Chapter 99
On August 19, a day had passed since the Quidditch World Cup.
Soren set down the Daily Prophet.
The front page of the Daily Prophet featured a shocking black-and-white photo of the Dark Mark hanging ominously above the treetops, with the headline: "Terrifying Scenes at the Quidditch World Cup."
The article was written by Rita Skeeter, filled with sensational language and added unverified terrifying speculations in key places, such as "rumor has it..." and "it is said..."
"The Dark Mark has reappeared... the Ministry of Magic is in a panic... the criminals remain at large... law and order has relaxed... dark wizards roam free... bringing shame to the nation... Wizards waiting outside the woods are in a state of panic, hoping for comfort from the Ministry of Magic. Unfortunately, they will be sorely disappointed. Shortly after the appearance of the Dark Mark, a Ministry official appeared, claiming that no one was hurt, but refused to disclose further details. Whether his words are enough to quell rumors that bodies will be carried out of the woods an hour later remains to be seen."
The second article mentions rumors related to the Dark Mark and the house-elf of the Crouch family. It must be said that Rita Skeeter is quite skilled; only a handful of Ministry officials knew about the events in the woods, yet she managed to capture whispers and write about them in a manner that closely resembled the truth.
"It is said that the Dark Mark was emitted by a house-elf... there are no house-elves on the Death Eater list from the Ministry... coincidentally, the Crouch family's house-elf was given clothes and dismissed on the same day... it is well-known that old Bartemius Crouch's son was a Death Eater who committed heinous crimes..."
The third piece is a short article mentioning the disappearance of the Shafiq family's heiress, Meredith Shafiq. Though it does not mention "The Shadow of the Dragon," it criticizes the incompetence of the Ministry of Magic, which led to the endangerment of the last bloodline of an ancient family.
The fourth article is much more interesting, mentioning the presence of werewolves at this World Cup, suspected to be connected to the Death Eater upheaval. It is well-known that werewolves served under the Dark Lord in the First Wizarding War. Strangely, this time, the werewolf attack targeted the Lestrange family's campsite, brutally killing more than a dozen family members who had come to watch the World Cup, while the only survivor, Gellert Lestrange, who is still studying at Hogwarts, was bitten and turned into a werewolf.
When Soren read this, he sneered; this was certainly his handiwork, as he hadn't forgotten about the attack by Gemma years ago.
He had strictly followed Lucius's orders and did not directly attack those pure-blood families, but that didn't mean he was powerless to act.
This attack was meticulously planned. First, Bartoli and Annis personally intervened, teaming up to capture some straggling werewolves in Knockturn Alley; as an arch-enemy of werewolves, Bartoli could easily identify werewolves, even in their human forms.
Next, Annis used her unique mental control magic as a Banshee to command this group of werewolves to attack the Lestrange campsite. The werewolves included many vampires and Banshees in disguise, deliberately leaving behind claw marks and traces typical of werewolves on the scene—making it look like the work of the werewolves themselves.
The werewolf clan has a close relationship with the Raoul family, thus providing an opportunity to sow discord and suspicion between the Raoul and Lestrange families.
Moreover, the werewolves would be exposed in news reports because of this violent act, generating negative feelings among the general public, which would serve to suppress the Raoul family's arrogance as well.
Including the revenge aspect, it could be said to be killing three birds with one stone.
Soren snapped his fingers and summoned Dobby. He knew Dobby was acquainted with Winky and asked Dobby to bring Winky to him. Dobby had grown increasingly efficient in handling tasks for Soren over the years and, within a few hours, brought Winky to him.
Winky, still grieving over her dismissal, had been drowning her sorrows in alcohol daily, her eyes glazed with intoxication, slumped on the ground, murmuring softly to herself.
"Winky, look into my eyes!" Soren commanded sternly.
Winky, who was already half drunk, inadvertently made eye contact with Soren. Soren's eyes were so deep they resembled an endless black hole, and Winky felt her entire mind uncontrollably drawn into the black hole.
"Winky, gaze into my eyes and answer my questions honestly."
"Gaze into your eyes… answer questions…"
"You were originally the house-elf of the Crouch family?"
"Yes… I am the elf of the Crouch family, having served three generations of the Crouch master…"
"You defied Barty Crouch's will! You are a traitorous little elf!"
"No… I'm not… I'm not…" Winky's voice trembled with a painful whimper, and her entire body began to shake.
"Tell me—Is little Barty Crouch still alive? Was it him who released the Dark Mark that night?"
"Ah—" Winky let out a heart-wrenching scream, grasping her own neck and repeatedly banging her head against the floor. But the floor had long been softened by a cushioning charm, and she felt no harm.
"Do not resist my will! You wicked little elf! It was you—you who persuaded old Barty to take his son to the World Cup! It was you who failed to keep an eye on little Barty, allowing him to escape! It was you who carelessly picked up the wand! You caused the Crouch family to be investigated by the Ministry of Magic! You brought shame upon the Crouch family!"
"Ah—I am not—I didn't… I swear… I…"
"Do not resist! Think about the look on Mrs. Crouch's face before she died! Remember her hopes! Remember her expression!"
