The Sleeping Dragon Awakens

Skylar's words plunged all the young wizards into deep thought.

Yes, unlike most student clubs, the operation and core of the Sleeping Dragon Society cannot function without Skylar, its key figure.

To give an example, the Gobstones Club is composed of a group of enthusiasts who love Gobstones. They get together simply to find like-minded companions. Even if the club leader leaves one day, as long as Gobstones still exists, the club will elect a new leader and continue to operate as if nothing has changed.

Wizard's Chess Club, Exploding Snap Club, Backgammon Club, Ten-Pillar Rolling Ball Club, Mad Muggle Comics Club, Chocolate Frog Card Collecting Club, and so on—all these clubs are like this. To put it bluntly, people who choose to join these clubs do so for the club's activities, not for the club's leader.

However, how many of the young wizards who chose to join the Sleeping Dragon Society were drawn by Skylar's charm and reputation? To put it bluntly, almost all of them were.

Some of them were Skylar's fervent admirers, some were natural allies in Skylar's slogans because of their weak family backgrounds, and some were junior wizards from powerful families who were forced by their families to curry favor with Skylar and befriend Skylar, or at least become acquainted with him.

It's safe to say that if Skylar were to pass away one day, at least 80% of the members of the Sleeping Dragon Society would run away.

The young wizards looked around at each other, but then hesitated, none daring to speak.

Ultimately, it was Daphne, the organization's nominal leader and de facto second-in-command, who spoke up.

"Skylar, you must already have your thoughts," Daphne stepped forward and said loudly. "I believe that after so much time and effort, everyone here has developed a sense of belonging and connection. We all trust your judgment. Just say what you're thinking, and we'll all listen to you."

"Yes!" shouted a new Slytherin boy in his second year.

"We all believe in you!" said Melinda Bobin, a second-year student from Ravenclaw.

The other young wizards also slowly began to chime in.

"Since you all want to hear it," Skylar's lips curled into his signature smile, "Then I can give you a heads-up: what I'm about to say might be a bit alarmist, and could even make some people uncomfortable..."

"But if each of you truly believes me from the bottom of your hearts, you should all know that I wouldn't joke about something like this..." Skylar's eyes swept around, his gray pupils gradually sharpening, and a sinister Black Shadow loomed behind him.

"Based on reliable intelligence, I have every reason to believe that the person whose name cannot be spoken is about to return!" Hissing sounds of gasping for breath filled the air, and fear and unease flashed across the faces of many young wizards. However, the rules of the Sleeping Dragon Society were very strict, and no one dared to make a sound to interrupt Skylar's speech or whisper at this moment. Although the atmosphere was somewhat restless, the scene remained under control and calm.

"Time and peace are about to pass away, darkness and strife are about to arrive..." Skylar sang softly, "In the chaos of death, there will be no more pure land in the world, even Hogwarts will become a battlefield..." For some reason, although the topic was dark and heavy, Skylar's expression of it in this way did not cause greater fear.

"Opposing camps, conflicting interests..." Skylar stopped reciting, paused, and then said seriously, "No one on this land, not even me, can remain unscathed in this chaotic world. So tell me, what is your choice?"

"Should we join that person's ranks and rule this land by force? Or should we choose to stand with the so-called righteous side? Or should we find a secluded place to hide? Or should we flee to another country that that person cannot reach?"

No one dared to answer.

Everyone held their breath, searching for answers in each other's eyes.

Wizards from noble families, like the Carrow Sisters, aren't actually that afraid of that person. After all, no matter how powerful he is, he still needs subordinates and resources, and powerful Pure-blood families are his base. No matter how dissatisfied he is, he won't really turn against the Pure-blood families. Otherwise, he would really be left with nothing but a lone commander.

But the young wizards from humble backgrounds in Slytherin House were different.

When Voldemort last wreaked havoc, although he primarily targeted Muggle-born wizard, many Pure-blood and Half-blood wizards were also affected during his attempt to seize power. Those working at the Ministry of Magic lived in constant fear, terrified that their jobs or positions would make them Voldemort's targets.

