The door of the teachers' rest room creaked open slowly, and the young wizards who had been restless moments ago suddenly fell into an eerie silence. They clenched their faces and gazed at the transformed room, exchanging uneasy looks without a word.
Just like last time, this is another house that Professor Bryan has expanded with magic, but this time, he has gone even further.
Unlike the fierce storm outside the castle, the rest room had turned into an endless swamp with misty rainfalls, and the sky was a drowsy shade of dull yellow. In the gloomy space, ghost-like or skull-shaped cloud formations floated around.
It's the familiar recipe, the same taste!
A creak, after the wooden door closed, except for the faint, eerie whispers from the swamp outside, the young wizards couldn't help but have this thought in their hearts - they could only hear their own heartbeats and breaths.
"Professor Bryan --"
The young wizards huddled on the only tiny patch of solid ground at the door, amidst the crowd, the rose of Gryffindor House, an Indian girl with long black hair named Pavarti Patil, shivered and raised her hand.
"What do we need to do?"
"Firstly--"
Amosca cleared his throat and smiled happily,
"Who can tell me what a hinkypunk is?"
"A hinkypunk is a one-legged monster with weak offensive capabilities. They prefer to lurk in mud puddles or swampy areas in remote regions, emitting deceptive light to lure hikers into traps!"
As Hermione raised her hand, a stream of answers poured out of her mouth in quick succession.
"It doesn't sound very dangerous, does it?"
Ron mumbled softly, and after careful consideration, Harry hesitantly nodded.
"As always, excellent, Miss Granger. I'll add five points to Gryffindor!" As the spirited Hermione pulled her hand back, Amosca smiled and pointed ahead towards the swamp, which was not obscured by smoke and had only a few sparse charred trees standing.
"So, the task at hand is clear, Miss Patil--"
Amosca waved his wand, and a row of elegant oak small boats suddenly appeared on the edge of the bank in front of the crowd.
"Same as usual, team up by house, two to a group, and row through this swamp. It's a inter-house competition; the first team to reach the other side will earn their house fifty points, and the losing team will very generously donate their precious rest time to clean up the owlery for us!"
"An inter-house competition, and the losing team has to clean up the owlery's excrement?!"
Wow!
In an instant, the atmosphere in the room became tense. Without anyone organizing them, the Slytherin and Gryffindor wizards naturally divided into two groups, sizing each other up with a show of strength!
"Introduce myself to those flat-headed creatures, Potter!" While Ron was quick to take control of the situation, Crabbe and Goyle opened their mouths wide, revealing their sharp teeth. "I'm sure you're very good at these low-life jobs, aren't you?"
"You should be worried, Malfoy!" Harry retorted sharply, "You can't find a house-elf to help you clean up at Hogwarts!"
"But!"
In the noisy commotion, Hermione raised her hand again.
"What does this have to do with our lessons, Professor Bryan?"
"That's a very good question, Miss Granger," Amosca said, looking at her approvingly. After using a light cough to quiet the young wizards, he continued.
"I've placed some vortex mud pits in this swamp, which will be obstacles on your path. Each pit will be occupied by a hinkypunk. Be careful not to be lured by the deceptive light they emit. Once you fall into a pit, you will automatically lose the qualification for the competition," he said, nodding his head in approval of Hermione's question.
"If..."
Neville looked uneasily at the narrow oak boat, hesitated, and then raised his hand trembling, "What should we do if we fall into the water, Professor Branish?"
"If you fall into the water... " Amossta looked very sorry at Neville, "I'm sorry, Longbottom, you might have to stay in the infirmary for just two days."
As soon as these words were spoken, several young wizards standing on the bank, peering around, quickly withdrew their heads.
At first, Amossta did not interfere with the young wizards as they chose their teammates. However, watching the narrow boats floating on the water, all the young wizards hoped to be paired with thinner, weaker companions. The commotion went on for a while without any confirmed results, and eventually, he had to step in himself.
Harry and Hermione formed a team, while Seamus paired up with Lavender, and Neville and Dean formed another team.
"Professor!"
