Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

Harry hadn’t expected it — he just hadn’t expected it. In his impression, the Prince had always been a figure who was both a mentor and a friend.

Harry felt an inexplicable closeness to the Prince. He couldn’t explain why, but the feeling was one of deep familiarity and warmth.

Over the past term, he had imagined the Prince’s image countless times, even going so far as to think of him as his own father…

Harry had even specifically asked Sirius and Lupin to confirm it. If they hadn’t clearly stated that his father had never used the nickname “Prince,” Harry really would have believed it was him. Even so, deep down, Harry had always equated the Prince with his father.

However, this dream was shattered at this moment. He had never considered the possibility that the Prince could be an evil Dark wizard.

Just like Hermione had always said, the Half-Blood Prince was dangerous.

“I told you, Sectumsempra is a Dark spell,” said Evan. “You should be thankful Malfoy isn’t dead!”

“Professor McGonagall just said the same thing to me…” Harry whispered.

“Oh, then you should be thankful Snape was right there. He was obviously keeping a close watch on Malfoy…”

“Come on, Evan, thank Snape. Are you crazy?” said Ron angrily. “No one expected the Prince to be hiding so much, right? Harry didn’t mean to do that, but if you ask me, Malfoy dying wouldn’t have been such a bad thing… though of course, it shouldn’t have been Harry who killed him…”

Because Hermione glared at him, Ron’s voice became weaker and weaker.

Elaine hummed in a weird tone, “The annoying guys should all disappear.”

Really, how come Ron and Elaine’s ideas were becoming more and more terrifying, with positive energy being praised?

Looking at the two of them, it seemed like they weren’t relieved, but disappointed that Malfoy hadn’t actually died…

What was the difference between that kind of thinking and that of a Dark wizard?

If it had been a few years ago, with them in Evan’s position, Malfoy would’ve already been eaten by the Acromantulas.

It wouldn’t have been their own hands that killed him, and they wouldn’t have had to bear any responsibility. In such a dangerous situation, no one would have blamed Evan for letting him die.

If it had been Ron or Elaine, they probably would have not saved him and would have just let it happen.

Cowardice? Thinking it wasn’t necessary? Or even secretly hoping it would happen?

But then again, Elaine was a vampire, a Dark creature by nature!

Considering the environment in which she had grown up, it wasn’t too surprising for her to have such frightening thoughts.

Anyway, she hadn’t really done it yet, so there was still time to correct it. The road to education and cultivation was a long way to go!

Harry kept his head down, gloomy and silent, not joining the conversation. He had just told Evan, Hermione, Ron, Elaine and Ginny what had happened, not that there seemed to have been much need. The news had traveled very fast: Apparently Moaning Myrtle had taken it upon herself to pop up in every bathroom in the castle to tell the story.

Malfoy had already been visited in the hospital wing by Pansy Parkinson, who had lost no time in vilifying Harry far and wide, and Snape had told the staff precisely what had happened.

Harry had already been called out of the common room to endure fifteen highly unpleasant minutes in the company of Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall asked him about the Dark Magic he had used, but Harry insisted on not saying anything, still claiming he had seen it in a book. Like Snape, Professor McGonagall obviously didn’t believe this, but didn’t delve into it. She said that he was lucky not to have been expelled, and that she supported wholeheartedly Snape’s punishment of detention every Saturday until the end of term.

“Harry, I told you there was something wrong with that Prince person,” Hermione said, evidently unable to stop herself. “And I was right, wasn’t I?”

“Yes, you did!” Harry’s tone was full of impatience, “I didn’t listen to you and Evan, are you satisfied now?”

He was having a bad enough time without Hermione lecturing him; the looks on the Gryffindor team’s faces when he had told them he would not be able to play on Saturday had been the worst punishment of all.

He could feel Ginny’s eyes on him now but did not meet them; he did not want to see disappointment or anger there.

He had just told her that she would be playing Seeker on Saturday and that Dean would be rejoining the team as Beater in her place. Perhaps, if they won, Ginny and Dean would make up during the post-match euphoria. … The thought went through Harry like an icy knife. …

“Sorry, Harry, that’s not what we meant!” Hermione said immediately, noticing Harry’s impatient tone.

“I know, you… Well, I’m just too…”

“So what are you going to do with that book?” Hermione asked sharply, clearly not letting the matter drop.

“I haven’t thought about it yet.”

“You can’t keep hiding it,” Hermione reminded.

“I know! Will you stop harping on about the book!” snapped Harry. “The Prince only copied it out! It’s not like he was advising anyone to use it! For all we know, he was making a note of something that had been used against him!”

“I don’t believe this,” said Hermione firmly. “Evan told me that spell was the Prince’s own invention.”

“I think it should be, because such a spell is not recorded in other magic books. However, there are a few similar ones, but they are more complicated and difficult to use than Sectumsempra, and probably not as powerful either,” Evan added. He felt it was necessary to give a more objective assessment of Snape. “If you ask me, that Prince really is a genius. He has extraordinary talents in both potions and Dark Magic. Unfortunately, these are not my strong areas.”

After so many years of systematic study and in-depth research on magic, Evan had passed the period of using magic according to the books. He was very clear about his strengths and weaknesses. How far he could go in the field of magic could not be achieved by just relying on a lot of time and hard study.

He wasn’t good at Potions, Dark Arts, Charms, Herbology, Astronomy, Divination, or Defense Against the Dark Arts. Evan’s strengths lay in Transfiguration, Ancient Runes, and Alchemical Symbol Construction. That was why, in the later stages of his studies, he deliberately shifted his focus to those areas.

The ancient books he collected, the Black family library, and the magical texts he found in the Room of Requirement — he read all of them selectively.

“Now is not the time to praise that guy!” Hermione said somewhat annoyed. “The more talented that Prince is in Dark Magic, the worse this all gets. Harry, you have to give up that book before it’s too late. Return it or hand it over to Professor McGonagall.”

“I … no … I can’t!” said Harry. “The Prince didn’t make me use that spell, he just wrote it down —”

“What you’re doing now is actually defending what you did!”

“I’m not defending what I did!” said Harry quickly. “I wish I hadn’t done it, and not just because I’ve got so many detentions. You know I wouldn’t have used a spell like that, not even on Malfoy, but you can’t blame the Prince. Maybe it is a Dark spell, but he hadn’t written ‘try this out, it’s really good’ — he was just making notes for himself, wasn’t he, not for anyone else. …”

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