First Meeting with the Dark Lord

Dumbledore knew Skylar's character very well; he would never submit to anyone and become Voldemort's lackey.

Thinking of this, he glanced in Skylar's direction again. Skylar, who was chatting with Potions Master Horace Slughorn, seemed to sense his gaze and looked over slightly. Dumbledore winked at Skylar and gave him a smile that only he could understand.

Although Slughorn is a member of Wizengamot, his love of pleasure has kept him from attending any Wizengamot events for a long time. His appearance this time is solely to meet Skylar and add another item to his collection of the Slug Club.

He had waited patiently for this moment for a long time, because he wasn't the only one with the same idea. First, he saw Skylar and Amelia's group chatting, then Barty Crouch Sr. Crouch, then Fudge, then Gershard Marchbanks...

He finally seized the opportunity and, before anyone else, went forward to make the acquaintance with Skylar.

Horace Slughorn, a renowned Potions Master, was a wizard of the same era as Dumbledore. He was born into one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but he was not a core member of the family.

Back then, in his youthful naiveté, he suffered because of his lack of connections—his cousin, who had little magical talent, succeeded in becoming the Patriarchal position by planting spies among the family elders early on and gaining the support of several high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Magic.

It's important to understand that at the time, he was a dazzling figure hailed as Potions genius, and losing his Patriarchal position was a significant blow to him. This instilled in him a deep-seated obsession with connections, which was also the main reason he founded the Slug Club.

(Note: Pottermore says he has no siblings, never married, and has no children, but the Slughorn Family has another branch that continues the lineage, which is consistent with the setting of this article.)

The Slughorn Family also had a star on Skylar's list, so they naturally welcomed Horace's offer to befriend them.

The two first chatted about campus life, and then exchanged some insights on Potions. Horace, as expected of Potions Master, shared many insights that would be very helpful even for someone of Skylar's level. Before parting, the two seemed to have hit it off immediately, and exchanged contact information, promising to keep in touch.

The medal-awarding ceremony has begun.

On the high platform, after Minister for Magic Fudge delivered a long and rambling speech with little substance, it Dumbledore, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, who took the stage.

Amidst the flashing lights of numerous reporters, Skylar walked to the platform, received the Order of Merlin from Dumbledore, and pinned it to his chest. It was a gold medal with a white ribbon.

All of the Order of Merlin's medals are gold, with the distinction in rank reflected in the color of the ribbon. The ribbon for a First Class medal is green, Dumbledore possessed one, supposedly to commemorate Merlin Slytherin House, Slytherin's home house, whose representative color is green.

The ribbon for the second-class medal is purple, while the Skylar received had a white ribbon and was a third-class medal.

The awarding ceremony concluded perfectly amidst applause.

Before the awarding ceremony, Skylar's tireless efforts, he had already finished reading the remaining books in Ravenclaw's collection.

In the week following the awarding ceremony, Skylar began his summer vacation plans.

The first and foremost task was to study the Cloak of Invisibility. Skylar had already deciphered most of the Cloak of Invisibility; all that remained was finding the correct type of chisel. Using the Black Dragon Chisel he had obtained from Nott, he finally succeeded after dozens of attempts!

He copied the invisibility effect of the Cloak of Invisibility onto the Supreme Robe, adding invisibility and concealment functions to it. When used in conjunction with the Invisible Phantom Charm, the double invisibility effect makes it impossible for even Mad-Eye Moody or Dumbledore to see through it.

(Note: Dumbledore could not see through the Cloak of Invisibility. He saw through Harry's invisibility because he discovered a clue left by the careless Harry, and then silently and without a wand cast the Human-presence-revealing Spell -- from Bloomsbury online chat)

[The final form of the Supreme Robe (ten functions) is complete!]

The second thing he did was make a trip to Knockturn Alley and buy the Vanishing Cabinet from Borgin and Burkes for 100 Galleon. After leaving Knockturn Alley, he didn't go straight home, but instead visited Bones Manor through the Floo Network.

