End of Summer Vacation

August 19th marked one day since the Quidditch World Cup.

Skylar put down the Daily Prophet.

The Daily Prophet's cover featured a horrifying black-and-white photograph of the Dark Mark suspended in the treetops, accompanied by the headline. "A Horrifying Scene at the Quidditch World Cup."

This article, written by Rita Skeeter, uses sensational language and adds unverified and alarming speculations in key places, such as "rumors say..." and "it is said..."

"The Dark Mark reappears... The Ministry of Magic is in a panic... The criminals remain at large... Law enforcement is lax... Dark wizards are at large... A disgrace to the nation... The wizards waiting outside the woods are panicked, hoping for reassurance from the Ministry of Magic. Unfortunately, they are greatly disappointed. Shortly after the Dark Mark appeared, a Ministry of Magic official appeared, claiming no one was harmed, but refused to reveal further details. Whether his words will quell the rumors that several corpses were carried out of the woods an hour later remains to be seen."

The second piece mentions rumors related to the Dark Mark and Crouch family Sprite. It must be said that Rita Skeeter is quite capable; only a few Ministry of Magic officials knew about the events in the forest, yet she managed to write about them based on mere speculation, and yet she wrote it down with almost no discrepancy from the truth.

"It is said that the Dark Mark was issued by a House Elf... There are no Sprite on the Ministry of Magic's Death Eaters list... Coincidentally, the Crouch Family's House Elf were given clothes and dismissed on the same day... It is well known that Barty Crouch Sr. Crouch Sr.'s son was Death Eaters who committed heinous crimes..."

The third article is a short piece that mentions the disappearance of Meredith Shafiq, the eldest daughter of the Shafiq Family. Although it doesn't mention the "Shadow of the Magic Dragon," it criticizes the incompetence of the Ministry of Magic, which led to the death of the last bloodline of an ancient family.

The fourth article is much more interesting. It mentions the presence of Werewolf at this Quidditch World Cup, and they are suspected of being related to the Death Eaters riot. As we all know, Werewolf were under the command of the Mysterious Man during the First Wizarding War. But strangely, this time the Werewolf attacked the House of Lestrange's camp, brutally killing more than a dozen family members who came to watch the Quidditch World Cup. The only survivor, Gallup Lestrange, who was still studying at Hogwarts, was bitten and turned into a Werewolf.

When Skylar read this, he sneered. Of course, this was Skylar's doing; he hadn't forgotten the attack by Gemma back then.

He strictly followed Lucius's orders and did not take action against those Pure-blood families. However, even if he could not take action himself, it did not mean that he could not do anything.

This attack was meticulously planned. First, Bathory and Annis personally took action, working together to capture some lone Werewolf in Knockturn Alley. As the Werewolf's mortal enemy, Bathory could easily distinguish Werewolf even when Werewolf were still in their human form.

Next, Annis used the Hag's unique Mind Control Magic to control this group of Werewolf to attack Lestrange's camp. Among the Werewolf in the night raid were many Vampire Royalty and Hag's elites. They all disguised themselves as Werewolf and deliberately left Werewolf- specific claw marks and traces at the scene—the purpose of which was to shift the blame onto the Werewolf.

The Werewolf clan has close ties with the Pure-blood families of House of Rowle, which is a perfect opportunity to sow discord between the House of Rowle and House of Lestrange.

The Werewolf clan's atrocities will be exposed in news reports, arousing public resentment and incidentally dampening the arrogance of the House of Rowle.

Including revenge, it can be said to kill three birds with one stone.

Skylar snapped his fingers, summoning Dobby. He knew Dobby and Winky knew each other, and he wanted Dobby to bring Winky to Dobby. Dobby had been working for Skylar for a long time and was becoming increasingly efficient. Within a few hours, he had brought Winky to him.

Because of her dismissal, Winky Shan had been drowning her sorrows in alcohol every day. At this moment, her eyes were still filled with drunkenness, and she was slumped on the ground, muttering to herself.

"Winky, look me in the eyes!" Skylar commanded sternly.

Half-drunk, Winky unconsciously met Skylar's gaze. Skylar's eyes were as deep as a bottomless black hole, Winky felt her entire being being uncontrollably sucked into that black hole.

"Winky, look into my eyes, and answer my questions honestly."

"Look into their eyes... answer the question..."

"You were originally House Elf of the Crouch Family?"

"Yes... I am Crouch Family Sprite, and I have served three generations of Crouch masters..."

"You have disobeyed Barty Crouch's will! You are a wicked Sprite who has betrayed his master!"

"No... I'm not... I'm not..." Winky's voice was choked with painful sobs, and her whole body began to tremble.

"Tell me—is Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch. still alive? Was he the one who released the Dark Mark that night?!"

"Ah--" Winky let out a heart-wrenching scream, clutching her neck and banging her head against the floor repeatedly. But the floor had already been softened by Softening Charm, and she was completely unharmed.

"You will not defy my will! You wicked Sprite! It was you—it was you who persuaded Barty Crouch Sr. to take his son to the Quidditch World Cup! It was you who failed to watch over Barty Crouch Jr. properly, letting him escape! It was you who carelessly picked up the wand! You have caused Crouch to be investigated by the Ministry of Magic! You have brought shame upon the Crouch Family!"

"Ah--I didn't--I didn't... I swear... I..."

"No resistance allowed! Think of Mrs. Crouch's dying face! Remember her expectations! Remember her expression!"

Winky's expression suddenly turned to fear and panic, and she trembled even more violently.

