chest pressed against his strong muscles, and her body was slowly melting into the man's embrace.
In this ambiguous atmosphere, Sean, holding Hibiscus, swam little by little outwards.
Just as Furong was immersed in this blissful moment, her sister's face suddenly appeared in her mind, like a thunderbolt that struck her nerves.
Gabrielle————!
She hasn't found Gabrielle yet! Her sister is still trapped at the bottom of the lake!
Fear, anxiety, regret—all these emotions mingled together, causing her to struggle instantly.
"Non! Non! Laisse—moipartir!" (No! No! Let me go!)
She shoved Sean away abruptly, kicking her legs frantically, trying to break free from his embrace and rush deeper into the cave.
But she had just regained her freedom and her strength had not fully recovered. Such a violent movement made her sway and lose her balance. The lake water instantly poured into her head, causing her to choke.
Sean immediately reached out to pull her, but she continued to struggle and pushed him away.
"Calme—toi!" (Calm down!)
Sean called out in a deep voice, but Fleur couldn't hear him at all; she just wanted to go back to find her sister.
As she struggled more and more, Sean, "unconsciously," lost his robe, which came loose and floated away with the force of the water.
The lake water touched her bare skin again, and the cold touch made her shiver.
For Furong, this was far from the worst thing; the worst thing was—