Hoffa was startled—he hadn't expected the silver-haired man to have any connection to Grindelwald.
But before Hoffa could ask further, Slughorn pushed him out of the office by the shoulders.
Standing outside the door, Hoffa couldn't help but glance back at the professor's office.
Grindelwald. Once again, it was Grindelwald.
He vaguely remembered that when he was imprisoned in Azkaban, a fellow inmate had warned him about matters concerning Grindelwald.
Could that silver-haired man be one of Grindelwald's people?
The thought sent a shiver down his spine.
Holding the bottle of merfolk potion in his hand, Hoffa returned to the shores of the Black Lake.
Here, dozens of young witches and wizards lay sprawled across the grassy banks, all in swimsuits and looking utterly miserable.
Some were soaking wet and coughing up water, others were shivering violently, clutching their arms for warmth. A few had even managed to light small fires to huddle around.
As Hoffa watched, a giant tentacle emerged from the lake and flung a limp girl onto the grassy shore.
The girl was pale, trembling, and still had strands of lakeweed caught in her teeth. The moment she landed, she vomited a mouthful of lake water.
Clearly, these were the students who had failed Professor Draxes' test.
Hoffa couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. He glanced at the potion bottle in his hand, thinking that since he couldn't swim at all, if the potion didn't work as expected, he'd have to head back to school to resume those tedious potion and herbology assignments.
Uncorking the bottle, Hoffa was immediately hit by a pungent, fishy stench, like the smell of a decaying fish left to rot for three days.
Pinching his nose in skepticism, he tipped the bottle back and swallowed a mouthful.
He glanced at his body—nothing seemed to happen.
Blinking, Hoffa suddenly felt something amiss. His eyelids no longer closed vertically but horizontally.
Walking to the edge of the lake, he bent down to take a closer look.
What he saw startled him. His eyes had grown three times their usual size, with faint golden patterns surrounding black, slit-like pupils—completely unlike human eyes.
Trying to close his eyes only caused a thin membrane to slide back and forth across them.
Gradually, other changes began to manifest. Hoffa's hair clumped together, forming gray, tentacle-like strands. Thin webs appeared between his fingers, and wide membranes sprouted beneath his ribs.
Suddenly, gill slits opened beneath his neck, and a suffocating sensation surged through him. His vision blurred rapidly.
He could no longer see clearly on land. Acting on an irresistible instinct, he leapt into the Black Lake.
In that moment, he truly understood what it meant to be "like a fish in water." Unlike the despair and fear he had felt upon entering the water the previous year, he now experienced a warm, womb-like comfort, as though returning to the primal state of being in a mother's womb.
The dissolved oxygen in the water passed smoothly through the capillaries of his gills, allowing him to breathe effortlessly.
The once-blurry eyes now saw everything within a hundred meters of him with crystal clarity.
Blue streaks appeared on his back and chest, and his skin began secreting an unknown substance, heightening his sensitivity to the surrounding environment.
A small yellow fish swam slowly past Hoffa's eyes. His pupils shifted, but his body remained as still as a rock.
Then, driven by some primal instinct in his blood, he opened his mouth, revealing rows of sharp teeth, and bit down, swallowing the fish in one gulp.
Rationality soon overcame instinct.
No, wait. I'm human, not a fish!
He opened his mouth again and spat the fish out.
Startled, the little yellow fish darted away from Hoffa.
Twisting his head to look ahead, Hoffa kicked off the lakebed, propelling himself forward like an arrow. His body skimmed over fine white sand, his spine undulating from side to side, and he covered a hundred meters in an instant.
It felt incredible!
Pushing himself harder, he increased his speed.
Bubbles and currents were left far behind, and the purple tentacles of mollusk-like creatures on lakebed rocks recoiled in fear, retreating into their shells.
Hoffa shot through the water like a torpedo, effortlessly overtaking the crowd ahead.
He had so much speed to spare that he had the leisure to take in his surroundings.
Sunlight filtered through thirty feet of water, its rays refracting and distorting like a prism. Rocks, buds, shells, coral polyps, and various magical creatures on the lakebed shimmered in multicolored light, creating a dazzling underwater tableau of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.
Beyond a hundred meters, the water turned a dark blue, and Hoffa's gaze penetrated the eerie, grayish waters to spot a massive shadow in the distance. The indistinct silhouette of a giant squid waved its tentacles in the depths of the Black Lake.
Above him, countless students struggled to swim. They couldn't descend to Hoffa's depth, as the water pressure was too great.
Observing the group above, Hoffa had a mischievous idea. He kicked off the lakebed and ascended, stopping just a meter below the surface.
Above him swam a girl accompanied by a school of fish.
Lying on his back, Hoffa floated leisurely, enjoying the view of youthful, energetic bodies moving through the water.
He was having a grand time, but the girl paddling above him glanced down—and froze in terror at the sight of his bizarre, fish-like face.
"AAAAAHHH!!!"
Her scream set off a chain reaction. The students crossing the lake sensed something was wrong and all turned to look.
The Black Lake erupted into chaos.
Startled schools of fish leapt out of the water, and various spells began flying in all directions. Magic collided with the lake's surface, erupting into boiling geysers.
Hoffa deftly dodged the spells, touching his face with a chuckle. Gently, he pushed the terrified girl toward the surface and then disappeared into the depths, resuming his underwater journey.
Once far from the panicked crowd, Hoffa reached the lake's center.
