Memory Modification

Yes, Skylar altered his memories before meeting Dumbledore.

Skylar didn't use the common Memory Charm or Memory Charm, but rather the Absolute Dominion inherited from Slytherin. Although the effects of these three methods are similar, their underlying principles are completely different.

Skylar understood all three spells, and was quite proficient in them. Here's how he understood the differences between them:

If we describe memory as a dense network of countless interconnected nodes, each node represents a piece of raw data that cannot be understood. Each node has countless sockets and plugs. Through the cross-node connections of these sockets and plugs, the raw data is compiled into an understandable information network. Then, through the overlapping and layering of this information network, a complete memory system that is consistent and logically self-consistent is formed.

(Those who study data analysis are probably better able to understand this principle. Nodes are raw data, two or more nodes linked together form an information network, and when all information networks interweave and overlap, they form a knowledge system.)

If the curse is the Memory Charm, a portion of the nodes on the Great Web will be directly erased, as if they never existed. This is why the conman Professor Lockhart was able to evade justice for so long; when struck by a complete Memory Charm, memories are almost irreparable, so almost no one can find any evidence against him.

Of course, encountering a master like Voldemort is a different story. The Cruciatus Curse is the only known way to break the Memory Charm, but it requires extremely high skill to inflict pain and torment without driving the person insane.

Memory Charm, also known as Memory Manipulation Charm, can be divided into many different types depending on their effects and duration. The most common one is the one Hermione cast in the seventh book of the original series when she decided to have her parents forget her and live in Australia with a completely new identity in order to participate in the fight against Voldemort.

The principle behind this spell is to overlay new memories onto existing ones, sealing and hiding the original memory nodes. The relevant memory nodes don't disappear; they are simply buried deeper into the subconscious from the conscious mind. The spell's effect is reversible; with the correct undoing, the recipient can regain their original memories. In the original story, Hermione successfully went to Australia to find her parents, broke the spell, and the family was reunited.

The weakness of this spell is that it can be broken if someone notices something is wrong. A skilled Legilimens can even bypass these false memories and extract the true memories that have been covered up and hidden. In the original story, young Tom Riddle used this spell to alter the memories of his uncle and House Elf Hokey after committing murder, making his uncle guilty of murdering the Riddle family and Hokey guilty of manslaughtering her master, Hepzba Smith.

While most of the Ministry of Magic's staff are not particularly capable, that refers to ordinary clerical positions, not the Auror or other military forces, nor the members of the Wizengamot. The selection process for the Wizengamot is extremely rigorous, and even with the immense efforts of Pure-blood families over the past few centuries, it has been very difficult to infiltrate. At least before Skylar's arrival, the powerful House of Malfoy had never secured a seat.

According to some unwritten rules that Skylar was aware of, besides obtaining the easiest shortcut —the Order of Merlin —the other requirement to become a member of the Wizengamot was the ability to cast a fully tangible Patronus Charm.

Because the Patronus Charm is seen as a reflection of the soul, and because of the account in the Book of Spells of Raczidian's attempt to cast Patronus Charm and the resulting backlash, there is a common misconception that those who can cast the Patronus Charm must be of pure heart. This is certainly not true, but the impression of the Patronus Charm in the wizarding world is deeply ingrained and difficult to change.

The difficulty of the Patronus Charm is well-known; most wizards who want to join the Wizengamot must master this spell. This shows that none of the wizards in the Wizengamot are simpletons. Yet, these two murders managed to deceive everyone in the Wizengamot at the time.

However, when Skylar was in his second year, after Dumbledore discovered and confirmed the existence of Horcrux from Tom's Diary, and because Voldemort treated the notebook with such carelessness and casualness, Dumbledore began to suspect that he had created more than one Horcrux, but it was only a suspicion. After all, there are other ways to achieve immortality besides Horcrux, and he could not be certain that Voldemort had other hidden plans that he did not know about.

In the fourth book of the original series, after Harry escapes from Little Hangleton Graveyard, he recounts Voldemort's resurrection and everything that happened in the cemetery to Dumbledore. Dumbledore astutely perceives from Voldemort's words, "I have gone further than anyone else on the road to immortality," a fact that Dumbledore has always refused to believe, even unwilling to accept—

Voldemort actually created more than one Horcrux.

This is an astonishing discovery. Throughout history, there have been countless dark wizards of great renown and immense power, but none have ever accomplished this "feat," nor has anyone even been willing to attempt it.

