Harry Potter: The Rise Of Malfoy

Chapter 79

July summer vacation.

The scorching summer days can easily make one feel lazy.

Lucius was very satisfied with the performance of the two brothers last semester. There was no need to mention Soren; even Draco had made significant progress in his academic results, and he had become a hero of the Slytherin Quidditch team. Severus also mentioned that Draco would be the next Quidditch captain! It is known that the Quidditch captain is usually chosen from students in their fifth to seventh years, so Draco's achievements were enough to make the whole family proud.

Thus, during this summer vacation, Lucius was much more lenient with the two brothers. As for Narcissa? She spoiled her son just the same, regardless of his behavior.

Knowing he would bear the responsibility of captain, Draco spent most of his summer practicing Quidditch with Graham Montague and Cassius Warrington, discussing new tactics.

In the upcoming new semester, Marcus Flint and two reserve beaters would graduate, and the team needed to recruit three new players. In the original story, Captain Montague brought back Adrian Pusey to take over Marcus's position as a chaser, and then brought in Goyle and Crabbe to fill the two beater spots.

However, the ambitious Draco thought differently; he believed that relying too much on size and a rough, foul-prone playing style did not align with his noble persona as captain, especially since the entire team was equipped with advanced brooms.

He had his eyes set on Frank Ecton and Steven Vasse, who were a year below him. Although they appeared thin and unremarkable, their arm strength was quite impressive, making them suitable to be developed into beaters.

Aside from that, he spent his time hiding in his room, being mysterious and not letting others know what he was up to.

Soren had long known that he was secretly communicating with Pansy but chose not to expose it. Soren was pleased with the relationship between his brother and Pansy; she had indeed mellowed quite a bit since last semester. This was not only reflected in her personality but also in her outward appearance, which began to exude a sense of ladylike elegance.

Montague and Warrington actually wanted to befriend Soren. Their backgrounds were not noble, and their families could not help them advance in society, so attaching themselves to the powerful Malfoy family was clearly a good choice. However, Soren rarely appeared in the common room, and almost no one could track his whereabouts, making Draco, as a fellow Quidditch player, a natural target for their attempts to associate with someone influential.

Fortunately, Draco's performance was also commendable; he was rumored to be the next captain. In terms of prestige, he might not match Soren, but he was considered a prominent figure at Hogwarts. With Pansy, Goyle, and Crabbe, Draco already had five followers around him, forming a strong core group.

Soren was very busy during this summer vacation.

On the first day of the vacation, he made a trip to Gringotts.

Using Sirius's vault password, he entered vault 711 openly. Although Sirius had been disowned by the Black family, his vault still contained piles of gold galleons that looked like a small mountain, which was the inheritance left to him by his uncle, Alphard Black.

According to the records in the ledger, there were nearly 20,000 galleons inside. No wonder he could generously give Harry a Firebolt, and even with Sirius's spending habits, the original story described that when he died and left his inheritance to Harry, there was still "a large sum of gold" in his vault.

Gringotts may have very strict security measures against illegal intrusions, armed robbery, or stealthy theft, but the administrative processes for identity verification and illegal withdrawals were quite lax. In the original story, as a wanted criminal, Sirius only needed a letter (with the password attached) to allow the Firebolt seller to withdraw galleons from his vault, which was quite unbelievable for Soren.

But this was fine.

The galleons in vault 711 all belonged to Soren! At this time, Sirius was still a wanted criminal and could not check his own vault.

This also indirectly highlighted the intelligence of Voldemort and Quirrell, who, when faced with Gringotts' defenses, only knew how to use magic and brute force to break in, without any understanding of flexibility...

It's not surprising that Soren has long noticed that most wizards have this common flaw—they are not foolish, but rather too reliant on magic to solve problems, completely clueless about logic, analysis, strategy, and other problem-solving skills.

[20,000 Galleons acquired!]

Regarding the theft of the Black family's vault, Soren felt no psychological burden. In his view, this money originally belonged to the Black family; rather than letting it fall into the hands of a stranger like Harry, it was better for him to keep it for himself, especially since he still had a quarter of Black blood in him.

Last semester, Soren earned quite a bit of money by selling products from the Forbidden Forest, and the publisher and the Flying Broom Company also paid him a considerable dividend. Now, his total assets were approaching 30,000 Galleons, which could be considered quite wealthy in the wizarding world. He had it all—youth, charm, and wealth.

Soren never thought there could be too much money.

As for the Philosopher's Stone? Soren indeed mastered the transmutation spell, but he had no intention of using it.

Firstly, gold does not hold much value in the magical world; after all, it is not difficult for a wizard to acquire gold from Muggles. Galleons are not pure gold but are made from a magical metal refined using unique goblin forging techniques.

There are three known magical metals: black gold, mithril, and red copper.

Among them, black gold is the most well-known, characterized by its hardness and difficulty to dissolve. Galleons and the "Indestructible Helmet" gifted to the giant race in the original story are made of black gold; mithril is highly malleable and is used to forge silver sickles and the "Gryffindor Sword"; the lightest, red copper, is used to forge copper nats and fire arrows.

In his previous life, Soren often criticized the bug in the exchange rate between Galleons and pounds in the original story, noting that the value of wizarding currency was lower than that of pure gold in the 1990s. Muggle parents could easily exchange pounds for Galleons and then take the Galleons to Muggle gold shops to exchange back to pounds at the gold exchange rate, repeating this process... Soren even heard of well-known fan-fiction trying to exploit the exchange rate to challenge the Gringotts financial system.

