Chapter 140
The results of the competition were announced in real-time across all of Europe.
On the day of the competition, the visiting media were not limited to just the Daily Prophet—France's "Stone Winged Demon News," Germany's "Silver Bat Daily," the Nordic "Viking Daily," the gossip magazine "Love and Lust," the women's magazine "Witch Weekly," the curiosity magazine "Singing Contradictions," and so on; basically, any media with a bit of fame in Europe showed up. This was naturally at the behest of Giordana, and as her organizational spokesperson, Soren was to take this opportunity to promote himself, shaping Soren into a powerful and idol-like figure in the wizarding world.
After the competition, Soren received a flurry of letters, with senders covering almost every country in Europe, offering praise and appreciation in different languages. Some even spontaneously funded fan clubs in their own countries. One sender, using the pen name "Admiral Gianna," even included a tip in the letter—a cash voucher stamped with the Gringotts seal, worth 115 Galleons!
Soren had Daphne gather all the members of the Sleeping Dragon Society, and the group spent hours in the secret room behind the large mirror on the fifth floor, helping to open, translate, and reply to the letters. As dinner time approached, the members left first, leaving only Soren, Moray, and the Gringrass sisters to continue sorting through the letters.
Of course, Soren wouldn't mistreat himself and his three girlfriends; dinner was brought in by Dobby, quite lavishly, and a bottle of Ogden's champagne was opened to celebrate Soren's successful win in the first event.
That evening, when they walked into the Slytherin common room, it erupted once again in cheers and noise. The tables and chairs were piled high with cakes, and there were sizzles of pumpkin juice and butterbeer.
Blaise Zabini set off some laborious fireworks, filling the air with stars and sparks. Several eye-catching new banners hung on the walls of the common room, most depicting Soren pointing his wand at a fire dragon, making it bow its head like a puppy, though there were also two showing Harry with his backside on fire.
Draco walked over and slapped Soren on the shoulder, proudly saying, "You really did it! Soren, I've already written to Mom and Dad; they're very proud of you too!"
Soren looked at Draco and finally said the words he had kept in his heart for a long time: "Thank you, Pig Snout…"
"Don't call me that!" Draco said, somewhat "embarrassed and angry." It was a nickname they had given each other as kids, but they hadn't used it since they were nine.
The two brothers exchanged a quiet glance and couldn't help but laugh.
Draco stopped laughing and pretended to be fierce, saying, "Hmph, you only won the first event. Let's not mention that waste of space Potter; I think those two girls are really strong, so you better be 'careful'!"
Soren's eyes and the corners of his mouth still held a smile, but there was a flicker of hidden light deep in his gaze as he said loudly, "Got it, Pig Snout. You can rest assured!"
"Ah!!! You're still saying it!" The surrounding little wizards erupted into loud laughter, and Draco looked like he was about to go crazy.
Just as Draco picked up a piece of cake, intending to throw it at Soren, Soren suddenly said softly, "Thank you, brother."
Draco paused for a moment, let out a light snort, and said, "I'm not playing with you anymore; I'm going back to sleep!" He turned away haughtily, taking the cake with him. Before he stepped into the boys' dormitory behind the blue tapestry, he glanced back and softly said, "You said it; we're brothers."
Watching Draco's figure disappear behind the tapestry, Soren's mouth curled up slightly.
Draco's departure did not cool the atmosphere; instead, the younger wizards became even more excited. At this moment, the table and floor were scattered with beer foam, food scraps, and various streamers shot out from the colorful fireworks.
Pansy walked over, followed by her three little followers—Audrey, Tracy, and Millicent. She smiled and said, "Congratulations, Soren."
"Thank you, Pansy," Soren replied politely.
"This celebration," Pansy said meaningfully, "was organized by Draco. I heard he spent all his pocket money for the semester on it."
Soren softly said, "I know, and thank you too, Pansy."
