Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

As a wizard with some knowledge of alchemy, Dylan quickly discovered that each line of the riddle was closely related to the core concepts of alchemy.

He speculated that the reason the judges added the hint "masterpiece" at the end of the riddle was probably because they were worried that some warriors were not familiar with alchemy and would not be able to decipher its deeper meaning.

After all, not all schools place as much emphasis on alchemy instruction as Beauxbatons.

"The Great Work" is a core term in the field of alchemy, representing "the process of making the Philosopher's Stone".

This process can be broken down into three key stages.

Blackening, whitening, and reddening.

Dylan matched these three stages with the riddles in the song, and his thinking instantly became clear:

You will find yourself in dangerous darkness, which corresponds to the dark phase.

This is the initial stage of alchemy, symbolizing chaos, like raw materials undergoing decomposition and recombination in the dark, waiting to be given a new form.

We hide your treasure within the purest things, which points to the goal of the albino stage.

Alchemy believed that raw materials that had been corrupted needed to be purified in a pure environment to remove impurities and prepare for the final reddening.

The real core of the second project lies in the riddle's final point: to complete the masterpiece as much as possible.

The warriors need to pass the test and complete the transformation from albino to crimson to ultimately achieve the goal of the masterpiece, which is to complete the simulation process of forging the Philosopher's Stone.

Having clarified the logic of alchemy, Dylan also found the answer to the question of the treasure he relied on for survival.

That must be a wizard's wand.

For most wizards, the wand is the core tool for casting spells. Without the aid of a wand, even an experienced wizard would find it difficult to move forward, let alone complete the test at the bottom of the dangerous Black Lake.

This conclusion can also be corroborated by the wizard's growth experience.

For example, Muggle-born wizards often fall into chaos before entering Hogwarts because they cannot control their magic, which corresponds to the chaos of the dark phase.

When they enter school, acquire their own wands, and begin to systematically learn magic and hone their abilities, they are undergoing a purification and accumulation process during the albino phase.

As one's magical skill improves and one gradually masters complex spells and becomes able to deal with danger independently, it is equivalent to completing the "reddening" stage and realizing a masterpiece of one's magical abilities.

Based on these analyses, Dylan also made a rough guess about the process of the second project.

When the trial begins, the warriors should first hand over their wands.

This corresponds to losing the treasure they depend on for survival. They will then be sent to the bottom of the Black Lake to search for the hidden wand and a key item for the Reddening process in the dark water.

This item is likely a substitute for the Philosopher's Stone. Only after finding both can the trial truly begin. The warrior must use the item to complete the cinnabarization process and finally return to the surface with the wand and the completed masterpiece, which is what the riddle refers to as returning with the masterpiece.

After figuring this out, Dylan gently placed the golden egg on his lap and looked up at the black lake outside the window.

The lake surface gleamed coldly in the night, as if it held countless secrets.

He knew that the second trial was far more challenging than the first one, which involved fighting the fire dragon. It required not only magical abilities but also an understanding and application of alchemy. The mermaid at the bottom of the Black Lake might be the most crucial variable in the trial.

After pondering for a moment and figuring out the alchemical clues behind the golden egg's song riddle, Dylan turned his attention to the golden egg itself.

He was very curious about how this seemingly ordinary golden egg-shaped prop could achieve the function of displaying the correct prompts only under specific circumstances.

In the magical world, there are many ways to achieve this kind of functionality.

For example, by using the "Development Charm" as the core, and combining it with auxiliary spells such as the "Light Sensing Charm" and the "Color Transformation Charm," these magical energies can be infused into the prop, allowing the prop to emit blurry light spots in dark environments and display clear colored patterns in bright environments.

But after carefully observing the golden egg, Dylan discovered that the method it used was far simpler than he had imagined, and could even be summarized in a single sentence.

They sealed the mermaid's song directly inside. This discovery gave Dylan a brilliant idea.

This means that the golden egg not only contains the sealing magic cast by the wizard, but also retains the mermaid's own magical energy.

The intertwining of two types of magic makes the golden egg a special medium connecting the wizarding world with the Black Lake mermaid community.

