The Evil Thoughts of Hogwarts and the Genie

Chapter 96 The Genie and the Wizard of Despair

Old Mr. Soman repeatedly assured that the person replaced by the genie would still inherit the previous feelings—until the very end, he wanted to ensure that his wife and children would not be harmed by the genie, which was truly touching. But the genie's target was never him, but the young body he was holding in his arms.

Without the genie, Edmund Soman would not have been born. He was, of course, "a human being with a deep connection to the genie"; and since he was already dead, he had naturally "lost his soul"; not to mention "close contact," in order to see his son one last time after his resurrection, old Mr. Soman directly carried him into the cave where the genie was sealed. With the right time, place, and people, this matter was completely logical.

The only person who objected to this was old Soman himself.

He had finally made up his mind to sacrifice himself to revive his son, completely immersed in a surge of courage.

Even when mocked by the genie, "You'd rather be completely replaced by me and become one with me than give me up,"

Ask someone else to make a wish for you. You don't trust anyone, not even that so-called love of your life—oh, no wonder you're afraid she'll know I exist, you killed her brother—you think she hates you too! Hahaha!" He tried to remain calm.

But old Mr. Soman's resolve was destined to fail; the ending of the story was sealed the moment he made his first wish. The less one is willing to pay the price, the more interest one will have to repay later.

If you don't have a weakness, I'll create one for you. How could a genie do something that loses money?

Therefore, when the genie awoke from old Soman's arms, he didn't understand what was going on; it wasn't until his son cheerfully said to him, "Surprised, Father!" that old Soman realized he had been tricked.

He let out a desperate wail, threw his only son to the ground, and pointed his wand at Edmund—a truly terrifying sight. He seemed to want to kill Edmund again, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

This is precisely why the Genie doesn't want the identity of Oscar Soman at all. Old Soman is used to being second-in-command, and even after taking the position, he severely lacks the ability to make decisions.

He often couldn't bring himself to do it. In the past, he couldn't bring himself to kill Grindelwald to prevent future troubles; and now he can't bring himself to kill his six-year-old son again.

In short, if the genie inherited old Soman's personality and corrupted his original form, becoming indecisive and hesitant from then on—then he might as well stay in the bronze lamp and remain isolated.

In conclusion, even if Grindelwald were truly willing to make three simple wishes and become the host of the genie, Edmund would never be willing to transfer his body and return to old age.

But Grindelwald's bait was indeed tempting. Hogwarts' curriculum was quite reasonable, but it was clearly designed for 11-year-old wizards who had just begun to learn magic. He had tried to subtly inquire a few times about when he could learn more advanced spells, and the answer was almost always two or three years later.

If he didn't want to go through old Mr. Soman's connections to find a tutor, then Grindelwald was indeed the best choice—at least he wouldn't mind teaching first-year Edmund the Unforgivable Curse, since the Genie was unforgivable enough.

Moreover, even setting aside the obviously exaggerated tabloid reports, official documents Edmund had access to in the past all explicitly or implicitly suggested that Grindelwald and Dumbledore's relationship was extraordinary. The two had a very close connection, at the very least being close friends.

Given Dumbledore's age and the incomprehensible and uncommunicative nature of his only relative, Aberforth, Grindelwald was undoubtedly the first choice to find out Dumbledore's weaknesses.

Moreover, unlike Grindelwald, who was socially dead and whose body was gradually weakening due to the lack of magical energy, Dumbledore was highly respected and powerful, making him a valuable puppet—but even Edmund had to admit that this mountain was more difficult to climb than he had thought, and he needed more information.

He definitely needs Grindelwald's knowledge and help, and regardless of whether the old man ultimately agrees to sell his soul, Edmund should meet with him.

Thinking this, he returned to his bedroom in the mansion and lay down on his long-unused bed. While the genie slept soundly, a man who had made a wish to him but had miraculously escaped giving up his soul was suffering greatly.

Cooper Hagen was huddled in a cramped holding room, unconsciously biting his nails.

He was trembling uncontrollably.

In less than two months, he had become terribly thin. Had it not been for the fact that the Aurora Borealis of the Ministry of Magic never lacked potent potions, he might have already been admitted to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Sicknesses for treatment.

However, in the first month after the Azkaban mass breakout, he visited St. Mungo's quite often. After all, the Ministry of Magic was even more eager to know the truth than he was. What happened to him was far more alarming to the Ministry than the disappearance of a group of vicious criminals.

Just like the rumors were going around in the department, Cooper lost his magic and became a Muggle;

Through the combined efforts of St. Mungo's group of supposedly professional healers and curse-breaking masters, they were able to determine:

Cooper didn't become a Muggle, but a Squib—he wouldn't be expelled by the Muggle Expulsion Charm, and he could still see some magical locations that weren't open to Muggles. As for why he was turned into this...

do not know!

To be honest, Cooper couldn't even remember how many times he'd drunk the emetic or how many times his memories had been extracted in the past two months. He was just utterly desperate because no matter how much he tried to recall, no matter how many times he relived it, his former colleagues, his former colleagues, his Aurors, still had no clue.

"Unheard of!"

This was the second most common phrase he'd heard lately. The most common was, "Merlin!"

What Cooper wasn't fully aware of was that while he was being taken to St. Mungo's for diagnosis, a group of Aurors went to his girlfriend Becca's small house. The girl had indeed become a witch, but she had never received any magical training and was in a panic because she had accidentally set the garden on fire.

Cooper was already nearly driven mad by his own situation.

Or perhaps, he has actually gone mad?

Lately, he'd had these strange dreams from time to time, wondering if they were all just remnants of his near-death experience, or if that damned dark wizard had stolen his wand from the very beginning. This prolonged, despairing experience was merely the lingering echo of the Dementors sucking his soul. After all, no one had ever described what this kind of death felt like; perhaps, perhaps it was just this kind of despair?

Cooper was unaware that something warm was brushing against his face. When he reached up and touched it, he realized that he was crying.

The hot, wet tears brought him back to reality: he was still alive.

—Perhaps he shouldn't have lived.

Cooper sobbed silently, shaking his head. If it weren't for the fact that self-harm wasn't allowed in the detention room, he might have already taken his own life!

As for why he was imprisoned here? Well, it's because, after countless doses of truth serum, he not only revealed the "exchange terms" between himself and that dark wizard, but also told his former colleague that he had altered Becca's memories because she couldn't accept his wizard identity.

It is common knowledge that it is illegal to alter a Muggle's memory for personal reasons.

This young man was a perfect example of what it means to make one wrong step after another. Just as he was weeping and wishing he were dead, a hoarse female voice came from next door.

"...Cooper, is that you?"

That was the voice of Becca, his fiancée whom he had turned into a witch.