Chapter 129
Just as Soren was about to take his leave, Professor McGonagall spoke up: "You're welcome. I also hope you can win this competition and bring glory to the school."
Soren smiled and replied, "Professor, thank you for your encouragement. I can't guarantee that I will win the competition, but I can promise that I will give it my all!"
"You!" Professor McGonagall's eyes showed a rare smile. "You dare to say that! You actually violated the previously agreed rules and participated in the Triwizard Tournament without permission. I really don't know what to say about you!"
"However," Professor McGonagall's smile faded, "the Goblet of Fire have its own intelligence. Since it has chosen you as a champion, it means you meet the qualifications for participation." She couldn't help but think of another champion from Hogwarts. "I just wonder what Potter will do. This competition is not easy, and there are certainly dangerous challenges involved. I advise you to be careful and not to overestimate yourself, understand?"
When McGonagall learned that Soren had signed up for the Triwizard Tournament without permission, she was indeed angry. She never expected that the usually rule-abiding Soren would act so recklessly. However, she later came to terms with it. After all, Soren was already in his fourth year, and according to the rule that the Triwizard Tournament is held every five years, he wouldn't have the opportunity to participate in the next one.
Moreover, his strength was evident, and in McGonagall's view, he could compete with seventh-year students.
"I understand, Professor. I will be careful," Soren said obediently.
"Additionally," Professor McGonagall seemed to remember something, "there's one thing. I think you should also go see Professor Dumbledore. After all, participating in such a high-year competition as a lower-year student, it's best to hear his opinion. He is currently in the headmaster's office, and the password is 'Cockroach Cluster.'"
Hmm, Dumbledore, huh?
"Alright, Professor, I understand," Soren replied.
Soren would not naively think that meeting Dumbledore was genuinely Professor McGonagall's intention; he could tell from her tone and expression. Professor McGonagall, you may be an excellent witch and a master of Transfiguration, but you are certainly not a qualified liar...
What could Dumbledore want to see him about?
A few thoughts flashed through Soren's mind, the most likely reason being his participation in the Triwizard Tournament.
Soren carefully recalled, and he was quite certain that he had not revealed any flaws anywhere, whether it was regarding the establishment of the Sleeping Dragon Society or the matter of killing Kingsley; there was hardly any possibility of leakage.
Meeting Dumbledore was inevitable; after all, one cannot escape what is meant to happen. Moreover, after learning about Meredith and Morgan le Fay, he indeed had reasons to consult Dumbledore.
In the headmaster's office, the portraits of past headmasters on the walls were clearly pretending to be asleep, but their slightly exposed gazes were fixed on Soren. On the other side of the desk sat the amiable yet deep-eyed headmaster, Professor Dumbledore.
"Long time no see, Soren. How was your summer and your fourth-year life at Hogwarts?" Dumbledore inquired kindly.
This was not Soren's first time dealing with this seemingly amiable elder, who was actually a highly strategic chess player.
Soren knew that every move he made at Hogwarts, no matter how hidden, would be hard to escape the notice of this headmaster. If Dumbledore's attention were rated out of ten, 5 points would be on Harry, 2 points on Ron and Hermione, and the remaining 3 points were likely mostly on him.
That was why he had Daphne represent him in establishing the Sleeping Dragon Society. With him and Harry attracting attention, along with Mad-Eye Moody and Draco's instigation, Soren did not believe that Dumbledore could truly be everywhere at once. He was not a god!
Soren did not intend to beat around the bush with Dumbledore; he spoke directly: "Dear Professor, let's get straight to the point! You didn't call me just to say hello, did you?"
This time it was Dumbledore who was momentarily taken aback. After many years as headmaster, even with his easygoing personality, his identity and power meant that every student would approach him with a sense of reverence, even trepidation. He had never encountered a student who was so straightforward in confronting him.
He smiled and said, "Child, I truly have no ill intentions in calling you here. As a headmaster, it is my duty to care for every student. Today, I simply wanted to know if there was anything you wanted to discuss with me, such as... Meredith?"
