The Road to Becoming Stronger
Skylar, who knew Harry Potter by heart in his past life, hadn't forgotten that at the end of the story, Luna married Newt Scamander's grandson and then had two sons.
Skylar did not believe this was a coincidence.
Luna, possessing such rare "Child of Nature" talents, played a pivotal and important role in the Dumbledore's Army. In the Luna, she didn't end up with any of the outstanding men in the Dumbledore's Army, but instead married a completely new character, and even married into Newt Scamander's family.
It seems that the House of Scamander, which isn't very well-known in the Britain wizarding world, is quite interesting!
Two days later, the Easter holiday ended.
Over the past two days, the six girls have been practicing sparring intensively, striving to adapt to their newly acquired power as quickly as possible.
Having greater magical power means being able to start casting more powerful spells, such as the Blasting Curse, the Chain-Explosion Curse, the "Wind-Spinning Vortex Curse," and the "Protego Diabolica Curse," while the low-level spells that were previously used become useless. Therefore, the entire combat style and tactical arrangements must be changed accordingly.
This isn't just a problem that can be overcome by learning new, powerful magic; it involves a shift in a wizard's mindset.
Simply put, it means having a strong mindset, learning to overcome skill with strength, and bringing out the advantages of magic.
In addition to this, Daphne, Cho Chang, and Luna also need to undergo other training.
Daphne needs to master her newly awakened bloodline talent as soon as possible. The Druid lineage can be said to be one of the earliest lineages to appear among the ancient Celts. There are archaeological remains of Druids as early as the fourth century BC. They belong to the same era as the Vile Herpo, Circe, the Invincible Andros, and the Prophet Mopsus of ancient Greece. This shows how ancient and profound its historical background is.
Today, the Druid Sect has long since declined. In the first century AD, with the Centaur invasion, the Druids were severely suppressed and hunted down, and by the second century AD, the entire Druid Sect had disappeared without a trace. Furthermore, because Druidic doctrine strictly forbids the recording of knowledge in written form, the Druid Sect itself was cut off.
Skylar would not underestimate Daphne's awakened bloodline talent because of this.
Even though the Druids have declined and their lineage has been severed, as a school of magic that could rival the Wizarding system, they must have had their unique strengths.
Druids possessed the concept of lineage earlier than wizards. While wizards were still hoarding their knowledge and practicing a one-on-one apprenticeship system, the Druid Sect already had a well-established system of succession. Druids were not only priests but also doctors, teachers, prophets, and judges. They taught young people magic and acted as judges in cases of crime or land disputes. They were powerful and highly respected, serving as advisors to kings and rulers of the people.
Druids held a high status in Celtic society, second only to kings or patriarchs. They were exempt from military service and tribute obligations. These privileges made many aspire to become druids, but most were eliminated because they could not memorize the required knowledge, history, poetry, etc. This was because druidism followed a meritocracy; in other words, only those with the necessary abilities could become druids.
The Druid doctrines and traditions are passed down orally, and they strictly forbid leaving any written records; all knowledge must be memorized. Therefore, those who can become Druids are all learned and have excellent memories. As a result, Skylar always believed that Druid civilization had long since disappeared into the annals of history, until his conversation with Dumbledore.
Dumbledore mentions that the last Druid High Priestess Cliodna, violated tradition and secretly left behind the written tradition, the Book of the Druids, while fleeing from the Roman authorities' search. Moreover, it was later regarded by the wizarding world as one of the six great books.
The Book of the Druids had long been lost, and even with Dumbledore's intelligence network, there were no leads. Therefore, Skylar did not set his sights on the book.
Skylar's true goal was --
Madam Rosmerta.
Madam Rosmerta is not described much in the original books, but even from the few words she speaks, it's clear she's no ordinary person. She was already working at the Three Broomsticks during the Marauder' era, meaning she was at least 20 years older than Marauder. That would make her at least in her fifties, almost sixty, yet she remains captivating. Even Minister for Magic Fudge speaks to her softly and politely, and she can still charm many young, naive wizards.
Most importantly, Skylar's Magic Eye detected no magical fluctuations in her, meaning her charm was genuine and not achieved through some kind of seductive magic. As far as Skylar knew, such magic for preserving youth had long been lost, which was why Skylar had previously set his sights on a "Cosmetic Potion" that could maintain eternal youth, and had even spent a fortune acquiring the Tugwood Family's Potions research notes.
