Nott's Gift

Skylar left Ravenclaw's Chamber and returned to the Slytherin Common Room, which he hadn't visited in a long time.

My friends were all here, and we were discussing what had happened over the past two weeks.

"Hi everyone," Skylar greeted them, casually taking a seat between Daphne and Meredith. "Has anything happened lately?"

Draco chuckled, "What else could it be? Ever since Dingo's incident, the Gryffindor brats have all kept quiet, too scared to cause any trouble. I heard— Potter seems to have lost something incredible, which really upset him. I wonder if it was something left to him by his Muggle relative..."

Skylar knew exactly what he was referring to; the Invisibility Cloak was right there in his hands. He smiled without saying a word, then turned to Blaise, "Blaise, how's your mother? Are you still planning to relentlessly pursue Hagrid?"

Blaise frowned upon hearing this. "Mom said to just let it go... That's strange... It's not like Mom at all..."

Draco chimed in, "That's right! Now the students know that Lupin is actually a Werewolf! I think if we can use this opportunity to kick that old white-bearded man out of Hogwarts, that would be perfect!"

Skylar shook his head. "Brother, you're oversimplifying things. The Board of Governors is almost entirely Dumbledore's people, and Fudge still relies on Dumbledore for many things, so he won't agree, but—"

He sneered, "This is just the beginning. Because of Dumbledore's hiring of Werewolf, Fudge has been questioned and attacked by the public. His relationship with Dumbledore has already cracked. I dare say, give Fudge a few more years, and he'll dare to turn against Dumbledore."

"Where have you been lately? You seem to have changed a lot." Pansy didn't seem to care about these things and looked Skylar up and down.

"Huh? What's changed? I'm still the same as always, staying in my dorm reading." Skylar said with a nonchalant smile.

"No, no, that's definitely not the reason. You seem more confident and more handsome," Audrey Runcorn said, resting her chin on her hands and staring at Skylar.

Daphne and Meredith both snorted coldly and moved even closer to Skylar, as if they wanted to squeeze their delicate bodies into Skylar's body.

Skylar chuckled dryly, "You're overthinking it. I've only been staying home for two weeks, what could possibly change?"

Skylar suddenly realized that although his magical power level hadn't changed much on the surface after receiving Ravenclaw's legacy, his knowledge level had far surpassed that of most wizards in the wizarding world. He also possessed many unknown techniques, secrets, and Killer cards, which gave him confidence.

Even Voldemort and Dumbledore probably only had this much knowledge. Perhaps Skylar was slightly less knowledgeable due to his age, but he was no longer someone we could only look up to!

What changed along with it was his mindset. Yes, he no longer saw himself as an ordinary student, but took a solid step on the path to becoming a strong person. He had the awareness and confidence of a strong person!

This confidence was directly reflected in his temperament, like a sharp blade just beginning to show its edge!

At this moment, Nott, who had been silent all along, spoke up, "Skylar, my father said he wants to establish exchanges with you in alchemy, and even a business partnership. What do you think?"

The Nott Family and Burke Family are considered the two great alchemical families of Britain, with a very deep foundation in alchemy. However, when Skylar was attacked by Gemma Farley, the Nott Family chose to side with the House of Lestrange, which made their relationship with the House of Malfoy somewhat awkward.

Theodore Nott was born into a single-parent family. His mother passed away when he was very young, leaving him and his elderly father to depend on each other. This shaped his quiet, low-key, and unsociable personality. His father Nott Sr.., was one of Voldemort's first followers, and he was more than ten years older than Lucius (Lucius was born in 1953, while Nott had already joined the Death Eaters in 1965).

(Note: Theodore Nott's family background is official and comes from Rowling's manuscript.)

(Note: Voldemort's first followers were Antonin Dolohov, Mulciber Sr., Rosier Sr., Nott Sr.; Nott Sr. and Antonin are the only two remaining.)

