Gaunt Cadet Branch (Bonus Chapter)
Under Snape's witness, Skylar and Karkaroff signed an "Unbreakable Vow." Skylar would provide Karkaroff with a safe house to ensure his safety, in exchange for Karkaroff granting Karkaroff access to the entire Durmstrang area, including the library's Restricted Section, Skylar Skylar most.
The problem of the safe house was not difficult to solve; a single Fidelius Charm would suffice. Even if Voldemort sensed Karkaroff's location through the Dark Mark, he would be unable to enter.
As for why Karkaroff didn't use this method in the original work, it's because he couldn't find a trustworthy Secret Keeper. This Secret Keeper had to be reliable, wouldn't betray him, and be intelligent enough not to be suspected of being the Secret Keeper. They also couldn't be too old, otherwise a sudden death would be troublesome. They also needed sufficient strength to protect themselves in the chaos of war. Most importantly, they had to have a prudent character, rather than recklessly participating in the front lines of war.
Skylar, having established Unbreakable Vow, undoubtedly met all the aforementioned conditions.
After subduing Igor Karkaroff, Skylar and he also discussed their next steps.
There's still time before Voldemort returns, so Karkaroff can stay at Hogwarts and continue to maintain his persona as headmaster.
Although Karkaroff is a coward, he is quite powerful. As long as someone stronger than him is guaranteed his safety, there is no need to worry about him easily betraying him; he is a very easy subordinate to control. Currently, most of the forces that Skylar can command are based within Hogwarts.
Outside of school, the only people he could rely on to get things done were a few House Elf, so he was in dire need of people who could do things for him outside of school, and Karkaroff was undoubtedly a good candidate.
Of course, to get someone like Karkaroff to do things, intimidation alone is not enough; he also needs some benefits. This requires Skylar to plan carefully.
After resolving each issue one by one, Skylar thought it was time to put the current tasks on the agenda.
The next day was Saturday, Hogsmeade Visiting Day. Early in the morning, the young wizards happily and cheerfully set off for Hogsmeade Village.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione also arranged to meet Sirius Black in Hogsmeade Village.
Skylar did not go to Hogsmeade Village.
After the addition of six Prefect, the Sleeping Dragon Society's power increased dramatically, and its membership expanded rapidly. It could be said that almost 80% of Slytherin were now members of the Sleeping Dragon Society. The upperclassmen were led by the Prefect who had been marked with the Sleeping Dragon Mark, the lowerclassmen by Daphne and Astoria, and the students from other houses by Cho Chang, Morrie, Susan, and Luna. Skylar had no doubt about their loyalty, so he confidently entrusted them with the affairs and development of the Sleeping Dragon Society.
Skylar generously provided 1,000 Galleon as club funds, which the Prefect and female officers used to take members to Hogsmeade Village to spend money, fostering camaraderie among members and enhancing the organization's collective spirit and cohesion.
Frankly speaking, Galleon is just a number to Skylar now. Almost all of his businesses are on track, generating a steady stream of income for him every minute. I heard that the Fire Dragon Farm and Puddlemere United have expanded their businesses significantly in just one year, more than doubling their market value.
Skylar even suspected that his own wealth had already surpassed that of the House of Malfoy, and that if he wanted, he could easily set up his own family and leave to establish a completely new one.
This is not without precedent. In the once-powerful Gaunt family, there were two equally powerful direct descendants. The eldest son married the granddaughter of the second of the Peverell brothers, inheriting not only the Peverell family's Resurrection Stone but also the Slytherin's Locket bestowed upon him by his ancestors. Combining the heritage of two great families, he considered himself the legitimate heir, the so-called "head of the family." Voldemort, his mother, and his uncle were direct descendants of this bloodline.
His younger brother was no less capable than him in terms of personal strength or the power behind him. Therefore, he was unwilling to be relegated to a side branch of the family, or the so-called "separation of the family". So he resolutely took the Slytherin's Snakewood Wand bestowed by his ancestors, left the family and went to the MacGillycuddy's Reeks in Ireland. He married into a local noble family and established another branch of the Gaunt family.
Most of these prominent families were supporters of the Druid Sect, and their lineage was in no way inferior to that of the Pure-blood nobles of England. For example, the Sayre Family's ancestor was the famous "Phantom Queen" Morrigan. Isolt Thayer, the Founders of Ilvermorny, was a direct descendant of this bloodline. Her father was from the Sayre Family, and her mother was from the Gaunt family. Later, her mother's Slytherin's Wand was stolen by her aunt, who also killed her parents, forcing her to flee to North America, where she settled down.
Of course, Skylar would not start his own household. Not only had he promised Draco that he would help him become the head of the family, but he also cherished the bond with his family, especially Narcissa, who had been infinitely tolerant of his long-standing stubbornness and willfulness.
Besides, given his current perspective, he really didn't think much of the House of Malfoy's heritage. Although he didn't know that there were portraits of ancestors hidden in the patriarch's Chamber of Secrets, with his strength enough to fight against the strongest patriarch of all time Armand II, he figured that even if there were other inheritances in the family, they were probably nothing more than that.
On this day, Skylar came to the shore of the Black Lake alone. The calm lake surface was without a ripple, like a crystal-clear mirror, reflecting the azure sky. There were no people around the Black Lake. At this time, the young wizards were either in Hogsmeade Village or playing indoor games with their friends in the common room.
Skylar walked to the shore where the Ghost Ship Durmstrang was docked. Several boys wearing only swimming trunks were lying on the deck, including Viktor Krum. They were sunbathing, which suggested that sunny days were rare in the Northern Europe region where they were.
He came here to meet Eleanor. A week had passed since the two fought together at the bottom of the lake. Perhaps they were both busy with their own affairs and had not been able to find time to meet.
As a descendant of one of Germany's most prestigious Pure-blood families, and a descendant of the renowned Paracelsus, Eleanor was naturally someone Skylar considered valuable to befriend. Moreover, the two now shared a common enemy: a secret organization that had been lurking in the deepest recesses of the wizarding world for centuries and had used two Dark Lord as pawns. Skylar would absolutely not dare to underestimate it.
Every ally he could win over was invaluable to him. Similarly, he believed that, given the wisdom Eleanor had demonstrated so far, Eleanor thoughts were exactly the same as his.
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