Chapter 336: Departure for the Centaur Colony

Ivan was the last of the sophomores. Behind him was Ron. He did very well until he got to the Hinkypunk. Although his performance before that was a bit rushed, overall it was acceptable.

But then, the Hinkypunk's misleading instructions confused him into sinking waist-deep into the swamp.

"It's a shame. Ron must have mistaken the Hinkypunk's flashlight for his destination. This is a very easy mistake." Sirius said regretfully, "If he was in a real swamp, he'd be in serious trouble now."

Ivan saw that he gave Ron eighty points, which was already very high. Normally, Ron failed halfway through and shouldn't get such a score.

Like Snape, Sirius was staunchly biased towards Gryffindor. Here, all Slytherin students scored very low, just as Gryffindor never scored high with Snape. In a way, the two courses compensated for each other.

After Ron came Malfoy, he returned to Hogwarts two days ago, and didn't seem to have anything wrong with him, apart from being paler than usual.

Ivan was worried that the monster magic acting directly on the soul would have an irreversible effect on Malfoy, but that didn't seem to be the case now.

He performed very well, but had a big problem with the Boggart.

It was quiet in the trunk for five minutes, and Malfoy didn't come out.

When Ivan and Sirius came in and rescued him, he was shivering in the corner and sobbing quietly.

Not surprisingly, what Malfoy feared most was the eyeball monster.

Sirius was apparently stunned when he first saw the creature, then waved his wand to lead the Boggart into the dark trunk.

Goyle and Crabbe came awkwardly and led Malfoy to sit down.

Ron stood there laughing loudly at Malfoy's performance. Even though he was covered in mud, Malfoy was even more embarrassing than he was, bursting into tears.

"I've never seen or heard of such a horrible creature." Sirius didn't hesitate to give Malfoy's paper a zero and said in disgust, "I think Slytherin was absolutely mad to hide such a monster in the school."

"He is the magical creation of Herpo the Mad, the most evil dark wizard in history. The souls and blood and flesh of countless humans and other creatures were put into making it." Ivan said slowly, "Haven't you seen the message on the board in Dumbledore's office?"

"Yes, I think you'd better stop meddling in this matter." Sirius replied simply, "Don't worry, no matter what it is, Dumbledore will take care of it. This is not something for you young wizards to be involved in. It's more evil than usual..."

Ivan did not speak. In any case, he planned to go to the Temple marked on the stone to see it, but he didn't want to argue with Sirius about it. He changed the subject. "By the way, how did you find these dark creatures?"

Actually, Ivan was very curious. Sirius had prepared many more Dark creatures for the exam than Professor Lupin had left behind.

"It wasn't too difficult. These guys were lurking in the shadows of the Forbidden Forest. They're eager to see what they can do to passing creatures. They can always be found if you look for them." Sirius pointed to the one-legged Hinkypunk and said, "For example, this guy is hiding in a big swamp north of the centaur colony."

"The swamp on the north side of the centaur colony?" Ivan was surprised.

"You haven't been there yet. It's in the deepest part of the Forbidden Forest. You have to go through a mountainous area." Sirius turned his head and looked at Ivan," I repeat, stop thinking about Herpo the Mad, Slytherin and that monster. I know they can't afford to be idle. There must be something wrong with being so indifferent. So I'm going to take the four of you to the centaur colony to try and challenge the Gryffindor test, when will you be ready?"

"We can leave at any time!" Ivan waved his wand and sent out a colorful spark. "You know, I've been in good shape lately."

"That's good!" Sirius nodded without showing any expression on his face.

After Ivan left the school hospital fully recovered, Sirius dueled with Ivan, who was growing in strength. The duel unexpectedly ended in a draw, which made Sirius feel very embarrassed. It was simply unthinkable that he couldn't hold back a 12-year-old wizard.

Ivan didn't know how Sirius would feel if he told him that he restrained himself from dueling, and not using the many powerful dark magic spells he had mastered.

"Harry and Ron have a Divination exam in the afternoon - Hermione has Arithmancy!" Sirius said. "We can go out after dinner. Centaurs are used to evening activities. If we go quickly, I think we can be back before midnight."

"I'll brief you later, at six o'clock this evening, we'll wait for you at Hagrid's hut!" Ivan nodded and said he couldn't wait to go to the centaur tribe.

"Remember, make sure Harry brings his invisibility cloak." Sirius continued, "We're on a secret operation this time. Don't let anyone else find out."

During the conversation, Harry had completed all the challenges.

He did very well, handling all the dark creatures the right way, and Sirius gave him top marks.

Behind Harry was Hermione, who did everything perfectly until she reached the trunk with the Boggart inside. After a minute inside, she came back in a panic screaming.

"Hermione!" Ivan held her hurriedly and asked, surprised. "What's wrong?"

"P....P..., Professor McGonagall!" Hermione gasped, pointing towards the trunk. "Shit.... she said she failed everything!"

For Hermione, who was focused on getting first place, it was absolutely the most horrible thing. She even forgot it was just a Boggart.

It took a little while to calm Hermione down. When she finally regained control over herself, she, Ivan, Harry and Ron returned to the castle.

Ron was still slightly inclined to laugh at Hermione's Boggart, but his attention was quickly diverted. Ivan told them about the conversation he had just had with Sirius, and asked them to prepare to meet at the castle gate in the evening.

"So tonight we're going to the centaur colony to look for that powerful magical item left behind by Gryffindor?" asked Ron excitedly.

"Yes!" Ivan continued. "Harry, bring your invisibility cloak, Sirius specifically told us that we shouldn't be seen by anyone else."