Baron Skinner's Manor

"I think I know something..." A thought popped into Sean's mind.

This idea made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and his hair stood on end!

Baron Skinner's Manor...

Sean learned about the Ministry of Magic's secret ranking of dangerous magic from Barty Jr. Crouch Jr.

In that ranking based on danger level, the tenth most dangerous one is the Horcrux.

The most dangerous thing is the Blood Pact, which Sean still doesn't understand why.

Upon learning this news, Sean consulted many sources and eventually found a slightly related document in the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts Library.

A book called "Deadly Contract" mentions a contract magic involving "blood".

"Blood Pact: Reflections on Visiting Baron Skinner's Manor in the 13th Century"

The entire document describes the situation at the time. The unknown Blood Pact magic seemed to be the bond that held the two of them together. However, deep within the Blood Pact magic, there was the malice of another person.

Sean clearly remembers that the scholars at the time translated a sentence from a notebook left behind by Baron Skinner himself.

"Hate is built on the foundation of love, Equivalent Exchange, and with it comes immense power..."

After Dumbledore visited Baron Skinner's Manor, the Returners were quite certain that Dumbledore would become Grindelwald's enemy.

The truth contained within... A terrifying thought had already popped into Sean's mind, and he couldn't suppress it.

Moreover, Andros had previously said something else, "The supreme power is no longer yours. Do you think you can withstand it?"

Supreme power... Is there some connection between this and the "impart of great power" mentioned in Baron Skinner's notes...?

"No way..." Sean shook his head, Banishing Charm the terrible thought from his mind.

He had to go and see the ruins of the Baron Skinner's Manor in person.

Outside, the wizards belonging to the Returners had all been taken into custody by the Saints, and Sean found Professor Rosier, who was in charge.

"Vita, come with me— Abernathy, you are in charge of the rest."

"Yes, Lord Grindelwald."

When Sean and Rosier returned to Newmontgard using Floo Powder, Sean tugged at his tight collar and let out a long breath.

"Is there anything else I can help you with, Professor Rosier?"

Rosier gave him a strange look, then shook his head. "From now on, Lord Grindelwald won't need to be there in person. You did a very good job today."

Sean shrugged, then went to change back into his original form and put on his school uniform.

"Professor, where is our teacher right now?"

Rosier shook his head again. "Lord Grindelwald did not tell me the details, but I think you should have some understanding of his situation—as I understand it, he is now forced to go into hiding."

Sean raised an eyebrow in slight surprise. As expected of Grindelwald's trusted confidant, his guess was spot on.

"Did he say anything else that he asked you to relay to me or anyone else?"

"No, I have done everything Lord Grindelwald asked."

"Okay, I understand... I'll head back now, Professor Rosier."

After saying goodbye to Rosier, Sean headed towards the basement.

Walking down the empty corridor, Sean kept thinking about Grindelwald's intentions.

Judging from the content of his instructions, it was clear that he had anticipated this. Perhaps he understood something from what Marshall showed him when he tried to assassinate him.

Since Grindelwald chose to let me know this information, he must have guessed that after learning it, I would try to find Baron Skinner's Manor to uncover the truth... Perhaps this is what he wanted...

So it seems that my terrible idea might not necessarily be the truth...

Thinking of this, Sean relaxed a little. After all, if his guess was the truth, then there would be a real problem.

Another noteworthy point is that Andros's behavior was clearly intended to provoke Grindelwald and disrupt Grindelwald mental state.

Does that mean the Returners might be planning something big soon?

This so-called cooperation meeting was actually a test and preparation by the Returners...

Thinking of this, Sean stopped in his tracks as he headed towards the basement and changed direction.

He planned to go to the Headmaster's Office in Newmontgard for another look.

When Grindelwald was wanted, Professor Rosier became the new headmaster of Newmontgard, but she did not move into the Headmaster's Office; instead, she left it as it was for Grindelwald.

