Fudge: Lucien is practically glowing! Order of Merlin, First Class?

A few minutes ago.

Lucien and Liuguang suddenly appeared on the unrecognizable grassland, with the serpentine body beside them.

The Basilisk's corpse was mangled beyond recognition, with a smooth cut on its neck, and its head had already been put into Lucien's pocket.

A large hole was cut open in his chest, and his heart was put into Lucien's pocket.

The Basilisk's eyes can be used to improve Lucien's own Eye of Magic Sight, while its heart is used to perfect Norbert's Fire Dragon Magic Circuit.

Lucien glanced at the circular shield formed by the Qilin Purifying Fire.

The flow of time in Salazar's legacy space differs greatly from that in the outside world. The confrontation with Tom earlier also ended quickly. From the moment the snake was slain until now, only a short while has passed.

I'm still too efficient.

"Liuguang, remove this fire shield first."

The little Qilin responded, and as it disappeared, the surrounding golden flames slowly subsided.

"Lucien!"

As the flames dissipated, Lucien's figure came into view of the professors.

They naturally saw the Basilisk's mutilated corpse and were all shocked.

The Basilisk was gone as soon as I arrived?

Basilisk, Magical Creatures of level XXXXX, with venom, a magical eye, scales...

The Basilisk was covered in deadly weapons, and even the professor admitted that he would be afraid to face it alone.

Moreover, this is a Basilisk that has lived for thousands of years, so its level of danger is self-evident.

But judging from the current situation, it was resolved by a mere junior wizard in a very short time?

The way it died was so gruesome; its head was completely gone.

"Lucien, are you hurt? Maybe you should go to the Hospital Wing..."

The diminutive Professor Flitwick was the first to run to Lucien's side, circling him several times to check for any wounds.

"Dean, don't worry, I'm fine."

Lucien even raised his hand to let the dean see him more closely. Apart from his slightly dirty robes, he was completely unharmed and did not look like he had been through two battles in a row.

"Lucien, next time something like this happens, remember to tell the professor first."

Professor McGonagall looked conflicted. She felt incredibly guilty for not noticing the Basilisk's appearance immediately, and for having it all handled by Lucien, a single student. She felt utterly ashamed.

Having vaguely discerned the thoughts of this older catgirl, Lucien smiled and assured her:

"Of course, this was just an accident, an accident. I was so excited to see the Basilisk for the first time."

That's true. The moment the Basilisk appeared, it triggered the loan of Advanced Elemental Thunder Rune. How could they not be excited?

Coupled with the need for the Basilisk Heart, I'll just have to go for it!

After glancing at the unharmed Lucien, Snape didn't shower him with concern like the other professors. He stuffed a healing potion back into his pocket and examined the Basilisk corpse on the ground.

The Basilisk is said to be Magical Creatures, but it cannot reproduce naturally and must be bred artificially.

It's really complicated to operate, and many wizards don't know how to do it.

At least in this land, the Basilisk has not appeared for four or five hundred years.

It's no exaggeration to say that the Basilisk is a treasure trove; from its blood and scales to its heart and fangs, everything has its uses.

Especially those snake eyes, which are rare and priceless treasures.

Snape paced along the Basilisk's corpse and discovered that not only its head but also its heart was missing.

Recalling the fleeting glimpse of the silver longsword Lucien held when he arrived, Snape's gaze returned to Lucien, thinking that the boy knew his stuff and had probably put those two items away.

As a potions master, Snape coveted the Basilisk's treasures and was considering what he could offer Lucien in exchange.

If it were any other young wizard, Snape would surely have offered reasons such as "how could a mere student possibly seize such an opportunity?" or "the Basilisk is part of Slytherin's legacy."

But Lucien is a rare find, and his attitude towards learning is so good...

The key point is that he single-handedly killed the Basilisk, which was too outrageous and made Snape realize the student's true strength for the first time.

This rate of growth is simply unreasonable!

Suddenly, Snape saw a small orange bird descend from the sky and land on Lucien's shoulder.

"Chirp!"

Young Fawkes chirped a few times in Lucien's ear. Lucien nodded, hurriedly said goodbye to the professors, and reached out to collect the Basilisk's body into his pocket.

Crimson flames enveloped Lucien's entire body, and both he and the bird vanished instantly.

The scene before Lucien shifted to the familiar Hagrid's Hut.

