A Late-Night Talk Between Brothers

That evening.

With the biggest problem of recruiting Snape finally solved, Skylar was able to finally resolve a major concern that had been weighing on his mind.

As for Dumbledore's and the Ministry of Magic's investigation, to be honest, Skylar didn't take it seriously at all. As far as Skylar knew, there were no openly recognized Divination tellers in the Europe Wizarding World today. The only one was Professor Sybill Professor Trelawney, who hid in Hogwarts maintaining a persona of a conman.

Regardless of whether anyone notices Trelawney's unusual behavior, even if someone does ask her to perform Divination, it doesn't matter. She and Skylar have already formed an alliance, and given the strength Skylar has demonstrated, she's not stupid; she'll know how to make the right choices. She'll know how to cover for Skylar and even point out some wrong directions to mislead the diviners.

As for the Auror, there's even less to worry about. First of all, the entire disappearance happened at the bottom of the lake, leaving no trace. Perhaps the number of Merpeople has decreased, but Skylar doesn't think that the usually aloof wizards would care about the number of Merpeople, not to mention that the language barrier means they might not even bother to ask the Merpeople a question.

Even if they do find some clues, when they discover that the clues point to Sherlin, Sherlin believes that Robaz will know what to do. As for the other Aurorod Warrior, isn't it obvious? A forgetting spell is enough to solve all the problems.

Originally, between the second competition, Skylar had planned to gather his forces and summon all his allies to take action against the lurking Shadow of the Magic Dragon in Hogsmeade Village. However, the entire plan was disrupted by the student disappearances.

At this sensitive time when things were tense, Skylar didn't want more unfamiliar faces to suddenly appear in Hogsmeade Village. Not only might it alert the enemy and expose their hand, but it might also lead people to trace the disappearance back to him, which would be very disadvantageous. Therefore, although he was worried about Meredith's safety, he could only put the matter aside for the time being.

Apart from Bathory was extremely adept at hiding and still monitoring the Shadow of the Magic Dragon, he had ordered all other allies to remain inactive and stay away from Hogsmeade Village.

Leaving that matter aside for now, Skylar still has quite a few things waiting for him to deal with.

He thought for a moment, and since it was already evening, he decided to deal with the most immediate matter first.

He straightened his robes, went outside, and knocked on Draco's bedroom door.

At least five minutes passed before Draco slowly opened the door, but he instantly blocked the entrance, showing no intention of inviting Skylar in.

At this moment, his upper body was naked, revealing his strong, muscular physique. He wore only a pair of boxer shorts embroidered with the Malfoy family crest, and a slight bulge near the center made the Black Dragon embroidered on the shorts appear almost menacing. A sudden, extremely bad premonition arose in Skylar's heart. Had he arrived at such an inopportune time?

Sure enough, he looked at Skylar, sighed softly, and said, "It's Skylar."

Skylar heard a series of sparse sounds coming from behind the door.

After a while, Draco opened the door a little wider, and Skylar finally saw Pansy behind Draco. Her face was as red as a ripe apple, her hair was still a little damp, as if the sweat on it had not completely evaporated, and her clothes were loose and baggy, clearly just put on.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, maybe I'll come again next time!" Skylar was very embarrassed and turned to leave.

"Ah! No need, Skylar!" Pansy called out to Skylar, "I'm going back to my room anyway, you two brothers can have a good chat!"

After saying that, Pansy lowered her head, crossed her arms, rushed past Skylar, and quickly ran back to her own dormitory.

Draco shook his head first, then stepped aside and said to Skylar, "Come in!"

Skylar entered Draco's room, discreetly scanning the room with his Divine Insight of Amaterasu —his wand lay askew in his wizard's robe pocket, the robe itself hanging on a classic-style standing coat rack. The sheets and blankets were rather disheveled and appeared slightly damp. An Alarm Charm was cast at the doorway, nothing special, just the kind that alerts the room's occupant if someone sneaks in unnoticed.

Apart from that, only the small table beside the bed caught Skylar's attention.

On a small table beside the bed was a standing mirror stand about three feet in diameter. The mirror faintly exuded an aura that made Skylar uncomfortable—the aura of Dark Arts!

Just then, Draco closed the door. He gently made a special gesture with his hand holding the doorknob, and the doorknob clicked shut, indicating that the door had been locked by a special method. This magic was something Skylar had never heard of before, and his pupils couldn't help but shrink slightly.

But he seemed completely oblivious, a half-smile playing on his lips, as he said, "Draco, I'm really sorry, I seem to have interrupted your good time."

"Nothing, just a woman," Draco shrugged, replying indifferently.

Skylar raised an eyebrow, his expression suddenly turning cold. He seemed about to say something, but after a moment's hesitation, he swallowed back the words he was about to utter and instead said coldly, "You told me to come here, and now I'm here. So, what is it?"

Draco, seeing Skylar's somewhat indifferent expression, couldn't help but laugh. "Skylar, ever since you mentioned the Dark Lord's return back in the summer, my brother and I have indeed had differing views on the future of the family. You see—"

"It's been so long since we brothers had a proper chat. I feel like our brotherly bond has cooled down quite a bit..." Draco continued, "I called you over today for no other reason than to have a chat with you... The reason I locked the door and used that 'soundproofing magic' earlier was simply to prevent anyone from disturbing our time alone together... You agree, right, you clever fellow?"