Winky's expression suddenly turned fearful and panicked, and she trembled even more violently.
"If you feel fear and shame, you are deeply sinful. No one will need such a wicked little elf like you anymore… Only I can help you, to free you from this guilt, as long as you become my slave!"
"Yes… Winky is a sinner… Winky is a slave…"
"Remember your new master's name, I am Soren Malfoy!"
Winky knelt on the ground, crawling to Soren's feet, trembling as she spoke, "Soren Malfoy… my master… please accept Winky… please accept your humble servant… Winky is willing to follow you, willing to be shattered for you, willing to do anything for you!"
"Really?" Soren's gaze suddenly turned sharp, "Even if it means killing Crouch?"
Winky trembled even more, yet she still replied, "Yes, my only master, even if it means killing Crouch…" After saying this, Winky's guilt and fear vanished, suddenly filling her heart with joy, as if she were reborn. She looked at Soren with fervor, wishing she could capture the old Crouch family right now to kill them in front of her master to express her loyalty.
"Very well, from today on, you are my third servant!"
["Servant" Winky acquired!]
Since Meredith went missing, Soren found his magic power surging, and his mastery over soul magic reached a peak overnight. It was evident as he effortlessly brainwashed two house-elves into becoming his servants.
Soren looked at his hands, the swirling magic within mixed with faint black energy.
Is it because his evil thoughts are growing? Is he destined to walk down the path of darkness?
In the past, Soren leaned more towards treating house-elves kindly to win their loyalty. Now he believed more in the power of magic, and to some extent, he had become more like Voldemort.
He only hoped he would never reach that point…
Soren sighed, his mind flashing through images of Lucius, Narcissa, Draco, Daphne, Meredith, and Astoria, finally settling on the last page of "The Abattoir Volume Three: The Soul Chapter," where it was awkwardly scrawled in twisted letters—
The fastest and most effective way to increase the strength of the soul is to personally kill the one you love the most…
So that's it, this is the powerful source behind Dumbledore…
Soren wrote a letter to his home, deciding to stay at Green Lawn Manor for the remaining days of the summer vacation before school started.
He had Dobby run errands to Diagon Alley, to buy all the textbooks and potion ingredients needed for school, and at the same time, he ordered a set of formal dress robes for the ball—yes, Soren decided to participate in the Triwizard Tournament. Using the Triwizard Tournament as an excuse would not only exempt him from the finals, but also allow him to legitimately ask professors about various advanced magic, enabling him to study high-level magic openly from then on.
In the original work, Harry, after undergoing the trial of the Triwizard Cup, made significant progress in the application of various spells and practical combat abilities. Moreover, if he ultimately wins the Triwizard Cup, it can further enhance his reputation, especially on an international level.
Soren also planned to make good use of the galleons won at the World Cup.
Having lived in the Muggle world in his previous life, Soren was well aware of the hidden profits in the beauty market, and he had thought about exploring the field of beauty potions early on.
Currently, the beauty potion market in the UK is monopolized by Madam Pruett-Pinell from Diagon Alley and the Tugwood family, with the former being most renowned for their wart-removing potion and the latter for their pimple potion.
The author of "The Book of Potions," Zigmont Bach, had also invented a potion called the "Beautification Potion." This potion is not a beauty potion in the strictest sense; it cannot change one's appearance but can make the user look charming, and the effect is only temporary. Once the potion is stopped, the user's true appearance will be revealed.
The beauty potions controlled by the Tugwood family are almost all passed down from the famous chocolate frog card celebrity, Sacrissa Tugwood, over thirty years ago. Her descendants clearly did not inherit her talent for potion-making, as they have not made any improvements to the formulas over the years. Consequently, the patent for these formulas expired over a decade ago.
Through Gareth's connections, Soren approached the Tugwood family and purchased all their research notes on beauty potions for 2000 galleons — the Tugwood's were overjoyed to sell these dusty papers for a good price, without any awareness of the value behind that knowledge.
Soren knows well the importance of appearance for women, and he understands that their greatest enemy is not tumors or pimples, but aging. He intends to develop a potion that prevents people from aging; if successful, he believes it will be an unprecedented innovation in the business world.
[Tugwood Family's Potion Research Notes Obtained!]
During this time, Soren also practiced practical combat with Daphne and Astoria.
Since Meredith was kidnapped, the two girls knew that if they wanted to help their boyfriends, they needed to become stronger. Therefore, they have been training exceptionally hard, making significant progress in both magical theoretical knowledge and spell-casting skills over this period.
In addition, Soren informed the two sisters about his plans for this semester.
He intends to formally establish a student organization that follows him.
He has already thought of a name for the organization: "Dragon Snooze Society," implying that disturbing the dragon will provoke its wrath.
The two sisters can utilize the influence of the Greengrass family to recruit younger students to join the organization and selectively cultivate them to build their own power.
To avoid drawing Dumbledore's attention, Soren plans for Daphne to be the public leader, while he operates behind the scenes. The sisters are completely devoted to Soren and are willing to support any of his plans unconditionally.
The three often meet during the holidays to discuss this plan, refining and adding various details until the entire plan is complete.
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