Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

Chapter 503: Ron’s Dress Robes

“Since Gryffindor left the Philosopher’s Stone in the Centaurs’ colony,” When he heard the topic, Harry raised his voice and said with interest, “maybe the other three Founders left them near Hogwarts too. I know there are Merpeople in the lake. Evan, you said that before…”

“It’s really worth investigating!” Evan nodded.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Ravenclaw’s Key was in the hands of the Merpeople in the lake.

Come to think of it, the hint she left behind was: Beautiful Ravenclaw, from the tranquil riverside! She thinks that the cleverest of minds deserve a reward! The key to the treasure is brilliance, which will be passed on forever by her equally intelligent allies!

Besides the Centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, the only other intelligent population near Hogwarts was the Merpeople clan living in the lake.

The Merpeople is a highly intelligent non-human magic race with a long history even surpassing the Centaurs.

All over the world, there are legends about them, and they often appeared in fairy tales.

Unlike the proud Centaurs, Merpeople and wizards have had frequent contacts.

Although their specific origins are not known, they have long been indispensable allies of Hogwarts Castle.

In any case, they satisfy the hint left by Ravenclaw.

Evan had always thought to investigate in the lake and tried to get in touch with the Merpeople, but he didn’t speak their language and couldn’t communicate with them.

It seemed that during this school term, he had to include that in his study plan.

“This thing is really good!” said Harry, returning the cloth bag to Evan. “I want one too, but I don’t think I need it much. I don’t always carry a lot of books and materials around like you. But I bet it would be good for brooms, candy and clothes.”

Such bags are good for hiding other things; Evan thought…

Elaine’s underwear was in Evan’s. He had planned to burn it directly, but it didn’t seem to be a good idea. Evan could only keep this “burden” on him and wait for the opportunity to return it to Elaine later.

He had no problem giving Harry the cloth bag for inspection. He could see nothing. Anyway, he wouldn’t take out his clothes, and probably couldn’t recognize the girl’s underwear by touch alone.

Harry lacked experience, but if it were Hermione, he wouldn’t have given her the cloth bag again even if she were to kill him.

Evan continued to look down to sort out the books, and Harry began to pack up his own things, laboriously piling his clothes in his bag.

Just then, they heard Ron making a loud noise of disgust behind them. “What is this supposed to be?” he shouted.

Evan and Harry looked back and saw something in his hand. It looked like a long, maroon velvet dress. It had a moldy-looking lace frill at the collar and matching lace cuffs.

Everyone stared at this ugly velvet dress and was wondering what it was for…

Mrs. Weasley came in, carrying an armful of freshly laundered Hogwarts robes.

“Here you are,” she said, sorting the robes into three piles. “Now, mind you pack them properly so they don’t crease.”

“Mum, you’ve given me Ginny’s new dress.” said Ron, handing it out to her.

“Of course I haven’t,” said Mrs. Weasley. “That’s for you. Dress robes.”

“What?” said Ron, looking horror-struck.

“Dress robes!” repeated Mrs. Weasley. “It says on your school list that you’re supposed to have dress robes this year … robes for formal occasions.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” said Ron in disbelief. “I’m not wearing that, no way!”

“Everyone wears them, Ron!” said Mrs. Weasley crossly. “They’re all like that! Your father has got some for smart parties!”

“I’ll go starkers before I put that on,” said Ron stubbornly.

“Don’t be so silly,” said Mrs. Weasley. “You’ve got to have dress robes; they’re on your list! I got some for Harry and Evan too … show him, Harry, Evan…”

Evan glanced at his clothes and there were also dress robes. But there was no lace on them. They were more or less the same as their school ones, except that they were sky blue instead of black. 

Beside him, Harry also carried bottle green robes of the same style in his hand.

“These two clothes suit you very well, dear.” Mrs. Weasley said kindly, “Evan’s color matches his look perfectly and will attract the attention of many girls. Harry, I thought these would bring out the color of your eyes.”

Ron looked at Evan’s and Harry’s robes and said angrily, “Why couldn’t I have some like that?”

“Because… well, Ron, I had to get yours secondhand, and there wasn’t a lot of choice!” said Mrs. Weasley, flushing.

There was an awkward silence in the air, and no one spoke. 

With so many children, the Weasleys had been struggling to keep up with their expenses.

Ginny’s school robes were bought by Evan at the time.

He did not offer to pay for Ron’s dress robes, knowing that Mrs. Weasley would certainly never accept it.

Fred and George had made some money recently, but they wouldn’t give it to Ron.

They needed to buy raw materials for new products, expand production, and even rent a shop by themselves. In this way, there was not much money.

Moreover, they couldn’t take it out for  Mrs. Weasley to find. They couldn’t let her know that they were still working on prank products.

The last time they were discovered, Mrs. Weasley confiscated all their money and returned it to Evan.

In addition, the twins had a lot of troubles recently.

They had been writing to Ludo Bagman, urging him to pay them their earnings from their bet, in vain.

Bagman did not intend to pay them, and Fred and George couldn’t really go to the Ministry of Magic to ask for their money.

“I don’t care. I’m never wearing them,” Ron was saying stubbornly. “Never!”

“Fine!” snapped Mrs. Weasley, “Go naked. Evan, Harry, make sure you get a picture of him. Goodness knows I could do with a laugh.”

She left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Ka … ka … ka, there was a funny spluttering noise from behind them. Pigwidgeon was choking on an overly large Owl Treat.

“That’s not fair, why is everything I own rubbish?” said Ron furiously, striding across the room to unstick Pigwidgeon’s beak.

Evan and Harry looked carefully, and did not know how to comfort Ron.