Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures-Chapter 1280: Tonks’s Patronus

“No use!” At once came the dispiriting realization to Harry that he was now under the Invisibility Cloak, crammed like cargo into a corner beneath the seat. Even if somebody looked into the compartment, he would be neither seen nor heard. Not even Evan would notice him; he would be taken back to London with the train.

If Malfoy didn’t say anything, maybe no one would ever find him…

In the darkness, Harry lay there like an absurd turtle on its back, blood dripping sickeningly from his nose into his open mouth. A feeling of loneliness rose from the bottom of his heart. He had never hated Malfoy as much as he did at this moment.

Because of him, he was in such a stupid situation now…

And now the last few footsteps were dying away; everyone was shuffling along the dark platform outside; he could hear the scraping of trunks and the loud babble of talk. He tried desperately to make a sound, even a grunt, but it was impossible.

Then he remembered that some wizards, like Dumbledore, could cast spells without speaking.

Evan seemed to be able to do it too; he had mentioned during a D.A. meeting that it required control over magic.

So Harry tried to summon his wand, which had fallen out of his hand, by saying the words “Accio Wand! Accio Wand!” over and over again in his head, but nothing happened.

He thought he could hear the rustling of the trees that surrounded the lake, and the far-off hoot of an owl, but no hint of a search being made or even panicked voices wondering where Harry Potter had gone.

Harry’s heart sank as he imagined the convoy of thestral-drawn carriages trundling up to the school and the muffled yells of laughter issuing from whichever carriage Malfoy was riding in, where he could be recounting his attack on Harry to his friends…

Thinking of this, a feeling of hopelessness spread through him.

Just then, he heard another set of quick footsteps approaching, and hope flared as he heard Evan’s voice calling out!

“Harry, are you in here?” Evan raised his wand, illuminating the entire compartment.

It was silent and he saw nothing.

Of course, Harry was now covered by the Invisibility Cloak.

There was a good chance he was unconscious.

If Evan were Malfoy and had managed to subdue Harry, he wouldn’t have let him off easily.

Even if he didn’t dare to kill Harry, he should at least give him a good beating.

Given the grudge between Malfoy and Harry, it wouldn’t surprise Evan if he did something excessive again.

He touched the floor, the seats, and the overhead rack, but there was nothing there. So…

Evan squatted down and reached under the seat, and his hand touched something.

Suddenly, Harry felt his Invisibility Cloak fly off him, and Evan’s voice rang out overhead, “Finally found you!”

Harry was dragged out and he saw Evan, and just then, a figure appeared behind him.

Someone Apparated over and Evan turned quickly, pointing his wand at the person before abruptly stopping.

“No, Evan, it’s me!” said Tonks.

She was as mousy-haired and miserable-looking as she had been when they had met her at the Burrow.

Tonks waved her wand; there was a flash of red light and Harry’s body unfroze.

He was able to push himself into a more dignified sitting position, and hastily wipe the blood off his bruised face with the back of his hand.

“What are you doing here?” Evan asked, pulling Harry up.

“According to the arrangement of the Ministry, I’m stationed in Hogsmeade now, to give the school extra protection,” said Tonks. “Today’s the start of term, so I thought I’d come take a look. When I noticed you two hadn’t left the train, I knew something was wrong. I saw you come into this compartment, so I Apparated directly in — didn’t expect to find Harry…”

Just then, the train lurched.

“We’ll talk outside; we’d better get out of here before the train heads back. Quickly now.”

The three of them quickly left the train, and a thick steam floated from the engine.

The cool night air quickly dispersed the steam, blowing against their faces, soothing on Harry’s throbbing nose.

Harry glanced awkwardly at Evan and Tonks, realizing they were both looking back at him.

He didn’t know how to explain himself; he felt angry and embarrassed that he had been discovered in such a ridiculous position.

“Well, we’ve missed the last carriage, so it looks like we have to walk to Hogwarts,” said Evan, looking into the distance.

They could see the boats moving away on the lake; they hadn’t yet entered the Hogwarts grounds, so if they Apparated now…

Evan considered it, then dismissed the idea — it wouldn’t be wise to scare the first-year students, nor could he reveal he could Apparate.

“Stay here, Evan, don’t go anywhere. I’ll notify the school to send someone to pick you up,” said Tonks, seeming to sense Evan’s thoughts. She waved her wand; an immense silvery four-legged creature erupted from it and streaked off into the darkness.

Apparently, it was a Patronus, similar to Lupin’s!

Seeing the miserable-looking Tonks, Evan thought he should help her, but he didn’t know how to talk to Lupin about it.

He handled relationship matters so messily himself, what qualifications did he have to help others?

“What a beautiful Patronus,” he could only sigh with emotion.

“Thank you,” said Tonks, hastily changing the subject. “Harry, what on earth is going on? Who did it?”

“Draco Malfoy,” said Harry bitterly. “Thanks for … well …”

“I, Hermione, and Elaine were waiting for you and Neville, but you both didn’t return. During the final check, I found Neville near the front of the train; he was trying to catch a fleeing toad,” said Evan. “He told me that you’d separated from them halfway, using your Invisibility Cloak. I figured you might have gone after Malfoy, so I doubled back.”

“I was careless this time,” said Harry, “but I heard that Malfoy seemed to be planning to do something. He’s working for Voldemort.”

“Is this what you overheard? What’s he planning?”

“I don’t know, but he said Voldemort…”

“Don’t say that name, Harry, and don’t talk about this here. You should get to school right now,” said Tonks uneasily, raising her wand again. “I can fix your nose if you stand still.”

Harry did not think much of this idea. To be honest, he didn’t fully trust Tonks in this matter.

If he had a choice, Evan would be more reliable than her.

Besides, his nose wasn’t bleeding much anymore, so he could just visit Madam Pomfrey, the matron, in whom he had a little more confidence when it came to Healing Spells, but it seemed rude to say this, so he stayed stock-still and closed his eyes.

“Episkey,” said Tonks.

Harry’s nose felt very hot, and then very cold. He raised a hand and felt it gingerly. It seemed to be mended.

“We should take care of those blood scabs too; you’d probably scare a lot of people if you went to the school looking like that,” said Evan.

He then raised his wand and pointed it at Harry’s face, which immediately became clean.

However, Harry’s face still looked a bit swollen; Malfoy must have used quite a lot of force earlier.

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