"By the way, where did Ron, who got zero points, go? Do you know?"
"And you guys, wait up!".
Chapter 265: Unlocking the Golden Egg
After the competition, after celebrating in the Great Hall.
Returning to the Ravenclaw common room at night, another burst of cheers and noise erupted.
The tables and chairs were piled high with mountains of cakes and colorful candies, as well as jugs of pumpkin juice and butterbeer.
Some students were even setting off Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks, with many stars and sparks flashing in the air.
On the empty walls of the common room, there were also several more scrolls, all of which were images of the spells Ethan used on the field, with the red dragon painted particularly vividly.
The celebration lasted until nearly twelve o'clock before it ended.
Back in the dormitory, Terry couldn't wait to say:
"Ethan, take out your golden egg and take a look. I heard that the clue for the next competition is inside."
For Terry, who loves gossip, this golden egg is definitely a great topic of conversation for tomorrow.
"No, where did you hear that? Even I only heard Ludo Bagman say it this afternoon."
Ethan glanced at Terry with some surprise. Did the information have to spread so quickly?
Terry couldn't wait to say:
"It came from Durmstrang. I also heard Dennis from Slytherin say it. Hurry, take out the golden egg and take a look!"
Those who love gossip also have a small circle, with students from all four colleges. Generally, as long as it's not something that concerns their own college and cannot be said, they all communicate within it.
This news was heard during a casual chat after dinner.
"Alright!"
After speaking, Ethan took out a golden egg from his dragonhide pouch.
The shape and size of each golden egg nest are quite different, which is determined by the dragon guarding the golden egg.
Ethan didn't know which nest the golden egg he took out was from, but it shouldn't make much of a difference.
"I heard there's a seam on the golden egg!"
Terry said, preparing to pick up the golden egg on the table.
As soon as he got it in his hand, his hand sank slightly.
"It's a bit heavy," Terry said, knocking on it again, "Hollow?"
"Could it really be gold!"
Terry smacked his lips, feeling a little unbelievable.
"Maybe!"
Ethan wasn't too sure either. After all, he didn't have any research on metals, and he couldn't really tell just by looking at the appearance.
After Terry studied it for a while, he directly found a tool and pried it into the thin seam on the golden egg.
Since there was a thin seam on the golden egg and the clue was inside the golden egg, the first thing that came to mind was naturally to pry open the seam to see if it could be opened directly using this method to obtain the clues inside.
787 Terry exerted a little force, and with a crack, the golden egg split directly into two halves.
"That's it?"
Terry looked at the golden egg that had split into two halves beside him in disbelief. He was just trying it out, but he didn't expect it to actually open.
This was a little too simple!
It's just that the inside of the golden egg was empty, with nothing in it.
Just as Terry was about to look at the inside of the eggshell to see if there was anything inside, an extremely terrifying, high-pitched, and ear-piercing scream filled the entire room.
Terry, who was the first to bear the brunt, was directly dumbfounded, and then quickly covered his ears with both hands.
Ethan also used a Silencing Charm for the first time, targeting the cracked golden egg, so that its sound could not be transmitted beyond that small area.
Seeing this, Terry immediately closed the golden egg that had been split into two halves.
After doing all this, Terry felt relieved.
Judging from the reaction just now, it was clear that his opening method was wrong.
Sure enough, it wasn't that simple!
Michael analyzed:
"It's like the scream of a female ghost. Obviously, there's still a certain problem with the way you opened it just now. Maybe you need to cast a spell or open it in a specific environment."
Terry nodded, took two steps back, and didn't dare to touch the golden egg easily anymore.
Watching this scene, Ethan also fell into deep thought, not knowing whether he still needed to put it in water to open it.
Actually, it's okay not to know the specific opening method.
Ethan learned how to crack alchemical works from Nicolas Flamel, and it was a required course.
In Ethan's eyes, the technological content of this golden egg can only be considered at a decent level, and it's not too difficult to crack.
However, it still takes a little effort and some materials need to be prepared.
He might as well throw it directly into the water later. If that doesn't work, then he can crack it.
For now, let's see what material it is made of first.
With a thought, the golden egg placed on the table floated directly into Ethan's hand.
For others, Levitation Charms and Summoning Charms are useless for these alchemical items, but for Ethan, it's just like that.
Then, in the surprised eyes of several roommates, a ball of crimson flames ignited directly.
Under the effect of extreme high temperature, the golden egg melted at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just a moment, the originally exquisitely made golden egg had been melted into a ball of golden liquid.
Only at this time could Ethan be sure that this thing was really made of gold.
Unlike Galleons, which are alloys, this one should be pure gold.
Unexpectedly, this Triwizard Tournament is quite willing to invest capital.
