Harry Potter: The Rise Of Malfoy

Chapter 81

July 7th.

In the magical world, this is a special day. A famous 13th-century arithmancer, Brigid Wincert, discovered that the number 7 actually possesses magical properties.

This day is also one to remember for the British wizarding community. Wizengamot has broken from tradition and decided to award a 14-year-old boy the third-level medal of the Order of Merlin.

In the grand hall, wizards in formal attire moved among the guests, behaving with the poise of high society in the Muggle world.

This is the hall of Wizengamot, and all present are members of Wizengamot. The so-called Order of Merlin is merely a title to honor Merlin's contributions. Since the establishment of the Ministry of Magic, it has always been Wizengamot that has been responsible for awarding medals in the name of the Order of Merlin.

Soren wore the Merlin's Wizard's robe, activating the charm aura on it, which emitted a faint dark green glow, enveloping him in a mysterious and captivating aura.

Soren first greeted Amelia, Rufus Scrimgeour, and Tiberius McLaggen. After some conversation, his interpersonal skills were recognized by the three. Amelia even introduced him to Bartemius Crouch, the Director of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. He was a serious-looking old man with neatly cropped gray hair, an unnaturally straight part, and a narrow toothbrush mustache.

Soren naturally knew this figure; he was a shrewd and ambitious man, unfortunately let down by his own son. Otherwise, the position of Minister of Magic would have been his.

The Crouch family had a star next to their name on Soren's list, as he had long investigated their ancestry thoroughly.

Since his son, Barty, was imprisoned, the Crouch family's direct line was left with only him.

Soren could see that Old Barty's sharpness had faded; beneath his polished and tidy exterior, his once-ambitious spirit had been worn down. Soren couldn't help but sigh in regret; this man was once formidable but had become dispirited after a setback.

Old Barty still had quite a few followers behind him, and if he managed the Department of International Magical Cooperation well, it would still be a considerable power, but he had grown disheartened. Of course, Soren seized the opportunity to converse with him, hoping to leave a good impression and at least make him remember his name. After all, he couldn't even remember his assistant's name now...

After exchanging a few words and leaving an impression on each other, they parted ways.

Next, Dumbledore in his eye-catching purple robe and Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge arrived. Fudge was somewhat short and slightly plump, always wearing a friendly smile, but Soren saw little amusement in his eyes.

This was a hypocritical and cunning man, Soren thought to himself.

Suddenly, Soren realized something; today he seemed to have a keen insight, observing every detail. During conversations with each person, every gesture, every change in their eyes was automatically recorded in Soren's mind, allowing him to analyze how much sincerity and how much pretense was in their words. It seemed that Aquila was not wrong; the essence of Ravenclaw's secret art truly was extraordinary.

"Oh, Soren, my dear child, do you remember Uncle Cornelius? I've been good friends with your father, Lucius, for many years!" Fudge greeted Soren enthusiastically.

It was true that Fudge had a close personal relationship with Lucius, but in fact, Fudge had never visited Malfoy Manor and this was his first meeting with Soren.

When Arthur Weasley came with a search warrant to search Malfoy Manor, where were you to stand up for your so-called longtime friend? Soren silently scoffed to himself.

Soren had little affection for Fudge; he was someone who wanted to navigate between the pure-blood families and the pro-Muggle faction—there was no way he was completely unaware of Arthur's actions. The most likely scenario was that he first allowed the entire operation to take place, giving Dumbledore face, and then pretended to intervene, ensuring that the operation did not severely harm the pure-blood families, thus earning their favor.

This hand balance is actually quite impressive!

It's just a pity that this isn't the era of the ancient imperial system anymore. Without strength, encountering someone like Voldemort who doesn't follow the rules is pointless no matter what you say.

Soren smiled, "Uncle Fudge, hello! I've often heard my father mention you. I believe you must have contributed a lot for me to receive this honor! I would like to thank you in advance."

"Not at all, this is only right. Not to mention my friendship with your father, just based on the glory you've brought to the British wizarding community, this reward is already well-deserved for you. I'm just going with the flow," Fudge smiled. "By the way, how is business at the Miracle Alchemy Workshop? If there's anything you need from me, just say it, don't be polite!"

"Thanks to your care, Uncle, business is pretty good. I've made a little pocket money, so I don't have to look at my father's face when asking him for money anymore, haha." Soren made a little joke.

"Hehe," Fudge chuckled along with Soren, "Soren, there's one more thing I want to ask for your help with."

Sure enough, the main topic had arrived. Soren sneered inwardly but still wore a smile on his face, "Please go ahead, Uncle. I will do my best."

"You know, last year there was a notorious criminal who escaped from Azkaban, that madman Black. Who knows how he did it? It's been a whole year, and the Ministry of Magic hasn't even caught a glimpse of him. I have to say, Black is truly a tricky character. The problem now is that the uninformed public thinks the Ministry is incompetent, so they are somewhat dissatisfied with me..."