[Vanishing Cabinet Acquired! 2x Vanishing Cabinet Linked!]

Amelia and Susan welcomed him warmly. Susan, who had not yet mastered the complete Patronus Charm, kept pestering Skylar with questions about his experiences.

Amelia was stunned when she learned that Skylar was able to unleash a fully formed Corporeal Patronus.

It's important to know that in the Ministry of Magic, more than half of the wizards are completely unfamiliar with this obscure and rare spell. Of the remaining wizards, more than half can only cast an incomplete Patronus Charm, which releases a silvery-white mist. This silvery-white mist is not effective in resisting Dementor and Lethifold; at best, it can only provide some slight obstruction, giving the wizards precious time to escape.

Skylar humbly sought Amelia's advice on various aspects of wizarding law. Amelia, in turn, shared her Skylar and answers to his questions with all her might, which helped Skylar rapidly improve his understanding in this area.

The fourth thing was to study the House of Black's Dark Arts books. However, Dark Arts books are generally very profound and difficult to understand, and many traps are hidden between the lines, which can tempt the reader's soul to fall. Even with Skylar's talent, his reading speed was not very fast.

In his spare time, Skylar also tinkered with the alchemy book left to him by Nicolas Flamel. This book was locked by extremely special and rare alchemical techniques, which even Skylar's alchemical skills could not decipher; he could only study it slowly over time.

Time quickly passed to a day in mid-July.

Skylar sensed the unusual magical fluctuations around Peter Pettigrew, which he had cast on Peter Pettigrew. He was almost certain that Peter had found his former master, Voldemort, as expected.

All the arrangements Skylar had made with Peter were for the purpose of capturing Voldemort's pet snake, Nagini.

Nagini is a twelve-foot-long female giant snake with highly venomous fangs. In the Fantastic Beasts movies, Nagini was originally an Asia witch who was Blood Curse, eventually turning into a snake. She was tamed by Voldemort when she wandered into the Albania jungle.

In the original books, not long after Voldemort was found by Peter Pettigrew, the latter tricked Bertha Jorkins, who was on vacation in Albania, into coming to Voldemort's presence and killed her. From then on, Nagini became Voldemort's last Horcrux.

(Note: The victim of the last Horcrux is disputed; Rowling says it was Bertha Jorkins, Dumbledore says it was Frank Bryce; considering that Dumbledore may not have known about Bertha, the author believes Rowling's version is more reasonable.)

Capturing the giant snake Nagini has two advantages:

First, before his resurrection, Voldemort lived in the form of a remnant soul, which made him very weak. After being found by Peter Pettigrew, Voldemort used the Rudimentary Body Potion to create a crude body vessel for his remnant soul to reside in.

Although it's called a "vulnerable body," it's actually enough for him to cast spells and kill, greatly increasing his danger. The main ingredients of the Rudimentary Body Potion are Unicorn Blood and Nagini's venom, so kidnapping Nagini could cause trouble for Voldemort and delay his return.

Secondly, Nagini, as a known Maledictus, is a sample with extremely high research value. Skylar's understanding of Blood Curse is unparalleled in his time, but he still lacks a sample for experiments to verify various theoretical assumptions.

Timing is crucial for accomplishing this, because Nagini will soon become Voldemort's Horcrux. Once Nagini is made into Horcrux, Skylar's research will become more complicated due to this added Horcrux. To avoid any unforeseen complications, Skylar set off immediately after sensing the tracking feedback from Peter Pettigrew.

As for the downsides? There are some. After Skylar kidnapped Nagini, Voldemort lost the vessel he originally intended to use to create the sixth Horcrux. If he insisted on creating another Horcrux, then the last Horcrux would become unknown, depriving Skylar of the Fawley of knowing the plot.

However, compared to the benefits he would gain, Skylar didn't care too much about it, since the Savior and Dumbledore would be there to take the hits in destroying the Horcrux anyway.

