Merit That Overshadows the Ruler (Bonus Chapter)
Draco was genuinely shocked. In his mind, his younger brother Skylar was simply too outstanding. No matter how hard he tried, he could only watch his brother's back from afar. Especially last semester, when Skylar single-handedly summoned an unprecedented giant Fire Dragon Patronus and fought against hundreds of Dementor, he realized just how vast the gap between the two brothers was.
To say that he wasn't jealous of Skylar would be a lie, but Draco still cherished the brotherly bond the two brothers had shared since childhood. If Skylar could succeed and bring glory to the family, he would be genuinely happy for Skylar.
In his mind, Lucius would definitely pass the Patriarchal position to Skylar, after all, Skylar was hundreds of times more capable than himself, a fact that no one could deny.
His feelings were quite complicated at that moment, but he also felt a secret sense of joy. This meant that his father still thought highly of him, didn't he?
"Father," Draco said, his heart pounding, his voice trembling, "You... you want me to pass the Patriarchal position to my brother?"
Lucius shook his head. "Draco, you've misunderstood. Dad wouldn't do that to you."
His gaze then swept over each portrait. "Ancestors, you must all have your own intelligence sources in the Ministry of Magic, St. Mungo's's, Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, right? I believe you are familiar with the various deeds of my second son, Skylar, over the past few years, aren't you?"
The portraits exchanged glances before Nicholas finally spoke, "Yes, he was a good boy, bringing much glory to the family. Lucius II, I think I understand what you mean. Now, although the two heirs are brothers, their ideologies differ. To put it nicely, they're hedging their bets; to put it bluntly, they've parted ways, each going their own way. Only by seeing the final result will we know whose path is correct..."
"If the final outcome is Draco, that's fine... But if it turns out that Skylar's path is the right one for the family, it will seriously threaten Draco's prestige as the head of the family. In ancient times, that would be called a situation where Merit that overshadows the ruler..." He sneered, "Sibling rivalry and family division are both possible..."
"No!" Draco shouted. "I'm sorry, ancestors, Father, I must say, I believe in Skylar. He's my only brother. We may have arguments and disagreements, but—I absolutely do not believe that we will drift apart!"
Lucius looked at Draco with a complicated expression. In his heart, they were both his own sons, and he certainly wished for the two brothers to love each other and support one another.
However, Skylar's abilities were too great, in some ways even surpassing his own as a father. Not to mention, he had already sensed the ambition buried deep in Skylar's heart, as well as his reserved and stoic nature, which made him feel a chill in his heart, reminding him of the fear he felt when facing Voldemort.
It wasn't that he was wary of Skylar because of this, but deep down he still hoped that Draco could smoothly succeed to the Patriarchal position and continue to uphold the glory of the Pure-blood. Although Skylar's words were not without reason, they went against the pride of the Pure-blood that he had upheld for most of his life. He never believed that Muggle-born were qualified to stand on equal footing with Pure-blood families.
"No need to say more, Draco, you will be the next head of the family, that's an unchangeable fact," Lucius said firmly. "As for Skylar, I certainly believe in him too. However, if you still want to prove to him that the Pure-blood ideology is correct, if you still want to stick to your beliefs, then you must admit—your strength is far from sufficient!"
"From now on, you will come here every day to learn magic from each of your ancestors. They are all Dark Arts Master, each with their own area of expertise in Dark Arts. I believe that under their guidance, your strength will improve by leaps and bounds, and only then will you be qualified to become the rightful next head of the family!"
The portraits whispered amongst themselves again, until finally Abraxas spoke, "Lucius, my son, you mean... you don't mean Draco should inherit that, do you? I think... you'd better reconsider."
"No need!" Lucius's eyes shone with determination. "That... is Draco's only chance... You haven't seen Skylar, you don't know how powerful that kid really is... To be honest, his strength may have already surpassed mine... At least when I faced him, I couldn't see through the depths of his strength at all..."
Lucius turned to Draco, "Draco, don't let your mother know about this. I don't want her to worry..."
"I understand, but my brother..." Draco hesitated, then stopped himself.
"Don't worry! Skylar is also my son. I know his character. As long as you prove your strength and that your path is in the best interest of the family, he will assess the situation and won't become our enemy if things don't go his way." Lucius said this, but he wasn't entirely confident. Did he really understand Skylar?
This conversation has now ended.
From then on, Draco turned down all other activities and stayed in the main Chamber of Secrets of his home, receiving guidance from his ancestors and learning various powerful spells, even Dark Arts. His strength improved significantly as a result.
The scene then shifts to other parts of Great Britain.
On August 16th, a mysterious murder occurred at Riddle House in Little Hangleton. The old gardener of Riddle House was killed by a Killing Curse. The entire process was witnessed by Skylar through Scrying Mirror. Unlike in the original story, Frank Bryce's body was not eaten by Nagini, but was disposed of by Voldemort using Vanishing Spell.
This indicates that Voldemort did not tame a new pet to replace Nagini, and also signifies that his sixth Horcrux has officially become an unknown.
On the same day, Harry received a letter from Ron explaining that Mr. Weasley had obtained tickets to the Quidditch World Cup Final and inviting Harry to spend the rest of the summer at the Burrow. The Weasley would pick him up via the Floo Network at 5 p. m. the following day.
That same afternoon, Hermione arrived at the Burrow, accompanied by her parents.
Hermione had shaken off her sullen and melancholic demeanor from the end of last term and regained her usual slightly arrogant yet adorable charm. Seeing Hermione's change, the Granger parents were pleased with their decision to let Hermione stay with a strange boy; they had probably misunderstood their daughter's relationship with Ron.
To be honest, they weren't very satisfied with Ron (by their standards for a son-in-law). He had an ordinary appearance, a face full of freckles, and the furnishings in his house looked old. Their daughter had told them a few times that Ron wasn't very good at school, had nothing outstanding about him, and was also jealous and stingy. They really didn't know what their daughter saw in him.
However, their daughter had just gone through a period of emotional distress during the first half of the summer vacation, and the Granger parents didn't want to create any more unhappiness for her. As parents, they were quite open-minded; as long as their daughter was happy, that was all that mattered.
The following evening at five o'clock, Arthur, the twins, Ron traveled from the Floo Network to Harry's house. To their surprise, most modern Muggle homes had already sealed off their traditional fireplaces and replaced them with electric heaters. As a result, the four of them were trapped behind the wall. In the end, it took Arthur quite a bit of effort to blow the wall open, making a memorable entrance.
Harry arrived at the Burrow and officially met Ron's older Bill and his second brother Charlie. At the same time, he also learned that Percy had successfully entered the Ministry of Magic for an internship and was working at the International Trade Standards Association.
The next morning, Arthur, along with the twins, Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, used the Portkey to arrive at the Quidditch World Cup venue— Dartmoor in Devon.