Intelligence Comes First

It's June, and the sun shines brightly outside the castle, with occasional cool breezes that refresh the spirit. (Reading M)

"Hey," Skylar called out to Draco, Goyle, and Crabbe from afar as she walked towards the edge of the woods. "Draco, Goyle, Crabbe, I saw you all gathered here from a distance, acting all mysterious. What are you doing?"

"Ah, Skylar, it's you! Come here!" Draco's eyes lit up when he saw Skylar. "I have something to show you. Take a look at this first." He held out his palm, on which a plump beetle was crawling in circles. The patterns around the beetle's antennae looked like an ugly pair of glasses. Draco's tone was full of smugness. "Can you guess what this is?"

A barely perceptible glint flashed in Skylar's eyes. He glanced at the beetle intently, chuckled, and said, "What's so hard to guess? An Animagus?"

Draco's mouth opened wide enough to fit a goose egg inside.

After a long pause, he shook his head, came to his senses, and muttered, "Amazing, how did you figure that out?"

"Magic always leaves a trace," Skylar said calmly. "No matter how skilled the wizard or how subtle the magic, it's impossible to leave no trace... Look closely, don't the patterns near this beetle's antennae look like a pair of glasses?"

"Hearing you say that, it does seem to make sense..." Draco first carefully examined the patterns on the beetle, then nodded and laughed, "You're quite something! But you couldn't possibly guess who this is, could you?"

"Of course I couldn't guess, I'm not a god... There are only seven Animagus registered with the Ministry of Magic in Great Britain this century, and none of them are beetles..." Skylar shook his head with a smile, "But I'm guessing it's a bespectacled lady, and not young, at least forty to sixty years old. Do you think I'm right?"

"Impressive!" Draco gave a thumbs up. "It's quite impressive that you could guess that. Let me tell you, she's Rita Skeeter, a reporter for the Daily Prophet. I just had her interview me and asked her to write a short article about Potter." Draco couldn't help but reveal a smug smile. "It'll definitely give him a 'big surprise'!"

"You," Skylar smiled helplessly, "Didn't you promise me you wouldn't cause Potter any more trouble and would focus on improving your own strength? Don't forget, you bear the responsibility of becoming the next head of the House of Malfoy!"

"Tch, tch, of course I haven't forgotten," Draco first feigned displeasure with a snort, then laughed, "Since I promised you, I'll definitely do my best. Even if I can't beat you, at least I can't be inferior to your few confidantes. However, besides trying my best, I can't let go of an opportunity to annoy Potter with just a few words and without much effort!"

"Okay, okay, I believe you. We're brothers, right?" Skylar hugged Draco's neck. "I can distrust anyone else, but I'll never distrust you, because you're my foolish brother! Hahaha..."

Draco blushed and broke free from Skylar's arm. "Damn it! When I'm stronger than you, I'll call you 'Stupid Little Brother'! You just wait!"

The two brothers looked at each other, then burst into laughter at the same time.

Goyle and Crabbe didn't understand what had happened to the two brothers or why they were laughing, but they just Dazed and laughed along with them. For a moment, the area around the shade of the tree was filled with laughter.

"Alright, brother, I have something I'd like to ask you—" Skylar stopped laughing and spoke.

"You want Skeeter?" Draco quickly guessed Skylar's meaning.

"Hmm," Skylar didn't deny it, "She's very useful to me. Can you hand her over to me?" At the same time, the beetle suddenly spread its wings and took flight. Skylar quickly raised his hand and pointed his index finger in the air in the direction of the beetle. The beetle seemed to have encountered an invisible solid barrier and could not fly away from Draco's palm no matter how hard it tried.

Draco watched Skylar Wandless Magic, a flicker of envy in his eyes. He had also tried to learn this spellcasting technique, even consulting with his ancestors, but he could never quite master it, only managing to cast it successfully a few times by chance when inspiration struck.

He scrutinized Skylar's face intently for a long while before saying, "You want to use her to gather intelligence for you?"

Skylar's gaze suddenly deepened. He first scrutinized Draco for a while, then a slight smile appeared on his lips, and he snapped his fingers. A faint buzzing sound appeared in the air. Draco recognized this as the Muffliato, and even Goyle and Crabbe, who were right next to him, couldn't hear the next half-sentence from Skylar.

"I'm truly surprised you guessed that so quickly," Skylar said calmly. "Then, brother, did our ancestors ever tell you what determines the outcome of wars and games? Is it the number of people?"

Draco thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "Logistics and resources? There's a saying that a continuous supply of resources is the greatest cornerstone of victory. In ancient times, it was said that 'an army marches on its stomach,' right?"

"No," Skylar shook his head, "In a true struggle for supremacy, intelligence always comes before supplies. If you want to become a qualified family head, strength and power alone are not enough. You must learn to use all sorts of intelligence networks."

Skylar's pupils shone brightly as he said in a deep voice, "I have already built my own intelligence network, but Skeeter has a unique talent for gathering intelligence. Just look at how she managed to dig up Hagrid's identity as the mother of the Giant —such an old story from decades ago—that shows how formidable she is..."

"What I want is the intelligence network she has already built. I believe it can greatly complement my own intelligence network, saving me at least ten years of effort in its growth and development."

Draco nodded, indicating that he understood, and then handed the beetle in his hand to Skylar.

Skylar took out a crystal bottle engraved with alchemical runes, put the beetle inside, and then set off with Draco and his two companions on their journey back to the castle.

Skylar looked up at the castle, his eyes suddenly becoming as sharp as a hawk's. He saw Ron and Hermione's faces at the window of the Gryffindor Tower.

He waved generously to Hermione, his gaze clearly catching the surprise on Hermione face followed by a blush, and he couldn't help but smile. Only after Hermione waved back did he walk back towards the castle gate.