Chapter 128: What I Saw in the Black Lake (Part 1)
Phineas looked at the three and asked,
"So, what have you prepared?"
Lee Jordan opened the backpack he was carrying, revealing the contents inside: sealed bread, Butterbeer, and some candies and snacks.
"Cauldron Cakes, Butterbeer, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Licorice Wands…"
Phineas looked at Lee Jordan's list with a deadpan expression.
"Wait, Lee, you didn't prepare anything but food, did you?"
Lee Jordan nodded and said,
"I read through all my travel notes and adventure novels these past two days and found that food is very important. The protagonists in those books often get into trouble because they run out of supplies."
Phineas was a little speechless. He looked at George and Fred.
"What about you two?"
"Uh… Stink Pellets, Exploding Snap cards, a few Fireworks…"
"Stop, stop, stop! Are all the props you prepared for pranks?"
He looked at the twins after their words, and George and Fred nodded, confirming his suspicion.
Phineas was speechless. He thought he had explained the dangers of this adventure clearly before. Judging by Lee Jordan's expression at the time, he should have understood the seriousness. And yet—he brought food. Of course, food was important and would still be useful. But what the twins prepared was excessive—purely joke shop materials.
Phineas handed the prepared items to the three, clearly resigned.
"Here. What I prepared for you: a ring to protect against dark spells, a hat that casts a Bubble-Head Charm, a Cloak of Invisibility with a limited time use, and a one-time-use Portkey Boot. If you encounter danger, activate the ring first, then the cloak, and finally the Portkey in the boot. If something happens to the submarine in the Black Lake, put on the hat first, and then follow the sequence I just told you."
The three of them took their equipment, nodded, and acknowledged his instructions.
Phineas sighed and said,
"Puff! Send the box to the Black Lake."
He drew his wand from his cane and placed the cane in a corner of the library inside the box.
In the Black Lake, using a wand hidden in a cane would be too cumbersome, so Phineas decided to just bring the wand.
Everything was ready. Puff brought the box to the edge of the Black Lake.
The four of them worked together to move the book-page submarine to the lakeside.
They had chosen a spot very close to the Forbidden Forest—a secluded corner. Plus, it was already evening, and most of the students were in the Great Hall for dinner, so no one noticed.
"Alright, let's get in and prepare to launch," Phineas said, stepping into the submarine first.
It was cramped inside, just as expected. He had considered using the Undetectable Extension Charm on it, but the submarine inherited the properties of the book page it was crafted from. It could only be affected by Transfiguration spells, not other magical effects.
After George and the others squeezed in, Phineas pulled out a map, glanced at the pointer in the upper left corner, and held a magic sphere with his other hand, starting to control the submarine's movement based on the map's direction.
Puff, standing on the shore of the Black Lake, watched as the submarine disappeared beneath the surface, then closed the box on the ground, picked it up, and vanished with a snap of his fingers.
Inside the Black Lake, the submarine moved steadily in the direction indicated by the pointer. Everything was going smoothly, and the group breathed a collective sigh of relief.
The Black Lake wasn't completely dark—it was dimly lit by the glow of some aquatic magical plants.
The hazy underwater scenery stunned them. After all, very few Hogwarts students had the chance to see the bottom of the Black Lake.
Even though Phineas was a Slytherin, and their common room was located beneath the lake, only a small part of the lake could be seen through the windows—and that view was often blocked by the giant squid that was rumored to be Gryffindor himself.
So this was Phineas's first time seeing the lake in its full mysterious beauty.
The black aquatic plants waved gently, intertwining and twisting into an eerie jungle over smooth silt dotted with glinting stones.
Occasionally, silvery fish darted past the submarine. Large pieces of driftwood and strange underwater plants loomed here and there, giving the group moments of surprise.
They all silently hoped that the giant squid wouldn't appear nearby.
As they advanced, horned water monsters began to appear among the plants—Grindylows.
These creatures had long nails, sharp teeth, and aggressive tempers. Grindylows tended to attack any nearby life forms and typically dwelled in clusters within the weeds. Encountering them in water was always troublesome.
However, they had a known weakness. Despite their aggression, they were physically fragile—humans could break their limbs with minimal force.
The Grindylows swam rapidly toward the submarine, scratching and biting with their claws and teeth.
"Repel them—use the boiling water Spell!"
Phineas shouted to George, Fred, and Lee Jordan while keeping control of the submarine.
Phineas wasn't sure whether the Grindylows could damage the submarine, but they could definitely slow it down. And air supply was limited—they had to reach their destination quickly.
The number of people onboard exceeded what the submarine was designed to carry, and there was no telling if the oxygen supply was sufficient. Being delayed by these creatures was not an option.
"What do we do?"
George shouted to Phineas as they all drew their wands.
"Just cast your spells at them! The submarine will conduct magic outward. Don't worry about damaging it."
"Aquaexuro!" *3
Three Extraction Spells shot out from the wands. Instead of the usual sparks, the spells transformed into streams of boiling water, hitting the Grindylows surrounding the submarine.
The battle stirred up the black mud from the lakebed, turning the once-beautiful scene murky and even nauseating.
The submarine continued pushing forward, and before long, the four of them heard an eerie melody begin to echo through the water.