Hogwarts: I Am an Exemplary Wizard-Chapter 546 - 544: Kelpie Rider

"We’ve lost over a dozen warriors since we discovered it,"

The Merpeople Leader said gravely, "If you can help us get rid of this monster, you’ll become a friend of our tribe."

"No problem, leave it to me." Kael said, and swam towards the Kelpie.

Under the continuous attack from the Merpeople, the Kelpie was indeed driven to madness, desperately shaking its body and trying to transform into other forms to break free from the Rope.

The Kelpie is like a Metamorphmagus from Fantastic Beasts, able to transform into various forms.

But the Merpeople seemed to have learned from this, always ready to tie another Rope the instant it transformed.

Kael initially thought to calm the Kelpie down a bit, but it was not listening to anything at all. The moment it saw Kael, it immediately opened its mouth to bite.

Kael wasn’t surprised by this situation, and he had several ways to resolve it.

But all of them required time, and with the one-hour deadline drawing near, he didn’t want to waste too much time here.

So, Kael chose the simplest and most direct method.

He extended his Wand, from where a golden-red little fish made of flames emerged.

Instantaneously, the originally icy lake water began to warm up rapidly, causing the Merpeople to scream and flee farther away.

Kael then waved his Wand again, causing the fiery little fish to disappear.

The Fiendfyre Curse, which Kael had mastered quite well by now, was restrained to its smallest form so as not to affect himself as he was also in the Black Lake.

Nonetheless, the effect was quite evident.

Initially, the ice-cold lake water turned much warmer, like bathing in a hot spring.

Additionally, the Kelpie quieted down, standing motionless, looking at Kael with clear, bright eyes.

"Much better like this," Kael swam over beside the Kelpie and whispered, "Don’t be agitated, I’m here to rescue you... Come with me, the Merpeople won’t attack you anymore."

He untied the Rope wrapped around the Kelpie, turning and climbing onto its back.

Throughout this, the Kelpie remained quiet.

Kael naturally grasped the broad-leaved cattail on its body, pointing towards a position ahead.

"Head this way, better hurry a bit, I’m in a rush."

As soon as it felt the Rope that bound it disappear, the Kelpie glanced back at the approaching Merpeople, neighed and dashed forward.

Compared to swimming by himself, the Kelpie’s speed was several times faster... Kael felt as if he were riding a Broomstick underwater, with the bubbles around him distorted by the water flow.

Neither Grindylows nor any other creature could keep up, all were left far behind, and Kael’s only job was to hold tight to the Kelpie to avoid falling off.

In less than five minutes, Kael faintly heard a melody.

"The hour is nearly gone...

How long will you delay...

To reclaim the treasure we took away."

Kael patted the Kelpie and swam towards the direction from which the sound was coming.

Before long, he arrived at the center of the Black Lake, next to a rock pillar painted with patterns of the Merpeople.

This seemed to be the Merpeople’s village, as around the pillar were several stone huts resembling houses.

Some huts had gardens, while others had small Grindylows tied in front.

Upon seeing Kael, the Merpeople flocked from all directions, using their thick and strong silver tails to whip the lake water, seemingly in an attempt to intimidate Kael.

Then... they saw the Kelpie beneath Kael.

The originally melodious singing turned into a piercing scream, and the nearby Merpeople scattered, shrieking and scrambling for their weapons.

"Why is this monster back again..."

"Run, the Leader was eaten by it..."

"Grab the weapons, get the weapons..."

The surroundings descended into chaos, clearly, Merpeople naturally feared the Kelpie as they were both aquatic creatures.

Which turned out to be convenient for Kael, who didn’t bother to explain and headed straight to a stone sculpture of a mermaid.

On the tail of the mermaid statue, three individuals were securely tied.

The one on the far left was unfamiliar, but from the clothes he wore, he was likely from Durmstrang.

Recently, Karkaroff had been absent from the castle, including Krum and some others, who rarely appeared, leaving Kael with little impression of him.

In the middle was an eight-year-old girl, Gabrielle, Fleur’s sister.

On the far right was Conna, who had been called away by Professor McGonagall last night and hadn’t appeared again.

The three seemed to be sleeping deeply, heads slumped powerlessly on their shoulders, continuously blowing bubbles from their mouths.

Binding them to the statue were three circular locks, each intertwined, all must be unlocked to free them from the sculpture.

Kael had no keys, but with his Wand it was enough.

As he extended his Wand-holding hand, the Kelpie beneath him shook uneasily... It seemed to recognize the Wand and wanted to escape.

Kael quickly reassured, "Don’t worry... It’s okay..."

The Kelpie, though still a bit uneasy, calmed down considerably.

Kael raised his hand once again.

"Sectumsempra."

Like an invisible wind slicing through the lake water, it swept across the three circular locks, cutting them cleanly in half.

Kael lifted Conna onto the Kelpie’s back and saved Gabrielle using the same method.

Well, that’s it...

Kael glanced back, seeing a large group of Merpeople armed with Long Spears rushing forward, and then patted the Kelpie’s neck.

...

The stands by the Black Lake’s shore were filled with people murmuring softly.

An hour ago, they were cheerful, expecting to watch an exciting competition, only to spend an hour being chilled by the lake breeze, witnessing nothing.

"Whose idea was this second task anyway..." Fred grumbled softly, pulling at the thread on a flag, "Between the Forbidden Forest and the lakebed, we can’t see a thing here."

"Can’t Headmaster Dumbledore just dismantle the Auditorium’s ceiling and move it here?"

George couldn’t help but say, "That ceiling was enchanted to display the outside weather, surely it can show the situation in the Black Lake too, right."

"Isn’t that true, the Headmaster is indeed stingy." Fred sighed, "I really want to know how Kael’s doing now."

"Should be soon," Cedric checked the time, "It’s only a few minutes until an hour is up. I believe in Kael, he will definitely finish the task within an hour."

"I believe too, but still nothing..."

Halfway through George’s words, he suddenly fell silent, rubbing his eyes in disbelief while staring in the direction of the lake.

Merlin, it seemed like he saw a horse rushing out from the Black Lake, but this was the Black Lake, not the grounds outside the Forbidden Forest...

Even more bizarre, Kael was riding on the horse’s back, appearing like a majestic knight, leaping onto the lake surface.

This... George felt slightly overwhelmed, but reflexively joined those around him in clapping.

"That’s the Kelpie!" Cedric shouted excitedly beside him, "Their speed underwater is just like flying on a Broomstick, I never thought there was such a Fantastic Beast in the Black Lake."

The stands erupted with voices, people stood up shouting and cheering, and even the judges were clapping, whether sincerely or not, at least they were applauding.

Meanwhile, as soon as Kael left the water, the unconscious Conna awoke, blinking in the bright sunlight.

"I knew you could do it," she said, looking at Kael.

"I admit your insight is not bad," Kael replied with a smile, "Moreover, we are the first ones out."

Conna laughed, but quickly caught on to something and asked anxiously, "Where’s Fleur? Was Gabrielle rescued, she’s so young, the professors really shouldn’t have arranged for her to be in the lake."

"I don’t know where Fleur is, but Gabrielle is fine now..." Kael turned to let Conna see Gabrielle who was lying on the Kelpie’s back.

The girl had also woken up, spat out a mouthful of lake water, and looked around in a daze, clearly not understanding what had happened yet.

Conna then noticed something amiss, it seemed like she was sitting atop a large bunch of moving water plants.

"What is this?"

"Just the Kelpie I conveniently rescued from the Black Lake," Kael explained, "As a return, it is quite willing to give us a ride."

...