Chapter 141
December brought strong winds and sleet to Hogwarts.
Although there was always a draft in the castle during winter, the young wizards felt grateful for the warm fires and thick walls when they saw the ghost ship of Durmstrang docked on the lake. The large ship swayed and rocked in the fierce wind, its black sails fluttering and dancing in the dark night sky.
The carriages from Beauxbatons were in a similar state, creaking under the force of the wind. The majestic horses were covered with thick blankets, and Hagrid continuously provided them with pure malt whiskey. A whiff of alcohol wafted from the feed trough in the corner of the stable, making the students attending the Care of Magical Creatures class feel a bit dizzy. This was not good for the students, as taking care of the dangerous Blast-Ended Skrewts required constant vigilance.
There were only ten Blast-Ended Skrewts left. Evidently, their desire to fight each other had not been completely eradicated. Each of them was now nearly six feet long. Their thick gray exoskeletons, their powerful legs flailing about, their tails constantly exploding and spitting fire, along with their stingers and suckers, combined to make the Blast-Ended Skrewt the most revolting creature anyone had ever seen. The students wearily watched as Hagrid brought out a large box lined with pillows and fluffy blankets.
Hagrid placed the Blast-Ended Skrewts into the box, closed the lid, and checked to see if they would hibernate; unfortunately, he was very wrong.
Clearly, the Blast-Ended Skrewts did not hibernate and did not appreciate being shoved into a cramped box. With several explosions, the ground was littered with smoking pieces of the box, and the Blast-Ended Skrewts escaped, rampaging through the pumpkin patch.
Draco and Blaise curled their lips and turned to leave, unwilling to pay attention to this boring farce, with Goyle and Crabbe dutifully following.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione led a group of Gryffindor students, shooting sparks from their wands, trying to drive the Blast-Ended Skrewts back.
The remaining Slytherin students, having learned from the previous encounter, had wised up this time and spontaneously gathered behind Soren, planning to rely on his leadership to deal with the situation at hand.
What if Soren couldn't handle it? Are you kidding? A wizard who treats dragons like puppies wouldn't be able to manage a lobster with its butt on fire?
Soren's gaze swept over Pansy, Millicent, Tracy, and Audrey, then lingered on Theodore Nott for a moment, his deep gaze becoming meaningful as he pointedly said, "Have you all made your decisions?"
"Uh-huh," Pansy and the three girls exchanged glances and responded first.
The corners of Soren's mouth lifted slightly, "Then from now on, follow my command. I will first use the Barrier Charm to restrain them, and when I count to three, you all use the Stunning Spell to knock them out. Remember—don't hit the hard shells, attack the stingers and mouths of the males, and the suckers of the females."
Soren did not cast the Barrier Charm; he was concerned that it wouldn't penetrate the Blast-Ended Skrewts' shells. He quickly waved his wand, conjuring thick ropes of vine to bind the five Blast-Ended Skrewts together. Just as the Skrewts tried to struggle, starting to spit sparks from underneath their tails, Soren shouted, "One, two, three, go!"
The young wizards did not disappoint Soren; they cleanly struck the weaknesses he had mentioned, knocking all five Blast-Ended Skrewts unconscious.
At this time, the Gryffindor students, with Hagrid's help, had just managed to subdue the first one.
Rita Skeeter leaned against the fence of Hagrid's garden, watching this farce unfold. She was wearing a thick magenta robe today, with a purple collar made of faux fur, and a crocodile-skin handbag hanging from her arm.
"Who are you?" Hagrid asked Rita Skeeter while tightening a rope loop around a Blast-Ended Skrewt's stinger.
"My name is Rita Skeeter, a reporter for the Daily Prophet," Rita replied, smiling broadly at Hagrid, her gold tooth gleaming. "What are these charming creatures called?" she asked, her smile growing even brighter.
"Blast-Ended Skrewts," Hagrid answered gruffly.
"Really?" Rita said, looking intrigued, "I've never heard of them before... where did you get them?"
Hagrid's face behind his scruffy black beard turned bright red. At that moment, the clever Hermione stepped forward and said, "They're really interesting, aren't they? You tell her, Harry, aren't they?"
