Chapter 41.

  Studying the dark magic books is a daunting task. A week has passed, and Soren has mao digest less thaenth of the tent of the three books. With only a week left before school starts, and needing to visit Diagon Alley as pnned, Soren decided to put his magic resear hold and rex.

  On this day, Soren ged into a streamlined and effit outfit. He had quite a few activities pnned—he arrao go hunting for a S with Terence Higgs in Norfolk in the m, met with Moray to appreciate art at the London Magical Gallery for lunch, and in the evening, he was set to go to Liverpool with Dapho see cettina Wobek's national tour cert "The Wild Aphrodite."

  Running all over the map from northeast to southeast to northwest, it was quite a journey, wasn't it? With the use of the Floo work and Apparition, anything is possible; magic is ve!In the m, he first traveled to Higgs Manor via the firepce, where he met Terend his father, Bertie Higgs. Old Bertie was a gentle middle-aged man and the director of the Magical Pest Advisory Department at the Ministry of Magic, specializing in dealing with Muggle-Repelling Charms, Crups, Ghouls, and Ss, making him quite familiar with the teiques for hunting Ss. They brought along three pure white Albino Bloodhounds, aie led the two of them to Apparate to a forest in Norfolk.

  There, three people were already waiting, one of whom Soren reized—Gryffindor's ac McLaggen, a student one year above him. He had heard that ac was quite self-tered, not only domineering and arrogant among his cssmates but also impulsive and reckless, disregarding the sequences, embodying all the shortings that Gryffindor was known for.

  However, he had an uncle in a high position at the Ministry of Magic—Tiberius McLaggen, a member of the Wizengamot—so many cssmates were unwilling to get into his bad books, whily heightened his arroga this moment, ac was standing in front of two tall men, talking animatedly, one of whom was likely his frequently mentioned Uiberius.

  The other man had a very imposing demeanor. His hair and thick eyebrows were chestnut brown, mixed with strands of gray. Behind gold-rimmed gsses were sharp yellow eyes that resembled an old lion. If Soren wasn't mistaken, he was one of the four most powerful figures in the Ministry of Magic, the head of the Auror Office, Rufus Scrimgeour!

  With Bertie's introdu, Sot acquainted with the three men.

  Rufus was an ambitious man. Although he usually maintained a serious demeanor, upon learning about Soren's family background, his attitude became polite, and a rare smile appeared on his stern face—this made ac feel a bit displeased, as he sensed his own spotlight being shared with Soren.

  The group of six released the three Bloodhounds, which let out cheerful howls and dashed into the forest. These Bloodhounds were well-trained, with very keen senses, and it wasn't long before they discovered a S.

  The S is a on dark creature found in the wilds of Europe and America. They are ily cursed beings, resembling underdeveloped piglets, except for their short and thick tails and their narrow, eerie bck eyes without whites. Ss often sneak into pigsties to suckle from sows, which causes farms to bee cursed and pgued with disasters. The lohe Ss lurk, the lohe curse and camities persist on the farm.

  Ss have an innate fear of white dogs, so the experienced Bertie specifically brought along the albino hounds, which have a signifit advantage in driving the Ss away. When the Ss are expelled from their hiding pces, the hunters must use the specialized "S-Extermination Charm" to kill them.

  Sihe age of nine, Soren has been practig shooting diligently. His shooting skills are both fast and accurate. With the iional leniency of three senior predecessors, the number of ss Soren has hunted ranks first, while the biotal of other hunts is less than half of Soren's.

  Although ac was somewhat unhappy about this, he does not dare to act recklessly in front of several bigwigs from the Ministry of Magic. The others pliment Soren with phrases like "young and promising" and "exceptional talent." Uanding social etiquette, Soren humbly thanks Bertie, Rufus, and Tiberius for their guidand presents them with precious health potions he had prepared in advance as gifts.

  In trast to ac's low emotional intelligence, Soren's ability to know when to advand retreat, uand hierarchy, and observe etiquette undoubtedly wins their favor. Even Tiberius, who usually dotes on ac, secretly shakes his head and sighs after seeing his nephew's performance.

  After leaving the firepce at the Higgs residence, Soren arrives at the British Magical Gallery located in the northern part of London.

  The exterior of the British Magical Gallery resembles that of the Muggle National Gallery. Aside from its slightly retro architectural style, its size and grandeur are quite simir. Of course, Muggles ot see such a rge building; only when a wizard recites the correct spell in front of a worn ahered statue they ehe gallery from the street.

  At the entrance of the gallery, Moray, dressed in a sleeveless white ce dress and wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, greets Soren with a charming smile. During their time at Hogwarts, Moray usually dressed in a more formal and intellectual manner, but now she reveals a cooler and more lively side, leaving Soren somewhat mesmerized.

  "Hey, what are you daydreaming about?" Moray waves at Soren, slightly dissatisfied with her somewhat dazed panion today.

  Even Soren, who siders himself thick-skinned, feels a bit embarrassed at this moment and only admit, "Uh... your outfit today is quite different from usual, and I was a bit taken aback."