Dylan took a deep breath and focused his mind to cast "Magic Eye"—a high-level spell that allows one to see the flow of magical energy.

As the spell took effect, a faint blue light shone in his pupils, and the magical energy that was previously invisible to the naked eye instantly became clear.

A wisp of pale green energy, like a thread, was slowly flowing through the cracks of the golden egg, extending outwards as if it were alive.

Dylan followed the energy trail and discovered that the thread eventually passed through the wall of the common room, extending all the way to the Black Lake outside Hogwarts, and finally merging into the depths of the lake.

Clearly, this energy comes from the merfolk in the Black Lake.

"I see," Dylan muttered to himself, instantly understanding the source of the golden egg's song.

The mermaids first sang and recorded the melody together, and then used special magic to transform the singing into energy threads, which were then sealed inside the golden egg.

The chorus I heard earlier was the release of this energy thread under specific conditions.

To further explore the secrets of the energy threads, Dylan remained silent for a moment before opening his eyes.

A spell of soul magic quietly appeared.

Then, a surge of ancient black magical energy flowed through his veins and throughout his body, eventually converging in his hand.

No need to use a magic wand, no need to chant spells.

Dylan reached out and gently touched the crack in the golden egg, making contact with the wisp of pale green energy thread.

The next moment, a black halo appeared in his hand, and he carefully peeled off an extremely fine branch from the thick energy thread.

He is stripping away the imprints that originate from the soul.

In the ancient magical theory, everything leaves a mark.

Emotions, memories, and will are considered subtle imprints, while the biological individual itself can be seen as a rough imprint of the soul.

What Dylan was peeling away at this moment was a branch containing a rough soul imprint from the energy threads of the mermaid race.

A subtle tremor ran through his fingertips, and Dylan could clearly sense the characteristics of this wisp of soul imprint.

It's like a locked door; only by finding the right "key" to unlock it can you release the secrets hidden within.

He immediately mobilized his magic, channeling more magical energy to try and unlock the clasp. The pale black energy enveloped the pale green soul imprint, slowly seeping in and probing.

However, the process was much slower than expected. The surface of the pale green mark seemed to be covered by a hard barrier, and every step the magical energy took forward required a great deal of effort.

Dylan stared at the slowly changing energy before him, unable to determine how long it would take to completely unlock the lock on his soul.

“Heh, that’s interesting.” Dylan raised an eyebrow.

He didn't rush to continue trying, but instead first dispelled the magic.

The most important thing right now is to find a way to acquire the magical power that has been nurtured over time.

This may be the key to unlocking the final secret of the golden egg.

Once the direction was decided, Dylan did not hesitate at all.

He focused his mind and channeled his magic.

He guided the wisp of silver-black energy to the tip of his wand and gently touched the pale green mermaid soul mark that had been peeled off earlier.

Almost the instant the two came into contact, a miraculous change occurred.

The previously still pale green mark suddenly became active, as if it had found a home, and actively wrapped around the wand, forming a fine energy ring.

This process is progressing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Within a few breaths, Dylan felt the scene before him begin to distort.

The once familiar common lounge gradually became blurry, replaced by a deep darkness, as if one were in an endless abyss.

He knew very well that this was not a true entry into the bottom of the Black Lake; the sense of emptiness that felt detached from reality was a special space between the real world and the spiritual world.

Just as Dylan was about to assess the situation, a peculiar third-person perspective quietly emerged.

In the darkness, a pale green light slowly coalesced, its outline blurred yet carrying a distinct life force.

Upon closer inspection, one can see that this mass of light and shadow resembles both the form of a single mermaid, with a slender tail fin and a streamlined body, and the energy of countless mermaids superimposed together, forming a massive aggregate of species.

This contradictory feeling is both clear and vague.

Based on his research on the soul, Dylan instantly made a deduction.

This ball of light and shadow may have a dual nature; it can represent any individual in the Black Lake mermaid clan, or it can serve as an energy symbol for the entire clan, a fusion of the individual's and the group's soul imprint.

At the same time, he noticed that the wisp of pale green thread-like energy that he had previously separated from the golden egg was firmly connected to this ball of light and shadow, like a delicate ribbon that tightly linked his consciousness with the light and shadow.

