Hogwarts' Golden Glory

The afterglow of the Christmas ball hadn't even faded, but the winds of change had already shifted within the castle. In the corridors, the hall, and the common rooms, everyone was talking about the same thing: what the second project was.

The first project is about dragons, which everyone knows and has seen.

I witnessed how all the warriors overcame the dragon.

However, for the second project, the judges and teachers only revealed the golden egg, and nothing else.

The secrecy surrounding the project was much tighter than that of the first project, as if deliberately leaving room for speculation.

The golden egg had already been cracked.

After Kane obtained the golden egg, Draco wanted to try it out, and after he learned the method...

Draco was also the first to spread the song hidden in the golden egg to every student.

Look for us, where our voices can be heard.

We cannot sing on the ground.

When you search, please think carefully:

We stole your most beloved treasure.

You only have one hour.

To find and reclaim the items we took,

After an hour, all hope was lost.

It has vanished completely and will never reappear.

After the lyrics of "The Golden Egg" spread, Ravenclaw was the first to get into the mood.

This is very much in line with their style: Hufflepuff is still waiting for someone to tell them the answer, Gryffindor is guessing, and Slytherin is observing.

Ravenclaw had copied the lyrics twelve times, three of which were annotated with different colored inks. He then spread them out on the largest table in the common room, with seven or eight people sitting around them, as if they were working on a complex task that required collaboration.

"Find us, where our voices are." A boy wearing glasses circled this sentence. "This 'place' doesn't refer to any specific location in the lake, but rather to a particular area where the mermaids reside. Their voices travel underwater, indicating that their activity range lies in the deeper parts of the lake, some distance from the surface waters."

"Then we can't sing on land. This further illustrates that they can't produce sound effectively in the air and can only transmit sound through a medium underwater," said the girl sitting opposite him. "This also means that when warriors enter underwater areas, the location of the sound source will be more difficult to pinpoint than in the air."

"So the key is not to find the mermaids, but to find the location they use to fix their 'most beloved treasure'. That is the real goal."

"So what do you think 'baby' means?"

"The 'treasure' is likely not an object, but a person. If it were an object, describing it as being 'taken away' would be inappropriate; the description of a hostage is closer to the meaning of this phrase."

"If it really is a hostage, then it means that every mission involves rescuing a specific person, and the warriors don't know who it is beforehand."

"This is more in line with the song's narrative structure, because it explicitly mentions the possibility of finding and disappearing."

"Furthermore, the phrase 'after an hour there is no hope' indicates that the mission has a very tight time limit, and the rescue may not be completed if the time limit is exceeded."

"It's also possible that if the time limit is exceeded, the 'treasure' will disappear or be moved to a more distant place, so you must arrive at the designated location within the specified time."

The Ravenclaw discussion lasted for nearly two hours, until the sky outside the window changed from light gray to dark blue, and they still had not reached a complete agreement.

But they drew three drafts on paper, listed six possible alternatives, and then put them in the same folder, as if they had reserved space for observation and adjustment in advance.

The Hufflepuff discussion started a little later.

They don't usually pay much attention to these kinds of puzzles, but this year is different because Cedric is their hero. The Hufflepuff common room, while lacking the academic atmosphere of Ravenclaw, was still quite crowded. Some were holding pumpkin juice, some were leaning against the windowsill, and some were organizing an old lake bottom creature guide.

"When the mermaid chooses her 'most beloved treasure,' she might not just choose the person closest to the warrior," a fifth-grade girl said. "She might also choose the thing the warrior cares about most."

"What if the Warriors care most about his magic wand?"

"Then they'll steal the wand and wait at the bottom of the lake for the warrior to retrieve it."

"How will the warrior obtain it? With a magic wand? But his magic wand has been stolen; how will he cast spells?"

"Then you might bring a spare wand."

Have you ever seen anyone carry a spare wand with them?

"That 'treasure' might still be a person, because it's easier to tie a person to a pillar; it looks strange to tie an object to a pillar."

Mermaids may be able to bind objects.

"Tying objects together doesn't fit the style of mermaids; tying people together is more in line with their image."

"The key point is that the song is about 'taking away,' not 'hiding,' so it emphasizes an object or person being taken away, rather than an object being placed somewhere."

The discussion lasted for some time, but no definitive conclusion was reached.

In the end, they decided not to guess and wait for Cedric to decide how to prepare. All they needed to do was show up and support him on the day of the match.

Meanwhile, by the Black Lake, Harry was discussing something with Sirius.

Sirius was very anxious this time, and his analysis was very comprehensive.

"Based on the latest information I have received."

"Underwater project. One hour. Mermaid. This is a typical rescue mission; you have to go down to find someone and bring them back. It's not your job; it's someone else's. So you need to be well-prepared."

I originally wanted to teach you some practical underwater movement techniques, but unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to teach you the complete method. If there had been more time, I could also teach you Animagus—it's much easier to go underwater after transforming into an animal.

Seeing that Harry didn't say anything, he added another sentence.

"You can swim even if you turn into a dog; dogs aren't slow swimmers."

Harry and Sirius finished their discussion.

Back in the common room, they found Hermione reading a book.

He stood before her: "Sirius said he could teach me Animagus if there's enough time."

Hermione looked up. "Animagus? That'll take a long time to learn. Is he going to teach you to turn into an animal?"

He said he wanted to teach me to be a dog.

"The dog can swim, but it's not very fast."

“The issue isn’t speed,” Harry said. “The issue is: if I turned into a dog and then met mermaids underwater, would they communicate with a dog?”

Hermione looked at him: "I don't think they will."

"What if I turn into a dog and they treat me like a pet and don't talk to me?"

"You're overthinking it. Mermaids don't keep dogs as pets."

"Won't they think I'm here to hang out with them?"