Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

Chapter 536: The Marsh Ruins and Megalithic Temples

On top of the endless swamp, Buckbeak flew forward for more than ten minutes.

The fog around was getting thicker and thicker, and there was a large area of obscurity where nothing was clear; even the sun was shaded.

In the terrible fog, eyes completely lost their function, as all they could see was hazy white, everywhere.

Evan could not see anything by now, but could only hear Buckbeak fluttering his wings.

Whoop, whoop, whoop…

It moved its wings more and more slowly, and didn’t seem to move anymore. 

The three floated in midair, surrounded by seemingly endless fog from all directions.

Evan had a bad feeling that grew stronger and stronger, as if in their halt, some monster was following them, about to rush at any time!

“Do you feel it? There’s something wrong with this place,” said Caresius.

There was a hint of surprise in his voice, and something seemed to be happening.

Soon, Evan also felt that the subtle magic was pervading around them, and that it was the source of his earlier feelings.

It was a very strange magic, unlike any magic Evan was familiar with. It had a repelling and restraining effect on other magic powers and was suppressing the power in Evan’s body.

“Lumos!” he yelled, and the tip of his wand began to glow.

Evan straightened his arm and raised his wand. The light grew stronger and stronger, penetrating through the thick fog around him…

In the dim light, he saw giant domed plants.

Each of these exotic plants stood quietly hundreds of feet high in the fog.

They were like umbrellas covering a large swamp area, like mushrooms that had been magnified countless times.

The strange magic came from these plants, and it seemed to absorb and swallow all other magic in the surrounding air.

Obviously, they didn’t grow so large naturally, but they become that size under the catalysis of some mysterious magic.

Perhaps, it was the magic that permeated the lost ruins, and they had obvious rejection and engulfing effects on other forces.

Hagrid had said that the lair of the Manticore was in the vicinity.

“This is the place Hagrid told me about,” said Evan to Caresius. “Be careful!” 

“This place makes me feel uncomfortable. Fighting in the thick fog, the Manticore would have an advantage over us!” said Caresius. He immediately raised his wand up and read a spell.

The next second, with them as the center, a hurricane suddenly blew up, blowing away all the thick fog around.

Evan was surprised by the strength displayed by Caresius. The magic was simple, but he wouldn’t have been able to do it himself at this scale, not without the Philosopher’s Stone.

So, this cunning vampire must have been holding back in the last battle.

Caresius was really a dangerous man with whom he had to be careful all the time.

Although he was now Evan’s ally, he was also Voldemort’s ally. For his interests, this guy seemed ready to sell out anything, anyone.

Just thinking of the matter was too tiring, as the thought of being sold out wasn’t exactly that pleasant. Therefore, Evan re-focused on the current situation.

As the wind blew, the fog became lighter and weaker. About a minute later, all the fog cleared away, and Evan finally saw the scene around him.

They were flying over a dried-up lake, which had taken on an irregular outward spreading shape. The soil inside was dark without light, as if it had been corroded by something, and had lost all its vitality.

Unlike the lively everglades he had seen before, there was not a single blade of grass around here. There were only these large, disproportionate dome plants scattered around, with their bizarre reddish-brown tops.

In front of them was a gigantic triangular stone building. Its main body had sunk and dumped in the black mud, leaving only what seemed to be a small part of it exposed.

The exposed part alone was already as large as the Centaurs’ Temple of the Moon, which showed just how humongous the overall size of the building.

The white stone walls had been eroded, and they were able to tell the glory of the past.

Unlike the ruins of the fallen Centaurs that Evan had seen before, there were no exaggerated statues, stone carvings and murals on them.

Instead, there are complex magic lines and simple decorations, low-key and yet without losing the atmosphere.

“Unbelievable, it’s a relic left from the ancient warlocks’ period!” Caresius stared at the building carefully for a long time before he said with surprise, “I never expected there would be such a thing near Hogwarts.” 

“Well, do you want to go in and have a look?”

“Not interested. You’d better stay away from this place, too.” said Caresius in a low voice. “Do you know the Megalithic Temples of Malta? They’re also relics left by an ancient warlock. Throughout history, tens of powerful sorcerers went there and wanted to explore the secrets of the ruins. But in the end they all died inside and no one came out alive. Since a few centuries ago, that place was classified as a forbidden zone, and no one was allowed to approach it.”

Evan had known about this matter, and he had read all about it in a book.

Malta, known as the Heart of the Mediterranean, is very old in history.

The Megalithic Temples Caresius talked about, also known as the Stone Age Temples of Malta, are a group of buildings left from the Stone Age.

Their history is even older than the pyramids of Egypt, they’re the largest Stone Age temples in Europe and are also very famous among Muggles. 

There are currently eight ruins of the Giant Stone Temples that have been discovered, seven of which have been destroyed.

In the long history, the protection magic that the ancient warlocks left in them gradually lost its effect.

The original intention of the construction of the seven megalithic temples is unclear. After losing the protection of magic, they have been corroded and weathered into ordinary buildings.

They have thus become one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world. People who have been there often marvel at the incredible miracle and look at the magnificent buildings piled up with countless pieces of tens of tons of megaliths with awe, wondering how the ancients did this with primitive tools.

The wizards who know about their history are aware that these buildings are the remains of ancient warlocks. Especially the well-preserved one, the magic and powerful charms inside were amazing.

So far, their hidden secrets have not been cracked.

The speculation about the interior of the Megalithic Temples has never stopped, and many magic books were written about the matter.

But as Caresius just said, all the wizards who dared to enter the one left, have died, and no one knew what was inside.

Maybe it was a powerful curse or attacking magic, or a dangerous monster. Anything was possible.

The power of the ancient warlocks is entirely beyond the understanding of today’s wizards and cannot be inferred from the existing magic theories.

Like the Megalithic temples, since these ruins in front of him had also been left by ancient warlocks, they had to be dealt with carefully. 

“I’ll give you a piece of advice, Evan.  Don’t touch forces you don’t know at all, or you’ll get into trouble that you can’t imagine!” said Caresius.

Looking at him, he for once seemed very afraid of the power of the ancient warlocks.

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