A Certain Magical Hogwarts

After bidding Hagrid farewell, the group finally arrived at the edge of the Black Lake.

The lake was covered in a thick sheet of ice, solid enough to walk on without concern. They quickly made their way to the center, where a hole had been cut in the ice a few days earlier.

Pine branches were arranged over the hole in the ice to prevent it from freezing over during the night. Approaching the hole, they noticed that the bait they had left to attract the mermaids was completely gone.

Mermaids were particularly fond of dittany seaweed, which, when steeped in potions, emitted an aroma they found irresistible—much like catnip for cats.

The group had been running their mermaid-baiting operation for a week. 

Each morning, they left dittany seaweed laced with potion at the hole and promptly retreated, giving the mermaids a false sense of security.

The first day, the bait remained untouched, but every day since, it had vanished without a trace.

While mermaids were intelligent, they didn't possess human-level cunning. Furthermore, no one had ever tried to capture a mermaid at Hogwarts, so the creatures' sense of caution was relatively low.

The group had no intention of harming the mermaids. Cedric only wanted a few strands of their hair for wand-making. As for William and the others? They were simply bored after tiring of pranking Quirrell, and this seemed like a fun risk.

…

Cedric pulled out a handful of dittany seaweed and piled it near the hole in the ice while William carefully applied the potion.

Within minutes, there was movement beneath the water. Green hair surfaced, and a mermaid emerged, gulping down the bait in a single bite.

"Stupefy!" Fred's spell hit the mermaid squarely on the head. It rolled over, belly-up, and floated to the surface.

The group scrambled to pull the mermaid onto the ice.

It was hideous.

Standing less than four feet tall, the creature's iron-gray skin glistened in the sunlight, while its long, tangled green hair fell in greasy strands. 

Its yellow eyes glared lifelessly, and its jagged yellow teeth were framed by cracked lips. Around its neck hung a string of pebbles tied together with coarse rope.

This grotesque figure was nothing like the beautiful mermaids William had imagined.

"Look at this hair!" Cedric exclaimed, turning into a chatterbox as he started talking to the unconscious mermaid. "When's the last time you got a trim?"

With a wicked grin, he pulled out a small knife he had prepared in advance. "Let me tidy it up for you."

As the saying goes: no barber knows the meaning of "just a trim." Cedric went full Tony-the-hairdresser and promptly sheared off all the mermaid's hair.

With their prize secured, the group had no intention of bringing the ugly creature back to the castle for a Christmas surprise. Cedric prepared to toss it back into the lake.

But before he could, a loud thud-thud-thud came from beneath the ice.

Suddenly, the thick sheet of ice was shattered in several places as large holes opened up, each revealing groups of mermaids emerging from the water.

William and his friends, now standing on what had become an isolated patch of ice, were surrounded.

Cedric's eyes darted around as he assessed their situation. Realizing the odds were against them, he muttered nervously, "Think we can explain this?"

William glanced at him skeptically. Cedric stood there holding a clump of green hair in one hand and the unconscious mermaid in the other. Explain? Fat chance.

George shrugged. "Looks like we're feeding the fishes for Christmas."

The mermaids grinned wickedly, their hands gripping tridents of unknown material. 

Their powerful silver tails slapped the water menacingly, sending waves rippling across the lake.

"Young wizards, that's our princess you're holding! Are you planning to intermarry with my clan?" said an elderly merman, his voice booming. 

He carried a massive silver trident that gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight.

The leader's arrival signaled the gathering of even more mermaids, who quickly encircled the group. They cut through the ice, leaving William and his friends stranded on a small island of frozen water.

Mermaids of all shapes and sizes swam to the surface, pointing at the group and whispering among themselves.

 Some had speared Grindylow corpses on their tridents, while others carried the writhing limbs of octopi.

Many of them leveled their tridents at William and his friends. For a fleeting moment, William thought of Run Tu from a classic novel—and of the four of them as the hapless watermelons.

[tl/n: it's a reference from a Chinese short story, Hometown(故乡). In the story, a young boy named Run Tu recounts his experience of protecting melons in the fields. He describes how he once used a pitchfork to kill a mythical or folkloric animal, which was trying to eat the melons.]

"This isn't looking good," William muttered.

If the mermaids had looked like the sirens from Pirates of the Caribbean—beautiful and capable of transforming into leggy humans—William might not have minded taking one back with him. 

Marriage wasn't the worst fate, and plenty of marriages fell apart after all.

But considering the horrifying visage of Cedric's "princess," William firmly decided against it. He'd rather take his chances with feeding the fish.

Hidden beneath his robes, William moved his wand and began whispering incantations.

"Cedric, maybe you should take one for the team," George winked.

"Yeah, you were the one who cut her hair. Sacrifice yourself—it's not that big of a deal," Fred added.

"Shut up! Why don't you do it?" Cedric snapped, his face pale.

Sidling closer to William, Cedric pleaded, "Got a plan, mate? Hurry up!"

"I've got a few," William replied with a sly grin. "But honestly, marrying the mermaid sounds like your best bet. That way, you'd rule over all the Black Lake creatures. Think of the wand-making materials you'd have."

Cedric looked utterly crestfallen.

…

Meanwhile, back in the castle, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were leaving Potions class when they bumped into Hagrid, who was dragging a fir tree toward the Great Hall.

Ron offered to help, only for Draco Malfoy to overhear as he passed by.

In his trademark drawl, Malfoy sneered, "Trying to earn a few coins for your pocket, Weasley? I suppose you'll end up working as a gamekeeper after Hogwarts—though Hagrid's hut must look like a palace compared to that shack you call home."

Ron lunged at Malfoy, grabbing his robes. Before he could land a punch, Professor Snape appeared at the top of the staircase.

"Weasley!"

Ron let go of Malfoy's robes reluctantly.

"It wasn't his fault, Professor Snape," Hagrid rumbled from behind his tree. "Malfoy insulted his family."

"Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules," Snape said smoothly, his lips curling into a smirk. "Ten points from Gryffin—"

Before he could finish, a loud crack echoed through the corridor. A rogue broomstick shot toward the group like a missile.

Snape, moving with an agility honed by years of yoga practice, bent backward in a seamless dodge, narrowly avoiding the broomstick's handle.

Malfoy wasn't so lucky. The broom grazed his meticulously combed blonde hair, leaving it a chaotic mess, before slamming him into Hagrid's fir tree. A massive lump instantly formed on his forehead.

"Who did this?!" Snape roared, storming toward the source of the commotion. "Is it those Stark brats again?"

Crabbe and Goyle scrambled to carry Malfoy off to the hospital wing.

"Is it a sign from Merlin?" Ron whispered excitedly. "I just wished for Malfoy to get what he deserves!"

"No," Hermione said worriedly. "It's William's broom—I'd recognize it anywhere! Something must have happened to him!"

Without hesitation, she sprinted in the broom's direction, with Harry and Ron close behind.

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