Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

Before he could finish speaking, his gaze suddenly fell on the water on the other side, and his face instantly turned pale. "Oh no! Look over there! We're surrounded by two groups of mermaids!"

Cedric followed Harry's gaze and saw another group of merfolk, accompanied by Grindelwald, rapidly approaching from the side.

He sighed helplessly, a hint of despair in his voice: "This is troublesome. Breaking through won't be so easy."

“It’s not just fearful, it’s extremely difficult!” Draco added. “That group of merfolk must have communicated with us and know the power of my Illumination spell. They will definitely be on guard this time. We are now attacked from both sides, and our room for maneuver will only get smaller and smaller.”

As soon as the words were spoken, both groups of merfolk let out a roar at the same time. The surrounding Grindylo and Loba worms seemed to have received a unified command. Instead of charging blindly, they methodically approached the three of them, gradually compressing their range of movement. The merfolk, holding spears, roamed around on the outside, ready to launch an attack at any time to prevent them from breaking through.

In this life-or-death moment, Harry forced himself to calm down.

He quickly surveyed the surrounding situation, his gaze falling on the bracelet on his wrist that was about to turn red, and suddenly an idea came to him.

He turned to Draco and said in a deep voice, "Draco, quick! Use the Illumination Charm again!"

"It's no use!" Draco shouted through gritted teeth. "They've already learned their lesson once, so they'll definitely be wary of my Illumination Charm this time. The bright light won't hurt them at all!"

“Trust me, use it one more time!” Harry’s tone was unusually firm. “This time we won’t run away—look at the bracelet, we’re almost there with enough light. If we can just defeat a few more Grindylows, we’ll pass the test! This is our only chance!”

Draco looked at Harry's serious eyes, then looked down at his own bracelet—the orange light was almost deep red, it was indeed just a little bit short.

Without further hesitation, he took a deep breath, raised his wand high, and quickly chanted the spell. A dazzling white light burst forth from the tip of the wand once again, illuminating the entire body of water.

Harry, Draco, and Cedric were prepared and immediately closed their eyes. When they opened them again, they saw that the mermaid and Grindelwald had instinctively turned their backs to the bright light to avoid the stimulation.

But this left their backs completely exposed to the three of them, making them unsuspecting targets.

"Now!" Cedric was the first to react, shouting loudly.

The three of them waved their wands at the same time, and jets of scorching water flew towards the backs of the mermaid and Grindylow.

Upon hearing the incantation, the Greendylows realized they had been tricked and tried to turn around and fight back, but Harry and his friends gave them no chance—they completely abandoned retreating and dodging, firmly maintaining their stance to ensure that every extraction spell hit its target accurately.

Several more Grindylo were hit, letting out painful screams, and turned into specks of light that scattered in the water.

Upon seeing these points of light, Harry, Draco, and Cedric immediately swung their legs and stretched their arms, which were wearing bracelets, in front of the points of light.

As the light points merged into the bracelet one by one, the bracelet's color also changed rapidly—gradually changing from deep orange to light red, and finally becoming a dazzling deep red.

The group of mermaids who had previously been dealing with the three were now completely panicked.

Seeing the bracelets turn red, they instantly understood that the three were about to complete the test, and quickly raised their spears and hurled them at the three.

But just as the spear left their hands, Harry, Draco, and Cedric's figures suddenly blurred and then vanished into thin air in the water. The spear, having lost its target, not only failed to injure the three of them but also accidentally struck two Grindylows who had no time to dodge.

……

Harry felt a powerful, inexplicable force suddenly erupt from the bracelet, enveloping him tightly.

Immediately afterwards, he was violently pulled into the air by this force, and the scene in front of him instantly became blurry. The water at the bottom of the lake and the figure of Greendylo disappeared, leaving only a dizzying white light.

After an unknown amount of time, Harry felt his feet finally touch solid ground.

However, due to the great force of the impact, he was unable to regain his balance immediately, staggered forward, and fell heavily to the ground.

