Chapter 18.
With the Easter holidays over, the final exams have arrived.
A week after the exams, the results were posted on the bulletin boards of all houses. Soren achieved excellent grades in the exams for Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, and History of Magic, and performed well in other subjects too; Draco, Daphne, and Meredith also did quite well.
The Gryffindor students, on the other hand, did significantly worse. Aside from Hermione, the true academic powerhouse, Harry and Ron's performances could only be described as mediocre, while Neville and Seamus fared worse, with grades that were simply dismal.
Overall, Soren topped the grade, with Hermione in second place, Meredith in third, a Ravenclaw girl named Mory in fourth, Daphne in fifth, and Draco in sixth. This thrilled the Slytherin students, while Gryffindor, who usually had a poor relationship with Slytherin, became the subject of mockery from other houses, sinking into gloom.
Soren, Hermione, and Meredith were all well-rounded students excelling in both written and practical exams; Daphne leaned more towards practical subjects, performing well in Charms and Transfiguration, but her grades in History of Magic, Astronomy, and Herbology pulled her overall score down.
Draco was particularly talented in Potions, achieving full marks in that subject, and also did well in Charms and Transfiguration, landing him in sixth place. He couldn't stop boasting to Nott, Blaise, Goyle, and Crabbe.
The trio of Harry did not dwell for too long on their exam results. Before the results were announced, they somehow discovered that Professor Snape's behavior was suspicious, leading to the conclusion that he intended to steal the Philosopher's Stone.
One night, they secretly snuck into the forbidden area of the fourth-floor corridor, only to find a pool of blood on the floor and the corpse of a three-headed dog—this confirmed their suspicion that Professor Snape had entered the location where the Philosopher's Stone was kept.
They overcame the challenges of the Devil's Snare, the flying keys, and the giant chessboard. Ron was knocked out during the chess challenge, leaving Harry and Hermione to continue. They first circumvented the body of a troll before facing Snape's logic puzzle challenge. Hermione quickly deduced the effects of all the potions, and Harry sent her back to inform others while he drank the potion that could help him pass through the black flames.
In the last room, Harry encountered Quirrell, who was gazing continually into the Mirror of Erised.
Just like in the original plot, Quirrell revealed Voldemort's true face, which was frightening and grotesque—a chalk-white face with glowing red eyes and long snake-like nostrils.
Voldemort used Harry to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone from the Mirror of Erised. Just as Harry was about to rush toward the door engulfed in black flames, Quirrell grabbed Harry's hand, only to be repelled by the power left behind by Harry's mother.
Harry's excellent adaptability emerged at this moment. Without fear, he rushed towards Quirrell and touched his skin. As they struggled, Harry fell into a three-day coma, while Quirrell met a tragic end.
When Harry woke up, he was welcomed by the end-of-year feast. During the feast, Dumbledore awarded Ron 50 points, Hermione 50 points, and Harry 60 points, finally giving Neville an additional 10 points, allowing Gryffindor to stage a comeback.
The Gryffindor table erupted with thunderous cheers, while the Slytherin table was filled with disappointment and frustration. Head of House Gemma Farley trembled with anger, seemingly on the verge of tears, while a deeply resentful Draco repeated curses, loudly proclaiming that his father was on the Hogwarts Board of Governors and would seek justice for Slytherin.
Soren remained calm; to him, the House Cup was inconsequential, as his vision and ambition extended far beyond it!
Initially, Daphne and Meredith were also looking displeased, believing that Dumbledore's actions were unfair—Soren defeating a troll and saving a classmate was worth only 20 points, while Ron's chess game and Hermione's logic puzzle could earn the house 50 points! However, upon seeing Soren's unperturbed expression and recalling their previous adventurous experiences, they suddenly displayed an understanding expression.
Soren saw the expressions of the two girls and revealed a satisfied smile, "I'm glad you can calm down your emotions so quickly. Remember, the Academy Cup is just a distraction; it brings us no true honor and produces no real value. It cannot be eaten or exchanged for money."
At this point, both girls couldn't help but chuckle, and Soren pointed to his own head, seriously continuing, "What truly matters is how much knowledge we gain here and how much our strength increases; only these are of real value."
His words made the two girls fully convinced, even Draco, Pansy, and others nearby listened with interest. What Soren kept to himself and did not say was: the biggest benefit from this upheaval—the Philosopher's Stone—has already fallen into my hands. The Academy Cup? Whoever likes it can take it!
After the banquet ended, students from various houses began to disperse.
Just as Soren was about to return to his dormitory, Professor McGonagall stopped him, looking a bit puzzled. "Professor Dumbledore is waiting for you in his office, Mr. Malfoy. It seems to be about some questions regarding the final exams."
"Okay, I understand, Professor McGonagall," Soren nodded.