The Nott Family and the House of Malfoy have never had any enmity, and they even have a lot of business dealings. The reason why Nott sided with the House of Lestrange before was simply because Nott Sr. didn't want to see the House of Malfoy become too powerful.

He thought he had made a brilliant move, but less than a month later, news kept pouring in— Skylar became the youth representative of the Medieval European Wizards Association; the Order of Merlin announced the awarding of a third-class medal; rumors circulated that the Ministry of Magic was even trying to recruit him Wizengamot the Wizengamot; he gained the power to influence faculty hiring at Hogwarts; Lucius even returned to the Hogwarts power structure; he invented the now-famous Anti-Dizziness Bracelet; and his son said he had even learned the technology of the Vanishing Cabinet from Professor Burke ...

Nott Sr., who managed to escape unscathed after Voldemort's downfall, just like the House of Malfoy, House of Avery, and Carrow Family, was clearly no fool. Yes, he intended to change sides and switch allegiances.

Lestrange was past its prime, and while the House of Selwyn and House of Rowle were not weak, they clearly couldn't match the Malfoy' current dominance! There was no need for hesitation in choosing a course of action. To his relief, his son seemed to be getting along well with the Malfoy twins at school, which gave him a breakthrough.

Skylar was not surprised by Nott Sr.'s attitude; in fact, Skylar was fully aware of Nott Sr.'s intentions.

Skylar said calmly, "Theo (Theodore's nickname), for the sake of our friendship, there's no problem with communication and cooperation, but shouldn't we show some sincerity?" Skylar didn't mind accepting the Nott Family as an ally, after all, the Nott Family's foundation was undeniable, and their family's secret alchemy might be useful to Skylar.

But if you think you can wipe the slate clean with just a few words, of course, it's not that easy.

(Note: Friends usually like to call each other by nicknames. For example, in the Weasley family, Ronald is called Ron, Guinevere is called Ginny, Charles is called Charlie, and William is called Bill. If William is referred to as "Bill" in fan fiction, the author is definitely not familiar with Britain culture.)

Nott was prepared; he took out from his pocket a simple-looking black chisel and a White Jade Gourd with the color of fine jade.

"This is what my father asked me to give you. He said it will surely satisfy you. This chisel is made of Black Dragon crystal. It was made by pouring the blood of the Hebridean Black Dragon onto it over many years using special methods. It took a full 30 years to complete and it embodies a lot of my family's hard work. It is said that carving the Ancient Runic Magic Symbols can be twice as effective with half the effort. It will definitely Tiger Takes Wing to your alchemy."

"This White Jade Gourd was acquired by my grandfather from traveling merchants in the Far East. It's actually a sealing device, capable of sealing a Fantastic Beasts inside. This is no simple spatial magic—"

"The White Jade Gourd is also engraved with magic conversion magic. The person who possesses the White Jade Gourd can use it to unleash the abilities of Fantastic Beasts. For example, if you seal a Fire Dragon inside, you can breathe dragon breath from the gourd's mouth at any time; if you seal Demiguise, you can become invisible... It should be noted that once Fantastic Beasts is sealed, it cannot be released. To replace the Fantastic Beasts inside, you must first kill the original sealed beast with a spell before you can capture a new Fantastic Beasts."

Wow! These do sound like really good stuff. Skylar was very satisfied and naturally couldn't refuse. So, under the envious gazes of everyone, Skylar accepted the two gifts.

[Black Dragon Chisel obtained! White Jade Gourd obtained!]

[The Nott Family, our "ally," has been acquired!]

Daphne, Meredith, and Pansy were alright; the three girls were already close to the Malfoy twins. The remaining Little Snakes, such as Millicent Bulstrode, Tracey Davis, Audrey Runcorn, couldn't help but show a thoughtful expression at Nott's behavior.

Millicent comes from the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but his family's power ranks at the bottom among them. In addition, Millicent's appearance and physique—well, how should I put it?—are only suitable for professional tank drivers. Therefore, he has had very little contact with Skylar, who is obsessed with appearances, over the past three semesters.

