Harry Potter: The Rise Of Malfoy

Chapter 65.

Daphne understood the principle behind it and was eager to try. "What you mean is that we shouldn't just focus on attacking the enemy, but rather limit their range of action while attacking and defending at the same time, right?"

Seeing Soren nod, Meredith also asked, "I have another question about combination spells. I feel there's still a lot of potential to explore. Do you have other examples to share?"

Soren, having decided to cultivate the two girls as his right and left arms, naturally wouldn't hold back. "There are many such examples. For instance, when facing enemies with high magical defense, like werewolves or trolls, you can first use 'Corrosion Spell' or 'Hardening Spell' to damage specific areas of their skin, and then follow up with a cutting or shattering spell at the same spot. This way, the second wave of attack can more effectively break through their magical defense. Of course, achieving this is not easy; it requires strict precision in aiming."

"What is the Corrosion Spell? I've never heard of it before." Daphne asked without any hesitation.

"This is a spell I just invented, derived from the Agumanti Spell. It can spray a highly corrosive strong acid. I also invented the 'Sticky Spell,' which can spray a highly viscous paste to create terrain that restricts the enemy's movement. It's quite a practical spell." Soren took out his notes on these two spells from his pocket and handed a copy to both Daphne and Meredith. "This is the record of these two spells. You can take it to practice, and if you have any questions, come ask me."

Then Soren brought the topic back to combination spells, "There are quite a few combination spells for single-target attacks. As long as you think carefully, you can come up with your own combinations. For example, the 'Hircum dentes' can make someone grow buck teeth that won't close. Just imagine, if paired with the laughing spell 'Rictusempra,' what kind of effect would that have?"

Daphne chuckled, "Soren, you're so mean. That person would just be unable to stop laughing with their mouth wide open."

Soren shook his head and explained seriously, "I'm not thinking of playing pranks. Think about it: whether it's the Tongue Locking Spell or the Buck Teeth, they are just ways to prevent someone from clearly casting spells. However, students above the fifth grade must learn silent casting. Maybe not everyone will ultimately master it, but there will certainly be many who understand silent casting. When dealing with these people, using the two spells alone won't be enough."

"But—" Soren changed the subject, "think about it: if paired with the laughing spell, wouldn't the opponent be unable to perform silent casting at all? You see, laughter counts as a syllable and is enough to interfere with silent casting."

Daphne and Meredith were both intelligent individuals. With just a little guidance from Soren, they quickly grasped the concept. Although they appeared calm on the surface, their minds were racing with thoughts on how to combine the spells they understood. Ever since that day of training, the two girls seemed to have discovered a new world, with new combination spell ideas popping up in their minds—some quite good, while others made Soren laugh and shake his head, like combining the Leg Locking Spell with the Dance Spell 'Tarantella,' forcing someone to randomly jump with their feet stuck together. Well, it was pretty funny.

The two talented girls never asked Soren why he suddenly became so proactive in training them; all they had to do was cooperate unconditionally. They knew that once their strength improved, Soren would naturally inform them of what they needed to know. If their strength wasn't sufficient, knowing more wouldn't help.

Soren didn't say it out loud, but seeing the two girls, who should have been pampered young ladies, practice magic so diligently and harshly push themselves, he couldn't help but understand their thoughts. While he felt a bit moved, he could only keep those feelings hidden in his heart.

Meanwhile, Soren's research on the Death's Invisible Cloak was also progressing smoothly. He had successfully deciphered the main principle of the cloak, thanks to receiving the complete inheritance from Nicolas Flamel. This semester's alchemy course had perfectly supplemented his foundational knowledge, resulting in a qualitative leap in his alchemy skills.

The ordinary invisibility cloak is woven from the fur of invisibility beasts, while the Death God invisibility cloak uses an ancient runic symbol from Iceland, "Hulinhjalmur," to imprint the invisibility effect. This runic symbol represents "invisibility helmet" in Old Norse, a legendary artifact in Icelandic mythology, which is said to grant invisibility to the wearer when donned.

The composition of this Old Norse runic symbol is quite complex, consisting of a central circle, a square rotated 45 degrees, and an octagon, with eight protruding fork-like patterns on the outermost octagon.

Even so, the Death's invisibility cloak hides other secrets and is not simply a matter of imprinting an Old Norse runic symbol. Soren has used over three hundred detection methods on the Death's invisibility cloak, and has only managed to identify most of the materials.

What can be confirmed so far is that the ink used to imprint the Old Norse runic symbol must be made from one drop of blood from the left index finger and one drop from the right index finger, combined with six drops of fresh blood drawn from the heart of a living raven. Additionally, these eight drops of blood must be mixed with the crushed brain of that raven to create the ink.

After reaching this point in his research, Soren encountered a bottleneck—he had conducted experiments on several pieces of fabric, all of which failed without exception. Clearly, beyond the ink, the tools used to carve the runes must also have specific requirements—Soren tried pure silver tools, bronze tools, and charcoal tools, but none worked. It seems that completing the transformation of the Supreme Wizard Robe before the end of this semester is quite challenging.

This is certainly reasonable; otherwise, how could it be that no alchemist has invented an equivalent product in nearly a thousand years? The alchemical skills of the Peverell brothers are indeed not just for show. However, Soren has samples to study, giving him an advantage that other alchemists do not have.

