Chapter 38.
The audience was in an uproar!
As it is well known that wizards must rely on flying tools, such as broomsticks or flying carpets, to fly; they cannot fly with their bodies alone. Although there are rumours that the dark lord whose name cannot be mwntioned can fly, this rumour has never been confirmed, and even if it were proven true, it would still pertain to that figure.
How could Soren, just a second-year student, possibly fly?
Only the perceptive professors realised that Soren was not flying; it was actually an application of the levitation spell. Soren had calculated the distance between both sides, the height and thickness of the wave, and used the levitation spell to elevate himself to a certain height for a brief moment, allowing him to soar over the wave and reach Merlin. At this moment, the distance between them was less than two feet!
In an instant, Soren cast two spells at Merlin. The first spell glowed with a red light similar to the disarming charm, while the second spell shimmered with a dull grey light that no one could recognise.
Although he was approached by Soren, Merlin did not lose his composure. With his spell-casting speed, even at such a short distance, he was able to cast the Shield Charm in defense. Merlin quickly cast two Shield Charms; the first one successfully blocked Soren's first disarming spell, while Soren's second unknown spell unexpectedly veered off, avoiding the Shield Charm and redirecting towards Merlin's left side!
Merlin frowned, completely confused about the purpose of the opponent's actions. He could only raise his wand, keeping a close watch on the trajectory of the unknown spell, ready for any possible changes. Unfortunately, he had no idea that his intense focus on the spell was a serious mistake, as this unknown spell was Soren's original Flash Charm.
The spell's beam suddenly burst forth with a blinding light that was too bright to look at, resembling a white sun exploding.
Although it was broad daylight, Merlin was hit directly by the strong light from less than a foot away. Even though Merlin was merely a spectral presence, he still fell into a state of intense dizziness, confusion, and blindness!
Merlin had never anticipated such a situation. At that moment, due to his uncontrollable mental state, he was unable to respond at all, and his entire being felt like a statue that had lost its ability to react. It wasn't until his vision and mind returned to normal that he discovered Soren was smiling politely at him, casually playing with the wand that originally belonged to him.
Merlin was defeated! Defeated by a second-year student!
Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, and Professor Flitwick stood up in disbelief. Among the four house heads, only Snape was somewhat accustomed to Soren's mysterious nature and did not lose composure like the other heads. Dumbledore once again wore a thoughtful expression, his eyes flickering with various unknowable thoughts.
To be fair, Merlin's strength far exceeded Soren's. However, under Soren's meticulous planning, precise calculations, and hidden trump card, he successfully caught Merlin off guard. Of course, the experiences of the previous four contestants also provided him with considerable reference. If given another chance, if Merlin had been prepared for the Flash Charm, Soren would not have been able to replicate this victory.
It was not until Merlin admitted, "I am defeated," that the students erupted into cheers that echoed through the hall. This was a truly universal cheer, transcending houses, grades, bloodlines, and genders. Regardless of who they were or whether they liked Soren, no one could deny the thrilling fact that a student had defeated the legendary wizard Merlin.
And thus, Soren's name officially became a legend at Hogwarts.
Next up was Cedric. Cedric's strength was actually not weak, but compared to the other contestants, his performance was rather lacklustre, which was not worth elaborating. In the final event, only Soren scored a perfect 50 points, while Percy and Penelope each scored 30 points, and Gemma, Cassius, and Cedric all scored 10 points.
The championship undoubtedly went to Soren. When Soren received the special honor medal from Sir Merlin from Dumbledore and wore it on his wizard robe, the hall erupted into another round of warm applause.
Merlin in the audience watched this scene with a gratified smile. He subtly exchanged glances with Dumbledore, and just as everyone was not paying attention, he transformed into smoke and vanished.
As Soren stepped off the stage, he encountered the other contestants.
Percy looked a bit awkward, clearly feeling a little embarrassed about his earlier remarks, but he still politely expressed his congratulations. Penelope and Cedric sincerely conveyed their admiration for Soren, showing no signs of embarrassment for being younger than him.
As for the two contestants from Slytherin, they not only did not feel jealousy over their defeat but appeared even more excited than Soren—Cassius slapped Soren on the shoulder enthusiastically, jumping up and down like a monkey in jubilation; Gemma looked at this miracle-making junior with sparkling eyes, her eyebrows and mouth filled with joy, her excitement evident.
Soren smiled happily because he knew that Slytherin was beginning to change, and the spirit of unity and collective honor was now on full display.
[Special Honor Medal of Merlin Obtained!]
The remaining days of the semester were spent under dazzling sunlight.
The school canceled exams and Quidditch, leaving students with nothing to do. Everywhere on campus, students could be seen playing wizard chess, playing Gobstones, or playing Exploding Snap.
Soren carefully sorted out his gains of this semester.
He first handed over a full 20 pints of Acromantula venom, most of the snake meat and snake skin from the Basilisk to Dobby, who took them to the underground black market in Knockturn Alley to sell, exchanging them for a large sum of Galleons.
