The Slytherin snakes were under a mental assault.
It was said that sharp, terrifying sounds echoed outside their common room, the soundwaves almost piercing their eardrums.
"What on earth is that?! It sounds like a thousand Banshees wailing!"
Draco, clutching his ears, curled up on the sofa and complained.
When Jane Yu returned to the common room, Draco raised his voice, and for a moment, she couldn't tell whether his voice or the merfolk's was more piercing.
"Those horrible creatures outside the window have been howling for ages!" The little snakes, as if finding their backbone, all rushed forward. "I don't get it. We're clearly at the bottom of the Black Lake. Why can't the water filter out this awful noise?"
Theodore had already flipped through a thick school history book before Jane returned.
"No records of this," he said, frowning, with only a single word written on his parchment: "Unprecedented."
Blaise, also clutching his ears, smiled bitterly and said, "Yu, if it doesn't work, can you order the merfolk to sing us a song? Maybe it'll cleanse our ears!"
Hearing this, Jane gave him a look of admiration.
Did he even realize that what he was hearing now was the merfolk's communication?
So Blaise Zabini was the real brave one, daring to face the merfolk's screams head-on!
The little snakes began to curiously discuss whether the merfolk were beautiful enough and whether their singing was as enchanting as the legends claimed...
Jane made a face that was hard to describe.
Honestly... she couldn't see any connection between those corn-like creatures—no, moldy corn-like creatures—and beauty or enchantment.
If her classmates could stomach that, perhaps they were the true warriors.
"I saw their silver tails from afar!" Blaise said enthusiastically. "So long, so shiny and beautiful..."
No, that's because you haven't seen their upper bodies.
Jane hesitated over whether to shatter his fantasy.
Under the curious gazes of the little snakes, she approached the common room window—
Only to find their aquarium... no, the Black Lake outside the window, had turned eerie.
The previously leisurely swimming fish had all vanished, and even the occasional giant squid was nowhere to be seen. Only the entangled water plants swayed slightly outside the window.
"So, what is it?" The little snakes asked curiously, still clutching their ears.
"Merfolk's singing," Jane finally decided to shatter their fantasy. "Does it sound nice? Should I ask them to perform a few more songs?"
Blaise looked as if he'd been struck by lightning. Feeling as if he'd been slapped in the face, he thought he not only needed to cleanse his ears but also his brain.
All the little snakes wore pained expressions, their faces contorted, but soon their expressions revealed a kind of admiration.
So this was the terrifying sound Jane Yu had faced in the lake!
To remain calm under such mental assault—this was the demeanor of a true queen!
But Jane Yu was far from the calmness they imagined.
Especially when Daphne rushed out in a panic, claiming there were terrifying shadows outside the dormitory windows.
"Long, dark shadows swimming outside our windows!"
She clung to Jane's arm, dragging her back to the dormitory and pointing at the window.
Confirmed—it was the merfolk.
But how had they tracked down the Slytherin common room?
She didn't think she'd offended them... had she?
...
The next day, all the little snakes were dazed, sporting heavy dark circles as they attended class.
They had thought that after a few hours yesterday, the merfolk would quiet down, but instead, their behavior became even more exaggerated.
The singing continued throughout the night, evolving from ghostly wails to the sound of sawing wood. Everyone's ears and brains were thoroughly tormented.
Even with the Silencing Charm, Jane felt irritated—
Because she kept feeling as if there were merfolk peering into her dormitory window.
She soon realized that the merfolk had invaded her life.
During Care of Magical Creatures class, which was supposed to teach about Lobalugs, a different creature took center stage.
As Jane approached the Black Lake, a few necklaces and a handful of pearls suddenly broke through the water's surface, landing at her feet, eliciting gasps from the students.
A string of sharp notes echoed across the lake, followed by a trail of bubbles rising from the water, then silence.
"Merfolk!" Newt Scamander exclaimed, introducing them excitedly. "As you know, a colony of merfolk lives in the Black Lake... Their singing is said to be enchanting underwater, but once it leaves the water, it becomes screaming—"
He continued passionately, his words flowing like a river:
"For them to voluntarily offer their treasures to a human wizard—this is truly rare! No, I should say I've never seen it before!"
Jane, suddenly rich, felt a surge of happiness.
So this magical world really did have such things as free lunches!
She quickly realized that not only could money appear out of thin air in this world, but so could fish.
Wave after wave of lake fish were thrown ashore by the merfolk, flopping energetically on the ground, clearly very fresh.
"My goodness—these are the merfolk's favorite delicacies!" Newt picked up a fish for observation. "Let me introduce you to their diet..."
Then came some strange, oddly-shaped statues, pushed ashore by the lake water.
"Merfolk have a rich culture!" Newt picked up a self-portrait statue of a merperson, saliva flying as he spoke. "These are their creations... priceless..."
Hugging a basket of necklaces, pearls, and statues, Jane found it hard to suppress her smile.
She quickly forgave the screaming merfolk.
But she soon realized she had forgiven them too soon.
Because as the class neared its end, a male merperson with twenty-pack abs, neatly tied hair, and a full set of teeth suddenly broke through the water, leaping directly onto the shore in front of her!
Jane was so shocked she didn't know what to say.
She suddenly felt the jewels and statues in her arms grow uncomfortably hot.
"In fairy tales, it's said that merfolk can transform into humans to pursue love with humans. Is that true?"
A student from a Muggle family blinked curiously and asked Newt.
"They cannot transform into human form, and love between merfolk and humans is almost impossible—"
But Newt's words got stuck in his throat.
Because the male merperson let out a continuous, piercing scream, lying on the shore in a deliberately weak pose, striking a seductive posture.
It showed off its iron-gray twenty-pack abs, two pecs, and powerful silver tail.
Its appearance was slightly better than other merfolk, with yellow eyes blinking at Jane, and its webbed hands caressing its own body.
But that did nothing to change the fact that it looked far from appealing by human standards.
"Remember this—this is the merfolk's love song!" Newt shouted excitedly. "We might be witnessing the courtship behavior of merfolk!"
"Those jewels, statues, and food might be part of their cultural courtship rituals! What an extraordinary discovery—"
Jane felt like throwing up.
She found it incredibly hard to accept such cultural differences, at least in terms of appearance and living environment.
She quickly put down the items and turned to leave, ignoring the merperson's heart-wrenching calls.
She should've known—there's no such thing as a free lunch!
A free treasure falling from the sky? Impossible!
The merperson let out a heartbroken scream, followed by a loud "splash"—
It dove back into the lake in despair, sending up a huge spray of water.
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