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[HP:Failed Art Student]-Chapter 81: Welcome to My Mansion, a Place Where You Can Never Return
🕑 Added 2025-08-25 14:12:27 +0000 UTC"You stay here. I'll go out and check," Krum said in a deep voice, swallowing hard.
But unexpectedly, his remaining teammate, Noah, replied in a voice on the verge of tears: "No, brother, let's not split up. That's how people always die in horror movies!"
Krum paused. "Have you already cast yourself in the role of the victim?"
The two of them proceeded cautiously toward the door, wands at the ready, one leading and the other following close behind.
Fortunately, it was a person who had burst in—or rather, a group of disheveled Hogwarts champions.
At the front was a beautiful young woman with dark golden hair tied neatly back into a ponytail.
However, she was completely drenched, with strands of her dark golden hair plastered to her face.
Her robes, soaked through with water, had lost any trace of their original color.
Only her eyes still gleamed with a bright, determined light.
Her two remaining teammates were just as bedraggled as she was.
They seemed to have forgotten even to cast spells, focused solely on pushing forward.
"Are they really that desperate?" Krum wondered to himself.
But seeing that they appeared to be normal humans, not the demons or monsters from the paintings, he felt a measure of relief.
He was about to speak when he heard them suddenly erupt into cheers:
"We're here! We're here!"
"Merlin bless us!"
"We finally shook off that monster! We're safe at last!!!"
As they shouted, the two teammates behind the leading girl collapsed to the ground, sobbing and thanking Merlin over and over like the most fervent believers.
Krum blinked in confusion. "?"
"When did Hogwarts become a haven for fanatics?"
His foot, which he had started to lift, quietly retreated, and he took two steps back.
But at that moment, Krum's movements froze.
He had suddenly realized a serious problem!
"Didn't you run into any traps at the entrance?"
"You just walked right in without issue?"
Gemma Farley looked up, her eyebrows arching as she replied coldly, "No."
In that instant, she was utterly exhausted.
Along the way, she had occasionally heard the monster's low growls.
It felt as though it was right behind them, its hot breath brushing against her neck, compelling her to keep moving without pause.
By the time they reached the residence, only three of them remained, including herself.
One was Humberg Carrow, whose mental state was hanging by a thread.
"Let's find the Portkey quickly and end this." That was the thought echoing in everyone's mind.
On the other side, upon hearing Gemma's response, Krum's eyes widened in shock.
"...What about the private shark trap? So it was only set for our team, huh?!"
"That feeling of being targeted is back again."
Krum couldn't help but glance upward, cautiously scanning his surroundings.
He knew he was the first to arrive; no one could have gotten here before him.
Yet, he couldn't shake the sensation that some presence was lurking in the shadows, gleefully watching them squirm.
After both teams had rested for a moment, Krum took the initiative to suggest: "This residence is very dangerous. We haven't found the Portkey on the first floor. I think we should cooperate—" But his words were cut off.
"Are you the first one here?!"
Among the Hogwarts champions, a young man with bloodshot eyes shouted frantically, like a madman: "Was there anyone else before you?!"
Krum frowned at the highly offensive question.
But considering the other's fragile mental state, he still answered, "No. I was the first one here."
As he spoke, he lifted the corner of his mouth in a slight, proud smile.
The only difference was that, compared to his earlier high spirits, he now looked a bit more worn out.
Upon hearing this, Humberg immediately grinned and burst into laughter: "I knew it! Ethan Vincent must not have made it to the residence! Maybe he died halfway! Hahaha—cough!"
He was struck by a Silencing Charm from Gemma Farley and clutched at his neck in discomfort.
"If you can't learn to shut up, then never speak again," Gemma said, enunciating each word with icy precision.
Her cold expression betrayed a flicker of anger.
"Ethan Vincent? Your first-year young wizard?" Krum asked. "How could he possibly arrive at the residence before me?"
"Or rather, it's impossible for him to successfully cross the Great Marsh."
"He doesn't have the ability."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Krum suddenly shivered.
That feeling of being watched surged back—clearer than before!
A chill crawled up his spine, and he gripped his wand tightly, his breath quickening as he glanced around in terror!
"What is that presence hidden in the shadows?!"
"Who on earth have I offended?!"
Gemma steered the conversation back: "You just said the second floor is inaccessible? Why?"
Krum was silent for a moment before replying, "Come and see for yourself."
The group made their way through the hall and gazed at the staircase leading to the second floor.
At the entrance to the stairs stood a nearly two-meter-tall living portrait, shockingly vivid!
"Roar!"
The lifelike Cerberus in the painting glared at them, unleashing a furious, hungry bellow.
Krum explained: "As soon as you get close, you'll be scorched by flames. Forcing your way through will only provoke an attack—What's wrong with all of you?"
Gemma Farley's team was utterly stunned.
That familiar roar—wasn't it the very monster that had been chasing them the entire way?!
How had it gotten inside the house?!!!
In an instant, it was like yanking back the covers only to find a terrifying demon grinning and saying "hi" to you.
Their sense of security shattered in a heartbeat.
"Ahhh!!!"
One of the champions suddenly let out a piercing scream!
Then he turned and bolted without looking back!
He dashed out the door and vanished into the rain.
Krum and Noah stared blankly at the scene.
They felt an invisible fear slowly brushing against their skin, like a lover's touch.
The demon was smiling.
"Impossible... This is impossible... How could it be a living portrait... No, impossible!!!"
The mentally unstable young man, Humberg Carrow, seemed to realize something, but his brain refused to accept it.
His eyes were bloodshot with rage as he stumbled backward on his knees, collapsing to the ground.
Clutching his head, he muttered frantically, "Impossible, absolutely impossible."
However, the other leader, Gemma Farley, first gasped in shock, her red lips parting slightly.
Then, surprisingly, she relaxed, a faint smile curving her lips.
She was no longer anxious or flustered.
She simply sat down and closed her eyes to rest.
Krum: "..."
"Compared to the competition, the Ministry of Magic should first check the mental health of Hogwarts students."
"Why do they all seem so abnormal?"
"It's as if Hogwarts is harboring a demon that torments them day and night."
In any case, seeing that Gemma Farley appeared to know something, Krum sat down as well and waited alongside her.
His heart brimmed with frustration and anxiety.
This wait stretched until nightfall of the next day.
Besides their two teams, a team from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in France arrived—Fleur's team, the seeded champions.
Another Hogwarts team also made it, a mixed group from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.
However, what was unusual was that not a single champion from Ilvermorny School had arrived.
They had been completely wiped out.
"...What exactly did they encounter?"
This unknown factor made the atmosphere even heavier.
Finally, when the clock struck midnight, the silent residence underwent a change.
The Cerberus portrait blocking the staircase entrance suddenly vanished, dissolving into a stream of magic that flowed upward.
Krum leaped to his feet, staring intently at the magical flow, his gaze tracing it all the way to the third floor.
Then, his eyes widened in disbelief!
"Clap!"
Like the curtain rising on a stage, a light illuminated the figure standing on the third floor!
Black hair, blue eyes.
His handsome face resembled a porcelain doll, his smile charming yet utterly devoid of warmth.
It was as if he were merely a humanoid creature draped in human skin.
Everyone fell into a deathly silence, completely stunned.
Only Gemma Farley, as if she had anticipated this, lifted the corners of her mouth in a knowing smile.
The Hogwarts first-year young wizard, Ethan Vincent—whom they had deemed absolutely eliminated—spread his arms wide.
He addressed the stunned crowd below with cheerful enthusiasm:
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my residence—"
"The House of No Return."
