Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

Ron’s opinion wasn’t shared by everyone, and he was refuted as soon as he finished speaking.

“I don’t dislike Grawp!” Elaine interrupted. “I think he’s quite interesting, a funny big guy!”

“Funny? I heard he uprooted an entire tree!” said Ron, surprised that Elaine actually liked Grawp.

“That’s exactly what makes him fun, isn’t it? Unfortunately, I didn’t see him uprooting a tree last time I went there…”

Ron opened his mouth, at a complete loss for words, unable to respond.

When did uprooting trees become fun? Wasn’t it dangerous and scary?

What was there to look forward to? Why did she sound so disappointed? And Elaine’s cute look and cute tone when she said this didn’t match the horrible things she said, giving people a weird feeling.

Elaine’s thoughts were always different from those of normal people, but this seemed to be normal.

No one could expect a vampire to have the same thoughts as an ordinary wizard.

Of all people, only Evan and Hermione could communicate normally with Elaine, and only the two of them could control her.

Other students, including Harry and Ron, were more or less scared or embarrassed when they thought of Elaine’s identity.

So far, they had been tight-lipped when speaking to her, and Ron had never contradicted Elaine the way he had with Hermione.

Then again, this situation wasn’t just about Elaine’s identity as a vampire being intimidating. It was also about her behavior. She often said or did unsettling things. For instance, during their resistance against Umbridge, Elaine had casually suggested they take direct action to make her “disappear.” And there were other examples…

She always said these things with a serious, “I’m not joking” expression, leaving everyone unsure how to respond.

“What do you think?” Ron’s eyes moved cautiously to the others, deciding to try to ignore Elaine.

“I hate not talking to Hagrid,” said Hermione, looking upset.

“Then we’ll go see Hagrid and explain this to him,” said Evan to comfort her.

He felt that if he didn’t take the initiative to find Hagrid, the stalemate might last a long time. Hagrid was always extremely fragile in this kind of thing.

“Alright, We’ll go down after Quidditch,” said Harry. “We can have lunch at his place.”

He too was missing Hagrid, although like Ron he thought that they were better off without Grawp in their lives.

“Maybe we can take a look at that big guy…” Elaine said

No one responded to her, and silence returned to the table. The rain outside seemed to be getting heavier.

Although it was still morning, the candles in the Great Hall were lit and one could even hear the sound of raindrops hitting the glass.

“This isn’t exactly the best weather for a tryout, is it?”

Just then, the post owls arrived, swooping down through rain-flecked windows, scattering everyone in the Great Hall with droplets of water.

Since the start of school, most people were receiving more post than usual; anxious parents were keen to hear from their children and to reassure them, in turn, that all was well at home.

Hedwig’s snowy white figure stood out among the brown and gray owls, and she flew straight toward them.

“Could it be a letter from Sirius?”

“Probably not. He’s abroad now. Hedwig wouldn’t fly that far. Besides, he said in his last letter during the summer that he wouldn’t contact us in the near future,” said Harry. “Hedwig’s carrying a package — Should be the new textbook I ordered.” ꞦάꞐO͍ᛒĚ𝐒

The last time Sirius wrote, he briefly talked about his fight against the Raven’s Claw in southern Europe.

Because Owl Mail was not very safe, he didn’t say much. He just told them that when they were tracking down important members of Raven’s Claw, they discovered a new ancient relic. The Raven’s Claw attached great importance to this relic, and there seemed to be something inside.

Moreover, these things seemed to be related to Voldemort, because Death Eaters had already been spotted among Raven’s Claw members…

At the same time that Hedwig brought a large square package to Harry, an identical package landed in front of Ron, crushing beneath it his minuscule and exhausted owl, Pigwidgeon.

“Just as I thought — new textbook!” said Harry, unwrapping the parcel to reveal a new copy of Advanced Potion-Making, fresh from Flourish and Blotts.

“Oh good,” said Hermione, delighted. “Now you can give that graffitied copy back, and then Evan can destroy the one he has, and then…”

“I’m not doing that, Hermione!” Harry interrupted. “I’m keeping it. Look, I’ve thought it out —”

He pulled the old copy of Advanced Potion-Making out of his bag and tapped the cover with his wand, muttering, “Diffindo!” The cover fell off. He did the same thing with the brand-new book. He then swapped the covers, tapped each, and said, “Reparo!”

There sat the Prince’s copy, disguised as a new book, and there sat the fresh copy from Flourish and Blotts, looking thoroughly secondhand.

Hermione watched Harry do all the operations in disbelief, looking scandalized.

“I’ll give Slughorn back the new one, he can’t complain, it cost nine Galleons.”

Hermione pressed her lips together, looking angry and disapproving.

That was not what Harry had said just a few days ago. He had promised to return the old textbook and use the new one when he received it.

However, after a few days of Potions classes, where Harry had been making a splash thanks to the book, he was even less likely to part with it. He couldn’t imagine managing without the book’s guidance. Though, one had to wonder — how would he feel if he discovered it had once belonged to Snape…?

In Evan’s opinion, Hermione wasn’t going to let this go easily. She would definitely have something to say about it.

Fortunately, a third owl swooped in just then, dropping that day’s issue of Hogwarts Magic, diverting her attention.

The current newspaper was completely managed by Mr. Cuffey, the former editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet. After the Daily Prophet lost its reputation, he had left to join Hogwarts Magic, replacing Lupin. These days, except for major decisions, the editorial team no longer needed Evan’s prior approval to publish content.

So, if they wanted to know some news, they, too, had to get it from the latest issue of the newspaper that day.