Hogwarts: Lacus doesn't want to be a witch who destroys nations.

Without a word, he pulled Lux ​​into his office, which was filled with the scent of various herbs, and excitedly waved a piece of parchment: "Both of our papers have been published, and the Merlin Order has already responded. They attach great importance to this breakthrough! They are especially full of praise for the clinical cases of werewolves!"

"Two articles?"

"A Study on the Mechanism and Effect of Wolfsbane Potion in Intervening in Werewolf Transformation" and "A Study on the Principle of Magic Potion Refining Based on Dragon Blood"

Slughorn handed the final draft of the paper to Lux, who took it and stared in disbelief.

The author attribution section clearly states: Laksana Crownguard, Horace Slughorn, Albus Dumbledore.

"Professor? This..." Lux pointed to her name, "This isn't quite right, is it? You were in charge of the alchemy, and I didn't participate in the second paper at all, I..."

"No! It's perfect!" Slughorn interrupted her, his plump face unusually serious. "Child, this formula originated from you, Vera's treatment plan was your idea, and you participated in the entire verification process. Without you, this paper wouldn't exist!"

"While I, Horace Slughorn, cherish reputation, I will never appropriate the academic work of my students; this is a matter of principle!"

He pointed to the section on dragon blood extraction in the paper: "Your formula provided the key ideas for optimizing stability and mana channeling in this part!"

"I only helped you refine the operational details. As for Professor Dumbledore, his expertise in dragon's blood research is unparalleled. I asked him to review the theoretical parts related to dragon's blood, and he provided valuable suggestions for revision."

Lux looked at her name listed first on the paper, and then at Professor Slughorn's sincere and proud eyes. A warm feeling welled up in her heart. This professor, who usually seemed smooth and worldly, had an unquestionable bottom line when it came to academic ethics.

"Thank you, Professor," Lux said sincerely.

"Haha, you should!" Slughorn patted her on the shoulder. "Just wait, child, the Order of Merlin is beckoning you; it will be a shining addition to your resume!"

Lux was caught up in the professor's excitement. It suddenly occurred to her that this man before her was a master of potions; perhaps…

"Professor," Lux began tentatively, "I have another question for you. I mean, if I want to stay underwater for a relatively long time, besides the head-soaking charm, are there any potions that can help?"

Slughorn raised an eyebrow, looking at her with interest. "Long periods underwater? Lux, you've been quite interested in exploration lately?"

Lux quickly explained, "Academic research! Purely academic! Like researching the distribution of aquatic magical plants..."

Slughorn clearly didn't believe it, but he didn't delve into it further, stroking his chin as he pondered: "As for potions, 'Gillbagel' itself can make it, or a water-breathing potion made from Gillbagel can also work."

"Gill-shaped grass?" Lux's eyes lit up.

“That’s right!” Slughorn nodded. “It’s a very magical aquatic plant. After consuming it, it can make gills grow on the sides of your neck, webbed fingers and toes, and make your skin slippery, making it perfect for underwater activities. The effects will last for about an hour, enough for you to do some… academic research.”

"Gills and webbed feet?" Lux imagined what it would look like if fish gills grew out of the side of her neck. "Will I be able to turn back later?"

"As for the appearance... it's not exactly aesthetically pleasing," Slughorn shrugged, "but the effects are absolutely reliable! The gills and webbed feet will disappear automatically after the effects wear off, and the skin will return to normal. As for side effects, you might feel a little thirsty afterwards, and your skin might be more sensitive for a short period of time. In very rare cases, a few tiny scale-like patterns might remain, but they will disappear in a few days."

"Scales?" Lux touched her face. This plan seemed feasible?

After all, you can just stuff the gill grass into your mouth; it doesn't take any time.

"Professor, do you have any gill stalks here?" Lux asked hopefully.

Slughorn shook his head: "This kind of grass is quite rare. It usually grows in the depths of dark, muddy waters. It's not cultivated in Hogwarts' greenhouses, but..."

He smiled mysteriously. "I have a little bit of stock in my private storage room. I can give you some."

Lux took the gill stalks, said goodbye to Slughorn, and returned to the common room. Now she needed to think about how to fight underwater.

She hasn't learned any Silent Spells yet, and the water pressure will cause her spellcasting accuracy to drop significantly.

"This is too difficult. Why do we have to prepare so much to go into the water..." Lux sighed and buried herself in the sofa.

Lumi climbed out of the basket, jumped onto her lap, and patted her face with his little paws: "Little sister, what's the worry? If you ask me, just put a metal bucket over it and jump in! That's how we catch fish in Freljord!"

"Use an iron barrel as a cover?" Lux was amused by this simple and crude solution, but as she laughed, a sudden inspiration flashed in her mind!

"Wait, the water and fire immunity spell!" She sat bolt upright. "How could I have forgotten about that!"

The Water and Fire Immunity Spell is a very practical everyday spell, usually used to waterproof and dustproof, keeping clothes dry. After being cast, it can form an invisible magical barrier on the surface of an object, repelling water and stains.

