Homecoming from Hogwarts

The ice giant's ability to withstand blows seems to be even better than the stone monster it encountered before.

Harry's spell did not cause any damage to the troll's body at all.

This discovery made Harry's heart sink, but what happened next made Harry and Cedric even more heartbroken!
The ice giant that was attacked was stunned at first, and its sight finally shifted.

Roar!
When the ice monster noticed Harry and Cedric in front of the stone gate, it let out a deafening roar, and immediately raised its popsicle and charged towards Harry and Cedric!
The world before my eyes was shaking. The giant monster was still there, but a fierce gust of wind was already blowing towards me.

Harry and Cedric in front of the stone gate were shocked by this scene. They seemed to see a tall mountain crashing towards them!

"Get out, Harry, Cedric!"

On the way of charging, the giant monster roared loudly and was ready to swing the stick. When the stick fell, it would surely be earth-shattering.

Judging from their current state, they had no means to defend against this attack, and even if they tried to dodge, they probably wouldn't be able to avoid it.

Hermione turned pale and screamed in fear.
"We can't fight it head-on, Harry, Cedric, leave the secret realm quickly!"

This was part of the plan, if you can't win, just leave.

Harry and Cedric didn't hesitate, they turned around and took two quick steps, flying towards the vortex of the stone gate.

Boom!
There was a loud noise like the creation of the world, and the popsicle in the giant monster's hand swept through the army and hit the stone door frame heavily.

The raging wind and waves swept the remaining three people away, but the stone door remained motionless. It did not suffer any damage at all under the attack of the giant monster. Instead, the popsicle in its hand was covered with ice chips!

Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The ice monster, having lost its target, was still not satisfied. It swung its popsicle again and again, and it seemed that it would not stop until it had torn down the stone gate!
"Don't attack!"

The three of them stumbled to their feet. Furong raised her hand tremblingly in fear, but Hermione stopped her in time.

"If you attack it, it will turn its attention to us!"

"But what should we do now?"

Victor looked horrified.

"After Harry and Cedric left, it should have gone to find the lighthouse, right? It blocked the door and we can't leave!"

Just as Viktor said, the ice giant was stuck with the door. It seemed to want to pass through the door like Harry and Cedric did. However, its huge head came out from behind the vortex and it was unable to leave the secret realm!

This made the ice giant even more furious, and he once again swung his popsicle at the door to vent his anger.

Staring at the fire-throwing troll, Hermione's expression gradually changed from fear to weirdness.

"Isn't that great?"

Hermione said.

"Are you crazy, Hermione?!"

Victor was surprised.
"It's blocking the door. We can't leave. If it continues like this, we... oh!"

Victor suddenly reacted, glanced at the giant, and then stared blankly at the lighthouse.

"Oh!"

Viktor screamed again, his voice full of surprise.

"Is there such a good thing?!"

Furong also understood, and she stared with an expression of disbelief.

"perhaps."

Hermione said slowly,
“That’s the ‘shortcut’ to this challenge.”

Three minutes later, when Hermione, Fleur and Viktor came out of the secret realm holding a ball of azure light, Harry and Cedric, who were pacing anxiously in front of the stone door, were so shocked that their eyes bulged out of their sockets.

"What's going on? What took you so long? We want to go in, but this stone door suddenly loses its function. Oh!"

Harry looked at the azure light in Hermione's hands and was suddenly speechless.

"That's because the troll blocked the door, I think, Harry."

Hermione said happily with a smile on her face.

"You three killed that giant monster!" Cedric looked incredulous.

"This is impossible!"

"I really can't--"

Hermione smiled and said,

"But that giant monster... well, it kept chasing you and trying desperately to get through the door. But I guess Professor Brian didn't allow the monster to escape from the secret realm, which helped us delay time."

"There is no way Professor Braine would have ignored such a glaring loophole."

Harry thought about it.
"Unless, this was part of his design."

"So, every level has a similar backdoor."

Cedric gritted his teeth, realizing that all the efforts he and Luna had made before were probably in vain.

Just like the starry sky glass plank road before.

They should observe more and think more instead of just acting recklessly.

Professor Blaine has said this many times.

When their strength is not enough to overcome the difficulties they face, they have to use their brains more.

In fact, only a very small number of people have the power to ignore everything, and most people must learn to use wisdom.

