章 492: Chapter 491 "The Second Game Starts"

"Hermione, this is the prefect's bathroom."

A candle-lit chandelier cast a warm, soft light on the room, and everything was made of snow-white marble, including the central bath, which was sunken into the ground like a rectangular swimming pool. About a hundred golden faucets were on the side of the bath, each with a gem of a different color set in the handle.

The windows were hung with snow-white linen curtains, a great pile of white towels stood in one corner, and on the wall hung only one painting. It showed a blond mermaid sleeping soundly on a rock, her long hair brushing her face, trembling slightly with each breath she took.

Daisy knelt by the bathtub. She said to Hermione while looking curiously.

Hermione was wrapped in a towel and turned on several faucets next to her. Daisy was surprised to find that all kinds of bubble baths mixed with hot water were sprayed out, but they were different from the bubbles she had been in contact with before.

"It's beautiful." She sighed sincerely.

Hermione stretched out her legs and dangled on the edge of the bath that was not yet full, "This is probably the most valuable part of a prefect."

Daisy blinked, "You told me before about bringing me to the prefect's bathroom in the first place. You've changed, Hermione!"

Hermione gave her an annoyed look, "Does it make any difference whether I bring you here or not? Even if you're the best friend of the two prefects, you shouldn't violate school rules frequently, and you can't go ask Harry to borrow the Invisibility Cloak to sneak out. Besides, we're about to find out the second game."

"I guess," Daisy hugged Hermione's arm with a smile, "However, how did Sean find out? I haven't seen him researched about it."

Hermione frowned, "I don't know, he's mysterious. But I have to let you try it yourself."

"Fine." Daisy said affirmatively.

While the two were talking, the sound of footsteps came. Stephanie was wrapped in a bath towel and, holding the golden egg, walked in. Her long silver-white hair was flying high, and the bun protruding from it was almost the size of her head.

Hermione glanced at Stephanie, but instead of being enthusiastic, Daisy greeted her happily. Daisy didn't know what was going on. On the day of the Christmas ball, she thought that Hermione and Stephanie had suddenly become comrades-in-arms on the same side.

Sean and Daisy had always wanted to know what kind of conversation the two had had, but neither of them had the guts to ask whether it was Hermione or Stephanie. Moreover, as Sean's Christmas partner, Daisy always has a sense of guilt.

They greeted each other. At this time, the bath was filled with hot water and bubbles, and amidst the steam, three towels were thrown by the side of the bath.

Daisy soaked in the hot water and breathed out comfortably. Watching Daisy, Hermione, and Stephanie first glanced at her and glanced at their chest.

The two moved a little further away from Daisy.

Daisy looked around, a little puzzled. Why are the two of them so far away from her?

Daisy didn't understand why Stephanie and Hermione were silent suddenly. She blinked suspiciously and wiped the sweat from her brow.

Stephanie sank her body into the pool a little, hugged the golden egg, and said softly, "Sean said just soak it in the water?"

As soon as she got back to the topic, the other two girls also surrounded her.

Hermione stared at the golden egg suspiciously, "Terry used it again in the lounge last time. Everyone in the painting scolded him."

Daisy trusted Sean with all her heart, "Since Sean said so, he must have tried it before."

The three girls looked at each other, and Stephanie sank the golden egg into the water and pressed it. This time, there was no piercing howling; the golden egg in the water emitted a misty golden light, and the gurgling singing sound floated out, but I couldn't make out what the lyrics were making.

"Should we listen to it underwater?" Hermione said.

The three sank their heads into the water together. The singing came to their ears in an ingenious way along the water.

"Come seek us where our voices sound,

We cannot sing above the ground,

And while you're searching, ponder this;

We've taken what you'll sorely miss,

An hour long, you'll have to look,

And to recover what we took,

But past an hour, the prospect's black,

Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."

The three girls floated up, shaking their heads to shake their long hair away from their eyes.

Hermione frowned and said, "This is the challenge for the second stage?"

Stephanie's face was calm, "There is no singing on the surface, and this kind of singing means that on the second stage, we have to face... the mermaids..."

A blond mermaid in a portrait on the wall shows off her fins.

Daisy said, "But I have seen pictures of mermaids, and they are not as beautiful as the paintings."

"Now is not the time to care about the appearance of the second stage challenge," Hermione said with a frown. "The only place within Hogwarts where there are mermaids is the Black Lake, which means that you will need to go down to the Black Lake when the time comes. You have to be prepared."

"It's not much of a problem," Stephanie said. I am more concerned about the content of the stage. According to the literal meaning of the song, the contestants' beloved things will be taken away, and if they cannot be retrieved within an hour, they will disappear. Speed, method, and degree of completion should be the standard for scoring."