Indeed, Soren was not mistaken; calling him to the principal's office was indeed Dumbledore's intention. However, he did not expect that Dumbledore would hit upon his inner weakness with the first sentence he spoke.
Soren's pupils slightly constricted; Meredith was his pain, something he could not forget nor forgive himself for the mistakes he made that caused harm to those around him. He had clearly told himself that he must protect everyone around him...
"Since you mentioned Meredith, I assume you know that she was taken by the 'Shadow of the Dragon,'" Soren's gaze was sharp. "I swear—I will rescue her, but—"
Soren's tone was filled with undeniable determination: "Before that, I need more power; no one can stop me—" Soren's eyes fixed intently on Dumbledore, "Professor, please understand, I do not want anyone else around me to suffer harm!"
Soren's words were clear—he was pursuing power, and anyone who dared to stand in his way was his enemy!
Dumbledore fell silent.
He looked at Soren as if examining him.
To be honest, he could no longer see through Soren's true strength. This feeling of being out of control was difficult for someone like him, who craved control, and he vaguely sensed a power of a certain realm within Soren. He was almost certain that, although this speculation sounded absurd, he believed Soren had stepped into that realm.
At present, Soren was not the only one causing him this feeling of being out of control.
Several recent events floated through his mind.
His intelligence network informed him that a Muggle named Bryce, who was responsible for guarding the Riddle House, had gone missing in a small town called Little Hangleton in England. He had a premonition that this matter was definitely related to that person.
Additionally, at the Order of the Phoenix, his very trusted Kingsley Shacklebolt had died! Although it was said he died on a mission, how could three Aurors fail against five werewolves? Something was definitely not right!
And it didn't end there; the International Confederation of Wizards also relayed some very bad intelligence to him. The Indonesian Ministry of Magic had been forcibly breached by a dark wizard, who used its international floo network to escape to Europe. No matter how weak the Indonesian Ministry of Magic was, it was still the authority of a country's magical community; it was not something an ordinary dark wizard could accomplish.
Having discussed distant matters, returning to closer ones, there were already enough unusual occurrences just within Hogwarts.
Hagrid reported that there were numerous signs of burning in the Forbidden Forest. He personally went to the scene to investigate; there was no mistake, it was definitely Fiendfyre. This indicated that there were traces of a suspected dark wizard in the Forbidden Forest?
Those who could use Fiendfyre without being backfired upon generally had considerable strength, enough to threaten the safety of Hogwarts students. Moreover, the caster of this Fiendfyre probably had a very deep mastery of it; the numerous Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest had been nearly exterminated by the flames. He hadn't seen such a powerful Fiendfyre in a long time.
Earlier, on the first day of school, Minerva had told him that the Malfoy twins had a conflict with Alastor. He later found out the details: Draco blocked Moody's attack, and then Draco and Soren teamed up to cast a spectacular offensive spell that forced Moody to cast an unusual Shield Charm to defend himself.
This matter was filled with too many unusual elements—whether it was Draco blocking Moody's attack, or Draco and Soren's teamwork being enough to threaten Moody, or the Shield Charm that Moody cast, which even he had never seen before, all made him very concerned.
As if his worries weren't enough, in his view, the Triwizard Tournament had problems with all four participants!
Soren and Harry's participation was already strange enough, but he could still barely guess the underlying reasons and had some suspects in mind.
He suspected that Soren's participation was because he had already broken through some unspoken realm. He suspected that Harry's forced entry into the tournament was manipulated by a mysterious person behind the scenes, though he was still unclear about who that was among those at Hogwarts.
However, the involvement of the Merope family and the Hohenheim family truly caught him off guard. He knew a bit about the backgrounds of these two families; they were definitely not as simple as they appeared, merely being two famous pure-blood families.
The latest news is published in the book "Six Nine"!
The alchemical school of the Hohenheim family is very likely involved in the dark necromantic alchemy of human transmutation, which is a forbidden area of alchemy!
Moreover, the "Grindelwald" surname carried by Katarina makes him particularly concerned. The reason doesn't need further explanation, right?
