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Chapter 1038: The Legend of the Headless Horseman
🕑 Added 2024-03-01 06:27:41 +0000 UTCBecause of Evan’s joining, the fragile balance between the two parties had been broken, and the situation was developing in a direction that was not conducive to Voldemort.
Suppressing the opponent and not giving Voldemort a chance to breathe was what Evan was thinking now.
But Voldemort was not a fool and would not give them a chance easily.
Especially after the incident in Norway, the statue of the evil god was damaged and he escaped with injuries, and now he was even more reluctant to expose himself.
Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix needed time to prepare for the final battle, and Evan was not in a hurry. He also needed to find out the trump cards of Voldemort and the Evil God. The last time he forcibly used "Silence" magic to cause damage to the Evil God's statue, the Philosopher’s Stone left by Gryffindor had also been seriously consumed.
There were cracks on the Philosopher’s Stone, and its brightness had obviously faded. It would maybe not be able to support him for too long.
This was not good news for Evan, whose top priority was to collect the treasure keys left by the other Founders.
But it would be great if they could force Voldemort out for another fight, which would give them an even greater advantage.
And they just had such a thing to lure Voldemort out. The Prophecy orb was irresistible to Voldemort's temptation.
As long as they planned carefully, making him think he had a chance, they could lure him out.
The most ideal outcome then would be to defeat Voldemort. If that didn't work, revealing the fact of his resurrection could further restrain him. Whether it was the pursuit of the Elder Wand's secret or the completion of the evil god's conspiracy, he would be hindered and restricted.
Not to mention, Evan had to go there to get the Time-Turner, which was a crucial prop.
Therefore, Harry knowing about the Department of Mysteries was in line with Evan’s plan, and he felt that it was necessary to give it another push.
Of course, these things still had to be hidden from Harry, as Voldemort could easily learn the secrets from his mind. If accidentally leaked, the plan would fail!
While Evan was thinking about the whole thing, Hermione and the others were also discussing the information brought by Harry.
"Harry, so … so, are you saying …” whispered Ron, as Madam Pince swept past, squeaking slightly, “that the weapon — the thing You-Know-Who’s after — is in the Ministry of Magic?"
"It’s got to be there,” Harry whispered. "It's definitely that door. I've been having that damn dream for more than a month. There's no mistaking it. I should have thought of it earlier. When I went to the courtroom with your father, I've seen that door. Remember, Evan?"
"Yeah," Evan nodded. "I remember that place!"
"Of course!" Hermione said disapprovingly.
“Of course what?" Ron asked impatiently.
“Think about it... Sturgis Podmore was trying to get through a door at the Ministry of Magic... It must have been that one; it’s too much of a coincidence!" Hermione said slowly. "But it's a bit odd. How come Sturgis was trying to break in when he’s on our side?"
"I don't know!" Harry shook his head.
"He might have been under the Imperius Curse, or he could have defected to Voldemort; both are possible," said Evan quickly. "But no matter what, there’s something crucial in the Department of Mysteries, and Voldemort wants to get it."
“I heard my uncle talk about that place!" Elaine also interjected. "He said that it is a place where the Ministry of Magic specializes in collecting ancient magic items and legendary magic items, possessing unimaginable power. But most of those things have lost their magic power, or have very harsh conditions and cannot be used by current spellcasters, so they’re kept there."
"Could it be related to the evil god?" Hermione suddenly asked.
"I don't know, but it's hard to say. The Ministry might be secretly developing something there."
"Do you think Umbridge knows? She’s the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic!" Ron thought of this possibility.
"Even if she knows something, she won't say it. It would be good if she doesn't cause any trouble for us!"
"I know the Imperius Curse and Legilimency. Do you need me to use them on her?" said Elaine, revealing her two sharp fangs. "I’m already very proficient in these two magic. I can make her tell everything she knows. Leave it all to me!"
THUMP!
Evan knocked her on the head again. This was not the kind of magic a student should be using.
"Don't cause trouble. Didn't I tell you not to mess with Umbridge?"
“But she offended me. You forgot about this morning's class? I had to strike first before she caused trouble for me.”
Elaine was really accustomed to violence; her mind was full of dangerous thoughts. It seemed like she needed to be kept under control, or she might cause some serious trouble.
But considering the environment in which she grew up, it was not surprising that she thought this way.
This was already a weakened version of a vampire. If Caresius were here, her thoughts might be even more perilous.
Evan did not need to use the Imperius Curse on Umbridge, because he already knew everything he needed to know. It just wasn't the right time to reveal it.
He wanted to use Harry and the Prophecy orb to lure Voldemort to the Ministry of Magic. Only in this way could he enter legally and trap Voldemort in the process.
"Harry, are you sure you’re all right?" Hermione looked at Harry worriedly, he didn't look good.
Harry had just run both his hands hard over his forehead as though trying to iron it, with a very painful expression.
“Yeah … fine …” he said, lowering his hands, which were trembling. “I just feel a bit … how should I put it … I don’t like Occlumency much … and I don't like the way Snape taught me. It's too rough, forcibly thrusting into my mind … It seems like he fears something inside me."
"Theoretically, what he did is actually effective," said Evan. "But training with such high intensity for the first time is indeed a bit too hasty. It cannot be ruled out that he wants to figure out what you’re thinking through this method."
“I expect anyone would feel shaky if they’d had their mind attacked over and over again,” said Hermione sympathetically. “Look, let’s get back to the common room; we’ll be a bit more comfortable there..."
But the common room was packed and full of shrieks of laughter and excitement; Fred and George were demonstrating their latest bit of joke shop merchandise.
“Headless Hats!” shouted George, as Fred waved a pointed hat decorated with a fluffy pink feather at the watching students. “Two Galleons each — watch Fred, now!”
Fred swept the hat onto his head, beaming. For a second he merely looked rather stupid, then both hat and head vanished.
Several girls screamed, but everyone else was roaring with laughter.
“And off again!” shouted George, and Fred’s hand groped for a moment in what seemed to be thin air over his shoulder; then his head reappeared as he swept the pink-feathered hat from it again.
"Wow … how did he do that?!" Ron looked at the hat in surprise.
"It seems very interesting, losing your own head," said Elaine, looking at the pink hat in Fred's hand, "I heard this story. There was a knight who lost his head, and he's been searching for it. If he finds someone with a good-looking head, he cuts it off and takes it home."
"That's just a legend!"
"It's not a legend, because there really was a headless horseman who visited my house," said Elaine seriously, her burgundy eyes sweeping over Evan, Harry, Hermione, and Ron, "I have seen it with my own eyes. It was a knight in black armor, covered with blood, shrouded in black smoke, his right hand held a head at his waist. The exposed skin looked like moldy cheese. He had a large mouth and huge compound eyes like flies. He kept searching for a next target..."
"Can't be true, right?" Ron stopped smiling and looked at Elaine fearfully.
"Of course it's true. If you meet him, be careful with your head," said Elaine. "He's looking for a substitute!"
When Ron turned around in panic, Evan knocked Elaine on the head again.
"There's no Headless Horseman. Stop scaring people!" he whispered.
"How do you know what I said is false?!" said Elaine simply, looking at Evan playfully.
"Because I saw you smirking!" Evan curled his lips; this girl indeed had a wicked sense of humor!
From time to time, she came up with some dangerous ideas, just like biting or licking Evan. Bluffing to scare people seemed to be also one of her interests.