Another small detail that caught Skylar's attention was that the Butterbeer brewed and sold by Madam Rosmerta at the Three Broomsticks was clearly different from the Butterbeer in other pubs. Madam Rosmerta's Butterbeer had a distinctive flavor, was not too oily, and had a slightly refreshing taste. Skylar deduced that it was very likely that Moon-dew Herb was added to it.
Moon-dew Herb is a flowering plant native to Scotland whose flowers only bloom under sufficient moonlight (usually when the moon is full and cloudless). It is one of the ingredients in Invigoration Draught and sleeping Potions. The person who discovered the magical properties of Moon-dew Herb was none other than the famous Ireland priestess, Cliodna. Skylar had every reason to believe that Madam Rosmerta had some unclear relationship with the vanished Druid Sect.
Of course, before Skylar makes contact with Madam Rosmerta, all Daphne can do right now is try to explore the power within her bloodline and attempt to use magic to trigger bloodline talents similar to "Parseltongue" or "Metamorphmagus".
What Cho Chang needs to do is to master the Zhang Family's secret Transfiguration as soon as possible.
In return for Skylar's care for Zhang Cho Chang, the old man Zhang He gifted Skylar a Transfiguration called "Illusory Clone." This Transfiguration was extremely difficult, and even today, Skylar has spent a great deal of time trying to master it, let alone Cho Chang. However, the Transfiguration secretly passed down by the Zhang Family is not just a simple "Illusory Clone."
The Zhang Family's most renowned Transfiguration is actually the "Paper Transfiguration," the one where Zhang Guo Lao conjures a live donkey from a single piece of Transfiguration. Since the China subplot has been removed from this book, it's worth mentioning that a few years ago, Mr. Zhang He encountered a group of dark sorcerers in Xiangxi. They violated the taboos of the Chinese sorcerer community by practicing a rebellious method of raising corpses, creating hundreds of Zombie, Flying Zombie, and Corpse Hou, intending to wreak havoc. In the end, Mr. Zhang He scattered hundreds of pieces of paper, each transforming into a celestial soldier, forming a fearless and invincible army that fought a fierce battle against these "Corpse Raiser."
(Note: In the original draft, there was a side story where Skylar travels to China and outwits Zombie, but the author later realized it was completely unrelated to the main plot and removed it.)
According to Mr. Zhang He, this technique is the most prized secret of our ancestors— Paper Soldiers!
Moreover, transforming into celestial soldiers and generals clad in armor and wielding divine weapons is only the first level of this Transfiguration. If one's mastery of Transfiguration spells is deep enough and one's magical power is sufficient, one can even add mounts such as the Roc, the Green Ox, and the Somersault Cloud to the celestial soldiers and generals, turning them into an aerial combat force capable of three-dimensional warfare.
Cho Chang had begun practicing this magic long ago, but had never quite grasped its essence. This time, her magical power had broken through several barriers, and the Magic Blood Potion seemed to have greatly improved her physical attributes, giving her body a higher degree of compatibility with the magic required to cast Transfiguration. She was confident that she could master this magic, not bring shame to the Zhang Family, and... increase her standing in that person's eyes...
Finally, it's Luna.
Of the six girls, the Magic Blood Potion was the last to show its effects on Luna, but Potions effects were also the most significant and obvious. Unlike Luna 'Daphne still unclear talent, Luna awakened the complete bloodline talent "Child of Nature," and Luna didn't need to delve any deeper into her bloodline; she could easily control it through her own will.
At this moment, Luna smiled sweetly, extending her slender fingers to Chamber of Secrets the various Fantastic Beasts gathered by Skylar's forces outside the school— Puffskein, Bowtruckle, Niffler, Kneazle, Knarl —to frolic, sing, and dance. These Fantastic Beasts were all very docile and willingly obeyed Luna's commands.
In other words, Luna already embodies the rudiments of a summoning-style battle wizard.
Skylar had also tried having Luna command larger Fantastic Beasts, such Hippogriff the Nogtail, the Occamy, or even Buckbeak, but it didn't work. It seems that Luna's bloodline talent is limited to commanding smaller Fantastic Beasts.
These small Fantastic Beasts, while each possessing unique abilities, are not particularly adept at combat. They are suitable for stealth, reconnaissance, and exploring unknown territories, but they would be less than ideal as an army. However, Skylar did not intend to let Luna's talents go to waste.
He had another idea.