Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

Harry lurched forward to try and catch the egg, but too late!

The egg fell down the long staircase with a bang as loud as a bass drum on every step.

Dong, Dong, Dong…

The Golden Egg fell through the tapestry at the bottom of the staircase, burst open, and began wailing loudly in the corridor below.

“Oops, it will wake everyone up in the castle!” said Harry. “Come on, Ron, get it back!”

His feet were still knee deep in the trick step, and he could not pull them out. He could only urge Ron anxiously.

“No, someone’s coming, I can’t go there!” said Ron in a panic. He had just taken two steps and ran back quickly.

He pulled the Invisibility Cloak over himself and Harry, and they straightened up in the middle of the staircase, listening with trepidation…

And, almost immediately, they heard someone shouting … “PEEVES!”

It was the unmistakable hunting cry of Filch the caretaker. They could hear his rapid, shuffling footsteps coming nearer and nearer, his wheezy voice raised in fury.

“What’s this racket? Wake up the whole castle, will you? I’ll have you, Peeves, I’ll have you… Eh, what is this?”

Filch’s footsteps halted. He picked up the egg doubtfully and closed it.

Harry and Ron just heard a clink of metal on metal and the wailing stopped!

They stood there very still, Harry’s leg still jammed tightly in the magical step.

Any moment now, Filch was going to pull aside the tapestry, expecting to see Peeves… and there would be no Peeves.

But if he came up the stairs, he might find Harry and Ron.

“Golden Egg?!” Filch said quietly at the foot of the stairs. “My sweet cat, this is a Triwizard clue. This belongs to a school champion! Ah … I see … PEEVES! You’ve been stealing!” He roared loudly, with irrepressible glee.

He ripped back the tapestry below, and Harry and Ron saw his horrible, pouchy face and bulging, pale eyes staring up the dark and deserted staircase.

Harry’s heart beat like a drum, and Ron’s eyes widened and he swallowed hard.

“Hiding, are you?!” said Filch softly. “I’m coming to get you, Peeves. … You’ve gone and stolen a Triwizard clue. Dumbledore will never spare you this time, you filthy, pilfering, poltergeist…”

Filch started to climb the stairs, his scrawny, dust-colored cat at his heels.

Mrs. Norris’s lamp-like eyes, so very like her master’s, were fixed directly upon Harry and Ron.

Harry’s back was covered in cold sweat. He had had occasion before now to wonder whether the Invisibility Cloak worked on cats.

He was so horrified that he almost fainted, watching Filch drawing nearer and nearer in his old flannel dressing gown.

He tried desperately to pull his trapped leg free, but it merely sank a few more inches.

Ron didn’t help either. He was too scared and stood still as though he were a wax figure.

Any second now, Filch was going to walk right into them…

“What’s going on, Filch?!”

Filch stopped just a few steps below Harry and Ron and turned.

At the foot of the stairs stood Snape, his chest heaving violently, his wand clenched in his hand, as though he had just run up, and he looked livid.

Beside him were Evan and Hermione!

………………………………………….. ……………………….

Evan had just climbed up from the lake, and Hermione rushed over and hugged him.

She didn’t care that Evan was all wet. She held him tightly and never wanted to let go.

She had been outside, just staring at the dark lake, waiting for hours, and she was afraid something might happen to Evan.

In particular, the last hour or so had been a torment for Hermione. Evan had been gone for too long. If it weren’t for the lack of means to breathe underwater, she even wanted to go in and look for him. Whether it was the Bubble-Head Charm or human Transfiguration, they were senior courses, which Hermione had not yet mastered.

Thinking of this, she felt she was useless. Her magic was so poor that she could not help Evan at all.

In this complex and tense mood, Hermione sat alone for hours by the dark lake.

Her body was frozen, but she didn’t care at all. She only hoped Evan would be safe.

When she saw him coming out, she was naturally overjoyed.

Tightly held by Hermione, although it was really cold with gusts of cold wind blowing, Evan felt warm in his heart.

They just hugged one another for a while before they were awakened by the cold water of the lake and the cold wind.

Although Evan wanted to do something for Hermione. They hugged each other back to the shore, feeling sweet and at ease being together. Evan listened to Hermione talk about her worries, her concerns, and the hope that she would be stronger and help him in the future…

This girl was much stronger than he thought.

Hermione had always been excellent, not so reluctant, but proper practice was really necessary.

As for her current biggest problem, it was also a common problem for young wizards of her age, the lack of magic…

Evan was thinking that maybe he could give Hermione the Philosopher’s Stone left by Ravenclaw. Anyway, the extra one would be useless to him.

As for the use of magic powers of the Philosopher’s Stone, he had recently worked out several tricks and had made progress in his research.

Unlike Harry, Ron, and Colin, who lacked theoretical foundations, Hermione’s biggest problem now was the lack of sufficient magic.

Like Evan before, Hermione was very clever, read a lot of magic books, and knew a lot of magic, though their focuses were different.

Evan was more focused on Transfiguration, Dark magic and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Hermione, on the other hand, liked Charms, History of Magic, Potions classes, ancient magic texts, Arithmancy and other non-combat magic types.

But the problems encountered were all the same. Limited by magic, she could not exert most of the magic she knew. Because of this, Hermione was now unable to fully demonstrate her strength.

The Philosopher’s Stone was the only way to increase magic power with the best effect and the fastest speed.

Evan thought that the next time he got to the bottom of the lake; he should take Hermione with him.

More than twenty minutes later, they returned to the castle hand in hand.

Just entering the hall, they saw a person’s figure quickly disappearing in the corner of the stairs not far away.

Evan was stunned for a moment. The man looked like Caresius…