The Return to Hogwarts

Krum, who had a shark's head, couldn't speak. He exhaled a string of bubbles and anxiously waved to Hermione, signaling her to leave quickly.

"Try this!"

Hermione shouted, but the bubbles and heavy lake water made her voice muffled. "Write your name on a cucumber and throw it to that Kaba. Maybe it will give up on you!"

With that, Hermione used the Object Manipulation Charm to control the cucumber that the stone had turned into, which flew through the lake water and landed precisely in Krum's hand.

Staring at the bright green cucumber in his hand, Krum stood there dumbfounded for several seconds before kicking his foot in frustration.

When encountering a creature like the Kaba, this is indeed the 'standard way' to get rid of it. This is something he should have learned in the third grade, but he had completely forgotten it because of the long time that had passed!

"Hey, look at this, ugly thing!"

Krum shouted in his heart, and with all his might he hurled the cucumber with his name hastily written on it at Kaba. Only when the rolling cucumber hit him on the forehead did Kaba come to his senses and avert his gaze from Hermione.

Kaba instinctively picked up the cucumber, stared at it blankly for a moment, then glanced at the two young wizards who were standing at attention. A very human emotion appeared in his bright black eyes that shone in the dark lake water.

Gulu!

A large bubble popped out of Kaba's nose. After giving Hermione a somewhat helpless glare, Kaba swung his webbed limbs like an arrow, splashing white water as he quickly disappeared into the lake with his cucumber.

After the monster's figure disappeared from his sight, Krum collapsed, letting his body fall freely to the bottom of the lake, where he sat cross-legged on the jagged rocks, panting heavily.

"I know you're tired, but we probably don't have much time to waste,"

Hermione rushed to Krum's side and took his arm.

"Less than half an hour left."

Hermione's hair rippled slightly with the undulating water, and her form-fitting tunic accentuated the curves of her upper body. Perhaps it was the shark's keen sense of smell, but Krum could smell a dizzyingly pleasant fragrance emanating from the girl in front of him. Not to mention how alluring her pale blue scales and the faintly iridescent tail fin were to any man!

"you go first!"

But Krum quickly shook off Hermione's 'fatal allure,' looking at her with immense gratitude and gesturing to her in acknowledgment.

"I need to rest."

The meaning of the second half of the sentence was rather complicated to convey with gestures. After struggling to understand it, Hermione hesitated for a moment, but in the end she still chose to pull Krum up from the ground by his arm.

"drag!"

Anxious Krum even made a muffled sound with his shark-like mouth as he broke free from Hermione's support.

"I can't keep up. You go first. Time is running out!"

Seeing Krum's resolute stance, Hermione pursed her lips. She knew full well that there was no time to waste here any longer.

"Leave as soon as possible, that Kaba might come back!"

After saying this, Hermione glanced worriedly at Krum, flicked her tail fin, and quickly left in the direction Myrtle had indicated.

Unable to judge the exact time, Hermione felt that she had swum for at least another twenty minutes, and now there were probably only about ten minutes left until the end of the race.

The waters beneath her now lay vast expanses of black silt, and the lake water swirled with dark eddies as she stirred it. The faint singing that finally reached her ears offered some solace to her anxious, almost exploding heart.

A group of Grindylows appeared among the seaweed at the edge of the mud and rocks, but judging from their listless appearance, they had obviously been dealt with. So when they tried to attack Hermione, who was passing overhead, they were overwhelmed by a string of bubbles created by Hermione's sudden, rapid tail flapping. By the time they got rid of the bubbles, the girl was already far away from them.

Hermione longed to stop and properly admire the mermaid village that suddenly appeared in her field of vision—a rare sight indeed. However, it was as if a clock was constantly ticking in her head, and only by swimming faster could she alleviate the irritating noise.

So when she found the four wooden pillars surrounded by a large group of mermaids, a wave of weariness washed over her and almost made her fall asleep, but she knew she couldn't; she still had to get Harry and Ron back to the surface.

Hermione was relieved that the menacing merfolk wielding spears did not attack her, but her heart sank when she saw that Cho Chang was missing from the four wooden pillars.

Cedric has succeeded; he's taken Cho Chang away!

Realizing this, Hermione was both happy that Hogwarts had once again come out on top, and a little worried that she might be falling too far behind.

But Hermione quickly banished these thoughts. She swam vigorously, rapidly approaching the two ashen faces. The instant her fingertips touched them, a dazzling emerald light suddenly swept over her, engulfing the stunned Hermione's vision.

Chapter 846 Grave

2024-04-06

Without any warning or preparation, Hermione felt as if she had been shoved into a washing machine. The world before her eyes was spinning violently, and her ears were filled with a fierce whooshing sound!

The sudden change caused her to scream uncontrollably. The surge of magic caused her tail fins to transform back into two slender, long legs, and the bubbles above her head burst. In the turmoil, all she could do was hold on tightly to Harry and Ron, who were still in front of her.

Once the world stabilized, Hermione discovered that the people moving with her weren't just Harry and Ron; Krum and Fleur, most importantly, Gabrielle and Professor Karkaroff were also by her side.

