Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures - H.P.S.T Chapter 1683: Approaching

Dementors!

The Guards of Azkaban Wizarding Prison!

For a very long time, wizards had seemed familiar with these terrifying Dark creatures, but in reality, they knew very little about them. Most wizards only knew that Dementors were among the most dreadful creatures on Earth, appearing in hordes in the darkest and filthiest places, cheering corruption and despair, sucking away peace, hope, and joy from the air.

Dementors sucked away the joy in the air and used it as food, forcing people to relive their most horrifying memories.

But even more terrifying was that they would use the “mouth” hidden under their tattered hoods to suck people’s souls, an act known as the Dementor’s Kiss, the most powerful attack method of these terrifying Dark creatures.

Many wizards had tried to study Dementors and explore their mysteries, but ultimately achieved very little.

After all, these Dark creatures were so peculiar; they were darker and more evil than any other magical creature, so evil that one couldn’t help but wonder if they were truly living beings.

In fact, they were not!

Dementors were not naturally born creatures, but creations of an evil god.

Their origin was not life itself, but evil Dark magic. Evan, who had ventured deep into the caverns beneath Azkaban, the Wizarding prison, knew this; on that night, he had witnessed the birth of Dementors.

In those pitch-black, silent, bottomless sea caves, countless Dementors drifted quietly in place.

They were newly born Dementors, like eggs. Dementor eggs were born of Dark magic, a collection of countless negative emotions, and the root of their creation, the source of this terrible Dark magic, was the evil god’s brain, transformed from Herpo the Foul.

The earliest appearance of Dementors in magical history was impossible to ascertain, but it was speculated to have been around six centuries ago. Wizards first discovered these terrifying Dark creatures on the frozen tundra of Norway, and then they began appearing with increasing frequency in various magical historical documents and in countries around the North Sea, gradually spreading throughout Europe, coinciding with the devastating Black Death.

Generally, Muggles believed the Black Death was caused by the bubonic plague and witches, but wizards held a different view. Medieval wizards widely believed the plague had been brought about by Dementors.

Of course, this belief largely stemmed from the wizards’ limited understanding of Dementors at the time. Fear of death led them to associate Dementors with the plague, giving rise to many superstitions — some even believed that the Black Death itself had created Dementors. It was only after later generations of wizards conducted long-term observations and studies of Dementor activity that they discovered these terrifying Dark creatures originated from Azkaban, and that Dementors themselves had no direct connection to the plague. However, places where large numbers of people died would indeed attract them.

They intensified fear, took away all joy, and spread despair.

This was precisely what made Dementors so terrifying. Because these horrific Dark creatures were ultimately discovered to have originated in Azkaban, on the island that had once belonged to the Slytherin family, rumors had persisted that Salazar Slytherin himself had created the Dementors.

In legend, this extraordinarily gifted wizard finally succumbed to the temptation of Dark Magic. After breaking with the other three Founders and leaving Hogwarts, he fell into darkness and secretly created the Dementors on his private island. However, in reality, the Dementors were likely created by the brain of the evil god sealed beneath Azkaban, either immediately after Slytherin’s death or shortly thereafter.

This was the process of the Dementors’ birth and discovery. But tracing things back a thousand years, these terrifying Dark creatures should still have been active only around Azkaban, their reach not yet extended to the British mainland. The spread of Dementor activity had been a gradual process.

Therefore, considering Dalian Ravenclaw’s era and circumstances, he should not have known about Dementors.

And yet he did.

Not only did he know of them, he had even sculpted a statue of a Dementor.

If that were mere coincidence, it would be utterly implausible!

Under the influence of an evil god, combined with the pervasive Dark aura saturating this castle, Evan could now be almost certain that the god behind the Veil of Death was Herpo the Foul!

Beyond the Veil of Death lay the space where Herpo the Foul, transformed into an evil god, resided!   

That was the very place Dumbledore had gone to!

This was simply unbelievable!

Earlier, Evan had speculated that Herpo’s lair should be somewhere in Athens. He and Hermione had even compared ancient Slytherin family deeds while searching for it there; Hermione had gone through The Tales of Beedle the Bard — the copy Dumbledore had left her — again and again, convinced it contained some hidden clue he had deliberately left behind.

But in the blink of an eye, he suddenly discovered that the Veil of Death led to the space where Herpo the Foul was now.

Did Dumbledore know this?

He probably did, which was why he was able to leave using the Twin-Serpent Staff. He had some understanding of the Veil of Death placed beneath the Ministry of Magic, and was therefore able to locate the coordinates of Herpo’s space. And yet, he had not shared this information with Evan.

That was very like Dumbledore, wasn’t it?

He must have been certain that Evan and Harry would be able to uncover the truth on their own, and so he hadn’t told them everything outright.

Then a chilling realization struck Evan.

If Dumbledore did not return, he would have to enter the Veil of Death himself. Herpo’s soul and the Slytherin Treasure Key were both inside. And if there was anything there that could help Voldemort ascend to godhood, the situation would become far worse. He would have no choice — he would have to go in and aid Dumbledore in confronting Herpo’s soul and Voldemort.

According to the Dark Witch, opening this Veil required the Twin Serpent Staff and a specific incantation.

And at this very moment, she was standing upon the ruins of the Veil of Death at the center of the lake, casting spells in an attempt to uncover that incantation.

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Evan’s mind. Bringing his attention back to the present, he suddenly found himself intensely curious about Dalian Ravenclaw, for all of his reasoning so far rested on the assumption that Dalian had been influenced by the evil god transformed from Herpo the Foul.

If there truly was some magic in the library capable of repelling Death, then it would most likely be meant to drive away the evil god residing within Dalian.

He pressed Marcus for more information about Dalian, but the ghost’s replies grew increasingly hesitant, the pauses between his answers stretching longer and longer. It was as though he were straining with all his might to recall anything related to Dalian, yet the more he tried, the less certain he became.

“I can’t remember, Master — about Young Master Dalian…”

Marcus hesitated again before continuing, “I don’t know much about him. The old master did not want others to know anything about Young Master Dalian — after all, he was a Squib. How unfortunate… the Ravenclaw family was declining. For the old master’s son to be a Squib — what would people think if they found out? Many within the domain were already saying —”

He began to ramble on like a house-elf, recounting the opinions many other wizards held of the Ravenclaw family.

Most were pessimistic, and Marcus seemed gravely troubled by what he saw as the family’s decline.

Suddenly, he stopped, as if sensing something, his translucent body trembling rapidly for a moment.

“Darkness is drawing closer, Master. Death is approaching. We must hurry to the library…” he said slowly.

Translating_Wizard

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