Plans for the Future

Let's leave aside the story of Harry, and Meghan for now.

Barty Crouch Sr. left the Hospital Wing at midnight. At this time, Hogwarts Castle was under curfew, and there was not a soul in sight. Barty Crouch Jr., the only one who had the Marauder's Map, had fallen asleep due to his relaxed vigilance and injuries, so no one noticed Barty Crouch Sr.'s whereabouts.

The next challenge lies in how to approach the young Young Malfoy. He was once a member of Slytherin House, and he knows the location of the Slytherin Common Room, but he can't get in without a password. If he accidentally triggers some warning spell and attracts the professors, it would be a huge loss.

There was no hesitation in his eyes; on the contrary, a shrewd glint would occasionally flash across them.

Since the young Malfoy had planned to regain his memories at midnight, he couldn't have been unaware of this.

"Could this be considered... a test of my abilities?" This absurd thought flashed through Barty Crouch Sr.'s mind, as if he had suddenly become a greenhorn just entering society, while Skylar was a cunning old fox. "If I can't even figure this out, will my value be significantly reduced in Malfoy's eyes?" Thinking of this, even with Barty Crouch Sr.'s worldly experience, he couldn't help but feel a chill.

Barty Crouch Sr. steadied himself and Silencio approached the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room.

Sure enough, just as he was about ten steps from the entrance, the stone wall leading to the Slytherin Common Room opened automatically from the inside.

Standing at the door was none other than the platinum-blonde-haired boy, Skylar Malfoy. He wore a calm and peaceful smile, as if he had long anticipated Barty Crouch Sr.'s arrival.

Skylar was well aware of Barty Crouch Sr.'s purpose in coming.

The new memories that suddenly popped into Barty Crouch Sr.'s mind were his masterpiece. Not only that, he also used Absolute Dominion to rewrite Barty Crouch Sr.'s inner personality, and through the impact of extreme disappointment with family affection, his long-buried ambitions and desires were unearthed and sprouted again.

Actually, some of Ron's deductions last night were correct. Although the attackers weren't orchestrated by Skylar himself, Skylar certainly didn't create so much trouble just because he was bored and had nothing better to do. His target was exactly as Ron had guessed—

It's Barty Crouch the Barty Crouch Sr..

Barty Crouch Sr. was a shrewd, ambitious, resourceful, and decisive man. He was a capable individual. His ability to counter Voldemort's Imperius Curse and the Memory Charm he cast on Bertha Jorkins demonstrated his considerable magical skill and strong personal character. This was precisely what Skylar valued most in him—his talent. In comparison, his status as a Pure-blood patriarch and his position Department of International Magical Cooperation were merely icing on the cake.

Skylar glanced at the Alchemical Watch on his wrist, which he had modified and added many new functions to.

The watch face originally had twelve hands and various celestial bodies rotating along its edge. Skylar simply ran his finger across the crystal; without casting any magic, the image on the face instantly changed—

There are still twelve hands, but each hand is now engraved with a name.

Daphne Greengrass, Morrie MacDougal, Astoria Greengrass, Luna Lovegood, Cho Chang, Susan Bones, Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Dobby, Silver Fang, Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch Jr.

The edge of the dial is no longer decorated with various celestial bodies, but rather with descriptions of different states or behaviors.

At this moment, most of the hands were pointing to the "sleeping" state, including Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch Jr. This is why Skylar was looking at his watch.

After defeating and capturing Barty Crouch Jr. in the Forbidden Forest with Stunning Spell, Skylar first altered Barty Crouch Jr.'s memories, then implanted the command "Suppression" into his mind, which would make him feel extremely tired and drowsy. Only then did he release him to continue his role as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. Skylar predicted that by this time, the command in Barty Crouch Jr.'s mind should have already been activated, and he should have fallen into a deep sleep.

However, the cautious Skylar never did anything without certainty. He knew that Barty Crouch Jr.. had the Marauder's Map, and most of the Secret Passage in Hogwarts, including Secret Passage on the fifth floor, couldn't be hidden from him. Therefore, he had to make sure that Barty Crouch Jr.. was truly asleep at this moment.

Almost all the pointers pointed as he expected, which put his mind at ease. Only two things surprised and delighted him—

Luna and Susan's pointers were pointing to "Practicing Magic." Practicing magic past midnight? How hard are they working!

Regardless of why Luna and Susan are working so hard, let's focus on the meeting between Skylar and Barty Crouch Sr.!

Skylar put his finger to his lips, gesturing for silence. Although all the humans in Hogwarts were asleep, it didn't mean their meeting was absolutely secret. The portraits, statues, armor, and Ghost in the castle could all become Dumbledore's spies.

Skylar first cast an Invisible Phantom Charm and Silencing Charm on the two of them, then whispered instructions to Barty Crouch Sr. and him to slowly walk towards the mirror Secret Passage on the fifth floor. The two passed through the mirror and continued until they reached the secret Chamber of Secrets in the basement of the Miraculous Alchymia, where the invisibility spell was broken.

"Sir, have you made your decision?" Skylar had sacrificed his sleep late at night and didn't want to waste too much time here, so he went straight to the point.

