The Eerie Bone Mountain

"To be honest, I think it might be a little difficult for these kids—but if they can figure out a solution, it shouldn't be too much of a problem?"

Madame Maxime was sitting in her chair, shifted the position of her crossed legs. Her movement had an elegance that was incongruous with her enormous body, making her look slightly odd.

Dumbledore smiled and said, "If they can think of using a Confundus Charm on themselves, the Merpeople Song will have no effect on them."

Karkaroff, who was standing to the side, didn't look very happy, ever since he had heard the details of the second challenge.

"Dumbledore! You didn't say that the second competition would cause amnesia! What if Krum forgets his Seeker's sense of smell, which he relies on for his livelihood?"

Before Dumbledore speak, Grindelwald glanced at Karkaroff indifferently, and the latter immediately fell silent.

However, Dumbledore explained gently, "This is a result of the Rune Engraving. It essentially blocks a part of the user's memory, rather than erasing it. If they want to finish the game, they just need to find a way to unlock the inscription."

Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, Karkaroff instinctively wanted to snort, but he immediately held back— Dumbledore was an easy-going person, but Grindelwald was clearly not.

Hearing Karkaroff's stiff cough, even the usually composed Madame Maxime cleared her throat. "I really hope they didn't run into any trouble at the bottom of the lake..."

"Listen, the easiest way to get through the Merpeople Song is to cast a Confundus Charm on yourself, so that this magical song won't affect your brain. After all, a confused brain can't be confused," Sean explained.

The Merpeople Song is indeed easy to solve, especially for wizards who understand this kind of song—coincidentally, Sean had heard Grindelwald mention it when he was studying with him.

Daisy, standing to the side, looked puzzled. Her face, which appeared puffy through the bubble, asked, "If we're under Confundus Charm, how are we supposed to get to the very center?"

Stephanie said, "If a wizard's spellcasting skills are strong enough, they can control the power of the Confundus Charm, so even if their mind is in a confused state, they can still have a general goal. However, since there are three people in the team, other wizards can provide remote assistance without being affected. This should be one of the reasons why the judges set up this project."

Sean nodded. "Originally, this should have been solved by the three of us working together, but we have a simpler way..."

Stephanie paused, then immediately realized. "Oh, I see, that's right..."

Daisy turned her head back and forth like a spectator at a tennis court. "There's another way? What way? Why did you all think of it so quickly?"

Sean chuckled, "Isn't the solution right beneath us?"

"Underneath?" Daisy looked down and saw that she was surrounded by a clump of resilient seaweed.

She suddenly realized, "That's right."

Unlike wizards, the Grindylow possesses Magic Resistance far exceeding that of normal wizards, and its biological instincts are far stronger than those of wizards.

"The Merpeople Song doesn't work on the Grindylow, hmm, too easy for us." Sean had another thing he didn't say.

It was so simple that he suspected someone had given him special treatment—he maintained a good friendship with the Grindylow in the Black Lake, something Professor Dumbledore couldn't possibly be unaware of...

Sure enough, the old man had been hiding quite a few things from the organizers behind their backs...

"Just let the Grindylow carry me there. It's not safe if all three of us are in a state of confusion," Sean said.

Stephanie and Daisy both nodded; it was indeed the best choice.

Both of them raised their wands, ready to attack the Merpeople should anything unexpected happen. Moreover, although there was no one around now, other contestants might arrive at any time and disrupt Sean's progress to prevent Sean from winning.

Without further ado, Sean had the young Selma Lake Monster lie in wait nearby, and after confirming once again that there was no danger, he even opened the entrance to the ring. If the sea monster suddenly appeared, the adult Selma Lake Monster would come out and wipe out all the creatures here.

Grindylow resilient seaweed gently enveloped Sean, and then, under Sean's direction, swam straight towards the very center of the Merpeople.

Sean, who had cast Confundus Charm on himself, felt the world spin around and lost his sense of direction, but he still maintained basic clarity of mind.

