Cassandra glanced at her white silk gloves. Even after being submerged, they still shimmered faintly. She looked up at Tom Riddle. "Professor..."
Tom, understanding her meaning, casually beckoned. "Come in."
"Tom..."
"It is quite alright."
"Um, Professor Tom Riddle… I wish to join as well."
"You may enter, too."
In an instant, the enormous "bubble" was nearly full, but Tom's "Water-Repelling Spell" eradicated any excess moisture. Cassandra and the others felt as if they were back on land, experiencing the sensation that "being wet was merely an illusion," except they were floating inside the "Water-Repelling Spell".
Seeing this, Harry was eager to try. "Sir, um, may I…"
Tom looked around; there appeared to be little extra space.
Harry gave him a helpless look.
"Sorry, Harry."
"…"
Harry froze, his expression instantly turning awkward. "It is alright, sir. The Bubble Charm is perfectly adequate."
The magic mirror refreshed, and Malfoy, standing next to him, immediately retorted, "Even a clown possesses superior looks compared to you, Scarface!"
"Unlike me, Malfoy, I never even considered making such a request."
Looking at Malfoy, Harry's face flushed with anger. "Damn Malfoy!" With that, Harry immediately swam over and engaged Malfoy in a "deep-sea melee."
Ignoring the two playfully fighting, Tom scanned the underwater surroundings, searching for Eric.
This was not difficult. When the ship struck the reef, most of the passengers, led by the "Seven Dwarfs," had already boarded the ship's small life rafts. Only a few unfortunate souls fell into the sea, and Eric was the unluckiest of them all. He floated silently in the water near the reef, appearing unconscious, likely knocked out by the current. It was also worth noting that half of a ship had washed ashore on the reef, not far from Eric.
"He's over there… but he looks quite dead."
Harry and the others had clearly noticed the stranded prince from another country.
"Who knows? Where is the Little Mermaid?... Eric will certainly die if she does not appear soon."
Worried that Eric's disappearance would affect their search for the special item, Malfoy began to swim over when Tom stopped him.
Looking back in confusion, Tom gestured for him to continue watching.
Back at Eric, lying motionless in the sea.
Eric, who had been floating silently, suddenly "rose."
A gentle current of water straightened his body.
"Brave seafarers… should not be buried by the sea."
It was a remarkably unique, clear tenor voice.
It is here!
That voice… it is the one I heard back then!
Tom's attention was instantly captured.
Few things could pique his interest; curiosity about the dark version of "The Little Mermaid" was one of the few.
As Tom expected, a robust figure soon appeared not far from Eric.
It was a creature with the upper body of a young man and the lower body of a strong fishtail.
It was… a male mermaid. He possessed flowing golden hair, a resolute and rugged face, and clearly defined muscles, adorned with two starfish on his muscular chest.
"Merlin's hemorrhoids… no, is this it?"
"He is… the Little Mermaid?"
Malfoy's mouth gaped open wide enough to fit a dragon egg, while Harry, helping him close his mouth, stared wide-eyed at the "Little Mermaid."
"What… does he intend?"
Tom and his group thoughtfully observed this suddenly appearing creature.
They knew the original Little Mermaid's name was Ariel, but this was clearly not Ariel… or rather, not entirely Ariel.
Of all the important figures encountered earlier, only Little Red Riding Hood and the "Little Mermaid" had undergone such an unbelievable transformation.
The "Little Mermaid" had now helped Eric up, gazing admiringly at the man who had just dared to face the storm and look up at the heavens.
His name was Ariel, the youngest prince of the deep-sea mermaid kingdom of Atlantis, and also its most valiant sea warrior.
He had simply been patrolling the area when he encountered this massive storm, the likes of which were rare for ten years, and couldn't help but sing a song to encourage his warriors.
Then he saw this tall figure standing on the deck, facing the storm.
"I have seen all you have done… You, like me, are a child of the sea, and the ocean will grant you new life."
Ariel seemed to have made a decision, his eyes hardening.
He released Eric's hands, letting him lie quietly in the water, just as he had at the beginning.
Ariel then looked at the half-destroyed boat on the reef. From the sea, the bottom of the boat was almost entirely covered in barnacles.
Ariel stretched out his hands towards the boat, and a strange power enveloped the barnacles.
What happened next was astonishing: guided by Ariel, the barnacles "flew" into Eric's mouth.
"Cough cough…"
Eric coughed violently twice, then his eyes snapped open, filled with confusion, as if he hadn't grasped the situation.
"I am in the sea?"
Eric was immediately shocked but quickly recovered. "No! I can speak… I can breathe in the sea?"
This incredible scene was witnessed by Harry and his friends nearby.
Even as wizards, they couldn't understand how Ariel had accomplished it.
Unlike Hermione Granger and the others who were still discussing it, Tom's eyes narrowed, his expression strange… This scene seemed familiar…
The Little Mermaid and his prince?
No!
It is the mermaid warrior and his penguin boy!
"…"
Tom did not comprehend, but he was deeply shocked.
Then he looked towards Eric, already having noticed the blond man beside him, but as his gaze moved downwards, the thick fish tail startled him again.
He had heard from sailors met before that sometimes creatures with fish tails and humanoid forms were encountered at sea—either mermaids or sirens.
But the burly man before him was clearly not a mermaid, so he must be a siren!
Eric's expression was complex. He knew he could not have suddenly gained the ability to breathe underwater, and considering he had opened his eyes to see this burly siren, figuring out the truth was not difficult.
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