At this moment, Terence Higgs appeared out of nowhere, holding a large cup of butterbeer. He raised the cup and loudly declared, "Cheers to our Slytherin warrior—Soren!"
All the young wizards raised their cups in unison, shouting Soren's name.
After putting down his cup, Terence said, "You're amazing, Soren! It's truly incredible! You've broken the iron rule of 'dragons cannot be tamed'! As far as I know, in the past hundred years, only you and the magical creature master Scamander have been able to do this!"
Soren had heard a bit about Scamander; it was during the time when Muggles initiated the First World War (1914-1918). Scamander was involved in a top-secret plan by the Ministry of Magic to tame the Ukrainian Iron-belly, but the plan was ultimately halted because the dragons only listened to Scamander and continued to eat the other dragon tamers.
Regarding this strange phenomenon, Soren had a hypothesis: Scamander's family likely possessed a bloodline talent for being close to magical creatures, and his slightly introverted personality might have forced this talent out.
Nott also came over and handed a package to Soren, saying, "This is something my dad asked me to give you, as a gift to congratulate you on your victory today."
Soren exchanged a knowing glance with Nott and nodded in agreement.
The Carrow sisters reached for the shimmering golden egg, with one exclaiming, "Oh my, it's quite heavy. Is this the clue for the second challenge?"
At this moment, others began to notice the golden egg, and Blaise said, "I wonder what's inside?"
"I don't know; I haven't studied it yet," Soren replied with a cheeky smile, "but you can open it and take a look?"
Blaise handed the golden egg to the strongest of them, Goyle, who pried it open using his nails in a groove around the egg.
Inside was empty—nothing at all—but at the moment it was opened, a terrifying, shrill scream filled the entire room.
"Close it quickly!" Pansy shouted, covering her ears.
Goyle slammed the golden egg shut. "What was that?" Blaise asked, staring at the egg, "It sounded like a banshee's wail... but also a bit like the scream of a mandrake. Either way, it gives me a bad feeling..."
"What are you afraid of?" Terence said, "Soren has tamed a dragon; is he really going to be scared of this?"
Everyone quickly agreed.
When Soren returned to the dormitory, it was already around one in the morning. He opened the package that Old Nott had given him, and inside was a book titled "The Complete Guide to Alchemical Locks," which contained all the methods for making and breaking alchemical locks throughout history.
Great, this was exactly what Soren needed.
Soren deeply felt the importance of establishing a power base. Many fan-fictions from his previous life liked to portray the protagonist as a lone figure growing strong in the wind, without considering that everyone has their own areas of expertise and weakness. No matter how powerful someone is, even someone as exceptionally talented as Voldemort, they cannot conquer the world alone. Only by gathering the strength of others can more things be accomplished.
He pulled out several items from his suitcase and arranged them neatly on the bed. These were all gifts sent to him by his allies, and it had taken quite a bit of time to organize them today. Now that he was alone, it was the perfect time to study them.
Sister Giordana had sent him a dragon specimen sealed in a transparent container. According to her letter, it was a specimen of a young ancient dragon excavated by an archaeologist in some ruins, sealed with a secret technique of the organization, and it still contained a bit of the ancient dragon's magical power—the bloodline power of the ancient dragon.
Mr. Slughorn had sent him potions, and they were all extremely precious. In addition to a bottle of Felix Felicis, there was also a large bottle of dragon blood. Pure dragon blood extracted from an adult dragon is very expensive, and its trade has almost been monopolized by the Ministry of Magic, making it nearly impossible to purchase on the market.
However, the bottle Slughorn sent was not ordinary adult dragon blood; it was a bottle of activated dragon blood, which required many complex ritual steps and precious magical materials to produce and took several months to make.
Due to Dumbledore, it is well-known that ordinary dragon blood has twelve uses, although most of them are rather trivial, such as cleaning ovens, removing stains, and treating plantar warts. In his previous life, Soren often wondered why dragon blood could be sold at such a high price.
