Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

Chapter 379 If they can cheat, why can't we?

“It might not be that difficult.” Draco narrowed his eyes slightly, a shrewd glint in them. “Think about it, what’s the difference between a wizard without a wand and a Muggle? Do you think the judges would make us fight mermaids with our bare hands, or grope around at the bottom of a lake? That doesn’t fit the Triwizard Tournament at all.”

"I plan to ask my dad to help me find out, to ask the people in the International Magic Cooperation Department and the Magic Sports Department, to see if there are any loopholes in the rules that we can exploit. After all, they are the departments related to the organizers, so they must know some details that we don't."

"You can do that?" Cedric blinked in surprise, his tone tinged with worry. "Wouldn't this be inappropriate? What if it gets discovered? What if something goes wrong, or even implicates you and your father?"

"Have you forgotten what that headmaster said before?" Draco's eyes flashed with disdain, his tone laced with sarcasm. "He said that 'cheating' is one of the traditions of the Triwizard Tournament, it's just that everyone tacitly agrees."

“We all chose our dance partners according to ‘tradition’ and completed the opening dance ceremony at the Christmas ball. As the judges, they can’t just demand that we follow tradition while ignoring the ‘tradition’ of ‘cheating’ themselves, can they?”

He paused, his tone becoming even more resolute: "Besides, you all remember what Karkaroff did before, right? They tripped us up, both openly and secretly, and deliberately lowered the scores when the referees were giving their evaluations. Since they could do that, why can't we fight for our own interests? We need to learn to leverage Hogwarts' home advantage and not keep passively taking hits!"

Draco's words were clear and logical, and even Harry, who was initially hesitant, was persuaded, and the anxiety in his eyes was gradually replaced by determination.

“I think Draco is right. We should definitely take the initiative to try to get some favorable conditions.” Dylan agreed, adding, “You saw the first project. When the judging panel designed the project, they not only considered the challenge but also the entertainment value—after all, there are so many teachers, students, and guests watching. If we all lose our wands and can only blindly dive and grope at the bottom of the lake, there will be no entertainment value at all, which does not meet their original intention in designing the project.”

"Moreover, since they designed the riddle song in the golden egg according to the alchemical concept, they must have considered the core elements of alchemy, such as 'equivalent exchange'. Since the lyrics imply that we will lose our wands, according to the principle of 'equivalent exchange', they must pay a corresponding price. This makes sense and can be considered a kind of compensation for us."

"Furthermore, there were previous reports that the members of the judging panel were also restricted by the magical contract of the Goblet of Fire, and could not arbitrarily change the rules of the challenge. So I speculate that the price they would have to pay would likely be allowing us to make some preparations in advance, such as bringing some non-magical but practical tools, or learning about the environment at the bottom of the lake beforehand, so that the challenge would appear fair and reasonable."

“That makes sense! Now that you say that, I feel much more at ease. This hypothesis seems very reasonable!” Harry nodded repeatedly, his previously furrowed brows completely relaxing, and the anxiety in his tone was clearly replaced by ease.

He had been worried that he would be powerless after losing his wand, but after Dylan and Draco's analysis, he finally saw a way to deal with it.

“I completely agree with Dylan’s explanation!” Draco quickly chimed in, his tone much more serious than before. “In that case, the challenges we need to address next will focus on two aspects: first, how to stay underwater for extended periods and solve the problems of breathing and moving; and second, figuring out what magical creatures we might encounter at the bottom of the lake and preparing accordingly. Since there’s a possibility of ‘equivalent exchange’ compensation for the wand issue, we don’t need to worry too much about it for now.”

“But speaking of magical creatures…” Harry suddenly thought of a possibility, his expression instantly turning grim, and his voice lowered slightly, “Do you think there might be some dangerous animals at the bottom of the lake? Although Black Lake usually looks quite calm, it would be troublesome if there were any powerful creatures lurking there and we weren’t prepared. There shouldn’t be that many dangerous animals in the water, right?”

