HP: Fantastic Beasts And The Right Way To Use Them - 309

Chapter 309: The Hidden Entrance

“Are you sure it’s here?” Holding a torch aloft, Sothia eyed the trembling dove beside her with deep suspicion.

She could hardly be blamed for doubting it. The towering rock face in front of them looked completely ordinary, with nothing about it that suggested any hidden secret.

“Coo!”

Under the terrifying human woman’s sceptical stare, the dove leader nodded frantically, so fast it looked as though it might peck its own head clean off.

But after nodding, it stared at the rock wall and immediately found itself at a loss.

Back then, they had fled here in blind panic. After one of its flock blundered into that place, the rest followed in a rush. In that state, none of them had stopped to observe the precise location of the entrance.

They were not even sure there truly was an “entrance” at all.

And when they escaped, the disaster inside had been so relentless that they had only thought of running. There was no chance they would have remembered where the opening was.

Where was it again…?

The more the dove tried to think, the more chaotic its thoughts became, spiralling into something close to despair. What if this human woman realised it could not find the spot and took her anger out on it? That would be bad enough. What if she simply threw it and its companions into a pot and boiled them?

Its flock was still not far away, being guarded by that enormous monster.

The more it thought, the more panicked it became. After about half a minute, the dove suddenly fixed its gaze on the rock wall, then sprinted forward and slammed into it, so fast that Sothia did not react in time.

What was wrong with this bird?

Snapping out of her thoughts, Sothia lifted a hand. A ribbon of water floated toward the dove leader, spreading and shaping itself into the outline of a net.

But just as the net was about to form, her hand paused. Surprise flashed through her eyes. The water net fell apart at once and drifted back to her side.

The dove leader kept charging, eyes squeezed shut. It had not seen the net form and dissolve. Its mind held only one desperate idea: if it died proving the truth, its flock might still have a chance to escape the fate waiting for them.

And in Sothia’s eyes, she watched the dove rush forward. The instant its head touched the stone wall, it sank straight into the rock as if the surface were water.

Staring at the perfectly ordinary wall, Sothia rubbed her chin, interest sparking in her gaze.

Evans had once mentioned that the train Hogwarts used to collect students from the Muggle world relied on this sort of magic at its station, didn’t it?

When she got back, she would have to find a way to ride it at least once.

With that thought, she stepped forward slowly and placed one hand against the wall.

Cold stone met her palm. It felt exactly like rock. If the dove had not just passed through, and if the wall had not given off the faintest magical ripple at that moment, she would never have realised it was hiding anything at all.

“So how do you get through a barrier like this again?” Sothia muttered. “Close your eyes, and keep telling yourself you can definitely pass…”

She closed her eyes and stepped forward.

Her leg, which should have hit solid stone, felt nothing. It moved through as easily as walking on level ground. A cool draft brushed her skin, and the roar of water filled her ears.

When she opened her eyes, the rock wall was gone.

In its place was a waterfall pouring from above, draping everything ahead like a curtain. On either side of the falls, eerie green flames burned. The dove that had vanished into the wall stood in front of the water now, head cocked, seemingly puzzled about how it had entered at all.

“This is… Thief’s Downfall? It’s even more impressive than the one at Egypt’s Gringotts!”

Staring up at the endless waterfall, Sothia’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

Compared to this, the Thief’s Downfall they had broken in Egypt back then looked like a small trickle.

And for her, a larger flow was nothing but good news.

She did not know why the water in the Great Lake had refused to respond to her call, but she could definitely command the water in this waterfall.

With a source this vast, plus the water she already had stored in several filled boxes, she would have answers for almost any danger she ran into.

Eyes bright, she spread her arms toward the waterfall. Her pale‑gold hair lifted as if in a wind that did not exist. As her arms opened wider, the waterfall slowed, then parted at its centre, creating an opening wide enough for several people to pass through at once and revealing what lay behind.

A corridor stretched beyond, unusually broad, lined on both sides with eerie green flames that extended inward until the far end vanished from sight. At a glance, it looked plain enough. Nothing stood out.

Sothia started to step forward to take a closer look.

Then the dove behind her cried out in sudden alarm.

“A trap?”

Hearing the warning, Sothia did not enter recklessly. She flicked her hand. Water gathered into a faceless human shape and walked into the corridor.

In the next instant, enormous fireballs and several skull‑like faces burst out from the surrounding walls, striking the figure at once and blasting it into a splash of water.

The dove leader shrank back, shaking violently, but Sothia stared at the puddle on the ground, frowning slightly in thought.

“This trap… isn’t it a bit too crude?”

She rubbed her chin, replaying the barrage. It was certainly powerful, an overwhelming volume of fire and curses, but it felt stiff. Almost mindless.

Normally, traps like these triggered one after another, ensuring every strike landed properly. They did not vomit out every stored attack in one brutal wave.

Because that kind of outburst burned through energy at an absurd rate. Even if the wizard who carved the arrays had been extremely powerful, even if the stored energy source were enormous, no one would waste it like this.

Unless…

Unless these arrays and mechanisms were meant to be controlled by something. And for whatever reason, age or accident, they had lost their controller and could only run on a fixed, preset pattern.

Reaching that conclusion, Sothia’s eyes lit up.

A preset pattern might still be dangerous for someone encountering it for the first time, but she was a Spring Nymph.

How could mindless mechanisms possibly stop her?

Especially with this much water behind her.

She lifted her hand slightly. The waterfall surged. Within moments, stream after stream peeled away from the falls and flowed toward her, gathering into a massive sphere of water.

Then, from within that sphere, pale blue knights stepped out one by one, each gripping a lance and clad in heavy armour. They formed a line at the corridor’s mouth, standing as if awaiting their orders.