Family Head's Ring
"Tsk tsk," Armand's expression changed slightly. He put away his disdainful look and his expression became a little serious. He said, "It seems you had your suspicions all along. You came here tonight prepared, didn't you?"
"Hmph, even so," he scoffed, his voice suddenly turning cold, "Aren't you being a little too confident? Aren't you afraid of being caught off guard and suffering a setback?"
"Draco must know that the moment I selected him as one of the Triwizard Tournament's Champion, he had no chance left..." Skylar's tone was somewhat heavy, "That means, in theory, the ideological conflict between my brothers and I is over. Knowing my father's character as I do, no matter how much he advocates Pure-blood Supremacy, it's unlikely he would do anything to harm the family's interests. So—"
"It's time I figured out your goals and motives. From what I know of Draco, the so-called Pure-blood Supremacy and family honor aren't the reasons for our brothers fighting. There must be a deeper reason behind it. To understand this..." Skylar said calmly, "I think it's worth risking my life for."
"Besides," Skylar said with a confident smile, "I don't believe a true powerhouse can be honed by spending all day immersed in books or hiding away to study magic—"
"You're strong, I can feel that," Skylar said firmly and steadily, his eyes blazing with an unprecedented fighting spirit. "But you haven't even held a wand yet. Do you really think I'm some ant you can easily manipulate?"
"Interesting..." Armand slowly raised his left hand. "I see a fighting spirit in your eyes. You actually came here with the intention of dying... You're using me as a whetstone to hone your skills... Using the pressure of a powerful enemy to push yourself to your limits? Truly, a formidable young man."
"To reward your courage and your strategy, here's this." Armand's left index finger slowly emerged from the void, revealing a ring engraved with a Black Dragon symbol. Skylar was familiar with this ring; it was the ring Lucius had worn before, a symbol of his status as the head of the House of Malfoy, known within the family as the "Family Head's Ring"!
"I see..." Skylar narrowed his eyes slightly, and in an instant, he understood many key points. For example, during his first magical outburst, he had seen black energy on Lucius, but no one else in the family had this. At the time, he thought it was due to the Dark Mark, since Narcissa and Kakarot also knew Dark Arts, but they didn't have these abnormalities. Now, thinking about it carefully, Snape, who also possessed the Dark Mark, didn't seem to have these abnormalities either. He had been overlooking this small detail. If this black energy came from the Family Head's Ring, then everything made sense.
For example, he had been puzzled by the sudden change in his father and Draco's attitude towards him. Did an ideological conflict really warrant Draco learning Dark Arts to increase his power? Given Draco's age and temperament, wouldn't such a move be a bit too extreme?
"So, Draco has already been chosen by Father as the next head of the family. No wonder... Heh..." Skylar's smile was somewhat bitter; his emotions were a complex mix. "They underestimate me too much. How could my vision and ambition be limited by a mere family... Family, family, it's always the family..."
To be fair, Skylar never coveted the Patriarchal position. In his view, Draco, as the eldest son, should rightfully have the Patriarchal position, according to the historical tradition of Pure-blood families, unless Draco was removed from the family due to some Draco mistake.
Given Skylar's personality, he probably wouldn't like being in power, constantly worrying about the family's interests, development, and survival. The House of Malfoy might have the inheritance from their ancestors, enough to keep the family prosperous for another century or two, but this wealth would eventually run out. Don't say that Pure-blood families can't spend all their money; didn't you see in the original book that Lucius wouldn't even buy a single Firebolt for his only son? As the head of the family, to lead the family to continue its glory, one must have foresight, leadership, and the ability to plan and execute long-term strategies. This isn't a question of whether Skylar could do it, but rather that he didn't want to shoulder such responsibility and live such a life.
You can earn passive income from well-invested businesses every day, sleep in until you naturally wake up, travel and adventure in your free time, study magic at home, or cultivate hobbies to pass the time, and live a carefree life with a few girls. Doesn't that sound great?
"If Father only wanted Draco to inherit the Patriarchal position, he could have just told me directly. There was no need to hide it from me, because I have absolutely no interest in it..." Skylar's voice gradually turned cold, "But you—"
"What audacity!" Skylar's eyes sharpened. "You actually dare to reveal the location of your Horcrux in front of me? Do you really look down on me that much?"
Horcrux are the containers where Armand's remnant soul resides. Once Horcrux is destroyed, no matter how powerful he is, he will be completely destroyed. How arrogant it is for Armand to casually reveal the existence and location of his Horcrux!
Armand ignored Skylar's words. He seemed to be fully activating the Family Head's Ring. Black light flickered on the ring's surface, as if black sparks and arcs of lightning were attached to it. Electric tongues flew and crackled. With each flicker of the ring's surface, the black aura on Armand's body became significantly denser. Skylar knew that this Horcrux was trying to absorb Draco's life force to make itself closer to its resurrected state.
The principle behind Horcrux is to seal a portion of the caster's remnant soul in a magical container through an evil ritual. This anchors the caster's soul in the mortal world, so that even if the caster's physical body dies, the soul can still escape the "Grim Limbo or the Afterlife.
Creating Horcrux is an extremely evil and difficult process. Throughout history, very few wizards have been able to accomplish this. Even if most wizards do create Horcrux, they will only create one. This is because splitting one's soul more than once will make the soul extremely unstable, distorting a person's appearance, personality, and sanity. Simply put, it will cause them to lose a part of their humanity. Someone like Voldemort, who split his soul more than once, can basically no longer be called a "human."
Assuming Armand only created one Horcrux, the most likely scenario after his physical death is that his soul would be forcibly transferred directly into the pre-designated Horcrux, rather than wandering the wilderness as a remnant soul like Voldemort.
The easiest way for a remnant soul that has lost its physical body to be resurrected is to bewitch someone who has been in contact with Horcrux for a long time. By deceiving and bewitching that person, the soul can be lowered and then enter that person's mind. The soul can be slowly eroded without the person's knowledge, and finally, the soul can be seized control of the body, just like what Tom Riddle did to Ginny in the second year.
Thinking of this, Skylar couldn't help but complain about Lucius's foolishness. He was already an adult when he became head of the family and had experienced the First Wizarding War. Furthermore, he had studied Dark Arts, so he might have had enough strength and willpower to resist the Horcrux's corruption. But Draco, at only 14 years old, was far inferior to him in every way. Draco clearly lacked both the strength and the maturity. In Skylar's view, Draco, to some extent, still just a little kid. Horcrux something that could be given to children to play with?
Unless--
Lucius had no idea it was a Horcrux! He thought it was just a token of the family head's identity! At most, a magical artifact that could aid in learning Dark Arts and increase one's affinity with Dark Arts!
A glint of light flashed in Skylar's eyes. He seemed to have figured out something extraordinary, something that could very well be the key to the success or failure of tonight!