Harry Potter and the Hidden Treasure (Volume 3)

Chapter 414 Evil In The Forest

Evan gazed at the imposing statue of the malevolent spirit, and all sorts of emotions surfaced in his almost faded memory. He was astounded, on the verge of losing his senses.

The statue beckoned him, calling him to approach its side.

Eight hundred years ago, the Fallen Centaurs took a portion of the Philosopher's Stone.

The remaining magic in the broken Philosopher's Stone was not enough to bring back this malevolent spirit into the world. It needed this piece from Evan.

Perhaps that's why Evan entered this dream.

The malevolent spirit, gradually regaining its power, sensed the half of the Philosopher's Stone that Evan carried with him. It needed Evan to surrender himself and hand over the Stone.

The closer Evan was to the remnants of the centaurs, the more palpable this feeling became.

Its statue looked imposing and extraordinary, like the powerful deity it represented.

Upon seeing it, people's first impulse would be to bow before its majesty.

Unfortunately for him, he was unaware that Evan had seen through his true colors in the illusion created by Gryffindor and knew the reality of that supposed deity.

Not only would Evan not surrender the Philosopher's Stone, but he was also prepared to retrieve the other half that the Fallen Centaurs took eight centuries ago.

Through these brief encounters, it wasn't hard to discover that the most powerful ability of malevolent spirits resided in Legilimency and dream manipulation.

They could create illusions and enter someone's dreams.

Just like Dementors feed on happy emotions, malevolent spirits can exploit all the voids in the mind that can be harnessed, awaken the darkness in the deepest part of a person's heart, and absorb negative emotions like fear, madness, anxiety, etc., devouring their soul.

They need flesh and blood to construct their bodies, while negative emotions make them powerful.

In the lair of Aragog, the Acromantulas led captured animals to underground ruins and used their flesh and souls to help the eye monster regain strength.

But that was far from sufficient. The souls of those animals were too weak.

When Malfoy released a substantial amount of negative energy due to his fear of darkness and the unknown, and eventually decided to submit to it, the eye monster truly regained its true form.

Evan did not believe in the divinity of malevolent spirits, nor was he misled by the illusion before him.

He looked again at the malevolent spirit's statue and began to grow bored.

Limited in strength, that creature now only had the ability to spin and whirl in such a way that it confused, created chaos, and continuous illusions...

There was nothing to fear before its essence truly arrived in the real world.

Similar to Voldemort, lurking in the forest not far away, no matter how powerful he used to be, he could only survive in a dark corner.

After discussing the matter with Dumbledore, Evan was already prepared to face it.

He attempted to clear his mind and use Occlumency to resist the spiritual infiltration of the malevolent spirit.

About a year ago, Evan began practicing Occlumency, which could effectively assist the user in resisting the invasion and influence of Legilimency.

It was not something that could be quickly mastered like a wand, and the recurring distractions in his mind made him perform poorly.

Evan could not truly shut his mind like Snape, but the effect of using this spell was indeed very evident.

The dream before him seemed like a poor television transmission. The image started showing noticeable fluctuations and was no longer as clear as before.

With Evan's mind closed, the connection between both sides weakened more and more.

The statue of the malevolent spirit and the exquisite City of the Centaurs beneath the terrace began to crumble and fragment, and Evan fell into an endless pit forming beneath him.

When he awoke, it was already dawn.

Nothing before him had changed, as if nothing had transpired.

The morning chill brought Evan back to his senses. He sat on the bed and panted for a while, pondering the malevolent spirit and the vampire that appeared in the dream.

When the sweat of his body had dissipated completely, he rose from the bed and approached the window.

Outside, the night was fading away, and the dawn was slowly awakening the slumbering creatures.

Evan opened the window, and the fresh air entered leisurely.

In the sky, the grayish-blue dome gradually began to fade from above and turned gradually into a faint blue haze skirting the horizon.

A soft mist rose at the edge of the forest, and the distant hills were blurry with a gentle milky white. The white mist made everything hazy and illusory.

Just as Evan was immersed in the beautiful scene before him, he suddenly heard a sharp and desolate cry, sounding very sorrowful.

He looked down and saw a woman with fair skin beneath the window.

She had long silver hair with a shawl and a black cloak. However, he couldn't clearly see her face and age.

For some reason, she was crying with great distress. She clapped her hands and made a loud noise.

The voice was very shrill, and it echoed especially in the empty and silent streets of the early morning.

But strangely, no one came out to dissuade or inquire about the situation.

Even Evan had a strange feeling that he was the only one who could hear her cry.

It was so strange that when he wanted to ask what was happening, the woman beneath the window seemed to sense it, and suddenly she raised her head and stared directly at Evan.

What a visage she had! Whitish skin, dilated pupils, and facial features that had begun to decompose and distort. She was a dead person!

Evan recoiled and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Unthinkable! He really saw a dead woman moving and crying!

What on earth was happening? Was it necromancy, witchcraft, or some other magic?

Evan thought of the Inferi, but this woman clearly had her own intentions.

Or perhaps she was an indescribable creation of some malevolent spirit.

After her attempt to infiltrate and control Evan in his dreams had failed, she sent that being.

The monster downstairs seemed very pleased with Evan's reaction.

Looking at the frightened boy, it opened its huge, terrifying mouth, exaggeratedly upwards, showing an ugly smile, and a few worms fell from it.

After a brief shock, Evan quickly regained composure.

Undoubtedly, it was a deceased Banshee!

He had previously read about this dark creature in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and the Defense Against the Dark Arts book, but he had never seen one until today.

He did not expect it to be more horrifying than described in the books.

In fact, the Banshee, as a harbinger of death, was very rare, not harmful, but generally, wizards considered it extremely unlucky to see one.

From the divination standpoint, it was a very malevolent omen, only surpassed by seeing the great black dog that predicted death.

As its name indicated, if the death-predicting Banshee cried loudly downstairs, it meant that the person at the window who had been chosen would soon die...