Chapter 266 Quidditch Training

Evan left Sirius's office and headed to the library, contemplating the colony of the centaurs.

Since he was going to the colony the next day, he needed to be prepared.

With that in mind, Evan was heading to the library to study the recent trends of the constellations and understand their significance. He recalled that there were some magical books in the library specifically introducing the astrology of the centaurs, which could be helpful.

He also needed to inform Harry, Ron, and Hermione about this as soon as possible.

A few minutes later, Evan had just reached the library door when he saw Harry panting as he emerged from it. Behind him, Madam Pince, the librarian, was harshly scolding him for running through the library.

"What are you doing?" exclaimed Evan, reaching out a hand to stop Harry.

"I've been looking for you, Evan!" Harry replied, still catching his breath.

"Good, I've been looking for you too." Evan looked around. Lowering his voice, he said, "Do you remember the other day at the Burrow when I told you, Ron, and Hermione about the Secret Treasures left by the Four Founders of Hogwarts?"

Harry was taken aback by Evan's words. He froze, looking serious, and nodded cautiously.

"By my reasoning, Gryffindor's treasure key is located in the centaurs' colony deep in the Forbidden Forest," said Evan, "I just spoke with Sirius; he will take the four of us to the centaurs' colony tomorrow afternoon."

Harry appeared surprised at Evan's words.

It took him a while to grasp what Evan meant.

"Do you mean the magical object that was hidden in the centaurs' colony, left by Gryffindor himself to enhance magic?!" Harry couldn't believe it. "Tomorrow evening, Sirius will take us four to the Forbidden Forest to search for it?"

After seeing Evan nod and confirm, Harry grew more and more excited.

It was the greatest adventure to explore the centaurs' colony in the Forbidden Forest, to uncover what Gryffindor himself had left behind, to delve into a mystery unresolved for a thousand years.

It took a while for Harry to calm down.

"Inform Ron and Hermione about this and get them both ready," Evan continued, "by the way, you said you were looking for me. What's up?"

"I hope you can come to the field with me to watch Gryffindor's final training before the match," said Harry eagerly, "Ron and Hermione are already there. You can discuss this with them."

"Wait, Harry, you tell them both," Evan hastily said, "I still have something to do. I'm going to the library to study the trajectory of the nearest constellation. It's crucial to understand the centaurs."

"We can study together after the training. Come on, Evan. Ron and Hermione are waiting for us on the field!" Harry seemed not to hear Evan's refusal, pushing him in the direction of the Quidditch field. "You can't always stay in the library. You need to relax and breathe fresh air!"

"Alright," Evan thought. He truly needed Hermione's help.

His knowledge of astrology was not particularly strong, and Hermione could offer some professional advice on it. Many aspects of arithmancy involve planetary orbits, and Hermione had been observing and recording them for a whole year.

Hermione's divination grades were known to be the best in Hogwarts.

Evan was dragged to the Quidditch field by Harry. He stood at the edge of the field. They were forming a circle and listening to Professor Hooch's explanation of the Firebolt.

Professor Hooch was as impressed with the Firebolt as everyone else had been.

She took it in her hands and offered them the benefit of her professional opinion.

"Look at the balance it has! If the Nimbus series has any flaw, it's a slight tendency at the end of the tail. They often develop resistance after a few years. They have also updated the handle, slightly thinner than the Cleansweeps, it reminds me of the old Silver Arrows; a pity they stopped making them. I learned to fly on one of them, and it was an excellent broom..."

She continued in this manner for a while, until Wood interrupted her. Madam Hooch returned the Firebolt to Harry, and headed to the edge of the stands to sit.

Wood passed on the tactics to the players. Evan greeted Ron and Hermione. The three climbed to the top of the stands and found a place where no one was seated.

In the center of the field, the Gryffindor Quidditch players took off from the ground.

Evan saw Harry flying in the air with the Firebolt. He was very fast, almost like the wind, and could only see a vague shadow.

"Harry, I'm releasing the Snitch!" called Wood, standing in the middle of the field and waving Harry in the air.

As soon as his words were finished, Harry sharply veered from the sky.

He appeared weightless. He dove into a perfectly controlled dive, grazing the grass-covered field with his toes, then came to an abrupt stop, with a slight flash of his shadow, shot back off Wood's back and grabbed the newly released Snitch.

The whole process lasted less than ten seconds.

On the field, the deafening cheers of the Gryffindor team resounded, Harry released the Snitch again, gave it a minute's head start, then chased it, zigzagging between others; he saw it lurking near Katie Bell's knee, circled it with ease, and caught it again.

"Brilliant, the Firebolt is the best!" exclaimed Ron. "Come on, Harry, we're going to win tomorrow!"

Hermione was very pleased to see Harry's performance.

Both seemed as usual, but Evan keenly captured the faint tension and awkwardness in the air. What could have arisen between Ron and Hermione? They hardly ever looked each other in the eyes.

Evan shook his head, not dwelling on it much.

In his opinion, that's just how Ron and Hermione were. It was too normal for them to argue.

But most of the time, Hermione was right.

Evan positioned himself at the top of the stands and gazed towards the Forbidden Forest in the distance.

It was as tranquil as ever; not even a bird was in sight. Observing this green sea, the towering trees on its edge barely revealed anything.

As the oldest living creatures in the Forbidden Forest, the Centaurs had been there for so long, and before Hogwarts was founded, their traces scattered all over the land.

Evan didn't know what they would ask him to do. Thinking about Firenze's melancholic expression when he left, his sense of unease gradually increased.

He also recalled Professor Trelawney's prophecy that Voldemort would mark the chosen one in the temple, perhaps the place where the Centaurs used to keep Gryffindor's secret treasure key.

Evan didn't know what to expect next, and shook his head vigorously.