When several people threw the ball of azure light into the ice, as expected, part of the ice melted again.

They still had two steps to go before they could find the second key.

"Well, it's our turn now."

After a short rest, Cedric led the rest of the group to the dark lakeside again. A stone pillar carved with lions, eagles, badgers and venomous snakes was topped with an orange ball of light, which was very similar to the one they got after conquering the level.

The small boat by the lake swayed with the waves, waiting for the next pair of brave warriors to board.

"You mean"

Several people started a discussion by the lake, Hermione frowned slightly.

"The orange light will follow the path formed by the cyan light for illumination. On the way, it will encounter whirlpools that cause the boat to capsize, crosswinds that cause the boat to deviate from the waterway, and underwater creatures that will attack. Is that right, Cedric?"

"You remember it well, Hermione."

Cedric nodded sadly.
"Once this happens, the ship will be completely uncontrollable. And, as you know, driving this ship requires constant consumption of magic power."

Everyone stared at the dim water, thinking.

"It seems that there is no loophole?"

Harry glanced at Hermione and asked hesitantly.

"I don't know, Harry—"

Hermione hesitated.

"I think the challenges we've experienced are telling us one thing, that is, don't just do it blindly, think about other solutions."

"But--"

Hibiscus surrounds it.

"Based on the current situation, we can't seem to find any helpers who can provide assistance, unless the monsters in the water fight each other. Also, I don't think it's likely that they will rush ashore and get stuck in the portal like the giant monster did?"

"No matter what, we have to try it."

Harry shrugged.

"It's a tough job, and I don't think you need to go through with it, Hermione."

Harry volunteered to jump onto the boat and looked back at the crowd on shore.

"Let me do it--"

Cedric raised his hand bravely.
"At least I know the situation and can suffer less."

Under the expectant gaze of the three people on the shore, Harry and Cedric set off.

It didn't take long. Within thirty seconds after the two boys disappeared into the darkness in the distance, screams were heard from the lake.

Then, the orange ball of light floated over first, and soon after, the two people, who were soaked all over, returned to the shore sitting on the boat.

Harry and Cedric didn't give anyone else a chance to ask questions, they jumped off the teleporter and rushed out of the secret realm without looking back.

Two minutes later, the two people, having dried their clothes, reappeared from the portal.

"I agree with you, I agree--"

Harry let out a long sigh and said with lingering fear,
"There must be some trick to this level!"

"But what is it?"

Victor frowned.

"There's nothing here but this interesting ship. Oh, if we increase the magic power infusion, it can..."

"Useless--"

Cedric shook his head.

"Then there is only."

Victor's eyes moved and fixed on a blue light ball that was more than ten feet above the water.

"These light balls, besides being used to guide the way, is it possible that they have other uses?"

Well.
Hermione raised her eyebrows and pulled out her wand.
"Let's give it a try."

Having said that, she took action with great vigor and determination.

A beam of cursed light left the tip of Hermione's wand and accurately hit the first cyan light ball thirty feet away.

The blue light ball that was hit went out immediately.

After two disappointing seconds, Harry was about to sigh, but at this moment, something strange happened!
call!
A strong wind blew and Hermione, who was standing next to Harry, let out a scream. He turned around quickly and saw that something seemed to have grabbed Hermione's clothes and dragged her towards the lake.

Harry only had time to touch the corner of Hermione's clothes before Hermione was dragged by the extremely powerful force to the position where the first green lamp was floating in the air!
"Harry!"

This scene was unexpected for everyone, including Hermione who had attempted the action. Then, when she realized that she was being pulled above the lake, she immediately came to her senses.

"understand!"

While the others were still in a daze, Harry, who heard the call, took action in time. He turned and rushed towards the stone pillar, releasing the orange light ball on the stone pillar.

call out!
Hermione waved her wand again while falling, extinguishing the second green lamp. Just like before, her body was dragged over again!
"Oh, it seems we have found the right way."

Looking at the dumbfounded Cedric, Harry said happily.

Just three minutes later, a vibration in the stone gate diverted their view and Hermione walked out of the portal.

She spread out her palm, and the key that flowed out stunned everyone who was about to ask what was going on.

"Oh, the end of the path is a small reef island, on top of which is another stone door. The orange light floated into the stone door by itself. It leads to the outside world and melts the ice."

Hermione said happily.

(End of this chapter)