Barty Crouch Sr. fully understood Skylar's meaning: he was being asked if he was willing to represent the entire Crouch Family's power, Skylar Schelling's camp, and follow his lead. Having already made his decision back at the Hospital Wing, he wouldn't back down now. He nodded and said, "I have one condition..."

"You want me to kill your son?" Skylar could easily guess what he meant.

Barty Crouch Sr. frowned at first. To be honest, he was somewhat apprehensive about Skylar's ability to see into people's hearts. This young man really didn't seem like a young man. In some ways, he was more like Dark Lord skilled at manipulating people's minds. But then he quickly relaxed his brow. The more powerful Skylar was, the more advantageous it would be for him. At this moment, he became even more determined to follow Skylar.

"Yes," he said in a deep voice, devoid of any emotion, as if they were discussing not killing his son, but the death of a beast. "If you can kill him and erase this secret of mine from the world, I am willing to swear allegiance to you on behalf of the Crouch Family and all its affiliated families, even if it means signing a magical contract."

"Sure," Skylar readily agreed. "So what are your plans now? The Mysterious Man is still at the Crouch Manor, right? It's not safe for you to go back."

Barty Crouch Sr. thought for a moment, then asked, "Is this your safe house?"

"No, this is one of my outer outposts, specifically used for my students to gather and practice magic. I mainly value the location's convenience because the Secret Passage allows forces both inside and outside the school to make contact here. But it's an outpost that can be abandoned at any time. If you want to stay here, I'll have to cast a shielding spell on your name to prevent others from finding you with owls."

Skylar thought for a moment, "I do have a genuine safe house off campus. You can hide there if you want. It's protected by the highest level of defensive magic; even the Mysterious Man can't find you."

Skylar was thinking about was Ella Cottage, which he had inherited from his grandmother. He had cast the most complete "Fidelius Charm" on it, so that if Barty Crouch Sr. decided to hide there and not come out, no one would be able to find him.

Barty Crouch Sr. pondered for a moment. If it were the cowardly and afraid-of-death Karkaroff in his place, he probably wouldn't even hesitate and would immediately agree, as if afraid that Skylar might suddenly change his mind. However, Barty Crouch Sr. didn't think that way—

Although the loss of his wife extinguished his ambitions, Barty Crouch Sr. did not become discouraged. His continued power as the head of a department and his overly serious attitude towards work reveal that he still harbored an unyielding attachment to power and career.

When he worked at the Ministry of Magic, he wasn't just wasting his time aimlessly. On the contrary, he was keenly aware of everything around him. At the time, he was disheartened by the pursuit of power and simply felt that it was no longer important to him. Since it didn't concern him, he didn't bother to care.

Last summer, on the day Skylar was awarded the Order of Merlin, Third Class, in Wizengamot, Fudge 'Black escape. Fudge then tried to win Skylar over to get closer to the Ministry of Magic and improve Ministry of Magic public image, just as he had done years before by waving Dumbledore's banner to eventually become Minister for Magic. Barty Crouch Sr. knew about this.

Later, Skylar took this opportunity to frequently visit the Ministry of Magic, talking with staff in each department and asking questions. On the surface, he was learning about the operation of the Ministry of Magic, but in reality, he used Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour as bridges to begin building a large network of connections within the Ministry of Magic, using various means of coercion and inducement to build a close and extensive alliance of interests.

Fudge probably has no idea what kind of person he's brought to the Ministry of Magic; he's still happily basking in the glow of his improved image!

Ironically, it was Barty Crouch Sr., far removed from the center of power and observing from the sidelines, who successfully gained a keen eye for the situation. He watched Skylar infiltrate department by department, observing the sudden, albeit small, but frequent, personnel changes in several departments. First, the captain of the Law Enforcement Patrol was replaced, then the intelligence chief of the Auror Unit, and then the two directors of the Beast Division and the Beings Division of the Biological Management and Control Division...

He knew that behind Skylar was not just the House of Malfoy.

Based on his observations at the Ministry of Magic, he was over 90% certain that the Bones family, Wankanda Family, House of Osbert, Runcorn Family, and McLaggen families had already aligned themselves with Skylar. This didn't even include those relatively unknown but powerful high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Magic, such as Rufus Scrimgeour, Arnold Pisgood, Bernie Pierre Sworth, Bertie Higgs Family, and so on.

As for forces outside the Ministry of Magic, he also has his own intelligence network as the head of one of the 28 holy Pure-blood families. Although he is not keen on associating with those Pure-Blood Supremacist Faction, it does not mean that he has no dealings with them at all.

He had long heard that the Greengrass Family and Nott Family families had an extraordinary relationship with Skylar. He was also certain that the families secretly associated with Skylar were definitely not limited to just these two.

This shows that Skylar had no shortage of allies and followers. What he lacked, and what he craved, was simply—

Talent.

Outstanding talent.

Talented people who can get things done for him.

And not just mediocre people who are there to make up the numbers for the sake of creating a stir.

Barty Crouch Sr. was certain that if he so easily agreed to the suggestion of hiding in the safe house, his reputation in Skylar's eyes would likely drop by at least one rating, or even worse, he would lose all value in being recruited by Sherlin.