Now in this life, he realized that Galleons were not made of pure gold; goblins added other magical materials during the forging process, which not only prevented counterfeiting but also made the coins indestructible or soluble, just like the "Indestructible Helmet." Of course, gold, as the primary material for minting coins, still holds considerable value.

Another reason Soren did not want to use the Philosopher's Stone was that he did not wish to reveal his secret of possessing the stone—flooding the market with gold could easily attract the attention of the Ministry of Magic and some interested parties, which Soren sought to avoid at all costs.

With such a large sum of money, he certainly wouldn't foolishly leave it unused. He planned to invest it.

He had his eye on a company called "Artificial Mushroom farming Trade," which specialized in farming magical mushrooms and also engaged in international herbal trade.

This was something Soren couldn't handle alone. One morning, while the whole family was enjoying breakfast at the table, he shared his thoughts with Lucius.

Lucius furrowed his brow. This was not a small workshop like the Elby and Bademore Broom Company; such an international company could be quite valuable, possibly worth tens of thousands. Moreover, Soren proposed a full acquisition rather than a partnership.

He couldn't help but ask, "Soren, your father knows you've worked hard for the family these past few years, and your performance hasn't disappointed me. But do you think this might be a bit hasty? The family isn't lacking in money, and you're still so young. Understanding investment is good, but being greedy and reckless is not."

Soren guessed that things were not so simple. He thought for a moment and decided it was time to confess part of the truth to his parents.

"Father, at this point, I won't hide it from you any longer. The Dark Lord is about to return."

Lucius's pupils slightly contracted, and his hands under the table trembled gently; Narcissa gasped in surprise, covering her mouth, her eyes filled with panic; Draco's mouth fell open, and he unconsciously knocked over a cup filled with milk.

Lucius forced himself to remain calm, but his expression was not good. "How did you come to know this?"

"Last semester, the school had come to know a Death Eater, his name is Peter Pettigrew. It was actually him who framed Black back then, and Black came to Hogwarts seeking revenge on him, but in the end, he let him escape. Only Dumbledore, Black, Lupin, and Potter know about this, but I managed to eavesdrop on it through some means. The really serious part is that Harry received a prophecy stating that Pettigrew would seek out the Dark Lord and help him rise again. Do you understand what this means?"

Narcissa interjected, "It's just a prophecy... That old man with the white beard might have made a mistake, you know? Most so-called seers are frauds."

"Not necessarily. What if—" Soren smiled slightly, confidently responding, "this seer predicted the Dark Lord's downfall and Potter's rise back then?"

At this point, Lucius and Narcissa fell silent. The couple was aware that Voldemort was not dead; the Dark Mark on Lucius's arm clearly indicated this.

"Wait!" Draco interjected loudly, "I don't understand. Isn't the return of the Dark Lord a good thing? It would allow us to cleanse those mud-bloods who insulted the wizarding bloodline! This way, our pure-blood families can return to the peak of power, right?"

Soren looked at Draco seriously: "Believe me, brother, whether in this family or in other pure-blood families, most people do not wish for the Dark Lord's return."

Draco had admired the Dark Lord since childhood and fantasized about the days when pure-blood families ruled over Muggles and half-blood wizards. Soren's words undoubtedly struck deep at his heart.

"Impossible! You're talking nonsense! Dad, Mom, tell me, is what my brother said true?" Panic flashed in Draco's eyes; he felt his heart pounding. After saying this short sentence, he had to catch his breath.

Lucius's expression was very complex; in fact, his mind was a chaotic mess at the moment.

He knew Soren was right; he didn't feel particularly happy about the Dark Lord's return. The last time under the Dark Lord's leadership, pure-blood families suffered greatly; the Lestranges, Blacks, and Rookwood families were nearly wiped out. If he hadn't been clever, the already dwindling Malfoy family might have also become history.

He forcibly pushed aside his distracting thoughts and looked at Draco with a sympathetic gaze, "Draco, things are not as simple as you think."

"Back then, pure-blood families chose to support the Dark Lord simply because he could help us establish a wizarding world where pure-bloods reign supreme. However, the Dark Lord himself acted too extreme, with excessive killings, resulting in more resistance... Think about it, we originally only needed to instill fear so that those mud-bloods and half-breeds wouldn't dare to resist, but the Dark Lord left them no way to survive, so they could only fight to the death..."

"Ultimately, the Dark Lord's fundamental goals are different from those of most pure-blood families! The Dark Lord wants to completely eradicate all Muggle bloodlines so that his reputation can forever dominate the wizarding world... whereas our goal is to establish a system of pure-blood supremacy, making half-bloods and Muggle wizards our vassals, rather than exterminating them."

Narcissa walked over and gently embraced Draco, whispering, "Child, you are still too young; these matters should not be shouldered by you..."

Soren said, "Mother, please stop treating us like children. Not to mention the past, just think about it: after the Dark Lord's downfall, our Malfoy family, along with the Avery, Notts, Carrows, and others, all chose to betray him. Not only did we completely sever ties with the Death Eaters, but we also lived comfortably and never attempted to seek out the Dark Lord or help him. What do you think the Dark Lord would think of us pure-blood families?"

Upon hearing this, Lucius's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly felt awake, a shrewd look flashing in his eyes. He realized that he had been confused; his son choosing to speak to him about this at this moment was clearly prepared. Rather than worrying and fretting, why not directly ask his son what solutions he had?

Thinking of this, he looked at Soren with a meaningful gaze, "So—Soren, what do you think our Malfoy family should do?"

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