Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures - H.P.S.T Chapter 1584: Hidden Clues

Dumbledore’s interpretation of The Tales of Beedle the Bard was imbued with wisdom. Through this collection of fairy tales, he aimed to convey a truth, one that Beedle the Bard wished to convey, especially to young witches and wizards: while magic could solve many problems, it could also create just as many troubles.

Therefore, wizards should exercise caution when using magic and avoid abusing it.

In Muggle fairy tales, magic is often the root of all misfortune.

Muggles regard wizards with a mix of awe and fear: they are terrified of magic, yet greedily hope to rely on it to solve their difficulties, though the results are rarely pleasant. Magic and wizards are common elements in Muggle fairy tales, but in the end, only Muggles who are kind-hearted and without malice ever receive magic’s reward.

In The Tales of Beedle the Bard, however, the protagonists were not Muggles but wizards.

While they possessed the ability to wield magic, their misuse and understanding of it could lead to grave errors. Many of these stories ended in death, a seemingly inevitable fate for wizards who misused their magical powers.

Wizards with extreme or narrow-minded personalities were particularly vulnerable to the backlash of magic, as their choices and decisions were often flawed.

Similarly, harming Muggles with magic could also bring personal suffering.

These ancient tales collected in The Tales of Beedle the Bard were meant to convey these lessons: no force was above all others. According to the most basic principles of magical theory, the greater the power of a spell, the stricter the limitations placed upon it.

This slim volume, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, contained countless secrets and lessons about life, offering great wisdom to those who read it.

Of course, Dark wizards and those who prided themselves on their so-called pure blood would never appreciate such insights. Throughout magical history, this little storybook had been reinterpreted and adapted countless times — so many that new versions seemed to appear every few years.

What the very first version of The Tales of Beedle the Bard had looked like, or how many stories it had contained, could no longer be verified. But from the grammar and stylistic features of the ancient runes in Hermione’s copy, it was clear that this was very close to the original version.

In other words, the stories within had not been distorted — they were neither too moralizing nor too dark — and Dumbledore’s annotations and interpretations made this book priceless. Of course, that was only true for those who could grasp the hidden meanings. For anyone who could not, the book held no value at all.

“Evan, are you saying that Dumbledore hid clues within his interpretations?” Hermione asked. She closed the book, tapping her right index finger lightly on The Tales of Beedle the Bard. “And we have to uncover them ourselves? By reading through these stories?”

“It should be like that. The best thing is to read the book several times, go over it carefully — it can’t do any harm. Even if we put aside the hidden clues, The Tales of Beedle the Bard itself teaches plenty of lessons about life,” Evan replied. “Once you’ve finished it, let me have a look too. We can study it together — maybe we’ll discover something.”

“To be honest, I’ve always thought Dumbledore was mental,” Ron suddenly said. “Brilliant and everything, but cracked! He always left us these strange puzzles to guess at. Don’t tell me this Deluminator has some hidden meaning too. What am I supposed to do — take it apart and see what’s inside?”   

“Okay, Ron, you don’t understand Dumbledore. Yes, he was a bit odd, but he would never leave something behind without a reason. We should trust him,” said Sirius. “In fact, if you knew more about Dumbledore’s past, you’d realize he was far greater than we ever imagined. Since he left you these things, then they will certainly prove useful. Before they reveal their purpose, I suggest you keep them safe. I’ve got a general sense of the situation now, and if I hear anything new I’ll let you know at once. Oh, and Harry, after the dinner party, come and see me; I want to finish the conversation we didn’t get to this morning. For now, we’d better join the others at your birthday feast, or Molly will be furious.”

Sirius reminded them in time. They came out of the Burrow a second before Mrs. Weasley rushed in.

“You’ve been in there too long. No, it’s not your fault, dear. No need to apologize,” said Mrs. Weasley, glaring at Sirius, clearly believing it was his fault. “Come on, Harry, dear, everyone’s awfully hungry, we didn’t like to start without you. … Shall I serve dinner now?”

The feast began, but the topic lingered on the objects Scrimgeour had given them. Mrs. Weasley, however, clearly didn’t want the matter discussed further. From the look on her face, she seemed to think these things Dumbledore had entrusted to them were dangerous, the very sort of business she had been trying to shield them from all summer.

Because of Mrs. Weasley, no one said much about the matter.

They all ate rather hurriedly and then, after a hasty chorus of “Happy Birthday” and much gulping of cake, the party broke up.

Sirius decided to stay the night because of the wedding the next day and Scrimgeour’s arrival. Hagrid, who was also invited to the wedding the following day, wasn’t going back to Hogwarts; but as he was far too bulky to sleep in the overstretched Burrow, he left to set up a tent for himself in a neighboring field.

That night, Harry didn’t return until late. He had gone downstairs to continue his conversation with Sirius. Evan didn’t go to Hermione or Elaine; instead he sat propped up at the head of his bed, carefully examining the statue of the evil god in his hands, deep in thought, while exchanging the occasional word with Ron.

“Honestly, I think it’s pretty cool now,” said Ron, examining his new Deluminator.

He held it in front of him. With a slight click, the solitary lamp on the bedside table went out at once, the light shrank into a small glowing ball and was sucked into the Deluminator. Ron clicked it again, and the ball of light from the lamp flew back to the ceiling and illuminated the room once more.

“It’s priceless, Ron. This Deluminator involves all sorts of marvelous alchemical magic,” said Evan quietly.

“Really? How much could it sell for?” Ron paused, then quickly added, “I mean, from what they said, Dumbledore invented it himself!”

“You’re not actually thinking of selling it, are you?” Evan asked absentmindedly, his attention fixed on the statue of the evil god in his hands. He distinguished the twisted eyeballs, contorted body, and bulging brain. This statue was almost identical to the three nameplates in his hands. “Dumbledore left it specifically for you. He certainly didn’t want you to exchange it for money.”

Translating_Wizard

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