Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

Although Dumbledore might have set a trap with the Elder Wand, Voldemort, driven by his greed for supreme power, was bound to step straight into it. Yet he had no idea how to truly master that immensely powerful wand.

Voldemort knew nothing about the Deathly Hallows, perhaps considering them a laughable fairy tale.

Dumbledore’s original plan had been for Snape to kill him, so that Snape would become the Elder Wand’s new master.

Although many unexpected events followed, the crucial point remained: as long as the wielder was not Voldemort, the Elder Wand would inevitably malfunction when used to attack its true master. In the original course of events, Voldemort failed and died precisely because of this, killed by the Elder Wand when it turned against him. But with the continual intervention of the Four Founders of Hogwarts and the evil gods, the Elder Wand was no longer Voldemort’s ultimate pursuit of power.

His ambition had grown far greater: to transform himself, like Herpo the Foul, into a terrifying godlike monster.

After becoming an evil god, Voldemort could simply kill Harry with his own hands.

At that point, what could possibly stop him?

The Elder Wand? Absurd. A godlike Voldemort would have no need for a wand at all.

By then, the entire world would be plunged into terror and utterly destroyed.

Having witnessed the battle between Slytherin and the “God of Death” a thousand years ago, Evan was convinced of this. Once an evil god was no longer merely an illusion but possessed a physical form, such a monstrous existence would be utterly unstoppable.

No power could defeat it; all resistance would be futile.

Human blood and flesh would be nothing more than his food, while souls would become his nourishment to become even stronger.

Defeat an evil god with the power of love? Evan had no idea how such a force could even be invoked. Dumbledore’s explanation was vague, and the Sacrifice Charm Harry’s mother had used might not be effective against the god-like Voldemort.

“You still don’t understand, Evan,” Dumbledore said gently.

“What?”

“Every time Voldemort grows stronger, he is, in fact, taking another step closer to destruction. He may appear more powerful, but he is riddled with fatal weaknesses. That was true in the past, and it will remain true in the future,” Dumbledore replied, meeting Evan’s questioning gaze. “I have never believed that Voldemort would ultimately triumph, no matter what he becomes or what power he acquires. He does not understand love, protection, sacrifice, or courage. He has abandoned the truly great power and continues further and further down a false path. If he truly becomes an evil god, then the legacy left behind at Hogwarts will be his greatest nemesis.”

“You mean the secret treasure the Four Founders left behind in the school? That they contain the power to destroy an evil god?” Evan pressed. No matter how one looked at it, the Founders’ hidden legacy at Hogwarts seemed to be the final hope.

After all, they were extraordinarily powerful wizards, and each of them had once defeated an evil god.

“Perhaps,” Dumbledore smiled once more. “But I believe you have already found the treasure they left behind.”

“How could that be? I haven’t even gotten the keys left behind by Slytherin and Hufflepuff. I don’t even know what’s inside the treasure…” Evan said, unable to help but wonder if it was like the Ravenclaw family castle, a massive magical array built up over a thousand years, with the so-called treasure key serving as the mechanism to activate it, unleashing powerful magic to defeat the evil god in a single strike.

Or perhaps it was the magic carved into the lost temple deep within the swamp of the Forbidden Forest, a powerful spell capable of splitting and sealing away an evil god, imprisoning the evil godlike Voldemort within some vessel.

If that were the case, then the situation might not be quite so dire.

“The treasure left behind by the Four Founders of Hogwarts was never about power, strong magic, or worldly wealth, but rather the spirit they wished to pass down — the courage, protection, sacrifice, and love I mentioned earlier,” Dumbledore said with a smile, pointing to Evan’s left chest. “These are already in your heart.”

“But…”

Compared with such precious spiritual legacies, Evan found himself wishing that the Founders had left behind something more practical in their secret treasure. It wasn’t that these ideals lacked value, but when it came to defeating an evil god and Voldemort, they seemed to offer very little tangible help.

“In that chaotic and dark age a thousand years ago, four great wizards founded Hogwarts, the world’s first school of magic,” Dumbledore explained patiently, sensing Evan’s confusion. “From the moment Hogwarts was established, disagreements over educational philosophy never ceased among the Four Founders. Yet there was one point on which they always agreed: compared to the transmission of personal skill or spellcraft, they placed far greater importance on character and spirit. Today, it is difficult to find a spell from a thousand years ago or a unique casting technique left behind by any one of them, but the values cherished by the four Houses of Hogwarts have endured and taken root in people’s hearts. Those are the true treasures the Founders wished to leave behind!”

“But these things have always been within the school; they didn’t need to set up tests for me to pass…”

“The purpose of the tests they set was to show you their original intentions. A thousand years is a very long time, long enough for many things to be simplified into mere symbols. For example, Gryffindor values courage, Slytherin emphasizes bloodline, Ravenclaw pursues wisdom, and Hufflepuff is the most inclusive, and so on. But these are not necessarily the original, most authentic beliefs of the Four Founders, but rather later generations’ interpretations of the four Houses,” Dumbledore said. “They are not wrong, but they are incomplete. Take Slytherin, for example. In most people’s eyes, the students of this House are ambitious, shrewd, and cunning, willing to do anything to gain power and strength, with Voldemort as a representative figure. But Salazar Slytherin in reality was willing to sacrifice himself for his companions, silently contributing behind the scenes, protecting Hogwarts, and doing many things unknown to the world. His emphasis on bloodline was just one aspect of his educational philosophy, because in that era, pure-blood wizards often inherited their family’s blood magic, and they were theoretically more powerful than Muggle-born wizards…

“The trials left by the Four Founders are mostly related to their own experiences. Through illusions, Time-Turners, and other forms of magic, you were repeatedly sent back into the past, witnessing the choices they made at crucial moments. You truly felt the spiritual qualities they wished to pass on, and even offered them help in certain instances. Upon passing the trials, they will give you their recognition — the so-called treasure keys. But in reality, you have already obtained the true treasure; your ideals are aligned with the Founders’. Now, you are exactly what they expected a Hogwarts student to be — a true, everlasting beacon of hope!”