My School Life At Hogwarts Chapter 915: Beloved Treasure - Novel Cool

Chapter 915: Beloved Treasure

Chapter 915: Beloved Treasure

"Is this really meaningful?"

In the Prefects' bathroom, Lee Jordan sat by the pool with a pocket watch in his hand, addressing his question to Albert, who was fully immersed in the bath.

"I find it quite meaningful," Fred said with a laugh. "Aren't you going to join us for a dip?"

"Have you forgotten?" George scooped up a handful of foam and dumped it on Fred's head as he glanced at Lee Jordan. "This guy can't swim."

"This is a bathroom; he won't drown here," Fred retorted.

"Ahem," Lee Jordan coughed lightly, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction. "And Fred, you really should wash your hair. You're starting to look like Snape."

"It's only because you don't pay attention."

Fred climbed out of the pool and went to the side to wash his hair.

"Then why don't you guys come here to bathe?" Lee Jordan countered.

"Albert doesn't use the Prefects' bathroom either," George shrugged.

While the Prefects' bathroom was indeed luxurious, it would be quite embarrassing to run into someone else here.

The door to the Prefects' bathroom was actually voice-activated, meaning that anyone who knew the password could come in to bathe at any time. If a female prefect were to walk in right now, it would be quite the spectacle.

"How long has it been?"

"Almost an hour."

"That should be enough. The second task is just to retrieve the treasure within an hour. I think with your abilities, you could complete the task in less time."

The trio had no doubt that Albert could accomplish the task.

"Don't be silly. If we don't figure out how long the Bubble-Head Charm can last, we might accidentally drown in the lake."

Albert's voice came from under the thick foam as he was currently testing how long the charm could sustain him.

Fortunately, he didn't have bad breath, or else he would have had to abandon the idea of using the charm altogether.

"But you have the water-breathing potion, don't you?" George didn't understand Albert's line of thought. He knew that Albert had prepared a large bottle of the potion, which was extracted from gillweed and had apparently made an appearance at the recent International Alchemy Conference.

"That's a backup plan. If possible, I intend to complete the task using the Bubble-Head Charm."

"You're just bored."

Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were all left speechless.

"I just want to see which method works better!" Albert said ambiguously.

He believed that Dumbledore would have some safety measures in place to prevent the champions from drowning, but Albert never liked putting his life in someone else's hands. The water-breathing potion was his insurance policy.

"I think temperature control will be a big issue. The temperature on February 24th will definitely not be high, especially in the lake." George listed the possible problems one by one.

"How to complete the task within an hour is also a problem. Even if you're a good swimmer, your speed will definitely be affected once you're in the depths of the lake." Lee Jordan added.

The Weasley twins looked at Lee Jordan together.

"What are you looking at? I'm not wrong," Lee Jordan said.

"We just feel that when you say these things, it always lacks conviction," George teased.

"I think the champions will likely be attacked. They won't just let you retrieve the treasure without a hitch; you might even have to fight off mermen," Fred speculated. "So it's important to have your wand. If you lose it in the lake, you're done for."

"Albert can do wandless magic," Lee Jordan reminded them expressionlessly. "So even if he loses his wand, he can just use the Summoning Charm to get it back."

Lee Jordan's words were soon drowned out by a burst of beautiful singing as the golden egg was thrown into the water, replacing the initial shrieks.

"Are there any other problems?" Albert asked.

"What about getting lost? If we can't find the exact location of the treasure and get lost in the lake, it's huge, and we don't know what it's like at the bottom of the lake," Fred and George exchanged glances, both looking eager to take on the challenge.

"Temperature can be managed with a spell," Albert mused for a moment. "And as for slow movement, there are spells for that too. I know how to move quickly underwater; Muggles have similar techniques."

"As for encountering attacks, that's quite likely, but we can deal with that by wearing dark creature repellents. And I don't think we'll be attacked by mermen." Albert continued after a moment's thought. "There shouldn't be many dangerous creatures in the lake."

