Chapter 213 Facing The Inferi

As Hermione's legs trembled slightly, Evan approached her.

Hermione turned her head and looked at Evan with unease. Panic was reflected in her brown eyes, as if she wanted to say something, but when she opened her mouth, not a word came out.

Evan knew she must be extremely nervous.

Compared to the others, she was the only girl present, facing monsters like the Inferi. The pressure on her must be immense.

Without hesitation, Evan gently took Hermione's sweaty hand.

Hermione, like a frightened fawn, instinctively wanted to pull her hand away.

Evan didn't release her hand; then she seemed to realize it was him holding her, and her face turned red.

"Evan..."

"Don't be afraid, Hermione," Evan comforted her, "We'll be fine, trust me, no matter what happens, I will protect you."

"I know, I trust you," Hermione nodded stiffly. With a reassuring smile, she took Evan's hand and said firmly, "I've said it before; I will always trust you."

Watching Evan and Hermione whispering, Harry hesitated for a moment and silently approached Sirius.

He also had something to say to Sirius, his godfather.

"Harry, are you afraid?" Sirius didn't turn around. He gazed grimly at the lake in front of him.

"I'm not afraid," Harry shook his head, unsure, "But I'm a little nervous. I never thought things would end up like this..."

"Yes, I never thought things would unfold this way," Sirius fell silent for a moment and said with a complicated expression, "I thought my brother Regulus was a weak fool, but he proved braver than I thought. To stop Voldemort's plot, he sacrificed his life. I thought Pettigrew was trustworthy, and I suggested him as James and Lily's Secret Keeper, but he turned out to be a despicable traitor. It was me who killed James and Lily."

Harry listened to Sirius talk about his parents and didn't know what to say.

He didn't know how to console Sirius. In his opinion, Black should not blame himself for his parents' deaths.

"Sirius..."

"I've been looking at the wrong person, I didn't think, I never imagined..." Sirius's mouth showed a bitter smile, frustrated, "It's all my fault. I ruined everything, that's how it was with James, and the same with Regulus. If I could have talked to him that year, he probably wouldn't have died..."

"He's a hero, Sirius."

"Yes, he is," Sirius wiped his eyes and said with relief, "Harry, though I've always misjudged people, of one thing I'm sure: you resemble your father, James, a lot. I can't be mistaken about this. I'm proud of you."

Harry looked at Sirius. Although he had always heard others say that, when Sirius said it, it held a special meaning.

"Well, this is not the right place for such a pleasant conversation," Sirius regained his usual composure and continued. "Come on, you can stand in front and let me see your dueling skills."

When everyone signaled they were ready, Dumbledore struck the stone pile with his wand, producing a faint echo.

In the stone pile, in the center of the green liquid that couldn't be touched in any way, a ripple suddenly appeared, expanding from the inside out.

It was like a signal. The lake's surface was no longer smooth like a mirror; it was agitated.

Evan looked up and saw a large herd of Inferi emerging in the dark lake.

White heads and hands emerged from the dark water, men, women, and children with sunken, sightless eyes moved towards the rock.

"Petrificus Totalus," Harry yelled in panic.

He aimed his wand at the nearest Inferius, and a red light hit it. It fell backwards into the water with a splash, but immediately rose up.

Her withered hands dragged through the lake. Her hollow, misty eyes stared fixedly at Harry. She trailed her soaked rags behind her, and her sunken face looked grim and disdainful.

"Don't worry, Harry, it shouldn't be done like that," Sirius said. "The Binding Curse doesn't have that range. You have to wait until they are at the right distance to attack."

Harry nodded, holding his wand in his hand and keeping an eye on the Inferius.

Two seconds later, the Inferius climbed onto the rock, raising its pale hands by the lake and crept forward as if to pounce on Harry.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry shouted again, waving his wand in the air.

A red light flashed, the Inferius stumbled and fell to the ground without getting up.

"A good attack, this is how it's done, aiming at the head," said Sirius, waving his wand and casting a few spells. At the same time, he knocked down three or four Inferi and exclaimed excitedly, "Well done, Harry. Let's try the Impedimenta and Incarcerous spells. I think you've learned these two spells."

Meanwhile, Evan and Hermione were also in combat.

It was evident that Hermione's theoretical knowledge was very solid. She knew many spells and mastered the specific skills of their casting. However, she was weak in terms of actual combat ability and always missed or narrowly landed the critical blow.

Evan knew this was mainly due to a psychological factor.

Although Hermione didn't say anything, and didn't want Evan to worry about her, deep down she felt afraid of those Inferi.

For this, the others had no way to help. Only Hermione could overcome it.

Evan gazed at Hermione as he took down some Inferi.

He turned his head to look at Dumbledore. The Headmaster held his wand but did not attack. He just watched them the whole time. There was no emotion in his blue eyes.

Evan contemplated this and realized that Dumbledore was protecting them. He started to attempt stronger magic.

A white light shot out from the tip of his wand. Although it tore through their sodden rags and icy skin, they had no blood to spill. They kept advancing, unfeeling, with their clawed hands reaching out towards him.

Evan nodded. As he had suspected, a spell like Sectumsempra, which caused greater damage on the body's surface, was of little use against the Inferi.

They felt no pain, they did not fear such wounds. Not even that stopped them.

With such foes, this powerful magic was not as useful as the Imperius Curse, Impedimenta, and other similar spells.

Evan tried to attack several more times. Dumbledore had just mentioned that the best way to deal with Inferi was by using fire, but Regulus had not been found yet, so it could not be done. Evan was not in a rush; he treated those Inferi as experimental subjects, ready to test Transfiguration and various other powerful spells.

A few days ago, he had dueled with Snape, which gave Evan great inspiration. He had never thought magic could be used in that way before.

He was going to practice with these Inferi, which was a rare opportunity, not only without danger but also to enhance his spellcasting skills.