Magic Eye

As a transmigrator familiar with the plot, Skylar knew perfectly well that Voldemort had only temporarily vanished from the public eye. His remaining soul was still barely clinging to life somewhere in the forests of Albania, waiting for a chance to rise again.

Lucius's current instinct for self-preservation was nothing less than betrayal in Voldemort's eyes. Moreover, Skylar knew that in the near future, Lucius would do something foolish that would cost Voldemort a Horcrux. After Voldemort's resurrection, Lucius would not only lose his standing among the Death Eaters, but his entire family would suffer Voldemort's severe punishment as well—Malfoy Manor would be requisitioned, Lucius's wand would be taken, and Draco would be assigned a suicide mission...

After Voldemort fell again in the original story, Lucius was even sent to Azkaban. The House of Malfoy would be utterly disgraced, irreversibly decline, and never recover.

Well, since he was here, he might as well make the best of it. At least he was a transmigrator familiar with the plot. Perhaps he could change his family's fate, Skylar thought optimistically.

Having been given the rare chance to live another life, Skylar had no intention of letting his future be bound by the invisible hand of Fate, following the original plot's course. What he had brought with him from his previous life was not merely the mature soul of an adult, but also the spirit of adventure that had burned in his blood!

Since he had been given another life, even if he could not become a king or conquer the world like the overpowered protagonists of so many transmigration novels, the bare minimum should be a stable and carefree life, freedom from having to work, enough wealth to enjoy himself at leisure, and the dignity of not having to bow and scrape to anyone. And if he could find two or three girlfriends along the way, that would be even better.

Since Fate had now placed him in the House of Malfoy, perhaps he could add one more goal—he wanted to try changing his family's fate, protecting its honor, and perhaps even raising it to greater heights.

Let's talk about life in Malfoy Manor.

Malfoy Manor looked luxurious and imposing, and its grounds sprawled over a vast area. Yet only a handful of people lived within its empty halls.

Aside from himself and his father, Lucius, there were his mother Narcissa, his older brother Draco, the steward Kakarot, and a lowly House Elf named Dobby.

Naturally, the House of Malfoy also had some collateral relatives and illegitimate branches. Most of them managed the family's farms or mines, and only appeared at the manor during holidays or when the family elders convened. Skylar had met them a few times but was not particularly familiar with them, so there was no need to mention them for now.

As Skylar gradually grew older, he felt that he had completely integrated into this world, because he could feel the intense love and familial affection surrounding him.

When he had read the original novels in his previous life, he had not liked the Malfoys. The author had portrayed them all as hateful villains. Yet now that he was part of this family, he discovered that, setting aside what Lucius and Narcissa were like as people, they could not have treated their family any better.

As for Draco, the boy was fond of showing off and terribly proud. That was because he worshipped Lucius, who always maintained an aloof, icy expression, and constantly tried his best to display the nobility of pure-bloods. Coupled with Narcissa's endless, boundless indulgence, this had given Draco some of the traits of a spoiled brat.

Even so, he doted on his younger brother tremendously. He always put on the airs of an older brother, as though Skylar desperately needed his protection. As an only child in his previous life, Skylar thoroughly enjoyed the warmth of being cared for by an elder sibling.

The steward Kakarot was a capable middle-aged man and his father's right-hand man, but Skylar did not like him. He was excessively rigid about the tedious and dull family rules and etiquette, and would scold Skylar over the slightest triviality.

(Note: Since the wizarding world had House Elves, its servant system was surely far simpler than that of Muggles. Here, Kakarot simultaneously filled the roles of Housekeeper, Butler, and Tutor, collectively referred to as steward. Those who believe a steward cannot scold a young master may refer to Medieval Children, published by Yale University Press, and see how strict the tutors appointed by the medieval Church were with young noblemen. The author welcomed rational discussion, but blindly criticizing things one did not understand was beneath the dignity of a reader.)

Draco, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. He was greatly favored and valued by Kakarot, because Draco had fully inherited the Malfoy family's arrogant and hypocritical temperament. His hair was always combed flawlessly, and he spoke with his nose in the air, drawing out every sentence in an unhurried manner.

