Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

It took a long time for Harry to come back to his senses and he asked, “Evan, did Dumbledore tell you all this? He never said any of it to me.”

“Most of it is my own research and speculation. That’s why I said I might not be the right one to tell you these things,” Evan replied, shaking his head. “As far as I know, Dumbledore never told anyone about it. He always blamed himself for Ariana’s death. The night Dumbledore and I set out to the Gaunt family’s shack to seek the Horcrux, we saw the Resurrection Stone on the ring — one of the three Deathly Hallows, said to have the power to bring back the dead. But in truth the stone can only let a person see the shadows of the dead, not truly revive them. That night, Dumbledore was deeply drawn to it and nearly fell victim to the curse the Dark Lord had left on the ring. It was that night — the only time — the headmaster ever mentioned his family to me. He didn’t say much, but I could feel his longing, as well as his self-blame and regret.”

“I didn’t know any of that,” said Harry in a low, gloomy voice. “I never even thought about trying to learn about Dumbledore’s past.”

His mind was a mess. Logically, what Evan had told him should have made him feel better. At least he now knew Dumbledore hadn’t imprisoned or hidden his sister, nor stood by while she was abused or neglected, not as Rita Skeeter had claimed. But he did not feel any better at all.

Evan had said most of it was his own investigation, but Dumbledore had at least told him some things or given him some clues. Dumbledore had never said a word to Harry, nor had he explained anything.

Harry wasn’t sure whether Dumbledore had wanted him to know these things, or had simply been too burdened by guilt to speak. He couldn’t even be sure whether Dumbledore had truly cared about him, or had only regarded him as a tool to be tempered, never trusting him enough to share his secrets.

In short, Harry’s mind was a jumble now, more confused than it had been the night before.

Which was more important: Dumbledore’s past or Dumbledore’s true feelings about him?

Harry felt a wave of confusion. He couldn’t understand what he was thinking or wanting. A wave of terrifying thoughts washed over him. He was constantly plagued by cruel thoughts, and he wasn’t even sure if they came from Voldemort or from within himself.

Neither Evan nor Harry had anticipated that, due to the increasing instability of his soul, Voldemort’s main soul was reaching out ever more often to his remaining Horcruxes. Those troubling thoughts in Harry’s mind were the very same that plagued the other Horcruxes.

With the ongoing, dreadful magical transformations, Voldemort’s mutilated body could no longer contain his restless main soul.

“That’s exactly why we need to investigate and find out the truth. But the only one who really knows all of it is Dumbledore himself. I believe that, if he had the chance, he’d be willing to tell you — after all, it’s about a past that isn’t particularly glorious. Anyone would hesitate to talk about it so casually… Harry, are you listening to me?” Evan asked, noticing that Harry seemed a little absent-minded, seemingly not listening. “Your scar — does it hurt again? Did you see something? Has his mood become unstable again?”

“No!” Harry shook his head. “I didn’t see anything. I probably just didn’t sleep well…”

“Then you should take a rest and don’t force yourself. Before we officially take action, I want to go to Gringotts first. Don’t worry, Harry, I still have the Polyjuice Potion, no one will recognize me! You don’t need to go with me, this is not a formal operation, I’m just going to scout the situation in Gringotts. For now, the most important thing for you is to finish your breakfast. If Hermione and Elaine come downstairs, let them know where I’ve gone. Unless something unexpected happens, I should be back in about half an hour.”

Evan stood up, took out the Polyjuice Potion and a set of adult clothes from his pocket, and looked at the pale Harry carefully. His current condition was very worrying, but there was no better way for the moment — only to push ahead and resolve matters as quickly as possible.

The final road would have to be walked by Harry alone; the hardships, the suffering he endured now would become the strength that would carry him to victory.

Evan tilted his head back and drank the Polyjuice Potion from the bottle. As the burning, melting sensation spread through him, his body began to stretch and shift, until at last he had transformed into the shape of a sturdy middle-aged man — about thirty, with blond hair, a large belly, and a slight baldness.

“Who’s this?” Harry asked, perking up.

“Taron Vaughn,” Evan replied, his voice now a little hoarse. “A greasy middle-aged Muggle, he works for my father’s company. He once drove me during a holiday, and at the time I asked him for a few hairs. No one in the Wizarding world would recognize him. Of course, right now he’s a wizard, and it’s best to have a pure-blood surname — much more convenient these days. Well, let me think … how about Bulstrode? A very ancient pure-blood Wizarding family, I happen to know their family tree well enough to give a believable account of my background. He’s also related to Sirius Black! And the best part is that there are hardly any members of that family left, so impersonating one is quite easy. What do you think, Harry?”

“Sounds great,” Harry commented.

“It’s not perfect. If I get stopped, they might check my wand, and I’d be exposed!” said Evan. “And we can’t get into Gringotts with this identity. Those goblins are much more difficult to fool than Death Eaters or Ministry Aurors. They’re naturally distrustful of human wizards and hard to deceive, let alone with a fictitious identity like this. So we need to impersonate someone with status.”

“Someone with status? You mean… Death Eaters?” Harry asked?”

“They’re the highest-ranking ones now, aren’t they?” Evan said, pulling on his clothes. “And since we want to get into Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault, it’s best to pose as a wizard whose vault is in the same section as hers. That’ll make things a lot easier. If that doesn’t work, then we’ll have to break in by force, or try using the Imperius Curse on a goblin. That’s our last resort.”

Controlling a goblin and having him lead them down wouldn’t be too difficult for Evan.

But Gringotts’ defenses surely included safeguards against just that sort of thing, so success was far from guaranteed.

If possible, Evan hoped to make things a little simpler.

Bribing a goblin wasn’t out of the question either — provided Voldemort began exerting control over Gringotts and Evan was willing to pay a steep enough price. For example, using the Sword of Gryffindor as a bribe would surely lead to a goblin agreeing. The goblins had an almost fanatical obsession with weapons forged by their ancestors.