[HP] Seven Nights Talk

Chapter 58 Black Lake Monster

Because Snape didn't focus on giving Gryffindors points for faults in this class, most Gryffindors' shrinking potions are doing better than before.It put them in a good mood for lunch before heading off to Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

"Lockhart will definitely let us read the book for another year! Then he will boast about his abilities from time to time!" Ron said disgustedly, "If he publishes another paper, it will be full of his 'great achievements', I wouldn't be surprised at all! Let him, like Snape, have something to worry about!"

They were on their way to class at this time, and Harry helped Hermione get a few books. "It seems unlikely," he said decisively.Lockhart had nothing to do with the Death Eaters, and that seemed even more unlikely when he naively believed that sloughing was a joke.

Hermione was carrying her big schoolbag, and the expression on her face looked completely incapable of paying attention to anything else. "Stop complaining, Ron," she said weakly. "This course is compulsory."

This sentence reminded Harry.He couldn't help feeling that it might not be a good thing if Lockhart could stay in this position forever.It's a sign that Hogwarts didn't have some deadly incident, but on the other hand it's the underperformance of the students in the class.But even so, it shouldn't be enough for Voldemort to remind him to pay attention, right?

They walked all the way to the door of the classroom, only to realize that the situation had changed.A note had been taped to the classroom door informing them that Defense Against the Dark Arts had changed locations. "Practice class, the new location is by the lake." Dean read it aloud, as surprised as everyone else.Then a group of people went downstairs again and walked towards the outside of the castle.

"Oh, I wish he'd said that sooner," Hermione grumbled.Practical lessons undoubtedly represented the uselessness of books, and Lockhart's textbooks were plentiful.

"I'd like to know when Lockhart has the courage again." When they walked out of the castle gate, Ron immediately looked around the edge of the black lake, and soon saw the conspicuous target. "Let him leave the classroom and even plan to do it on the lake?"

Harry looked over too.Ron was telling the truth, and Lockhart was standing on the lakeshore, waving at them vigorously.Floating on the lake near his feet were several small boats, the kind that first graders ride in when they first arrive.This was starting to get a little weird, Harry thought, realizing that Voldemort wasn't trying to trick him.

The students walked over, stopped in front of Lockhart, and looked into the lake curiously.Lockhart clapped his hands, called everyone's attention, and said happily, "It looks good, doesn't it? I've been preparing this idea for several days, and you are the first batch!"

"Are we going to do it by boat, Professor?" Seamus asked loudly, obviously full of curiosity about this first time, so much so that he forgot Lockhart's always unreliable performance.

"Oh, of course, kid." Lockhart said with a smile, "I put a water monster in the lake, and this lesson we're going to try to catch it." He pointed to his feet again, and Harry found there A few bridles lay. "Try putting this on its head, understand?"

It sounded very easy, and no one doubted it much.However, Harry had already had a serious psychological shadow on him, so he deliberately raised his hand and asked, "Can we have a look at the water monster first, Professor?" If he remembered correctly, the monster was huge and man-eating.It would be fine if it was another professor, but Lockhart felt that the probability of an accident was very high.

"Oh, that's a good idea, but I can't." Lockhart saw Harry's question, and the smile on his face grew wider. "They usually hide at the bottom of the lake, and no one will come up." He directed everyone to divide into groups, "Come on, four together, get a bridle, and get on board! You'll see the guy I caught in Loch Ness soon!"

The others didn't have Harry's scruples, especially after hearing Lockhart's last words.Loch Ness is the most famous water monster haunt in Britain. Muggles are arguing endlessly about the authenticity of this matter, and everyone is very curious.So they were grouped up quickly, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville together.

"Like when we first arrived in first year," said Neville, laughing.There was a little tension on his face, but it was clear that being in the same boat with two of Gryffindor's best students had lessened his fears.

Ron agreed, and he was genuinely curious too. "Can you really see the lake monster?" He asked slightly excitedly, "That would be really cool!"

There are obviously many people who have similar ideas with him.After everyone sat down, the boat automatically drove to the center of the lake.It was a sunny day, and everything looked normal, Harry even noticed the languid tentacles of a squid.But he felt that there was potential danger. Could it be that his nerves were too sensitive?

Lockhart was in a boat by himself.When all the boats formed a circle in the middle of the lake, he was in the middle. "Porcupines take on all sorts of shapes," he said, "the most common being horses, so you need a bridle to keep them in. Like this..." He levitated a bridle with the Levitation Charm, and let the It fell sharply. "See them all? Now we can wait for them to surface."

