Chapter 19.

  Soren looked at Niel with some displeasure and said, "Sir, I respect you as an outstanding alchemist with many brilliant achievements and tributions to the wizarding world. But I ask you not to defend our headmaster with sweet words; what reasonable justification could his as possibly have?"

  "Simply put, he worries that I might be a follower of the dark lord or that I might bee the Dark Lord. After all, in the headmaster's eyes, he has long fotten that I am his student; more likely, he rusted any student at Hogwarts—I dare say this is certainly not the first time he has used Legilimen students!"

  Soren unceremoniously ripped away the hypocritical veil, exposing the ugliness of the adult world that the inal author, Rowling, subtly hi in this dialogue—Soren's words were not without basis; the inal text had suggested more than ohat Dumbledore used Legilimen Harry.

  A hint of apology appeared on Dumbledore's face: "Child, Soren, I mean you no harm... If my as just now made you unfortable, I am willing to apologize for that."

  Soren's expression softened slightly. To be ho, although he had already decided to rely on his own strength to face the impending chaos, he khat getting on Dumbledore's bad side, the erstone of the British wizarding world, was not a wise idea.

  He snorted coldly. Having lived two lives, Soren's mind was not that of a mere 12-year-old boy as he appeared; just because Dumbledore softened his tone so easily didn't mean he was an easy target.

  Dumbledore was a schemer, fond of the development of all things from behind the ses, then intervening at key moments to direct the plot toward his ideal oute.

  If Soreo be merely a penniless, background-less Muggle wizard, he might have been easily crushed by Dumbledore at this moment. However, standing behind Soren was the Malfoy family, the foremost power i Britain, with his father, Lucius, being the chairman of the board of governors. As long as Soren did not step on Dumbledore's bottom line, he would not choose to front the Malfoy family directly.

  Apart from having a strong background, Soren's ability to obtain the Philosopher's Stone from the multiple challenges and the cursed Mirror of Erised set up by Dumbledore himself revealed his own strength. Of course, the regur evaluations from Professonagall and Professor Flitwick about him also helped signifitly—For a child who is talented, kind to cssmates, es from a healthy family enviro, and shows no dark tendehere's no doubt that Dumbledore's choice would definitely lean towards being favorable, and it's even possible that he may seek to draw Soren in ter.

  Moreover, in this matter, Soren was certainly in the right.

  Regarding the acquisition of the Philosopher's Stone, Soren did not steal it as a thief. Dumbledore announced in front of all the students on the opening day that there was something in the er of the fourth floor, which was essentially a fishing tactid the up numerous challenges. His attitude clearly indicated—

  "I'll leave the object here; if you have the ability, e and take it."

  The nature of the entire affair ged—this was no longer a theft carried out by a thief without the owner's knowledge, but rather a battle of wits and ce between the owner and the treasure seeker, where the treasure should rightfully belong to the victor. Therefore, at this moment, Sore no psychological burden. This treasure was obtaihrough his efforts in overing multiple challenges; even if discovered, he would not easily hand it over.

  Soren said lightly, "I hope the professor takes past lessons to heart. I once heard some retives in my family speak about the early stories of the Dark Lord, who was said to have been brought into Hogwarts by you, professor—you procim love yet forced him to repent with a burning wardrobe; the results were evident. When you were strohan him, you could coerce him into submission; what happens when one day he's strohan you? Does that mean you'll be met with the same treatment, an eye for an eye?"

  Dumbledore and Niel both appeared incredulous; these old stories were almost limited to a secret shared between just a few individuals of that time. For Soren to uand them so clearly indicated that his intelligence capabilities far exceeded Dumbledore and Niel's expectations.

  "Let's stop discussing such things and talk about the ownership of the Philosopher's Stone!" Soren had no iion of engaging in further trivial talk; he got straight to the point, "I am not a greedy person, and I have no desire for immortality or the ability to turn anything into gold that the Philosopher's Stone brings.

