Harry Potter: The Rise Of Malfoy

Chapter 62.

The next day, Saturday, was Hogsmeade Village's visiting day.

The Slytherin wizards gathered in the common room and set off for Hogsmeade Village in a grand procession.

Soren finally encountered the Madam Rosmerta, who was indeed well-preserved and still charming, but she was a bit too old—she had already been working in the pub during the time of the Marauders, older than Narcissa. Soren really couldn't imagine why Ron had a crush on her; did he have an Oedipus complex?

Butterbeer is not a drink unique to the Three Broomsticks but is available in many pubs. However, the butterbeer here indeed has a unique flavor; it is not too greasy and has a slightly refreshing feel. Soren, who was quite knowledgeable about herbs and potions, guessed that it must contain Moon dew.

Moon dew is a flowering plant found in Scotland, its flowers only bloom under ample moonlight and is one of the ingredients for invigorating potions and sleeping potions.

Interestingly, it was Cliodna, a medieval Irish Tuatha Dé Danann, who discovered the magical properties of Moon dew, so generally, only wizards with in-depth knowledge of Tuatha magic traditions would use Moon dew in their everyday food and beverages. Soren curiously assessed Madam Rosmerta, wondering if this beautiful woman, who was seldom mentioned in the original work, had some unknown identity as well.

Everyone returned happily from the Three Broomsticks. Draco, along with Goyle and Crabbe, wanted to go on an adventure at the Shrieking Shack; others were going to buy candy or prank supplies. Soren knew that Draco would encounter Ron and the invisibility-cloaked Harry at the Shrieking Shack, which would spark a plot, so he made excuses about having important matters to attend to and separated from the group.

After disguising himself, Soren went to the post office in Hogsmeade Village, chose an owl equipped with anti-tracking function, and anonymously sent a letter to Professor Snape. The letter reported that Harry was spotted sneaking out of Hogsmeade and then hurriedly returning to the castle, putting on an Invisibility Charm, and hiding near the statue of the one-eyed witch on the fourth floor, waiting for the plot to unfold.

The ensuing events proceeded just as described in the original work.

Utilizing the advantage of invisibility, Harry played a nasty trick on Draco's trio but accidentally tripped Crabbe while extending his leg, causing Crabbe's foot to snag the invisibility cloak, pulling it off and revealing a floating head, which frightened Draco half to death.

Realising he had been exposed, Harry hurriedly made his way back to the castle through the secret passage in the Honey-dukes cellar, finally emerging from behind the one-eyed witch's statue just as it closed, and Snape came by to investigate, promptly taking Harry to his office.

After the two left, Soren confirmed that no one else was around and immediately approached the one-eyed witch's statue, whispering "Separate left and right," then gently tapping the statue with his wand. The statue's hunchback opened up, revealing a narrow entrance. Inside was a narrow and low dirt passage, winding and twisting like a giant rabbit warren.

Soren's goal for this visit was to find the Deathly Hallows invisibility cloak that Harry hid here. Although the cloak was formless and colorless and emitted magical fluctuations concealed enough to deceive his magical eye, it was not difficult for him.

Soren released the Silver from the suitcase space, letting it use its sense of smell to track Harry's scent and retrace the path Harry had taken.

The clever Silver quickly understood its master's intention and led Soren to a dark corner, indicating that the scent was strongest here. After Soren searched for a while, fortune favored the diligent, allowing him to find the Death's Invisible Cloak and quietly stuff it into the suitcase space for safekeeping.

[Deathly hollow's Invisible Cloak obtained!]

With previous experience, Soren confirmed that this operation was flawless—Dumbledore absolutely did not know about this secret passage. The best proof was from the two invasions by Black; he had still not made Filch keep an eye on the passage. Furthermore, the only one who could use divination to locate Soren, Nicolas Flamel, had already bid farewell to him in a letter a week ago, officially welcoming his own death.

Nicolas maintained his usual low profile, even his funeral was held in secret, so not many people knew about his death. Most of his estate was donated to Beauxbatons, his alma mater, with only a small portion left to his scattered descendants around the world.

Even Soren, who could barely be considered a named apprentice, received a book. The book had no name on its cover and was locked with a special alchemical lock; neither opening spells nor universal tools could open it. Soren would have to improve his alchemical skills to unlock it, functioning as a final test from his teacher!

Nicolas was half a teacher to Soren. Although he felt a tinge of sadness, Soren understood that this was Nicolas's own choice. From this perspective, Nicolas, who chose death with free will, had already conquered death, aligning with the identity criteria of the "Master of Death." Thus, Soren could only offer him blessings from afar, wishing him a smooth journey in the afterlife.

The current problem was that although Soren had obtained the Death's Invisible Cloak, he could not use it openly; otherwise, it would be easy for Dumbledore to catch him. Soren's plan was to study the alchemical principles on the Death's Invisible Cloak to improve his Merlin Robe, giving it invisibility and concealment effects comparable to the cloak.

The next day, after lunch, when Soren left the Great Hall, he encountered Hermione, who was specifically waiting for him in the corridor.

"Hagrid lost the lawsuit, Buckbeak is going to be executed…" Hermione's face was frighteningly pale. She held a letter in her hand, her lips trembling. "Malfoy, can you help him?"

