Chapter 10: The Water Mirror Puzzle in Potions
The Hogwarts dungeons were bone-chillingly cold on an early November morning. Professor Snape's black robes swept past the desks like a ghost, and as his gaze fell upon Leonard Norton's cauldron, a cold smirk touched his lips: "Mr. Norton, it seems you are more adept at making plants bloom than making Potions clear?"
The liquid in the cauldron was a strange greenish-gold, an elemental reaction left over from the Lei-Grass Symbiosis spell. Leonard suppressed the slight tremor of his amulet; he could clearly "see" water molecules floating in the liquid—each molecule enveloped in a fine chain of electro-elements, just like the "Electro-Hydro Symbiosis" Hermione described in "Elemental Potionology."
"Today's topic," Professor Snape held up a glass bottle containing silver-white powder, its label bearing a twisted serpentine magical script, "is to brew the 'Abyss Gazer Potion.' It requires precise control over the 'mirroring' property of Hydro elements, otherwise—" He pointed to the petrified giant spider specimen in the corner, "—you will have the distinct privilege of experiencing molecular disintegration."
Hermione's breath hitched; she recognized it as a forbidden formula described in "Advanced Potion-Making," where the key was to construct a stable mirror structure using pure Hydro elements. Leonard's amulet suddenly hummed, and the Hydro Crest on his chest appeared for the first time. A light blue band of light flowed from his fingertips into the cauldron, and the surface of the water began to reflect the Forbidden Forest's Fountain of wisdom.
"Water Mirror!" Hermione gasped softly, her quick-notes quill automatically capturing the elemental traces in the air. "The amulet is activating the Hydro God's 'Mirror Authority,' and water molecules are restructuring into an optical medium—Leonard, maintain a frequency of 150Hz! That's the stable threshold for a Water Mirror recorded in 'Potion Molecular Dynamics'!"
Ron's cauldron suddenly exploded, sending countless rubber ducks flying amidst purple smoke: "Merlin's beard! I knew I shouldn't have added the 'Happy Dust' from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes—" He frantically used "Scourgify" to clean up the mess but accidentally knocked over Leonard's Yuegui leaf jar.
The accident happened in an instant: the Yuegui leaves fell into the cauldron, and the electro-grass elements resonated with the Water Mirror. The reflection of the Fountain of wisdom on the water's surface suddenly twisted, revealing an abyss rift hidden at the bottom of the spring. Leonard's amulet vibrated violently, and the Hydro Crest and Electro Crest intertwined in the septagram, forming a pattern similar to Teyvat's "Hydro-Electro Convergence."
"Frequency out of control!" Hermione's scanner shrieked an alarm. "The Hydro elements are absorbing electro-grass energy, forming 'Electro-Hydro Plasma'—this substance can dissolve the Phoenix feather core of a wand! Harry, use Parseltongue to stabilize the mirror structure; Ron, sprinkle your 'Happy Dust' into the vent to create a chaotic magic field!"
Harry's Parseltongue echoed in the dungeon, temporarily solidifying the reflection on the water's surface. Ron's "Happy Dust" indeed worked; the purple smoke collided with the plasma, creating a prism-like scattering effect. Leonard seized the opportunity to channel the azure glow of the Wings of Wind, forming a vortex above the water's surface, compressing the out-of-control elements back into a stable Water Mirror.
"It's done!" When Professor Snape turned around, Leonard's cauldron clearly reflected a holographic star map of Hogwarts, with each elemental node shimmering with corresponding light. Hermione noticed that at the Chamber of Secrets' location in the center of the star map, the Geo God's Crest and Hydro Crest were slowly approaching each other, forming a peculiar "Geo-Hydro Fusion" pattern.
Professor Snape's gaze wavered for the first time: "Mr. Norton, your Potion… displays the rhythm of ancient magical script." He suddenly drew his wand and pointed it at the Water Mirror. "But if it cannot be maintained for more than three minutes—"
"No need for three minutes." Leonard concentrated, and the Hydro Crest resonated with the grass god rune. Transparent vines grew on the Water Mirror's surface, firmly anchoring the star map. Hermione's notebook frantically recorded: "Hydro God Awakening · Mirror Symbiosis: Water molecules and plant fibers form a hydrogen bond network, increasing stability by 60%. The side effect is that miniature water lilies will grow on the mirror surface."
