Chapter 83
After capturing Nagini, Soren became even busier.
He temporarily set aside his studies on dark magic, alchemy, and wizarding law, and instead devoted himself entirely to research on Nagini.
The entire research was conducted in the laboratory within the suitcase space. Nagini was subjected to an irresistible binding spell, lying helplessly on the experimental table, allowing Soren to use various methods for his research.
The research process involved dark and somewhat cruel steps. Nagini suffered considerable harm during the research, and the laboratory often echoed with the hissing screams of snakes; of course, no one except Soren heard them—Aquila was an excellent research assistant and helped a lot during the entire research process, but it was not human.
Neither Soren nor Aquila felt any pity for Nagini's plight. After all, Nagini had completely devolved into a serpentine form, having long lost her memories and emotions as a human. She could no longer be considered a person with humanity; in the original work, she was still a major antagonist who had killed many innocent people, including the famous historian Bathilda Bagshot.
Just as Nagini was on the brink of death from Soren's torment, Soren's bloodline curse research was finally completed. A piece of flesh taken from Nagini was successfully sealed with a spell that suppressed the curse's power, reverting it back to human flesh.
During the lengthy research process, Soren also discovered some unexpected surprises.
In his second year, he had entered the restricted section of Hogwarts to consult Merlin's research notes on increasing magical power through the implantation of magical creature bloodlines. He found that Nagini's blood seemed to possess the function described in the notes, but since he had consumed a magical potion containing basilisk venom, this method proposed by Merlin might not work on him. He planned to thoroughly study it before applying it to his followers.
Time quickly moved to August.
Dumbledore was very busy.
This summer, the International Wizarding Federation held a conference. As the chief warlock, he bore the heavy responsibility of mediating issues within the wizarding community of various countries.
Following a series of events last year, Dumbledore's prestige had somewhat declined, but that did not shake the fact that he was the greatest wizard of the century. Of course, not everyone would agree with this view, such as Rita Skeeter, a special correspondent for the Daily Prophet. She ruthlessly mocked Dumbledore in her article, calling him an "obsolete dingbat."
In addition, as the headmaster of Hogwarts, he also had to work with the Department of International Cooperation, the Department of Sports, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang to prepare for the new Triwizard Tournament. This was the first successful restart of the tournament since it was discontinued in 1792, highlighting the significance of the event, which could not afford any mistakes. As the host, Hogwarts bore an even greater responsibility.
The 1792 tournament was also hosted by Hogwarts, and although he had not been born yet, he was well aware of the disaster that ensued—an out-of-control Cockatrice injured the school headmasters and three external judges. The headmaster at the time was Dexter Fawcett, and as a result, he was expelled by the board of governors, staining both his and Hogwarts' reputation.
Meanwhile, he also had to persuade his old friend Alastor Moody to come teach at Hogwarts. That was not all; Hogwarts' faculty hiring was no longer solely his decision; he had to obtain approval from the faculty hiring committee. There were no issues with the two heads of houses, and Ron Weasley also raised no objections. In total, there were only three seats, which did not exceed half.
Since last semester, the relationship between Amelia of the Bones family and him has inexplicably become distant. Dumbledore has been turned away several times when trying to find her, and ultimately he had no choice but to seek out Gareth Greengrass.
Compared to the Malfoy and Selwyn families, Greengrass also adheres to the pureblood supremacy but is far less extreme than the former two. After paying a certain price, Dumbledore finally got Moody's review approved.
The root of all this trouble lies in Hagrid and Madam Zabini's case.
Dumbledore sensed a conspiracy.
At first, he thought it was Lucius pulling the strings behind the scenes, ostensibly targeting Hagrid but actually aimed at him. After all, the Malfoy family is the villain and dislikes him, always ready to take the blame for anything that happens.
However, after launching an intelligence network investigation, he discovered that the entire matter had nothing to do with the Malfoy family. Madam Zabini had no grievances with him, and her actions were not motivated by any personal gain. Manipulating public opinion is not an easy task; the Daily Prophet and many media outlets in Britain have powerful backers. Dumbledore couldn't help but take this matter seriously; it certainly wasn't so simple...
Voldemort was also very busy.
Having lost Nagini, he had to force Wormtail to hunt more venomous snakes to refine an equally potent venom. Meanwhile, while Wormtail was out gathering intelligence, he happened to encounter Bertha Jorkins, who was visiting family.
Jorkins worked in the Department of Magical Games and Sports at the Ministry of Magic, under Ludovic Bagman. However, one day when she went to the Crouch estate to have old Barty Crouch sign a few documents, she discovered a secret of his and was hit with a powerful memory charm, leaving her confused and forgetful. Wormtail had little trouble deceiving her into the woods and bringing her before Voldemort.
Realizing she had been tricked, Jorkins struggled in vain and was quickly subdued. When Voldemort used Legilimency on her, he keenly sensed the traces of the memory charm; he had a premonition that the memories erased by the charm would be very useful to him.
Thus, he showed Wormtail another lesser-known application of the Cruciatus Curse—by inducing pain to extract hidden memories from the soul. While memories are generally stored in the brain, deeper memories are actually hidden within the soul; the Imperius Curse utilizes this principle for secrecy.