"Giant squid?"

"That thing is very docile." Albert muttered to himself. "At most, there might be some Grindylows. I recall that mermen like to keep them as pets, like how humans keep cats and hounds, but I don't know how many there will be. Of course, it wouldn't be surprising to find a hippocampus at the bottom of the lake."

"I think you should take a dip in the lake and figure out the situation down there first." George suggested. "I bet they'll hide the treasure in the mermen's village. You can scout out the exact location."

"It's quite uncomfortable to dive in this weather. I recall you don't like the cold," Lee Jordan said with a hint of schadenfreude.

Albert suddenly stood up in the water, dispelling the foam on his head, and turned to ask Lee Jordan, "How long?"

Lee Jordan stretched and said, "About an hour and a quarter. The Bubble-Head Charm has plenty of time left."

Albert took a few deep breaths of fresh air and said, "That's not quite enough time."

"Not enough?"

The three of them didn't quite understand what he meant. Why wouldn't the time be enough?

"Intense exercise consumes a lot of oxygen," Albert picked up the golden egg, placed it on a towel, and looked at his pocket watch. "There's no way the oxygen will last that long. Making it to an hour would be impressive."

"What's oxygen?" George suddenly asked.

At that moment, Albert really wanted to facepalm.

Alright, this was the magical world, and wizards not understanding science was quite scientific.

After all, why would the magical world need science when wizards had magic?

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"I don't think you'll need an hour to complete the task," Fred repeated.

"You're not the one diving, and what if the time isn't enough and you drown?" Albert glanced at the three chatterboxes in front of him and addressed the bottom of the pool. "Porlock, do you know where the mermen's village is?"

The bespectacled Porlock suddenly emerged from the bottom of the pool, scaring the other three.

"Ghosts!"

Fred screamed, causing Lee Jordan to fall back into the pool, while George laughed.

"What a rude bunch,"

Porlock said with her hands on her hips, glaring at the three mischievous boys.

"All right, that's enough."

Albert glared at the three troublemakers goofing off by the side and turned to the female ghost who was sneaking a peek at them as they bathed. "Miss Peach, have you been to the bottom of the lake?"

"Yes, there's a village of merpeople down there." Miss Peach giggled as she leaned closer to Albert, "But I don't really like those merpeople. Every time I get close, they chase after me..."

The three boys on the side were covering their mouths and snickering.

"Then, later, you can guide me, and I'll make sure the merpeople don't bother you." Albert said to Miss Peach.

"Okay, handsome."

Miss Peach giggled and then dove into the water, disappearing from view.

"You're still as popular as ever, even ghosts like you." After Miss Peach left, the three boys finally burst into laughter.

Albert casually replied, "It's a rare opportunity, why don't you guys come along too?"

Fred and George looked at each other and nodded repeatedly, "Yeah, it's a rare opportunity."

"I think I'll pass." Lee Jordan quickly refused, "Just in case you need someone to save you, and someone should stay behind just in case."

"You can take Gillsweed." Fred suggested with a smile.

"This is a good opportunity for you to learn how to swim." George added helpfully.

Just as the Weasley brothers were persuading Lee Jordan to join them at the bottom of the lake, the door to the Prefect's bathroom suddenly creaked open.

The four of them turned to look at the entrance and saw several familiar figures walking in.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were obviously also aware that there were people taking a bath in the Prefect's bathroom and were startled.

After all, they weren't prefects and didn't have the qualifications to use this place.

"Sorry, we were just... Oh, it's you guys." Harry Potter was surprised to find that the people taking a bath in the Prefect's bathroom were the Weasley brothers, their good friend Lee Jordan, and Albert.

"Why can't we be here?"

Hermione screamed and quickly turned away.

"Don't worry, Hermione, we're all wearing swimsuits." Albert said helplessly.

"You swim wearing swimsuits?" Ron said strangely.

"Who said we're here to swim." Fred looked at Ron with an expression that clearly said, 'You idiot'.

