Evan was the last one of the second years. Behind him was Ron. He did very well until he reached the Hinkypunk. While his performance before that was somewhat rushed, it was generally passable.
But then, the Hinkypunk's misleading directions confused him into sinking waist-deep into the quagmire.
"That's a pity. Ron must have mistaken the Hinkypunk's lantern as a destination. This is a very easy mistake." Sirius said with regret, "If he were in a real swamp, he would be in serious trouble now."
Evan saw that he gave Ron eighty points, which was already very high. Normally, Ron failed halfway through and should not get such a score.
Like Snape, Sirius was unconditionally biased towards Gryffindor. Here, all Slytherin students scored very low, just as Gryffindor never got high scores at Snape. In a way, the two courses made up for each other.
After Ron was Malfoy, he just returned to Hogwarts two days ago, and there seemed to be nothing wrong with him apart from him being paler than usual.
Evan had previously worried that the magic of the monster directly acting on the soul would have an irreversible effect on Malfoy, but that did not seem to be the case now.
He performed very well, but he had a big trouble with the Boggart.
It was quiet in the trunk for five minutes, and Malfoy did not come out.
When Evan and Sirius went in and rescued him, he was shivering in the corner and sobbing in a low voice.
Not surprisingly, what Malfoy feared most was the eyeball monster.
Sirius was apparently stunned when he first saw the creature, and then waved his wand to drive the Boggart into the dark trunk.
Goyle and Crabbe came awkwardly and took Malfoy to sit down.
Ron was there laughing loudly at Malfoy's performance. Although he was covered with mud, Malfoy was even more shameful than he was, bursting into tears.
"I have never really seen or heard of such a horrible creature." Sirius did not hesitate to lay a zero on Malfoy's paper and said in disgust, "I think that Slytherin was absolutely mad to hide such a monster around school."
"It is the magical creation of Herpo the Foul, the wickedest Dark wizard in history. The souls and flesh blood of countless human beings and other creatures were put into making it." Evan said slowly, "Haven't you seen the message on the slate in Dumbledore's office?"
"Yes, I think you'd better stop meddling in this matter." Sirius simply replied, "Don't worry, no matter what it is, Dumbledore will handle it. This is not something that you young wizards can participate in. It's more evil than usual…"
Evan didn't talk. In any case, he planned to go to the Temple marked on the stone to see it, but he didn't want to argue with Sirius about it.
He shifted the topic. "By the way, how did you find these Dark creatures?"
In fact, Evan was really curious. Sirius had prepared much more Dark creatures for the exam than Professor Lupin had left behind.
"It wasn't really hard. These guys were lurking in the shadows deep in the Forbidden Forest. They are eager to see what they can do to the creatures passing by. They can always be found if you look for them." Sirius pointed to the one-legged Hinkypunk and said, "For example, this guy hides in a large marsh north of the Centaurs' colony."
"The marsh on the north side of the Centaurs' colony?" Evan was surprised.
"You haven't been there yet. It's in the deepest part of the Forbidden Forest. You have to cross a mountainous area." "Sirius turned his head and looked at Evan," I repeat, stop thinking about Herpo the Foul, Slytherin and that monster. I know you guys can't afford to be idle. There must be something wrong with being so laissez-faire. So I'm going to take you four to the Centaurs' colony to try to challenge Gryffindor's test. When will you be ready?"
"We can leave at any time!" Evan waved his wand and sent out a colourful spark. "You know, I've been in good shape lately."
"That's good!" Sirius nodded not showing any expression on his face.
After Evan came out of the school hospital fully recovered, Sirius had a duel with Evan, who was growing in strength. The duel unexpectedly ended up with a tie, which made Sirius feel so embarrassed. It was simply unthinkable that he couldn't suppress a 12-year-old wizard.
Evan didn't know how Sirius would feel if he was to let him know that he held back the duel, and did not use the many powerful black magic spells he mastered.
"Harry and Ron have Divination exam in the afternoon. Hermione has Arithmancy!" Sirius said. "We can set off after dinner. The Centaurs are used to night activities. If we go fast, I think we can be back before midnight."
"I will inform them later, at six o'clock in the evening, we will wait for you at Hagrid's Hut!" Evan nodded and said that he could not wait to go to the Centaurs' tribe.
"Remember, make sure that Harry brings his invisibility cloak." Sirius said, "We're in a secret operation this time. Don't let anyone else find out."
During the conversation, Harry had completed all the challenges.
He did very well, handling every Dark creature in the right way, and Sirius gave him full marks.
Behind Harry was Hermione, who did everything perfectly until she reached the trunk with the Boggart in it. After about a minute inside it, she burst out again, screaming.
"Hermione!" Evan hurriedly held her and asked, startled. "What's the matter?"
"P…P…, Professor McGonagall!" Hermione gasped, pointing into the trunk. "Sh… she said I'd failed everything!"
For Hermione, who was focused on getting first place, it was absolutely the most horrible thing. She even forgot that it was just a Boggart.
It took a little while to calm Hermione down. When at last she had regained a grip on herself, she, Evan, Harry, and Ron went back to the castle.
Ron was still slightly inclined to laugh at Hermione's Boggart, but his attention was quickly diverted. Evan told them about the conversation he had just had with Sirius, and asked them to get ready to meet at the castle gate at night.
"So, we're going to the Centaurs' colony tonight to get that powerful magic item left by Gryffindor?" Ron asked excitedly.
"Yes!" Evan continued. "Harry, bring your invisibility cloak, Sirius specifically told us that we should not be seen by anyone else."