A Busy Summer Holiday

After capturing Nagini, Skylar became even busier.

He temporarily set aside his research and study of Dark Arts books, alchemy books, and wizarding laws, and instead devoted himself entirely to his research on Nagini.

The entire research was conducted in the laboratory within the Suitcase Space. Nagini was placed under an inescapable restriction, left helplessly lying on the experimental table, allowing Skylar to employ various methods of research.

The research process was fraught with dark and cruel steps, which will not be described in detail for the sake of the reader's mental health. Nagini suffered considerable harm during the research; the hissing and screaming of snakes could often be heard in the laboratory, though no one else besides Skylar could hear it. Aquila was an excellent research assistant who helped a great deal throughout the research, but it was not human.

Neither Skylar nor Aquila felt the slightest pity for Nagini's tragic state. After all, once Nagini had completely transformed into a serpent, she had long lost her memories and emotions as a human being and could no longer be considered a human being. In the original story, she was also a major villain who killed many innocent people, such as the famous historian Bathilda Bagshot.

Just as Nagini was being tortured to the point of near death by Skylar's research on the Blood Curse was finally completed. A piece of flesh taken from Nagini was successfully sealed by a sealing technique to suppress the curse power and was transformed back into human flesh.

During his long research process, Skylar also made some unexpected surprises.

In his second year, he entered the Restricted Section Hogwarts and consulted Merlin's research notes on increasing magic power by implanting the blood of magical creatures. He discovered that Nagini's blood seemed to have the same function described in the notes, but because he had taken Magic-Boosting Potion containing Basilisk Venom, he was afraid that Merlin's method of increasing magic power would not work on him. He planned to study it thoroughly before using it on his followers.

August arrived quickly.

Dumbledore busy.

This summer, the International Confederation of Wizards held its general conference. As its president, he bears the heavy responsibility of mediating issues within the wizarding communities of various countries.

Following a series of events last year, Dumbledore's prestige has declined somewhat, but this still cannot shake the fact that he is the greatest wizard of the 21st century. Of course, not everyone agrees with this view, such as Rita Skeeter, a special correspondent for the Daily Prophet. She mercilessly mocked Dumbledore as an "obsolete dingbat" in her article.

In addition to his duties as Headmaster of Hogwarts, he also had to work with the Department of International Magical Cooperation, the Department of Magical Games and Sports, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang to prepare for the new Triwizard Tournament. This was the first successful restart of the tournament since it was suspended in 1792, highlighting its immense importance and the fact that it could not afford to fail. As the organizer, Hogwarts bore an even heavier responsibility.

The 1792 tournament was also held at Hogwarts. Although he wasn't born then, he knew all too well the disaster that tournament would ultimately bring—a Cockatrice went berserk and injured three headmasters and three visiting referees. The headmaster at the time was Dexter Fortescue, and it was for this that he was expelled from the Board of Governors, tarnishing his own reputation and that of Hogwarts.

(Note: The Cockatrice is a monster with the head of a chicken and the body of a dragon, possessing two dragon claws and a pair of Dragon Wing. It is a close relative of the Basilisk. Its gaze can be fatal or petrifying, and its breath contains a deadly poison. In early Europe folklore, it was very different from the Basilisk, but in many video game settings, especially Dungeons & Dragons, it was designed as a combination of chicken and snake. Therefore, the People's Publishing House mistakenly translated it as a chicken-bodied, snake-tailed monster. In fact, it has no snake-like characteristics at all.)

(Note: Between the tenures of Headmasters Derwent and Mole, there were Headmasters Everard and Fortescue. Given that Everard is one of the two most popular Headmasters in Hogwarts history, the author made Fortescue the scapegoat.)

At the same time, he also had to persuade his old friend Alastor Moody to come and teach at Hogwarts. And that wasn't all; Hogwarts' faculty hiring was no longer his sole decision; he needed the approval of the Faculty Hiring Committee. There were no problems with the two Headmasters, nor with Ron Weasley, and there were only three seats in total, not a majority.

