Chapter 16.
The time quickly arrived at the Easter holiday.
Over the past month, Soren had instructed Dobby to retrieve the dragon egg and diary and hand them over to him. The dragon egg was hidden in a locked cabinet in the dormitory, while Soren found the diary to be quite intriguing.
It turned out that Professor Quirrell was also a gifted academic with a deep understanding of magical theory. However, due to his weak, timid, and neurotic personality, he was often bullied and mocked at Ravenclaw. Unhappy with himself and wishing to prove his worth, he gradually became interested in dark magic, harboring a latent desire to earn the attention of others.
What truly piqued Soren's interest was that after the end of the 1990 academic year, Quirrell resigned from his post as a Muggle Studies professor, using the excuse of seeking first-hand practical experience to embark on an adventure journey across Europe and Africa.
In reality, his true aim was to seek the traces of dark wizards, motivated partly by curiosity and partly by a desire to feel significant, having never received attention before. At least, Quirrell fantasized about being the one to track down Voldemort, hoping to learn the skills that would prevent him from being ridiculed.
He encountered vampires and hags in Germany's Black Forest and got into some trouble; he also helped a prince in Africa deal with a troublesome living zombie—these were all real experiences. Soren couldn't help but click his tongue, recalling that in his previous life, most readers believed these were merely tales fabricated by Quirrell himself.
The diary contains detailed accounts of his travels throughout Europe and Africa, further proving that Quirrell was a man who liked to express his innermost thoughts through writing and was rather introspective and reserved.
The notes continued until he coincidentally discovered that Voldemort's residual soul was likely wandering in the jungles of Albania, after which they abruptly stopped. The subsequent events would naturally lead to Quirrell encountering Voldemort and being ensnared by him, so this part of the story was something he could neither write nor dare to write.
However, the last few pages of the diary contained some fragmented and disjointed notes, and Soren had a premonition that these notes would be of great use to him. So, he patiently reorganized and compiled the notes bit by bit, trying to restore their original content.
Thanks to Soren's deciphering ability and patience gained from his past experiences, he finally pieced together the scattered notes before the Easter holiday arrived—this was the first skill Quirrell had learned from Voldemort.
At that time, Quirrell encountered a severely weakened Voldemort, who was unable to do anything to Quirrell in his current state. Instead, Voldemort first offered Quirrell some temptations, and only later used his overwhelming power to lure Quirrell into the depths of corruption.
This skill was a spell-casting technique invented by Voldemort. A skilled wizard would master some unique spell-casting methods. Back when Dumbledore was still a student, he had already created a unique spell-casting technique and received the Barnabas Finkley Award for Outstanding Spell-Casting Techniques.
A powerful spell-casting technique not only makes the casting process smoother but also enhances the precision of magic control to reduce magical energy consumption.
After spending two days mastering this spell-casting technique, Soren sighed, acknowledging that it was indeed a method created by Voldemort. Using this technique allowed Soren to cast two spells in an astonishingly quick succession, and he also discovered that his casting process became fluid and effortless—under certain conditions, this technique would shine brightly if Soren needed to release multiple spell combinations.
[Voldemort's Spell-Casting Technique Learned!]
Unfortunately, Quirrell's diary did not record any more abilities learned from Voldemort—apparently, he had shaken hands with Harry at the Leaky Cauldron before the school year began. Soren speculated that Quirrell had been possessed by Voldemort after failing in the heist at Gringotts and no longer dared to write about his experiences and thoughts in the diary.
That night, at one o'clock, Soren met with Daphne and Meredith in the Slytherin common room.
Daphne couldn't help but ask, "Soren, lack of sleep is a girl's nemesis. Why did you call us out at this late hour?"
With a mysterious tone, Soren replied, "Do you remember what the headmaster said on the first day of school?"
Meredith frowned, "Are you saying...?"
Soren coughed lightly and said, "It's about the restricted area on the fourth-floor corridor. Professor Dumbledore said that if you don't want to end up dead by accident, you shouldn't go near there. I've found out that a few professors set up defenses to prevent students from entering. So, what do you think? Are you interested in joining me for a rare adventure? It will also be a good opportunity to assess your magical combat skills."
Daphne was so excited about the idea of an adventure that she could hardly wait to leave. Meredith, however, was more composed and hesitantly said, "But it's so late, and we would be going to a clearly forbidden area. What if we get caught by Filch or some professor?"
Soren smiled and said, "Don't worry. I've already made preparations for this." With that, he gently tapped Daphne's head with his wand, and she was shocked to find that her body seemed to merge with the surroundings.
Meredith, as a well-bred girl with broad knowledge, immediately showed an expression of surprise. "Oh my, you've already mastered the Disillusionment Charm? That's a spell at the level of an Auror!"
Soren smiled confidently, "I've tested this charm on mice several times, and aside from Professor Dumbledore, I'm confident I can evade any other professor at Hogwarts." After saying this, Soren cast a Silencing Spell on Daphne, making her footsteps soundless as well. This spell was at the level of a fifth-year student, but having seen the Disillusionment Charm, both Daphne and Meredith were already accustomed to such magic.
Having witnessed Soren's abilities, the two girls felt confident about this adventure. However, they also sensed a heavy pressure; Soren's performance was truly outstanding.
Both girls came from prestigious backgrounds and had been instilled with the importance of maintaining their family honor since childhood. Future marriage partners were of utmost importance. Finding a partner with a prominent family background and outstanding talents would greatly benefit both themselves and their families.