Soren was somewhat surprised and couldn't help but say, "Why did you think to find me? After all, I'm still a Malfoy!"

Hermione herself didn't know why she thought of seeking Soren; she just had a strange intuition that he could help her—well, in fact, she couldn't think of anyone else who could help her.

Her choice was different from the original story. First, after her last conversation with Soren, she understood how many political factors were involved behind what seemed like a simple case of a hippogriff attacking; second, Harry and Ron's performance was also far worse than in the original—Harry was no longer the youngest seeker in history, and he was no longer the hero who killed the basilisk; as for Ron, it was even worse—besides losing his glorious moment of defeating the troll, he had exposed his narrow-mindedness and jealousy for the entire semester.

In contrast, while Soren was in a somewhat subtly hostile Slytherin and had little contact with her, their few conversations had a somewhat unhappy undertone due to differing ideals.

However, she clearly remembered that in their first year, Soren had put aside factional biases and had chosen to save her from the troll in the girls' bathroom; in their second year, he risked entering the Chamber of Secrets alone to rescue Ginny. This semester, he had put aside previous grievances to save Harry from a fall on the Quidditch field and had recently generously allowed himself to be her assistant during the spell exchange session, selflessly sharing insights on learning the Patronus Charm with students from other houses.

Most importantly, Soren came from one of the most powerful pureblood families, and he always acted with such calm maturity that he instilled a sense of trust.

Aside from their differing camp positions, Hermione couldn't find any other reason to dislike him. In fact, she faintly sensed that she might harbor quite a bit of affection for this handsome boy. The reason she came to find him this time, apart from Hagrid and Buckbeak, was also to take the opportunity to have more contact with Soren.

As Hermione stammered when she heard Soren's question, he noticed her embarrassment and, not waiting for her answer, smiled slightly and said, "Actually, it's really not a big deal. Have you ever thought that there's a most straightforward way to save Buckbeak?"

"What, what do you mean?" Hermione paused for a moment.

"What I mean is—" Soren shrugged his shoulders and said casually, "You hide it. Just don't let anyone find it, and that's that."

"Is that really possible?" Hermione said in surprise. "I mean, can we really hide it so well that no one can find it?"

"Of course, it's really not that difficult..." Soren comforted her. "If you're willing to consider me a friend, just leave this thing to me! You just need to have a word with Hagrid beforehand. Remember, don't betray me; just say you came up with the idea to hide Buckbeak."

Hermione nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Malfoy. Thank you for being willing to help me. I'm really sorry for what I said to you that night…"

Soren raised an eyebrow and said with an exaggerated expression, "Miss Granger, when you said I was a despicable, shameless, vile Malfoy that day, it really broke my heart! If you truly consider me a friend, don't call me Malfoy from now on!"

Hermione couldn't help but laugh through her tears and then blushed, stammering, "So, um, can I call you Soren from now on?"

"Of course! And to prevent you from taking advantage of me, I'll call you Hermione from now on, okay?"

Seeing Hermione nodding, Soren said, "Alright, Hermione, let's wrap up our conversation here for today. I have class in a bit. Leave Hagrid's matter to me; you don't need to worry about it anymore."

Soren didn't consider himself to be particularly kind-hearted, but he was fundamentally a man of his word. Since he had made a promise to Hermione, he would definitely work hard to fulfill it. Besides, there was no loss in helping Hermione; it was just a bit unfair to Blaise. Remembering that Blaise had just treated him to drinks that morning, Soren felt a little embarrassed and could only silently apologize in his heart.

Soren's suitcase space was still empty for now; occasionally, he would let Silver wander around inside, but Silver could only be considered a visitor and not a permanent resident. Soren planned to seize the moment and kidnap Buckbeak that very night, making it the first permanent resident of his suitcase space.

Unfortunately, plans rarely go as expected, and events unfolded contrary to Soren's predictions.

That night, the sky was almost cloudless, and a round moon hung in the sky, casting gentle moonlight down and washing Hogwarts Castle in a layer of blue.

As Soren was about to sneak Buckbeak away from Hagrid's hut, he spotted a black dog near the edge of the Forbidden Forest, not far from the Whomping Willow.

"It really seems that it can't just sit still…" Soren scratched his head and immediately chased after it. However, he couldn't reveal himself in front of Black, so he had to follow from a distance, forcing himself not to lose track completely.

Then he discovered an unusual truth—Black seemed to be chasing after Fang?

Chasing Fang? Right now?

A bad premonition arose in Soren's heart; this was the first time since his rebirth that he witnessed the plot severely deviating from the original storyline.

Fang didn't appear that early in the original plot! What was he trying to do?

Just as Soren was about to quicken his pace, a wolf howl suddenly echoed from within the castle. The howl was mixed with pain and frenzy, completely shattering the tranquil night.

"What?" Soren, who was hastily running toward the hut, suddenly froze. He halted in his tracks, looking back at a window on the third floor of the castle. On the lawn not far from him, Black in his Animagus form also turned back, his pitch-black dog eyes fixated on Hogwarts Castle.

In the shock of both their gazes, a robust figure covered in fur leaned out from the window. In the exceptionally bright moonlight of the night, even from a distance, it was illuminated in every detail.

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