Of course, it is precisely because so many of these factors occupied most of his mind, along with the simultaneous implementation of the Harry nurturing plan, that he became mentally exhausted, allowing Daphne to successfully deceive him into establishing the Dream Dragon Society—he simply could not spare any more attention to the other young wizards at Hogwarts.
After a long silence, he spoke in the gentlest tone: "Child, you must remember that you are not alone; Meredith is also a student at Hogwarts. When students have issues, as the headmaster, I am also responsible. You can seek my help at any time."
Soren remained expressionless, but inwardly thought, is this old man trying to be nice?
Dumbledore did not intend to dwell on this topic and continued, "There is nothing wrong with pursuing power itself; I just want to remind you not to lose yourself and not to forget your original intention. I have seen too many outstanding and ambitious students like you..." After saying this, Dumbledore fell silent, seemingly recalling some past events, and he appeared to age ten years, revealing a weary expression.
A twinge of compassion arose in Soren's heart. Yes, no matter how powerful or wise Dumbledore appears, he cannot change the fact that he is already a 113-year-old man, burdened with too much…
He has devoted his life to two generations of Dark Lords, and from his tone, he now has to worry about the emergence of a third generation of Dark Lords.
Moreover, Soren knew that he had already provoked two groups of enemies: the Shadow of the Dragon and the Phantom Society.
After weighing it repeatedly, although he was reluctant to owe Dumbledore a favor, he understood that he needed a lot of time to establish a complete intelligence network, but he had no time to waste. Relying on Dumbledore's intelligence network was clearly a better choice; however, the plan in his heart, the promise regarding his own fate and the fate of his family—did it ultimately need to be compromised?
The face of Meredith flashed through his mind, recalling that touching kiss in the teahouse, remembering the lifelong commitment she had made to him. His heart ached; it truly hurt, like being torn apart—enough, enough, he ultimately was not a heartless person. He could give up Hermione's friendship for his family and ambition, but Meredith's place in his heart far surpassed that of Hermione.
He gradually made a decision.
"Professor, let's stop playing riddles here." Soren couldn't help but speak up: "I know you have always been suspicious of me and worried about me, fundamentally because I am a member of the Malfoy family. You are concerned that I might join the Death Eaters like those pure-blood families, right?"
Soren said firmly, "I can tell you now that you are worrying too much! I will not join the Death Eaters; in fact, everything I have done is to pull my family away from the Death Eaters and avoid falling into the quagmire of war between the Death Eaters and your faction..."
Dumbledore smiled, saying, "To be honest, I have never worried that you would become Voldemort's subordinate," his eyes sparkling as he slowly said, "only because he is unworthy!"
"I have to say, living long enough does give me a bit of an advantage in reading people. I've seen too many people—you could never be beneath anyone, even if that person is Voldemort." Dumbledore's tone was very certain.
Wow, there are many ways to interpret that statement! For example, suggesting that Soren will be the new generation of Dark Lord?
Soren sighed and slowly said, "Professor, what I pursue is merely the power to protect the people around me and to live with dignity."
Soren continued, "Professor, you probably know that during the summer vacation, I learned some wizarding law knowledge from Aunt Amelia. I found that the wizarding world is superficially a society governed by law, but there are obvious loopholes everywhere in the legal regulations. Modifying radios and sports cars are not considered violations of Muggle products, but televisions and blankets are not allowed. What's the reasoning behind that? Not to mention, the Minister of Magic, as an administrator, has the power to change laws at any time and also has the power to dismiss members of the Wizengamot who are part of the judicial system..."
"No matter how nice the slogans sound, they cannot disguise the cruel reality of the supremacy of power in the wizarding world," Soren spoke eloquently. "Professor, you have power; you can choose to be kind to others, but you cannot expect everyone to be like you, uncorrupted by power. Just look—officials from the Ministry of Magic may speak of their immense power, but during the last Wizarding War, each one of them was more cowardly than a child in front of the Dark Lord. Among the perpetrators of the persecution of Muggles and innocent people, they were not absent..."
Soren concluded solemnly: "In the wizarding world, those without power do not deserve wealth and status in the magical realm; this is the harsh reality!"
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