Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

Divination and Demonology were the branches of magic in which Hufflepuff excelled, both very ancient and highly obscure magical disciplines.

Unlike the modern understanding of demonology, in the Middle Ages or even earlier, demonology was once widely practiced among witches and wizards, and carried no connotation of evil or Dark Magic.

To put it simply, demonology back then was more like a form of magic used to communicate with various powerful spirits existing in nature. Only wizards chosen and recognized by these spirits and demons, or wizards who had entered into formal contracts with them, were capable of wielding demonic magic.

It was an extraordinarily ancient branch of magic, and for a time had been part of the Wizarding world’s mainstream, no different from Transfiguration or Charms.

However, because the conditions required for casting such magic were excessively demanding, the difficulty extraordinarily high, and the outcomes highly unpredictable — combined with the long-drawn-out conflict between the magical world and the Church — demonology eventually vanished entirely. What little remained was absorbed into Dark Magic, becoming a terrifying forbidden art spoken of only in hushed tones.

As for Divination!

Also one of the oldest magical disciplines, it still existed in the Hogwarts students’ curriculum.

After all, whether wizard or Muggle, people had always been fascinated by the idea of foretelling the future.

Divination existed because of a large market demand.

Yet Evan would dare to say that it was without question the most absurd of all the school’s magical subjects.

Students completed assignments and passed exams almost entirely through fabrication. Generally speaking, the more disastrous the prophecy sounded, the higher the grade it received. After all, ancient Seers were known for foretelling dreadful calamities — no one had ever heard of a Seer specifically divining good things.

Across the entire Wizarding world, the number of witches and wizards who truly possessed prophetic ability could probably be counted on one hand.

The vast majority were like Professor Trelawney: capable of divination, able to glimpse omens, but wildly inconsistent — dependent on luck, on how clearly the subject’s fate line could be perceived, and on whether the latent magic in their blood happened to surface at the right moment.

Divination, after all, was a discipline that depended heavily on innate talent.

Without the so-called Inner Eye, intelligence and diligence were utterly meaningless in this field.

Judging from what was currently known, Hufflepuff was likely a descendant of some ancient prophet.

The two branches of magic she mastered both demanded extraordinarily high natural aptitude; without the requisite talent, they were simply impossible to learn.

Even so, she herself placed great emphasis on diligence and effort, and never discriminated among her students. Even if they lacked talent or brilliance, she believed that with sufficient hard work, they could still become competent witches and wizards.

Impartiality and an emphasis on cultivation through effort — these were the defining principles behind Hufflepuff’s approach to selecting students.

Hufflepuff students might not be the protagonists of stories, but they were undoubtedly the most trustworthy companions.

Also, never underestimate an ancient Seer!

Ancient Seers were entirely different from modern ones. Every Ancient Seer was a powerful spellcaster and guide, and their presence could be seen in all famous magical events and great battles.

Especially in the fight against evil gods, Ancient Seers played an unimaginable role.

Evan quickly searched his memory for magic associated with the Four Founders of Hogwarts. He had no idea whether the glowing spheres before him contained records of such spells, but once Dalian opened the music box, the magical energy within the hall grew ever denser.

Hundreds of orbs containing precious magical knowledge began to move rapidly, rearranging themselves, and formed a line of ancient runes.

Evan stared at it for a while. He had seen similar writing before, in the sunken temple in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts.

There, he had witnessed the magic used by ancient spellcasters to seal the statue of an evil god.

An absolute magical domain!

“Is the magic preserved in the Ravenclaw library that same spell?” Evan murmured to himself.

Could this be the magic the ghost Marcus had mentioned, capable of closing the Veil of Death and granting souls their final rest?

But Evan dismissed the thought almost immediately. It wasn’t!

The ancient runes before him were filled with many characters he had never seen before.

As the light-orbs completed their formation into ancient runes, the spell glyphs carved into the floor and the surrounding stone pillars began to glow with a blue light. Vast quantities of magic were drawn in from all directions, converging upon the enormous spherical magical sculpture at the center of the hall.

The powerful magic exuded a terrifying pressure.

“Father and the rest of the family are outside opening that gate. When I came in, the ritual was already halfway through. We have to stop them,” Dalian said, his words tumbling out faster and faster. “Once the ritual begins, it can’t be interrupted. That Veil will automatically drain the life energy of everything around it. The only way to stop it is to use this magic left behind by our ancestors. According to the records left by my aunt and ancestors, this spell can bring everything to an end, so you have to use it…”

“Wait, what do you mean I have to use it? I don’t even know what this magic is,” said Evan hastily.

Even the spell used in the temple to seal the evil god’s statue was beyond his ability to cast; he had only been able to record it.

That kind of power was simply not something a single wizard could wield!

Evan had studied it for so long without much progress.

If the magic before him was of the same level, then he had no hope whatsoever of casting it.

“Between the two of us, you’re the only one who can use magic. Don’t forget, I have no casting ability; I am a Squib!”

What a perfect justification: because you can’t do it, it has to be me.

If Lady Ravenclaw had foreseen this situation, why hadn’t she come to stop it herself?

In Evan’s view, him returning from the future to this moment was no different from her coming back from the past.

Of course, according to the rules of time magic, a person could travel back to the past no matter how far, but could not go to a future point in time after their own death. That being the case, Lady Ravenclaw could ask someone else to come and help instead!

As far as Evan knew, Lady Hufflepuff was still alive at this time. Shouldn’t she have been the most powerful witch of the age?

Seemingly noticing Evan’s hesitation, Dalian went on, “Don’t worry, I will assist you. I know every incantation and the precise order of the spell runes. You just need to do as I say and wield your wand. Of course, you must have enough magical power to control this spell. To be honest, I had expected someone who looked rather more formidable to arrive.”

Just like before, there was a hint of dissatisfaction in his words — he clearly thought Evan wasn’t strong enough.

Frankly, if he had a choice, Evan wouldn’t want to get involved in this trouble either.