Tracey, on the other hand, comes from Half-blood family and has always been Pansy's sidekick in Slytherin, with a consistently low profile. She is fairly good-looking, but for the past three semesters, no matter how hard she tries, she has been unable to break through the tight defenses that Daphne and Meredith have placed around Skylar.

Audrey's Runcorn Family, is no small family. Although its historical background is not enough to be listed among the Sacred Twenty-Eight, the current head of the family, Audrey's father, Albert Runcorn, is a very influential figure in the Ministry of Magic.

In the original book, after the Ministry of Magic came under Voldemort's control, he was one of the fastest to rise to power. When Harry used Polyjuice Potion to impersonate him, all his colleagues in the Ministry of Magic were terrified of him. Even Death Eaters Corban Yaxley and Minister Pius Thicknesse, the puppet minister, maintained a respectful tone in their words, which was rare among non- Death Eaters, demonstrating the extent of his power.

Of course, Skylar didn't know what they were thinking, nor did he care at all; all he wanted to do now was go back to his dorm and get some sleep.

Back in his dorm room, Skylar had a good night's sleep; he hadn't slept for two weeks...

The next day, there were only two days left until summer vacation.

Skylar began packing his luggage. He would definitely take the Ravenclaw library with him, and planned to finish the remaining unread books during the summer vacation. In addition, he also wanted to organize and take away all the Dark Arts books he had acquired from the House of Black's Chamber of Secrets.

While browsing through these books on Dark Arts, Skylar made a huge surprise: he actually found "The Secrets of the Darkest Art" by the Egbert the Egregious the Egregious!

(Note: The author is not officially listed for <Secrets of the Darkest Art>; this is a fictional creation by the author.)

This book can be considered the starting point for Voldemort's creation of Horcrux. It is said that there are only three copies of this book in the world, and they are all bound by a restriction that prevents them from being copied or reproduced. One of them was originally kept in the Restricted Section the Hogwarts Library, but it was later hidden in the Headmaster's Office by Dumbledore because of Voldemort's incident. Unexpectedly, the House of Black also has a copy.

Skylar couldn't help but think that perhaps Sirius Black's brother Regulus Black, had deduced Voldemort's greatest secret based on this book.

[Obtain <Secrets of the Darkest Art>!]

The book "Secrets of the Darkest Art" records many extremely evil and forbidden Dark Arts spells. Horcrux are just one of them, and may not even be the most evil.

The first type of Dark Arts introduced is Horcrux. At the top of the page is a portrait of a figure with a grotesque and distorted expression, his soul being separated from him. He seems to be enduring immense pain, yet a cruel smile plays on his lips. The book explains the origins, principles, and manufacturing methods of Horcrux, along with numerous experimental records and important notes for each step.

The first step in creating Horcrux is to split the soul, which is done through killing. Then, through a series of very complex steps, the split soul is separated from the main soul.

According to the annotations at the bottom of the book, Skylar learned that although killing was the simplest way to split the soul, it did not mean that each murder would split the soul. The power required to split the soul was extremely strong, and this power came from evil and cruel acts. The key was not the killing itself, but whether it was evil enough.

This is why Voldemort could create so many Horcrux, but Snape did not split Dumbledore's soul when he killed him. Dumbledore's lifespan was already very short at the time, so Snape's act of killing Dumbledore could not be considered murder at all; it was more like helping the latter to find peace.

The nicknames currently used by the author (limited to dialogue between close friends and family):

Meredith May

Astoria Tori

Theodore Theo

Amelia Leah

Connelly - Connex

Cedric Ced

Ernest Ernie (translated by People's Daily)

Zacharias Smith Zach

Anthony Tony

Narcissa Cissy (translated by People's Daily)

Bellatrix - Bellatrix (Translated by People's Daily)

Penelope Petunia (Translated by People's Daily)

Nymphadora (translated by People's Daily)

Ludovic - Ludo (translated by People's Daily)