The surface of the Black Lake shimmered with shards of sunlight, a rare and beautiful sight. Natalia, out for a walk, reached out a finger, intending to poke at the giant squid basking at the surface—when Olga came striding toward her.
"Natalia!"
His face was grim, his voice taut with suppressed fury as he ground out through clenched teeth: "You invited Wade Grey as your partner?"
"That's right!" Natalia took out a handkerchief, wiped the moisture from her fingertips, and asked, "Why? Do I need to report to you who I dance with?"
"But that guy is our enemy!" Olga clenched his fists tightly. "Have you forgotten how he humiliated me in the tournament?"
After the match, in order to analyze their opponent's strength, their headmaster had deliberately gathered everyone to rewatch the first task through the streaming mirror—twice!
As a result, Olga had been forced to watch, again and again, the scene where he charged out bravely only to be snared by iron chains at the ankle, left dangling upside down, screaming in a voice so shrill he himself could hardly believe it.
And that blasted SMC—for some reason—not only failed to film the champions properly, but instead lingered for several seconds on him hanging from the ceiling, broadcasting his most humiliating state to every wizarding spectator in the world!
Afterwards, Olga was flooded with messages from friends, relatives, teachers, and classmates. Most tried to comfort him cautiously, yet in every line there was that faint, unspoken pity.
The more they treated him that way, the deeper Olga's shame burned, and the greater his hatred for Wade Grey grew.
And now Natalia—his own teammate—wanted to show up at the Yule Ball with that bastard!
To Olga, this was nothing less than betrayal. Rage roiled in his chest, nearly bursting from his throat. His voice shook as he said:
"Natalia, have you forgotten which school you belong to? We should be standing together against him! You'd better go reject Wade right now, or else what kind of Koldovstoretz student are you?"
"Olga."
Natalia's voice turned cold. Calmly, she said, "Who my partner is—that's not even Professor Ivan's concern, let alone yours. I don't need your approval."
"Instead of obsessing over trivialities—"
She lifted her chin, and her gray-blue eyes reflected a composed indifference.
"—I suggest you practice your spells. At least next time you get strung up, don't drop your wand. Don't you agree?"
Olga's face flushed red, then turned green. His lips worked soundlessly for a long moment, breath trapped in his chest, unable to form a single word.
At last, he gave a vicious kick at a stone by his feet and stormed off without looking back.
Natalia watched his retreating figure and let out a soft sigh. She turned her head just in time to see the squid's tentacles slap against the water's surface with a heavy splash.
Most Hogwarts students never dared approach the giant squid when it surfaced. But Natalia walked right up and reached out, brushing her hand over one massive tentacle.
"Amazing, that you could grow so big… I heard you've lived for over a thousand years?" Natalia said softly. "If you were human, surely you'd have seen through everything by now, and uncovered every secret, wouldn't you?"
The giant squid slowly rolled one great eye, fixing its gaze on the foreign student bold enough to approach.
Looking toward the towering Hogwarts castle, Natalia murmured in frustration: "So… that Wade fellow—could he really be the one from the World Cup campsite?"
Tiny ripples spread across the lake's surface.
She frowned in thought for a long while, muttering to herself: "I think so… what do you say?"
The giant squid said nothing. Its tentacles suddenly flexed with force, shoving her into the icy waters of the lake before slowly sinking back into the depths. From the darkness below, its ancient eyes fixed on Natalia as she struggled in the water.
Of course, it knew this girl wasn't an intruder, but rather a guest invited by the school. It only intended to give her a scare—then send her back up.
But Natalia quickly steadied herself from her initial panic. Just as she had advised Olga, even in this situation she didn't let go of her wand.
Kicking her arms and legs, the girl broke the surface swiftly. She shook her dripping golden hair and climbed back onto the shore with her robes soaked through by the freezing lake water.
Suddenly, Natalia froze— The golden egg she had kept in her pocket was gone!
"Damn it!" she cursed, whipping out her wand. "Accio golden egg!"
Nothing happened.
She tapped her forehead in frustration. How could she have forgotten? To prevent champions from using Summoning Charms during the task, every golden egg had been enchanted against it.
So she could only cast a Bubble-Head Charm on herself. A transparent sphere wrapped around her head, like she was wearing a fishbowl.
Taking a deep breath, Natalia plunged back into the water.
Thankfully, the shallows near the shore weren't too deep. Sunlight filtered through the surface, scattering shifting patterns across the lakebed.
Parting clusters of dark-green weeds, Natalia searched for over ten minutes before finally spotting the egg wedged between some oddly shaped rocks.
She grabbed the egg and tugged, but as she pulled, the egg suddenly opened!
Natalia instinctively raised a hand to cover her ears—yet what she heard was not the same shrill wailing as before, but an ethereal song:
"Come, come and seek us out, Where our voices ring free. On land we may not sing,"
Natalia froze—this is the clue for the second task?
The water around her suddenly churned violently.
She jerked her head up—and locked eyes with dozens of glowing pairs.
Merfolk, armed with spears, advanced on her in a fan-shaped formation. Their iron-gray skin, ferocious features, and yellow eyes gleamed like ghost-lights in the murky depths, with their muscular tails lashing the water.
Natalia's whole body went cold; her heart felt as if it would burst from her chest. Without thinking, she clutched the golden egg and shot toward the surface!
But the merfolk didn't pursue. They lingered below, gazing silently upward as she fled.
Just before she broke the surface, Natalia heard a deep voice behind her:
"Champion, the second task has not yet begun. You must not approach the arena early!"
Splash!
The girl burst through the surface, gasping for breath. Exhausted, she collapsed against the shore—then with sudden resolve, plunged her head back underwater.
But this time, there was no giant squid, no merfolk. Only a lone grindylow prowling near the bank, which spotted Natalia and eagerly lunged at her.
Bang!
Her wand released a blast of water, sending the grindylow tumbling backward in terrified somersaults before it darted away.
Natalia snapped the golden egg shut. The piercing screech cut off at once. She turned to stare at the calm, shadowy waters of the lake, her fingertips trembled slightly and her heart hammered in uneasy echoes.
—This mad Hogwarts… just how many deadly creatures are lurking here, so close to its students?
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⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- 200+ Chapters
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