It turns out that the ordinary wizarding folk do not know that these are the uses of ordinary dragon blood.
The true value of dragon blood lies in its ability to be made into active dragon blood.
Active dragon blood can stimulate the body's functions and potential, with effects varying slightly depending on the type of dragon used. However, the production process is extremely difficult, and even the top potion masters rarely have the opportunity to refine active dragon blood.
Taking the bottle received by Soren as an example, it was drawn from a living Hebridean Black Dragon, and then Slughorn successively added the abdominal flesh of the Ukrainian Iron-belly, the fangs of the Peruvian Viper-tooth, the black ridges of the Norwegian Ridgeback, the sharp stinger of the Hungarian Horntail, the golden tassel-like spikes of the Chinese Fireball Dragon, the golden long horns of the Romanian Longhorn, and the dragon eyes of the Australian Opaleye...
These materials are already very expensive and rare, and the rituals have many requirements for them, such as the Longhorn's horn must be three feet long, the Viper-tooth's fangs must not have sprayed venom for at least three months, and the Opaleye's dragon eyes must be at least larger than a watermelon...
After completion, it must be sent to the Constellation Platform, which is regulated by the Ministry of Magic, where a magical array gathers the moonlight and starlight to illuminate the dragon blood, causing a mutation in the power within the blood.
It is not surprising that Soren would receive gifts from these three individuals. As his fame grew, his relationship with Sister Giordana became closer, so she would certainly not hesitate to curry favor with him; similarly, for someone famous, to Slughorn, it is like a bee seeing honey, making them eager to befriend him.
What surprised Soren was the fourth gift.
This gift was from the father of the Carrow sisters, Alvin Carrow, the current head of the Carrow family.
Alvin Carrow is a man of imposing appearance. Compared to the heads of other pureblood families, he may not be well-known, but he is not easy to deal with. In the original work, the Carrow family is a fervent supporter of pureblood supremacy, but he himself did not personally get involved like Lucius; instead, he sent his inept brother, Amycus, and sister, Alecto, to join the Death Eaters.
Amycus and Alecto are not particularly strong; even the newly adult Harry and the underage Luna could take them down, yet they were entrusted by the Death Eaters with the important task of infiltrating Hogwarts and serving as professors there. In fact, this was somewhat due to Alvin Carrow's influence.
Setting aside what the gift is for now, the act of giving itself signifies a lot.
The Carrow family's outward support for pureblood supremacy is likely just for show. After all, Soren's style of conduct at Hogwarts is no secret; anyone who looks into it would know that Soren is probably not a supporter of pureblood supremacy, especially since Mr. Carrow's two daughters are studying at Hogwarts, making it even less likely they would be unaware.
Thus, the meaning behind Alvin Carrow's actions is not hard to understand—this is a family that prioritizes interests above all. The fact that Amycus and Alecto joined the Death Eaters is ultimately just for the family's benefit, which does not prevent Alvin from making bets elsewhere. If he can gain Soren's friendship and widen the family's options, he would do so without hesitation.
This means that this is a target worth pursuing!
The value of the gift is not trivial, as it is given by the head of a prestigious pureblood family. It is a simple list, but it contains some decidedly non-simple names.
Dolphin Rowl, Coban Yaxley, Trelawney Selwyn, Acheron Avery, Sebastian Roche, Slughorn...
It also includes the names of old Nott and Alvin Carrow himself...
Some of these individuals are recognized Death Eaters, while others are pureblood heads who provided funding and manpower but did not personally take action.
This is a very interesting list!
Soren's pupils sparkled with shrewd light, and a charming curve appeared at the corner of his mouth. If he was not mistaken, this list confirmed a certain speculation he had held for a long time.
It seems that Mr. Carrow has indeed given him an extraordinary favor!
["Alchemy Lock Compendium" obtained!]
["Ancient Divine Dragon Specimen" obtained!]
["Felix Felicis" obtained!]
["Active Black Dragon Blood" obtained!]
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