  Moray's lips curve slightly: "So tell me, do you think I look better now or in my usual outfit?"Ah! This is an easy question, I know the answer! Soren suppresses his inement and pretends to ponder seriously before responding early: "You're putting me in a tough spot. A girl like you looks good in anything. If your usual self is like the gentle and intellectual Athena, then today you are undoubtedly the pure and chaste Artemis. No matter whiswer I give, it would be a desecration of your beauty."

  Moray snorts, "Hmph! No siy! Is this how you always sweet-talk women? No wohere are so many around you..." In truth, she is already overjoyed by Soren's pliment. Women be so tradictory!

  Soren wisely does not directly answer Moray's subsequent question but subtly shifts the topic, "There are so many people at the gallery today! I didn't know British wizards had su appreciation for art!"

  Upon hearing about the gallery, Moray begins to expin animatedly: "That's because there's an exhibition today—showg the works of the te magical painter Magenta stock. I've heard for a long time that stock's magical paintings are the best in the magical world. The eyes of the characters in her paintings even leave the vas and follow the viewer. It's a pity that this skill did not pass down after her death..."

  Upon hearing this, Soren realizes the implications; a magical painting with eyes that leave the vas is undoubtedly a tool for surveil would be strange for the Ministry of Magic to allow such paintings to circute among the public!

  Soren bet that any informatioed to this magical painting skill has long been monitored by the Ministry of Magic, waiting to be cimed as their own the moment stock passed away.The two leisurely wahrough the gallery, occasionally enting oain magical paintings.

  Despite Soren usually being focused on studying magic, his art appreciation skills are quite good. As the sed heir of the Malfoy family, art appreciation and fine wiasting are pulsory subjects. Soren has received training in this area from a young age, but since he wasn't particurly ied, Lucius allowed him to stop once he met the minimum appreciation standards.

  Moray, oher hand, is driven by her passion; she is very ied in painting and often spends time studying magical paintings. Her greatest dream is to bee a magical painter.

  The magical painter is a rare profession in the wizarding world, requiring not only mastery of painting skills but also deep uanding of plex soul magic, allowing the characters in the paintings to maintain their personalities and memories for a long time. Magenta stock is a standout in this field; her magical paintings possess a terrifying ability to draw the viewer's gaze away from the vas, and she successfully captures the essence of her characters—an angry old witch barieeth at the audience, a medieval armored knight full of fighting spirit, shouting loudly...

  After appreciating the paintings, Moray relutly left the gallery (actually being pulled away by Soren). Seeing there was still some time, Sently invited Moray to lunch.

  The lunch took pce at a high-end wizardiaurant located in a secluded alley in London, which was exclusive to members, with an annual membership fee of ten galleons.

  The interior was decorated with redwood furnishings, and the tableware was made of pure silver, exuding a and noble vintage feel. The lighting and background music were perfectly banced, creating a romantid fortable atmosphere.

  Soren ordered a Re'em steak. The Re'em is a rare magical creature from the Far East, resembling a giant cow with golden skin. Its meat is tender and juicy, and it is said to enhahe eater's strength, with rumors suggesting it even amplify certain indescribable abilities of male wizards. Moray, with a small appetite, ordered only a caviar muffin.

  The two enjoyed a leisurely lunch; after which Sentlemanly escorted Moray bae from the restaurant's firepce, politely greeting the McDougall couple before disappearing bato the firepce, instantly reappearing in Liverpool, located in northwest Engnd.

  Tonight, Anfield Stadium in Liverpool has been taken over by wizards—the eadium was cast with tless Muggle-repelling charms, causing any Muggle roached to automatically return home.

  Cettina Wobek is a legend in the wizarding singing world. She showcased her talent at the age of 10, grag the cover of the gossip magazine "Love and Chaos," and has released six albums since debuting at 17, all of which have won awards and sold exceptionally well. Her test album, "You Stole My Pot, But You 't Have My Heart," has even gained global popurity beyond the UK.

  Tickets for this cert sold out a year in advahe inal ticket price was just five galleons, but now they are being sold for a high price of fifty galleons on the bck market, a tenfold increase. Fortunately, the Gringrass family had some business dealings with the sponsor, "The Sorcerer's Saucepot," which allowed them to secure such sought-after tickets. inally, Daphne's younger sister Astoria was also supposed to e, but she celed due to sudden illness.

  Daphonight clearly put in a lot of effort into her appearance, with her long golden hair braided and pi the back of her head, yered with silver-white floral hair accessories, looking very elegant and dignified. Her por neck, revealed by her updo, was adorned with a string of milky white pearls, plementing her skin like cream.

  Of course, our protagonist Soren did not fall behind, donning a tailored high-neck suit with dark green hidden patterns against a bck background, looking dashing and handsome.

  Seeing Daphne dressed up, Soren naturally adhered to etiquette, stepping forward to kiss the back of her hand, then linking arms with her as they ehe VIP se of Anfield Stadium together.

  As Soren held Daphne's hand, unbeknownst to him, Daphne revealed a ing smile of triumph.Although Cettina Wobek is already 76 years old, she still shows no signs of aging, perf 12 of her famous songs in succession. When she saest piece, "You Stole My Pot, But You 't Have My Heart," the atmosphere in the venue reached its peak.

  It was not until nearly 10 PM that Cettina stopped singing, and the audience gave o round of enthusiastic appuse, marking the official end of the cert.

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