Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 470 The Hogwarts Diving Competition!

On the second day of Christmas, everyone slept in late, as if by unspoken agreement. The Slytherin common room was even quieter than usual, with students who had gotten up huddled in their armchairs, yawning every now and then.

Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed through the common room, instantly dispelling everyone's drowsiness.

The young wizards in the lounge looked toward the source of the sound and found Daphne huddled in her usual spot, staring in shock at the golden egg in her hand that had cracked in two.

A second later, she snapped out of her piercing scream and hurriedly closed the golden egg.

"What's going on? Daphne, what are you doing?" Pansy, who was whispering with Malfoy, was startled and couldn't help but question Daphne, who was making a huge noise.

Unlike Pansy, the other Slytherin students noticed the golden egg in Daphne's hand and immediately realized that she was trying to decipher the secret inside.

But what does that scream mean? Does it imply the presence of a female ghost in the next stage of the competition? Or does it suggest that the next stage will be extremely brutal?

Malfoy stared at the golden egg, the chilling scream still echoing in his ears, yet it plunged him into deep thought.

He recalled his previous experience of being taken shopping at Boginborough by his father.

Welcome to Bokins Blog, Your Excellency Mr. Malfoy, this way please—

"Your son has excellent taste; this is an alchemical artifact made from a mermaid skull. Opening this box in normal conditions will only produce a piercing scream, but if you open it underwater, it will start singing..."

[Damn it! Didn't I tell you? You're not allowed to touch anything here without my permission!]

Malfoy had a vivid memory of this incident, as it was the first time his father had ever hit him. After he opened the box containing the mermaid skull out of curiosity, Lucius Malfoy had struck him several times with his cane, making him remember the rule in shops like Borginburgh that one should not touch the merchandise without permission.

The screams he remembered were exactly the same as the sounds that had just come from Daphne's golden egg. Malfoy felt as if he had cracked the secret of the golden egg.

His body trembled with excitement: the secret to winning the Global Young Wizards Championship was now in his own hands!

If Daphne had known this information before the other contestants, she would have gained a valuable advantage in the tournament, snowballing her lead and ultimately leading Hogwarts to the championship.

but……

Daphne's "Get out!" echoed in his mind again. Malfoy remembered Daphne's terrible attitude towards him and suddenly became reluctant to reveal this valuable information to her.

However, Daphne was, after all, a Slytherin student, representing Hogwarts in the competition. Malfoy, thinking of this, felt a pang of conflict.

A thought flashed through his mind: if he provided this information to her, perhaps her attitude towards him would change slightly?

This thought overwhelmed all other considerations, leading Malfoy to decide to reveal the information about the golden egg to Daphne.

Malfoy believed that doing so was in his best interest.

"Mermaid." Malfoy's mouth was halfway open when Rice's voice suddenly rang out from behind them, silencing Malfoy's words.

"That was the voice of a mermaid." Under the watchful eyes of everyone in the lounge, Rice slowly walked to Daphne's side, drew his wand, and pointed it, filling the empty glass on the table with water.

"You have to put it in water to hear the real sound."

Hearing Rice's words, Malfoy was grinding his teeth in frustration. He hated Rice for suddenly appearing and hated himself for not releasing the information sooner.

Well, Rice has stolen all the limelight!

"Is that so?!" Daphne gave Rice a grateful look, tossed the golden egg into the water glass, and poked it with her wand, causing the golden egg to bounce off.

This time, the golden egg didn't scream, but instead emitted bursts of song. However, because of the water, it wasn't very clear.

Daphne pressed her ear against the cup and listened intently to the golden egg's song.

Come find us on the first day of the new year, where our songs resound.

We've placed our treasure here; come find it, come explore!

It is the key to a new stage, the ladder to success, and the crutch that helps you.

Come on! You have one hour. After one hour, everything will be gone.

Mediocre people come and go in a hurry, taking only the key.

Exceptional people who are undaunted by trials and tribulations will surely reap even greater rewards!

Daphne listened to the song several times, memorizing every lyric. Then she placed the cup containing the golden egg on the table and began to ponder with a frown.

"Who are we? And where is the song coming from?" She thought for a few seconds, then looked up and felt she had found the answer.

"We" refers to mermaids, so the "place" in the song must be the Black Lake at Hogwarts.

Having grasped this point, she quickly understood the meaning of the lyrics: the contestants had to go to the bottom of Black Lake on New Year's Day to ask the mermaid for one or more treasures, which would greatly help them in the upcoming competition. Those who did not obtain a treasure would be directly eliminated.

The song also reveals two pieces of information. First, there is only one hour, and contestants who exceed the time limit are likely to be eliminated. Second, it seems that you can obtain more generous additional rewards by participating in challenges, but the challenges themselves may also cause you to exceed the time limit.

After analyzing the message conveyed by the song, Daphne squinted: Diving in the Black Lake for an hour, especially in the dead of winter, is quite a challenge...

She couldn't help but glance at Rice, and couldn't help but think: if her domain were water, she would have no worries, but unfortunately, her domain is magma.

Rice and Daphne made eye contact, and he instantly understood what Daphne meant. He almost burst out laughing.

Now you know how good the water-based domain is, right? Rowena, you did a great job!

Rice silently gave Rowena a thumbs up in his heart. He was extremely happy that the assessment was arranged at the bottom of Black Lake.

"Rice, do you know how to dive to the bottom of Black Lake for an hour?" Daphne asked tentatively.

"Why not just breathe directly in the water?" Rice asked with a smile.

Then he leisurely left the common room, leaving Daphne alone in a daze.

For the participants from various schools, solving the golden egg puzzle was not particularly difficult.

By the evening of the second day after the holiday at the latest, all the contestants had figured out what their tasks were.