“That’s not necessarily true.” Cedric shook his head and said seriously, “Don’t underestimate the Black Lake. The underwater environment is much more complex than the land environment. Many places are bottomless and hide many dangers that we don’t know about. When I went to the Ministry of Magic for an internship with my father, I heard from the people in the Department of Magical Creature Management and Control that the underwater ecosystem is very special. Some creatures don’t usually show themselves, but they become extremely aggressive once they are disturbed.”

As he spoke, he raised his wand toward the bookshelf by the window and clearly uttered the spell: "Books, come!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a brightly colored gift box flew down from the top of the bookshelf and landed steadily on the table in front of him.

The gift box was wrapped with a gold ribbon and tied with a pretty bow. A delicate greeting card was pasted on the lid, with neat and beautiful handwriting.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the suddenly appearing gift box.

The greeting card reads.

Cedric, Merry Christmas! I hope this gift will be helpful when you need it.

——Qiu Zhang
Draco noticed the signature on the greeting card first, a teasing smile playing on his lips. "Wow, this gift box is quite exquisite, and it even comes with a personalized greeting card. Looks like the person who sent it put a lot of thought into it. Cho Chang? You mean that girl from Ravenclaw who often goes to the library with you?"

Cedric blushed slightly, feeling a little embarrassed. He pursed his lips, gently stroked the gift box, and explained, "This is a Christmas present from Cho Chang. Inside is a set of books about underwater magical creatures. Actually, I've wanted to open it for a while, but I just haven't found the right time."

He paused, his eyes softening, and continued, “I talked to Cho Chang about my plans after graduation. I told her I wanted to join the Ministry of Magic and work with my father, Amos Diggory. My father works in the Department of Magical Creatures Control, and he deals with all sorts of magical creatures, especially aquatic ones, so I felt it was necessary to learn about them beforehand.” “At the time, I thought Cho Chang was expressing her support for my career choice through this gift.” Cedric’s fingers lightly traced the words on the card, his tone tinged with nostalgia. “So I haven’t been able to bear opening the package; I’ve kept the gift box and the card intact, wanting to use them as a form of encouragement—a reminder to strive towards my goal and not let her down.”

It wasn't until he confirmed that the second project was related to the Black Lake and mermaids that Cedric suddenly realized: "Now I realize that Cho Chang sending me this set of books might not just be to support my career choice. Maybe she had already vaguely sensed something, or maybe she just thought that this knowledge would be useful to me. I didn't expect it to actually help."

As he spoke, Cedric carefully untied the ribbon on the gift box, opened the lid, and took out several beautifully bound books.

He casually flipped to the top book, which had a mermaid pattern on the cover and was titled "Mermaid: A Comprehensive Guide to Language and Customs." He said earnestly, "This one should be the most important. It mainly talks about knowledge related to mermaids."

He quickly flipped through the pages and soon found an important passage. Pointing to the text, he read aloud, "Look here. The book mentions that mermaids tame some magical underwater creatures as helpers, such as Greendylows and Loba worms. Although Loba worms are only XXX-level magical creatures and not particularly dangerous, they release a paralyzing toxin. Once stung, the body will lose sensation, which is quite dangerous underwater."

“And here…” Cedric opened another book titled “Black Lake Ecology: A Guide to Dangerous Creatures” and pointed to a page, saying, “This book also has a detailed account of the Grindylo, the mermaid-tamed creatures. You’ve all seen these underwater creatures before, right? When we were in the Magical Creatures Conservation class, Professor Hagrid took us to observe them on the shore of Black Lake. They look like slender water snakes with very sharp teeth and will actively attack any creatures that approach them.”

“Speaking of underwater self-preservation, I’ve also found a way to breathe underwater.” Cedric pushed a book in front of him, titled “The Marvelous Aquatic Plants of the Mediterranean and Their Characteristics,” forward to make sure Harry, Dylan, and Draco could all see the pages. “I previously agreed with Dylan’s explanation of the ‘equivalent exchange’ principle in alchemy and thought we might need to prepare some non-magical items in advance, so I specifically looked through these books and actually found something useful.”