Soren showed an expression of righteous indignation, "Ah, how can they think like that? Uncle is the Minister of Magic, you can't personally go and capture such a dangerous person, right?"

"Yes, but the public won't think that way..."

Soren's expression then turned to confusion, "So, what can I do for you, Uncle?"

"Well," Fudge said quickly, "the Ministry of Magic urgently needs some good news to boost morale, so I hope you can make some outstanding achievements soon, and then let me know. I will have the Ministry extend another invitation to you to join the Wizengamot as a reserve member..."

He then changed the subject, "Even if you don't have any major or dazzling performances, that's fine. Do you know how high your reputation is in the public eye right now? You can almost be compared to the 'Boy Who Lived.' People believe you are a future star, even the next Dumbledore—" Fudge quickly glanced around; at that moment, Dumbledore had walked a little further away and was chatting enthusiastically with old friends Gilderoy Lockhart, Tiberius Ogden, and Ephialtes Doge.

"Your name itself has already become a positive symbol. I can't help but think—" Fudge lowered his voice and said, "Maybe you can collaborate with the Ministry of Magic to give the public some confidence?"

Huh? This line sounds familiar. Isn't this the conversation between Scrimgeour and Harry two years later? How is it happening to me now?

Soren slowly said, "Uncle fudge, 'collaborating with the Ministry of Magic'... what does that mean?"

"Oh, it's not troublesome at all, I assure you. For example, if you could occasionally visit the Ministry of Magic, it would create a favorable impression. While you're there, you could chat with Scrimgeour, learn about the daily work of Aurors... or talk to Senior Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge, assuming you aspire to work in the Ministry in the future... or if you're more interested in business, you could interact more with people from the Department of Magical Equipment Control or the International Trade Standards Association... all of this would be beneficial for you."

Soren pondered for a moment; there was indeed no loss to him. By doing Fudge a favor, he could also take the opportunity to build connections within the Ministry of Magic, so he readily agreed.

During the entire conversation, Dumbledore stood nearby, socializing with different people, yet his profound gaze often lingered on Soren, revealing a thoughtful expression only after Fudge left.

Dumbledore had very complex feelings towards this student, Soren.

To be honest, in his eyes, Soren could never become the next Voldemort. Although the young Tom Riddle was skilled in manipulation, he was overly superstitious about power, and his straightforward, blunt style meant that such a person could perhaps disrupt order and achieve superficial dominance through terror, but would never conquer the hearts of the public.

He had also seen the shadow of Gellert Grindelwald in Soren, but even Grindelwald, with whom he had been entangled for half a lifetime, had never given him such a troublesome feeling.

If he had to say it, there was only one such terrifying person he knew—someone he could only see in the mirror—himself, Albus Dumbledore.

Soren was too much like his younger self—brilliant, eager for knowledge, obsessed with truth, possessing vision and ambition equal to Grindelwald, and skilled in understanding people's hearts like Riddle, with a similar charisma that could rally followers... However, his style of action was entirely different from both dark wizards.

He had been paying attention to Soren for a long time. This student, when he could have easily crushed others with force, chose to abide by the rules of the weak; he lacked the youthful exuberance but had the patience of an old fox; most importantly, his gaze—although Dumbledore could not read Soren's mind, it did not prevent him from understanding Soren's eyes, because they were too familiar to him...

Whenever he looked in the mirror, he would see that gaze—always filled with strategic planning and control, like a puppeteer observing characters acting like puppets according to his script...

Several times, Dumbledore almost couldn't help but intervene in Soren's actions. He was almost certain that Soren would be the next White Wizard—yes, the term "White Wizard" was the most fitting.

Once he had power that could rival his own, he wouldn't need to use force or intimidation to rule; his very existence would be the greatest variable. Even if he did nothing, the world would not easily slip from his control; everything would be in his grasp—while the Dark Lord might conquer the world, the White Wizard could conquer hearts!

The only reason Dumbledore held back was the still-living Voldemort. Although he had made various arrangements against him and left himself a backup, who knew if something unexpected might happen? No matter how powerful he was, he was still a mortal and would always make mistakes. What if his plans ultimately failed?

In fact, Harry's growth had already been much slower than he had originally planned. In the first year, he had successfully shaped Harry's reputation through cheating points, and in the second year, he had hoped Harry could become the hero who killed the Basilisk.

He had even specifically instructed Fawkes the Phoenix and the Sorting Hat, enduring immense pressure while waiting for the Mandrake to mature, aiming to make Harry the key to revealing the Basilisk's identity. Yet, unexpectedly, at the last moment, Soren emerged and replaced Harry as that hero.

In Dumbledore's view, Soren was a good insurance policy. If his planned savior ultimately failed, then the task of dealing with Voldemort would fall to Soren.

The White Wizard was always better than the Dark Wizard, right?

****

Want to read more of this fanfic [25+ chapters], and support me :- Patreon.com/Theuntamed0 [Character's arts are uploaded there, you can check them out if you like.]