The Inevitable Accident

At half past eight in the morning, the long and utterly satisfying new experience finally came to an end.

Inside the space locked by the Mirroring Curse, Vincent and Hermione sat nestled together within a giant bubble.

"Krum's back." He raised a hand and pointed at the rapidly diving figure. "His Transfiguration skills aren't bad. He can even partially transform his body."

Her cheeks flushed, Hermione casually glanced over.

He was still wearing only underwear, but his head had become a rather frightening shark's head.

Human Transfiguration had always represented the highest level of Transfiguration. Many adult wizards might not even be capable of partial transformation like Krum.

Though it did not look entirely complete, he could at least breathe underwater for long periods now.

But compared to Vincent, who could transform even his bones, build, and appearance to perfectly match Snape's, Krum's Transfiguration was still far behind.

Hermione lay across Vincent's thigh with a faint smile. "Are you still jealous?"

He gently brushed aside her loose hair. "You definitely wouldn't believe me if I said no. A little."

"Mm-hmm~" Hermione's lips curved slightly upward, and she seemed to be in a very good mood.

Jealousy was a sign of affection, regardless of gender.

About an hour later, they finally saw Krum again, his body topped with a shark's head.

He rose very quickly, just like a real shark.

And his skin was no longer as deathly pale as before. He had probably used a warming potion or spell.

"Strange..." Vincent noticed that Krum kept looking back from time to time.

Hermione also noticed that his upward posture was a little awkward, as though he were on guard against something. "Did he run into trouble?"

As soon as she spoke, the currents at the bottom of the lake surged upward in all directions as if they had been violently disturbed.

Krum, not far from the surface, actually stopped and dived rapidly downward, brushing past those chaotic currents.

"This is..." Hermione sat up, recognizing the Water-Blade Curse launched from the lakebed.

Like the Forbidden Forest, Hogwarts's Black Lake was home to many different kinds of magical creatures.

And the only creatures capable of casting magic underwater and firing Water-Blade Curses from the lakebed that still retained some attacking power were merpeople, who possessed territorial instincts as strong as centaurs.

After dodging the attack, Krum stopped diving. He straightened his entire body and shot toward the surface at an even greater speed.

The merpeople did not attack again. He had probably left their detection range.

Vincent and Hermione both let out a sigh of relief.

If they went to rescue him, they might not expose the fact that they were hiding in the Black Lake, but they would certainly alert the Death Eaters.

Vincent lowered his tightly gripped Alder Wand. "It looks like that attack was only a warning."

Hermione remained on guard against the lakebed. "The Black Lake is far too dangerous. If the Champions accidentally wander somewhere they shouldn't and offend those underwater magical creatures..."

Even adult wizards would struggle to ensure a successful escape without specialized training, let alone students with little real combat experience.

Once injured underwater, even by a tiny cut, the frigid lake water would worsen hypothermia and could eventually lead to confusion or even unconsciousness.

Vincent gently put an arm around her. "Don't worry. The Ministry of Magic definitely won't let that happen. They should reach an agreement with the underwater magical creatures beforehand."

Hermione felt greatly relieved. "Right. As long as there aren't any accidents, the Champions will be safe."

Mm—an accident?

The two looked at each other.

The Death Eaters hidden in the school did not actually need to prepare anything in advance. They only needed to cause a disturbance when the event began, such as killing a merperson, and the merpeople would mistake it for wizards breaking the agreement and attack the innocent Champions.

"What should we do?"

"Let's go back and tell Professor Dumbledore first. He speaks the merpeople's language."

When they returned to the castle, breakfast had already begun in the Great Hall.

Vincent and Hermione did not stop, heading straight for the stairs.

When they reached the Headmaster's Office on the Seventh Floor, Dumbledore happened to be absent.

A stone Pensieve sat on the round table with claw-shaped legs, alongside several small bottles.

Vincent walked beneath the portrait of Phineas Black, whose eyes had widened. "Headmaster Black, where did Professor Dumbledore go?"

"Hmph!" Phineas turned his face away. "Don't you have that Communicator thing? Contact him yourself!"

He had always despised Muggles. Ever since Sirius Black and old Shafiq founded the Prongs brand, he felt that the Black Family had completely fallen, actually imitating Muggle technological principles to manufacture magical household appliances.

As a result, he had come to hate Vincent, the instigator behind it all.

He had never thought much of him before, but now he clearly hated him to the extreme.

"Oh." Right in front of Phineas, Vincent activated the projected light screen of the Magical Communicator, angering the latter so much that he turned around and presented Vincent with the sparse-haired back of his head.

The call took a long time to connect. From the background, it was not difficult to tell that Dumbledore was at the Ministry of Magic.

"Professor, is it convenient for you to talk right now?"

Dumbledore nodded with a smile. "Go ahead, my child."

Vincent first placed a soundproof barrier around them before telling him about Hermione's and his suspicions.

"Professor, if the Death Eaters really use this method, we can't exactly stay hidden around the clock until the event starts."

Dumbledore was not surprised in the slightest, as though he had already considered this possibility.

He gave a thoughtful hum. "I understand. I'll speak to the merpeople in advance."

After ending the call, Vincent found himself facing Phineas's wide, curiosity-filled eyes.

"Headmaster Black, do you want to know—"

"No!" Phineas covered his ears in a huff and turned away, once again showing him the sparse-haired back of his head.

The other headmasters were all snickering, and Hermione could not help covering her mouth as she laughed softly.

Dumbledore's influence was indeed useful. If an accident truly proved unavoidable, explaining the situation to the underwater magical creatures in the Black Lake beforehand would at least ensure that the wary creatures would not go all out against the Champions.

Vincent no longer felt so burdened either. He turned and curiously examined the Pensieve on the round table.

Since they were already here, it would be a shame not to take a look.

There were quite a few memories. Which one should they start with?

Hermione was still rather reserved, but just like before, she firmly refused at first before eventually joining Vincent in making a selection.

"Let's look at this one first." Her eyes warily watched the door to the Headmaster's Office, while her small hand swiftly poured the memory from the bottle into the Pensieve.

"Hey! You two little brats, are you pretending we don't exist?!" Phineas was so furious that even his beard stood on end.

But no matter what he said, it was useless. Vincent even provocatively shook the wand in his hand.