Chapter 87
Diagon Alley, the carriage station.
Daphne took out her wand and pointed it at the sky, the tip of the wand flashing with light at a certain frequency.
Soon, Soren saw a luxurious carriage adorned with golden trim descending from the sky, led by two Nightmares, landing steadily in the alley. The carriage was embedded with the Greengrass family crest, a six-pointed star surrounding the emblem of a winged horse.
The curtain was lifted, and a well-dressed middle-aged man stepped down. He had a goatee and approached the two, slightly bowing as he said, "Ladies and gentlemen, please."
Daphne glanced at Soren and was the first to board the carriage, followed by the remaining three.
"The driver is our butler, Morgadon, who has served our family for nearly 20 years. My father trusts him very much," Daphne briefly introduced.
Astoria also helped with the introduction: "My mother passed away when I was very young, and the whole family consists only of my father and us three sisters. Uncle Morgadon has helped my father a lot and has been very kind to us when we were little." Then they began to talk about the situation of Greengrass Manor.
Greengrass Manor, also known as Green Manor, is located in the Cotswolds in western England. The Cotswolds is roughly situated in a rural area west of Oxford and north of Bath, extending about 160 kilometers from south to north. It perfectly preserves hundreds of ancient and elegant classic villages, known for their subtle colors, tranquil atmosphere, elegance, and tradition, and is praised alongside France's Provence and Italy's Tuscany as one of the "three most beautiful rural areas in the world."
In the wizarding world, many wealthy wizards choose to settle here due to the beautiful scenery. Many magical creatures also inhabit the area, attracting numerous wizards to write and paint here. The most famous among them is the 18th-century expert on trolls, Gwendolyn Oliphant, who ironically was killed by a troll's club while sketching in 1799.
About half an hour later, the carriage landed on the ground.
What appeared before Soren was a vast and boundless manor. In the center of the manor stood an ancient and solemn mansion, comparable in size to Malfoy Manor, but in contrast to the grandeur of Malfoy Manor, Green Manor was undoubtedly much more understated and simple, exuding a leisurely rural charm.
After the group entered the mansion, a distinguished middle-aged man saw them and approached, greeting them warmly: "Hello, you must be Mr. Malfoy?"
Soren knew that this old family valued etiquette highly, so he introduced himself without delay: "Soren Malfoy sends his regards, Mr. Greengrass."
The middle-aged man was very satisfied with Soren's etiquette and attitude, responding: "Welcome, Mr. Malfoy. I am the father of Daphne and Astoria, and also the godfather of Meredith—Gareth Greengrass. You can call me Uncle Gareth."
The group walked into the reception room, where several immaculate unicorn-leather sofas were arranged, and they took their seats according to host and guest. After two elegantly dressed young maids served tea, Mr. Greengrass led the conversation, which mainly revolved around Soren's achievements at Hogwarts over the past three years.
Due to Soren's remarkable accomplishments, Gareth had some doubts about his abilities, but upon seeing him in person, all doubts vanished.
Although the young man's face still bore a youthful innocence, his demeanor was appropriate, mature, and composed, with unique and sharp insights into current affairs and magic. His words subtly conveyed an unshakeable confidence, a confidence not easily found among the scions of pure-blood families; it could only be cultivated through exposure to true strength and real challenges.
The reason Gareth personally received Soren, aside from Soren's family background, was that he often heard about this young man's deeds from his three daughters. He knew that all three daughters had a good impression of him. Now, it seemed that their judgment was indeed good, and he himself was quite satisfied with Soren's current performance.
The so-called sacred 28 pureblood families have actually seen many of them decline over the past half century, such as the Gunter family, the Black family, the Shafiq family, and the Crouch family. They are either completely extinct or have dwindled to the point of having only one surviving descendant.
The remaining pureblood families are mainly divided into three factions: the Pureblood Supremacists, led by the Malfoy, Black, Carrow, and Lestrange families, most of whom have participated in the Death Eaters or have some degree of involvement; the Muggle-friendly Pureblood Traitors, represented by the Weasley, prewett, Longbottom, and Shacklebolt families, most of whom have participated in the fight against the Death Eaters as part of the Order of the Phoenix.
The Greengrass family belongs to the Pureblood Neutral faction, along with families like Macmillan, Abbot, Crouch, Ollivander, and Slughorn.
They maintained neutrality during the First Wizarding War. When the war broke out, most of the direct descendants of these families sought refuge abroad, preserving their strength by staying safe. Although neutral families may have a sense of pureblood superiority, they do not oppress or discriminate against wizards of Muggle descent. They value personal talent, character, and etiquette more objectively than bloodline. The potions professor Horace Slughorn from the original story is a prime example.
In recent years, Lucius has frequently visited the Greengrass family, intending to win them over to form a new interest group. However, Mr. Greengrass is well aware of the Malfoy family's character and is unwilling to be dragged into this murky water or be used as a pawn, so he has always kept a polite distance from the Malfoy family's advances.
When he learned about the matter involving his daughters and the Malfoy family's young master, it indeed caused him considerable distress. He worried that this would entangle him with the Malfoy family and draw him into the disputes between the Pureblood Supremacists and the Pureblood Traitors.
