Chapter 97. The Giant Squid of the Black Lake
"I haven't finished scouting it yet," Pro shook his head and said, "but I discovered a beautiful glow beneath the great lake that I've never seen before.
Duncan, let's work together.
I'll guide you, and when we fetch what's down there, we split it fifty–fifty!"
"A glow you've never seen?"
Duncan was intrigued.
"I'll go have a look at the Black Lake too.
You eat these yourself."
"Hey, hey, Duncan, don't ditch me.
We have to cooperate!"
Pro hurriedly blocked Duncan's way.
"But even without you, I can find the treasure on my own," Duncan bent down and said with a smile.
"B-but I'm the one who told you.
Without me, you'd never have discovered it!"
Pro's eyes opened as wide as they could go, as if to say, you can't just use a Niffler and then sell the Niffler!
"Mm, that does sound about right..."
Duncan nodded, pondering.
"Right?
Let me come along.
I can also help you spot details you've missed."
Before Duncan could answer, Pro scrambled up along Duncan's trouser leg, trying to burrow into his pocket.
"Aren't you eating?"
Duncan pinched Pro by the scruff and lifted him up, no longer teasing him.
"There's no hurry with the Black Lake.
A little time won't matter.
Besides, apart from the two of us, no one else at school is likely to notice the treasure at the bottom."
"You'll wait for me?" Pro asked.
"I'll wait, I'll wait.
Eat slowly."
Duncan set Pro on the floor, opened the bag, and poured food into his little bowl.
Pro wolfed it down.
His little head bobbed like a chick pecking at grain as he devoured the food at speed.
"Slow down, or you'll choke," Duncan advised, but Pro didn't listen and only sped up.
After scraping up the last residue in the bowl, Pro looked up, let out a satisfied burp, and said hurriedly, "Let's go, Duncan.
I'm ready!"
"Alright..."
Duncan helplessly picked Pro up, stuffed him into his pocket, and opened the door to leave the dormitory.
When they reached the Black Lake, Pro stealthily climbed onto Duncan's shoulder and craned his neck to survey the surroundings.
"Where exactly did you see the glow last time?" Duncan asked.
Pro pointed with a paw into the distance.
"Walk a bit that way."
Duncan looked.
There was a dense patch of weeds there.
He parted them with his wand and stepped to the spot Pro indicated.
"Oh, little fellow, watch your step a bit.
You trod on me and it hurts..."
An aged voice, saturated with years, reached Duncan's ears.
Duncan looked up at once and found it was the Giant Squid of the Black Lake.
Most of its bulk lay submerged, with only a few supple tentacles draped on the shore—one of which happened to be under Duncan's foot.
Duncan quickly moved his foot away and said apologetically, "Sorry, the weeds are too thick here, so I didn't see."
"Mmm, understandable.
Be careful next time..."
Halfway through its sentence, the Giant Squid suddenly realised something.
It surged out of the lake, the icy water churned into a loud, splashing roar, spraying in all directions.
Many splashes struck Duncan, soaking Pro to the bone.
Shivering from the cold, he hurriedly took two steps back.
"Could you move a little more gently?
This lake water is terribly cold..."
"I'm very sorry.
That was my fault," the Giant Squid said, its tentacles undulating as it slowly swam to the bank to regard Duncan.
"I was just too surprised that you can understand me—and even speak with me."
"At your age, you must have met quite a few people who could converse with you, right?"
Duncan wore the sort of expression that said: the elderly ought to have the dignity of the elderly.
"Quite a few can understand me, but as for conversing, besides you, I've only met one little girl," the Giant Squid replied, its eyes filled with fond remembrance.
"What was her name?" Duncan asked curiously.
"Her name?
Erm... let me think."
After pondering for a long while, the Giant Squid said apologetically, "Sorry, I've forgotten.
Names aren't very important to us.
I only remember she was a very lovely girl."
"She brought me here from her home and placed me in this lake.
When she had free time, she would come to play with me.
It's a pity that after she left, she never returned."
"She probably graduated, then?"
Duncan blinked.
"By the way, do you know Godric Gryffindor?"
"I've heard people mention him," the Giant Squid replied.
"But I'm sorry, I never met him.
When I came here, he'd already been dead a long time.
Why ask about him all of a sudden?"
"Er….. just asking casually," Duncan said.
He couldn't very well say someone suspected the squid was connected to Gryffindor, could he?
The Giant Squid's great head dipped slightly.
"Did you come here for something today?
Tell me.
I've lived here many years—perhaps I can help."
"Mm... have you seen anything unusual on the lake bed?
Something man-made—things that don't originally belong in the lake," Duncan said.
"There are many of those..." said the Giant Squid.
"The bottom is littered with all sorts of things.
I don't know which one you're after.
Can you describe it more specifically?"
"More specifically?"
Duncan hesitated.
The problem was, he hadn't seen it either.
"Something very valuable to humans—you understand the human concept of 'valuable,' do you?" Duncan ventured.
"I understand, roughly.
Wait here and I'll fetch it for you."
Tilting its head as if thinking, the Giant Squid undulated away and slipped beneath the water.
"Thank you!"
Duncan waved happily.
"Is it going to fetch our treasure?"
Pro stood on Duncan's shoulder, craning to look.
Duncan nodded.
"Yes.
I just don't know if what it brings up is what we want."
After a short while, ripples spread over the surface.
The Giant Squid's head emerged and it swam slowly toward Duncan, laying something coiled in a tentacle on the bank before him.
"Is this the thing?" the Giant Squid asked.
Duncan looked down.
It was about a dozen centimetres tall, caked in thick silt, barely recognisable as a human-shaped figurine.
He flicked his wand lightly and slowly removed the grime, revealing the statuette's original form.
It was a knight—burly of build, stern of face, clad in armour—though Duncan couldn't identify whom it depicted.
That hardly mattered.
Once the muck was cleaned, Pro's eyes locked onto it and drool leaked from the corner of his mouth.
The statuette was entirely of gold.
Its eyes and parts of the armour were inlaid with gemstones of differing colours and qualities, dazzling with a sumptuous splendour under the sunlight.
"If you like it, take it.
It's no use lying at the bottom of the lake," the Giant Squid said.
"Pro, is this the one?" Duncan asked.
He had not activated his treasure-seeking spell skill.
"Y-yes..."
Pro tucked away his drool and nodded on instinct.
Then, realising, he hurried to deny it.
"N-no, that's not it.
The thing I mentioned is still down there—and the colour it gives off is deeper than this one!"
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