Daisy began to think, "Are the professors going to take away all the desserts in my room?!"

Hermione was speechless for a while; she tapped her forehead and said angrily, "Why is your head only filled with food? And if the professor takes your dessert, I will definitely raise my hands to support it."

"Hermione…" Daisy pouted aggrievedly.

Stephanie lay on the edge of the bath and muttered, "Besides, there are three people on each team, and the favorite things cannot be the same thing. Of course, this may be just a way of describing things, but we failed to understand the real meaning of it."

Hermione nodded, "Perhaps the biggest clue is to tell the contestants that the second stage will be conducted underwater. The wizard's combat effectiveness will drop sharply after entering the water, and contestants who don't prepare well will definitely be at a serious disadvantage."

"I think the key may still be the cooperation of the contestants."

"Yes, this tournament is different. With the increase in the number of people, cooperation should also become the main point in the test."

"In addition, pay attention to the time. The time may represent something."

Listening to the discussion of the two, Daisy blinked her eyes. She doesn't understand any of the things being discussed.

----

"Underwater levels are not a problem." Sean said in the Room of Requirement.

They are discussing how to deal with the second stage.

"The underwater breathing potion should be banned, but we can use other methods, such as the Bubble Head Charm, Transfiguration, or other things. Of course, if you stay by my side all the time, I can use other methods to let you move freely underwater."

Hermione kept thinking, and after hearing what Sean said, she added, "Sean's underwater combat should be much better than others, so is it possible to consider..."

Sean turned around in surprise and snapped his fingers. "Well, I can hinder other contestants from entering other schools."

Hermione gave him a blank look, "There are other creatures in the Black Lake."

"Well, I got the Basilisk and Loch Ness Monster."

"They can't be used!"

Stephanie said, "But Sean can indeed deal with the students. Daisy and I will complete the game, but just in case, Daisy and I have to prepare countermeasures for underwater activities alone."

They continued to discuss the details for a while, and Sean decided to give each of them Gillyweeds. He didn't need to go to Snape's storage room to steal this thing. He had already prepared to buy a lot from the black market. Of course, as long as Daisy asked, Snape would definitely give it to her.

Snape was happy for several days after receiving Daisy's gift at Christmas. You can't tell from Snape's expression, but you can tell from the pile of potions he has given to Daisy lately.

After earnestly making all the preparations, Sean let out a sigh of relief, "It's not a big problem. At that time, we will choose one of the plans according to the stage."

The rest nodded. However, Sean was confused about what his favorite was and whether the three of them were going to rescue Hermione, just like in the original book.

But isn't that a little too easy?

However, Sean's doubts were quickly answered.

A few days later, under the gaze of countless spectators, the delegates stood by the Black Lake. Sean is next to Reinhardt, Fleur, Hugo, and Cedric.

Daisy and Stephanie are not present.

At this moment, Ludo was announcing the rules loudly.

"As you can see, your teammates have already gone to the other two sides of the Black Lake. You will all act alone. Do you see what you have in your hands?"

Sean raised his hand. He was clutching a lens.

"The clue to the game has been placed in the golden eggs. As for the specific stage..." Ludo pressed his wand against his throat, and his voice was like a siren. Well, you just have to figure it out!"

"Your teammates are also holding the same thing, so you should know what you will need to do."

Sean stood by the lake. He didn't even change into his swimming trunks. He was wearing winter sportswear, which was out of place with the others around him.

"A bit unexpected that this was the result, but Daisy and Stephanie don't have to worry about it." Sean muttered to himself while exercising his muscles.

Obviously, the contestants need to rendezvous with their teammates first, and in an environment like Black Lake, it is not a simple matter to rendezvous smoothly. If they act rashly by using a wand to send a signal, they will be discovered by the magical animals in the Black Lake, and it will be troublesome.

The key after that should lie in the items in the hands of the three of them. After the three become one, it should be the clue to the "beloved object".

But Sean has never thought about what his beloved thing is. His friends are waving happily in the stands at the moment. It seems that they wanted to inform Sean of the location of Stephanie and Daisy. Professor Snape, in the professor's stand next, was glaring at him.

It's a pity that the referees had already thought about it, and the lake could not hear the voices from the audience.

Ludo patted Sean on the shoulder, his voice was like thunder and passing over the dark lake to the stands.

"Listen, everyone, get into the position. As soon as I blow the whistle, the second game begins. You have a full hour to recover what was taken. On the count to three. One... two... three!"

"Game start!"