Charity Burbage tightly closed her eyes, the fear of rapidly falling made her even forget to breathe.
“Bang!”
Suddenly her body hit something, and Charity Burbage couldn’t help but let out a scream, flailing her arms wildly, thinking she was about to be greeted by the sharp fangs of a monster.
However, nothing happened, only a steady force lifted her out of the water.
Charity Burbage blinked in confusion, unable to grasp the situation.
“Charity——”
A shout came from above her. She looked up to see Professor Aurora Sinistra from Astronomy riding a broomstick, diving rapidly toward her, extending her arm from afar.
Charity Burbage quickly reached out, and the moment their hands clasped, she was pulled by a force, landing behind Professor Sinistra.
After flying for a while, she turned back and finally saw what had just saved her—
It was a huge jellyfish—of course, smaller than the Avek—standing at least two stories tall, emitting a faint cold light, with slender tentacles swaying beneath its umbrella, floating in mid-air.
In the water, there were a dozen smaller jellyfish clinging to the Avek, their slender tentacles attacking it relentlessly, poking its eyes, ears, and nostrils, tearing at its wounds, while some even attempted to burrow into its mouth to cause havoc.
The scene looked rather terrifying.
And carried a sense of tragically powerless grandeur.
For with just one roll, Avek let the turbulent waters wash away most of the jellyfish clinging to its body, smashing those that fell into the water with its limbs and tail.
As for those that dared to enter its mouth, its sharp teeth came in handy.
Charity Burbage froze for a few seconds before realizing it was Vid who had arrived.
The largest jellyfish had appeared during the league, protecting a shrunken Vid from the attacks of Voldemort and the Death Eaters.
She suddenly snapped out of it, looked around, and sure enough, she saw Vid riding a broom as well.
…
The scorching white light dissipated, leaving Avek unscathed, though its eyes seemed briefly blinded.
It roared, eyes fixed maliciously on the youngest-looking Vid among the crowd, ready to shout yet again.
In the next moment, it was entangled by countless jellyfish poppets descending from the sky.
“It’s useless!”
Frank Longbottom flew beside Vid and shouted loudly, “The Sunlight Charm won’t harm it, Avek isn’t a Dark Creature!”
“Then what is it? How can we subdue this big guy?” Hagrid wobbled over, shouting loudly.
His body was covered with wounds from the splashing water, and his brown coat was almost red.
The originally harmless and gentle streams of water could become sharp as blades near Avek.
“It was created by sorcery, legend has it that the wizard Nim crafted Avek using the elements of water and earth!” Frank Longbottom shouted, “So only wind and fire magic can harm it!”
“No, the Sunlight Charm can also work! At least it can interfere with its sight!”
Professor Flitwick wiped the blood about to flow into his eyes and shouted sharply, “Vid, continue! Make sure to protect yourself!”
“Got it, Professor!”
Vid responded loudly, waving his magic wand. A blazing fireball fell, heading directly towards the beast that had just broken free of the jellyfish swarm.
Hearing the few people’s shouts, many showed a look of sudden realization, quietly changing the spell they were preparing to cast.
Including Percy.
He had always been a pragmatist, only learning what was required for exams, only reading books that helped improve grades and status. Those handbooks, notes, fairy tales recorded with unverifiable legends were, to him, a waste of time.
Therefore, he knew nothing about Avek, only realizing now that all his previous efforts were futile.
Percy raised his magic wand again, the power of fire gathering at the tip.
…
The crowd surged on the sixth floor, students leaning at the windows, watching the battle above the Black Lake with each boom making them shrink their necks.
Yet Hermione paid no attention to the outside, murmuring to herself with frighteningly bright eyes.
“Avek… Avek… I’ve definitely seen this name somewhere…”
In her mind, countless books flipped by, those endless days and nights of reading turning into a painting, flashing by.
Suddenly, Hermione turned sharply, grabbing the arms of the two beside her.
“I remember now!”
Harry and Ron were stretching their necks to look outside when her sudden grab startled them, making them quickly ask, “What is it?”
“Follow me!”
Hermione didn’t answer, turning to run out of the classroom, Harry and Ron quickly following.
In the corridor, Hermione quickly explained, “I read about this beast in a book… Avek, Water-Seeking Beast… if I’m not mistaken, it has a weakness!”
Harry’s eyes lit up, “What weakness?”
“I can’t remember, I need to look at that book again!” Hermione frowned.
“Merlin, you’ve read so many books!” Ron exclaimed, “Are we going to flip through the entire library’s books? Madam Pince has flown out too, who knows if we can even get into the library…”
“No, it’s not in the library, that book is in my dorm room.” Hermione said, “If I remember correctly.”
“Hope you’re not mistaken!” Harry gritted his teeth, starting to sprint, “Let’s go! If we’re quick, we can make it back in just a few minutes!”
The three ran towards the stairway, the Student Council President shouted after them not to run, but none of the three stopped.
Several pairs of eyes were indeed drawn by the shout.
“Harry?” Theo asked in surprise, “Where are they going?”
“Certainly not rushing to the bathroom.” Michael glanced around, asking, “Who was closest to them just now?”
At the other end of the corridor, Linden’s eyes narrowed slightly, watching the backs of the trio.
Upon reaching the sixth floor earlier, he quietly hid to avoid being dragged into a fight with the beast.
Sure enough, Percy ended up being an unwilling champion among the students.
Watching that scene, Linden inwardly mocked his foolishness, then observed the professors’ capabilities through a narrow arched window.
Without Dumbledore, they were indeed struggling to cope.
Immediately, Linden realized his second target had left the crowd, voluntarily isolating himself.
Linden straightened up, glanced around—professors had flown out, the remaining prefects were overwhelmed, no one noticed him.
He tapped his head lightly with his magic wand, becoming invisible from the air, then stepped toward the direction the three had left.