novel-bin Chapter 219 Nagini's keen eye cannot discern the truth
Chapter 219 Nagini's keen eye cannot discern the truth
Chapter 219 Nagini's keen eye cannot discern the truth
Picking up where we left off, Nagini stared intently at the scar on Harry's forehead and revealed that Voldemort's spirit had possessed him.
Harry was struck dumb by these words, as if by a thunderbolt from a clear sky. He hurriedly crossed his arms and asked, "Sister, did you really see that scoundrel's spirit? Is there any way to get rid of this scourge?"
Nagini stared at Harry's forehead with her golden eyes for a moment, then shook her head and sighed, "I'm sorry, Harry, I can only see it, but I can't separate it."
Seeing her resolute words, Harry thought to himself: This lingering bird spirit has been with me for fourteen years. What difference does it make if I can't get rid of it today? It's not like I'll lose another ten or eight years anyway.
He then cupped his hands and asked, "To be honest, sister, although I fought Voldemort three times, what I saw was not his current form."
"Since you can see spirits, sister, may I ask what this remnant soul of mine looks like?"
Nagini shook his head again after hearing this, and said with a helpless smile, "Harry, you should know that souls and ghosts are not the same thing."
"Ghosts exist because of their obsessions; they are mostly what they looked like before they died. The soul, on the other hand, is more like—an abstract concept of life."
Upon hearing this, Harry seemed to suddenly understand, slapping his knee and exclaiming, "Ah! So that's the reason! No wonder you recognized me so well, sister. It must be that I have two souls residing in my body, which is why I'm so different from ordinary people!"
Nagini smiled and nodded. "Harry, you are very special."
Harry, his doubts resolved, felt as refreshed as if he had drunk cool water on a hot summer day. He then abandoned his idle chatter, crossed his hands, and said seriously, "Sister, let's put aside our idle talk for now. I still need to find that important thing. Just now, the mermaids stirred up the water in the lake, and there was thunder and fire. I wonder if that damn treasure was damaged."
After he mentioned it, Nagini suddenly realized and said, "Alright, best of luck."
"I think I should also talk to Albus. I hope I didn't cause any damage during my tribulation."
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Without hesitation, Nagini clapped her hand. The vast water city, which had just been divided into two parts, suddenly closed up with a roar, and huge waves surged, just as if the heavens had closed their eyes and the vast blue waves had returned to their original state.
With a flicker of her body, she transformed into a giant azure-scaled dragon in the water, its scales shimmering with light. She swung her tail, shook her head, and drifted away on her own.
Harry looked up and watched until the dragon's shadow disappeared before he could look away.
He leaped back into the lake, picked up a three-pronged fork from the pile of rocks, and swam away without looking back.
After about half an incense stick's time, the view suddenly opened up before us. There lay an underwater village, with stone houses scattered about and streets crisscrossing the area.
Upon closer inspection, one could see the clanging of swords and spears in the blacksmith's shop, and the hanging silks and satins in the clothing store—truly a bustling waterside palace, complete with elaborate rituals and music. Needless to say, it was undoubtedly the dwelling place of mermaids.
Harry continued swimming and soon saw a wide open space in the center of the mermaid village, with four towering stone pillars standing there.
Men and women were tied to the pillars, all with their eyes closed, fast asleep.
On the left pillar is Hermione, and on the right is Cho Chang, who is tied up. On the two pillars in the middle, on one side is a girl who looks about ten years old, and on the other side is a fat man with a thick beard.
Upon seeing this, Harry had a sudden realization. The "treasure" mentioned in the golden egg wasn't some gold or jade, but rather the person most cherished in each person's life!
Without further hesitation, he pushed off with both feet, shooting straight at the pillar like an arrow released from a bow. A flash of cold light appeared on his wrist, and the thick hemp rope snapped in two.
Harry stretched out his arms and pulled Hermione into his embrace, about to rise up on the water, but suddenly stopped.
Turning his head to look at the remaining three stone pillars, he pondered deeply:
Just now, my sister transformed into a dragon from water, causing the lake to churn and waves to surge, and also attracting ninefold lightning tribulation. It seems that the one-hour time limit for the competition has long passed.
The three Cedrics have not been seen since; could they have been ousted?
Thinking of this, he temporarily placed Hermione beside the stone pillar, turned around, held the wrist-splitting knife, and parted the water to go straight for the stone pillar on the right.
Fang Pan reached Qiu Zhang's side, but before the dagger could touch the rope, he suddenly heard a shout behind him that sounded like thunder.
"Mr. Harry Potter, you can only take your own treasures with you!"
Harry turned around quickly at the sound and saw a mermaid standing with a halberd across her body. The halberd was made entirely of silver, with three rubies the size of pigeon eggs embedded at the tip, reflecting a reddish hue onto the surrounding water.
