Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

Seeing that Harry was looking at him, Evan briefly recounted his experience in the Ruins of Amun Ra.

Dumbledore occasionally interrupted, asking about topics he was interested in, mainly regarding the Egyptian gods.

Harry, like Hermione, was very interested in Ramses II and was amazed that Evan was able to meet the pharaoh himself.

“Ah, Egypt — those fascinating ancient ruins, the astonishing power, and that lost history. There is much to learn from them,” Dumbledore remarked. “Voldemort thinks he’s unique, but many of the things he’s doing are merely attempts to repeat what wizards in the past have already done…”

Evan looked at Dumbledore thoughtfully. What did he mean by this? What did he mean by saying Voldemort was repeating what those wizards had done in the past?

Could it be that he was referring to Voldemort’s desire to turn himself into an evil god?

Did Dumbledore have any information?

Dumbledore didn’t seem to want to explain or elaborate on Evan’s question. He led them through the deserted streets, turned a corner, passing a telephone box and a bus shelter.

“Sir, where are we?” Hermione finally couldn’t help asking. “It looks scary around here.”

“Oh, this, Hermione, is the charming village of Budleigh Babberton,” said Dumbledore. “It’s a pity that we can’t visit during the day. Believe me; it looks rather scary now, mainly because of the lateness of the night…”

“And what are we doing here?”

“Ah yes, I haven’t told you yet because Evan’s story was so fascinating,” said Dumbledore. “Well, I have lost count of the number of times I have said this in recent years, but we are, once again, one member of staff short. We are here to persuade an old colleague of mine to come out of retirement and return to Hogwarts.”

“Sirius, why…” Harry said immediately.

“Sirius has other missions, you should know that,” said Dumbledore.

“He did say that,” Harry nodded and continued, “How can we help, sir?

“Oh, I think we’ll find a use for you,” said Dumbledore vaguely. “Left here, children.”

They proceeded up a steep, narrow street lined with houses.

The night seemed to become even colder, and thick fog mixed with the odd chill lingered in this place.

It was hard not to think of the Dementors, who had fled Azkaban and seemed to be lurking here, hiding behind the houses.

“Sir, why couldn’t we just Apparate directly into your old colleague’s house?” Harry asked again.

“Because it would be quite as rude as kicking down the front door,” said Dumbledore. “Courtesy dictates that we offer fellow wizards the opportunity of denying us entry. In any case, most Wizarding dwellings are magically protected from unwanted Apparators. At Hogwarts, for instance, you can’t Apparate anywhere inside the buildings or grounds…”

“And no Invisibility, Transfiguration, or use of any Muggle electronic devices,” Hermione added.

“You must be the first student to have thoroughly read Hogwarts: A History, Hermione. However, there are many defenses and spells that are not always in use. So, if you want to use Muggle electronic devices in school, I don’t think it would be too much of an issue. Of course, the premise is that you have to solve the energy source,” said Dumbledore. “We turn left again.”

The church clock chimed midnight behind them.

Harry put his hands in his pockets because of the cold and felt the leaflet, which he had hastily stuffed in before leaving.

“By the way, did you receive one of these Ministry leaflets?” he asked, pulling it out.

“One for each person,” said Hermione.

“I didn’t get one; seems I missed it. What does it say?” Evan took the leaflet.

“It’s about security measures we should all take against the Death Eaters.”

“If it’s from the Ministry, it’s probably useless,” said Evan, handing the leaflet back to Harry.

“Maybe it’ll be of some use…”

“I don’t think it’s useful. They probably copied it down from a book,” said Dumbledore. “You have not asked me, for instance, what is my favorite flavor of jam, to check that I am indeed Professor Dumbledore and not an impostor.”

“Yeah, I didn’t…” Harry began, not entirely sure whether he was being reprimanded or not.

“For future reference, it is raspberry … although of course, if I were a Death Eater, I would have been sure to research my own jam preferences before impersonating myself.”

“Er … right,” said Harry, feeling annoyed at how stupid he looked.

“All you need is more experience, Harry, experience fighting Death Eaters and real Dark wizards. This takes time to build, and it can’t be learned from a leaflet,” said Dumbledore, as if he’d seen through what Harry was thinking.

“The Ministry is wasting time. Look at the current dire situation. Compared to Fudge, Scrimgeour doesn’t seem to be much better,” said Hermione.

“Well, this evaluation is not entirely objective, Hermione. Rufus is a more decisive and forceful personality than Cornelius,” said Dumbledore. “He is a man of action and, having fought Dark wizards for most of his working life, does not underestimate Lord Voldemort. But I must admit that the Ministry of Magic’s current problems cannot be solved by changing the Minister, and some of his own ideas are also questionable.”

“But so many people have died, even Madam Bones…”

“Yes,” said Dumbledore quietly. “A terrible loss. She was a great witch. Just up here, I think.”

He raised his hand and pointed, his sleeve sliding down to reveal his hand with Gaunt’s ring.

Evan saw the magic rune on the back of Dumbledore’s hand at a glance. Noticing his gaze, Dumbledore quickly lowered his hand.

“Sir, what happened to your hand? Those markings…”

“Just an accident, Evan. When using some dangerous ancient magic, we are always prone to encounter many unexpected accidents,” said Dumbledore. “Fortunately, it’s nothing to worry about…”

Nothing to worry about? What kind of dangerous ancient magic could that be?

Evan glanced at Dumbledore, wondering what he had been doing over the summer. But the headmaster said nothing more, only giving Evan a gentle smile.

A few minutes later they stopped in front of a small, neat stone house set in its own garden.

“Oh dear. Oh dear, dear, dear.”

As Dumbledore exclaimed, everyone’s heart sank.

They saw that the front door was hanging off its hinges.

Evan pursed his lips. If Professor Slughorn was in this house, then the scene before them was certainly deceptive.

It looked like the house had been attacked, making them all the more cautious.

Dumbledore glanced cautiously up and down the street. It seemed quite deserted.

“Evan, Harry, Hermione, wands out and follow me,” he said quietly.

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