House Elf Dobby had the closest relationship with Skylar. Whenever Skylar made a mistake—such as accidentally damaging some precious item in the manor—Dobby would always do his best to cover for him and help him escape Kakarot's awful punishment. Whenever Skylar got hungry late at night, Dobby would secretly bring him food.

Naturally, Skylar treated Dobby very well too. Whenever Narcissa gave him something novel and delicious, Skylar would secretly save a portion. When Dobby came to his room at night, boy and elf could sit together, share it, and enjoy the guilty pleasure of secretly eating snacks.

As one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, the House of Malfoy was extremely obsessed with the concept of "pure-blood supremacy." Calling them arrogant and overbearing would not be an exaggeration.

As a modern man who had transmigrated here, Skylar held deeply ingrained beliefs in equality for all. This put him in direct and irreconcilable conflict with his family's core ideology of pure-blood supremacy. As a child, he had once been harshly reprimanded by Lucius merely for showing a hint of friendliness toward Muggles.

But Skylar did not take it to heart and continued doing as he pleased. He merely had to reduce his contact with Muggles to avoid provoking Lucius's nerves—at least on the surface. Whenever Lucius could not see him, Skylar still liked to visit the Muggle world and try using Muggle things. He even played with House Elf Dobby.

As for Narcissa, although she too was a stubborn supporter of pure-blood supremacy, her doting affection for her son meant she did not make much of it. Instead, she believed that her younger son simply had ideas of his own, and was only too young and inexperienced to understand the world.

It was also because of her protection and unyielding attitude that Lucius did not say much more to Skylar. Given Lucius's temperament, he would otherwise have constantly reprimanded Skylar, repeatedly indoctrinated him, and tried to deeply plant the notion of pure-blood supremacy in his mind.

Of course, there was another reason Skylar could still live so comfortably and contentedly in such a pure-blood family. Skylar was a genius. From the age of one, he had displayed astonishing talent for languages, learning them far faster than his brother Draco.

And Skylar's genius was not limited to language. By the age of four, he had shown extraordinary aptitude for learning. Lucius had specially bought all kinds of introductory books on writing and arithmetic for his son, and Skylar learned everything as soon as he was taught. He could even figure things out on his own—though that was really because Skylar had retained the memories of his previous life.

Privately, Skylar felt rather embarrassed by his title as a genius. This material was simply mind-numbingly boring to him.

Forget these simple lessons for young children. In his previous life, he had been an unquestionable top student. He had ranked first nationwide in Britain's A-level examinations, earned a scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge, and eventually received dual doctorates in archaeology and ancient human linguistics with outstanding grades. He was proficient in English, French, Spanish, and other languages of the Latin language family.

After being reborn through transmigration, perhaps because he had gone through brain development a second time, he discovered that his memory and comprehension were even stronger than in his previous life. He could remember anything after seeing it once and quickly grasp anything he learned. Skylar could not help but sigh. "Does photographic memory and instant comprehension count as a cheat ability too? Is this a transmigrator's perk?"

At the age of four, Skylar successfully triggered an accidental outburst of magic. With a powerful force of will, he knocked the old steward Kakarot unconscious while the man was endlessly lecturing him. It was confirmed that he had the potential to become a wizard. Once he turned eleven, he would be able to own his own wand and qualify to attend a magical school, where he could systematically learn how to become a wizard.

It had to be said that Skylar was truly relieved. Since he had never appeared in the original story, he could not be certain that he possessed the potential to learn magic. And he knew very well how severely the wizarding world discriminated against those who could not learn magic—commonly known as Squibs. He simply could not imagine what would happen if he turned out to be one.

On the day Skylar's magical outburst occurred, Narcissa was beside herself with excitement, hugging and kissing him repeatedly. Lucius still wore an aloof expression, as though it were only natural, but the faint upturn of his lips could not conceal the joy overflowing from his heart. Draco could only look on with overwhelming envy. As for the unconscious steward, once the House Elf carried him into his room, no one paid him any further attention.

Lucius and Narcissa prepared a small celebration for Skylar, but compared to the cakes and desserts, Skylar was far more concerned about his eyes.