The real challenge lies in the fact that they are going to dive for an hour in the icy cold lake.

Unlike Rice, they do not have aquatic domains and cannot move normally in water.

Countless people's Christmas holidays were ruined.

While the contestants and their schoolmasters racked their brains for a solution, Dumbledore was quite relaxed. He met with a distinguished guest the day after Christmas.

"Newt, it's been a long time! How is Tina?" Dumbledore had reserved a small private room at the Three Broomsticks pub and was meeting an old acquaintance there.

The newcomer was a thin wizard with graying hair, but who appeared to be in good spirits. His hair was disheveled, and he wore a navy blue coat and carried a very worn-out leather suitcase.

He sat down opposite Dumbledore with a slightly reserved air and gently placed the suitcase on the ground.

"It's alright, we bicker occasionally, but I'm used to it. Life in Dorset is peaceful and pleasant, and if it weren't for those annoying letters brought by owls, I don't think I would ever leave there in my life."

Dumbledore ignored the slight sarcasm in his words. He knew Newt's character well and knew that he probably didn't have a good image in Newt's mind.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Tea, please." In the bar, Newt ordered a cup of tea, while Dumbledore ordered a butterbeer.

"What do you want from me? Is there anything that only I can help you with?" After the tea was served, Newt couldn't help but ask the question that had been on his mind for a long time.

"It's about magical creatures."

"Oh?" Newt's interest was piqued. "Have rare magical creatures appeared in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts?"

Dumbledore slowly shook his head.

"I need the blood of magical creatures, all kinds, and only you in this world can provide it," Dumbledore said in a very serious tone.

Newt placed his hand directly on his briefcase. His brow furrowed, he stared into Dumbledore's eyes and asked, "Professor Dumbledore, may I ask why you have made this request?"

The blood of magical creatures is actually a rather sensitive topic. This is because the blood of many magical creatures is extremely precious, and even the blood of dragons, which is "commonplace," is quite expensive, costing nearly one Galleon per ounce.

It was Dumbledore who made this request; if it were anyone else, Newt would have already packed his bags and run away.

Even with Dumbledore, Newt needs to know his intentions and give a reply only after careful consideration.

"A new invention has been developed at the school..." Dumbledore told Newt everything about the transformation magic and the transformation fruit tree.

"Some magical creatures are so rare that I need your help."

Those powerful magical creatures are extremely rare; only top masters in the field of magical creatures like Newt can gather the blood of these animals.

After hearing Dumbledore's words, Newt's doubts and anxieties were not dispelled, but rather intensified.

"Such magic is unheard of..."

"This is also a research breakthrough that just happened this year."

"Is it safe?" Newt asked.

Transformation, especially transformation of the human body, is extremely dangerous; it is said that the five-star level of magic is caused by Transfiguration.

It's understandable that Newt has some concerns about this.

"I can assure you it's perfectly safe."

"But those are just a few safe transformations." Newt knew that Hogwarts had successfully implemented dragon transformations, basilisk transformations, and phoenix transformations, but this did not dispel his concerns, because the differences between different magical creatures were greater than the differences between humans and bananas.

"We have very comprehensive safety measures in place. The fruit must resonate with the consuming agent before it can be taken, which minimizes the risk of side effects."

Dumbledore's words gave Newt the exact same concern that Dumbledore had before: wouldn't a wizard who could resonate with magical creatures that were inherently violent also be a violent person?

However, he thought again that as long as he didn't provide the blood of that kind of magical creature, wouldn't he be able to avoid this situation?

At this point, his opinion underwent a slight shift. He had tacitly agreed to provide Dumbledore with the blood of magical creatures.

"I can try to get some blood from horned beasts, moon monstrous beasts, and raem bulls... but I have one more question to ask you..." Newt counted on his fingers the magical creature blood he could provide and was suitable to provide, and then reported it to Dumbledore.

However, he also raised a question that he was very concerned about: Would this invention of Hogwarts lead to wizards in the magical world frantically pursuing the blood of magical creatures, bringing annihilation to these beings?

"No." Dumbledore shook his head with absolute certainty.

"There's only one fruit tree in the world, and only a handful of people know how to cultivate the transformation fruit. It won't cause any trouble for these animals—besides, their blood is extremely precious even without the transformation fruit tree, isn't it?"

Newt sighed.

Dumbledore was telling the truth, and all his questions vanished.

"Give me two days, and I'll get the blood over there." Newt partially agreed to Dumbledore's request.

Before leaving, he asked one last question: "I heard Hogwarts is holding a Young Wizarding Championship? How's it going?"

"all the best."

"That's good. I hope Hogwarts can win the championship."

"Definitely."

Newt nodded slightly to Dumbledore, then left the Three Broomsticks pub.

The days passed in the blink of an eye, and when the new year arrived, the contestants were surprised to find that the second stage of the competition had quietly begun.

Regardless of whether the players were prepared or not, the second stage of the competition began as scheduled.

On the first day of the new year, snowflakes began to fall outside the window. However, the snow did not allow the planned events to proceed as scheduled. All the students of Hogwarts, as well as the eliminated contestants from other magic schools, gathered at the shore of the Black Lake to watch the second phase of the tournament.

A large ring of stands had been erected around the Black Lake for spectators to sit in. The contestants were gathered in an open area in front of the stands, waiting for Mr. Henry from the Ministry of Magic and Ludo Bagman to announce the rules of the competition.

After briefly explaining the rules, Bagman cast a loud voice spell on himself and then announced, "Our contestants are in position, and the second phase of the competition is about to begin. They have a full hour to retrieve the key item for the next stage of the competition from the bottom of the lake! I'll count to three, one... two... three, the competition begins!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Update delivered, goodnight everyone!

Tomorrow's update will still be at midnight.

(End of this chapter)