HP: Fantastic Beasts And The Right Way To Use Them - 311

Chapter 311: “She Will Return.”

After a heartfelt, sincere apology, Evans finally watched the Dark Wizard King draw back the black mist coiled around her arm, and he let out a quiet breath.

Then his gaze flicked to the bound lump of fog on the ground before he looked away again, turning toward the old woman who was still fussing over the hippogriff.

The earlier fight had not lasted long, and Lady Hufflepuff’s echo had not been directly injured. Even so, being controlled by that mist had still damaged this body of hers.

It was subtle, but if you looked closely, the old woman had become faintly translucent. You could make out the scenery behind her through her figure.

Evans did not know the workings of this kind of phantom spell, but he did know one thing. Any being that was neither alive nor a true soul, yet still possessed independent consciousness, required an enormous amount of energy to maintain.

He had no idea how much power this space could supply, but it could not be infinite. If it were, Lady Hufflepuff’s echo would never have been vulnerable enough for that mist to exploit.

Her time was running short.

As much as he hated interrupting a Hogwarts founder’s interaction with his companion, there were questions he needed answered, and quickly.

Because if what this old woman had said earlier was true, Sothia’s current position was probably not a safe one.

“Ma’am, earlier you said Herpo sealed the body he stole, along with himself, inside a space somewhere nearby, is that right?”

Hufflepuff withdrew the hand she had been using to stroke the hippogriff’s neck. She looked at Evans with a kindly smile and nodded.

“That is true, but there is no need to panic.”

“I told you before. Herpo pursued this plan because the body he occupied was already close to its limit.”

“After all, no matter how suitable that child’s body was, it could not bear two souls at once for long. Once the flesh rotted away, he would have to return to the state of a wandering spirit and wait for another body that could host him.”

“I imagine he had long since grown tired of the cycle. Every few years, he had to change bodies and spend most of his magic just to stay alive. That is why he tried to seize the ritual that governs this space.”

“Because once Merlin sealed that era away, a Horcrux maker like him could no longer return to the Hall of Lost Dreams that wandering spirits belonged to.”

“Or rather, other wandering spirits might still be able to slip in through loopholes. But he certainly could not.”

“Because he is Herpo, and that era and that realm belong to Morgana.”

As she spoke, Hufflepuff lifted her head and glanced at the bright, sunny sky above the pasture.

“Morgana will not allow him to enter the Hall of Lost Dreams again. So he must make that body endure permanently.”

“But it has been over a thousand years since his body was meant to be at its limit,” Evans said, frowning. “How did he survive all this time?”

If Herpo had truly lost his body, he should have been unable to cast magic at all. And if he could not cast magic, how could he seize this space?

Hufflepuff smiled gently. “Since you mentioned the Great Lake before, why not guess why he created a lake like that in the first place?”

“Because that lake can preserve his body?” Evans said, confused.

Then his eyes widened.

“Avalon?”

A lake, and the power to keep a decaying body from disappearing. The answer sprang into his mind at once.

In legend, Avalon was the dwelling of the Spring Nymphs, a mythical paradise where time stood still and everything remained peaceful and serene.

Because of Sothia, Evans had studied every record he could find connected to the Spring Nymphs, especially anything tied to that fabled blessed land.

“Only an imitation. Not the true Avalon,” Hufflepuff said softly. “Otherwise, he would not need to use ritual magic to seize our space.”

“A time that long would break anyone. Even if the springwater he created really could imitate the sacred land of legend, he would not be able to maintain it forever.”

“Your arrival was the final straw.”

Hufflepuff looked at Evans with gentle eyes. “You know what a lich becomes once it loses its body, don’t you?”

“I do,” Evans said, nodding.

After learning that Voldemort was a lich, he had dug up every scrap of knowledge he could find on Horcruxes. The methods and effects were so vile that much of it had been lost to history, but a fair amount still remained.

And he had seen with his own eyes how Voldemort possessed Quirrell and confronted Harry. If anything, he was one of the best-informed wizards alive when it came to liches.

And just so happened, one of the few people who understood them as well was part of his team.

“Then I need not explain it again.” Hufflepuff nodded, her expression turning solemn. “Find that rotting body and kill him.”

“Then find a way to imprison the wandering spirit, and if possible, locate his remaining Horcruxes and erase him completely. How far you can go will depend on you.”

After speaking, Hufflepuff paused, as if giving Evans time to digest it.

But as Evans lowered his head to sort through the information, something else occurred to him.

“Oh, right. Ma’am. Do you remember leaving an inheritance at the edge of the Forbidden Forest?”

Hufflepuff nodded. “I did, but it was only a small gift for those who came after.”

Then, as though she had realised something, a smile returned to her face.

“You saw the message I left behind, and you want to ask about the final line, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Evans said without hesitation.

To be honest, those riddle-like words had tormented him for a long time. Now that he had found the one who wrote them, he wanted the truth, at least that much.

Hufflepuff did not tease him. She merely gathered her thoughts for a moment, then spoke slowly.

“I have always said Merlin sealed that era away. And since it was sealed, that means it was not truly destroyed.”

“Or rather, as long as Morgana’s corrupted will still exists, that era will never be destroyed.”

Her voice remained gentle, but sorrow showed clearly in her eyes.

“I do not know what Merlin did over these thousand years. But before he vanished without a word, he once said he would find an inheritor, someone to help him complete what came next.”

“But by then he was already… constrained. I think he could not warn you effectively.”

“That is why I left those lines in that inheritance.”

“And just as I said back then…”

“She will return.”