Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

Chapter 339: Evil and divination

The dark red moon shone through the layers of dark clouds, exuding magnificence and prestige.

The shadows of the cloud were sparse, and the moon shone on the ancient mysterious Temple below. This huge Temple built by the Centaurs, looked like shadow between the clouds as it stood there within the mist, looking extraordinarily quiet and solemn, and radiating invisible pressure.

Evan was shocked and absorbed by the scene before his eyes.

It was almost inconceivable that such amazing architecture and civilization could be hidden in the depths of the Forbidden Forest in Hogwarts.

Behind him, Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed them out of the woods, and they couldn’t help exclaiming, shocked by the amazing buildings in front of them.

Their eyes swept over the well-proportioned wooden cabins of the Centaurs, and finally landed on the massive, dark, impenetrable Temple on the central island of the colony.

“I never thought that the Centaurs’ colony would be like this.” Harry said in shock. “I thought it would be just a few simple shacks…”

“It’s beyond everyone’s imagination!” Ron followed with admiration.

“The Centaurs have a unique civilization, even their own cities.” Hermione whispered, “It’s only today that I really understand the meaning of this sentence.”

For the Centaurs’ colony in front of them, it was not too much to use any kind of praise.

The Centaurs with bows and arrows on their backs came out of the Forbidden Forest one by one and looked proudly at the expressions of Evan, Harry, Ron and Hermione. The children’s surprise was very satisfying to them.

“It’s a lot bigger than it was twenty years ago. There weren’t so many cabins at the time.” Sirius smiled and said, “The temple above the central island was built by the ancestors of the Centaurs and is the most sacred place among the Centaurs’ colony. It has been here for centuries, and it enshrines many stars and the souls of the Centaurs’ ancestors.”

“The item left by Gryffindor is kept there?” asked Evan.

“Yes, this is also the ultimate destination of our trip.” Sirius bent down and his smile faded away. He lowered his voice and said, “When you enter the temple later, if you see something strange, don’t ask about it; don’t touch it. The Centaurs have unique customs and unusual magic. There are many evils and dangers in there. We must respect them and keep the necessary vigilance…”

“Strange customs?!” Everyone was stunned.

Seeing Sirius’s earnest expression, many horrible scenes emerged in their minds.

“I went to Egypt last summer and saw this kind of thing in those huge pyramids,” Ron whispered. “All kinds of curses, and the mummies made by ancient Egyptian wizards who wrapped the dead Pharaoh’s bodies in strips of cloth in layers, stuffed with magical items and bizarre curses.”

Needless to say, this was another attempt by ancient wizards to obtain eternal life. Evan did not know whether the pharaohs who were famous in history had finally returned to the world, but the evil black magic that was born was definitely a headache for everyone.

So, would it be the same for the Centaurs?

Would they mummify all the corpses of their ancestors and preserve them properly, expecting the deceased to return from the abyss of the underworld some day in the future?!

Looking at the Centaurs around him, Evan could never imagine that they would do such a thing. In his opinion, the Centaurs’ civilization, though shockingly advanced, was still in a relatively primitive clan state, and Evan was more inclined that there would be a shrine for one of their ancestors or a certain god.

“Do the Centaurs make mummies too?” Harry asked.

“Of course not. Here is not Egypt. The Centaurs are native to ancient Greece!” Hermione disagreed. “That was the peak of the ancient warlocks’ power. Their customs may be related to this aspect, but what exactly they are; we’ll have to see.”

They talked in a low voice, but Firenze, standing nearby, heard it.

“Unlike human wizards, we do not disrespect the bodies and souls of our ancestors.” He came up and said softly, “The Centaurs now believe in the power of the stars, and the planets give us harbingers, but centuries ago, we weren’t like this.”

“What were you like at that time?” Evan asked.

Such a direct inquiry into the history of the Centaurs seemed not very polite, but Firenze was not upset. He blinked his dark blue eyes.

“I’ve told you before that the powerful magic item that the Founder of the castle kept in the tribe was incomplete, and it split with the division within the Centaurs.” Firenze turned to Evan and said gently, “We have not fulfilled our original vows. For centuries, the elders have been blaming themselves for this.”

“What happened then, and why did you split up?” Evan said, “I’ve checked many books on the history of magic, and I haven’t seen any records about it.”

“The history of the Centaurs will not appear in human books. We do not trust humans.” Firenze looked up at the dark red moon hanging over the temple and said slowly, “Our ancestors made a great mistake. They believed in an evil dark god.”

“Evil Dark God?!” hearing his words, everyone was stunned.

“Because it had been long ago, it is difficult for the Centaurs now to know whether the god came from ancient mythology or was an invention of our ancestors.” Firenze leaned forward and said in a nearly whispering voice, “No one knows its name, where it comes from. We call it the God of the Forest. It speaks to us in the void, requests us to offer sacrifices and leads us to prosperity.”

This sounded familiar, like the eyeball monster asking the Acromantulas to do the same for it, brutal and evil. If it wasn’t for time, Evan even suspected that the God of the Forest that popped up suddenly was a monster in the depths of the underground.

“The so-called prosperity, in essence, is destruction. Because of this, there have been endless wars within the Centaurs. Finally, under the guidance of the stars, our ancestors won, but the huge tribe split.” Firenze whispered, “Those who believed in evil spirits had been exiled from the tribe, most of whom were very high-ranking Centaurs. They took away a lot of things when they left, including a part of the powerful magic item that the Founder of the castle had left behind in the tribe.”

No one spoke, and everyone was immersed in what Firenze had said. The Centaurs had been neglected by the wizarding world. Wizards looked upon them with disdain. There was little communication between them. People only knew that the Centaurs lived somewhere, nothing more.

No one could imagine that this happened to the Centaurs in Hogwarts Forbidden Forest.

Evan shook his head. Was this the Harry Potter World that he knew?!

What had happened in recent months was simply beyond imagination. It was originally intended to trace the clues of the Secret Treasures left by the Four Founders, but his findings were becoming increasingly shocking. One after another, powerful ancient Dark wizards and evil creatures popped up in front of him.

The more secrets he knew, the more he felt the true horror of this world.