Harry's fingers desperately clawed at the cracks in the stone wall, his eyes wide as he stared at the scene at the end of the passage, almost forgetting to breathe.
The people lay unconscious on the ground, while the remaining Scorpion Golems crawled around, checking for any stragglers, administering a few more jabs of paralyzing venom, and then dragging them up to be hung from the ceiling.
At first glance, those swaying figures looked like something out of a horror story, enough to make one's heart stop.
Of course, in reality, the Golems hadn't choked anyone; they were simply suspending them.
In his shock, Harry completely forgot to hide himself. He unconsciously took a step back, accidentally stepping on the slippery moss on the ground, and with a "shhhhk" sound, he nearly fell.
When Harry steadied himself against the wall and looked up, his scalp immediately tingled—
Dozens of Scorpion Golems suddenly turned their heads in his direction, their bodies motionless, only the stingers on their tails gently swaying.
Harry abruptly held his breath, instinctively raising his Wand in defense. The moment his Wand lifted, the group of scorpions suddenly moved!
They scuttled quickly along the walls, ceiling, and floor with rustling sounds. There seemed to be many of them, yet their trajectory was terrifyingly precise, fanning out like an advancing army. Every soldier clearly knew what it had to do.
Some scorpions even held up leaves, pebbles, or boots and Wands taken from the people they'd just incapacitated, holding them out like shields.
Harry: "…"
If he didn't cast a Spell, he would probably be strung up by these crazy things himself. But if he did cast a Spell, he would destroy the Golems Wade had worked so hard to create.
His holly Wand felt faintly hot in his hand. Harry raised his arm but didn't immediately cast a Spell. Instead, he shouted:
"Wade—"
His shout echoed and resonated throughout the entire passage.
…
"Ah—"
A screaming Olga was dragged directly to the high dome. A dozen Scorpion Golems, each with a Golden Egg hidden inside, immediately gleefully stung her until she was completely paralyzed, then hung her up.
Wade was cupping his hand over his eyes, watching the Golems weave a vine prison suit for Olga, when he suddenly noticed the blue Little Bird in the Chamber of Secrets fluttering up, seemingly quite interested in Olga's plight.
The camera filming the scene moved entirely away from Wade for the first time.
He raised an eyebrow, shifting his gaze, and saw a figure gradually appearing in the corner.
Kingsley Shacklebolt's tall figure materialized out of thin air, his thick dark eyebrows slightly furrowed. With a flick of his Wand, he cast several Spells around them.
"Alright, this way our conversation won't be overheard."
Kingsley's voice was low and steady. He looked at Wade and sighed.
"Mr. Gray, your skill in Alchemy is truly astonishing, and your performance in this competition has been unexpected. But…"
He looked up at the surroundings and the ceiling, saying, "This league is, after all, a grand event involving all countries. Although what you've done doesn't violate the rules, if only three or five people end up participating in the second event… the Ministry of Magic will have a hard time wrapping things up."
"Wade————"
Before Wade could speak, a loud shout echoed from outside. Layers of echoes overlapped, distorting the sound slightly.
But Wade still recognized it as Harry's voice.
"Snap!"
He snapped his fingers, and in an instant, all the Golems inside and outside the Chamber of Secrets stopped moving.
Kingsley's eye twitched slightly at this sight, and his heart tightened.
As a senior Auror, he had seen hordes of Inferius created by Dark Wizards, witnessed Dragons rioting and attempting to attack Muggle villages, and had faced Azkaban's Dementors more than once.
But the scene before him still made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. His fingertips unconsciously reached for his Wand, then relaxed under the command of his reason.
—This is just the Alchemist's trick, a way for a kid to show off… He must have implanted similar commands when all the Golems were created, which is why it has this effect.
Kingsley told himself this, but when he tried to speak, he found his voice drier and more strained than he expected.
"Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Gray," Kingsley said. "The other Magic Schools need to save some face."
"I understand… I've had enough fun anyway."
Wade said with a hint of regret.
He had no interest in the Ministry of Magic's reputation, but since Kingsley was the one saying these things, it meant Dumbledore felt the same way.
The two passed each other. As Wade's back gradually disappeared into the shadows, Kingsley used the Disillusionment Charm again.
His body gradually became the same color as his surroundings, then vanished. Kingsley silently lifted the Spell on the blue Little Birds, allowing them to continue their duty of filming.
Just then, Kingsley suddenly noticed that the Golems clinging to the ceiling seemed to be "watching" him, as if waiting for their master's next command.
Although Kingsley could destroy all these little things with a simple Spell, at this moment, he once again felt a faint, chilling sensation.
These Golems… they looked like an evolved version of Wizard's Chess, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something alive about them.
…
As if restrained by invisible chains, all the Scorpion Golems about to pounce on Harry suddenly froze, then rustled back up onto the ceiling.
In the passage, only Harry's rapid breathing was exceptionally clear. He slowly lowered his arm, looking at the Chamber of Secrets not far away as if it were a dragon's den or a tiger's lair.
Soon after, he saw Wade emerge from the Chamber of Secrets. With a wave of his hand, all the Golems surged back into the Chamber of Secrets like a tide.
"Wade?" Harry's tense shoulders finally relaxed. "Are you alright?"
"You seem to be in worse shape," Wade said, frowning at the bloodstains on Harry's clothes. "Are you hurt?"
"Ah... I'm okay..."
Harry had almost forgotten about his injuries, but with Wade's reminder, the pain suddenly sharpened as his awareness returned.
Wade sighed. "Why are you running around when you're hurt?"
"I saw a group of them coming this way and was worried you might be in danger..." Harry explained, a little awkwardly, then suddenly trailed off mid-sentence. "Looks like my worrying was a bit unnecessary."
"If I wasn't confident, I wouldn't have led them here," Wade said, changing the subject. "Did you get the Golden Egg?"
"No..." Harry replied hesitantly.
Then he watched as Wade snapped his fingers again. He wasn't sure what made this snap different, but a few seconds later, a plump Scorpion Golem crawled out of the Chamber of Secrets, scurried over to Wade, cut open its own belly, and pulled out a shimmering Golden Egg.
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