Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

Bang, bang, bang!

At that moment, the door was pounded on roughly. Before Evan could even say “Come in,” it was pushed open from the outside, and four men in black cloaks strode into the room.

Evan turned and saw Antonin Dolohov and Thorfinn Rowle, who had returned.

Rowle was limping as he walked, clearly not yet recovered from the blow he had taken earlier. He glared at Evan with a fierce look, as if eager to pounce and tear him to pieces.

The two shorter men standing in front of them looked very much alike — dark-skinned, black-haired, one a little stockier, the other a bit thinner. What struck Evan most was the shared look on their faces: a crazed, hollow-cheeked gauntness, with deep-set eyes that made their features seem sharp and pronounced.

It was the look common to those who had spent long years imprisoned in Azkaban — Evan had seen it often enough in Sirius.

They were the Lestrange brothers!

Rodolphus Lestrange and Rabastan Lestrange.

The last time Evan had seen them was in Dumbledore’s Pensieve, where they stood trial alongside Bellatrix and Barty Crouch Jr. for torturing the Longbottoms with the Cruciatus Curse, hoping to extract information about Voldemort’s whereabouts.

However, compared to Bellatrix, who arrogantly taunted the entire Wizengamot court, and Barty Crouch Jr., who denied all charges, the Lestrange brothers were easily overlooked minor figures in the trial. They didn’t even utter a single word during the trial, their silent resistance might have been meant to show they were unafraid of Azkaban, but compared to Bellatrix and Barty Crouch Jr.’s actions, they had seemed far less impressive.

In a way, it also suggested they had been overly nervous and weak, succumbing to their fate.

If they were fanatical Death Eaters, then shouting out harsh words like “I believe Voldemort will definitely return” would seem like a natural move…

Not that Evan cared what kind of men the Lestrange brothers really were, or how deep their loyalty to Voldemort went. What mattered to him was the Lestrange family vault. That vault was currently used by Bellatrix, but in name it still belonged to the Lestrange family, and Rodolphus and Rabastan had the right to access it — something that could save Evan a great deal of trouble.

At this point, there were only a few pure-blood Wizarding families still in possession of a vault in the deepest reaches of Gringotts, and among them, Bellatrix and the Lestrange brothers were the most suitable targets.

“That’s him! He said he saw Evan Mason and Harry Potter!” Rowle bellowed the moment he entered. “Give him a taste of what happens — let him know —”

“Shut up, idiot!” Rodolphus Lestrange roared, his voice sounded a little harsh, he turned to Evan and looked at him suspiciously. “You’re of the Bulstrode family?”

“That’s right,” Evan replied, shaking his wand gently.

“Impossible. We’ve checked — the family’s gone. There’s no one left!”

“Oh, then you should go back and check again. My grandfather’s branch immigrated from Britain to France. You may have overlooked this. Seriously, I can recite my family tree back to more than a thousand years ago. Isn’t that proof enough of who I am?” Evan said arrogantly, continuing to shake his wand. “But before that, you ought to introduce yourself first.”

“I am Rodolphus Lestrange, and this is my brother Rabastan,” Rodolphus replied warily as the others kept their wands pointed at Evan. “I heard from Antonin that you know where to find Evan Mason and Harry Potter.”

“I think so. I just found out that the two boys were Mason and Potter… Very lucky, isn’t it? I hear the Dark Lord has been after them for a long time. This could be quite the prize.”

“It’ll be a prize only if we catch them. Otherwise, you’re dead,” said Rabastan darkly.

“Tell us where you saw them. You’re not thinking of catching them yourself, are you?” Rodolphus pressed. “We’re trying to help you here. If you really are of the Bulstrode family, once we capture Mason and Potter, you’ll share in the credit — no one can take it from you. With that merit, the Dark Lord will reward you. But if you keep stalling and they slip away, you’ll die a very miserable death.”

“All right, I can tell you where they are, but I’ll need something in return.”

“What?”

“For example… how about access to the Lestrange family vault?!”

“You’re kidding!”

“No, I’m serious. I’m actually the Evan Mason you’ve been looking for!” Evan snapped, and with a sharp upward flick of his wand —

BANG!

The door slammed shut with a heavy thud.

At the same moment, the old wooden desk in the corner shot across the room like a battering ram toward the four unsuspecting Death Eaters.

Curses mingled with the crash, and red and green spells flew.

“Damn it—duck!”

“Reducto!”

“Idiot! Use the Killing Curse!”

“Avada Kedavra!”

“No, no — Depulso!” Dolohov roared. The desk, whizzing toward him, was shattered by the curse, but it was too late. The shattered remains, combined with the immense force of the explosion, slammed into his long, twisted face.

Blood and flesh flew everywhere, and Dolohov instantly lost consciousness.

Evan dodged two Killing Curses, his Petrificus Totalus striking Rodolphus simultaneously, freezing him mid-step. As the Death Eater toppled, Evan swept his wand in a wide arc.

Rabastan, who had immediately ducked behind a cabinet, preparing to strike back, was horrified to see the cabinet in front of him begin to fall towards him, becoming heavier and heavier. He tried to run, but found his ankles bound fast by two cords of conjured rope he hadn’t noticed.

With a thud, Rabastan crashed to the floor, the cabinet crashing down on him.

The large blond Death Eater roared and charged at Evan, only to be struck in the face by a flash of red light. He staggered sideways and crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

The power of the spell was so great that his body was thrown backwards again, slamming hard into the wall. Thorfinn Rowle, already unconscious, groaned again, as if awakened by pain, but then fell back into unconsciousness.

Evan pushed himself up from the floor, brushing splinters of wood, shards of glass, and a thick layer of dust from his robes.

This fight had been a bit thrilling. It could have ended with a simpler method, but the cramped room had prevented him from using stronger magic; doing so would have broken the protective wards he had set earlier and alerted others.

Still, the outcome was satisfactory. He could move on to the next step of his plan.

He stepped over to where Rodolphus lay frozen by the Full Body-Bind Curse. The tip of Evan’s wand glowed as a black chain slithered out, winding itself tightly around the man.

Then, Evan pointed his wand at his forehead and said, “Obliviate!”

Rodolphus’s eyes immediately became blank and dull.