The Mysterious Witch
The singing was deep and ethereal, as if it were seeping out from the paintings on the rock face, reaching the depths of the soul.
But William knew the singing was real, and he wasn't hallucinating.
Soon, the toad leaped over the rock wall, and all around appeared many rough stone dwellings, Scabbers with algae.
As more and more people live in cramped apartments, the singing becomes clearer and clearer, as grand as celestial music.
William and Hermione sat on the sofa, gazing at the deep Black Lake, and a very strange sight appeared before them.
The place seemed to be the square of Merpeople village, surrounded by some houses, with a large group of Merpeople floating in front of the square.
They sang in unison, their tails tapping against the stones as accompaniment.
It's hard to imagine that Merpeople with such an ugly appearance could produce such a beautiful singing voice.
Among the many Merpeople, there stands a statue: a beautiful Merpeople carved from a giant stone.
The statue looked exactly like the Merpeople on the rock face.
Led by the Merpeople chieftain, all the Merpeople bowed before the statue.
They weren't singing, they were praying.
More accurately, these Merpeople were performing a ritual.
The Merpeople chieftain raised his trident high, the silver trident shining brightly like a bright moon.
Thousands of Merpeople dispersed layer by layer from the inside out, their tails swaying slightly in turn, gleaming with golden light under the trident, as if they were in a mythological world.
William looked up abruptly; a huge whirlpool had formed above the Black Lake at some unknown time.
A woman emerged from the center of the vortex, her gaze fixed on the trident, her eyes cold and indifferent.
William felt absurdity at that moment. Although he could see the other person, he felt that the woman and he were not on the same dimension, let alone in the same space-time.
This feeling grew stronger.
Moreover, that woman was definitely not the Merpeople on the cliff; she was a witch!
Because she slowly floated down from the vortex, holding a magic wand in her hand.
She glided around the square like a ghost, and wherever she went, the light from her Merpeople tail became even more dazzling, gradually turning from gold to white, as bright as day.
William was stunned. He wanted Mercury to leave quickly, as the place didn't look safe.
Just then, the Ravenclaw Bronze Ring hanging around my neck suddenly became incredibly hot.
What happened next caught William completely off guard. The witch stood in front of the statue, slightly beckoned, and the ring floated off his body, slowly hovering in mid-air.
The witch smiled slightly and said something, but since they were in different times and spaces, William couldn't hear her, and the witch couldn't get the ring.
The witch sighed slightly, waved her hand with considerable annoyance, and the ring returned to William's hand.
William held the Bronze Ring, his thumb unconsciously stroking the patterns on it.
The witch frowned, turned her back to him, and seemed to prefer not to see him.
William watched the other person's retreating figure, then looked down at the ring, and seemed to understand a little. So the other person was annoyed that he had been rubbing the ring?
It's Robert again. This ring isn't anyone's wife's... Ravenclaw can touch it, but Stark can't?
"Besides, the ring is mine now! Come and hit me if you dare!"
William, taking advantage of the fact that the other person couldn't hear him, started to vent his anger.
Hermione looked at William, puzzled, wondering what he was muttering to himself.
She looked at the ring in William's hand, frowning in thought. Today's scene was truly unexpected, even more shocking than when she first learned about the magical world.
Having been at Hogwarts for so long, she believed she had a thorough understanding of the Wizarding World, but now another layer of mystery had arisen.
The witch ignored the ring and waved her wand.
All the light from the Merpeople's tail was pulled away, instantly lifting them off the ground and soaring into the air, hovering in front of the witch's chest.
Bathed in light, the witch shone brilliantly!
She flicked her wand, and two-thirds of the light merged into her body, while one-third shot into the sky, exploding near the vortex as countless meteors.
The witch soared into the air, her robes billowing, gave William a deep look, and then disappeared into the vortex once more.
As the witch departed, the oppressive aura in the sky gradually dissipated. Only then did all the Merpeople dare to open their eyes, and the dim light on their tails completely went out.
The Merpeople were all very listless, but the trident shone brighter and brighter. However, after a moment, the light gradually disappeared into the trident.
The Merpeople chieftain stood up and immediately spotted William and the others outside the plaza.
At this moment, the toad was completely transparent, and the Merpeople chieftain could clearly see William.
The Merpeople seemed to recognize him as one of the four from yesterday. He drew his trident and signaled his tribesmen to close the gate, unleash the dogs, and capture him!
The so-called dog is actually Grindylow, a Magical Creatures that has mostly been domesticated by Merpeople as pets.
Without William saying anything more, Mercury immediately urged the toad to continue swimming rapidly into the depths of the Black Lake.
Ahead was a patch of lush green water plants, several feet deep, much like a very dense forest.
As long as they hide inside, the other side won't be able to catch them.
Just then, without any warning, the toad was grabbed by something.
Countless Grindylow emerged from the seaweed, their long fingernails gripping the toad tightly, their sharp teeth bared as they tried to bite it.
Mercury manipulated the toad to open its mouth, and somehow Flamel modified it with Alchemy. The toad actually spat out Stunning Spell, and countless red rays of light scattered out, hitting Grindylow.
The toad leaped high again, about to leave the Merpeople village.
Seeing that William was about to escape, the vengeful Merpeople chieftain once again swung his trident.
Within the Black Lake, the trident was already very powerful, but because of tonight's ritual, its power has become even greater.
An invisible magic spread out, and the toad, which was clearly floating in the water, seemed to be in mid-air and fell straight down.
No matter how Mercury tried to control it, the downward momentum remained unstoppable. After falling nearly ten meters, it crashed heavily to the bottom of the lake, stirring up the surrounding silt.
Meanwhile, in the Slytherin Common Room, Professor Snape, wearing a mask, was directing the group of young wizards who were about to leave the school to do a thorough cleaning.
The Hogwarts Train departs at 11:00 AM, and it's only 10:00 AM now. There's still plenty of time, so I can take some time to clean up the Slytherin Common Room.
"Hurry up and clean this fireplace, then you can leave," Snape said impatiently.
Snape, who considered himself to have severe mysophobia, always felt that the young wizards didn't clean very well.
Just then, a deafening crash came from the skylight in the dome.
The sound was like a giant rock crashing into Black Lake, plummeting straight to the bottom!
The entire lounge was shaking!
At that moment, all the young wizards, including Professor Snape, raised their heads, like fish swimming at the bottom of a lake, gazing up at the rippling Black Lake.
Could it be a meteorite that fell to the bottom of the lake?
Wait... that glass... won't break, will it?
(First update, please vote!)
Thank you to the two generous donors, "Daoyou Qing Liubu You" and "Qing Feng Yu Jiu ツ".