Since the last semester, the relationship between Amelia of the Bones family and him had inexplicably become distant. Dumbledore was turned away by her several times and finally had no choice but to turn to Gareth Greengrass.

Compared to the Malfoy and House of Selwyn, Greengrass, while also believing in Pure-blood Supremacy, was far less extreme than the former two. After paying some price, Dumbledore finally got Moody's approval.

The root of all this trouble lies in the case of Hagrid and Madam Zabini.

Dumbledore sensed a conspiracy.

At first, he thought Lucius was behind it all, ostensibly targeting Hagrid but actually aimed at him. After all, the House of Malfoy were the villains, and they hated him, so he was always the first to take the blame.

However, after launching an investigation with his intelligence network, he discovered that the entire affair had absolutely nothing to do with the House of Malfoy. Madam Zabini had no grudge against him, and there was no profit motive behind her actions. It's well known that manipulating public opinion is no easy task; the Daily Prophet and many other Britain media outlets have powerful backers. Dumbledore couldn't help but take this matter seriously; it was definitely not as simple as it seemed...

(Author: Dumbledore's intelligence network is incredibly powerful. Various portraits, the Hog's Head Inn, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, and so on are all sources of information for him. In the second book, his intelligence network told him that Voldemort in Albania. In the sixth book, it was even more impressive. He unearthed Little Tom's entire history at once, even finding a remote cave by the sea. Investigating Madam Zabini was a piece of cake for him.)

Voldemort was also very busy.

Having lost Nagini, he must force Peter Pettigrew to hunt more snakes to refine venom of equal potency. Meanwhile, while Peter Pettigrew is out gathering intelligence, he happens to meet Bertha Jorkins, who is visiting her family, at the inn.

Bertha Jorkins was an employee of the Department of Magical Games and Sports at the Ministry of Magic, working under Ludovic Bagman. However, one day when she went to the Crouch Manor to have Barty Crouch Barty Crouch Sr.. sign some documents for her, she discovered his secret and was cast a powerful Memory Charm, leaving her confused and forgetful. Peter Pettigrew easily tricked her into the forest and brought her before Voldemort.

Knowing she had been tricked, Bertha Jorkins struggled in vain and was easily captured. When Voldemort used Legilimency on her, he keenly sensed the traces of the Memory Charm. He had a premonition that the memories erased by the Memory Charm would be of great use to him.

So he showed Peter Pettigrew another little-known use of the Cruciatus Curse —to unearth memories hidden in the soul by creating pain. Human memories are generally stored in the brain, but deeper memories are actually hidden in the soul, Fidelius Charm uses this principle to keep them secret.

Voldemort tormented Bertha Jorkins relentlessly for a full day and night before successfully breaking the Bertha Jorkins Memory Charm, allowing her to regain all her lost memories. In this respect, it must be said that Voldemort's Cruciatus Curse was truly masterful; he controlled the degree of torment perfectly, breaking the Memory Charm without driving her mad.

Under Voldemort's interrogation, he successfully extracted the secret that Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch. was still alive, Dumbledore's plan to hire Moody, and the Triwizard Tournament. A new conspiracy gradually formed in Voldemort's mind.

After that, having no further use, Bertha Jorkins was drained of her last bit of value by Voldemort —she was killed by a Killing Curse.

Then, Voldemort chanted an ancient and mysterious incantation in a low voice, and then he suddenly let out a long, piercing scream, as if his soul had been torn apart, which terrified Peter Pettigrew, who was hiding nearby, so much that his face turned pale and his whole body trembled.

Compared to everyone else's busy schedule, Harry was the most relaxed.

Since the Dursley learned that he had a murderous godfather, Harry's quality of life improved significantly. He spent the entire summer at home leisurely, during which he exchanged letters with Sirius Black twice. The letters were delivered by colorful tropical birds, indicating that Sirius Black had left Great Britain and gone to hide on a tropical island in southern Europe.

Hermione became much quieter during the summer vacation, spending almost all her time reading in her room except for mealtimes. Interestingly, when Mrs. Granger knocked on the door to check on her daughter a few times, she found that the book on her daughter's desk was always open to the same page.