Skylar discovered that whenever he looked at his family, their bodies were enveloped in a faint, hazy white glow.

For a time, Skylar thought there was something wrong with his eyes. But after several attempts, he finally found the cause—his eyes only showed the white glow when he looked at wizards, magical creatures, or magical items. If he observed closely, the glow resembled a small stream, slowly flowing over wizards or magical objects according to some strange pattern.

Skylar suspected that this so-called white glow was actually the legendary magic power. Not long afterward, this guess was confirmed in a document recorded by the family.

In the medieval era, the concept of pure-blood supremacy had become deeply entrenched in the wizarding world for a reason. At the time, wizards were few in number and frequently persecuted by ignorant Muggles. Pure-blood wizards led by Salazar Slytherin rallied under the banner of protecting pure-blood wizards, intending to unite the wizarding world's strength and safeguard wizarding heritage from Muggle persecution.

Later, the great Slytherin and his three companions founded Hogwarts, one of the world's greatest magical schools, opening it to the broader wizarding population generation after generation and teaching all kinds of magical knowledge. That was a story for another time.

The pure-blood families of that era possessed exceptionally pure bloodlines, which still carried the mysterious power that served as the origin of magic. To ensure that this bloodline power was passed down, they had to rely on marriages between close relatives to maintain the purity of their blood.

Unfortunately, in those turbulent times, every Muggle witch hunt drastically reduced the wizard population, even causing the extinction of certain renowned wizarding families. Relying on marriage within the same clan became increasingly impractical, so wizarding families began forming marriage alliances across different families.

Although they still bore the title of "pure-blood families," the power of their bloodlines had long vanished after being diluted generation after generation, becoming nothing more than an ancient legend passed down within their families. The so-called pure-blood families of the modern era were, in truth, completely different from the pure-blood families of the medieval era.

Only a handful of people in the original story had awakened bloodline powers. In Skylar's memory, there was only Voldemort, who spoke Parseltongue; Tonks, a natural Metamorphmagus; and Professor Trelawney, who possessed a faint Seer bloodline but had fallen into pretending to be mystical and profound. Harry Potter's gift for Parseltongue had been passively acquired through the fragment of Voldemort's soul attached to him; it was not an inborn bloodline power.

As one of the oldest families passed down from the medieval era, the House of Malfoy also had mysterious power hidden in its bloodline. However, according to the family's historical documents, ever since the third-generation descendant, Armand Malfoy II, there had never again been a case of anyone in the family awakening their bloodline power. Thus, Skylar's unusual magical outburst did not draw Lucius and Narcissa's attention.

For reasons unknown, Skylar had been exceptionally fortunate to awaken the bloodline power of the House of Malfoy. In the family records, this power was called the "Magic Eye," and it allowed one to see the flow of magic power within oneself and others with the naked eye.

The family history recorded that Armand Malfoy II had once used this special ability to communicate with magic power and create his own unique magical secrets, writing a brilliant chapter in the history of the House of Malfoy. Unfortunately, for unknown reasons, records of this legendary Malfoy wizard consisted of only a few vague sentences.

Skylar's awakening of the Magic Eye was a little secret that belonged to him alone. It was not that he did not trust his family, but Skylar, with the soul of an adult, understood the importance of keeping a low profile and holding something in reserve. This special ability might prove useful in an unexpected situation someday.

Through the Magic Eye, Skylar could observe the magical power of everyone within his field of vision. As everyone knew, a wizard's strength depended in large part on the amount of magic power they possessed. The clearest example was when the fake Mad-Eye Moody taught the Killing Curse in class in the original story. He had said that the Killing Curse consumed enormous amounts of magic power, and if the students used their pitifully small reserves to cast it, at most they would give him a nosebleed.

Skylar quietly observed everyone in the house. Lucius's magic power was mixed with an eerie grayish-black tint, and his total magical reserves were quite formidable within the family. However, because Skylar lacked any comparison with wizards outside the family, its exact strength was difficult to estimate for now. As for his mother Narcissa and the steward Kakarot, the magic power in their souls was rather unremarkable.