The Evil Thoughts of Hogwarts and the Genie

Chapter 100 He Wants to Tell the Truth

Edmund smiled politely, greeting the crowd whose names he didn't know and thanking them cheerfully for coming to the banquet.

For an 11-year-old boy, he was remarkably tall and well-built. With a face that bore a striking resemblance to old Mr. Soman, the wizards who greeted him didn't seem to mind his somewhat perfunctory attitude, allowing Edmund to quickly slip through the crowd and approach the Cobblepot family.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cobblestone."

Pollyanna noticed that his accent had changed again, and he sounded "German" again.

If Mr. Soman hadn't been followed by a particularly elegantly dressed but humble butler wizard, the Cobbles might have maintained their composure, at least not with such overwhelming flattery. Edmund exchanged a few pleasantries with them, then immediately realized that the two were less interesting than their niece, and felt a wave of boredom wash over him.

He was also prepared to say, "Mr. Cobblepot looks very familiar," a double entendre—he had just met Pollyanna's father a few days ago; and before that, he had witnessed Williams Cobblepot fighting someone at the Wizarding Casino.

Thinking about it carefully, Edmund and the Cobblepot family are undeniably connected. But it sounds rather hellish, because each and every incident seems to confirm that Pollyanna is an unlucky girl.

Edmund chuckled at his own imagination, which drew a strange, self-illuminating glance from the little witch.

Just moments before, less than three minutes into the conversation, the butler who had been following Edmund closely to monitor him bowed and offered to introduce the Cobbles to the other German Ministry of Magic officials who were already present. The couple were naturally flattered once again and had no reason to refuse.

At the same time, another maid took over his shift and silently stood behind her young master.

This was to be expected; ever since Edmund had quietly “killed” the malicious guest, in order to ensure that such a truly inexplicable blunder would not happen again—and perhaps also to ensure the integrity of the guest’s soul—old Mr. Soman had not brought Edmund to see any more guests.

But considering that this banquet was ostensibly held to introduce him, the "only son of the Soman family," to the wizarding world, the old man's continued vigilance made Edmund chuckle.

Oh well, never mind.

"I'll take you to the little wizard's reception room," Edmund smiled. "My mother is there too; she's very curious about you—oh, don't be nervous."

How could Pollyanna not be nervous? The Cobblepot family was said to be a pure-blood family, but in reality, they hadn't been pure-blooded for many generations. Even the Cobblepots weren't qualified to participate in some of the gatherings at Malfoy Manor, so Pollyanna, who had been mistreated by her aunt and uncle, had even less experience interacting with the "family of important people."

Fortunately, Edmund didn't have her this time. What experience did he need to meet Elena? She was nominally the wife of the deputy minister, but her manners were only suitable for sitting at the children's table.

It's not that Elena was completely oblivious to the hidden meanings in the ladies' conversations, but she simply didn't know how to respond to those meaningless remarks. Elena disliked insincere interactions, and the two men in her household were unwilling to force her to.

So entertaining the young wizards became the most suitable "job" for her, since almost no young wizards would talk to the adults in charge of watching over them. Elena only needed to make sure that they didn't hurt each other when they socialized and played.

Therefore, after exchanging less than five sentences with Elena, who was very curious about her, Pollyanna glanced at Edmund with suspicion, hardly believing that the witch in front of her was the mother of this little devil.

Compared to Edmund, Elena was almost frighteningly friendly. Although her English was only so-so, she seemed to be trying very hard and sincerely to communicate with Pollyanna, constantly praising the little witch's grades and personality, and thanking her for being willing to tolerate Edmund's "terrible temper"—which was just making Pollyanna hate her.

Edmund's assessment of this was remarkably simple: Soman's Estate has its own English Corner.

However, unlike the main hall, which appeared peaceful and beautiful due to the absence of wind and rain, the owner of the manor stood silently by the floor-to-ceiling window of the master bedroom, harboring emotions he himself could not explain, knowing full well that the road ahead was bleak and uncertain.

Oscar Soman was 63 years old, which was almost the prime of life for a powerful wizard. Judging from his tall and imposing figure and the guests in the manor, no one would suspect that he was actually terrified.

This is a boring joke that's hard to laugh at even if you tell it to someone else. What does he have to be afraid of? Who is he afraid of?

Are they afraid of Grindelwald, or of retaliation from the UMNO?

Yes, in principle, his position was not qualified to inherit this power. But he did! And not only did he inherit it, he even preserved its flame, so much so that the recent Ministers of Magic dared not raise their voices at him.

As for Grindelwald? Who would be afraid of an old wolf with its teeth pulled?

If that's the case, then he's clearly not afraid of any of that.

Was he afraid of Dumbledore? To be honest, almost ten years ago, Oscar Soman hated Dumbledore to the core.

This old fellow never hesitated to teach him a lesson. In many international affairs, Dumbledore loved to embarrass him. Considering the other's surname, Oscar feared both that Dumbledore wanted to take his position and that he wanted to win back his wife—how could he not hate him?

To be honest, in the last five or six years, Oscar wasn't just afraid of Dumbledore; he actually longed to see him. He always wanted to have a private chat with Dumbledore, about anything. Even when Dumbledore mocked him, he couldn't muster any anger.

"Whether it's the shamanistic ideology or the various things you're talking about now, to you they're just candy wrappers. As long as you can keep yourself safe, you can just throw them away."

That's what the old man said, and to be honest, even now, Oscar thinks he's right. Along the way...

He felt like a dirty gecko, constantly cutting off its tail to survive—and sometimes, he would clearly realize how despicable he was.

But fate did not let him off the hook.

He also encountered people with things he couldn't let go of.

When he led a group of men to surround Istas Dumbledore, who was risking his life to protect his sister, he never imagined that he would fall in love with the girl the other was protecting.

When he made a wish to the genie, he never imagined that the price he would have to pay would be the soul and life of his son.

To be honest, both of these were difficult for him to face. There was a time when he had considered completely altering Elena's memories, making her forget that she had a brother and continue to pursue the truth.

But then he suffered retribution; when Edmund died, Oscar felt his heart die with him. And when the genie took over the body, he suddenly realized that it was all meaningless.

In a way, Oscar suddenly had an epiphany. He felt he truly deserved punishment, and for the first time understood why Dumbledore had "hypocritically" fled from his spoils, away from power and responsibility. Oscar felt suffocated; he felt swallowed up, and more tragically, he could see who was slowly and deliberately chewing on his pain:

Now, that monster possesses his son's body and his son's face. He manipulates Oscar's despair, controlling him as he dances wildly on the chessboard.

—.But Oscar didn't want to play anymore.

Oscar is going to tell Dumbledore the truth.