  "I either money nor wealth, nor do I wish to see my loved ones and friends die one by ohe Philosopher's Stoo me, symbolizes a milestone in alchemy; therefore, I would like to temporarily borrow the Philosopher's Stone from you, Mr. Fmel, for three months for research purposes. I hope this research will elevate my alchemy to a new level…"

  "If Mr. Fmel would be willing to guide me in the knowledge of alchemy, that would be eveer—I've heard that Mr. Fmel's alchemy has yet to find a successor. If your wealth of knowledge were to be lost, it would be a tremendous loss for the entire wizarding world!"

  Dumbledore seemed somewhat displeased that the initiative in the versation was firmly in Soren's hands, and at this moment interjected, "Soren, you may not know, but alchemy emphasizes equivalent exge. To gain something, one must offer an equivalent value iurn…"

  Soren scoffed, saying, "Dear Headmaster, it seems you have fotten. I have already paid with a House Cup—don't refute just yet. Regardless of how much Slytherin was leading Gryffindor, you inteo award the House Cup to Gryffindor. The greater the lead, the more points you would give at the end of term feast. Am I nht?"

  Dumbledore felt a bit awkward yet responded with a smile, "Perhaps the points I give—how should I put it—are somewhat too generous, but that is merely a reward for Harry and their excellent performance. You ot deny the ce that Harry has shown in fag Voldemort as a first-year student, right?"

  Soren disdainfully said, "What does that matter? The ownership of the House Cup redetermined by you long ago. Don't be too quick to deny; when I discovered that the challenges set by the professors in the restricted corridor could be solved by first-year students, I had already firmed my suspis."

  "What suspis?" Dumbledore asked with intrigue.

  "The hurdles you had the professors set were not meant to guard against the Dark Lord but rather against the students!" Soren spoke fidently. "To defend against the Dark Lord, a mere Mirror of Erised would suffice. The Dark Lord could not approach the Philosopher's Stoh desire; he could only rely on others to extract it from the mirror."

  "So, Professor, you have to ehat this person get the Sorcerer's Stone and won't easily hand it over to the Dark Lord. The only one in all of Hogwarts capable of doing this is Harry. Because he possesses the 'prote of love' cast by his mother at the cost of her life, right?"

  Dumbledore and Niel exged a gnce, finding themselves at a loss for words in respoo the unusually sharp yet reasoatements of this 11-year-old boy.

  "Your pn revolves around this point; you o ehat only Harry reach the Mirror of Erised. The three-headed dog is extremely powerful, and no one knows how to deal with it except Hagrid. And the only one who is close enough to Hagrid to learn how to subdue Fluffy from him is Harry."

  "And, Hermioold me that Hagrid gave Harry a flute as a Christmas gift. Hagrid, being one of the people you trust most, has not made a mistake in over a decade, yet he was easily drawn into revealing the method to deal with Fluffy. This btant fact, I could smell the st of spiracy from ten miles away."

  "It does sound rather obvious," Dumbledore sighed, admitting that he was indeed impressed by Soren's tight and precise deductive reasoning.

  "The Dark Lord probably khis was a trap, but he couldn't resist the bait!" Soren tinued fidently.

  "The vast majority of students woulder that corridor. Even if someone wao explore, they wouldn't be able to get past Fluffy. The only ones who make it through are Harry and his friends. Then, Professor, yed the challenges of the flying key, wizard's chess, and potions puzzle, specifically because of the strengths and characteristics of Harry, Ron, and Hermione—"

  "If I'm not mistaken, Ron must have fai the chess challenge, and Hermione must have solved the potions challenge, bringing Ron to Professonagall, leaving Harry to face the Dark Lord alohrough the fmes."

  Dumbledore could only nod, "You're right; Ron and Hermione indeed returned back as you described."

  "Theeemed headmaster, have I not proven that this year's House Cup was already predetermio go to the legendary savior Harry Potter? No matter how hard or how excellently the students of the other three houses try, it is futile because the savior Harry Potter, under your special care, is destio turn all their efforts, all their dedication, and all their hard work into nothing but a ridiculous talk!"

  The three of them fell into an awkward sileniel preteo look elsewhere—he didn't want to see his old friend's awkwardness. Dumbledore's face ged several times before he finally let out a quiet sigh and decided to break the silence.