Dylan tried to control the thread with his mind. When he formed the thought of retreating in his mind, his body seemed to really cling to the thread and move backward slowly. The pale green light and shadow in front of him also gradually receded, and the sense of space in the darkness became clearer and clearer.

He did not rush to take any further action, but stayed where he was, carefully sensing the energy fluctuations here.

Subtle energy pulses continuously emanated from the pale green light, as if conveying some kind of information, but these pulses were too scattered to be deciphered for the time being.

Dylan understood that to gain more clues about the Black Lake mermaid and the second project, he had to further explore the secrets of this luminous shadow.

Perhaps, the answer to the golden egg lies hidden within this swirling light and shadow.

Dylan tried to increase the intensity of his control over his consciousness, and the sensory entity clinging to the pale green silk thread began to retreat at an accelerated pace. At first, it moved slowly, but as his concentration increased, the speed of retreat became faster and faster, as if he were riding the wind in a dark space.

The pale green light and shadow symbolizing a mermaid in front of him rapidly shrank, eventually turning into a blurry dot of light, while the surrounding darkness surged in like a tide, enveloping his consciousness.

Suddenly, a strong pulling sensation came, and the darkness in front of me was instantly replaced by bright light.

Dylan snapped back to reality, the strange perspective vanished completely, and the familiar common room came into view again.

The golden egg still lay peacefully on the silk-covered tray, its surface gleaming with a soft luster.

He let out a small breath.

As it turned out, his earlier speculation was entirely correct.

A deeper exploration of the magical structure of the golden egg itself, and the hidden soul imprint behind the song, is far more valuable than simply deciphering the riddle, and is also more likely to uncover the core clues of the second project.

After confirming that his consciousness could safely return to his body without leaving any aftereffects, Dylan decided to move to a more suitable place for in-depth research.

The common room is bustling with people. Although the students won't disturb them unnecessarily, the casting of magic is unpredictable. If the energy fluctuations affect others or trigger an abnormal reaction from the golden egg, it could cause unnecessary trouble.

"A good escape room would be the best option," Dylan thought to himself.

Dylan arrived at the House of Requirement.

Instead of immediately casting the spell, he took out a notebook and quill from his backpack, sat down at the stone table, and carefully outlined his research plan.

The pen scratched across the parchment as he listed out the conjectures that needed to be verified one by one.

First, confirm whether the soul space is consistent with the known soul realm, and whether you can move freely within it and observe details.

Secondly, try applying a basic detection spell to the mermaid-like light and shadow to see if it can trigger a special reaction and obtain more energy information.

Finally, combining his research on soul magic, he attempted to leave subtle soul imprints on the light and shadow, observing whether the imprints could merge with the light and shadow or trigger new clues.

Having finished outlining the plan, Dylan closed his notebook, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

He took a deep breath, placed the golden egg in the center of the stone table, raised his wand, and the magic began to flow again.

Unlike last time, this time the incantation went exceptionally smoothly without any obstacles.

The pale green soul imprint was instantly stripped away, as if drawn by an invisible force, and condensed into threads above the stone table.

As the energy fluctuations intensified, Dylan's consciousness was once again pulled into that familiar dark space, and the strange perspective was reopened.

Not far away, the pale green light symbolizing the mermaid race was slowly floating, awaiting further exploration.

As his consciousness re-entered the dark space, Dylan immediately sensed the change in his surroundings.

It was no longer pure nothingness, but filled with a damp, cold atmosphere similar to the bottom of a black lake, as if water was flowing slowly around you, but you could not touch any actual body of water.

He skillfully manipulated the "sensory body" formed by his consciousness and began to explore the area around the mermaid's light and shadow.

Soon, several clusters of light and shadow of various shapes entered his "field of vision".

Not far to the left, two grayish-black shadows were moving slowly, their outlines clearly showing slender limbs and sharp claws. Based on his knowledge of magical creatures, Dylan immediately recognized them as the shadows of Grindylow. Beside them was another brownish shadow with a segmented body, resembling an enlarged earthworm—the Loba Worm that lived in the silt at the bottom of the lake. (End of Chapter)