Even that office could only be freely entered and exited by Sean had obtained the necessary permissions.

Pushing open the ornate and elegant wooden door, Sean wandered around the Headmaster's Office, which had been deserted for a long time.

It remains spotless, clearly kept clean by some kind of self-cleaning magic.

"The A Complete History of Magic, I read that last time... The Dream Master's Manuscript, I've read that too, but I don't understand it... The History of Innovation and Improvement in Charms, that's not it either..."

Sean rummaged through Grindelwald's bookshelf, hoping to find some Grindelwald clues or something.

However, after searching around, I still couldn't find any information that could explain the current situation.

Back when Grindelwald was wanted, Sean also went to his Headmaster's Office looking for something. Grindelwald was an avid reader of all eras and versions of History of Magic, and he also collected obscure magical materials that were simply unavailable on the market.

Of course, Sean had already taken all the useful information; it was clearly left to Grindelwald for himself.

At the time, Sean didn't find any special information, and now it seems that this was indeed the case...

"Hmm?" Sean was still rummaging through the drawers of his desk, noticed the cover of a book.

History of Regional Changes in the Wizarding World

This book should perhaps not be called a book; it would be more accurate to describe it as an atlas, as it contains maps from various eras that Grindelwald bound together with magic and then added his own collected information.

Sean's eyes lit up.

He had seen the book before, but hadn't paid much attention to it at the time.

Opening the atlas, Sean's fingers pressed against the parchment as he looked at the search index.

"Fifth century, sixth century... I remember the information from the Baron Skinner's Manor was from the thirteenth century... It should be a map of mainland England..."

Having turned to the exact page, Sean took out his wand and tapped the parchment.

The paper wriggled and stood up, and soon a three-dimensional map unfolded and spread out on the desk.

The parchment map was a densely packed map of roads and mountains, shrunk countless times. With a casual touch of the wand to the nearest mountain, ink flowed like a trickle from the book below the map, transforming into a detailed description.

"Helvellyn Mountain is considered by Muggle to be one of the most treacherous mountains in England. Muggle believe that this extinct volcano once erupted, bringing with it countless treacherous boulders and the azure mountain lake at its foot. There were Muggle fools known as 'hikers' who died near the crater."

"In fact, since the seventh century, this mountain has been occupied by a Ukrainian Ironbelly Dragon that came from afar. Later, an unknown wizard tamed the Ukrainian Ironbelly Dragon. Disliking the disturbances of Muggle, he cast various Illusion Charm and also used rock spells to create many dangerous situations. The azure Tirion Ford in the mountain is actually the quenching fluid left behind by this wizard when he was forging huge Magical Item. And the only rock path was not built by Muggle. It was the trail left by the Ukrainian Ironbelly Dragon when it was transporting magical materials—stones—by its huge tail. Muggle are just foolishly trying to glorify themselves."

"The wizard lived in Helvellyn Mountain for nearly two centuries, after which the mountains were occupied for a time by two Welsh Green Dragon. In the eleventh century, it became a paradise for Troll. In the thirteenth century, the Troll were Banishing Charm by a group of Centaur. This situation persisted until the Ministry of Magic was officially established, and Centaur were regarded as Magical Creatures. Ministry of Magic officials attempted to designate Helvellyn Mountain as a Care of Magical Creatures area. The enraged Centaur attacked the officials who came and moved away from the area."

"Helvellyn Mountain has been rarely visited by wizards since then, but according to reliable sources, a group of Mountain Trolls still live in the caves inside the mountain. These are the cubs left behind when the Centaur Banishing Charm the Troll, and the Centaur culture does not harm foals. The Troll cubs gradually formed a small settlement, which has survived to this day."

The detailed explanation amazed Sean. Although Grindelwald had always despised the wizards' secret history, he also loved studying history and could find ways to obtain information that couldn't be found in the History of Magic.

However, that's not Sean's priority right now.

He wanted to see if there were any ruins of the Baron Skinner's Manor here.

