"Why can't you even handle such a simple task?"
"Did you fail to showcase your enchanting singing voice?"
Merquess, seething with anger, slapped a lumpfish onto the abs of the male mermaid who had returned empty-handed.
"Did you demonstrate your hunting skills? Did you offer her fish?"
Faced with the tribe member's nod, Merquess, her hair practically standing on end with rage, pressed further:
"Didn't she like your carved artworks and the jewelry you made?"
Merquess received a definitive answer:
"She just tossed them aside and left."
"Humans are so strange!" Her tail churned the lake water furiously, splashing waves onto the pebbles. "How could anyone reject jewelry?"
This self-taught matchmaker of a mermaid chief fell into deep thought, propping her webbed hands against her face as she muttered:
"I've heard of love stories between humans and mermaids, though those tales came from tropical mermaids—"
Having seen the world, she began to ramble, recounting a story to her tribe:
"A mermaid saved a human who had fallen unconscious into the sea. She fell in love with him—but he remembered nothing—"
"They say she drank a potion to turn into a human for him, but she couldn't speak anymore, and every step she took felt like her tail was being sliced by seashells—"
"And she was cursed by a sea witch—eventually, because the human fell in love with someone else, she turned into sea foam and died!"
The mermaids gathered around to listen, chattering:
"We've only heard of wizards falling in love with mermaids. That witch Plunkett could turn into a codfish, but we've never heard of mermaids turning into humans!"
"Why would we want to be humans? Being human means mingling with banshees and vampires—disgusting creatures!"
"Is that sea witch a dark wizard living in the sea? I've never seen one. Where are these potions and curses?"
Merquess swam two furious laps in the lake.
"It's just a legend! A legend! These stories are made up by humans and spread by lovesick mermaids! It's just human culture!"
"So, the moral of the story is, if you save someone, make sure to wake them up so they know it was you who saved them!"
"Huh?" A mermaid voiced confusion, raising an objection. "Is that really the point of the story?"
"Do you have a better idea?" Merquess slapped a lumpfish onto this one too. "Speak up!"
The mermaid whimpered, intimidated by the chief's authority, and reluctantly offered its opinion:
"If, in human culture, mermaids falling in love with humans leads to tragic love stories, then why not reverse it? Let humans fall in love with mermaids instead!"
"Let her rescue a stranded mermaid on the shore. I've heard there's a human culture dedicated to rescuing stranded marine creatures—they even have organizations for it! Those whales that end up on beaches get carried back by them!"
"This way, she'll definitely fall in love with us! Love is the ultimate safeguard for our safety in the Black Lake!"
Merquess pondered for a moment and found the idea reasonable.
"In that case," she commanded, "tomorrow, all of you will go lie on the shore!"
"Make it convincing—close your eyes and don't move until you feel someone pick you up—"
...
"Albus, something's wrong!" Newt burst into the Headmaster's office at lightning speed, nearly leaving a blur behind. "The mermaids in the Black Lake... they... they..."
Out of breath, Newt collapsed into a chair, gasping for air as he managed to say:
"They're all belly-up... lying unconscious on the shore..."
Dumbledore's face turned pale!
The relationship between mermaids and wizards was unlike that with any other creature!
According to the British Ministry of Magic's 1811 definition, mermaids possessed sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of the magical world, qualifying them as beings rather than beasts!
Though they preferred to be regarded as beasts rather than beings, a mass death of mermaids at Hogwarts—
Would undoubtedly spark intense controversy over mermaid-wizard relations!
"I need your help, Albus," Newt urgently pulled him along. "You're the only one here who speaks Mermish."
"Don't worry, Newt." Dumbledore forced himself to remain calm. He recalled how Merquess had refused to communicate with him the other day, and his heart sank. "Mermaids can breathe on land—perhaps they're just sunbathing—"
Newt's expression was indescribable, his eyes clearly saying, "Do you believe that yourself?"
The two quickly arrived at the lakeshore.
"Merlin's beard—"
Seeing the mermaids sprawled all over the shore, Dumbledore's heart skipped a beat!
Look at them—eyes closed, limp, scales drying and curling up!
He recited various restorative spells and, together with Newt, waved his wand to send the mermaids back into the water, trying to revive them—
But it was all in vain!
Not a single mermaid opened its eyes or showed any reaction!
Dumbledore's expression grew increasingly grave. He crouched down, cradling an unconscious male mermaid, checking its breathing.
Sensing the worst, he declared decisively:
"I think we need to contact the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Such a collective beaching and apparent suicide among mermaids is unprecedented—"
He suddenly felt something was off, his words trailing off.
Was something slimy and slippery crawling around his waist?
What was this mermaid's hand... doing?
What was it trying to do to him?!
Dumbledore abruptly let go, dropping the supposedly unconscious mermaid!
This was too much for him to handle!
In all his years, no one had ever dared lay hands on him like this!
"(My dear lady...)" The male mermaid fluttered its eyes open, speaking in a half-screaming, expectant, and tender tone. "(You saved me, a stranded—AH! PERVERT! Who are you?!)"
Terrified yellow eyes met shocked blue ones, and both saw disbelief and bewilderment in each other's gaze.
For a moment, neither could speak, and the mermaid quietly retracted its webbed hand from Dumbledore's waist with a quick "whoosh."
"(Wrong person! Chief!)"
It let out a heartbroken scream before flipping over and diving back into the lake with a loud splash.
Dumbledore and Newt were left dumbfounded.
They watched as the mermaids, whom they had thought stranded and dead, began wriggling—
One by one, they screamed in disappointment and leapt back into the water.
"Merquess!" Snapping out of his shock, Dumbledore picked up his scattered thoughts and shouted in Mermish, "What on earth are you doing? There must be some misunderstanding! We need to talk!"
Merquess finally emerged from the lake, wielding a trident and looking ready to skewer Dumbledore.
"...What did you say? You're offering what to her? ...What made you think this was a good idea?..."
"No, no, this isn't about abs or hunting skills... nor is it about singing, jewelry, or sculptures..."
"What human culture? No, that's just a fairy tale!"
Dumbledore could hardly believe his ears!
His student... had somehow... developed a romantic entanglement with a mermaid?
Was that why she had completed the Triwizard Tournament task so effortlessly?
Looking at the mermaid with grayish-blue skin, missing teeth, a narrow skull, and a head full of green algae, he felt faint!
Cross-species love... should he approve?
He couldn't bring himself to say anything supportive or congratulatory!
After all, the last witch to fall for a mermaid was in the 19th century! When her family objected, she turned herself into a codfish and disappeared!
If he disapproved, would Jane Yu turn herself into a codfish and vanish too?
This was all too horrifying!
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