Then he also took time every day to study the Forbidden Forest map obtained from Daphne, trying to understand the terrain and area distribution of the Forbidden Forest.
The last time he entered the Forbidden Forest, he only followed Harry to the spider's lair and did not fully explore other areas of the Forbidden Forest.
During the remaining time, Soren rarely let go and played with his friends, building relationships.
The Slytherin wizards generally came from wealthy families, so they played more upscale games—Nott brought a mini skeleton model from home, which could be commanded to fight as long as it was infused with magical power. The game was played on a sand table with various terrains like deserts, forests, and oceans.
Players had to control different skeleton models with various abilities to conquer territories in the sand table, similar to the Muggle board game Risk, but the difference was that the skeletons could move autonomously under the player's command, perform various combat actions, and emit eerie cries, making it more realistic.
Nott was estimated to have played a lot since childhood; his strategic ability was top-notch, and he often defeated Draco soundly, making him yell in frustration. Blaise was a master of verbal sparring; he talked a big game but performed worse than Draco. After losing several times, Soren gradually grasped the essentials and was able to engage with Nott in a back-and-forth match.
Blaise usually appeared aloof and indifferent to everything. However, after spending time together, Soren discovered that he was actually quite reserved. Blaise's mother had remarried seven times, inheriting a considerable fortune each time, so his daily life was extravagantly luxurious, surpassing even Draco.
Blaise took out a mini model of a yacht from his luggage, and with a spell, the yacht transformed to a normal size by the Black Lake, where several friends gathered for a swim party on a sunny day. Despite Blaise's usual indifferent demeanor, he had quietly attracted two beautiful companions among the first-year Slytherins, and at this moment, he was surrounded by them, exuding charm.
Draco was not doing badly either; he had the deliberately charming Pansy by his side, and with the muscular physique he developed through Quidditch training over the past year, he garnered quite a bit of attention.
As for Soren, Daphne and Meredith closely followed him, never leaving his side—yet even so, they could not resist the swarm of admirers surrounding him. Tracy Davis and Audrey Lance, from the same year, seized the opportunity to dress up flamboyantly, eagerly showcasing their newly developed figures; the first-year girls opted for a fresh and cute style, aiming for a sweet and adorable appearance.
Soren had no time to bask in his charm before Daphne and Meredith simultaneously pinched his arm with their sharp nails from behind, causing him to gasp in pain, filling his mind with the truly terrifying aspects of women, and cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.
Nott, Goyle, and Crabb stared intently at the two girls in swimsuits beside Soren. Daphne had a voluptuous and fiery figure, undoubtedly a result of her family's investment in expensive potions; Meredith, benefiting from her naturally strong genes, had a tall model-like physique, and with her icy beauty's cold and proud demeanor, her charm was on par with Daphne's.
The three boys, having endured two grueling semesters without finding suitable female companions, could only look at their peers with envy and jealousy, with Soren, surrounded by beautiful girls, making them grit their teeth the most—bro, you've eaten the meat, at least leave some soup; hoarding it all will bring retribution, they could only curse silently in their hearts.
Due to being underage, the party on the yacht only had butter-beer and other non-alcoholic drinks, so aside from playing instruments, singing, and dancing, nothing inappropriate occurred.
By the way, Blaise played heavy metal guitar exceptionally well, rivalling even the eccentric sister's Heathcote Barbarie, successfully bringing the party atmosphere to a fever pitch.
In addition, third-year Terence Higgs specifically approached Soren to befriend him and invited him to go hunting for Nogtails in Norfolk County during the summer. His father, Bertie Higgs, the Auror office director Rufus Scrimgeour, and the Wizengamot member Tiberius McLaggen would also be joining.
Seeing the other party's initiative to befriend him, Soren naturally accepted, especially since befriending these powerful figures from the Ministry of Magic would be beneficial for him.
Gemma also approached Soren, wanting to invite him to her family's insect farm in Kent during the summer. Her family farm raised many magical creatures used for potion ingredients, such as scarab beetles, Billywig stings, shrivelfigs, and color-changing giant snails. Besides selling them, they could also be used as bait for fishing in the farm's pond for the delicious yet difficult-to-catch Shrake.
Soren, being observant, sensed a hint of ambiguous emotion in senior Gemma's eyes. Although he was interested in tasting Shrake, he ultimately declined, leaving Gemma quite disappointed.
Time flew by, and soon it was time for the holiday, with students preparing to take the Hogwarts Express home.
On the train, Soren, Daphne, and Meredith occupied a compartment by themselves, where Daphne handed him a thick stack of bloodline research materials that her family had sent her recently.
Soren accepted the materials like a treasure, thinking about the Patronus Charm, which was already on his summer learning list. It seemed he had a feeling that this summer would be very fulfilling.
[Bloodline research materials from the Greengrass family obtained!]
*****
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