Professor McGonagall took the broom and mounted it, and with a “whoosh,” the broom shot through the arches between the pillars and flew out, as deftly as if she were a Quidditch veteran;
Frank Longbottom also mounted his broom and followed closely behind Professor McGonagall, flying out of the bridge;
When Professor Flitwick sat on the broom, his short legs dangled in the air, making him appear even smaller, but the sharpness in his expression was more pronounced than anyone else’s;
Basheeda Babulin, who taught Ancient Magical Runes, took the broom with a slightly trembling hand, but she still mounted it…
One professor after another shot out like arrows through the window.
Percy stood on the edge of the crowd, looking up, comparing the professors’ abilities against the strength of the monster, wondering how many would sacrifice themselves in this expedition. Suddenly, something didn’t feel right.
He turned to look around.
The surrounding students were all watching him.
Those eleven or twelve-year-old students, who might not even be able to hold their magic wands steadily, silently watched him, their eyes holding something Percy couldn’t face.
Finally, a boy with messy hair looked up and asked, “Sir, aren’t you… aren’t you going?”
The professors of Hogwarts, even Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, had mounted brooms to fight Avek, yet no officials from the Ministry of Magic were present.
Of course, the other three were absent at the moment, leaving Percy alone to bear all the moral pressure.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he reluctantly said, “Of course I’m going… can you take care of yourselves?”
It seemed as if he hadn’t set off yet because he was worried about these younger students.
“Of course!” The boy puffed out his chest, pretending to be very brave, saying, “We are not afraid!”
Percy nodded, dragging his heavy steps towards the bridge, feeling countless eyes focused on his back.
Madam Hooch was ready to depart, but upon seeing Percy, she stopped and silently handed him a broom, her gaze unclear whether it was comforting or questioning.
Percy reached out and took the cold broom, much like his now icy mood.
…
In a haze of consciousness, Marina heard someone speaking softly nearby—
“Why save her?”
“Someone must remain… to let the Ministry of Magic know what happened here.”
“And Percy Weasley.”
“After all, he’s a Weasley; who knows if those people truly trust him?”
“But I think that Terra, and the guy named Linden, look a bit more agreeable than her.”
“Oh, then your vision might not be so great.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll understand.”
Marina’s tightly furrowed brows twitched twice, though she hadn’t woken up, something didn’t feel quite right.
It sounded as if there were two people talking.
But judging by the voice, it felt like the same person was talking to themselves—because the tone, pitch, speed of speech, even the breath, were all identical.
She furrowed her brow puzzled, emitting a moan from her throat involuntarily, then slowly opened her eyes, looking dazedly at the gloomy sky, her mind a foggy mess.
The conversation she had heard and her musings drifted away like mist from her memory.
Another terrifying thing and the fear of near-death suddenly emerged.
“Kelpie!”
Marina screamed, springing up in alarm as she looked around, subconsciously fearing the horse’s face might suddenly brush against her and drag her back into the cold, dark lake again.
A dark-haired boy knelt beside her, gently saying, “It’s alright, you’re safe now.”
Marina stared at him, gasping for air, struggling to process.
After a while, she stammered, “You’re… Vid… Vid Gray?”
“It’s me.” Vid extended a hand, asking, “Can you stand up? Are you injured anywhere?”
Marina rose with his help, her lips still trembling, “You… did you save me?”
“I saw you being dragged underwater by something, so I gave it a hard hit.” Vid asked, “What happened?”
“I…”
Marina pressed her forehead; likely a side effect of drowning, she felt a headache, dizziness, as if she were still trapped in a long dream.
After a while, she slowly recalled—
Forbidden Forest, Hippogriff… a white horse, flowing silver mane… countless underwater reeds suddenly extending, twisting to a horses’ head in front… rotting reeds wrapping her limbs, dragging her down…
Marina’s expression changed, her nose seemingly able to smell that rotten stench, her breath stuck in her throat, her heart racing—
Thump-thump-thump…
She instinctively hugged herself, cold sweat instantly soaked her back, and she began to tremble.
Vid waved his magic wand, a warm current encircling Marina, giving her the sudden illusion of being embraced.
Her breathing gradually calmed, surveying the surroundings, the dry ground, and stone walls providing unprecedented security.
“I…”
Marina finally spoke, her voice shaky, “I went to the Forbidden Forest, saw a white horse by the lake, very beautiful… I thought, thought it was the school’s horse, wanted to ride it… because… because it was really beautiful…”
Her words paused.
Marina couldn’t recall why she wanted to ride that horse; her mind conjured a reasonable explanation.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again, her voice smoother:
“After I rode on, I couldn’t get off, the horse directly charged into the lake, it… it was actually a Kelpie! I nearly drowned…”
Marina couldn’t help but complain: “Why does Hogwarts still have such things? Dumbledore… how could Dumbledore allow it to exist?”
Vid couldn’t help but chuckle.
Whether it was Fudge in charge or the Sinclaire government, the reactions of these Ministry of Magic officials are always oddly consistent, amusingly so.
When everything is peaceful, they always want to limit Dumbledore, treating the old man as if he’s the culprit disturbing peace in the British Magic World;
But when danger arises, they always feel Dumbledore should protect everyone. If not, it’s Dumbledore’s fault.
Hearing the laughter, Marina looked at him in surprise, wondering how he could laugh.
Vid said, “In fact, not everything at Hogwarts is under Dumbledore’s control, like that one outside…”
He tilted his head, indicating slightly, Marina momentarily bewildered, suddenly stunned.
“What’s that sound?” she asked.