Ella's Death
On the second day of Christmas, everyone got up late. The Slytherin Common Room was much quieter than in previous days, with people chatting idly and being interrupted by yawns from time to time.
There are still 9 days of holiday until the start of the new school year on January 4th.
Before Christmas, almost everyone was busy playing, but now they are beginning to realize that there are only ten days left. Little wizards can be seen everywhere in the common room, engrossed in writing.
Skylar did finish his homework. After all, most professors gave him some preferential treatment because of his Champion status. Even the Ghost professor Binns congratulated Skylar on the success of his First Task in class, which surprised the other young wizards. Skylar was probably the first student in decades whose name Professor Binns remembered.
Although they had no homework, Skylar and Draco had to leave Hogwarts. Devastating news came from home—their grandmother Druella Black, had passed away.
Skylar and Draco, arranged by Lucius, went to Druella's little house that day using Floo Powder.
Skylar was not a heartless person. Although he didn't spend much time with his grandmother, her love for him was genuine. Every Christmas and birthday, he would receive gifts from her. During Skylar's short stay at her house, the old woman cooked delicious food for him every day. She was always worried that Skylar's eyes were not good because he was always buried in books, so she bought Skylar expensive eye Potions.
However, Druella died of old age. Before she passed away, the House Elf had taken Lucius and his wife to their grave. Although she did not get to see her beloved grandson one last time, she did not go to the world of the dead alone. Skylar, who had lived two lives, was not devastated by her passing, but he was still somewhat saddened and grieved.
Skylar stayed at his grandmother's house for two days. During that time, he and Draco helped the Lucius couple receive relatives and friends who came to offer their condolences.
Although the House of Black has declined, that refers to the paternal lineage. As the largest Pure-blood families in the wizarding world, Segnas Black's generation actually had many cousins whose bloodline continues. For example, Mr. Crouch and his two older sisters are the children of Charles Black of the House of Black.
In other words, Mr. Crouch and Skylar's maternal grandfather were cousins. They were both prominent figures in politics and needed to be received with great care.
In fact, Mr. Weasley. Arthur Wesley was the same; he was also Segners Black's cousin. However, the Weasley family had been expelled because they were called "Pure-blood traitors" and would not be invited to the funeral.
There was another guest who, although not invited and expelled from the family, still came.
Skylar's second aunt— Andromeda Black.
Ironically, despite being Druella's biological daughter, her arrival was met with complete hostility. Narcissa didn't exchange a single word with her. She merely pursed her lips, staring coldly at her, but her trembling hands betrayed her inner turmoil. In the end, she couldn't bring herself to cruelly kick her older sister out, out of consideration for their sisterly bond.
Druella had three daughters— Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa. The three sisters were very close, as evidenced by the fact that even Bellatrix, Voldemort's most fervent follower, was willing to conceal Narcissa's magical pact with Snape from Voldemort in the original books.
Unfortunately, this sincere sisterly bond shattered after Andromeda fell in love with and married Muggle-born wizard. Andromeda was expelled from the family, and the two sisters severed all ties with Andromeda.
Since neither his father nor mother, nor Draco, were willing to acknowledge their aunt, Skylar had no choice but to step in. Firstly, Skylar's name was prestigious enough that, despite being a generation younger, none of the people present dared to criticize him.
Moreover, Skylar's reasons for stepping forward were perfectly legitimate. Regardless of who the other person was or what their status was, she came with good intentions to offer condolences, and such a cold shoulder would be considered contrary to aristocratic manners. At the same time, Skylar's actions could be interpreted by some political figures as Skylar's attitude towards the Pure-blood ideology.
Skylar he had offended the Ghosts Society and Walpurgis, Schelling no longer cared about making more enemies among the Pure-Blood Extremist Faction. On the contrary, appropriately revealing his attitude could win over the moderates within the Pure-blood families, letting them know that in this wizarding world, besides the two extremes of Pure-blood Supremacy and Pure-blood traitors, there is actually a third possibility.
Under Skylar's gentle comfort, Andromeda was moved to tears, only able to repeat "good child, good child" over and over again. To be honest, she had mustered up a great deal of courage to come here. She was mentally prepared to be kicked out, to be ridiculed, looked down upon, or even insulted, but she never expected to be received and comforted by one of her juniors. This moved her so much that she couldn't utter a complete sentence.
Besides the House of Black branch, there were also members from the Rosier Family, from which Druella originated. The last Rosier Family bloodline, Ivan Rosier, was killed by Moody, who was Auror at the time, for his involvement with the Death Eaters. However, the Rosier Family actually originated from France, and the France branch is the core of the Rosier Family.
In France, the Rosier family is one of the twelve bloodlines with the longest history, and it ranks in the upper-middle tier, at least in the second tier. This is only because some members of the family were implicated in the Battle of Grindelwald; otherwise, they would be a force to be reckoned with, capable of challenging the Moreau Family.
Druella was formally buried the afternoon after the funeral.
Right after the funeral ceremony was completed, a smartly dressed middle-aged wizard approached Skylar. He was the wills clerk sent by the Ministry of Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Law Enforcement. In front of Skylar's family, he read Druella's will.
According to her will, Druella left all her estate, including Gringotts vault, this little house, her House Elf Sasha, various valuable antiques, and so on, to Skylar, her most beloved grandson. Skylar signed a series of magical contracts and registered the little house with the Ministry of Magic as "Ella Cottage" in memory of Druella.
After everything was ready, Skylar planned to leave with his parents and Draco, but he was unexpectedly stopped by an old witch with shrewd eyes, thick eyebrows, and short black hair.
Skylar remembered seeing this meticulously dressed lady on his first day at Ella Cottage, but strangely, he didn't know her name. Skylar was very attentive to every guest who came to pay their respects, and he had read every guest list. With his memory, it was impossible for him to have made any mistakes or forgotten anything.
To Skylar's surprise, Lucius merely nodded to the old witch and then instructed Skylar to stay and return to the Malfoy Manor after this matter was settled.
The old witch introduced herself as Aunt Vinda, a distant relative of Druella's family in France, belonging to a branch of the Rosier Family. She had fled to Britain after being wanted for a crime in France, where she was taken in by Druella and received much help from her.
Skylar suddenly realized, and a name that had long been forgotten by everyone came to mind—this old woman in front of him was a remarkable person!
Vinda Rosier.
She was Grindelwald's right-hand Dark Lord, holding a high position and renowned reputation among the Acolytes. The extent of Grindelwald's trust in her is evident from the fact that she was appointed to wield Grindelwald's Divination skull.
"Skylar, you don't mind me calling you that, do you? You can call me Auntie, it's more intimate." With Vinda's discerning eye, she had long ago noticed the faint aura of Dark Arts emanating from Skylar, including the Rosier family's Dark Arts that she was familiar with.
"Auntie," Skylar said, knowing the person before her was an extremely shrewd and capable individual, and dared not be negligent, "Hello, is there anything Skylar can help you with?"
Vinda smiled calmly, "I could tell just by looking at you. You're a clever little fellow, and I like you a lot. Talking to someone like you saves me a lot of trouble. Let me put it this way, I've heard from others that you're Druella's most beloved grandson. I received many favors from her in the past, so I hope I can do something for you to repay her—"
These words did not surprise Skylar. Given Skylar's reputation, no one would believe he was a fool. Moreover, judging from the will that had just been read, everyone could see that Skylar was Druella's most beloved grandson.
Vinda's next words were different; her gaze suddenly sharpened. "I have a question for you. Have you studied the Rosier Family's ancestral magic?"