  "You remind me of someone," Dumbledore said softly. "Even more exceptional than he was." After speaking, Dumbledore seemed to be drained of energy, sitting down as if he had aged several years in an instant.

  Seeing that he had suffitly provoked the headmaster, Sore was time to stop pushing. "To be fair, Professor, everything you do is to maintain stability and pea the wizarding world—"

  "In this regard, I fully uand and even respect you, but while I uand you, I ot accept your methods. To maintaiability of the world, to nip problems in the bud, to keep the situation firmly in your trol, you ihers' privacy, strip students of their right to earn honors fairly, and I don't doubt that you would sacrifiyone if necessary—all freater good!"

  Niel smiled, satisfied. He said, "I now believe you are truly i on taking the Sorcerer's Stone for the sake of studying alchemy—your current disposition, talent, and wisdom genuinely vince me that immortality and turning stoo gold no lotract you. You surpass the young me by far, not only in talent but also in vision and wisdom. To be ho, I never inteo retrieve the Stone from you—"

  "In fact, long ago, I had already told Dumbledore that I would destroy the Sorcerer's Stone. I have lived long enough; it is time to say goodbye to the world. I know that for someone as young as you, this might seem a bit unbelievable; however, for me and Perenelle (Niel's wife), death is actually like finally going to bed after a long day."

  "You know, the Philosopher's Stone isn't really such a wonderful thing. With it, no matter how much wealth you want or how long a life you want to live, you have it all! These are the two things that humanity desires the most— the problem is, people tend to choose what is least beneficial for them."

  Niel pulled out a thiotebook with a phoenix cover from his pocket and ha to Soren while saying, "Little Soren, perhaps you are right. What Dumbledore and I have done is no longer suitable for this era. To atone for our mistakes, and for the sake of so-called equivalent exge, please accept this notebook—"

  "I call it the Fmel Directory. It tains many of my alchemiotes and insights from my youth. The page in the middle has been ented with the prote Charm, which funs like a two-way mirror, allowing you to fihrough this book at any time. If you have any questions about its tents, please don't hesitate to sult me. I would be very happy to share my knowledge and skills with su outstanding young man like you."

  [Fmel Directory obtained!]

  "Well, gentlemen, I think I should be going. Perenelle is still waiting for me in Diagon Alley." Niel winked mischievously. "I've stocked up on two years' worth of Elixir of Life; I hope that will be enough for you to master my alchemy before I pass away." With that, Niel stood up, adjusted his robe, and walked into the fmes.

  The day of departure soon arrived, and the dormitory was cleared out, with everyone pag their luggage in various bags. The Hogwarts Express had already arrived at the ptform.

  Soren sat in a carriage with Daphne and Meredith, discussing various pns for the summer, but time was always limited. Soon, the train reached King's Cross Station, where the ptform was bustling with parents ing to greet them.

  Soren saw Lucius and Narcissa standing in the crowd, and after saying hello to the two girls, he was about to get up to find Dra the carriage when, uedly, Daphne suddenly leaped at him, tightly hugging Soren and giving him a hard kiss on the right cheek. She then hurriedly excimed, "Remember to write during the summer!" and dashed away in a panic.

  Soren stood there in a daze, awkwardly meeting Meredith's flushed gaze in the carriage. He stammered, "D-Daphne she..."

  Before he could finish, Meredith uedly acted even more boldly. She seemed to fall forward, and when Soren instinctively reached out to catch her, her heated body pressed against his. Her soft, white arms ed around Soren's neck, and he felt her delicate hand gripping the back of his head. Suddenly, her tender lips were on his, leaving Soren stunned, his mind going bnk…

  Time seemed to stretch fes, yet it felt like only a moment had passed. The "bang bang" of two knocks on the door jolted the immersed pair awake like thunder. Meredith, startled, suddenly mustered strength from who knows where and pushed Soren away.

  Soren could still see the flush on her fad the glimmer in her eyes. Meredith seemed to lose the ce to speak, stuttering, "R-Remember to write a letter during the summer…" then turned and pushed the carriage door open, fleeing.

  Draco stood outside the carriage door, looking impatient. "e on, Soren! I see Mom and Dad, don't keep them waiting."

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