The Returners sent someone to take Dumbledore to the Baron Skinner's Manor, and Sean had also learned about it from the Obscurus's memories. At the time, he didn't know what the long-abandoned castle was, but now it seems very likely that it was the ruins of Baron Skinner's manor.

Sean remembered that the Obscurus Monster's meager description said, "The white-bearded old man emerged from the pile of rocks. He became more terrifying than any other creature. I wanted to escape from that place, but I was bound, and I dared not even entertain the thought of eating him."

Dumbledore's emotions were also greatly affected... It seems that the place really is related to the Blood Pact.

The Obscurus's memories also illustrate one thing: Baron Skinner's Manor simply fell into disrepair over Years, and did not change into anything else.

This significantly narrowed down Sean's search scope.

"An abandoned castle..." Sean muttered to himself as he searched on the 3D map.

This magic is powerful, but it lacks a convenient search function...

After searching for a long time, just when Sean was about to give up and think that the place was not marked, he finally found a similar building.

On the easternmost side of this island nation's map, beneath a strait facing Belgium, lies a small plain, where a building, extremely inconspicuous on the map, is hidden.

Sean tapped it lightly with his wand.

The atlas began to shake violently for some reason, which made Sean even more certain that he might have found the right place.

Finally, the atlas stopped shaking, and only a thin stream of ink flew out, converging into a line of sentences.

"Baron Skinner's Manor, the Baron and his wife were actually witches... It is now abandoned and has no reference value."

Found it!

The atlas's eerie shaking seemed to indicate that its creator was not in a very stable mood at the time, which made Sean feel a little heavy-hearted.

But I still have to go...

Sean didn't hesitate at all. He wasn't going to ask Dumbledore for information, because Dumbledore would never tell him, and Grindelwald himself didn't know where he was.

Having memorized the location, Sean returned to Hogwarts without stopping via the Vanishing Cabinet.

Then, he opened the window and turned into black smoke, disappearing into the drizzling night rain.

Having flown out of Hogwarts ' territory, Sean into the clouds. The black smoke dissipated, and he transformed back into his original form, floating above the clouds.

"Phew, please, give me a good result..." Sean thought to himself.

His body was twisting and growing larger.

"Roar—" After a deep dragon roar, an Australian Opaleye Dragon appeared.

He flapped his wings forcefully and flew at high speed in the direction he remembered.

Above the clouds in the night sky, a monocular telescope protruded.

"There's magical concealment... but it's not very strong; it seems to be something left over from back then..." Sean muttered to himself.

"Meow—(Are you done yet? The wind is so strong—)" Pudding's voice came over.

The scene in the clouds was somewhat comical: a six-legged Wampus Cat stood on the head of an Australian Opaleye Dragon, its four legs gripping the scales to keep itself from falling, while its other two legs held up a monocular telescope close to the Fire Dragon's enormous pupil.

Just then, Dave had flown down early to investigate, sent a thought, "Everything is normal, no ambush, just a few animals—can I eat their brains?"

"I'll treat you to a good meal later. Just wait, I'm coming."

The Fire Dragon flapped its wings powerfully and plunged down from the clouds, ignoring the spell that obscured its vision.

As it soared through the air, the Fire Dragon's body shrank continuously until it finally transformed into a handsome young man.

"Phew, thankfully the place isn't far..." Sean moved his face, which was a bit stiff from the cold wind, and then looked at the building in front of him.

It looks like a very typical medieval castle, except that most of the buildings have collapsed, shrubs are growing, and various stones are piled up together.

Pudding leaped and disappeared into the jungle. This was its home turf, and no one could break through the guard of a Magical Creatures with a danger level of xxxxx.

Sean followed the thoughts Dave had sent him and walked inside.

He quickly found Dave, who was hanging upside down under a stone beam.

"I didn't sense any danger inside," Dave told Sean.

Behind the beam was a dark, rubble-filled opening.