Regardless, Soren was quite satisfied with his achievements this semester.

Under the effects of the enhancement potion, his magical power has caught up with that of upperclassmen, and after fully investing in his mental magic skills, his strength has increased significantly. The success of the patronus Charm exchange meeting and the bestseller "My Adventures with the Basilisk at Hogwarts" have both elevated his reputation to its peak.

Almost no one at Hogwarts is unaware of his name—although this has attracted hostility from the pure-blood hardliners and the Ghost Society, it can be said that "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down." From this perspective, the emergence of these enemies also indirectly indicates that Soren's achievements are noteworthy. The original Harry did not receive such treatment; they likely did not take the savior seriously, and in their eyes, Hermione, who has the determination to reform, is probably seen as a greater threat.

Time has now come to the week before the Easter holiday. On this day, after finishing Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures class outdoors, a group of Slytherin students, having no classes afterward, frolicked on the grass on their way back to the castle.

Among the Gryffindor students, Harry's trio stayed behind to chat with Hagrid—ever since Black's second invasion, student safety measures have been tightened, and Harry and the others can no longer sneak out of the castle, so they can only take this opportunity to talk more with Hagrid.

Although Buckbeak was saved from execution due to Soren's intervention, Hagrid still felt very sad about the trouble he caused for Dumbledore because of his mistake—after Buckbeak's disappearance, Madam Zabini was furious and accused Hagrid of deliberately letting Buckbeak go. Dumbledore stood up to vouch for Hagrid, resulting in a backlash.

Media outlets, primarily the Daily Prophet, began to voice doubts about Dumbledore, publishing several articles accusing him of deliberately covering for Hagrid and attempting to hide his questionable hiring practices. Furthermore, it was revealed that over the past two years, the young wizards had not learned anything useful in Defense Against the Dark Arts…

Even Dumbledore had to worry about this. What he feared most was that if the students' parents found out that this semester's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was actually a werewolf, it would undoubtedly be the last straw.

Indeed, after Lucius was expelled from the board of governors, the board was firmly under Dumbledore's control, but under immense public pressure, anything could happen.

However, Fudge couldn't provide him much support either, as he himself had recently faced considerable public pressure. The incidents of Black breaking into Hogwarts twice had already been exposed, and all the parents of students learned about it from anonymous letters. Even the Ministry-controlled Daily Prophet had to report the facts.

Thinking about the potential threat to their children's safety, the public expressed dissatisfaction with the Ministry's incompetence. Meanwhile, the businesses and residents of Hogsmeade were furious, as the presence of Dementors had severely impacted the village's commerce and daily life, resulting in no effective measures being taken!

The most significant difference between Dumbledore and the Dark Lord is that he does not resort to force to impose his will but chooses to play within the rules of politics.

This time, Hagrid indeed did not release Buckbeak, but the other party cleverly linked Hagrid's employment to the hiring of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, creating an image of incompetence. Consequently, Hagrid's hiring decision was also seen as nepotism. It seems that behind Madam Pomfrey, there is another expert in manipulating public opinion...

To be fair, Soren actually disapproved of Dumbledore's actions. Hagrid certainly had the ability to be a good professor of Care of Magical Creatures, but that does not mean he is the best candidate for the position. Soren did not oppose giving Hagrid a chance, but the premise was that this opportunity must be fairly earned by Hagrid, standing out among numerous applicants, rather than being manipulated by Dumbledore in a black-box operation, with nepotism, skipping even the recruitment process and promoting internally.

As for the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, it was even worse. Whether it was hiring Quirrell in the first year or Lockhart in the second year, both were closely tied to his plan for Harry.

This is actually irresponsible towards other students! Hogwarts is the only wizarding school in the whole of Britain, not Dumbledore's family business! What? You say it's because they can't find anyone for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position? What about Lupin? What about Mad-Eye Moody? What were they doing all those years ago?

Back to Hagrid. During this time, both Hagrid and Dumbledore faced considerable public pressure. Sensitive Hagrid, while speaking, couldn't help but cry. Then he turned around, covered his face with a handkerchief, and hurried back to his hut.

Unfortunately, Draco couldn't change his nasty habit of being a smart mouth; he mocked Hagrid in front of everyone, "Look at him crying! Have you ever seen such a pathetic creature? And he still considers himself our teacher!"

Harry and Ron angrily rushed towards Draco, but Hermione was quicker than them—slap! She used all her strength to give Draco a resounding slap. "How dare you call Hagrid pathetic, you filthy—evil—"

Draco's face burned with pain, and the humiliation he felt instantly brought back some painful memories.

This was the second time he had been humiliated at Hogwarts; the first time, he had been beaten up by Ron, who had taken advantage of his size, and fortunately, not many had witnessed his embarrassment. And now, he was actually slapped in public by a Muggle-born wizard!

Fury filled Draco's heart, and he shouted, "You filthy Mudblood, how dare you hit me!"

He quickly drew his wand and aimed a "Furnunculus" (painful boils) at Hermione, but his spell missed her because Harry was faster and cast a disarming spell, causing Draco to miss his target while dodging Harry's spell.

Now everything was in chaos, as Goyle and Crabbe also drew their wands and shot spells at Harry. Seeing Harry at a disadvantage against the odds, Ron and Hermione joined the fray, while other Slytherins, led by Pansy and Blaise, rushed over as well.

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