Pavarti Patil, who had been mysteriously paired with Ron on the same boat, stared at Ron's red hair in horror and loudly protested, "Can I ask for a different teammate... Professor Trelawney told me to be careful of boys with red hair!"
"Things that are nonsensical won't work here, Miss Patil."
Amossta refused Pavarti's request without mercy, and finally, he glanced at Malfoy, who was smiling malevolently and chatting with some Slytherin students nearby. He smiled slightly.
"Just a reminder to everyone, I don't want to see any of you attacking each other with wands... So gentlemen and ladies, good luck!"
.....................
At the moment when the wands were raised, a thick mist suddenly enveloped everyone, causing their senses to become hazy. And when the cloud dissipated and Harry and Hermione came to their senses, they found that Professor Bryan and their classmates who were just beside them had all disappeared, and their boat was also stationary in the middle of a mirror-like water surface.
There was no wind from all sides, but the thin smoke on either side, under the influence of some mysterious force, slowly rolled into various bizarre shapes, signaling terror and dread in the quietness.
Harry and Hermione looked at each other in confusion for a moment, but then Hermione, puffing her cheeks angrily, shifted her gaze towards the direction of the bow of the boat.
"Are you okay, Hermione?"
Harry scratched his cheek, looking a bit embarrassed.
However, Hermione heard a hint of apology in Harry's somewhat clumsy greeting. She shifted her shoulders, subtly lifting the corners of her mouth, and turned around with a more peaceful tone.
"We can deal with the situation later, Harry. What we should focus on now is how to get through this swamp," Hermione said, changing the subject abruptly.
"Oh, that's the way it is!"
Harry immediately let out a sigh of relief and happily agreed, his eyes scanning through this bizarre world. He wondered in his heart what kind of sinister and ominous scenes Professor Bryan had seen while passing through this swamp. Finally, he looked at the rudder at the front of the boat and shrugged his shoulders.
"I thought the boat would move on its own, just like the boat that ferried us across the Black Lake in first year. Is Professor Bryan telling us to row ourselves? But I can't see where the oars are?"
"Don't be silly, Harry."
Hermione spoke calmly, carefully turning the wheel-like rudder with her foot, and the small boat immediately shook a few times in response. Suddenly, Hermione almost fell out of the boat cabin.
"Oh, be careful!"
Harry grabbed her arm and, thanks to his excellent balance, steadied her.
"Looks like--"
With a pale face, Hermione patted her chest and said in a shaken voice, "This boat can indeed move on its own, but it needs a special way to do so."
The long and narrow boat was clearly visible. Apart from the rudder at the bow, there were only two wooden hemispheres at the stern, where the sides of the boat met, that looked like decorations.
Harry blinked, and with great difficulty, he moved two steps to the stern, his hand instinctively reaching out to the right bulge.
"Be careful, Harry--" Hermione warned worriedly.
"We can't just stand there, Hermione," Harry said nonchalantly, indicating for her to crouch down and once again reach for the wooden balls with her hand.
Hum!
Instantly upon touching the wood, Harry felt a stinging pain that was similar to being bitten by mosquitoes, causing his eyebrows to furrow slightly. Then, the cool wooden balls emitted a faint glow and suddenly exerted a mysterious suction force.
"This thing--"
Harry pulled his hand back, stunned, saying, "It seems to be absorbing my... magic?"
"Harry!"
Harry suddenly heard Hermione's voice, which was a bit tense. He looked up in surprise and caught a glimpse of a magical shield that was rapidly fading, emitting a faint white glow. It disappeared completely in the air after a few seconds.
After two minutes, they finally figured out how the boat worked.
The rudder at the bow was clearly used to control the direction; the two hemispheres at the stern, on the left, controlled the boat's forward movement, while the one on the right activated a protective magical shield for the boat's body. However, both wooden balls absorbed their magic, which meant they had to take turns operating them as they rowed.
Nervously swallowing, Hermione tightly grasped the sides of the rudder and turned to give Harry a glance.
After a faint hum, the oak boat finally moved forward...
