Chapter 91
Draco was truly shocked. In his opinion, his younger brother, Soren, was simply too outstanding. No matter how hard he tried, he could only watch his brother's back from a distance. Especially last semester, when Soren single-handedly summoned an unprecedented giant dragon patronus, battling against hundreds of Dementors. This made him realize just how vast the gap was between the two brothers.
To say that he felt no jealousy towards Soren would be absolutely dishonest, but the brotherly bond they had cherished since childhood was something Draco valued greatly. If Soren could succeed and bring glory to the family, he would genuinely feel happy for him.
Draco believed that Lucius would definitely pass the position of head of the family to Soren, after all, it was an undeniable fact that Soren was hundreds of times more capable than him.
At this moment, his feelings were very complicated, and he secretly felt a bit of delight. This indicated that his father still had high hopes for him, didn't it?
"Father," Draco found his heart racing as he trembled and said, "Are you... are you going to transfer the position of head of the family to my brother?"
Lucius shook his head. "Draco, you misunderstand. Your father would never do that to you."
Then his gaze swept across each portrait. "Ancestors, you must have your own sources of information in the Ministry of Magic, St. Mungo's, Hogwarts, and Diagon Alley, right? I believe you are familiar with the various deeds of my second son—Soren—in recent years?"
Several portraits exchanged glances, and finally, Nicolas spoke up: "Yes, he is a good child and has added much glory to the family. Lucius II, I think I understand your meaning. Although the two heirs are brothers, their ideals differ. To put it nicely, it's like betting on both sides; to put it bluntly, they are going their separate ways. Only by seeing the final outcome will we know whose path is correct..."
"If the final outcome is favorable for Draco, that would be fine... But if it ultimately proves that Soren is on the right path for the family, it would severely threaten Draco's reputation as the head of the family. In ancient times, this would be the so-called situation of achievements that shock the master..." He sneered, "Brotherly conflict and family division are all possibilities..."
"It won't happen!" Draco shouted loudly. "I'm sorry, ancestors, dear father, I must say, I believe in Soren. He is my only brother. There may be disputes and differences between us, but—I absolutely do not believe that he and I will head towards division!"
Lucius looked at Draco with a complex expression. In his heart, both were his biological sons, and he wished for the two brothers to love and support each other.
However, Soren's abilities were too strong. In some ways, he had even surpassed Lucius as a father. Moreover, he had sensed the ambition buried deep within Soren's heart and his restrained personality, which made him feel a chill. It reminded him of the trembling fear he felt when facing Voldemort.
He did not feel wary of Soren because of this, but deep down, he still hoped that Draco could smoothly inherit the position of head of the family and continue to uphold the glory of pureblood. Although Soren's words were not without reason, they conflicted with the pureblood pride he had maintained for most of his life. He never believed that Muggle-borns had the right to stand on equal footing with pureblood families.
"No need to say more, Draco. You will be the next head of the family; this is an unchangeable fact," Lucius said firmly. "As for Soren, I certainly believe in him. However, if you still want to prove that the pureblood ideology is correct and want to uphold your beliefs, then you must admit—your strength is far from sufficient!"
"From now on, you will come here every day to consult with each ancestor about magic. Each of them is a master of dark magic, each with their own area of expertise. I believe that under their guidance, your strength will improve by leaps and bounds, and only then will you be qualified to become the rightful next head of the family!"
The portraits began to whisper to each other again, and finally, Abraxas spoke up: "Lucius, my son, do you mean... that Draco should inherit that position? I think... perhaps you should reconsider?"
"No need!" Lucius's gaze was resolute. "That... is Draco's only opportunity... You haven't seen Soren; you don't know how powerful that boy really is... To be honest, his strength may have already surpassed mine... At least when I face him, I can't see through the depth of his power at all..."
Lucius turned to Draco. "Draco, don't let your mother know about this; I don't want her to worry..."
"I understand, but my brother..." Draco hesitated.
"Don't worry! he is also my son, I know his character. As long as you prove your strength and show that your path is the most beneficial for the family, he will assess the situation and won't become our enemy," Lucius said, but he wasn't very confident in his heart. Does he really understand Soren?
This conversation came to an end.
In the following days, Draco declined other activities and stayed in the head of the family's secret chamber every day, receiving guidance from the ancestors and learning various powerful spells, even dark magic. His strength improved significantly as a result.
The scene shifted to another corner of Great Britain.
On August 16th, an unknown murder occurred at the Riddle House in Little Hangleton, where the old gardener was killed by a killing curse. Soren watched the entire process clearly through a peeping mirror. Unlike in the original story, Frank Bryce's body was not eaten by Nagini but was disposed of by Voldemort using a vanishing spell.
This indicated that Voldemort did not tame a new pet to replace Nagini, and it also meant that his sixth Horcrux officially became unknown.
On the same day, Harry received a letter from Ron, informing him that Mr. Weasley had obtained tickets to the Quidditch World Cup final and invited Harry to spend the rest of the summer at the Burrow. The Weasley family would come to pick him up via the Floo Network the next day at five o'clock.
Also that afternoon, Hermione arrived at the Burrow accompanied by her parents.
Hermione had shaken off the gloomy, unhappy demeanor she had at the end of the last semester and had returned to her usual proud yet charming self. The Grangers noticed Hermione's change and felt satisfied with their decision to let her stay at a strange boy's house; they probably misunderstood their daughter's relationship with Ron.
To be honest, they weren't very satisfied with Ron (from a son-in-law perspective) — his ordinary appearance, freckled face, and the outdated decor of his home. They had heard from their daughter that Ron's abilities at school were not remarkable, and he had no outstanding qualities, being somewhat jealous and petty. They really didn't understand what their daughter saw in him.
However, since their daughter had just gone through an emotional low during the first half of the summer, the Grangers didn't want to create any more discomfort for her. As parents, they were quite open-minded; as long as their daughter was happy, that was enough.
The next evening at five o'clock, Arthur, the twins, and Ron arrived at Harry's house via the Floo Network. They were surprised to find that most modern Muggle homes had sealed off traditional fireplaces and replaced them with electric heaters. As a result, the four of them got stuck behind a wall, and it was Arthur who had to work hard to blow the wall open, making a memorable entrance.
Harry arrived at the Burrow and officially met Ron's older brother Bill and his second brother Charlie. At the same time, he learned that Percy had successfully interned at the Ministry of Magic, working for the International Trade Standards Association.
The next morning, Arthur took the twins, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny together using a Portkey to the venue of the Quidditch World Cup — Dartmoor in Devon.
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