With Tom's diary now in his hand, Lucien glanced at it and realized he recognized quite a few people.

"Principal, I have something I'd like you to look at."

Lucien's sudden appearance interrupted the conversation that was in progress.

The moment Lucius saw the diary, his confident smile froze.

Almost in the blink of an eye, Lucius stuffed the roll of parchment he had just taken out back into his pocket.

He suddenly realized that announcing Dumbledore's Suspension Order at this moment was not a good idea, even if it had the signatures of twelve School Governor.

Seeing that everyone's attention was drawn to Lucien, Lucius quietly moved to the doorway.

"Oh, it's Lucien. Good evening."

Fudge greeted Lucien with a smile; the two had met once before, and he was deeply impressed by the outstanding young man.

Lucien politely replied to Fudge, and then stepped forward to hand the diary to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore, who sensed something was amiss with the diary just by looking at it, immediately detected a faint yet cold and sinister magical power upon handling it, a power he was very familiar with.

Voldemort!

Tom Riddle!

Dumbledore's fingers, holding the diary, suddenly tightened; a series of thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

"Principal, the crisis in the Chamber of Secrets has been resolved. As for this matter..."

Lucien picked out what he could say and told it all.

Hagrid and Fudge were stunned by what they heard. Dumbledore more focused on the diary, while Lucius, who was huddled by the door, grew paler and paler as he listened.

"... The Basilisk and Gilderoy Lockhart are dead..."

When Lucien's narrative ended with Lockhart's death, Lucius breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief; at least the investigation hadn't traced it back to him.

Just as Lucius was thinking this, he saw Lucien glance at him seemingly casually, but his eyes seemed to contain a lot of meaning.

His heart, which had just returned to normal, raced again. Lucius leaned against the door once more, racking his brains trying to figure out what Lucien was trying to say.

Fudge was listening intently to Lucien's story, had already taken out a handkerchief and kept wiping away sweat. He hadn't expected that Hogwarts would harbor such a terrifying crisis. If something truly horrific happened, he, the Minister for Magic, would be completely ruined.

Although Hogwarts is ultimately under the headmaster's responsibility, Dumbledore certainly be the first to be punished, but the furious wizarding parents will most likely include Fudge in the list as well.

Who can blame him when he's the Minister for Magic?

Fudge knew that his rise to power had an element of "luck," and that to maintain the status quo, he would have to be adept at navigating social circles and cultivating connections.

Thinking of this, Fudge looked at Lucien and felt that the young man was simply radiating light at that moment!

Lucien saved more than just the students of Hogwarts, protected more than just the future of wizarding, and resolved more than just the crisis in the Wizarding World...

Fudge believes Lucien has essentially saved his political career!

In Hagrid's Hut, where no one spoke, only the sound of the fireplace burning could be heard.

It was Fudge broke the silence first, his smile towards Lucien so kind that it made Lucien feel a little uncomfortable.

"Lucien, you truly are a young hero! Haha, all thanks to you for slaying the Basilisk and protecting everyone!"

"If possible, could you take me to see the Basilisk's corpse? Of course, it's not that I don't trust you, but I need some evidence to appease the public. I'm sure someone as intelligent as you will understand, right?"

Fudge felt he couldn't treat Lucien like a child anymore. In fact, it wasn't just about the Basilisk incident; after calming down a bit, he thought of something else:

Recently, Auror applied to him to purchase a batch of magical items, mostly with protective effects, saying that they could automatically trigger protective magic based on attacks.

That would significantly improve the safety of Auror when carrying out missions.

Although we live in a relatively peaceful era with fewer wizards and dark wizards, and less danger, no one would be unwilling to have more ways to protect themselves.

While Auror are skilled wizards, they can still be caught off guard by sneak attacks or traps, so the importance of magical items that can provide automatic protection is self-evident.

As the official body, the Ministry of Magic certainly wanted to establish a stable supply channel, which is how Fudge learned that these magical items were actually made by Lucien!

How did a twelve-year-old wizard learn such extraordinary Alchemy?

Fudge remembered that Hogwarts didn't offer Alchemy Class in the second year, and Lucien was Muggle-born with no family lineage, so he figured it was probably Dumbledore who taught him. He had noticed Dumbledore valued Lucien before, so it wasn't surprising.

