Chapter 28: The Monster in the Black Lake

“So you're saying we are following in the footsteps of those great sages?”

“Wow, oh my god, that is so cool!”

The excited young wizards chattered incessantly, breaking the fear brought by the darkness.

Hermione lifted her head proudly and gave Chu Yang a wink, low-key showing off.

To get her to settle down, Chu Yang prepared to praise her a little, but unexpectedly, an ill-timed voice suddenly rang out.

“Look! That little Mudblood from a Muggle family is trying to educate us on the history of Hogwarts?!”

“What an absolute joke!”

A small boat drifted in from the side, carrying three boys. The two boys on either side were tall and much sturdier than Neville.

Sitting between them was a blond boy who was quite handsome, but his eyes were sinister, looking like someone who came with ill intent.

The blond boy said in a low voice, “Mudbloods like you, born from lowly Muggle families, are not worthy of speaking of those four great wizards, especially the great Salazar Slytherin.”

“None of your business!” Hermione trembled with rage. Since entering the wizarding world, the thing she hated most was people saying her parents were Muggles.

“How can you use such vicious words?”

The dull and timid Neville acted out of character, angrily accusing the blond boy.

“What does 'Mudblood' mean?” Hermione froze for a moment, instinctively sensing it was a bad word.

Neville hesitated, then whispered a few words in Hermione's ear. Her expression changed instantly, and her eyes turned red.

Chu Yang narrowed his eyes, staring coldly at the blond boy. Among the first-years, there was clearly only one person capable of saying such vicious things: Draco Malfoy!

Ordinary young wizards might not know the details of the Hogwarts first-year roster, but Draco Malfoy was different.

His family was a very prestigious family in Hogwarts history, and his father, Lucius Malfoy, was one of the governors of Hogwarts. Obtaining the first-year list in advance and finding ways to associate with and win over prestigious wizarding families on that list was a standard tactic of the Malfoy family.

When Lucius Malfoy saw that there were actually two first-years from Muggle families on the list, he had thrown a massive tantrum in front of Draco.

Every member of the Malfoy family had graduated from Slytherin House at Hogwarts, and they held the blood purity theories of the house founder, Salazar Slytherin, in the highest regard.

They all believed that only pure-blood wizards were qualified to study and use magic.

To this, Chu Yang found it hilarious.

According to their logic, the very first wizard to discover and use magic would have been unqualified to use it.

Because his parents were Muggles...

Without the first batch of Muggle-born wizards pioneering the path of magic and exchanging knowledge, where would the wizarding families have come from?

This was entirely different from the "which came first, the chicken or the egg" problem.

Muggle-born wizards must have come before the pure-blood families.

Malfoy, having been harshly retorted by Hermione, could not suppress his fury and began hurling a continuous stream of vicious insults.

“Is this the etiquette of a pure-blood wizard? Resorting to vile verbal abuse the moment things don't go your way?” Chu Yang sneered. “I've only seen such behavior from thugs on the streets of London. Your upbringing is truly concerning.”

Draco Malfoy's face instantly flushed red. He stood up agitatedly and roared, “I only show etiquette to wizards! You lowly—”

Before Malfoy could finish, the boat jolted violently. He nearly fell overboard, but fortunately, Goyle beside him was quick enough to grab him.

At that moment, tangled roots were continuously breaking through the surface from the bottom of the lake.

Under the moonlight, the branches emerging from the lake were slowly wrapping around Malfoy's boat, causing its speed to slow down until it eventually came to a halt on the lake surface, shaking violently.

“Damn it! What is going on? Didn't they say this lake was completely safe?!” Malfoy gripped the edge of the boat, screaming hysterically, terrified out of his wits.

The branches wrapped around more and more area; in the blink of an eye, the three on the boat had lost their footing.

Hagrid, at the very front, finally noticed the anomaly behind him. His eyes widened as he shouted, “My heavens, what in the devil is that?!”

The pitch-black surface of the lake was hazy under the moonlight.

To Hagrid, the branches and vines on the boat looked more like the tentacles of some monster, constantly shaking the boat in an attempt to knock Malfoy and his companions off.

“Damn it, what do I do? I didn't bring my wand!” Hagrid panicked. When he left today, he hadn't brought his "broken umbrella" looking wand; after all, it was just a student pickup, so there was no need.

But now that an emergency was unfolding before his eyes, he was completely helpless.

Just as Hagrid was regretting not bringing his wand, Malfoy's trio on the other side finally couldn't hold on any longer and fell into the water like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

*Glug~ glug~ glug~*

Malfoy desperately tried to grab the boat, but his feet were ensnared by the branches in the lake and pulled down violently.

*Gurgle~ gurgle~ gurgle~*

Malfoy was like a piece of tripe in a hotpot, being tossed "up and down" in the water. Every time he tried to call for help, lake water rushed into his mouth.

Compared to Malfoy, his two companions, Goyle and Crabbe, were in much better shape. Although they also fell into the lake, they quickly climbed back onto the boat.

Strangely, once Malfoy fell in, the boat stopped shaking.

Aside from being soaked through, they were not injured.

A thought rose simultaneously in the minds of Goyle and Crabbe—the "monster" in the lake seemed to be targeting Malfoy alone!

Thinking of this, Goyle and Crabbe both instinctively looked toward Chu Yang and Hermione, who had just been in a conflict with Malfoy.

As it happened, they met Chu Yang's cold gaze.

Both of them shuddered and quickly lowered their heads, not daring to look a second time.

Terrified that he would be eaten by the "monster" in the lake, Malfoy immediately burst into loud wails: “Save me! Someone save me! I don't want to be eaten by a monster! I don't care who it is, just save me!”

“Goyle! Crabbe!”

The desperate Malfoy shouted his companions' names.

Goyle instinctively moved toward Malfoy, leaning over the edge of the boat, preparing to pull him up.

Suddenly, the boat shook violently again. Goyle let out a scream and fell into the lake as well!

Beside him, Crabbe was so scared that he immediately moved away from Malfoy, acting as if it had nothing to do with him to escape his fate.

He was now certain that the "monster" was specifically targeting Malfoy.

When Goyle climbed back onto the boat for the second time, having learned his lesson, he also began to imitate Crabbe, pretending not to hear Malfoy's cries for help.

Poor Malfoy was nearly full from drinking so much water...

When Hermione first saw Malfoy fall into the water, she felt incredibly satisfied; it felt as if all her pent-up anger had been released.

However, as time passed, she began to worry that he might be in danger. After all, she was just an eleven-year-old girl, simple and kind-hearted.

Hermione asked anxiously, “Why aren't his companions saving him? They are both so big; either one of them could pull him back onto the boat.”

Chu Yang glanced at her with some surprise. “He was insulting you so terribly just now, and you're still worried about him? Hasn't even been that long, and you're not angry anymore?”

“Of course I'm angry!” Hermione said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “But I don't want to hold a grudge against a dead person. Only if he stays alive can I find an opportunity to get back at him!”

Chu Yang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. The old saying was absolutely right: the prettier the girl, the more vengeful she is; one should never provoke them easily.