"Are you here to test the golden egg too?" George smiled and said, "By the way, how did you know the password for the Prefect's bathroom?"

"Sirius told us." Harry Potter replied dryly, "Lupin used to be a prefect, so he knows the password to open the Prefect's bathroom."

"Sirius suggested that Harry use the Bubble-Head Charm, which is supposed to make it easy to breathe underwater." Hermione, after confirming that the boys were all wearing swimsuits, breathed a sigh of relief and began to explain, "So, we wanted to come here to test it out and also see if we could figure out what secret was hidden inside the golden egg."

"The Bubble-Head Charm can't last too long, we just tested it." Lee Jordan picked up the pocket watch that was on the towel and waved it in front of the three, reminding them, "One hour and fifteen minutes, that's Albert's record."

"However, with Harry's ability, the time will probably have to be shortened."

"So, you've figured out the secret of the golden egg."

"Isn't that obvious?" Fred and George looked at Ron with 'you idiot' expressions and sang in unison:
Seek us where our voices sound, We are unable to remain above the ground,

While you search, ponder this, We shan't be kept out by a mere lock and key,

You'll need to come and find us, Just you and us, alone, you see,

One hour only, then forevermore, It's gone, it will be lost,

And you will pay most dearly for our cost...

After the Weasley twins finished singing, they were met with silence, but the two of them didn't feel embarrassed and clapped for themselves.

"So, the second task is to go to the lake and find the merpeople, and then retrieve the champions' beloved treasure?" Hermione carefully pondered the lyrics of the song, quickly helping Harry extract the key points.

"Yeah, that's probably it." Albert replied noncommittally.

"Beloved treasure?" Harry was puzzled, then murmured after a moment, "Do they mean the Firebolt? If the Firebolt gets soaked in the lake, I wonder if it'll break."

Albert covered his mouth and giggled, but...

"Hahahaha!!!"

Fred, George, and Lee Jordan burst into raucous laughter.

"What's so funny?"

Harry was bewildered, not understanding why they were laughing so hard.

"Harry, do you really think your beloved treasure is the Firebolt?" Fred asked.

"What's... wrong with that?" Ron was also confused.

"Your beloved treasure is obviously galleons."

"Stop laughing and speak plainly." Harry was getting annoyed, feeling like he was being mocked.

"You can ask Albert what his most beloved treasure is, and you'll know what yours is." Lee Jordan kindly reminded him, feeling that Fred and George were doing it on purpose.

"Miss Isabelle?"

Hermione reacted quickly, guessing the nature of the treasure mentioned in the song.

"Yes, the treasure is probably referring to a person." Albert nodded, "So, the essence of the second task is to go to the lake and rescue someone."

"But I... don't have a girlfriend!"

Harry blushed as he immediately thought of Cho Chang, but she was currently Diggory's girlfriend, so she couldn't be his treasure.

"For you, it's probably one of the Weasleys." Albert pointed at Ron, "Maybe George or Fred."

"Why me?" Ron was perplexed.

"Friendship is also a precious thing." Hermione explained on Albert's behalf.

"Why not Hermione then?" Ron asked.

"Because Hermione will most likely become Krum's treasure." Albert continued, "As for me, it's probably one of the three of them, and I think choosing any one of them would be fine."

"You just don't want your girlfriend to take the risk."

The three of them rolled their eyes at Albert, seeing through his "evil intentions".

"Why would Hermione become Krum's treasure?" Ron asked sharply.

Hermione's cheeks reddened as she also wanted to know Albert's reasoning.

"When the organizers can't find a suitable partner, Krum's Christmas dance partner is a good choice. You and Krum are pretty good friends, right?" Albert pointed his wand at himself and then at the other three, and their bodies immediately felt dry and warm, as if they had been hanging in front of a roaring fire.

"All right, you guys can keep testing here, we're going to head out." Albert got dressed, bid farewell to the three, and prepared to leave.

(End of Chapter)

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