Hogwarts: Don't call me the Staff Maker

Chapter 371 The Unlocked Golden Egg

Chapter 372 The Unlocked Golden Egg

"Oh, this place is so beautiful."

When Harry arrived at Hogsmeade, he looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar place and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

This was the first time he had ever seen Hogsmeade like this. Every house was covered with a thick layer of snow, and from a distance, the whole village looked like a plate of gingerbread sprinkled with icing sugar.

"Ah, it does look pretty good," Xilen nodded.

Unlike Harry, who only comes once every few months, he can come through the secret passage anytime and has long been tired of seeing it.

Because it was so cold, they all wanted to go to Three Brooms for a hot butterbeer.

The pub was as crowded as ever. The three of them sat at the bar and each ordered a butterbeer.

Of course, Harry was holding the cup in his hand, using the Invisibility Cloak to conceal that he couldn't come to Hogsmeade right now. It would be troublesome if the Slytherins saw him. They had met many acquaintances here.

Besides his classmates, there was also Ludo Bagman, the referee of the Triwizard Tournament, but he was currently having a heated discussion with several fairies and didn't seem to be there for leisure.

"What are they talking about?" Ron asked curiously.

"Who knows?" Siren shrugged, unconcerned.

Because he had just seen a beetle the size of a fingernail perched on the back of Ludo Bagman's chair, eavesdropping on their every word.

Because it was too cold, they left the three brooms, bought some candy, and returned to the castle.

"Silen, you're finally back!"

As soon as the group entered the castle gates, Hermione rushed over, carrying a large, thick book.

"I know what the sound from that golden egg is—" she exclaimed excitedly, "It's singing!"

"Oh, you're really something." Ron couldn't help but laugh. "I have to remind you, Hermione, Fred, and George already guessed it was the song of the cursed siren before Christmas. You were at least two weeks behind them."

"What cursed siren?" Hermione looked at him strangely and frowned. "That's the song of a mermaid."

"Mermaids?" Harry paused, taken aback. "You mean those creatures with human bodies and fish tails? I know those, and they're all very handsome and beautiful—"

"Mermaids do have fish tails, but they don't have human bodies, and they're not pretty," Hermione said, flipping through the thick book in her hand and quickly finding the page with the bookmark.

"Look here," she pointed to one of the passages.

Mermaids are very special and magical creatures, usually living in groups in rivers, lakes, and oceans around the world. They also have their own language, called Mermaid Language. Underwater, it sounds like melodious singing, but on the surface, it becomes a sharp, piercing, and unpleasant noise. Only a very small number of people can understand it.

"A sharp, piercing noise—isn't that the sound of opening the golden egg?" Harry exclaimed, suddenly looking up.

"I know it sounds like melodious singing underwater, you should turn it on underwater!"

He spoke loudly, looking even more excited than Siron.

"I'm going to get the golden egg!"

Ron was equally excited, dashing upstairs. "We can open it in the Black Lake! No wonder Krum went swimming in the lake at this time; he must have guessed it!"

"No, we have to get ahead of him!"

To be honest, Ron was really quick; he disappeared around the corner of the stairs in the time it took to speak.

Xilun wanted to say something, but seeing this, he could only lower his hand that he had just raised.

"That's amazing." He looked at Hermione. "I never imagined you could unlock the secret of the golden egg just by reading a book."

"Of course you can read. Oh, wait, judging from your tone just now, you seemed pretty sure I'd unlocked the secret of the golden egg." Hermione stared at Celeste.

"You're sure I'm right without even trying it? Did you already know the answer?"

"How could that be? Haven't you already found evidence?" Siren said, pointing to the thick book in her arms. "And so far, this is the most reasonable answer I've heard."

"Really?" Hermione looked at Xiren suspiciously.

"Of course," Siren said. "I think you have a very good chance of winning one hundred gallons."

"Forget about the hundred Galleons. I just don't want to see you scraping together money from all sides, and I don't have any money to lend you either," Hermione said, handing the book to Harry, who was peering at her with a curious look.

"It's not that exaggerated, is it?" Xilun pursed his lips.

He didn't have much money when he first started school, but that changed quickly. But that changed after the first project ended. His mother, Lila, gave him a considerable allowance, and combined with what he already had, he could come up with 100 gallons without having to borrow or scrape together any money.

After waiting a while longer, Ron finally returned, panting, carrying the large golden egg in his arms.

"It was so hard to get it out, and those people insisted it was the fifth graders' turn to observe today. I should have let you go get it yourself," he said to Xilun. "Alright, let's hurry to Black Lake."

"No need to go that far," Siren said, taking the golden egg from Ron and placing it in a groove at the base of the nearby statue.

Then he took out his wand and waved it gently.

"The water is as clear as a spring!"

A stream of water gushed out, quickly filling the groove and submerging the golden egg.

"Then, let's begin." Xilun placed his hand on the top of the golden egg and twisted it hard.

Hermione and the others instinctively covered their ears.

This time, however, the golden egg that was opened did not make a piercing noise, but instead emitted a melodious song.

However, the singing was coming from underwater, so it was a bit hard to hear.

"Maybe it'll be better to hear it underwater," Harry said.

"But this recess is too small; it can only fit one golden egg." Ron walked over and compared it. "We really still have to go to the Black Lake."

"No need, I have a way." Hermione walked over and took out a leaf, placing it on the water's surface.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked suspiciously. "And when did you pick up those leaves?"

"Just now, before you came back."

Hermione, without turning her head, said, "According to the books, some wizards would place a leaf on the water's surface when they talked to mermaids, so they could hear each other's voices—okay."

Just as Hermione had said, once the leaves were placed, the singing instantly became clear.

Look for us, where our voices resound. We cannot sing on the ground; when you search, please consider carefully:

We took away your most cherished treasure.