Rain poured down as Michael looked around, trying to find the dark magical creature that had launched the attack.
He had barely lifted his foot when he realized the ground had already turned into a muddy mess, with thick sludge even rising over his ankles.
There seemed to be a pulling force hidden deep within the mud, trying to drag him down.
The discovery gave him a fright. "Merlin's beard! What's going on?"
He hurriedly raised his wand and pointed it ahead, transfiguring a platform above the mud. He tried to stand on it, hoping to keep the mud from affecting his mobility too much.
The moment Michael stepped onto the platform, it suddenly lost its balance and toppled backward with him.
Fortunately, he had not made the platform too high. He hastily pulled his foot back and barely managed to steady himself.
Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he caught a dark shadow flash past on his left.
"It's here?" He quickly turned toward where the shadow had vanished, but all he saw was churning mud. There was no shadow at all.
Michael relaxed slightly and muttered to himself, "I should stop scaring myself..."
Before his words had even faded, the mud in front of him suddenly exploded, and a Grindylow leaped out of it.
The Grindylow waved its long, thin fingers and let out a piercing screech as it lunged straight for Michael's face.
Michael stumbled back in fright, slipped, lost his balance, and crashed heavily into the mud.
Luckily, the Water-Fire Immunity Charm protected him, so the splashing mud did not smear over his eyes.
The mud churned, and the Grindylow vanished again, clearly diving back beneath the surface.
Michael panted heavily as he struggled to his feet.
Facing mud that had already risen past