Mr. Granger told several jokes at the dinner table, but none of them could make his daughter smile. Of course, one couldn't expect Mr. Granger, a dentist, to have much of a sense of humor.

The person who understands a daughter best in this world is usually her mother. The observant Mrs. Granger keenly sensed that her daughter was troubled and stopped her husband's childish joke with a look.

After dinner, the mother and daughter chatted alone in Hermione's bedroom.

"Honey, is something bothering you?" Mrs. Granger's voice was gentle.

Hermione opened her mouth, instinctively wanting to say "I'm fine," but suddenly realized that she couldn't possibly hide it from her mother.

"Mom, I..." Hermione was overwhelmed with thoughts and didn't know where to begin, but her voice broke into uncontrollable sobs.

Mrs. Granger hugged her daughter. "It's alright, we'll talk about it when you're ready! Mom just wants you to know that Mom loves you, and Mom will always support you."

Hermione wiped away her tears. "Mom, I want to ask you, have you and Dad ever argued?"

"Silly boy, of course there is, but—" Mrs. Granger gave a mischievous smile, "I know where the line is, and I know how to win your father back."

"Listen, darling, it's inevitable that people will have differences in thought and belief because of their different backgrounds and experiences. Even the closest two people can't avoid arguments and fights. All you can do is accept it."

"Accept it willingly?" Hermione blinked, asking somewhat reluctantly.

"Of course, if this person is important to you, you can take the initiative to save the relationship. This may require you to make some changes and compromises. As for whether it's worth it, that depends on how you weigh it. Our Hermione is so smart, she definitely knows what to do, right?" Mrs. Granger said with a smile.

Hermione drifted into a daze, memories replaying in her mind...

The boy stood in front of her and defeated the Troll... The boy told her about Nicolas Flamel's identity... The boy persuaded her on the train to write a letter to Dumbledore for the immature Ron... The boy grabbed her hand in front of everyone on the platform; that was the first time she successfully released her Patronus... The night she cried, the boy comforted her in the bathroom... On the day Buckbeak was sentenced to death, the boy readily agreed to help...

Finally, the image in her mind froze on herself, Harry, Ron being surrounded by more than a dozen Slytherin students, the boy coldly uttering words of severing ties... Hermione bit her lower lip, as if she had made a decision in her heart.

At the start of summer vacation, Meredith moved to the Greengrass Manor. After three semesters, Meredith had shed her past shackles and let go of her meaningless pride. Her decision to have her family affiliated with Greengrass was the best one for both the family and herself.

Mr. Greengrass treated her exceptionally well, partly due to Daphne's influence, but also because he had a close relationship with the late Mr. Shafiq, and Meredith was the orphan of his old friend. In the end, he decided to adopt Meredith as his goddaughter, to address her as his daughter and his two daughters as sisters, and to have her and her House Elf Dino move to the manor to live with them, so they could become a true family.

Meredith, Daphne, and Astoria have a very important task this summer—to learn Occlumency.

As his future right-hand men, Skylar had already sternly instructed them that Occlumency was an essential skill. Otherwise, they might become Skylar's weakness, revealing Skylar secrets. Moreover, Occlumency wasn't just for resisting Legilimency; it could also help wizards resist the control of the Imperius Curse.

After Voldemort's return, the situation in Britain descended into chaos, and the Imperius Curse was the biggest culprit. Whether it was Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade Village, the Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts, or even the major wizarding families, there was a possibility of people being controlled by the Imperius Curse. Learning Occlumency can effectively prevent oneself from being controlled.

Skylar had already explained the principles and insights of Occlumency to them, and even specially obtained Boggart from the black market for them to practice with.

The three sensible girls knew the seriousness of the matter and dared not slack off. Since the beginning of summer vacation, they had been practicing diligently every day and finally achieved a minor level of proficiency before the end of July. Perhaps it was not enough to deal with master-level Legilimency or Imperius Curse, but it was no longer at a level that a Boggart could do anything about.