"This thing..." Mr. Bagman obviously wasn't concerned about the fate of Czechoslovakia; his attention was focused on the Crystal Ball.
"Oh, it's a telephone," Harry introduced to Mr. Bagman. "It's a kind of remote instant communication product developed by Mr. Leme."
"Cool." Mr. Bagman's eyes sparkled, his face full of desire.
Harry, understanding his hint, cheerfully said to Mr. Bagman, "If Mr. Bagman likes it, I'll talk to Mr. Leme about your needs and get one customized for you."
"There's no need for that..."
But clearly, Mr. Bagman's meaning was, "Well, if you insist."
"By the way," Mr. Bagman suddenly lowered his voice, "how's your research on that Golden Egg coming along? After the Christmas holidays, it'll be the second task."
"I haven't had time to study it yet," Harry replied honestly. "I plan to research it a bit later; there's still time before the second task."
Mr. Bagman thought for a moment and agreed. Given Harry's prowess in completely defeating the Hungarian Tree Bee, the difficulty of the second task probably wouldn't make much difference for him.
"Alright," he said. "If you still have no clues by the deadline, you can directly ask me—of course, this has to remain a secret."
"Okay." Harry accepted Mr. Bagman's goodwill, but he didn't intend to directly seek answers from him.
That would feel too much like cheating.
In reality, he didn't need such cheating at all.
After exchanging a few more words, Mr. Bagman sensibly took his leave.
After all, the two in front of him were on a date, and it wouldn't be appropriate for a middle-aged man to play the third wheel.
"He's finally gone." Cassandra picked up the Butter Beer, squinting, "Honestly, he can really chat, can't he?"
"Yeah, he's quite the talker." Harry clinked his glass against Cassandra's. "But luckily, he's gone... Of course, if he hadn't reminded me, I might have forgotten about the Golden Egg affair..."
"The Golden Egg?" Cassandra put down her glass, looking up to ask, "Are you talking about that silly Golden Egg you got from the first task? Haha, just like you, silly..."
"Hey." Harry protested, "What do you mean, 'silly like me'?"
Cassandra just smiled silently; she simply enjoyed the thrill of teasing Harry.
It was one of her small hobbies.
"So, do you have any leads?" Cassandra asked again. "About the Golden Egg... I heard that chatty guy say it's related to a clue for your next task, right?"
"I don't think so," Harry shrugged. "Do you think that Golden Egg is going to reveal the truth to me? Like it will say, 'Hey, four-eyes, listen up, the next task is...,' just like that?"
"Hahaha..."
Cassandra was amused by Harry's jesting. She laughed for a while, then said to Harry, "Have you tried opening that Golden Egg?"
Harry said nothing. He took the Golden Egg out from his wallet.
Before putting it in, he repeatedly told Alfonso not to damage the Golden Egg.
Now, it seemed that Alfonso had followed his instructions.
Under Cassandra's watchful gaze, he opened the Golden Egg.
Immediately, a screeching noise erupted, engulfing the entire bar.
"Hey!" Mrs. Rosmerta said crossly, covering her ears. "You, the kid with glasses over there, could you please put away your strange little thing! Merlin's apron, what on earth is that?!"
Harry closed the Golden Egg, and the screeching noise stopped.
Cassandra was a bit dazed from the sound; understandably so, as she was the first in line to hear it.
"I told you," Harry spread his hands. "This thing doesn't seem interested in telling me what the next task is—or rather, it has absolutely no intention of cooperating."
After a moment, Cassandra snapped back to reality.
"What did you say?" she asked, bewildered.
Oh dear, she'd been scared witless.
Harry repeated what he'd said, and after a moment of thought, Cassandra said, "Maybe we're not opening it the right way, do you think?"
"Not the right way?" Harry frowned, "What do you mean not the right way? Should I not just open it like this, but rather use some kind of Spell... like Alohomora?"
"No," Cassandra replied. "I mean, that sound... reminds me of a legend."
"What legend?" Harry asked, intrigued.
"To do with Sirens," Cassandra mused. "According to the legend from Greece, the half-bird siren sisters sit among the flowers, singing enchanting songs. Their sweet voices lure passing ships to the island, leading them to crash onto the rocks, destroying ships and lives, leaving none unharmed."
"The king of Ithaca, Odysseus, followed the advice of the Witch Calypso, taking careful precautions against the siren sisters. Before the ship reached where the songs could be heard, Odysseus had himself bound to the mast and ordered his crew to plug their ears with wax. He also warned them not to heed his commands or gestures while passing the deadly island."
"Soon the rocky island came into view. Odysseus heard the enchanting songs. The music was so alluring that he struggled desperately to break free and shouted for the crew to steer towards the sirens singing on the blooming meadow, but no one heeded him. The crew sailed on until the songs could no longer be heard, and then they untied Odysseus and removed the wax from their ears."
"That time, the sirens sang in vain. The oldest of the three sisters, Parselop, was deeply in love with Odysseus, who resisted the song's temptation, and when his ship passed, she drowned herself in the sea."
"Was she mad?" Harry asked in complete misunderstanding.
Cassandra shrugged, continuing, "It's said that after her death, Parselop became a Ghost, singing a cacophony above water but sounding heavenly underwater... Maybe it's related to this. Perhaps you could try opening the Golden Egg underwater?"
Harry considered this, thinking it could be a solution.
"At Black Lake, then?" Harry scratched his head. "But this time of year, going to BlackLake...isn't it a bit cold?"
"Are you silly?" Cassandra helplessly rolled her eyes at Harry. "Can't you go to the bathroom? If I remember right, there's a bathtub in there. Just fill it with water and put the Golden Egg in, isn't that better?"
"Now that you mention it," Harry agreed, realizing it was a great idea. He patted Cassandra on the shoulder, saying, "That's really a good idea...but never mind the school's bathroom, I'll wait till I'm back at Grimmauld Square number twelve tomorrow... Would you like to come with me?"
"Why should I go with you?" Cassandra asked, baffled. "It's your task, not mine."
"No, you're supposed to give me a Christmas gift," Harry said solemnly. "You've forgotten my Christmas present, and I'm quite unhappy—so I've decided to let you make it up to me."
"Make it up? Make up what?" Cassandra asked, a bit guilty.
"Hmm..." Harry toyed with the Golden Egg, grinning at Cassandra, "Then make it up by taking a bath with me—"