As soon as he entered the Merpeople Song's effective range, another chaotic feeling tried to rush into Sean's mind, but his already muddled head refused to let the other troublemaker in.

The Merpeople exchanged glances and saw a giant Grindylow Grindylow toward what they were supposed to protect, carrying a contestant they were supposed to stop.

This puzzled the Merpeople. The Grindylow was an external force, so why should they stop it?

The Merpeople leader pondered for a moment, then let out a series of piercing cries, signaling to its people that there was no need for them to take any further action—this was not part of their agreement with the wizard in the first place.

And so, the Grindylow carrying Sean passed through a large group of Merpeople with great ease. The Merpeople opened their mouths and kept emitting songs that could confuse consciousness, but this had no effect on the Grindylow.

Soon, the Grindylow led Sean to the very center, where five thick chains each had a stone locked to their end.

"This is what I've been looking for..." Sean's remaining consciousness was not much, but enough for him to react to his final target.

He swam over somewhat dazedly and then grasped a Rune Engraved Stone.

A warm sensation surged through his arm—a strange analogy popped into Sean's mind as he regained consciousness.

It's like Merpeople urinating on her own arm...

He shook his head, discarding the inappropriate analogy, and came to his full senses.

Sure enough, the lost fragment of memory resurfaced in his mind. Moreover, to Sean's surprise, the Rune Engraved Stone not only removed the shielding of that memory but also broke the Confundus Charm.

He had originally planned to hold onto it and then go back to have Stephanie and the others remove the Confundus Charm from his hands.

This is a good thing. If I carried it with me, wouldn't I be immune to the Confundus Charm...? Sean looked at the Rune Engraved Stone in his hand and this thought popped into his head.

However, it was just a thought; the Engraved Stone was firmly bound by chains, clearly indicating that they were not to be allowed to take it away.

"The Immune Confundus Charm isn't exactly a very useful thing..." Sean comforted himself.

Only then did he regain his senses and begin to observe his surroundings.

The Merpeople didn't approach the very center; they seemed to be merely Guardian on the periphery. Even after Sean entered, they continued singing, but made no attempt to hinder Sean movements.

At the very center was the intersection of five chains, which were fastened to a large pile of bones, each with a different shape: Merpeople, human, fish, beast...

A Bone Mountain bones of all shapes and sizes stood out eerily against the dark lakebed.

Is there really such a place at the Black Lake? Is this the territory of Merpeople? But I saw that strange sea monster here before...

Sean looked at the Bone Mountain, then his gaze suddenly sharpened.

That is...

He turned and looked around, and after confirming that the Merpeople didn't intend to bother him, he swam over.

In the very center of Bone Mountain, there is a small flat area that appears to have been artificially prepared, and several skulls are scattered in the center of the flat area.

That skull was the source of Sean's doubts.

He'd seen this thing before.

Back then, he rashly barged into another Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin, only to accidentally make eye contact with the Basilisk living there—a physical eye contact—and he bent over.

Because of his Pride, Sean could look directly at everything, but because his abilities were not strong enough at the time, he was still unconscious for a whole week.

According to Dave, the Basilisk brought back a strange skull from the Black Lake, saying it could help Sean.

It was a strange white skeletal skull, which must have belonged to some kind of canine animal. Its entire body had a faint fluorescent white color, and dark red flames surged inside its sharp fangs.

The flickering firelight entered Sean's body, helping him recover more quickly.

Sean took the skull with him, but he didn't figure anything out about it, so he just left it in the ring.

Now, several skulls almost identical to the one in his ring are scattered before Sean's eyes.

Did the Basilisk take the skull from here?

Sean looked down and examined it carefully, confirming that it was almost identical to the one in his own ring.

A faint glow flickered inside the skull, barely noticeable in the dim lake water.

Wait a minute... Sean suddenly paused, then his pupils contracted sharply.

The shape of this skull...

It looks very much like the wolf's head on the waist of that sea monster!

Moreover, those wolf heads were also spewing fire from their mouths after the sea monster awoke.