Through relentless tormenting of Jorkins, Voldemort successfully broke the memory charm after a full day and night of torture, allowing her to recall her lost memories. It must be said that Voldemort's mastery of the Cruciatus Curse is truly profound; he perfectly calibrated the level of torment, effectively breaking the memory charm without driving her insane.
Under Voldemort's interrogation, he successfully extracted the secret that young Barty Crouch was still alive, Dumbledore's intention to hire Moody, and details about the Triwizard Tournament. A new conspiracy gradually formed in Voldemort's mind.
After that, with no further use, Bertha Jorkins was drained of her last value—killed by a Killing Curse.
Subsequently, Voldemort softly chanted an ancient and arcane spell, then suddenly let out a long, piercing scream, as if his soul were being torn apart, which terrified Wormtail, who was hiding nearby, turning his face pale and making him tremble all over.
Compared to others' busyness, Harry was the most leisurely.
Ever since the Dursleys learned he had a convicted murderer for a godfather, Harry's quality of life had greatly improved. He spent the entire summer relaxing at home, during which he exchanged letters with Sirius twice. The letters were delivered by colorful tropical birds, indicating that Sirius had left Britain and was hiding on some tropical island in southern Europe.
During this summer, Hermione became much quieter; apart from meal times, she almost stayed in her room reading. Interestingly, whenever Mrs. Granger knocked to check on her, she found her daughter's books always open to the same page.
Mr. Granger told several jokes at the dinner table, but none could bring a smile to his daughter's face. Of course, one couldn't expect much humor from Mr. Granger, a dentist.
In this world, the person who knows the daughter best is usually the mother. The observant Mrs. Granger keenly sensed that her daughter had something on her mind and used a glance to stop her husband's childish antics.
After dinner, the mother and daughter chatted alone in Hermione's dormitory.
"Sweetheart, are you feeling unhappy about something?" Mrs. Granger's voice was very gentle.
Hermione opened her mouth, instinctively wanting to say, "I'm fine," but suddenly realized she could never hide anything from her mother.
"Mom, I..." With so many thoughts swirling in her head, Hermione didn't know where to start, but her voice uncontrollably started to sob.
Mrs. Granger embraced her daughter, "It's okay, you can talk when you're ready! I just want you to know that I love you, and I will always support you."
Hermione wiped away her tears, "Mom, I want to ask you, have you and Dad ever had a fight?"
"Foolish girl, of course we have, but—" Mrs. Granger smiled mischievously, "I know where the boundaries are, and I know how to coax your dad back."
"Listen, sweetheart, because of different backgrounds and experiences, differences in thoughts and beliefs are inevitable between people. Even the closest two people cannot avoid arguments. What you can do is to actively accept it."
"Actively accept it?" Hermione blinked, asking somewhat reluctantly.
"Of course! If this person is important to you, you can also take the initiative to salvage the relationship, which may require some changes and compromises on your part. Whether it's worth it depends on how you measure it. Our Hermione is so smart; she must know what to do, right?" Mrs. Granger said with a smile.
Hermione fell into a daze, memories replaying in her mind...
The boy standing in front of her defeating the troll... The boy telling her about Nicolas Flamel's identity... The boy urging her on the train to write to Dumbledore for the clueless Ron... The boy publicly taking her hand on the platform, the first time she successfully conjured a Patronus... The boy comforting her that night when she cried... The day Buckbeak was sentenced to death, the boy readily promised to help...
Finally, the images in her mind froze on the moment when she, Harry, and Ron were surrounded by more than a dozen Slytherin students, and the boy coldly said the words to break up... Hermione bit her lip, as if she had made a decision in her heart.
At the beginning of the summer vacation, Meredith moved to live at the Greengrass Manor. With three terms passing, Meredith had shed her past shackles and let go of that meaningless pride. She chose to let her family affiliate with Greengrass, which was the best decision for both her family and herself.
Mr. Greengrass treated her exceptionally well, which was certainly influenced by Daphne, but he actually had a deep friendship with the late Mr. Shafiq. Meredith was considered the orphan of his old friend. In the end, he decided to take Meredith as his goddaughter, calling each other father and daughter, while she referred to his two daughters as sisters, and allowed her and her house-elf Dino to move to the manor to live together, becoming a real family.
During this summer vacation, Meredith, Daphne, and Astoria had a very important task—learning the art of Occlumency.
As future right-hand assistants, Soren had already sternly instructed them that Occlumency was an essential skill. Otherwise, they could become a flaw for soren, leaking his secrets. Moreover, the use of Occlumency was not just to resist the Imperius Curse; it could also help wizards resist control from the soul-stealing curse.
After Voldemort's return, the situation in the UK could descend into chaos, with the imperius curse being the main culprit. Whether in Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, the Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts, or even among major wizarding families, there could be people controlled by the curse. Learning the art of Occlumency could effectively prevent oneself from being controlled.
Soren had already informed them of the principles and insights of the art and had even specially acquired a Boggart through the black market for them to practice.
Three sensible girls also understood the seriousness of the situation and did not dare to be negligent. Since the beginning of the summer vacation, they practiced diligently every day and finally achieved some progress before the end of July. Perhaps it was not enough to handle master-level spells like the Patronus Charm or the imperius Curse, but they were no longer at a level where a Boggart could easily deal with them.
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