"If I cast an invulnerability spell on myself and my wand, I can isolate myself from the lake water. That way, most of my body won't get wet, and I won't have to endure the water pressure. I'll only need to solve the problem of breathing through my head!"

Lux thought it over and found it made sense. "This way, I only need to hold a small amount of gill grass in my mouth to meet my needs."

She immediately pulled out her wand and whispered to a corner of her robe, "Immunity to Water and Fire!"

A glimmer of light flashed, and the hem of the robe instantly transformed into a lotus leaf, with water droplets rolling around on it without getting soaked.

"It works!" Lux's eyes lit up. "Lumi, I'm a genius!"

"Genius! Genius!" Lumi praised him enthusiastically.

Over the next few days, Lux turned into an experiment fanatic. She secretly slipped away to the fountain pool at the edge of the castle, and when no one was around, she cast an enhanced version of the water and fire immunity spell all over her body, and then carefully submerged her head in the water.

"Glug glug..." The icy water instantly flooded her mouth and nose. Lux tried to breathe through her nose, enduring the discomfort—and of course, she choked on a mouthful of water!

"Cough cough cough!" She awkwardly raised her head, wiping the water from her face. "No, no! The Water and Fire Immunity Spell can only prevent water from contacting the skin; it can't generate oxygen from the water. My brain still needs to breathe!"

She then tried holding a handful of gill grass in her mouth without swallowing it. As a result, the gill grass took effect as soon as it came into contact with her saliva. She felt a tingling and itchy sensation on both sides of her neck, which scared her so much that she quickly spat it out. The tingling and itchy sensation then slowly subsided.

"Looks like I used too much. Let's try reducing it by one tablet..."

Finally, after countless failed attempts, Lux finalized her Great Lakes expedition plan:

Apply a water and fire immunity spell to the whole body to isolate it from the lake water and water pressure, keeping the body dry and flexible. Then, put two gill grass leaves in your mouth. This will temporarily grow gills without turning your fingers into webs, allowing you to cast spells flexibly. This is also the only solution that can guarantee underwater breathing.

That evening, after astronomy class, Lux used the excuse of going to the library to look up information to sneak out of the castle.

The castle lights gradually faded into the distance behind us, and a faint phosphorescence occasionally rippled across the lake.

The night wind, carrying the dampness and chill of the lake, made Lux shiver. She tightened her cloak, took a deep breath, and began to cast a water and fire immunity spell on herself.

As the wand swept across her body, soft rays of light flowed like mercury over her school robe, trousers, and boots, eventually forming an invisible, resilient magical barrier on her skin.

She tried putting her hand into the cold lake water, and sure enough, the water was separated by an invisible force. Her skin could not feel the coldness or pressure of the water at all, only a slight feeling of being enveloped.

"Nice!" Lux was very satisfied with the result.

Then, she put a dark green leaf of gill stalks, with a faint sea smell, into her mouth and pressed it under the back of her tongue.

A strange cool sensation instantly spread through my mouth, accompanied by a slightly bitter, grassy taste.

"Lumi, are you ready?" Lux whispered to the Poro in the basket.

"Pop pop!" Lumi's voice carried a hint of nervousness and excitement. "Don't worry, little sister, if you haven't come up in an hour, I'll go find something alive to bump into and pull you up."

Lux took one last look at the castle, took a deep breath, and then plunged headfirst into the dark, icy lake.

"Thump!"

The sound of splashing water was exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

The icy lake water instantly enveloped her, but the water- and fire-resistant spell on her body worked perfectly. She felt as if she were wearing an invisible diving suit, keeping the lake water out of her reach, and her body felt neither wet nor cold, nor oppressed.

The icy lake water instantly submerged her mouth and nose. Lux instinctively tried to hold her breath, but then a strong feeling of suffocation and choking made her open her mouth.

"Gurgle..." Lux panicked, but the moment the lake water rushed in, the gill grass leaf under her tongue seemed to be activated!

A burning sensation suddenly erupted from deep within her throat. Lux felt a tearing, tingling tingling sensation on both sides of her neck. She couldn't help but reach out to touch it, but her fingertips no longer touched smooth skin. Instead, they touched two wet, slippery fleshy structures that were rapidly opening and closing.

Gills! They've really grown!

"Uh..." Lux endured the discomfort in her throat and neck, and tried to breathe through her nose. The cold lake water rushed into her nasal cavity, but strangely, as the water flowed past the newly formed gills, a thin stream of oxygen with a rusty smell was extracted, barely sustaining her breathing.

Although it felt like someone was choking me and I couldn't breathe properly, I was able to breathe again.

"It's done!" Lux was overjoyed, temporarily ignoring the foreign object on her neck and the burning pain in her throat.

She held her breath, trying to adapt to this new way of breathing, filtering oxygen with gills, while keeping her eyes wide open, attempting to see her surroundings clearly.