All the young wizards turned pale, staring at Hagrid in disbelief.
Hagrid’s expression remained serious as he sat quietly in his boat.
Beside him, an hourglass had appeared at some point, its sand slowly trickling down.
One second… two seconds… Then, an uproar erupted across the entire crowd.
“Oh, my goodness!!” “Merlin’s underpants, this is insane!!” “So this is Hogwarts’ Entrance Trial?!
It came so suddenly—no wonder my parents never told me anything about it.” “But… why do I feel like something’s off?” “Stop overthinking!
Look, that big guy has already started the timer!
We only have 30 minutes.
If we don’t move now, it’ll be too late!
Run!!” “Yeah, yeah… If we don’t reach the destination in time, we’ll be sent to the ‘Hell Level’—that sounds super scary!!” “For the glory of pure-blood wizards, I will not fail!” …
Finally, a young wizard made the first move.
It was Malfoy.
He stuck one foot out of the boat and gently tested the ice a couple of times.
The ice was thick, extending at least ten meters underwater.
Satisfied, Malfoy jumped off the boat and headed toward the cliff ahead.
But the moment he took a step…
“Ahhh—” THUD!!
The ice was far more slippery than he had imagined.
His foot shot out from under him, and he slammed face-first onto the ice.
His teeth even drew blood.
“Young Master Malfoy!!” ×2 Crabbe and Goyle panicked and jumped off the boat to check on him.
As expected— THUD!
THUD!
They both slipped as well, landing hard on their backsides.
The other young wizards flinched and stared at the ice.
Seeing it was as solid as concrete without a single crack, they gradually relaxed.
“At least the ice is solid—we won’t fall through halfway.” “But it’s so slippery!
We can barely stand.
Can we really reach the finish in 30 minutes?” Tension spread through the crowd.
On the ice, Malfoy struggled to push himself up with his elbows, but failed several times.
“Young Master Malfoy!
Use your clothes!” Crabbe shouted, quickly taking off one of his jackets and wrapping it around the part touching the ice.
“This way, you can stand up!” “You’re a genius!!” Malfoy’s eyes lit up.
He reached out his hand.
“Give it here.” Crabbe: “??” Annoyed, Malfoy snapped, “What’s with the hesitation?
Do you expect me to use my own clothes?” Crabbe: “…” Soon, Malfoy had taken garments from both Crabbe and Goyle, using them as padding under his shoes.
Now he could walk on the ice as if it were solid ground.
Crabbe and Goyle each wrapped their remaining clothing around one foot, allowing them to move—albeit with a limp.
The downside was that they were now left only in their wizard robes, barely more than thin coverings in the freezing air.
With the three of them leading the way, the other young wizards stopped hesitating.
Even those who had been too afraid now forced themselves forward.
The lake was frozen, the boats useless.
They had no choice but to move with the crowd.
Elavin stood on the boat, watching his handiwork with a satisfied smile.
“What an inspiring and passionate scene!
Don’t you think so?” he said, turning to Harry and Ron beside him.
Harry leaned closer and whispered, “Elavin… this… you did this, didn’t you?” Elavin immediately wiped the smile off his face and became serious.
“Hey, don’t talk nonsense!
I’m only 11—how could I possibly do something like this?
Hagrid just said it himself.
This is Hogwarts’ Entrance Trial for us!” Got it.
You definitely did it.
Harry’s head spun.
If he had been only mildly suspicious before, now he was seven out of ten certain.
The only reason he wasn’t completely certain was Hagrid.
Harry knew Hagrid was simple, honest, and kind—he would never take part in such a prank.
So it was also possible that this really was Hogwarts’ trial, and Elavin had simply known about it in advance.
No wonder he told them to eat more on the train… and said that strange thing about “having energy for running later.” Now it all made sense.
“Stop overthinking.
Just focus on passing this test.” Elavin patted Harry’s shoulder seriously.
“I’ll go ahead first.
You two hurry up as well, or you’ll miss Hogwarts’ dinner.” “Wait—doesn’t Hogwarts refuse to start dinner until all new students arrive?” “Haha… let’s hope they ate something beforehand.” Elavin burst out laughing and jumped off the boat.
As he landed, two ice blades formed beneath his shoes.
He hit the ice with a loud THUD!!, then used the frozen boat as a springboard beneath him.
With a light push of his legs, he glided forward.
“Ice skating?!” Harry’s eyes widened.
“He can do that?!” “What do we do now, Harry?” Ron asked nervously, rubbing his hands together.
“Do we run too?” Harry stayed silent for a few seconds, looking at Hagrid sitting stiffly in the boat, then sighed.
“We have no choice.
Let’s move.” With that, they joined the crowd and moved forward.
Meanwhile, Elavin was having the time of his life.
The frozen Black Lake had almost no friction, so he only needed to subtly adjust his foot direction to maintain speed and glide forward.
His skating technique was excellent.
With light pushes, he smoothly dodged boats and students blocking his path.
He moved through the crowd like a swallow slicing through the air, effortlessly weaving past them.
The cold wind rushed against his face, refreshing and energizing him.
Naturally, Elavin’s abnormal speed drew attention.
“Look at that guy!
He’s so fast!” “He just whooshed past me—faster than flight itself!” “Oh my gosh!
He’s ice skating…?” “A Muggle sport…?” Amid the growing exclamations of shock, Elavin soon reached the front of the pack.
A familiar round blond head appeared ahead of him.
Without hesitation, Elavin raised his right hand.
“Hey, Malfoy.” SMACK!!
His palm struck the back of Malfoy’s head, producing a sharp SMACK that echoed across the ice.