Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

Anthony nodded, recalling what he had heard, and slowly said, "In short, many years ago, Headmaster Dumbledore went to my great-grandfather to ask him to do something. In order not to be disturbed by others, they created a great fog that covered the whole of London, enveloping the entire city."

"A fog that...covers the entire city of London?" Chris gasped in astonishment, swallowing hard. "This is unbelievable! London is so big; the magical power required to create a fog that covers the whole city is simply unimaginable!"

“Yes!” Anthony nodded affirmatively, adding, “When my great-grandfather later mentioned this, he said that he was actually quite troubled by things with such a wide impact. After all, a sudden fog, while it facilitated their communication and made them less likely to be discovered by outsiders, was also too conspicuous and could easily cause panic in the Muggle world. My great-grandfather wasn’t the type to like to show off, so he rarely did such things afterward.”

After listening, Michael Corner's eyes suddenly lit up, and he looked at Anthony and said, "Anthony, what you said suddenly made me think of something—Dylan can already do something as amazing as dividing the lake, so wouldn't he be able to cast spells with a huge range of influence like Headmaster Dumbledore and your great-grandfather in the future? By the way, how old was Headmaster Dumbledore when he did that?"

“How would I know?” Anthony rolled his eyes at Michael and said helplessly, “I already told you, I just overheard it by chance. My great-grandfather didn’t tell me the details, so how would I know so many details?”

At this moment, Dylan was slightly moved. He squinted his eyes and felt the warmth of the sunlight shining on his face through the parted lake water—an experience he had never had before in the deep lake. The soft light dispelled the coolness of the water and gave him a new understanding of magic.

Although it wouldn't be difficult for him to do such a thing, it depends on what means he uses.

Suddenly, a strange sound came from the water barriers on both sides.

Dylan immediately snapped out of his daze and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a group of Heracles constantly crashing against the invisible barrier, trying to break through the obstacle and attack him.

This scene also reminded Dylan that the test of the second project was not over yet.

However, looking at the bracelet on his wrist, which was almost dark red, he knew that the test was about to end.

Without further hesitation, Dylan waved his wand again, his movements gentle yet firm, as if he were simply drawing back curtains at home. With a gentle tug at the parted lake water, the water, which had been separated on both sides, slowly converged towards the center. The entire process remained incredibly calm—the Black Lake did not ripple with any waves, and there were hardly any extra splashes. Everything seemed so gentle, so natural, as if the lake water had never been separated at all.

As the barrier separating the lake water disappeared, the schools of Heracles on both sides immediately swarmed towards Dylan. But before they could get close, Dylan waved his wand again, and gusts of cold air instantly spread out, freezing the leading Heracles into crystal-clear ice flowers that floated in the water.

On the judges' platform, Ludobagman, watching this scene through the screen, couldn't help but burst into hearty laughter. He said into the microphone, "Look, everyone! These Chirac fish are so impatient, they can't wait to help Dylan complete the test! They've rushed up on their own, becoming 'helpers' for Dylan to collect the light spots. This scene is really funny!"

Taking advantage of the moment when the bracelet received the last batch of light points, Dylan waved his wand at the surrounding floating ice flowers. With a slight magical fluctuation, the ice flowers shattered, and the frozen fish regained their freedom. These Heracles were clearly frightened by Dylan's magic. As soon as they broke free, they immediately swung their tails and rushed to escape into the depths of the lake, fearing that they would be frozen again.

Soon, the bracelet collected enough light points, and its original orange color completely turned into a dazzling deep red.

The next second, the bracelet suddenly emitted a soft light, instantly transforming into a door key that could be triggered immediately.

Before Dylan could react, a gentle force enveloped his body and instantly disappeared into the bottom of the lake. In the blink of an eye, Dylan was teleported to the shore of the Black Lake by the portal key.

……

"Red light! It's the red light that symbolizes the 'successful completion' of the test!" As Dylan's figure disappeared from the curtain, Ludobagman immediately raised his hands and cheered excitedly, "Let's give a big congratulations to Dylan Hawkwood! In this test, which can be described as full of twists and turns or smooth sailing, he has become the first warrior to complete the second task!"

He paused, his tone full of admiration: "His performance was witnessed by all the judges! Whether it was the unimaginable magic he unleashed or the speed at which he completed the test, it can only be described as 'perfect'!"

At this point, Ludobagman became even more agitated. He shouted into the microphone, "As a professional commentator and one of the referees in this competition, I believe we must dare to make fair judgments! In my opinion, Dylan's score in the second test is definitely a perfect 10! And I want to emphasize that 10 is not Dylan's upper limit, but rather the upper limit of the score I, as the referee, can give in the second test!"

Upon hearing Ludobagman's words, Karkaroff let out a long sigh. His previously tense body instantly relaxed, and he slumped into his chair, his shoulders drooping. Although he didn't speak, his expression clearly acknowledged Ludobagman's assessment and Dylan's performance.

Although Ludobagman's remarks contained a strong subjective element, the audience present did not mind at all.

On the contrary, after he finished speaking, many viewers immediately chanted Ludobagman's name to show their support.

In an instant, enthusiastic cheers erupted again from the lakeside stands, some celebrating Dylan and others recognizing Ludobagman, and the entire stadium was immersed in a joyful atmosphere.

Dylan's feat of splitting the Black Lake in two with magic happened so suddenly and calmly that the warriors in other areas at the bottom of the lake were completely unaware of it. All they could sense was the abnormality of the aquatic creatures around them—the previously ferocious Greendylo and Herac fish suddenly became restless, and some even turned away.