It's clear that the champion only gets one thousand Galleons, and the three champions from each college didn't say anything about increasing the prize money. When the time comes, the three people will have to split it. What can you do with that little bit of Galleons?
"Ethan, you destroyed this golden egg?"
Terry looked at Ethan's actions in surprise.
He originally thought Ethan wanted to use a spell to crack the secret hidden in the golden egg, but he directly burned it, and now it has turned into golden liquid. Obviously, it is impossible to obtain any information from this pool of liquid.
"It's okay, I have plenty of these things."
Ethan waved his hand and said indifferently.
Then, Ethan opened the dragon skin pouch again, and a large silver-white brick was taken out from it. The same flame instantly melted it into a silver liquid.
A white mist spread from the hand holding the silver-white liquid to the surroundings, and then Ethan threw the lump of liquid silver over.
When the white mist dissipated, what appeared in Ethan's hand was a golden dragon, naturally the red dragon that Ethan released using the Patronus Charm today.
Gold-plated silver, after all, pure gold is still a bit valuable, and Ethan doesn't have any stock on hand. As for silver, Ethan often uses it when performing alchemy, and the stock is definitely enough.
Anyway, this thing is just for display, so it doesn't need such good materials.
"Terry, go get a basin of water."
After putting the newly made ornament in place, Ethan instructed Terry.
In the original book, Harry and Cedric both deciphered the secret of the golden egg by taking a bath. Of course, Harry was also told by Cedric.
But bathing shouldn't be a necessary condition, as long as it is soaked in water.
After a while, Terry found a wooden basin.
This wooden basin was used by Terry and the others to wash clothes when school just started.
It's just that later, under Ethan's guidance, after learning the spell Cleaning Charm, this wooden basin was retired.
After all, with convenient magic that cleans even better than hand washing, who would bother to scrub by hand.
After placing the wooden basin, Terry directly pointed his wand at the basin.
"Aguamenti!"
A pool of clear water began to overflow from the bottom of the basin, and stopped when it reached two-thirds of the wooden basin.
Seeing this, Ethan directly put the golden egg in, the water was already able to completely submerge the golden egg.
Then directly repeat Terry's previous action and pry it open.
Seeing Ethan's actions, Terry and the others took a step back while covering their ears.
Obviously, they don't think opening this thing in water is the right way. However, to their surprise, this time it did not emit a wail like a banshee, but a gurgling song. The song came from the bottom of the water, but it was unclear what was being sung.
Terry and the others also lowered their hands covering their ears, looking at this scene in surprise. Did they really guess right?
"What is it saying? Why can't I hear it clearly?"
Terry, who had been listening with his ear close to the bucket for a while, frowned and said to Ethan and the others.
The voice is quite nice, but it is completely unclear what it is saying.
Ethan then remembered that in the original book, Harry seemed to have put his head in the water to listen. Could it be that you have to be in the water to hear it?
"Put your head in the water and see if it works!"
Saying that, Ethan used an Enlargement Charm to enlarge the wooden basin, and Ethan also used a Water-Making Charm to add a lot of water inside.
"No, I, this..."
Terry looked at Ethan in disbelief. It didn't sound like a good idea no matter how you listened to it.
But looking at Ethan's serious eyes, he hesitated, could it be real?
Looking at the golden egg that was completely different from the sound it made when it was opened just now, Terry gritted his teeth and put his head directly into the wooden basin.
After a full thirty or forty seconds, Terry raised his head, with a hint of joy on his face.
"You really need to be in the water to hear it. It says to take away your companions, and there is an hour to save them or something."
"Specifically, Ethan, you listen for yourself."
Saying that, Terry stepped aside.
Seeing this, Ethan also lowered his head without hesitation and plunged into the water.
As soon as he entered the water, he heard strange voices chanting in unison from the opened golden egg:
Seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you're searching ponder this:
We've taken what you'll sorely miss,
An hour long you'll have to look,
And recover what we took,
But past one hour, the prospect's black,
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.
After listening to it once, Ethan raised his head. This was similar to the original book. He should still go to the Black Lake to save the people kidnapped by the mermaids.
This is not a problem at all for Ethan!
Although there are great limitations in the water, and some spells are difficult to use, it doesn't have much impact on Ethan, but facing the merpeople, there is no problem, one Transfiguration spell is enough to solve it.
Moreover, when he helped Hagrid deal with the mischievous Grindylows before, he also met a few, and it wouldn't be a big problem to ask them for help then.
He is also quite proficient in the Bubble-Head Charm in the water, so there is no need to prepare anything.
However, he still has to remind Fleur.
Although it is not known when she solved the mystery of the golden egg in the original book, it was definitely not this fast.