The more Fudge, the more he felt Lucien had a promising future; no, it was already worthwhile to cultivate a good relationship with him now.

"No need for that, I've already brought it."

As he spoke, Lucien lightly waved his wand, temporarily expanding the somewhat cramped room.

Immediately following was the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground.

The Basilisk's head was enormous and ferocious, its mouth unable to open wide, revealing sharp, venomous fangs, and its eyes had been gouged out by Lucien.

Slightly dried bloodstains covered his eye sockets, and those empty eye sockets were directly facing Lucius, who was standing in the doorway, startling him.

The appearance of the snake head, so imposing even in death, caused Fudge to gasp in shock. Politicians who sat in offices all day had never seen anything like it before, and he couldn't help but take a few steps back, almost falling into his chair.

"The Basilisk, this is the Basilisk..."

Fudge wanted to get closer to observe, but he was also afraid, his voice trembling slightly.

Dumbledore had been lost in thought, was also drawn to the Basilisk head. The Ministry of Magic's arrival to arrest him was somewhat unexpected, and Lucius's appearance was even more surprising...

Dumbledore glanced at Lucius at the doorway, a glint of light flashing in his blue eyes.

Thinking of the parchment scroll Lucius had just pulled out, Dumbledore knew that the other party had definitely come prepared, and perhaps this incident...

Noticing Dumbledore's scrutiny, Lucius averted his gaze from the Basilisk's head, trying to maintain a natural expression.

"Lucien, may I take a picture? It'll make things more convincing, after all, parents care deeply about their children."

Lucien readily agreed to Fudge's request, seeing it as a publicity opportunity.

Seeing that Lucien agreed, Fudge called an Auror into the house.

"Bang!"

The door slammed directly into Lucius's back; clearly, the Auror outside hadn't expected anyone to be standing so close to the door.

Faced with the Auror's apology, Lucius tried his best to appear composed and indicate that he didn't mind.

He just wanted to end this quickly and get home!

At Fudge's instruction, the Auror picked up a camera and started snapping photos of the Basilisk's head.

Taking this opportunity, Fudge tried to strike up a conversation with Lucien:

"Lucien, what a thrilling night! You resolved such a huge crisis; it would be a shame not to give you an award..."

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore was standing nearby, suddenly remembered something.

Yes, it was already planned to award Lucien the Order of Merlin, Second Class.

This conclusion was reached by Wizengamot after discussions based on Lucien's innovations and contributions to Transfiguration.

Lucien was very young, and a recipient of the Order of Merlin at that age would be unprecedented. At the time, some members held different opinions on this point, believing that the award could be postponed for a few more years.

However, Lucien's achievement in pioneering Magical Creature Transfiguration is truly dazzling!

The Wizengamot was composed of dozens of accomplished wizards, many of whom were experts in Transfiguration. They were utterly astonished by Lucien's performance and immediately launched a fierce protest against those who thought the award ceremony should be postponed.

Dumbledore naturally supported awarding the prize to Lucien, and his vote as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot was crucial.

In the end, it was successfully finalized that Lucien would be the youngest recipient of the Order of Merlin in history.

But at the time, no one suggested awarding the Order of Merlin, First Class.

Because, with the exception of the Minister for Magic awarding himself a First Class medal before retirement, to receive this award, one must either resolve a crisis in the Wizarding World or save a large number of lives.

Dumbledore's gaze was fixed on Lucien, a faint light shining behind his half-moon spectacles.

Hasn't that been done already?

Save the students of Hogwarts and protect the future of the Wizarding World...

In that instant, Dumbledore thought of many things.

He was very pleased to see Lucien receive various honors, which Lucien felt were well-deserved.

Dumbledore also believed that the more positive feedback the child received from the Wizarding World, the less likely he would go astray, since happier people tend to love the world more.

Countless times, Dumbledore wondered if Tom would not have become Voldemort if he hadn't grown up in such a painful environment.

Thinking of this, Dumbledore and then spoke:

"Cornelius, I think—"

But Dumbledore wasn't finished.

A slightly excited voice suddenly rang out, interrupting him.

"I think we should apply for the Order of Merlin for Lucien Grafton, the Order of Merlin, First Class!"

Dumbledore looked in surprise at the person who had stolen his lines: Lucius.

Lucius's grey eyes gleamed, as if he had grasped some inspiration.