In the best-case scenario, one might be controlled by the Imperius Curse and at least survive; in the worst-case scenario, being tortured by the Cruciatus Curse, having one's mind corrupted by Dark Arts are common occurrences, and it's even possible to be sent to meet Merlin directly by a Killing Curse.

Within the Sleeping Dragon Society, there are also Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw wizards, some of whom are from Muggle families, making them even more of a target for Voldemort.

Their chances of even joining Voldemort were practically zero.

Find a secluded place to hide? That's a bit of self-deception. Great Britain is only so big; isolating oneself from the world is unrealistic. It's worth noting that escaping Voldemort alone isn't difficult, and Voldemort doesn't have the time to drag out all those nameless, insignificant minor wizards from their hiding places.

The real problem is that once Voldemort seizes power, his Death Eaters will inevitably launch a new wave of plunder. These people will see wizards like hyenas seeing prey, pouncing and tearing off a piece of flesh. They won't care if you're Pure-blood, Half-blood, traitor, or Muggle, as long as you have "flesh" on you. It's like those apocalyptic movies Skylar watched in his previous life; when morality and law lose their restraint, the wickedness of human nature will be revealed without limit.

Escape abroad? It sounds feasible. Just last month, to be precise, on March 26th, Muggle governments began to implement the Schengen Agreement, thus establishing the Schengen Area. Border controls between Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg were officially abolished, greatly facilitating the movement of wizards.

But where could he escape to? Last time, Voldemort's activities were ostensibly limited to Great Britain, but that was because he was firmly restrained by Dumbledore. Even so, he still launched sporadic activities in the Slavic Region of Eastern Europe, from which he recruited the infamous Antonin Dolohov.

(Author's note: Many fanfictions claim that Voldemort's influence was limited to Britain, but no author has ever explained where Dolohov and Karkaroff came from...)

It is certain that in other territories controlled by the Ministry of Magic, as long as there are social classes, high-ranking Pure-blood families, and supporters of bloodline theory, there will inevitably be Voldemort's supporters there. They are just waiting for the right moment for Voldemort to unify Great Britain and then extend his reach outwards.

Skylar asked everyone to think quietly for a while.

Then he spoke.

"Now, as the leader of the Sleeping Dragon Society, as your leader," Skylar raised his right hand high, "I can give all of you a choice—"

"In this chaotic world, the one whose name cannot be spoken will ignite a war..." Skylar's eyes shone brightly as he said in a deep voice, "He will bring chaos, disorder, and terror to this world. Disorder is the most terrifying... because no one is safe when they go out, and even staying at home is not necessarily safe..."

"Those with malicious intentions will take advantage of the chaos and profit from the confusion; the darkest side of humanity will be brutally exposed..." Skylar then changed the subject, "Therefore, we need the ability to protect ourselves. If one person's strength is not enough, then find a group of people to band together and protect each other—"

"The Sleeping Dragon Society was founded for this moment," Skylar said, his sharp gaze sweeping across each face. The young wizards present all felt a strange sense of being stared at individually by Skylar. "Like I said, the Sleeping Dragon Society is family. Here, everyone is a brother or sister, and I—"

"As one of you, I am no exception," Skylar said calmly. "I will stand with you, no matter what lies ahead, hell or a sea of fire..."

"Now I need you to ask yourselves—" Skylar, then stated the key point. "Chaos is an opportunity, the slumbering dragon is about to awaken, are you willing to follow me, join me in overcoming this crisis, and create a future together!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Black Shadow behind Skylar expanded rapidly with a bang. It looked like a king cobra, even larger than Basilisk, exceeding 60 feet in length. Its blurry outline seemed to be hidden in the mist, making it difficult to see clearly, revealing only two snake eyes that gleamed with a terrifying red light. At the same time, Skylar's pupils also turned into Snake Eyes, flashing a dazzling crimson light. He activated for the first time the secret technique inherited from Slytherin—

Absolute Dominion!