The mermaid woman said cautiously, "This is a requirement of the Triwizard Tournament, and also an agreement between the mermaid tribe and the Ministry of Magic."
"Mr. Potter, I think you should follow the rules and regulations."
As soon as he finished speaking, countless heads popped out from between the stone windows and wooden doors to echo him. The old men had white hair and beards, the young men were still in swaddling clothes, and most of them were women and children, with only one or two out of ten being young adults.
Harry suddenly realized that the entire village's elite troops had come out in full force to attack his family.
He felt at ease and remained calm. He casually flipped his wrist, and the tip of the knife aimed at the rope binding Qiu Zhang.
In just a few breaths, all the ropes binding Cho Chang and the other two were cut. Harry then took a thick hemp rope and tied the three men's wrists together, securing the ends to his own waist.
With his left arm tightly embracing Hermione, he pushed off with all his might, like a carp leaping over the dragon gate, breaking through the layers of water and soaring upwards.
The mermaids below stared in disbelief until the scarred man transformed into a speck of ink in the blue waves, at which point they cautiously emerged one by one from the stone house.
A mermaid, about the size of a baby's head, timidly asked, "Queen Merkus, shall we go and bring him back?"
Mercus slammed the trident heavily onto the reef, his anger turning into a mocking laugh. "Fine, if you can bring him back, I'm willing to hand over the leadership position to you."
The mermaid gave an embarrassed smile, shrank back, and hid in the crowd, not daring to utter another sound.
Seeing that Harry had gone far away, Monamurcus immediately composed himself, raised his trident to the air, and called to the old, weak, women and children to come to the lake to rescue the tribesmen.
If all these able-bodied men were to perish, not only would it be impossible to return to our homeland, the Great Lakes of Scotland, but even the Black Lake estate would be difficult to preserve.
Meanwhile, as Harry leaped out of the water, Hermione in his arms suddenly opened her eyes, her lips parted slightly, and she took a deep breath, as if waking from a long dream.
"Harry!" Hermione gasped, "Are you alright?"
Harry didn't answer, but simply supported Hermione firmly in his arm and swam towards the shore, grumbling, "My sister's secrecy has been so agonizing. Before the tournament, I searched all around the Gryffindor stands and saw the Ron brothers, but not my sister. I thought I was going to miss her again."
"At that time, my heart felt like it was being boiled in hot oil; I was filled with regret!"
Hermione felt a sweet warmth in her heart upon hearing this, as if she had drunk honey.
Seeing that Harry looked normal and not injured, she pretended to be weak and limp, and leaned comfortably in his arms.
"I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to hide it from you, it's just that Mr. Bagman made us sign a confidentiality agreement."
Harry nodded in understanding, then asked doubtfully, "It's one thing to keep this from the heroes, but how was this treasure chosen? Could it be that the Ministry of Magic sent spies to spy on people's secrets?"
"It's the Mirror of Erised," Hermione said lightly, leaning on Harry's shoulder. "Professor Dumbledore modified the mirror's runes so that it could show you the person you care about most."
Harry frowned and pondered for a long time before exclaiming in surprise, "How strange! When have I ever looked into that damn magic mirror? If we really trace it back to the beginning, the last time I looked in the mirror was when I was a freshman beating that Quirrell."
"Ah, Mr. Bagman did mention that to me. Do you remember the wand inspection before the first project began?"
"The Mirror of Eris was hidden in a corner."
After saying that, she casually ran her hand through her wet hair. "But to be honest, I always thought Ron would be the one to cooperate with the Ministry of Magic in this charade—after all, you're all boys."
Harry shook his head seriously and said, "Big sister, you're mistaken. The Ron brothers are highly skilled in magic and also adept at using a staff."
"That willow wand is a supreme treasure, a combination of innate and acquired power. It would even dare to fight Voldemort for three rounds if it encountered him. Why should I worry about it?"
These words, however, seemed to snap like a broken melody. Hermione, how could she not understand the unspoken meaning behind them?
After a moment of silence, he suddenly twisted his body, broke free from Harry's arms, and swam forward on his own, saying defiantly, "Let's go, I can swim by myself."
In no time at all, the two of them reached the shore. Hermione looked around and saw that the stands were completely empty, without a single person in sight.
Hermione's heart sank, and she turned sharply to Harry, shouting, "Harry! How long did it take you?!"
"Why is there no one in the stands—has the game already ended?"
Harry laughed loudly, untying the rope around his waist. "Why panic, sister! Even if the time is up, I'll still win!"
With that, he exerted force with both arms, and the hemp rope, like a dragon emerging from the water, lifted up three people in succession: Qiu Zhang, his young wife, and the fat man.