"Thump!" A muffled sound came from the side immediately afterward—Draco had also been teleported over. He also lost his footing and fell to the ground. The two looked at each other in a disheveled state, both seeing the relief of surviving a disaster in each other's eyes, and hurriedly struggled to get up.

Draco's leg was still cramping, and every movement brought waves of pain, causing him to stand up much slower than Harry. He leaned against a nearby tree trunk, moving his feet little by little, his face full of pain, yet also with an undisguised joy.

Harry stood up smoothly. He looked down at the bracelet on his wrist that had returned to normal, and then looked around at the familiar grassy area—he was on the shore of Black Lake, the sun was shining, and a gentle breeze was blowing. He couldn't help but smile from the bottom of his heart. The weight that had been hanging over him finally lifted. The fact that they were back here could only mean one thing—they had successfully completed the test of the second task!

Draco tried to stand up, but as soon as he took a step, the cramp in his calf struck again. The intense pain made him stagger forward, about to fall to the ground once more. Harry and Cedric instinctively reached out to grab Draco, but having just escaped from the bottom of the lake, they were almost completely exhausted. Their arms were only halfway up when the soreness overwhelmed them, freezing their movements. They could only watch helplessly as Draco collapsed to the ground.

Just at this critical moment, a crisp snap of fingers suddenly rang out, and then a thick, soft cushion appeared out of thin air beneath Draco, catching him steadily and preventing him from colliding with the ground.

Upon hearing the snap of his fingers, Harry immediately realized—this familiar magical style was most likely Dylan's.

He turned his head following the sound and saw Dylan leaning against the pillow on the hospital bed not far away, looking in their direction. Clearly, this life-saving cushion was something Dylan had conjured with magic.

It was only then that Cedric, Draco, and Harry finally noticed their surroundings: white bed curtains, the smell of disinfectant, neatly arranged hospital beds… This was clearly the Hogwarts infirmary! It turned out that the bracelets had teleported them back here, not to the shores of the Black Lake.

"Dylan!" Harry was the first to react. Despite the aches and pains all over his body, he quickly walked towards Dylan's bedside, his voice full of surprise. "You really have completed the second project! Tell me, when did you get back?"

Dylan had adjusted from a reclining position to a cross-legged one. He looked at Harry and calmly replied, "About ten minutes ago. Actually, when I came back..."

Before he could finish speaking, a dignified female voice suddenly came from the doorway, interrupting his narration: "Dylan Hawkwood! Didn't I just tell you to stay in bed? Why are you sitting up again?"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Madam Pomfrey carrying a tray, walking in quickly. Her gaze first swept across the floor and saw Draco sitting on the cushion, struggling to get up, as well as the cushion that was clearly a magical artifact.

Madam Pomfrey didn't say much. She quickly stepped forward and carefully helped Draco to sit down on the empty hospital bed next to him. Then, she raised her eyebrows, looked sharply at Dylan, and said with a hint of helplessness and reproach in her tone, "How many times have I told you not to use magic now and to rest properly? Why don't you listen? If you suffer any aftereffects, you'll regret it later!"

"Aftereffects? What aftereffects?" Harry and Draco asked in unison, their faces full of doubt—they had only heard from the bottom of the lake that Dylan had completed the test, but they didn't know what earth-shattering thing he had done.

“Mrs. Pomfrey, actually I’m feeling really fine,” Dylan explained with a helpless smile, trying to allay Mrs. Pomfrey’s concerns. “When you examined me just now, didn’t you say you didn’t find anything abnormal? I haven’t had any dizziness or headaches, have I?”

"You still have the nerve to say you're in good shape?" Madam Pomfrey first turned to comfort Draco, telling him to lie down and relax. Then, with her hands on her hips, she quickly walked to Dylan's bedside and sternly gestured for him to lie back down.