It's important to understand that murder is merely the energy that provides the soul-tearing power in the creation of Horcrux; it's arguably the most insignificant part of the entire process. The entire Horcrux -making ritual is incredibly dark, cruel, disgusting, and perverse—the kind of thing an author would be imprisoned for if they wrote about it. Creating one Horcrux is enough to corrupt a soul to the deepest level of evil; Voldemort, who created more than one Horcrux, almost needs a new word to describe his evil.

At this point, Dumbledore was 90% certain that Voldemort had created more than one Horcrux.

Finally, in the fifth book of the original series, Dumbledore heard Harry's description of witnessing the attack on Arthur from Nagini's perspective in his sleep. From the smoke snakes emitted by the silver instrument, he finally fully confirmed the conclusion of "substantial separation," that is, Voldemort's soul had been divided into many fragments, and the fragments were mysteriously connected.

(Note: In the original text Dumbledore said "inessense divided," but the People's Daily Chinese version translated it literally as "in essence, they are separated." This may mislead Chinese readers into understanding the true meaning of this passage. Essence means essence or core, and here Dumbledore is alluding to the soul.)

Thus, Dumbledore recalled the suspicious circumstances surrounding the two murders involving the young Tom Riddle and reopened the investigation.

Even after so many years, Dumbledore still managed to break the Memory Charm and then used Legilimency to extract the true memories, proving that Voldemort was the mastermind behind the two murders. Although Dumbledore told Harry that it was an extremely difficult and technically demanding process, he ultimately succeeded.

Crouch's situation is completely different from the two mentioned above.

His portion of the memory network was directly broken down into scattered nodes by Skylar. Although the memory nodes still existed, the connections between them were completely severed. The severed nodes were similar to the effect of the Memory Charm; they were truly gone and could not be recovered by normal methods or breaking spells. Furthermore, the original data represented by the memory nodes was too fragmented, and even if Dumbledore had extraordinary abilities, it would be impossible for him to decipher them.

If it were Voldemort, Skylar had considered the possibility that the Cruciatus Curse could break the connection. His conclusion was that using the Cruciatus Curse might restore some of the node connections, but there was a greater probability that the node connections would be incorrect, ultimately leading to memory confusion and driving people insane.

The only way to restore a subject's memories is for an artist who understands the entire memory network to modify the memories again, reconnecting the nodes according to their original links.

Crouch was experiencing the "Absolute Dominion" that Skylar had preordained for him.

Skylar unleashed a second "Absolute Dominion" upon him, which, at midnight, would allow him to rewrite his memories back to their previous state.

In that instant, he remembered that night he could never forget—

He had just finished a busy day at the Ministry of Magic and returned home. Without the help of his House Elf, he also had to juggle housework and his unruly son. He dared not hire any help for fear of revealing his son's existence. He could only do his best to manage both his work at the Ministry of Magic and his household chores.

He had just checked the Imperius Curse he had cast on his son when he suddenly discovered that his house had been broken into. The mansion of the prestigious Sacred Twenty-Eight was naturally surrounded by countless guard and defensive spells. The person who could force their way into the Crouch Manor in such a short time before he could even react must be no ordinary individual.

As a politician in the Ministry of Magic known for his hardline stance and hatred of evil, he was well aware of the number of enemies he had made over the years. The arrival of a dark wizard seeking revenge did not surprise him, so he quickly grabbed his wand and prepared for battle.

What he never expected was that what he saw as he broke down the door was a scene he would never forget—

A hideously ugly infant, though seemingly tiny, possessed an incredibly powerful aura. He had no doubt; this was the legendary man whose name was forbidden to be spoken—he had returned.

He picked up his wand and fought, but was no match for his opponent.

Voldemort at this point was no longer at the level he was when Skylar went to him to ask for Nagini. After a long period of recuperation (the Unicorn blood in the Rudimentary Body Potion could also restore his power to a certain extent), coupled with the fact that he had murdered two people (Bertha Jorkins and the Muggle guarding Riddle House) and created an additional Horcrux, his power had become extremely formidable.

In a short battle, although it cannot match its true peak level, if it were to unleash its full power, it should be almost the same. Of course, its physical condition does not allow it to fight for a long time; it can only unleash its combat power for a short period of time, and then it needs to take a large amount of Rudimentary Body Potion to recover afterwards.

In the end, Barty Crouch Sr. was subdued.

He was controlled by the Imperius Curse cast by Voldemort himself. Voldemort was naturally very strong, but the physical and mental torment and exhaustion he had endured in recent days were also the reason why he could not resist the Imperius Curse.

He remembered—

After he was taken into control, Voldemort rescued his wayward son and then assigned him to infiltrate Hogwarts disguised as someone, with the intention of taking Harry Potter away.

This is crucial to Voldemort's resurrection!