Mist swirled across the lake's surface as waves lapped against the boat hulls, creating clear, pleasant sounds.
Sitting in the gently rocking boat, Astoria curled into a tight ball, terrified to the extreme by the unknown creatures constantly swimming beneath the water.
Leon Shafiq touched her shoulder with concern. "Astoria, are you alright?"
"No!"
Astoria instinctively cried out, but immediately caught herself.
Noticing the mocking glances from other students in the boat, Astoria let out a soft breath and said somewhat dejectedly:
"I mean, I'm fine..."
"Thank you, Leon. I was just startled by that octopus tentacle—it was bigger than the boat..."
"Don't worry, Astoria."
"I'll protect you. Daphne nagged me about it all day—I won't let her down."
Leon Shafiq shrugged with forced casualness.
Truth was, he was frightened too.
Earlier, a young wizard had fallen into the lake, and an octopus tentacle had wrapped around him, pulling him back to the boat.
He'd never seen such a massive octopus...
"Whoa, look!"
"What is that!"
"Good Lord, the lake's on fire!"
Suddenly, exclamations erupted everywhere.
The boats on the lake began rocking as young wizards gripped the sides, leaning out excitedly to peer into the distance.
Faced with the suddenly violent swaying, Astoria gripped the seat tightly, her face pale with fear.
"No, no, please!"
"Stop rocking!"
Leon Shafiq stared blankly into the distance, his lips moving unconsciously:
"Merlin's coffin lid..."
"What am I seeing..."
"Wait!"
His dazed eyes suddenly widened as Leon Shafiq grabbed the clothing beside him, his voice urgent:
"Astoria, look!"
"It's Daphne! I can see Daphne!"
Hearing her sister's name suddenly, Astoria's panicked emotions instantly calmed.
She carefully turned around, following Leon Shafiq's pointing finger...
Night fell deep, moonlight silver.
The surface of the dark, mysterious Black Lake suddenly rippled with waves, reflecting strange and alluring light.
As the ripples grew more violent, deep, powerful hoofbeats echoed from the distance, completely shattering the lake's silence.
Astoria's eyes widened in shock.
A nightmare—pitch black and wreathed in blazing flames—suddenly appeared on the lake's surface.
Its massive, powerful body seemed to contain endless strength and fury, constantly spewing fire.
This nightmare was pulling a flame-wreathed carriage, racing across the lake at breakneck speed.
On the carriage's surface, complex and sinister patterns emerged under the flames' scorching heat, each stroke radiating an ominous aura.
The wheels' flames swept and surged, churning up waves across the lake without weakening in the slightest.
Wherever the carriage passed, it left deep, eerie trails of fire, like a hellish vessel threading through the void, sending chills down one's spine.
On the distant cliff face, wheel-tracks of fire still remained vertical against the rock, extending straight down to the lake...
"Don't tell me..."
"It came straight down like that."
Leon Shafiq had obviously noticed this too, his exaggeratedly wide eyes filled with disbelief.
"It's coming! It's coming!"
"Help! Someone save me!"
Young wizards on other boats couldn't help screaming, especially those from the Muggle world.
"Quiet! Quiet!"
"It won't hurt you!"
Hagrid constantly reassured the young wizards.
Though the nightmare didn't approach them, its powerful, evil aura spread freely, making everyone feel an indescribable fear and oppression.
This wasn't merely a visual feast, but a shocking baptism from the magical world.
"Sister! Sister!"
"I'm here!!!"
Seeing her sister Daphne leaning out the carriage window, Astoria finally couldn't help crying out.
"Astoria, I see you!"
"Don't be afraid! We'll be there soon..."
Before she could finish, the nightmare had already raced past the young wizards' boats with its carriage, leaving only flames burning on the lake's surface, swaying with the waves.
Fierce wind howled, gone in an instant.
The creatures that had been frequently passing beneath the lake had somehow disappeared into its depths, leaving everything deathly quiet.
Leon Shafiq watched the nightmare's departure with fascinated eyes, until that blazing trail of fire appeared vertically on the cliff face below the castle, racing upward.
"It's so beautiful..."
Inside Hogwarts Castle, the bright moon hung high, silver light streaming like silk across the rooftops, mingling with countless stars.
Students from all houses had long since settled at the Great Hall's long tables, awaiting the new students' arrival, everyone's faces glowing with the joy of reunion after long separation.
Only Draco looked pale.
Yes, he was carsick.
Theodore looked disgusted—this guy had been vomiting all the way since stepping down from the nightmare carriage.
"Where's Snape?"
The empty seat at the staff table caught Tiger's attention. He glanced sideways at Gemma Farley.
Though Snape had never formally acknowledged it, all Slytherin students knew Gemma Farley was the Head of House's apprentice.
"He didn't go to welcome the first-years, did he?"
Hearing Tiger's ice-cold joke, Pansy and the others couldn't help laughing, while Theodore's mouth twitched slightly.
Though he was their Head of House, the little snakes had to admit that if Professor Snape welcomed new students, the dropout rate would reach unprecedented heights.
"..."
Gemma Farley said nothing.
Her cool gaze rippled slightly, staring at Tiger without moving, as if hiding some strange hint of pink.
"Ahem, I'll answer that question. Farley has some throat problems—she can't speak recently."
Riley Shafiq looked at Tiger expressionlessly, but only those close to her knew what guilt hid beneath that rigid facade.
"What's wrong?"
"Have you taken any potions?"
Tiger asked instinctively, as if beyond his control. Only after the words fell did he react.
Damn love potion!
Tiger cursed silently.
Then he glared viciously at the culprit, though somehow his fierce, menacing brows softened slightly.
Gemma Farley's lips pressed together slightly, the pink in her eyes growing more obvious, her breathing becoming somewhat rapid.
Riley Shafiq gripped her friend's soft, burning wrist tightly under the table, as if reminding her of something.
Then she said calmly:
"Gryffindor's idiotic savior didn't take the train, but chose to drive a car back to school."
"Perhaps to show off—quite a few Muggles witnessed a flying car."
"The Ministry of Magic is in chaos. Professor Snape left this afternoon to find them..."
"So that's what happened."
Tiger nodded with sudden understanding.
After all, he'd seen Harry and Ron that afternoon, right outside the train window.
Honestly, he wanted to try flying a car through the sky too.
Just then, the Great Hall doors slowly opened.
Professor McGonagall, her face iron-gray, led the trembling first-years inside.
As usual, she stopped before the Sorting Hat, explaining the ceremony's rules, her flat tone carrying a hint of gritted teeth.
Seeing her sister Astoria searching for her, Daphne smiled brightly and waved happily...
As the Sorting Hat began its annual song, Tiger suddenly grinned and complained:
"I think Professor McGonagall's expression is worse than Snape's right now. Someone might drop out tomorrow."
With a "pfft," suppressed laughter once again spread across the Slytherin table.
Professor McGonagall glanced coolly at Tiger, and his smile instantly froze.
Oh no...
This elderly cat lady was notoriously petty.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
Read up to (100+ ) advanced chapters on Patre\on
Visit us here: patreon.com/DarkGolds
Happy reading, everyone!