The Cursed Wand
Daphne's gaze sharpened slightly. A strange emotion welled up within her; Skylar's retreating figure gave her a sense of resolute determination, as if he were heading not to a student competition, but rather to a life-or-death duel against a formidable enemy.
She clasped her hands tightly together, forcing herself to calm her anxiety, and murmured softly, "Skylar, please don't let anything happen to you. We're all waiting for you. You must come back safe and sound..."
Dumbledore watched the four Champion leave the Great Hall. He first gazed at Harry's thin figure, his eyes filled with reluctance and complexity. He knew that Harry was about to face a major hurdle in his life, because if the Mysterious Man's target was Harry, tonight would be his last chance.
He shifted his gaze to another Hogwarts Champion, his brow furrowing deeply. Although the Great Hall doors were at least fifty paces from where he stood, he could sense it—
Skylar's magic was surging and churning, emanating a chilling and imposing aura—a situation Dumbledore too familiar with.
This is magic similar to that of the Elder Wand!
Ever since Skylar stole the Philosopher's Stone at the end of the first year, Dumbledore had been keeping a close eye on the young House of Malfoy. He sent out his intelligence network to gather information about the boy, but information within the House of Malfoy was not easy to obtain, and he had little way of knowing anything about Skylar's activities at the Malfoy Manor.
The only thing he found was the details of what happened at Ollivander's Wand Shop and Madam Malkin's Clothing Shop on the day Skylar went to Diagon Alley before enrolling.
The multi-functional wizard robe that Skylar specially commissioned from the clothing store clearly had a strong practical application, indicating that the child had developed a fighting spirit at a very early age. However, this was still within Dumbledore's acceptable range and could be left aside for the time being.
Dumbledore couldn't help but Skylar's behavior at the wand shop seriously.
Although Ollivander was the expert in wandcraft, it didn't mean Dumbledore was completely ignorant of it. After all, he was once an internationally renowned alchemist, and wandcraft originated from alchemy. By drawing parallels, he had some knowledge of wandcraft. He strongly agreed with Ollivander's statement that "the wand chooses the wizard."
According to Ollivander, he vouched for his amazing memory that Skylar had tried seven Unicorn wands (starting with the Unicorn Tail Hair because his twin brother had one), twelve Dragon Heartstring wands, and nine Phoenix Tail Feather wands at the wand shop that day. He had tried almost every wand combination he could think of that might be suitable for Skylar, but he couldn't find a single wand that matched.
In order to preserve the reputation of his family as a staff-making clan, he had no choice but to take out the Thestral Tail Feather staff left by his great-grandfather.
This wand has an extraordinary origin, far more complex than Ollivander claimed when he tricked the Malfoy over three years ago. His great-grandfather, in his pursuit of creating a wand that surpassed the Elder Wand and was the most powerful wand in history, devoted himself tirelessly to its creation. Ultimately, his excessive obsession led him to succumb to his inner demons, and on the day he finally completed the wand, he was utterly exhausted, vomited blood, and died on the spot.
Having lost the family's most outstanding wand-making expert, the entire family now regards the wand as Grim object, and numerous rumors have been secretly spread within the family.
One theory is that this is a cursed wand that curses the wizard who created it, causing his death and reaping his life and soul as a sacrifice, which is then transformed into the wand's power.
Of course, this claim has never been successfully proven.
Regardless, the wand's sinister nature is undeniable.
Other members of the Ollivander Family had also secretly tried using the wand, but they couldn't even cast a Lumos with it. They tried displaying it in their shop for sale, but discovered that when the wand was present, the other wands in the shop would immediately lose their power, causing the young wizards who came to buy wands to be unable to connect with them at all.
Left with no other option, the family hired an alchemist at great expense to create a box containing magical crystals of the four elements, which they then hid in a secret compartment of Ollivander's Wand Shop.
On that day, a perfect match was achieved between Skylar and the Thestral Tail Feather wand—a match Ollivander had never even imagined.
This phenomenon was beyond Ollivander's understanding of wands, and couldn't be explained simply by saying "the wand chooses the wizard." He could only begin to believe the old story about a curse—
This is a cursed magic wand, destined to have only one master in its lifetime. Only the person chosen by the most elusive concept of "fate" in mysticism is qualified to be its master, and no one else can wield it.
When it comes to the power of the Thestral Tail Feather, Dumbledore probably the most knowledgeable among living wizards. He is very clear about the amplification that the Thestral Tail Feather Wand can provide to its wielder when casting spells, especially when casting Dark Arts, where the amplification is even more astonishing.
Therefore, for the past few years, Dumbledore had been secretly observing Skylar, watching for any signs of a deep interest in Dark Arts. Having dealt with both Grindelwald and Voldemort, two of the greatest dark wizards, he knew best the aura of someone skilled in Dark Arts. Grindelwald was arrogant, wild, and flamboyant; Voldemort was cunning, treacherous, cruel, and ruthless—
None of these traits were present in Skylar; instead, Skylar was more like a human being.
He himself.
Skylar possessed the same ambition as Grindelwald, yet he was able to remain humble and patient like himself; Skylar had the same forbearance and resourcefulness as Voldemort, yet he, like himself, possessed "love" and "bonds".
In the end, he could only choose to believe that Skylar would, like himself, restrain his desire for power and become the master of the wand, rather than a slave to it.
The reason Dumbledore frowned at this moment was not because he had caught sight of the aura of the Thestral Tail Feather in Skylar's back, nor because Skylar had revealed the aura of Dark Arts.
To be honest, he already knew that Skylar possessed the Thestral Tail Feather, so the fact that Shalnark displayed an aura similar to the Elder Wand didn't surprise him at all. Even if Skylar had truly revealed the aura of Dark Arts, Dumbledore might have been somewhat serious or even had a headache, but he wouldn't have looked at him with such an incredulous expression.