Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures - H.P.S.T Chapter 1620: Opportunity

Hearing Harry’s shout, Evan, Hermione, and Elaine pointed their wands at the object too, so that the little golden cup sparkled in a four-way spotlight: the cup that had belonged to Helga Hufflepuff, which had passed into the possession of Hepzibah Smith, from whom it had been stolen by Tom Riddle and made into a Horcrux.

Ultimately, Voldemort gave it to Bellatrix for safekeeping.

“Is that it?”

“I think so. All the details match,” said Evan, staring at the golden cup on the shelf.

“Great, we found the cup, but here’s the problem. How the hell are we going to get up there without touching anything?” Harry asked. “Evan, can you fly? Like Vol— You-Know-Who did the other night?”

“No, that’s a very special kind of magic, not something a normal wizard can do,” Evan looked over the piles of gold and silver between him and the golden cup on the shelf. Simply leaping over them was impossible. “Because of the Flagrante and Unforgivable Curses, we can’t go straight through,” he said. “But we can use other objects to touch them and get the cup over. Let me see what I have.”

As he spoke, he began rummaging through his bag. Evan and Hermione had packed a lot of stuff in there before setting off, but they had never anticipated a situation like this and hadn’t prepared anything long or thin.

Evan rummaged for a long time and found a fire stick.

He’d packed it only because his parents, upon hearing they might be camping outdoors, assumed he and his classmates were going on a trip. Mr. and Mrs. Mason had prepared a full camping kit for him, and this was part of it.

The fire stick was long enough, but far too thick to fit through the cup’s handle loop.

“Well, this is all I’ve got. According to basic spell laws, contact between objects shouldn’t trigger the Gemino Charm. Let’s give it a try,” said Evan, prodding the top of a silver flagon nearby, which did not multiply.

“Evan, it works, but isn’t that thing a bit too thick? It won’t fit through!”

“I can try a Transfiguration Charm. It won’t change the object’s essential nature, so it should …”

“Whatever you do, can you please hurry up? It’s boiling in here!” Elaine complained impatiently. The heat from the enchanted treasure rose in waves, and everyone in the vault was drenched in sweat.

“Elaine, you and Hermione go wait outside. Be careful, and don’t get too close to that dragon. Harry and I will be done soon,” Evan turned to the goblin and ordered him to open the vault door.

After Hermione and Elaine left and the vault door closed again, he waved his wand.

The poker in Evan’s hand began to transform, becoming thinner and longer…

He aimed it at the handle of the golden cup, and the lengthened stick slipped smoothly through.

“Perfect!” Evan carefully lifted the stick upward, and the golden cup slid down along it.

They had succeeded, but the moment the cup was lifted from its resting place, the gold, silver, and jewels in the vault suddenly radiated an astonishing heat. Replicas burst out of a suit of armor like white-hot bodies, filling the cramped space.

Besides the Gemino Curse, the Flagrante Curse, and the Cruciatus Curse, there were other enchantments protecting the vault as well!

Now, nearly every piece of gold was replicating at a frantic pace, burning with a blazing heat.

A flood of treasure poured in from all directions, threatening to drown Evan, Harry, Bellatrix, and the old goblin.

Amidst the surging heat and Harry’s screams, Evan raised his stick high, accelerating the Hufflepuff’s golden cup’s descent. He simultaneously waved his wand vigorously, and a magical barrier formed, pushing back the incoming treasure.   

The duplicating speed of the jewels grew even faster, crowding together densely outside the shimmering barrier.

They clattered and screeched as they crushed against each other, against the walls, and against the vault door, making an awful, metallic racket.

The treasures kept multiplying, soon overwhelming Evan’s magic; the blistering heat pressed in from every direction.

Evan narrowed the barrier to protect himself and Harry.

“Grab the cup, Harry — let’s get out of here!” he shouted, struggling to maintain the barrier around them.

Harry lunged for the golden cup, feeling his flesh scorch as though it were burning off his bones. Countless copies of Hufflepuff’s cup burst out from his fist — but even then, he didn’t let go. Together, he and Evan stumbled backward as the vault door burst open again. Evan, Harry, and the goblin found themselves sliding uncontrollably on an expanding avalanche of fiery gold and silver that bore them into the outer chamber.

“Evan! Harry! Are you two all right?” Hermione called out as she and Elaine rushed toward the growing flood of treasure.

“Ahh—it’s so hot! I’m fine. Harry, did you get the cup?” Evan gasped, struggling to stand amid the still-expanding piles of treasure. His entire body felt scorched; waves of unbearable pain racked him.

“It’s in my hand!” said Harry, climbing out of the blazing pile of gold, silver, and jewels. “It’s still duplicating.”

“Give it to me!” said Evan, coming to Harry’s side and striking the cup with his wand.

With a hum, the trembling Hufflepuff cup went still — it stopped replicating.

Evan turned it over, and on the bottom he saw the emblem.

As expected, it contained information about the homeland of the house-elves.

A thrill ran through him — but this was no place to examine it.

“Let’s get out of here first. We’ll keep moving — down to the cart level, then to Vault One,” Evan carefully placed the cup in a cloth bag and looked around. “Where’s the goblin? We need him.”

“He’s right here!” Elaine said, levitating the goblin up from beneath the treasure with her wand.

“Good. Let’s go —”

“Evan, that woman’s still inside,” said Hermione, pointing back toward the vault.

“Leave her. The vault door’s open. She won’t die. We don’t have time to find her and cast spells. These gold, silver and jewels will keep multiplying. We can’t control them at all. The goblins up there will soon discover what’s going on here,” said Evan. “Hurry up. Before they come down, I want to check Salazar Slytherin’s vault.”

That Gringotts hadn’t yet detected the chaos here was nothing short of a miracle.

As for Bellatrix, Evan thought perhaps he should at least leave Voldemort’s daughter, Delphini, a chance to be born. She might have tried to change time, but in the future Evan had once gone to, that girl had helped him.

Translating_Wizard

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