Hogwarts' Golden Glory

"What are your plans regarding this Horcrux?"

Dumbledore looked at Kane, a hint of curiosity in his blue eyes.

He understands Kane less and less now, or rather, he never really saw through this little wizard in the first place.

"Save it for when you can deliver a devastating blow."

Kane was prepared; even if Voldemort was prepared, he could still give him a good beating.

"By the way, this Christmas ball is going to be really good. Have you decided which little witch to invite?"

Dumbledore didn't ask too many questions, but instead changed the subject.

"I'm not planning to participate. The Malfoy family has Draco, which is enough."

This is also why Kane has had Draco train these past few days.

"Is that so? Then Miss Hibiscus, or Miss Granger, might be saddened."

Older people love to gossip and catch up on rumors.

Now everyone at Hogwarts knows Fleur's attitude towards Kane.

Everyone believed that Kane and Fleur were together.

One is recognized as the most powerful warrior at Hogwarts, and the other is a beautiful witch with Veela blood.

They looked like a perfect match, a match made in heaven.

As for Miss Granger, Kane's former tagalong, everyone would have forgotten about her if she hadn't been involved in some house-elves liberation movement lately.

"I'll go up and lead the dance when your partner comes back."

Kane said casually.

After all, Grindelwald won't be coming back easily now.

Dumbledore didn't say much after hearing this, but if you looked closely, you could see a smile on his lips.

It didn't take long to get the Golden Cup, and Voldemort now has very few Horcruxes left.

Even if Voldemort were to be resurrected, Kane would now have the strength to fight him.

However, Voldemort's strength lies in the fact that he has a broader understanding of and is very proficient in dark magic.

This strength is enough for him to stand up to Dumbledore, who is wielding the Elder Wand, and not be at a disadvantage.

Even if Kane possesses a Horcrux and has his own leverage.

But he was facing an opponent who had reached the limits of human skill in both magic and dark intellect.

His power stems primarily from an innate, unfathomable talent.

As a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin, he not only inherited Parseltongue but also possessed extremely high magical control: he was self-taught, achieved top grades at Hogwarts, and had a knowledge base that even surpassed that of half of his teachers.

But what truly set him apart from all other wizards was his endless quest for the "unknown."

Dumbledore also admitted that Voldemort's mastery of the Dark Arts had reached a level he could not fathom.

He openly violated the taboo of "Hornets," tearing his soul into pieces in pursuit of immortality. He directly tore himself into seven pieces, a spell that other dark wizards dared not attempt.

He created powerful dark magic spells and potions; he could curse a Hogwarts teaching position for decades.

For him, magic has no forbidden zones or bottom lines.

In addition, he is also a master manipulator who understands people's hearts.

He was able to rise from a destitute mixed-race orphan to build a fearsome army of Death Eaters.

He used fear and hatred to easily control the Ministry of Magic, werewolves, giants, and Dementors.

And at Hogwarts.

At 2 p.m., the window seats in the Hogwarts Library are usually not very quiet, but this time is right between lunch break and afternoon classes, so most students haven't rushed in yet.

Hermione sat on the edge of the second table near the window, with a book in front of her that was two-thirds open, its pages edged with annotations she had written in fine pencil.

The chapter she was reading was about the terms of a medieval magical contract, concerning the transfer of power between house-elves and magical families. It wasn't a topic she would usually actively seek out, but she paused when she turned to the third paragraph because the way the text was written was different from the related literature she had read before. It was as if the writer was trying to bypass a pre-defined narrative framework to record an event that had already been dealt with.

She read that passage a couple more times, then put down her quill and looked out the window.

The courtyard of Hogwarts was covered by a very light gray in the afternoon light of winter. It wasn't a cloudy day, but the kind of light that had weight to it, as if all the colors had been suppressed by half a shade.

Just as she was about to look down and continue reading the next paragraph, someone sat down across the table.

Hermione looked up, not too surprised, but her hand paused for a moment at the edge of the book.

Fleur sat opposite her, her silver-white coat unbuttoned, a section of dark lining peeking out from the collar, as if she had just come in from outside. She sat down in the chair opposite Hermione: "What are you looking at?"

Hermione turned the book cover towards the other person so she could see the title.

Fleur didn't look down; she only glanced at the cover's color before turning her gaze back to Hermione's face. "Is that book about house-elves and ancient contracts?"

"Yes. You've heard of it?"

"I've heard of some similar cases, like Beauxbatons, just in a different form. The French Ministry of Magic handles these kinds of matters quite differently than the British."

Furong asked, "Which part did you see?"

Hermione turned to the page she had just read, turned the book around, and pointed to the last few lines of the third paragraph: "This paragraph says that a contract can be unilaterally terminated, but three conditions must be met, one of which is that 'the contracted party can actively request termination.' The problem is, house-elves rarely do this, not because they don't want to, but because they don't know they can. This paragraph doesn't explain what conditions are required for 'actively requesting termination,' it just lists it as a necessary condition, like an unfillable gap."

Furong glanced down at that section, then looked back at it: "You found this gap because you wanted to know if it really can't be filled?"

Hermione didn't answer immediately. "I'm thinking, if the contracted party doesn't know they can bring it up, then it doesn't truly 'know.' So that condition has never actually been met."

Furong didn't rush to reply.

She sat opposite Hermione, holding neither a book nor a pen, her fingers resting on the table, in a posture that said, "I'm not here to borrow a book."

After a few seconds, Furong said, "There's something I want to talk to you about. We can continue reading after we've talked."

Hermione looked up from the book, closed it, but didn't push it away, leaving it half-open. "Go ahead."

Hibiscus didn't beat around the bush: "What I want to talk to you about is Kane."

Hermione listened without interrupting.

Furong continued.