"What? Oh, yeah... um... really interesting," Harry stammered, having been stepped on by her.
She was shifting her gaze towards Dean (who had an unsightly scar on one side of his cheek), Lavender (whose robe had a large burnt patch), and Seamus (who was tending to a few burnt fingers), as if she had discerned something. She smiled and said, "That's great... I wonder if you'd be willing to accept an interview, hmm? Share your experiences teaching magical creatures with the readers? The Daily Prophet has a zoology column every Wednesday, and I think you must know that. We could introduce these—uh—rattlesnakes."
"Blast-ended Skrewts," Hagrid said eagerly, "uh—yeah, that could work."
The two arranged to meet at the Three Broomsticks on Friday for Hagrid to give Rita an interview.
"What's wrong?" Daphne looked at Soren, as the Blast-ended Skrewts that Slytherin was responsible for had already been taken care of, and the other young wizards had left, yet Soren remained there, watching Rita and Hagrid interact from afar.
Soren smiled slightly and said, "Nothing, I just think that old man with the white beard is going to have trouble again soon." He found it amusing to think about Hagrid's future developments, but he also felt a bit of sympathy for Dumbledore—why did his confidants always get into trouble?
Daphne leaned closer to Soren. Although there was no one around, she still cautiously cast a silencing charm, then whispered in a voice only they could hear, "What's going on with Pansy and her group?"
Soren shrugged, "What else could it be? They're just trying to butter me up."
"But," Daphne said with a puzzled expression, "isn't she quite close to your brother?"
Soren scoffed, "Those few—whether it's Pansy, Millicent, or Audrey, Tracy—after I demonstrated my ability to tame a dragon, their personal feelings no longer matter. Their family's interests are their primary concern. I dare say that their statements today are actually the wishes of those old geezers behind the scenes."
Since the start of this semester, Soren had been busy with the Club, the Triwizard Tournament, and studying various spells, making him somewhat distant from the other Slytherin students. He really couldn't help it; his time was limited, and it was impossible for him to cover everything.
And that brother of his, who felt somewhat unfamiliar, did not disappoint him. Taking advantage of this gap, through excellent performance in class and various friendly interactions with classmates, he managed to establish a reputation among his peers.
Pansy had long been close to him, so that was a given; Goyle and Crabbe had always been his loyal followers, and that was the same. Among the other young wizards, Blaise seemed to have suddenly grown close to Draco. Millicent, Audrey, and Tracy's enthusiasm and admiration for Draco were becoming increasingly obvious. Originally, the latter two were fans of Soren, but now they had suddenly switched their allegiance to Draco.
Soren knew all of this, but he chose to turn a blind eye.
Because he knew that life is like a chess game; the principles are simple—one wrong move can lead to total defeat.
No matter how Draco had schemed or pressured before, at the moment Soren defeated Draco and was chosen as a Hogwarts champion, the rivalry between the two brothers had already shown a clear winner.
After Soren's strong victory in the first event, even Pansy understood that Soren's momentum was unstoppable, let alone the other three girls who weren't as closely tied to Draco. Even if they leaned towards Draco due to personal feelings, these girls from noble families had to consider their family's interests; they knew their actions could represent their families, and families couldn't let them act recklessly.
Draco, or perhaps the person behind Draco, as long as he wasn't too foolish and still thought of the Malfoy family as Soren believed, he wouldn't be unaware of this—he had no chance of turning the tide.
Brother, oh brother, the real chess game, I had already made my move in first year. No matter how much your strength has surged in just one summer, unless you kill me, you will always just be a pawn—
The real player, I think, will soon make his appearance, right?
To be honest, I have a bit of expectation...
"By the way," Daphne asked seriously, "do you know what's going on with Draco?"
"Well," when it came to Draco, Soren's expression also turned serious, "I have an immature guess in my mind..." He then revealed a knowing smile and said, "I think I'll soon find out whether my guess is correct..."
Even though Daphne had almost blind confidence in Soren, she couldn't help but show a hint of worry, "Are you really okay with this?"
"Don't worry!" Soren slightly raised his head, gazing into the distance, "I don't fight battles I'm not sure about, and—"
"I believe in Draco, he is my real brother!"
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