Hermione's almond-shaped eyes widened, her lips parted slightly but she couldn't utter a sound for a long time, and only then did her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settle back down.
Just as they were about to ask for the reason, Dumbledore strolled over, with Nagini beside him, their clothes fluttering like a fairy on water.
"Congratulations, Harry. As the only one to complete this challenge, you've pulled ahead of the other warriors by a significant margin."
The old headmaster looked tired and sighed softly, "Nagini and I found the other three heroes on the other side of the lake."
"They all floated on the water, unconscious."
Harry clapped his hands and laughed, "So that's how it is! When I was trying to save the four of them, those merfolk tried to stop me, but luckily I didn't listen to their noise!"
"Where are you judges? Come quickly and let's settle this score! Give me a rating!"
"Oh—Harry, the scoring might have to wait a while, since we need to send someone to find Karkaroff."
Dumbledore took a vial of potion from his pocket, took a big gulp, and then sighed, "Go take a hot bath, children, be careful not to catch a cold."
"I think it's fine if you come back before 11 o'clock, after all, it will take some time to appease our foreign friends."
Harry nodded in agreement. "The professor is right. If we don't get rid of the cold now, we'll definitely develop symptoms."
Having said that, he took Hermione and left.
Hermione, however, kept turning back every three steps, only concerned with glancing at the strange appearance on Nagini's forehead.
After walking only a few feet, Hermione launched into a barrage of questions.
"Why did Miss Nagini grow horns? What happened when I fainted underwater? Why did her eyes turn gold?"
Seeing her pressing him for answers, Harry recounted in detail all the strange events that had happened to Nagini, including her transformation into a dragon and her ability to walk on water.
Hermione sighed deeply upon hearing this, regretting that she had missed such a rare spectacle.
The two had returned to the Gryffindor Tower while they were talking, and each went to their respective washroom. They soaked in the hot water and changed into clean robes.
Seeing that the sun was high in the sky, the two finished packing and headed to Black Lake for their meeting.
By this time, all the evacuated teachers and students had returned to their places, and the stands resembled a swarm of ants and bees, with thousands of voices buzzing together.
Several groups also gathered on the shore, where Cedric and Cho Chang embraced and wept, their lips pressed together, completely lost in their emotions, which drew cheers and whistles from the students in the stands.
Harry clapped his hands and laughed, "To find one true love and grow old together—that's exactly what this is all about!"
Meanwhile, Furong embraced her young mistress, whose features were as striking as hers, and soothed her gently in French, her crimson lips frequently touching her jade-like cheeks.
Harry nodded in agreement. "May we be sisters for all eternity, and may our bond continue into the next life. What a beautiful and deep sisterly bond!"
Then look at Krum, who is arm in arm with a fat, bearded man, muttering some foreign words.
Harry stared intently for a long time, then frowned and said suspiciously, "Damn it! What's the story behind these two? I just can't figure it out."
Hermione's eyes sparkled with interest, and she was about to ask them what was going on when she suddenly heard someone behind her laugh: "That's the Bulgarian team's head coach. I bet Krum is still upset about not winning the World Cup."
Looking back, who else could it be but Ron?
Harry suddenly realized, "So they were actually close friends and mentors; I almost wronged them."
While they chatted amongst themselves, Nagini patiently waited by the referee's bench, filled with regret.
Harry regretted that he had been too soft-hearted and, wanting to catch up with his old friend Dumbledore, hadn't gone with him to take a bath.
As the saying goes, "What is lost on one front is gained on another." Although she was blind, her ears were exceptionally sensitive, and no sound within a ten-mile radius could escape her notice.
But then she heard students whispering among themselves: "Which college is she from? I've never seen her before."
"Don't be silly, I think she must be a new professor, and maybe even a magical creature. Look at her horns."
"Merlin's beard, I'd be willing to go back to first year for the new professor."
The surrounding students' comments, some surprised, some envious, and some sour and jealous, swarmed into Nagini's ears like mosquitoes, making her feel extremely irritated.
Unable to contain herself any longer, she leaped into the air and used her golden eyes to survey the souls in all directions.
Moments later, spotting the familiar soul light, he swiftly departed. Upon landing, he let out a long sigh of relief and murmured, "Harry, I want to go back and rest."
As soon as he finished speaking, instead of Harry's usual cheerful words, a hoarse, strange laugh, like a broken gong, could be heard.
"Harry?"
"Excuse me, ma'am, are you kidding me?"
The teaching goes: A heart as pure as a lotus throne, ears as clear as a bright mirror. Desiring to follow the light of the soul to see Harry, one's wise eyes are clouded, mistaking him for someone else, causing ripples on the shores of the Black Lake. To know what happens next, please listen to the next chapter.
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