"By the way, the password for the Headmaster's office is 'Cockroach Cluster.'" Although Professor McGonagall does not particularly favor Slytherin, Soren's outstanding performance throughout the semester—excellent studies, steady demeanor, humility, and politeness—had made her genuinely fond of this remarkable student, treating him as her proud pupil.
Professor McGonagall was both satisfied and hopeful about Soren's performance. At this moment, she looked at him and carefully phrased, "Also, regarding the house Cup, I hope you don't feel that the school has acted unfairly and develop any resentment towards the school. I have very high hopes for you, Soren. You are the most talented student I have ever seen."
Hearing Professor McGonagall, who usually rarely smiles, kindly call him Soren instead of "Mr. Malfoy," warmed his heart. He nodded, "I understand, Professor. You can rest assured!"
Hogwarts Headmaster's Office.
It was a spacious, beautiful circular room, with numerous windows and portraits of past Hogwarts headmasters hanging on the walls, all of whom were gently snoring in their frames.
On some slender-legged tables in the office were various silver instruments, making all kinds of funny little sounds as they buzzed and spun on the tables, emitting smoke. Dumbledore's pet—a phoenix named Fawkes with bright red feathers and a golden tail—was perched on a high gilded perch behind the door, while the Sorting Hat lay crumpled on a shelf next to the desk.
To his surprise, there was already a guest in the room.
It was a stylishly dressed old man, his face lined with wrinkles, his hair completely white, and a beard longer than Dumbledore's, yet he looked very vibrant, with a youthful spirit.
But what was more noteworthy was that this old man was wearing a fitted wizard's robe from the latest collection of an upscale boutique, radiating subtle magical fluctuations; even with Soren's rudimentary alchemical knowledge, he could see that the robe was imbued with at least 50 kinds of magic, making it invaluable.
"Hello, Professor Dumbledore. Hello, sir," Soren said politely to the two elderly men.
He noticed that the stylishly dressed old man was looking at him with interest. The old man smiled and introduced himself, "Hello, young friend. Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Nicolas Flamel."
Even with Soren's mindset, he couldn't help but be momentarily stunned upon hearing the old man's name.
Nicolas Flamel smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, young friend. I'm here because of the Philosopher's Stone. I had entrusted it to Dumbledore for safekeeping, but for some reason, it was lost at Hogwarts. So Dumbledore had me do a crystal ball reading regarding the stone, and to my surprise, your image appeared in the crystal ball. That's why I hurried to Hogwarts; I just wanted to meet you, nothing else."
Ah! Truly a flaw in the plan!
Soren had prepared so much for the Philosopher's Stone but completely forgot that such reverse-predictive ability as divination existed in the magical world—of course, it was easy to overlook this, as divination requires a considerable bloodline talent. As a result, true "seers" are quite rare, and unfortunately, Nicolas Flamel happened to be one of them.
Knowing he couldn't hide anything from the two elderly men before him, Soren decided to lay everything on the table.
Soren gave a wry smile and said, "Mr. Flamel's divination skills are indeed impressive, and I have learned a lot from it. I don't want to indulge in false pretenses here. The Philosopher's Stone is indeed with me. During the Easter holiday, I trespassed into the forbidden area of the fourth-floor corridor, breaking through various obstacles, and ultimately obtained a stone from a mirror. At first, I didn't realize it was the infamous Philosopher's Stone, but out of my personal mischief, I created a counterfeit and placed it in that mirror. Later, after consulting numerous books and resources, I learned that this stone is the Philosopher's Stone. I have some knowledge of alchemy, and seeing this legendary representation of the pinnacle of alchemy naturally thrilled me. I hoped to gain knowledge of alchemy from this stone; even more, I hoped that one day I could create my own Philosopher's Stone using my own abilities!"
After finishing this statement, Soren raised his head and inadvertently met Dumbledore's profound gaze behind his half-moon glasses. Suddenly, an indescribable strange feeling arose in Soren's heart, and his mind briefly fell into a daze. In an instant, Soren's gaze returned to clarity—Dumbledore's Legilimency!
As Soren regained his senses, he clenched his fists tightly, and the flames of anger burned in his chest. He resolutely cast a Occlumency spell, forcefully expelling Dumbledore's mental presence!
His gaze turned cold, and his tone no longer carried respect as he said indifferently, "Professor Dumbledore, is it really appropriate to invade someone else's thoughts without their consent, especially when that person is your student?"
"Cough, cough, you actually learned the mind-blocking spell." Dumbledore said somewhat awkwardly, adjusting his glasses.
Seeing that the atmosphere was off, Nicolas Flamel hurriedly intervened, "Young one from the Malfoy family—I'll still call you Soren— I hope you don't misunderstand your headmaster. Because this involves serious matters like the Philosopher's Stone, although his actions may seem improper to me, he has his own reasons for doing so."