Skylar changed into the Supreme Robe, which transformed into a mysterious, jet-black cloak at Skylar will. Then she took out the "Nameless Mask" that she had finished researching. She put the mask on her face, and instantly her whole being exuded a cold and sharp aura. Her own magic seemed to be coated with a protective layer, becoming obscure and eerie.

Even if Skylar's closest relatives were standing right in front of him, they wouldn't recognize him; they would only think that he was a powerful and extremely dangerous dark wizard.

Skylar snapped his fingers, Dobby appeared beside him. Overwhelmed by his current attire and imposing presence, Dobby collapsed to the ground, stammering, "Who... who are you? Where... where is my master?"

Skylar's voice was ethereal and hollow, "Dobby... it's me, I'm Skylar."

"You... you are the master?" Dobby asked, half in disbelief. It was hard for it to accept that its little master, whom it had watched grow up, had suddenly turned into such a terrifying creature.

Skylar's voice seemed to possess an invisible penetrating power. Dobby felt that every word spoken by the person who claimed to be its young master did not seem to come from its ears, but rather abruptly resounded directly from its heart.

"This is my secret disguise, don't tell anyone... Now take me to Pettigrew." Dobby's intuition was right; Skylar had used soul magic in his voice, his words reaching directly into Dobby's mind, leaving Dobby with no room for resistance.

At this moment, Dobby's mind was completely captivated by Skylar, and his entire spirit and body had submitted to Skylar, becoming his most loyal servant. This was one of the gains Skylar from studying the Black family's soul magic and the Abatair Volume Three.

To prevent Dobby from being recognized, Skylar cast a Transfiguration on Dobby, turning him into a Sprite with a boar-like head. Then, Dobby Apparition him all the way into the Albania jungle, and their sudden appearance startled Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew.

Finally, I met the boss from the original work for the first time.

At this moment, Voldemort could barely be considered a humanoid creature. He was curled up in the blanket and at first glance, he might be mistaken for an infant, but there was no such ugly infant in the world. He had no hair, his body was covered with dark red scales, his spine protruded from his back, his fingers were thin and long, his nails were like black barbs, his limbs were thin and fragile, his face was flat, like a snake's head, and he had a pair of flickering red eyes.

This deformed humanoid creature is the body Voldemort reconstructed for himself using the Rudimentary Body Potion.

Voldemort was still far from his peak condition at this moment. Without saying a word, he cleverly cast Killing Curse on Skylar first.

But Skylar was more than 10 meters away, and with his skill, he easily dodged the sneak attack. Skylar infused his soul magic into his voice, mocking, "Hehehe, poor Dark Lord... as weak as an infant... only one follower left, and so weak..."

After Voldemort cast the Killing Curse, his magical power instantly dried up, and he no longer acted rashly. Knowing he was immortal, he didn't seem particularly afraid, but cautiously asked, "Who are you? What is your purpose here?"

Skylar's cold voice rang out, "Who I am is completely unimportant. I didn't come for you; I only want the snake beside you!"

"This snake is very important to me, what do you need it for?"

"That's none of your business. I'll just ask you one question: give it or not?" Skylar channeled more magic into the Nameless Mask, his aura becoming increasingly violent and terrifying.

Voldemort hesitated for a moment, but ultimately suppressed the urge to attack. Nagini's venom was important, but there were substitutes, though they would only waste more of his time.

He had been trapped in this weak form for far too long and didn't want to stay a moment longer. However, the Dark Arts aura emanating from the person before him was sinister and powerful. Even in his peak condition, he wasn't confident of victory, let alone in his current state. Moreover, the other party was clearly not a kind person, but a dark wizard who killed without blinking an eye, just like himself.

Little did people know that Skylar's magical abilities were still at the level of an upperclassman. The Nameless Mask only made him "appear" to have a powerful aura of Dark Arts. To put it bluntly, it was a disguise, but it fooled even the infamous Voldemort.

Voldemort nodded reluctantly, and Skylar didn't waste any more words. He used a swift Stunning Spell to knock Nagini unconscious, grabbed him, and Apparition Dobby.

[Sample] Nagini captured!