Dylan sighed, obediently lay back down, and pulled his legs back onto the bed. Madam Pomfrey then turned to look at Harry, only to find that Harry and Cedric had also climbed onto the bed next to them, slumping weakly backward, clearly exhausted as well.

“Look at Potter! Look at Diggory! And Malfoy! And look at yourself!” Mrs. Pomfrey pointed at Dylan’s bed with her finger, her tone full of disappointment. “You’ve forcibly separated the Black Lake, and you still dare to say you’re in good condition?”

"He's split the Black Lake apart!" Cedric, Draco, and Harry exclaimed in unison, their eyes wide with disbelief. They could never have imagined that Dylan would complete the trial in such a shocking way.

“Listen to their tone!” Mrs. Pomfrey turned to Dylan, emphasizing her words, “Even they know how serious this is, and you’re still not taking it seriously!”

Upon hearing this, Harry and Draco immediately raised their hands and waved them repeatedly in Dylan's direction, their eyes full of "innocence"—they had simply been shocked and had no intention of accusing Dylan, so they couldn't let Madam Pomfrey misunderstand.

“For a young wizard like you to forcibly cast such powerful magic could easily leave hidden dangers in your body!” Madam Pomfrey’s tone softened slightly. She walked to Draco’s bedside, examining his calves as she continued, “Even if your body seems fine now, what about your soul? Haven’t you been learning potions from Severus? Didn’t he teach you about the effects of overusing magic on the soul?”

“Thank you for your trouble, Mrs. Pomfrey.” Dylan chuckled. “I’ll definitely stay in bed now and never use magic again.”

"That's more like it." Madam Pomfrey nodded in satisfaction, then added, "Just lie down and rest. If you feel sleepy, take a nap. Young wizards have strong recovery abilities; many minor ailments can heal quickly with proper rest. What I fear most is someone like you who doesn't take care of their body and lets small problems turn into big troubles!"

After saying that, she turned and walked back to Draco's bedside, raised her wand, and gently waved it at Draco's calf.

A soft white light enveloped Draco's leg, and the twitching muscles instantly relaxed: "Hmm... just a slight muscle spasm, a minor problem. Let me help you relieve the pain first."

A warm, emerald-green light descended from the tip of Madam Pomfrey's wand, gently enveloping Draco's calves. Draco's tense body instantly relaxed, and he could clearly feel the excruciating pain, as if his muscles were being torn apart, receding at a visible speed. Within a few seconds, it completely disappeared, leaving only a faint warmth.

"Alright, the muscle spasms have subsided. Now you just need to rest." Madam Pomfrey put away her wand and turned to Harry and Cedric's beds. She first reached out and gently pressed on Harry's shoulders and legs, then checked Cedric's arms and ankles. After that, she nodded in satisfaction and said, "You two are doing well too. Like Malfoy, it's just minor muscle strain and bruises. No complicated treatment is needed. A few potions will do the trick. Wait here while I go prepare the potions for you."

After saying that, Madam Pomfrey picked up the tray and strode toward the school hospital's storeroom, leaving Harry, Cedric, and Draco looking at each other in bewilderment.

Once Madam Pomfrey disappeared through the doorway, Harry, Dylan, and their companions could no longer contain their curiosity. They instinctively moved closer to Dylan's bedside, trying to keep their voices down so that Madam Pomfrey wouldn't hear them.

“Dylan, is what Madam Pomfrey said true? You really separated the Black Lake?” Harry spoke first, his tone full of curiosity and admiration—although he hadn’t seen the scene with his own eyes, just imagining it was enough to shock him.

Dylan nodded and answered honestly, "I guess so, but I used a lot of tricks. It involves the application of cognitive magic, the specific principles are quite complicated, and the process is quite difficult to control. I am still studying the details."

"Even you find this magic complex, difficult to control, and requiring further study..." Harry subconsciously looked up at the ceiling, swallowed hard, and said with a hint of amazement, "Then this magic must be incredibly profound, far beyond what we usually learn." (End of Chapter)