Chapter 397 Preparation before the game

Although Harry, Malfoy and Cedric agreed that there should be measures to prevent the champions from drowning in the second game, just as Professor Swann served as a safety guard in the first game.

But they all knew that it was a foolish choice to completely entrust their lives to the safety officer. After all, once the safety officer needed to take action, it would mean elimination from the game.

With the experience of the first round, Harry and the other two all deeply realized the importance of adequate preparation. At this moment, they soaked in the warm pool and started brainstorming again.

"Before Harry can make the underwater breathing potion, we'd better practice the Bubblehead Charm first." Cedric spoke first and offered his suggestion.

"Although the Bubble Head Curse cannot last for three hours, it is still a good alternative plan." He paused and continued.

"More importantly, using magic spells underwater is a big problem. I found that once I entered the water, I couldn't make sounds smoothly. Another advantage of the Bubble Head Charm is that it allows us to cast spells freely underwater."

"Of course, this is just our last resort. We'd better practice silent casting of some common spells."

This is solid advice!

Harry nodded and began to think of spells that he could perform silently.

Disarming spell, stunning spell, petrifying spell... among them, the disarming spell is the most proficient.

The attack spell was enough for now, but he couldn't cast the Armor Spell silently, so the focus of his next practice would be on this.

"The spell is indeed a big problem. It will not be smooth sailing underwater. We might even have to fight with mermaids." Harry guessed.

"In addition to mermaids, there should be Grindylows. I remember Professor Lupin said that mermaids would raise these magical creatures as their underwater hounds."

"Besides, the Black Lake is so big, it wouldn't be surprising if we encountered a water horse monster."

"I think keeping warm is also a big problem," Malfoy said with his eyes closed. "The next match is on February 24th. The weather will definitely not be warm. The water in the Black Lake is absolutely freezing cold."

"As for the temperature, you can use the warming charm invented by Fred and George." Harry thought for a moment, "If that doesn't work, practice the warming spell."

"Let me add one more thing," Cedric said, "Underwater sports are a completely different concept. We will be underwater for nearly three hours, which will definitely consume a lot of physical energy. We need to think of ways to save energy and move quickly underwater."

During the brainstorming session of the three people, questions were raised one after another. Some problems could be solved by discussing them on the spot, while some problems needed to be thought about again after returning.

"By the way," Malfoy suddenly sat up, "we won't get lost in the Black Lake, will we?"

"The Black Lake is so big, and we don't know what's going on under the Black Lake, let alone where the mermaid tribe is."

get lost?!

This problem is really serious.

The situation under the water is so complicated that it would be a real pain if we failed because we got lost.

Harry and the other two discussed for a long time but still couldn't come to a conclusion.

Just when they were having a headache, a chuckle sounded beside them: "The Mermaid Tribe is very deep in the Black Lake. It is indeed not easy to find."

What a ghost!

The sudden female voice startled everyone. Malfoy screamed and Harry was so scared that he lost his balance and fell into the water, gulping down two mouthfuls of water.

When he came out of the water, he found Moaning Myrtle sitting on a faucet, watching the three people with interest.

Cedric and Malfoy were desperately gathering bubbles together. Seeing this, Harry joined the group gathering bubbles without hesitation.

When did Myrtle come?!

The three of them were so relaxed just now that they didn't even notice her presence.

"Don't worry," Myrtle blinked, "the foam is so thick I can't see a thing."

"Besides, I'm just a ghost. I can't do anything to you."

Cedric was the first to calm down: "Myrtle, are you familiar with the Black Lake?"

"Of course, I often go to the Black Lake to play, but the mermaids don't seem to like me very much and always drive me away."

"Well," Cedric's eyes lit up, "then can you draw a map of the Black Lake for us? No! I mean, can you take us to familiarize ourselves with the environment inside the Black Lake?"

"Since you're a handsome guy, I can agree to your request."

Myrtle chuckled and dove into the pool, "Come see me anytime, you know where I usually am."

Seeing this, Harry and the other two escaped from the bathtub and hurriedly wrapped towels around their waists.

However, Myrtle had completely left and did not continue to tease them.

Harry and the other two lost the desire to continue taking a bath. They simply rinsed themselves and went back to their dormitories to sleep.

Malfoy was very efficient and brought a lot of cheekweed to Harry the next day.

In order to live up to the expectations of his teammates, Harry plunged into the library and began to study the underwater breathing potion.

However, just one day into his research, Snape found him and handed him a potion formula without any explanation.

"This is the amphibious potion formula I invented. With it, you can deal with more complicated situations."

The most critical problem was solved. Harry and the other two came to the Black Lake, found a secluded corner, opened the ice, and prepared for their first expedition to the Black Lake.

Led by Myrtle, they swam deeper and deeper into the Black Lake.

This was a new and strange world, and Harry found that his previous imagination of the Black Lake was too conservative.

In the shallow depths of the Black Lake, the gray surface of the water was still vaguely visible, but as they gradually descended, the light began to grow dimmer.

Under my feet were large undulating patches of black water plants, soft and entwined, occasionally swaying gently with the current. Gleaming pebbles were dotted on the wide, flat sand, as if silently guiding the direction.

In the distance, a huge shadow loomed over the depths of the water, and the darkness was so thick and oppressive, as if some unspeakable beast had opened its mouth.

The faint light of the fluorescent spell could only barely illuminate the area within a few feet around it, and a little further away were blocks of black shadows of varying shades.

Occasionally a school of fish would pass by, their silver scales gleaming in the light, then quickly disappear into the endless darkness.

Myrtle chattered away a lot of the tension among the three people.

Time passed slowly, the surrounding waters became darker and darker, the sense of oppression gradually increased, and they gradually approached the mermaid tribe.

However, the mermaids discovered them in advance and drove them out with a large number of Grindylows.