"Smart" was a nickname the two boys gave Skylar when they were children. Skylar called Draco "Spungen," Draco called Skylar "Smart." Back then, the two kids would often play all sorts of childish fantasy games when their parents weren't home or the housekeeper wasn't looking. Looking back now, they were a bit silly, but they seemed to have a lot of fun. However, since they were nine years old and had grown up, they never used those nicknames again.

Skylar's lips twitched, and he rolled his eyes at Draco. However, hidden in his long sleeves, his two wrists were clenched into fists, the veins on the back of his hands throbbing.

Skylar forced himself to calm down and sighed, "Draco, even if we have disagreements, we didn't really need to come to this... What you said at the opening ceremony almost damaged my prestige, but that's a minor matter, so I won't go into it. But you went even further, teaming up with Blaise to sow Hagrid between Hagrid and you even dragged Granger into it, trying to ignite another conflict between the houses. Can you honestly say that I'm not your target?"

Draco's eyes dimmed slightly when he heard Skylar address him by his name instead of his nickname "Pig Shit." He said, "Well, I guess I was wrong... You little rascal, do you remember when you had that magical outburst when you were four?"

Skylar nodded in agreement.

Draco said quietly, "We were born on the same day, month, and year, yet our fates are so different. You caused a magical upheaval when you were four, while I... didn't succeed until I was eight. From then on, although none of you said it, I knew very well that everyone in the family thought you were stronger, more outstanding, and more talented than me..."

Skylar frowned. "How can you say that? Your parents' love for you has never diminished—"

"Hmph!" Draco interrupted Skylar with a cold snort, raising his head with a faint red glint in his eyes!

"You don't need to say anything more." Draco's voice suddenly turned cold. "I know all the good things my parents have done for me, I remember them all, but—"

"Is that love?" His voice trembled. "You learned everything instantly from elementary school—English, French, German, Latin language —so many languages were like second nature to you, just flowed off your tongue... Not to mention math and history, you understood them at a glance, never needed to review them a second time, it was as if they were swallowed whole, you never had to worry about forgetting them... The way your parents looked at you, what expectant eyes they had!... And me?"

"What kind of looks did they give me! Was it pity? Was it sympathy? Anyway—"

I've never seen even a sliver of hope in their eyes!

"You said—" Draco's voice rose, "They love me, they're good to me, but I don't feel that way... I feel more that their love for me is just psychological compensation, their kindness is more of a indulgence! A form of spoiling!"

"Clearly—" Dark energy began to seep from Draco's skin, "Clearly I'm the older brother! Why, why do I never receive their praise!"

"Draco!" Skylar snapped, "Calm down!"

"Hahahaha--" Draco laughed, but his laughter was icy and chilling. "How am I not calm? I'm perfectly calm." He shrugged. "I'm calm and clear-headed. The one who's not calm is you! You're the one who refuses to admit it, you're the one who refuses to face the truth I'm telling you... From childhood to adulthood, I've always lived in your shadow! No matter what I've done, no matter how hard I've tried, I can only, I can only desperately chase after you... Everyone, everyone only sees me as your foil!"

Skylar took a step back in disbelief. He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Draco, whether you believe it or not, in my heart, you will always be my brother. I never knew, I really didn't know... that you had endured so much pressure because of me... I... I..."

Skylar thought for a moment, then found himself speechless, and could only sigh, "I didn't want it to be like this either..."

"Hahaha--cough cough," Draco laughed so hard he almost choked, tears even welling in his eyes, "You foolish little brother... don't you know, you're simply not cut out for power, your personality has a fatal flaw--"

"You value emotions too much! The path to supremacy is ruthless; there's no room for personal feelings—" Draco's eyes gleamed with a dazzling light, a smile slowly spreading across his lips. "Women are like that, friends are like that, even family and clan are no exception... These are just pointless shackles... Only by letting go of them can you possibly go further..."

Skylar's eyes became extremely complicated. Yes, how could he not know that if he could truly abandon the emotions around him, his pursuit of power and ambition would indeed be much easier? Throughout history, which great achiever wasn't ruthless and merciless?

"Draco... So, all this brotherhood we've built over the years... was just a lie?" Skylar said with some difficulty.

Draco shook his head, a look of disappointment in his eyes that was hard to decipher. "You still don't understand what I mean..."

"Our brotherhood, our family ties, they're all real..." His voice grew colder, "It's precisely because they're real that I must sever them with my own hands. Skylar, you'll never understand my desire to become stronger... I've had enough of everyone's eyes only on you, I've had enough of living in the shadows where no one can see me..."

"Heh heh," he chuckled coldly, "I'm going to surpass you. I'm going to prove to everyone that I'm stronger than you! To achieve this, I can abandon all the ties that bind me. These so-called ties only lead to confusion. Strong desires and cherished memories only weaken you, do you understand? Only those who sever all of these ties are qualified to become true powerhouses!"

A flash of understanding crossed Skylar's eyes, his clenched fist in his sleeve gradually loosened, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Is this the truth you wanted to tell me, the one thing you specifically called me here for?" Skylar's slightly narrowed eyes revealed an unwavering confidence. "I must say, it's truly thought-provoking! I must say, I really didn't expect to hear those words from you, Draco... or rather—"

"My ancestor, Armand II, three generations back?"