After class, Hermione dripped the residual liquid from the Water Mirror onto the Granger Family's family tree. A blank space on one page suddenly revealed teyvat script: "The Hydro God's Vision is hidden in the mirror. When the tears of the Four Houses converge, The Great Lake will reflect the return date of the Seven Gods." Her finger paused on the words "Four Houses," and she suddenly remembered the septagram gap in Leonard's amulet, which perfectly corresponded to the elemental attributes of the Four Houses.
"Malfoy is watching us," Harry whispered, his gaze sweeping over the silver-haired figure at the corridor corner. Draco Malfoy's black gemstone was absorbing the residual elements of the Water Mirror, and the abyss patterns deep within the gem were identical to the rift that flashed in the Water Mirror.
"He's collecting abyss energy," Leonard gripped his amulet, the coolness of the Hydro Crest spreading through his veins. "Just like the Basilisk's venom core, the Whomping Willow's lightning core, each element node hides the struggle between the Seven Gods and the abyss. Hermione, you said the Granger Family participated in building the Gargoyles, so what about the House of Malfoy…?"
"They might be enforcers of the abyss contract," Hermione pushed up her glasses and pulled out "Elemental History of Pureblood Families" from her bag. "In the Malfoy family tree, the death year of each ancestor corresponds to an abnormal fluctuation in Hogwarts' ley lines—they are preventing the restoration of the Seven Gods' contract."
Late that night, the quartet once again snuck into the Forbidden Forest. Leonard's Hydro Crest illuminated The Great Lake, and the septagram pattern at the bottom of the lake perfectly matched his amulet. When his fingertips touched the water's surface, the Water Mirror suddenly shattered, revealing a stone door at the bottom of the lake. Carved on the door was the same teyvat script as the Potion Class Water Mirror: "Only tears flowing from the bloodlines of the Four Houses can open the Hydro God's door of contract."
"The tears of the Four Houses," Harry murmured, "might refer to the resonance of the four major elements—Gryffindor's fire, Hufflepuff's earth, Ravenclaw's wind, Slytherin's water. Leonard, your amulet has already fused wind, geo, electro, and dendro. What you need next is…"
"Slytherin's Hydro element." Leonard looked towards the center of The Great Lake, the Hydro Crest summoning fragments of starsilver from the lakebed. "And Malfoy is very likely the current guardian—or destroyer—of the Hydro God's contract."
Hermione's scanner showed that the starsilver fragments at the bottom of the lake resonated strongly with Malfoy's black gemstone. She suddenly recalled the anomaly during Potion Class that day: when Leonard activated the Water Mirror, a black light identical to the abyss rift had flashed from the tip of Draco's wand.
"Next Potion Class," she whispered, "we need to brew an 'Elemental Resonance Potion' to make Slytherin's Hydro element resonate with your amulet. But first," she looked at Ron, who was folding a small boat out of a Chocolate Frog wrapper, "we need Slytherin's tears—and Draco Malfoy never cries easily."
The surface of The Great Lake suddenly rippled, and Leonard's amulet simultaneously glowed with four lights: green (wind), gold (geo), purple (electro), and blue (hydro). He knew that the Hydro God's awakening would completely change the elemental resonance landscape, and the Four Houses of Hogwarts stood at the two ends of the scale between the Seven Gods' contract and the abyss forces.
When they left, the Water Mirror of The Great Lake formed again, reflecting the silhouette of Hogwarts Castle. This time, a silver light appeared on the Castle's spires—a sign of the Hydro God's authority awakening, and a signal that the Slytherin line was officially opening.
On Hermione's notebook, a new page read: "Hydro God contract Formula: f_Hydro = √(f_Wind × f_Geo × f_Electro × f_Dendro) ÷ C_Pureblood (C_Pureblood is the House of Malfoy's abyss coefficient). Experiment Plan: 1. Collect elemental samples from Draco's wand; 2. Analyze the Hydro element frequency in the Slytherin dungeons; 3. Verify the elemental composition of 'Four Houses' tears."
And deep within the Slytherin dungeons, Draco Malfoy was muttering to himself in front of the black gemstone. Reflected in the gem was the gradually completing septagram on Leonard's amulet: "Father said the Seven Gods' contract is a shackles, and the abyss is freedom. Norton, you think you're mending the world, but you don't know you're opening the most dangerous Pandora's Box."