This sudden turn of events gave Harry, Draco, and Cedric a rare opportunity.

They decided to press their advantage and collect as many light spots as possible in order to complete the test as soon as possible.

Harry quickly raised his wand and aimed it at the nearest Grindylow. As the spell was cast, a jet of scorching water struck the target precisely. The Grindylow let out a short shriek, turned into a glimmer of light, and slowly flew into the bracelet on Harry's wrist. The orange light in the bracelet deepened even further.

"What's wrong with these guys?" Harry muttered to himself, cautiously observing his surroundings. "Are they under some kind of magical control?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a terrible thought suddenly surfaced in his mind. He couldn't help but stop what he was doing and look at Draco and Cedric beside him, his voice tinged with worry: "Could it be... someone is playing tricks? If it really is someone playing tricks, maybe we should stop chasing for now and find a place to hide?" Draco's wrist twitched involuntarily. He had been aiming at a Grindylow to cast a spell, but this mistake caused the water jet of the Extraction Charm to graz the Grindylow's body and miss its target.

Cedric's urgent voice suddenly rang out: "Harry! Draco! Back off! They've woken up! We've chased them too fast and are already inside their encirclement!"

"Awake?" Harry and Draco looked up at the same time.

The merfolk, who had been scattered in the distance, had now regrouped and turned around, raising their spears in their direction. One of the leading merfolk even opened his mouth and roared a few words at the surrounding Grindylo, as if giving orders.

The previously somewhat dazed Grindylos instantly reverted to their ferocious nature upon hearing the mermaid's command.

They all turned around, baring their sharp teeth and brandishing their claws, charging menacingly towards Harry, Draco, and Cedric.

"Quick! Launch an attack to buy us time to retreat!" Harry shouted decisively. "Draco, you cover our retreat and use the Illumination Charm to disrupt their vision!"

Before the words were even finished, three jets of scorching water shot out from the tips of the three wands simultaneously, striking the three Grindylows charging at the front. Taking advantage of the moment when the Grindylows' formation was in disarray, Harry and Cedric quickly closed their eyes. They knew that Draco's Illumination Charm was about to activate, and the bright light would temporarily impair their vision.

As expected, Draco quickly waved his wand and chanted a spell. A dazzling white light instantly shot out from the tip of the wand, illuminating the surrounding waters. Grindylow and the mermaid's attack rhythm was indeed disrupted by this sudden burst of light.

"Alright! Let's retreat!" Draco said, turning around and swimming away first.

But after swimming a few steps, he felt a violent spasm in his calf, as if a tendon had been forcibly pulled, causing him to groan in pain and his body to stop.

Seeing this, Cedric and Harry did not hesitate at all.

They immediately sped up, rushing to Draco's side from the left and right, grabbing one of his arms each, dragging him and changing direction, swimming towards a dense patch of water plants not far away.

Soon, the three of them hid deep in the seaweed, temporarily escaping Grindelho's pursuit.

"What on earth happened?" Harry leaned against the seaweed stem, panting heavily, feeling a throbbing pain in his legs.

Since reuniting with Cedric and Draco, they had been tirelessly searching the lakebed for magical creatures to obtain points of light, with almost no rest. It was understandable that their legs were aching.

Draco's condition was even worse than Harry's.

He sat among the water plants, one hand vigorously kneading his twitching calf, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, clearly in excruciating pain.

“Who knows what those guys are thinking!” Draco frowned, his gaze fixed on his bracelet, a hint of relief in his voice. “But whatever happens, we’ll be leaving this hellhole soon! Look, the bracelet is almost red; just a few more points of light and we’ll complete the test!”

Cedric wasn't in good shape either. He was panting as he cautiously pushed aside the water plants in front of him, observing the movements outside, afraid that Grindelwald might come after him.

"Hang in there, everyone. If we can find a few more Greendylos, we'll be able to..."

Before Cedric could finish speaking, a rustling sound suddenly came from around them—like the sound of seaweed being rustled, or like some kind of creature swimming rapidly in the water. A strong sense of danger instantly surged in Harry's heart. He immediately lowered his voice and shouted urgently, "Quick! Get up! Get out of here! They're coming!"

Draco and Cedric, upon hearing Harry's reminder, disregarded their fatigue and pain and quickly swam out of the water plants with Harry.

As soon as they came out, they saw several Greendylops emerging from the other side of the seaweed, clearly having followed their trail.

Harry, Draco, and Cedric simultaneously raised their wands, and three jets of water shot out again, repelling the Grindylows. But before they could catch their breath, several more Grindylows emerged from the water plants not far away, and their numbers gradually increased, blocking their escape route.

Harry, Draco, and Cedric had just repelled a group of Grindylows and hadn't even had time to catch their breath when they saw even more Grindylows emerging from the seaweed. What alarmed them even more was that behind these Grindylows, two mermaids wielding spears were slowly advancing, their cold gazes fixed on them.

"Not good!" Cedric's tone instantly turned serious. He stared intently at the two merfolk's attire, suddenly realizing something. "These are the same group of merfolk we encountered before! How did they catch up so quickly?"

"The mermaids from before?" Draco was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant, his brows furrowing even more. "That's impossible! Even if magical creatures have some resistance to magic, my Illumination Charm can temporarily disorient them. There's no reason for them to recover so quickly! I have confidence in my magic!"

Harry, panting as he waved his wand to fend off a lunging Grindylow, said, "We've encountered one strange thing since we entered the lake, so one more wouldn't be surprising..." (End of Chapter)