"Hello!" Dumbledore said pleasantly.

"Hello, Professor!" several men approached Dumbledore.

"Don't stand there, sit down, house-elves are always overzealous and do everything they can to do something for us, they are truly the best creatures in the world, and we better not refuse their kindness. Dumbledore smiled and said, "What do you want to eat?" ”

They sat in the chairs next to Dumbledore, and the house-elves around them immediately served drinks and desserts, filling most of the table, and the scene looked like a party, but no one in the room except Dumbledore had any dessert to eat.

"Professor, are we going to summon that demon now?"

"Oh, yes. Dumbledore said, "I don't think the five of you would want to stay in an empty Hogwarts for Christmas, and Molly has warned me to let you go back, so it's best to do it quickly." ”

"Did you find any information?" asked Aven, "about the Demon Altar and Hufflepuff......

"There is no direct evidence that Helga Hufflepuff left a demon altar inside the school. Dumbledore whispered, "We can only guess that in the original planning of the castle, this area belonged to Hufflepuff alone, and only Hufflepuff herself and her students were allowed to enter, just like the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets, and the demon altar that appeared here was handed down from that period, so there would be a relationship between the two." What's more, it's the Demon Altar related to house-elves, and we all know that Hufflepuff has a good relationship with house-elves. ”

"And the hint she left behind, also related to house-elves. Evan said.

The hint for the secret treasure key left behind by Hufflepuff is: Kind Hufflepuff, from the open valley! She treats everyone equally, and everyone has a chance to get her treasure! The key to unlocking the treasure is integrity and loyalty, all you need to do is trust your humble friend!

The most humble friend in this, not surprisingly, is the house-elf.

This is because the creatures in the hints left by Gryffindor and Ravenclaw can correspond to some kind of creature around Hogwarts.

Gryffindor's recognition of the haughty followers refers to the centaurs of the Forbidden Forest, and Ravenclaw's clever allies refer to the merfolk in the lake in front of the castle. From these creatures who have lived around Hogwarts for generations, Evan has received important information about the treasure key.

So, the clues left by Hufflepuff should correspond to the house-elves in the kitchen.

Evan had previously investigated that the house-elves in the kitchen had not kept anything for generations like centaurs or merfolk.

They don't know anything, the only suspicious place is the Demon Altar.

The demon was also a little elf, and it might know something.

"Everything will not be determined until after the calling. Dumbledore said, "Looks like you don't want dessert, so let's go." Take out your wand, although the demon altar below is not very powerful, and I don't think there will be any powerful demons, but we still can't take it lightly. Of course, don't be too nervous. ”

Harry and Hermione seemed to want to ask something, after all, they were about to face a demon.

It was an area they didn't understand, and tension and uneasiness were inevitable, even with Dumbledore.

But because I don't understand, I don't have anything to ask.

Before, Evan had already said everything that needed to be said, and they were here today mainly to increase their knowledge.

Even for wizards, summoning demons is not a magic that can be seen casually.

The group walked through the kitchen to the cold storage at the back, where sporadic golden light emerged from the ends of their wands, dispelling the darkness.

The shelves around were piled up with all sorts of food, and in the deepest part of the shelves was the cyan brick wall.

Passing through the brick wall, the walls of the back room were covered with house-elf heads, thousands of them. They are all crumpled and remain dead in low temperatures, lifelike and strange and terrifying at the same time, and their huge, empty eyes look indifferently ahead, bringing a strong sensory stimulation.

Evan heard Ron next to him gasp, and then quickly fell silent again.

It is an ancient custom to hang the head of a house-elf on the wall after death, and the elves do not think there is anything wrong with it, but take pride in it, believing that it is the greatest affirmation and reward for the house-elves.

On one side is the Hogwarts kitchen and cold storage where the students cook their daily meals, and on the other side is the hellish Heads Gallery, with the heads of house-elves hanging on the walls.

Thankfully, none of the Hogwarts students knew about it, otherwise no one would have been able to eat it.

This is a "sacred place" in the minds of traditional house-elves, but since the discovery of the Demon Altar, house-elves have never been able to come near this area with certainty.

They were navigating the corridors lined with house-elves, and though the environment wasn't very suitable, Harry couldn't help but tell the conversation he had overheard the night before.

He endured it for a long time, and it was not easy for him to say it as soon as he saw Dumbledore.

"Professor, I have something to tell you, about Snape and Malfoy. He said.

"It's Professor Snape, Harry. Dumbledore corrected that he had been briefing them on the history of Hogwarts house-elves.

Since the school's founding, there have been house-elves working here, and under the advocacy and influence of Hufflepuff, Hogwarts once became the last refuge for house-elves who lost their homeland, and was the place with the most house-elves in the whole of Britain.

"Yes, Professor Snape. Harry said, "We heard last night that I, I, and Hermione were talking at Professor Slughorn's party. ”

"We actually tracked them. Evan added.

"Oh, what did they say?" Dumbledore asked softly, not seeming surprised.

Harry repeated it, Dumbledore listened quietly, and when he was done, he was silent for a moment, then said, "Thank you for telling me this, Harry, but I suggest you don't take it to heart. The most important thing right now is to summon demons, well, I don't think what you're talking about is very important. ”

"Isn't it very important?" said Harry, disbelievingly, "Professor, do you really understand......"

"Yes, Harry, thank God for giving me extraordinary intelligence, I understand everything you have told me. Dumbledore said a little sharply, "I think you can even believe that I understand better than you do, and I'm glad you told me about it, but let me assure you that you didn't say anything that upset me." ”