The pressure from the deep water suddenly disappeared, and as the fishy and damp air rushed into their nostrils, the ashen-faced 'treasures' gradually regained consciousness, and the ropes binding them loosened.

Harry blinked, trying to banish the blur from his vision, but no matter how hard he tried, his vision remained unclear. Then he realized that it was the water droplets clinging to the glass that were making it impossible for him to see anything.

After wiping his glasses on his robes a few times, Harry quickly put them back on to observe the situation. The first thing he saw was Ron next to him kicking a dusty, rocky platform they were standing on with his toes.

"You did it, Hermione! You brought Ron and me out of the lake!"

Harry happily took Hermione's arm, who was unusually dizzy, and shook her a few times.

What place are you?

After asking, Harry realized something was wrong. Gabrielle and Karkaroff were also there. They weren't at the Black Lake. In fact, this wasn't Hogwarts at all.

Forget Hogwarts, this place might not even belong to Hogwarts territory, because even the surrounding mountains have disappeared. The platform sits on a dark, overgrown cemetery, and to the right, one can see the dark outline of a small chapel behind a tall yew tree. To the left is a hill, and Harry can vaguely make out a delicate old house on its slope.

Dark clouds rolled in from above, making the sky as gloomy as if night had fallen. This was quite unreasonable; when Professor McGonagall woke me up at dawn, the sky outside was clear and cloudless, and today should have been a good day.

For no apparent reason, a strong sense of excitement filled Harry's heart.

"Hermione?"

Harry looked at Hermione, who was staring at the tombstones, her body trembling slightly.

"I don't know, Harry. The moment I touched you, we used the Portkey to teleport."

Hermione's voice was filled with confusion and helplessness.

"Nonsense!"

The only adult standing on the platform spoke. Karkaroff's eyes also showed fear, but he glared fiercely at Hermione.

"I've never heard of a second project involving a Portkey. What kind of trick is Hogwarts up to? Or is this another brilliant idea that Blaine came up with on the spur of the moment?!"

When Karkaroff spoke of Professor Blaine, the contempt in his tone drew angry glares from the three young Hogwarts wizards present. However, in this situation, Karkaroff paid no heed to their displeasure. He rudely shoved Ron, who was blocking his way, and walked down the steps from the platform.

Standing below the platform, Karkaroff looked around, and the confusion in his eyes made Harry and his friends begin to believe that the 'multi-talented' Headmaster Durmstrang was indeed unaware of the situation.

"Actually, he made one good point—"

Ron didn't want Karkaroff to think he was agreeing with him, so he whispered to Harry and Hermione,

"Professor Blaine certainly likes to create 'surprises'."

"But he usually gives people hints."

Harry retorted, forcing a smile at Gabrielle, who stood behind the three of them, her face pale, her small body trembling, seemingly terrified and at a loss for what to do. He immediately noticed a new situation.

"there's only us?"

Harry asked,

"Cedric and that group, and Krum?"

After being exposed to the air, the sportswear on the group dried immediately, but their hair remained wet. The chill even caused frost to form on Hermione's hair. Hermione shook her head, as if trying to dispel her confusion.

"When I saw you, Cedric and Cho Chang were gone. Krum had been exhausted by a Kaba and fell behind me. I didn't see Fleur."

"Oh!"

Ron raised an eyebrow, looking with a hint of satisfaction at Karkaroff, who appeared indifferent but was actually eavesdropping on their conversation.

"I guess this is the second stage of the competition. The Warriors and their key players going through tough times together is very much in Professor Blaine's style, isn't it? But unfortunately, some people have fallen behind and don't qualify for the second stage!"

Karkaroff's expression suddenly turned fierce. He turned his head to glare at Ron, baring his yellow teeth, and said coldly...

"Kid, if Blaine really came up with such a stupid plan, then unfortunately, this competition will be deemed invalid because he changed the competition events and rules without my permission!"

"Professor Blaine's plan does not require your approval!"

Ron was starting to feel the pressure of Karkaroff's intimidating gaze, and Harry stepped forward, returning the look with the same icy stare.

After a brief standoff, the two looked away.

Just you wait and see.

Karkaroff said through gritted teeth,

"If this was really Blaine's doing."

"Shouldn't we take a look around?"

Ron said.

The cold, lifeless tombstones standing amidst the eerie, swirling smoke reminded him of the test he faced in Defense Against the Dark Arts class during his second year. He had been utterly defeated by the infernal corpses Professor Blaine had brought. Now, it seemed he had a chance to prove himself again.

"If this is truly a test of our capabilities and not an accident, we can't let Hufflepuff's pretty boy steal the spotlight, can we?"

Ron said with great interest.

No one answered Ron's call, and Karkaroff and Harry looked the worst of them all, both having a vague sense that disaster was about to befall them.

"Let's look around first."

Only when Ron felt embarrassed did Hermione cautiously purse her lips and say...

“We can’t just stand here like idiots, can we? Come on, Gabrielle, you can come with us.”