Ron touched Harry's arm carefully. "Is the bridle worn like this?" He was a little puzzled, he didn't have much experience with seemingly non-magical things.

"I'm afraid I can't." Hermione's spirit finally came back a little, and she tapped the bridle with her wand. "Unless it can entangle itself the moment it hits the water monster, or the horse-shaped water monster put its head vertically on the water at that time." She looked around at other students who didn't respond to this at all, and there was also an ominous feeling. premonition. "I heard that water monsters eat people."

Harry stared at the lake, trying to see what was going on below.While Lockhart's approach to practice was questionable, it was still the right thing to wear a bridle.However, regardless of who caught the water monster, it is not an easy task to bring the water monster to Hogwarts. What is the purpose of Lockhart's efforts to do this?His hand gripped his wand tightly.

"The professor is here, shouldn't it be a problem?" Neville looked at their stern faces and said hesitantly.Although he didn't see Lockhart's true face, he subconsciously felt that Harry and Hermione would be more reliable.

Harry didn't answer.There was a sudden ripple in the water, and they all tensed up, but it calmed down again.Until a while later, a leaf suddenly floated up in the water.

"Cattails," said Neville, who had a flair for botany and recognized it right away. "A plant that grows in shallow water that looks a bit like a horse's mane," he explained, seeing Ron staring at him, "but we don't have this by the lake..." He suddenly realized something, his face pale Bai Bai, "It's coming!"

That's right.Before he finished speaking, the surface of the lake suddenly changed.The originally calm water surface violently turbulent, setting off waves more than ten feet high.Harry and his boat were spun around, pushed atop the waves, then plummeted down again, nearly throwing all four of them out.A small wave broke in, and the four of them were soaked immediately.

"Hold on to the side of the boat!" Hermione yelled over the sound of the waves. "Don't fall! It will catch it to the bottom of the lake and eat it!"

Ron was obviously shocked too.But he really didn't expect that Lockhart would get a real water monster. "I thought it might be a fake!" He gripped the side of the boat tightly, unable to wipe off the water on his face, and could only squint his eyes to look at people. "What about the others?"

Neville noticed it before he did. "It came out of the middle," he said, his voice trembling, almost screaming. "It washed us all away!"

Harry's glasses were covered in water and he couldn't see anything clearly.Luckily he had been holding on to his wand, and at this point he said a quick word to himself about clean and waterproof before seeing the situation.Neville was right, the water monster had washed them all away, and now it was still turning around in the waves. Inside the water wall was a huge black figure, like a mountain rising out of thin air, and it was obviously only part of it.

Ron couldn't hold back a curse word. "This monster is more than a cannibal!" He began to look around frantically, "Where is Lockhart? He has to solve this matter!"

But they are now beaten so far that they basically only see the color of the clothes.And counting on Lockhart, he might as well count on paddling to the shore with his own two hands.Harry clutched the boat with one hand and his wand with the other, trying to get the bridle to work.It's just that he just suspended the bridle, and the water monster turned its head as if it had sensed it.The little bridle seemed to irritate it, and with a growl, it rushed towards Harry.

As a result, the spray was high again, and the boat was pushed aboard.Unable to keep his body steady, Harry held on tightly to the boat and the bridle.And with the advantage of being tall, he saw his surroundings.All the other boats had already sailed towards the shore, but theirs was still on top of the waves.As for Lockhart, in his shiny emerald green robes, he was almost at the shore.

Harry's heart sank.At this moment, it is meaningless to wonder whether Lockhart did it on purpose. The point is that there are three people beside him.Unlike him, who looks 13 years old but is 20 years old inside, his friends are really just children in the third grade.It is a bit difficult in the current state to let them go back safely and deal with the water monster at the same time - the water monster rushed over with a roar and opened its mouth.It has a horse's head and a slender neck, but its body is completely out of proportion like the city wall.But Harry was sure that real horses never had fangs.

Neville screamed at the imminent danger, and Harry made up his mind. "Catch it!" he shouted, and quickly cast a flying spell on the boat, pointing towards the shore.Then, before the boat became the monster's new target, he grabbed the bridle and jumped off, quickly disappearing into the stormy sea.The monster, evidently irritated by his blatant provocation, stopped chasing the boat, but put its head in the water, looking determined to catch him.

"Harry!" Ron, Hermione, and Neville exclaimed immediately.Their voices mingled with the sound of the water, and no one noticed that there was a fourth person inside.