He pointed to a passage in the book and said earnestly, “Look here, this is a magical plant that grows underwater, called ‘Gillbag Grass.’ The book says that if you eat it, you can breathe freely underwater without needing to use the Bubble Head Charm with your wand.”

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed, and there was a colorful illustration of gill grass on the page.

At first glance, the plant looked like a tangled mess of green water plants, quite unremarkable.

However, upon closer inspection, one will find that its texture is exceptionally slippery, and its surface has a faint sheen. Those tangled "grass leaves" actually look more like grayish-green rat tails, and its appearance is certainly not aesthetically pleasing.

"We're going to eat...this thing?" Draco looked at the illustration, his brow furrowed, his voice low as if he were trying to suppress his physical discomfort, afraid he might gag. "This thing looks disgusting. Are you sure it won't cause any problems if we eat it?"

“Although it doesn’t look very appealing, it’s incredibly effective.” Cedric pointed to the description in the book and patiently explained, “The book clearly states that the effects of eating the gill-pouch grass last for more than an hour. Do you remember what the lyrics of the Golden Egg song say? ‘One hour to complete the ‘masterpiece’ as much as possible’—this timeframe perfectly matches the time limit for the second project, it’s almost as if it was made just for us.”

He continued, his tone tinged with excitement: "And more importantly, after eating gill-filled grass, gills will automatically grow on both sides of our necks, and webbing will grow between our fingers and toes. This will not only solve our breathing problems but also greatly increase our swimming speed underwater, making it easier for us to move around. At present, there is no more suitable solution than this."

“Besides, we previously speculated that we might lose our wands,” Harry added. “Without wands, we won’t be able to cast the Bubble Head Charm, and we’ll have to rely on gill stalks to breathe underwater. From any perspective, preparing this plant is necessary.”

Draco's disgust hadn't faded. He pursed his lips and said reluctantly, "Let's wait and see if my dad can get the details of the rules from the Ministry of Magic. If we're really allowed to bring aids, or if there are other more comfortable ways to breathe, then we can consider this gill pouch grass. If there's really no other way, we'll just have to hold our noses and eat it."

Cedric's finger slid across the pages as he continued to explain the dangerous underwater creatures that might appear at the bottom of the Black Lake, drawing on the book's contents: "Besides Greendylow, we must also pay close attention to this Loba worm. The book explains it clearly: it secretes a venom with a paralyzing effect, and mermaids often use them as weapons—just like Muggles use blowguns, they spit the Loba worm directly at their target with considerable accuracy, making them particularly difficult to deal with."

He paused, recalling something from before, and added, "You should remember this, right? It was the time a while ago when the mermaids and the crew of the magic ship had a dispute. At that time, someone saw the mermaids using Loba worms."

The venom of this insect spreads rapidly underwater, and if inhaled or comes into contact with the skin, it can easily cause incapacitation. Even if we don't use the head-soaking charm to breathe, it's best to use it to isolate ourselves from the venom and avoid being infected.

“Moreover, the judging panel might arrange for the Kelpie to be an additional test.” Cedric turned to another page, his tone becoming more serious. “This magical creature is quite troublesome. It has an extremely strong ability to shapeshift and can imitate the forms of various creatures. Sometimes it can even disguise itself as a drowning wizard to lure its prey closer.”

“However, it also has obvious weaknesses.” He pointed to the illustrations in the book and explained, “The horse-shaped water monster has a distinctive feature: it likes to decorate its body with broad-leaved cattails. No matter how many times it transforms, it will always have a few of these plants on its body. So no matter what creature you see in the water, if you find broad-leaved cattails, you can’t go wrong. It’s very likely that it is the horse-shaped water monster.”

(End of this chapter)