The Triwizard Dueling Tournament had concluded, and the three ancient schools of magic had all achieved their objectives.
After discussions among the Headmasters, they decided to make the United Dueling Championship a permanent annual event.
…
While many young Wizards at Hogwarts were still asleep, the guests from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had already packed their belongings and quietly departed in the morning light, under the watchful eyes of their Professors and Headmaster.
The Castle finally returned to its usual tranquility.
Sagres's teaching continued in an orderly manner, while the students, in their spare time, poured their excess energy into dueling.
They began earning points through duels, improving their rankings on the dueling leaderboard.
Professor McGonagall was rather displeased with this, as she noticed a significant drop in the students' Quidditch training time.
The weather gradually warmed, green grass quietly sprouted from the ground, and the Forbidden Forest was once again covered in fresh greenery. Kestrel's once-popular "Snowman Battle Royale" also came to an end as the snow melted.
However, she did not remain idle.
During this time, she came up with many new games: in one, students jumped from the Astronomy Tower and cast spells mid-fall; in another, young Wizards burrowed underground like gnomes, looking for chances to destroy the enemy's structures.
The students complained endlessly, yet they also enjoyed it immensely.
One day, Kestrel suddenly approached Sagres excitedly and made a rather peculiar request.
"You want me to refreeze the Black Lake?" Sagres asked expressionlessly.
Kestrel nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice.
"Reason," Sagres said curtly.
Kestrel immediately launched into an enthusiastic explanation, gesturing animatedly as she described her proposed lesson plan for the "Black Lake Ice Obstacle Race and Magic Combat Championship."
Sagres listened with a frown the entire time, patiently enduring her almost fantastical proposal. When she finally finished, he stared at her with an extremely strange expression, as if he were looking at some kind of magical creature.
"Uh, what's wrong? Is there a problem?" Kestrel asked, uneasy under his gaze.
"Your… 'Black Lake Ice Obstacle Race and Magic Combat Championship,'" Sagres repeated slowly, "What exactly is the purpose? And what skills are you hoping to train in the students?"
"Uh, I think… maybe it's… comprehensive ability?" Kestrel said uncertainly, eyes darting. "Adaptability, precise spellcasting, creating chaos, problem-solving…"
Sagres listened and found that, despite sounding ridiculous, it wasn't entirely far-fetched—especially considering that her previous seemingly whimsical lessons had yielded unexpected results. At the very least, the young Wizards had learned some practical skills.
After a moment of thought, he finally nodded reluctantly.
…
At noon the next day, Sagres and Kestrel stood by the Black Lake. The biting chill of early spring still lingered, sweeping across his black robes.
Kestrel stood beside him, her eyes shining as she stared at the calm surface of the lake.
"Ready?" Sagres's voice was flat, as if he were merely asking about the weather.
"Anytime!" Kestrel nodded eagerly.
Sagres said nothing more. He drew his wand, his movements as fluid as breathing.
The tip of his wand pointed steadily at the vast surface of the lake, and a powerful yet restrained surge of magic instantly gathered.
"Glacies trium pedum!"
As the spell was spoken, there was no thunderous roar—only a chilling, pervasive crack—snap—snap—snap sound.
Visible icy blue mist, like a swift plague, spread wildly in all directions from the tip of Sagres's wand.
The calm Black Lake instantly boiled—no, it instantly solidified.
The lake water, upon contact with the cold air, transformed immediately from liquid into solid ice crystals.
The ice didn't spread gradually; instead, it was as if an invisible giant hand had hit the pause button on time itself, pushing the freeze line forward in a frenzy.
In just a few seconds, the water near the shore had been completely conquered, turning into a smooth, mirror-like white plain.
The ice layer thickened rapidly, its color deepening from translucent to a solid blue-white as it continued expanding toward the center of the lake.
Several Merpeople were lounging comfortably on the rocks near the shore, basking in the gentle sunlight of early spring.
Their silver-green hair was spread across the smooth stones, and their fish tails lazily slapped the water, creating soft, contented gurgling sounds.
An elderly Merperson, wearing a shell necklace, was squinting peacefully, savoring the brief "sunbath."
Suddenly, that chilling wave of air swept over them with alarming speed.
"Gurgle?! (What's happening?!)"
The Merperson elder's eyes flew open in shock, just in time to see the water surface visibly harden into a shell of thick ice.
She instinctively tried to dive back into the water, but the freezing spread too fast, and she slammed directly into the now-solid ice.
"Cree—! (Huh?!)"
She let out a sharp, piercing shriek.
The other Merpeople met with the same fate. They flailed helplessly on the rocks, emitting frantic and angry bubbling noises.
Their silver tails were fully exposed to the cold air as the icy blue light swept across the lake, freezing the surface entirely.
"Gurgle! (Winter again?! We can't go back?! What should we do? Who will help us?!)" The Merperson elder cried out in panic.
They lay sprawled across the lake's surface, helplessly slapping at the hardened ice.
On the shore, the Hogwarts students watched the unbelievable scene, eyes wide with shock.
"Huh?" A third-year Hufflepuff rubbed his eyes. "D-Did I see that right? How did the Black Lake... freeze again? It's spring!"
"Professor Greengrass did it—by himself!"
A Ravenclaw student pointed at the tall figure standing by the lakeshore, where a steady stream of icy air flowed from the tip of his wand. "That's... incredible!"
"Wicked!" the Weasley twins from Gryffindor whistled excitedly. "Look at those Merpeople! They were sunbathing on the rocks and now they're trapped—ha!"
"What sort of nonsense is Professor Lumina planning this time?"
Hermione Granger tightened her Wizard's robes around her and frowned as she looked at Kestrel, who was animatedly gesturing beside Sagres.
"This is absolutely mad," she muttered with a shake of her head.
Just then, Ron stumbled out of the Castle gates, clearly drawn by the commotion outside.
He grumbled while adjusting the stack of homework in his arms. "What's with all the noise?"
His eyes casually swept across the lake—then froze. His jaw dropped wide enough to fit a Dragon egg.
"Wh-What?!" Ron's voice cracked. He rubbed his eyes hard, then pinched his arm sharply.
"Ow—ouch! Not dreaming?!"
He stared at the vast sheet of ice, glinting blindingly under the sun, his voice filled with utter confusion and dread:
"Can someone… someone please tell me whether I've got amnesia or if I accidentally slept through to next winter?! The lake was water yesterday… Harry, Hermione, did you see it?!"
He turned helplessly to a similarly stunned Harry beside him, his expression practically shouting, "Something's seriously wrong with this world!"
Hermione let out a long-suffering sigh and rolled her eyes. "Wake up, Ron! It was Professor Greengrass. He froze the lake at Professor Lumina's request—for her 'ice skating obstacle course' or whatever she's calling it."
"Oh? A new game?" Ron's eyes lit up—until Hermione shot him a sharp look.
"Right—this is wrong," Ron said immediately, his smile vanishing into solemnity.
Harry, meanwhile, was staring at the Merpeople on the rocks, angrily slapping the ice with their tails. "Whatever the reason… this sight is amazing, I fucking love magic..." he murmured.
Sagres paid no attention to the noise from the shore.
His wand remained pointed steadily at the lake's center. At last, the final section of the water yielded to the spell.
The entire Black Lake had turned into a vast field of white ice, gleaming with cold brilliance beneath the morning sun.
Sagres slowly lowered his wand, and the overwhelming chill withdrew in an instant.
He tilted his head slightly toward Kestrel, who looked as though she might start jumping from excitement. His tone remained flat:
"There. Your ice rink."
With that, he holstered his wand and turned to leave.
~~~~~~~
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