Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

Some members of the Ravenclaw family had been misled; they joined forces with the visiting Dark wizards to open the Veil of Death.

That was why the Song of the Dead spoke of the Ravenclaw family’s grave error.

They forgot their ancestors’ warnings, opening the Veil of Death, bringing not power and glory to this land, but endless calamity and destruction. Even after a thousand years, whatever Death — or whatever monstrous being — the Veil of Death had released still lingered here.

The moment they abandoned wisdom in favor of power and ambition, the destruction of the Ravenclaw family was sealed.

Now, the Dark Witch and her minions had come here to find a way to reopen the Veil of Death.

Voldemort wanted to use the power of the Veil of Death to become even stronger. Evan was certain of that. And he was equally certain that opening the Veil of Death again would lead to nothing good. The power of that gate was ominous. If it were opened, Death would descend once more — or worse. Voldemort and the Dark Witch were not merely seeking to open the Veil of Death; they seemed intent on entering the world beyond it.

Beyond the door lay the realm of the dead. No one knew what awaited there. What Voldemort desired was far greater than anything the Ravenclaw family of old had ever sought.

The Ravenclaw family and all the innocent lives on this land had already paid the price for their ambition and folly. And who, then, would bear the cost of Voldemort’s actions? How many more innocents would be sacrificed and slain?

“Death has cursed the Ravenclaw family. All those with the family blood are imprisoned within that building, condemned to eternal torment,” said Marcus. “Other lives within the territory are also bound in darkness. We are watched by Death, unable to find rest. Now, only you can help us, my lord. In the castle’s library lies the way to drive Death away and grant peace to the dead. Find that spell and cast it, and all the evil before you will be dispelled, and your friends will be saved.”

“Drive away all evil… grant peace to the dead…” Evan repeated softly.

Did “all evil” include the Dark Witch and the Dark wizards of the Raven’s Claw?

And granting peace to the dead — was that truly magic, or something that belonged to religion instead?

As far as Evan knew, all soul-related magic, or any other kind of magic, could at most disperse a soul, not grant it peace.

Even when a wizard became a ghost, it was merely the imprint of magic left behind by someone too afraid of death to move on. Ghosts could only drift helplessly through the places they had lived and walked in life.

That was simply a manifestation of magical residue, not peace. Magic could not accomplish such a thing.

Currently, some things had become clear, but many questions remained.

If what the ghost said was true, then Evan would have to go to the library, find that spell, and use it.

A spell capable of defeating the so-called Death itself must be incredibly difficult; ordinary wizards might not be able to use it, and Evan wasn’t sure if he could master it in a short time. But this ghost seemed very confident in him, acting as if he knew him well.

Where did the ghost’s confidence come from?

Would the Dark Witch and the so-called Death lingering here simply let Evan cast the spell without intervening at all?

And if what the ghost said was not true, then he needed Evan to open the library for some other purpose; to obtain something else he required. His failure to tell Evan the truth suggested that his goal, and whatever that object was, could not be spoken of openly, and that he did not want Evan to know.

When he spoke of “driving all evil away,” did that include the darkness hidden behind the deep shadows surrounding them?

No matter which possibility was true, it seemed that Evan had only one choice.

He lacked the ability to directly rescue Harry and Ron from the building in the center of the dried-up lake. Setting aside the so-called “Death” said to linger there, the Dark Witch and all of her Dark wizards were gathered at that very spot.

With no other support, it would be nearly impossible for Evan to defeat them head-on by himself.

From the look of things, the Dark Witch had already begun her Dark magic.

If he waited for Sirius and the Order of the Phoenix reinforcements to arrive, it would all be too late!

Therefore, Evan’s only option was to borrow the strength of the Ravenclaw family’s ghosts before him — send them to rescue Harry and Ron — while he followed the Ravenclaw family’s steward to see for himself what lay inside the so-called library.

With the help of Ravenclaw’s Diadem, countless thoughts flashed through Evan’s mind in an instant — far more than he would ever have reached by instinct alone.

But regardless of whether he used the Diadem or not, his final decision was the same: to go with Marcus to the Ravenclaw family’s library. Besides solving the current predicament, Evan also wanted to see it; he was very interested in the library.

“I roughly understand what happened here, Marcus,” said Evan. “The situation is that the Ravenclaw family opened the Veil of Death, releasing the evil power within. But the library holds a spell that can dispel Death and bring peace to the dead. You want me to find and use that spell?”

“Yes, my lord!”

“There’s one problem, Marcus. Are you sure I can use that spell? You know, I’m just an ordinary young wizard, not even of age yet, and haven’t graduated from Hogwarts,” Evan paused and said, “I mean, my magic might not be enough. It might simply be too weak to cast such a spell.”

“The Diadem will help you, my lord,” said Marcus, looking at Ravenclaw’s Diadem on Evan’s head. “You are Rowena’s chosen successor, and our only hope.”

“In that case, I’ll go there and see, but my friends…”

“I’ve already arranged for soldiers to rescue your friends,” said Marcus. “This way, my lord. Please allow me to show you the family castle.”

“Hmm!” Evan nodded, watching the troops scattered in front of the castle regroup and advance toward the lake.

He followed the ghost through the castle gates, and the former grandeur of Ravenclaw Castle unfolded before his eyes.

The ancient decorations were exquisitely beautiful, but the combination of real ruins and illusory light and shadow lent everything an eerie sense of unreality.

After Evan passed through, the gates slowly closed behind him, and everything outside seemed to dissolve into nothingness.

“This is the banquet hall. The old master loved to host banquets. Our largest banquet had nearly ten thousand attendees, and almost all the great wizards have been there at one time or another.” Passing through the antechamber, Marcus pointed to the spacious Great Hall and introduced it to Evan.

Inside, two enormous long tables stood arranged much like those in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, with a stage at their center.

“This way, my lord,” Marcus continued. “To get to the library, we need to go around the third-floor gallery, the opera house, and the magic practice areas. The central tower is our destination…”