Thus, he wanted to take this opportunity to understand Soren's character and the attitude of the family he represents. When he heard Soren speak with such indifference about the ideology of Pureblood Supremacy, as well as his remarkable achievements in initiating reforms in Slytherin at Hogwarts, he was shocked by the determination and decisiveness of the young man before him. He also realized that Soren and the Malfoy family were probably not on the same side.
That old fox Lucius, is he betting on both sides? Gareth wondered in his heart.
Just as they were having a lively conversation, Soren intentionally steered the topic to the Greengrass family's blood curse.
Though it wasn't a very glorious matter, Gareth candidly recounted this old story.
It turned out this happened a century ago when Daphne's grandmother was targeted by a group of dark wizards while traveling, particularly in Borneo. Among them were some extremely dangerous individuals who intended to kidnap her for unknown reasons.
Although they were eventually repelled by her grandmother and her bodyguards' fierce resistance, her grandmother was unaware that she had been cursed at some point by the attackers. What she didn't expect was that this curse turned out to be the infamous blood curse, which has been passed down through the family for generations.
Soren began to take note of Borneo. The book "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" mentioned that the Acromantula is a magical creature created by dark wizards, originating from Borneo; similarly, Nagini from the Fantastic Beasts films also came from the tropical rainforests of Borneo and ended up in Europe after being associated with the Circus Arcanus.
If even the Greengrass family's blood curse comes from there, it indicates that the place is not simple and likely harbors an underground organization of dark wizards skilled in species transformation and blood curses.
Upon hearing this, Soren humbly told Gareth that ever since he learned about the curse that Astoria bears, he has been investing considerable research into blood curses. Recently, during this summer, he finally made a breakthrough and might be able to resolve the issue that has troubled Astoria for many years.
As soon as he said this, the room fell into shock, and everyone was silent.
Gareth stood up, his expression very serious, and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Malfoy, this matter holds extraordinary significance for me and for the Greengrass family, so I hope you weren't joking about it just now." It was clear that if Soren were indeed joking about this matter, he would be promptly thrown out of the manor.
Soren had long been psychologically prepared for his reaction and said calmly, "Uncle Gareth, Tori is an important friend of mine. The few of them all know that I am not someone who jokes about such matters. Since I dare to say it, I naturally have more than 90% confidence. Besides, wouldn't it be better to let me try and see? Even if I fail, I can guarantee that Tori will not be harmed in any way."
Gareth's expression was filled with excitement and disbelief.
Over the years, they had pooled the entire family's strength and tried countless methods, yet they could not escape the shadow of the bloodline curse. So when Soren said he had a way to solve it, his first reaction was disbelief. However, his three daughters swore by Soren's character, which made him believe a little.
"Mr. Malfoy, do you really have a way to deal with our family's curse?" Gareth Greengrass stared at Soren with fervent eyes.
"Yes," Soren nodded and said, "but I can only seal it, not eradicate it. The only way to eradicate this curse is to go to Borneo and find the caster or his heir."
"Sealing is good, sealing is good..." Gareth obviously breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to Morgadon and instructed, "Notify everyone in the family to treat this esteemed guest with caution and not to be the slightest bit negligent. Have the house-elves prepare; tonight's family dinner should be arranged according to the highest banquet standards, and also prepare the finest suite for this esteemed guest."
In Gareth's home, there were two house-elves, one was inherited from the Greengrass family, named Tiva; the other was brought over by Meredith from the Shafiq old house, named Dino. Since Meredith lived here, she let it help manage Green Manor.
After giving all the instructions, Gareth revealed a kind smile, "Uncle has some connections at the Ogden Distillery and not long ago received a bottle of limited edition 1982 Fire-whisky they sent. Tonight, Uncle will enjoy it with you."
Dinner.
Soren came from the noble Malfoy family and had enjoyed expensive dishes since he was young, so his experience was not something the Weasleys could compare to. Not to mention, he was a regular at several high-end restaurants in the British wizarding world. However, he was still astonished by the luxury of this meal; many dishes on the table were unheard of to him.
"Soren, try this, it's a dragon steak made from the hatchlings of Australian red-eyed dragons," Gareth pointed to a sizzling iron plate steak, "You know, dragon meat is tough and not very pleasant to eat, so this dish must be cooked at high temperature in a pure black gold cauldron from the Wizarding Cauldron Company—I've had some business dealings with them, and they know I love gourmet food, so they specially sent me this cauldron, which you can't buy outside."
Soren smiled; in this manner his father too wasn't really stingy; he just didn't have much interest in gourmet food and entertainment. In Soren's view, his biggest hobby was collecting dark magic items and trying every means to undermine Dumbledore and the Weasley family.
In contrast, this Uncle Gareth clearly understood how to enjoy life. Soren appreciated this; if it weren't for his background in the Malfoy family, why would he have to struggle so hard to wade through the murky waters between Voldemort and Dumbledore?
After enjoying a lovely dinner, Soren spent the day shopping in Diagon Alley with her sisters. After a tiring day and chatting with the old man, he felt quite fatigued and decided to rest well in the VIP suite for the night.
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