"If you feel fear and shame, you are a deeply sinful person, and no one will need such a wicked Sprite as you anymore... Only I can help you to be freed from this guilt, as long as you become my slave!"

"Yes... Winky is a sinner... Winky is a slave..."

"Remember your new master's name. I am Skylar Malfoy!"

Winky knelt down, crawling to Skylar's feet, her voice trembling as she said, "Skylar Malfoy... my master... please accept Winky... please accept your lowly servant... Winky is willing to follow you, willing to give her Reducto for you, willing to do anything for you!"

"Really?" Skylar's gaze suddenly sharpened. "Even if it means killing Crouch?"

Winky trembled even more violently, but she still answered, "Yes, my only master, even if it means killing Crouch..." After saying this, Winky's guilt and fear vanished, and her heart was suddenly filled with joy, as if she had been reborn. Her gaze towards Skylar became fervent, wishing she could immediately capture the Barty Crouch Sr. family and bring them to her master to kill, in order to prove her loyalty.

"Very good, from today onwards you will be my third servant!"

[The "Servant" Winky been acquired!]

Since Meredith's disappearance, Skylar has found his magical power has surged, and his mastery of soul magic has reached a new level overnight. This is evident from the fact that he could brainwash two House Elf into becoming his servants with minimal effort.

Skylar looked at his hands, where surging, churning magic was mixed with faint wisps of black energy.

Is this because my own evil thoughts are growing? Am I destined to walk down a dark path?

If it were the old Skylar, he would have preferred to treat the Sprite kindly to win their loyalty. Now, however, he has more faith in the power of magic, and in some ways, he has become more like Voldemort.

I just hope I never end up in that situation...

Skylar sighed, his mind flashing through the faces of Lucius, Narcissa, Draco, Daphne, Meredith, and Astoria. Finally, the image settled on the last page of * Abatair Volume Three: The Soul*, where distorted characters scrawled—

The fastest and most effective way to increase the power of your soul is to kill your beloved with your own hands...

So that's how it is. So this is the source of Dumbledore's power...

Skylar wrote a letter home, deciding to stay at the Greenery Manor for the rest of the summer vacation before the start of the new school term.

He had Dobby run errands to Diagon Alley to buy all the textbooks and Potions ingredients needed for the start of the school year, and also had a formal gown made for Skylar for the ball—yes, Skylar had decided to participate in the Triwizard Tournament. Using the Triwizard Tournament as a pretext, he could not only exempt Sherlin from his final exams, but also legitimately ask the professors for advice on advanced magic, allowing him to openly study high-level magic himself.

In the original story, Harry's mastery of various spells and combat skills improved dramatically after the Goblet of Goblet of Fire. Moreover, winning the Goblet of Fire would further enhance his reputation, making him famous internationally.

Skylar also made good use of the Galleon he won at the Quidditch World Cup.

Having lived in the Muggle world in his previous life Skylar was well aware of the hidden profits behind the beauty market, and he had long harbored the idea of getting involved in the field of Cosmetic Potion.

Currently, the Britain Cosmetic Potion market is monopolized by Madam Pripnall of Diagon Alley and the Wood family. The former is most famous for its wart removal medicine, while the latter is known for its Pimple Potion.

Zygmunt Bucky, author of The Book of Potions, also invented a Potions called "Beautification Potion." This Potions is not Cosmetic Potion in the strict sense; it cannot change one's appearance, but only makes the user more attractive. Moreover, the effect is temporary, and the user's true appearance will be revealed once they stop taking it.

The Cosmetic Potion possessed by the Tugwood Family were almost entirely passed down from Sacharissa Wood, the famous Chocolate Frog Card, more than thirty years ago. Her descendants clearly did not inherit her Potions talent, and have not made any improvements to the formula over the years, so the patent rights to the formula expired more than ten years ago.

Through Gareth's connections, Skylar got in touch with the Tugwood Family and bought all their research notes on Cosmetic Potion for 2,000 Galleon. The Tugwood Family was overjoyed that these dusty scraps of paper could fetch a good price, completely unaware of the value behind this knowledge.

Skylar knew the importance of appearance to women, and that women's greatest enemy was not tumors or pimples, but aging. Skylar wanted to develop was Potions that would prevent people from aging, and if it succeeded, he believed it would be an unprecedented innovation in the business world.

[Obtained the Tugwood Family's Potions research notes!]

During this time, Skylar also practiced sparring with Daphne and Astoria quite a bit.

Since Meredith was kidnapped, the two girls knew that if they wanted to share the burden with their boyfriends, they would need to become much stronger. So, the two sisters have been training exceptionally hard these days, and have made significant progress in both their knowledge of Magical Theory and their skills in using spells.

In addition, Skylar also told the two sisters about his plans for the semester.

He plans to formally establish a student organization that follows him.

He had already thought of a name for the organization, "Sleeping Dragon Society," meaning "Sleeping dragon, do not disturb, for disturbing it will surely anger you."

The two sisters can leverage the Greengrass Family's influence to recruit younger students into their organization, select the best, and cultivate them to build their own power base.

To avoid attracting Dumbledore's attention, Skylar planned to make Daphne the apparent leader, while Skylar himself would remain behind the scenes and act in secret. The two sisters were completely devoted to Skylar and would willingly and unconditionally cooperate with whatever plans Skylar had.

The three of them also took advantage of the holiday to frequently discuss the plan together, refining and supplementing various details until the entire plan was completed.