Soren, in front of them, met all their requirements—coming from the wealthy Malfoy family, possessing extraordinary magical talent, coupled with handsome looks and a gentle personality, he was the perfect choice out of their dreams.
However, they faced a significant dilemma; they likely felt unworthy of Soren. Setting aside family background, just the talent and potential Soren had displayed made it clear that he was no ordinary individual. Moreover, his style of action hinted that he was someone with lofty ambitions, destined to achieve great things in the future.
If that were the case, the talents and reputation of his future wife would also need to be commensurate with his status. The two girls were not foolish; in fact, they were more mature and wise than the boys in this regard. They were well aware of each other's feelings and despite their friendship, it did not stop them from secretly comparing themselves.
Soren was completely unaware of these thoughts from the two girls. Neither in his past nor in this life was he adept at navigating the world of emotions—he had been too immersed in adventures around the world and had never cultivated a sincere long-term relationship; in this life, he spent most of his time enhancing his strength and plotting various plans.
Once Soren had cast the Disillusionment Charm and the Silencing Spell on all three of them, they made their way through the dimly lit corridor to the end of the restricted fourth-floor corridor.
Soren took out a music box he bought in the Muggle world from his pocket and had doubled several others, handing them to the two girls. At that moment, both Daphne and Meredith looked confused, not understanding what was happening.
Soren wound up the music box to produce a clear sound. "The first obstacle after we open the door is a three-headed dog imported from Greece by Hagrid. It is an extremely dangerous beast, with combat capabilities comparable to a young dragon, usually tamed by wizards to guard treasure entrances. A three-headed dog can only be defeated by more than five adult wizards, but it has an unknown weakness—it is completely defenseless against music and will fall asleep upon hearing it. This music box can probably last for twenty to thirty seconds, so you will take turns winding it to keep the music playing, ensuring the three-headed dog remains asleep."
After receiving nods from both girls indicating they understood, Soren arranged the order, took out his wand, tapped the door lock, and whispered, "Alohomora!" With a click, the door unlocked.
With the creaking sound of the door being pushed open, there was no low, barking growl heard in the background. At the moment the music box began to play, the big dog's eyes started to droop. It swayed and shook for a bit before quickly lying down on the floor and falling into a deep sleep.
"Do you see that trapdoor behind the three-headed dog? Quickly, open it," Soren began directing the two girls. "Remember not to let the music stop; I don't want to be torn to pieces by it."
As the two girls nervously approached the three massive heads, they could feel the hot and smelly breath coming from the dog's mouth. Daphne frowned and said, "Ah, this dog is lying on top of the trapdoor."
Meredith had a sudden flash of inspiration and used the levitation spell they learned in class to move the three-headed dog's body off the trapdoor, then bent down to pull the latch on the trapdoor. The door suddenly swung open, revealing a dark hole below, and she couldn't help but show a proud expression on her face.
Soren nodded in satisfaction, signaling the two girls to take turns releasing the spring of the music box, then looking around at them and asking, "We can't see anything down there, and there's no ladder. We need to jump down directly. Who will go first?"
Meredith had an obvious look of hesitation on her face; the dark passage below really didn't provide her with much sense of security. Just as Meredith was wavering, Daphne gritted her teeth and said, "Let me go first." After saying that, she was about to leap down, but Soren stopped her.
"Having the courage to face the unknown is good, but recklessness is not. In this situation, it's best to cast a cushioning charm on yourself before jumping; I'm sure you know how to do that, right?" Soren stared at Daphne. Daphne let out a sigh of relief and nodded. Although her ability was not on par with Soren's, she had learned quite a few spells in her first year, and the cushioning charm was one of them.
After Daphne jumped down, she landed on something soft with a strange, dull thud. She started to feel around as her eyes hadn't yet adjusted to the dim light, only to find that she seemed to be sitting on some sort of plant. She then called up toward the hole, "No problem! It's a soft landing; you can jump now!"
After Soren jumped down, Meredith followed suit, leaving only the music box on the ground still making sound, but the music would soon stop, and the sleeping three-headed dog would eventually wake up.
Even though there was a devil's snare to cushion the fall, Soren didn't want to plunge directly into it, so he cast the cushioning charm, coming to an abrupt stop in mid-air. Seeing this, Meredith followed suit and cast the cushioning charm on herself, hovering in mid-air alongside Soren, slowly drifting down like a feather.
Soren pointed at the plant on the ground and asked, "Can you recognize this plant?"
Meredith thought for a moment and then suddenly seemed to remember something, exclaiming in surprise, "That's the devil's snare!"
At that moment, the devil's snare began to wrap around the legs of the three. Daphne desperately tried to pull off the vines, but the more she struggled, the tighter they became. Meredith quickly stopped her, saying, "Don't struggle! The more you struggle, the tighter the devil's snare will wrap around you." After pondering for a moment, Meredith added, "The devil's snare likes darkness and dampness; it fears fire and light."
The three used fire spells to disperse the devil's snare. Daphne, looking a bit flustered, said irritably, "Are you two deliberately watching me make a fool of myself? Why didn't you mention the way to break it earlier?"
Soren wore a teasing smile and replied, "Didn't I say? These challenges are to test your knowledge from your studies, to see if you can apply it flexibly in real situations, not just in answering exam questions. Besides, I think it's also very important to train your ability to stay calm and think clearly in various situations. If you had been able to think calmly just now, you would have realized that this challenge was really just at a first-year level."