[120] A Serpent's Gaze

"Fine, I promise." Hall placed the ring in his pocket. He had no intention of wearing something given to him so casually.

He looked at Krum and said, "But if your information is false, or if you try anything, I promise you'll regret it."

Krum felt the chill in Hall's eyes and involuntarily took a step back. He swallowed hard. "Then it's settled. Ten o'clock tonight. I'll wait for you at the castle gates."

Hall watched Krum leave, a playful smile on his lips. The more Krum tried to hide, the more determined Hall was to find out what he was really up to. As for missing his evening lesson — the Headmaster had lent him the Time-Turner.

At ten o'clock that night, Hogwarts Castle was shrouded in darkness. Hall cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself, then donned a modified disposable Invisibility Cloak — double insurance, double safety. He slipped silently out of the Slytherin common room.

He didn't go to the castle gates as agreed. Instead, he followed Krum.

Krum, unaware he was being followed, crept through the corridors with exaggerated caution. He stopped in a secluded corner.

"Come out. I know you're here," Krum said in a low voice.

Hall stood quietly to the side, observing. A dark figure emerged from behind the wall — Fleur Delacour.

"Are you sure he followed me?" Fleur's voice was tense.

"I'm sure. He agreed to make a deal with me." Krum smiled smugly. "As long as I tell him the details of the first task, he'll tell me his training methods."

Hall raised an eyebrow. This was a different Krum — greedy, scheming. Was he this good at disguising himself, or was this not Krum at all?

"Foolish boy, he'll never fall for that," Fleur said contemptuously. "But this saves us the trouble."

Hidden beneath his Invisibility Cloak, Hall listened to their entire conversation. Krum and Fleur were working together, and they seemed to be plotting against him. How had those two ended up together?

"Let's go," Krum urged.

Fleur nodded, and the two walked into the Forbidden Forest. Hall followed silently, gripping his wand tightly. Their first task was in the Forbidden Forest?

Krum and Fleur stopped before a gigantic ancient tree. Its trunk was so thick it would take a dozen people to encircle it. Its canopy blotted out the sky.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Hall hid behind a bush, holding his breath.

Krum pulled a crystal ball from his robes and held it high. It emitted a dazzling light, illuminating the surrounding forest. Then a chilling scene unfolded: countless vines writhed toward Krum and Fleur. They weren't ordinary plants — they were black shadows, twisting and writhing.

"Watch out!" Fleur swung her wand, and a golden flame shot out, incinerating several approaching shadows. But the flames were swallowed by the light of the crystal ball.

Krum brandished his wand, chanting, and bolts of lightning struck down, shattering more shadows. But the shadows were endless, surging forward relentlessly.

Hall was filled with doubt. What were these shadows? What were Krum and Fleur doing?

Then he sensed a powerful surge of magic from the direction of the ancient tree. A hideous face slowly emerged from the trunk — blood-red eyes fixed on Krum and Fleur. A chill ran through Hall.

Hall was about to reveal himself when the ground gave way beneath him, and he plummeted downward.

Hall felt a sudden darkness engulf him as he plummeted. The wind howled past his ears. Instinctively, he tried to grab something, but grasped nothing. He quickly regained his composure and cast a Levitation Charm.

The spell struck an invisible wall. It had no effect.

Hall frowned. This was no ordinary magical trap. The magic around him swirled like a vortex. He made a snap decision — he stopped resisting and let himself fall.

Above, Krum and Fleur were stunned. They watched helplessly as the ground where Hall had disappeared split open.

"He — he fell!" Krum was pale, trembling.

Fleur was shocked, but she quickly recovered. "Quick, go! Something's wrong here!"

Before she finished speaking, a powerful suction erupted from the hole. The air churned violently. Fallen leaves and twigs were swept up into a vortex. Krum and Fleur were dragged toward the opening.

Krum cried out, his face deathly pale. His foot slipped — he was almost sucked in.

Fleur reacted quickly. She sprang backward and swung a silver rope, coiling it around a nearby tree. She gripped the rope tight with one hand and seized Krum with the other. The two barely managed to steady themselves, but the rope creaked under the strain.

"What kind of place is this!" Krum's face was grim.

A deafening roar echoed from within the hole. A gigantic black claw emerged, radiating a suffocating pressure. It gleamed with an eerie red light, as if flowing with blood. The surrounding temperature seemed to plummet.

"Get out of the way!" Fleur shouted.

She pulled Krum and rolled aside. The black claw grazed them and slammed into the ground, shaking the earth. A jagged crater appeared, emitting a pungent smell of sulphur.

Scrambling to their feet, covered in mud and leaves, they stared at the hole in terror.

"Who disturbed my slumber?" A cold voice echoed from within. It carried a chilling weight.

Krum and Fleur trembled, unable to speak.

"Two little pests? Daring to trespass on my territory?" The voice was filled with disdain.

The black claw moved again, this time targeting Fleur. She tried to dodge but found her body frozen. Despair flickered in her eyes.

At the last second, a golden-red light slammed into the black claw. An angry roar echoed from the hole. The claw withdrew into the darkness.

Krum and Fleur collapsed to the ground and looked up. A red figure descended from the sky — Hall.

"Hall!" they exclaimed.

"Are you alright?" Hall's tone was indifferent.

"We're fine. How — how did you get here?" Krum stammered.

Hall looked up at the hole, his eyes cold. "I want to ask you the same thing. What is this?"

His heart was filled with vigilance. He knew the creature in that hole was not simple. Countless pairs of eyes watched them from the surrounding darkness.

---