Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures - H.P.S.T Chapter 1726: Taking You Home

“Hufflepuff’s secret treasure key?”

“We found some clues about the house-elves’ homeland in The Quibbler …”

“Sorry to interrupt you, Hermione. I understand how you’re feeling right now — you want to do something to make up for what Evan didn’t get to finish — but you need to know that The Quibbler isn’t exactly a rigorous magazine,” Lupin said gently. “It contains a lot of fictional material. Xenophilius imagines all sorts of things — like the Crumple-Horned —”

“The Crumple-Horned Snorkack,” Hermione corrected him, pulling out a thick stack of documents.

Her face was expressionless, but this only made things more worrying.

“I wrote to Mr. Lovegood,” Hermione said. “He mailed me all the clues related to the house-elves’ homeland. He found them while tracking the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. The house-elves’ homeland is in Godric’s Hollow.”

“You mean Godric’s Hollow?” Sirius asked, flipping through the documents Hermione had produced with interest. “That’s a very old Wizarding settlement; I know it well. James’s family lived there. Remember, Harry? I told you before, when I was sixteen I ran away from this house to your father’s place. Your grandparents were incredibly understanding; they practically treated me like a second son. During school holidays, I would stay at your dad’s house, and when I turned seventeen, I found my own place, also in Godric’s Hollow.”

He looked through the documents, his face filled with deep nostalgia.

“In the summers, your father and I would wander around Godric’s Hollow, fishing by the river, practicing Quidditch on the nearby hills. Mr. and Mrs. Potter always welcomed me for meals. I loved your grandmother’s cooking.”

“Sirius!” Lupin warned him.

This really wasn’t the time to be saying such things in front of Harry.

“In short, I’m very familiar with every part of that valley. I don’t know where Xenophilius gathered this information, but there’s absolutely no house-elf homeland there,” Sirius said immediately.

“That’s because it’s hidden by house-elf magic, that’s why wizards can’t find it. Wizards have never valued elf magic; they just treat them as cheap slaves, and after they die, they cut off their heads to decorate the corridors,” Hermione said bluntly.

“I agree. My ancestors were a bunch of fools obsessed with pure blood,” Sirius said without hesitation.

Hermione glared at him and continued, “Godric’s Hollow hides many ancient secrets, like the Deathly Hallows. You don’t know everything about those either. No matter what, I’m going to take a look.”

“It’s too dangerous to go there now. There are Dark wizards loyal to Voldemort everywhere outside,” Lupin tried to persuade Hermione, but he stopped immediately.

Because his worst fear had come true!

“I want to go to Godric’s Hollow too,” Harry said.

“But…”

“I’ve wanted to go there for so long. My parents are buried there. It used to be my home,” Harry said loudly. Beyond the pull of his parents’ graves, he had an inexplicable yet strong feeling that the place held answers for him.

The questions that had been troubling him lately could all be answered in Godric’s Hollow. It wasn’t just the place where he had narrowly escaped Voldemort’s Killing Curse; it was also where Dumbledore had grown up. Although Dumbledore had never told him that, Harry already knew that they had both lived in Godric’s Hollow and lost loved ones there.

Countless times, he couldn’t help but wonder if Lily and James were buried next to Dumbledore’s mother and sister. Did Dumbledore pass by Lily and James’s graves when he visited them?

Dumbledore’s silence about their shared home and experiences felt like a lie. Ever since Harry learned that the Dumbledore family had also lived in Godric’s Hollow, this thought had haunted him, appearing in his mind again and again.

Now, he was going there to find out the truth.   

“Voldemort must have stationed a large number of people to monitor Godric’s Hollow,” Lupin said. “He can probably guess that you’ll go there. And I don’t believe this so-called house-elves’ homeland really exists. Even if we take a step back and say we do find Hufflepuff’s treasure key, what then? Without the keys of the other three Founders, we still won’t be able to open the secret vault they left behind — and there’s no guarantee it contains anything that would help us right now.”

Lupin looked at Sirius, hoping for his support.

But Sirius said, “I think Harry should go there. He’s never visited his parents, and James must be very disappointed. Actually, I should have taken Harry there years ago. As for Voldemort’s minions…”

A contemptuous smile appeared on his face, completely disregarding the dangers.

“… we can go at night. With the Invisibility Cloak and Polyjuice Potion, no one will notice us,” Sirius continued. “I don’t know whether we’ll find Hufflepuff’s treasure key there, but Harry should go back.” He turned to Harry, his expression solemn. “Harry — this time, I’m taking you home.”

Home… that word was so foreign to Harry; something he thought he would never hear again.

And yet, yes — there was still a place in this world that he had once called home.

Now, he was going back!

………………………………………………………….

Since they were going to Godric’s Hollow, there was no time to waste.

Sirius’s plan was to leave that very night. If they moved fast enough, they could be back before midnight. But both Harry and Hermione had an uneasy feeling about the trip.

This journey would not go smoothly!

That being the case, before leaving, they should say a proper goodbye to Ron.

Once Mrs. Weasley made up her mind, the Order of the Phoenix would kill Ron.

At the latest, it had to be done before they stormed Hogwarts.

It was difficult, and no one was willing to do it. Mad-Eye Moody said he would handle it. He didn’t mind getting his hands dirty; he’d seen too much already, and he didn’t care if the rest of the Weasley family came to hate him for it.

Harry still hoped to find a way to help Ron. Over the past few days, he had come to sit with the unconscious Ron again and again, trying to wake him, but to no avail.

Harry and Hermione stepped into the darkened bedroom. Ron lay there alone, utterly solitary.

His hands and feet were magically strapped to the bed to prevent him from escaping upon waking.

“I never thought it would come to this,” Hermione whispered.

Harry didn’t know what to say. Since Evan’s disappearance, Hermione hadn’t shown any weakness, only working day and night in the Black family library, poring over various documents, searching for a solution.

But this was not the kind of situation where an answer could be found in books.

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