Could this be the lair of that sea monster, and the remains of its kind left behind?

But why is this place occupied by Merpeople and used as a competition venue?

No, I should say, why did I see that sea monster, and now it has vanished without a trace?

This is so strange...

While Sean was pondering, the largest Merpeople closest to him suddenly emitted a series of piercing sounds.

"Humans! Do not linger!"

Sean looked up in surprise. "You guys can speak human language?"

The Merpeople seemed to be the leader; it bared its teeth at Sean and said, "Just a little, not much!"

I'd heard that Professor Dumbledore spoke Mermish, but I didn't know Merpeople could also speak English, albeit with a limited vocabulary, and with a damn London accent...

Sean scratched his head. "So, I've finished the competition?"

"Of course, don't linger," the Merpeople leader said again.

The completion of the second level felt unreal... Sean pointed to the Bone Mountain beneath him. "Is this your territory?"

"No, we need seaweed and fish, lots of them! We don't have any here." The Merpeople answered every question; although she looked fierce, she was surprisingly easy to talk to...

Sean still didn't rush to leave. "So, Professor Dumbledore sent you here to guard this place?"

The Merpeople nodded. "Yes, Dumbledore! He gave us the gift, so we came!"

This place isn't the Merpeople ' territory; it's just a temporary venue where the Merpeople came to guard it... Sean nodded thoughtfully.

He continued, "When did you arrive here?"

The Merpeople leader looked a little impatient, but still answered Sean's question.

"After you enter the water, we will rush over."

"When you came here, did you notice any strange creatures?"

"No, nothing has ever lived here. No seaweed, no fish, Merpeople — Grindylow would never live here," the Merpeople leader replied.

That's strange. Merpeople should be much faster than him in the lake. Although he initially used Trace Flash to close the distance, he still swam quite a distance in the meantime...

Did the Merpeople not notice the strange sea monster? No, to be precise, as the native inhabitants of the Black Lake, they had no impression of any living creatures living there.

If sea monsters roam here, they wouldn't be unaware of it.

"Is there anything strange about this place?" Sean tried to ask.

The Merpeople leader bared his teeth at him impatiently. "I'm just Merpeople!"

Sean: "..."

It seems like he can't get any more questions out of him... However, interestingly, Sean discovered that his Magical Creature Affinity doesn't seem to work as well when facing humanoid, highly intelligent Magical Creatures.

This may be related to the fact that the Merpeople had communicated with Professor Dumbledore.

Sean asked one last question, "Can I take something with me? You know, souvenirs or something..."

"Troublesome humans!" the Merpeople leader exclaimed. "Anything but chains and stones will do! They're not fish or seaweed!"

Upon hearing this, Sean deftly opened the ring.

To the astonishment of the Merpeople, a gigantic tail emerged.

Its tail was incredibly flexible; it stretched out and curled, just like a shovel, directly encircling part of the Bone Mountain.

"Hey, very good, give me a little more here—" Sean directed with his wand, occasionally adding a few spells.

Then, the Merpeople watched as the tail curled up part of the Bone Mountain and burrowed into the boy's ring.

They can't even sing properly anymore.

The Merpeople leader was greatly shocked. "Magic!"

Sean nodded. "Magic!"

The other person immediately put on an admiring expression. "You're just as amazing as old Dumbledore!"

"It can't be that bad—"

As they were talking, a magical light suddenly shone from the distance. Sean's pupils contracted. This was the signal he and Stephanie had agreed upon after being attacked!

Without exchanging pleasantries, he grabbed the waterweed mane of the Grindylow, pushing the Merpeople leader aside with the current. When he looked up again, the Grindylow had already swum away with Sean at high speed.

Soon, Sean spotted Stephanie and Daisy by the ditch, guarding the area directly in front of them, where there was a dense patch of water plants.

Water columns and light, fueled by a magical spell, are relentlessly attacking!

"So audacious... "Sean narrowed his eyes.

I'll update first and then make changes later, there's not enough time... Sorry everyone, just reload it later, it won't cost you extra.