Here, the scenery began to change. The water grew darker, and the depths became even more profound.
Here, Hoffa saw remnants of sunken ships—iron kitchenware, anchors, iron chain rings from pulleys, mortars, fragments of astronomical instruments, and part of a ship's stern railing. Deep green lakebed plants had grown over them.
Not only that, but among the towering forest-like aquatic vegetation on the lakebed, Hoffa also spotted some rusted and deformed cages. They floated amidst the algae, containing skeletal remains that had long since decayed.
Some skeletons had their limbs chained, making it clear they were once human.
This sight filled him with a sense of foreboding.
By now, Hoffa had approached the massive octopus in the depths of the Black Lake. Its tentacles waved like the dense foliage of a forest.
At this moment, a student in the distance, likely exhausted or suffering from cramps, began sinking straight to the bottom of the lake. Immediately, a long tentacle slid past Hoffa's face.
Though the movement was nearly silent, Hoffa still caught a clear view of the tentacle's dense suction cups and barbs, making his skin crawl. Swiftly, he shifted aside and twisted his body, swimming forward.
However, the enormous octopus paid Hoffa no mind. It kept its eyes closed, its countless tentacles floating in the water.
If it sensed a drowning student, a tentacle would reach out, scoop them up, and push them back to the shore.
Swimming directly above the creature, Hoffa got a clear view of its unfathomably deep, layered, sharp mouthparts. Like a black hole, the sight of them unsettled him—even in his current merman form.
This creature radiated near-boundless magical power. It didn't belong here; it should have been living in the ocean. To it, the Black Lake was probably just a pond.
After passing through the forest of tentacles, Hoffa's speed increased. He overtook one student after another until he shot past like a torpedo, leaving a trail of bubbles behind.
Half an hour later, he had swum over 50 kilometers, reaching the opposite end of the Black Lake. By this point, the effects of the potion on his body had begun to wear off.
The lake shore was within sight. Wet and dripping, Hoffa climbed onto the grassy bank, his body slowly reverting to normal as the potion's transformation faded.
Here, a few upper-year students were resting on the grass, panting heavily. Some were professionally stretching and adjusting their muscles. These were the top students in this batch from Hogwarts.
Miranda and Aglaia were sitting on the grass, casually chatting as they tidied their hair. When they saw Hoffa emerge from the water, they were visibly startled.
At this moment, Hoffa had not fully returned to his human form. His body still bore significant features of cartilaginous fish.
After a moment of shock, Miranda asked, "Is this your new Transfiguration spell?"
"No," Aglaia replied after a glance at Hoffa. "Merfolk potion."
"Hmm," Miranda said with a bright smile. "What's a merfolk potion? Tell us about it."
Aglaia reflexively wanted to launch into a lengthy explanation to show off her extensive knowledge of potions, but noticing Hoffa's gaze, she forced herself to suppress the urge. Instead, she turned to look at the lake.
Miranda made a playful face at Hoffa and helplessly shook her head.
By now, Hoffa's potion-induced transformations had mostly faded, and his eyes had returned to a normal human state. His surroundings became increasingly clear.
This side of the lake was extremely far from Hogwarts, almost out of sight of the castle. However, from here, vast fields of giant round stones and the endless Scottish Highlands were visible.
Hoffa had often gazed at this place from the Ravenclaw common room, but this was his first time here.
On a patch of grass not far from the lake shore, two tables covered with large canvases were set up. The surfaces of the tables bulged slightly, concealing something beneath.
Beside these tables, Professor Fatiar Delassais, who looked quite young, leaned against a large round stone, smoking. He neither chatted with his daughter nor spoke to the students who had successfully crossed the lake.
He stared at the sky, exuding a profound sense of detachment and nihilism, as if his energy and spirit had been devoured by something.
About thirty minutes later, another batch of successful students emerged from the lake, panting heavily. There were about a dozen of them, and as soon as they reached the shore, they collapsed onto the ground, their chests heaving.
At this moment, Professor Delassais stood up, walked through the crowd, and approached the lake shore. He stared straight at the water, his expression unreadable.
As the sky gradually darkened, no one else emerged from the lake.
The crossing ceremony had eliminated 90% of participants, leaving less than 10%.
Staring at the lake shore, Delassais let out a deep sigh, extinguished his cigarette, and rubbed his temples with a pained expression. Finally, he turned around and clapped his hands.
At that moment, the moon began to rise. In its light, the professor's facial features softened, and Hoffa noticed the striking resemblance between him and Aglaia. Apart from their eye colors, he could have been her twin brother.
"Tired?" His voice was hoarse yet gentle.
The group didn't respond; they simply stared at him, eager to know what lesson he had planned next.
"You've done well. Those of you who made it here must have found some extraordinary joy during the lake crossing. From now on, in every one of my lessons, you'll learn to deal with chaos and the unknown."
With a wave of his wand, countless glowing dots danced around, illuminating the grassy lakeside. The students' shadows stretched long and indistinct on the ground.
A rustling sound came from the wooden tables behind them as the magical coverings were slowly pulled away.
Amidst the students' gasps, Hoffa's pupils shrank. Yes, there was no mistaking it—nearly a dozen young dragons lay curled up on the row of wooden tables, smoke curling from their nostrils.
Delassais's expression was proud. "Dragons. One of the magical world's apex predators. The fastest way to become an elite is undoubtedly to observe such apex predators—and to grow alongside them."
(End of Chapter)
Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon
https://patreon.com/Glimmer09