Halfway Through Summer Vacation

July 26th marks just six days until the end of July, which means half of summer vacation is over.

Over the past 25 days, after settling his family and friends, Skylar first went to the Gaunt Shack. Although the mission failed, he gained new magical insights as a result. After visiting Andromeda, he successfully persuaded her to return to the family and also successfully recruited Nymphadora as his new servant.

Then, they invested in and acquired a third of the shares of the Tutshill Tornados, and formally met with the head of the Carrow family to sign a closer alliance. On the same day, they also won over the Runcorn Family, helping Mr. Runcorn gain control of a brand new military force within the Ministry of Magic.

Then he went to the Ministry of Magic to obtain international rights to use the wand, and took the opportunity to control Percy Weasley with the Imperius Curse.

Finally, there was a meeting with Grindelwald, where he obtained valuable information about the Death God Sect and a promise to fight the Death God Sect together.

From this perspective, it can be said that he gained a lot, Skylar had a very fulfilling first half of his summer vacation.

Let's turn our attention to other people and see how their summer vacation went!

Since the start of summer vacation, Harry had been confined to 4 Privet Drive, living a life completely disconnected from the wizarding world. His only entertainment was hiding on the windowsill outside the living room, secretly eavesdropping on the news broadcasts on television every day, trying to find any clues about Voldemort's resurrection. However, things didn't go as planned; most of the news was meaningless stuff like worker strikes, regional droughts, or budgerigar water skiing.

This greatly distressed Harry. As the first person to witness Voldemort's resurrection, he felt he deserved a reward, not to be left alone and abandoned in this life isolated from the magical world.

Ron and Hermione fared slightly better than Harry, living at 12 Grimmauld Place, where they could at least be with the rest of the Order of the Phoenix and stay informed about the changing situation outside. But apart from that, their lives were no different from Harry's, as they spent their days immersed in the tedious and boring work of cleaning.

The Black Ancestral Home hadn't been cleaned in over a decade. Thick layers of dust had accumulated in every corner, and it had bred a lot of pests. This left them feeling powerless, as if no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't clean the whole house.

None of the three realized that nearly half of the summer vacation had already passed, and they had accomplished nothing, wasting their time.

Draco followed Skylar's advice and, not long after the start of summer vacation, signed up for professional-level Quidditch training organized by Puddlemere United. For safety reasons, he used a pseudonym when he signed up and drank Polyjuice Potion beforehand to impersonate a Muggle during the training.

Pansy also participated in similar training, except she attended the Holyhead Harpies' training camp. Draco, the Slytherin Quidditch Team, had already designated her as the new Chaser. In order to meet and achieve Draco's goal, Pansy devoted herself wholeheartedly to training and worked very hard. Even Captain Gwenog felt that she had made great progress.

With the return of two outstanding players, Derian Pursey and Terence Higgs Family, who were kicked out of the team by the former captain, and the leadership of three veteran players, Graham Montague, Cassius Warrington, and Draco, the new team only needs to find two new members— Pansy is one of them, and the other one that Draco has his eye on is Steven Vaisey, who is one year younger than him and has extremely strong arms, making him very suitable to become a Beater.

Of course, Draco didn't know that Steven Vaisey was the next captain in the original story, which shows his excellence.

Daphne, Astoria, Morrie, and Luna all lived at the Greengrass Manor. Since the manor employed several experienced retired Aurors as guards, the four of them often sought their advice and skills in actual combat.

The four of them had plenty of powerful magical techniques in the study plan that Skylar had arranged for them. Rather than mastering new magic, they needed to make up for their lack of practical experience. So, since the summer vacation, the four of them have made significant progress.

Skylar was unaware of these things; all he knew was that he had never stopped striving to become stronger, and that was enough.

Aalborg, northern Denmark, an abandoned old port.

As evening approached, the pier was already sparsely populated. Several Muggles seemed to have remembered something important and quickly dispersed. However, some people remained.

"It seems Durmstrang's ship comes with Muggle-Repelling Charm; these people must be Durmstrang's students."

Skylar surveyed the remaining people. Most of them were teenagers, gazing listlessly at the sea. Although Skylar was an international celebrity, he dressed very discreetly; the hood of his cloak concealed his platinum blonde hair, forehead, and eyes, revealing only his nose and below, so no one recognized him.

Just then, the surface of the Black Sea began to boil, as if something enormous was about to rise from beneath the surface. The sea surged and the waves quickly reached the shore, crashing violently against the beach, even from a distance.

Immediately afterwards, a huge whirlpool suddenly appeared on the sea, from which several long, dark masts burst forth, followed by sails and rigging... Finally, the bow of the ship, carrying immense momentum, leaped out of the sea and crashed heavily back down, stirring up even higher waves.

Under the moonlight, the damp ship's hull seemed to Winky.

This is Durmstrang's Ghost Ship.

The large ship rocked on the turbulent water as it began to sail toward the shore. A moment later, Skylar heard a loud splash as several anchors were thrown into the sea, followed by a thud as a long plank was laid on the shore.

The people on the dock, their faces filled with excitement, stepped onto the wooden planks. Skylar tightened his cloak and followed the others onto the Ghost Ship.

In Northern Europe, Muggle schools typically start in mid-August, about two weeks earlier than Hogwarts. However, Durmstrang's school spirit emphasizes competition, so many students choose to return to school early for self-study or extra classes in order to stand out from the undercurrent of competition. In other words, regardless of the students' talents, this is a school where everyone is Hermione -esque!

Several people who appeared to be there to guide the students were standing on the deck. They were all covered in thick fur cloaks, obscuring their faces, and wore woolen gloves.

As soon as Skylar stepped onto the deck, someone walked towards them.

As he got closer, Skylar could finally make out his face in the dim light. He was a young man with delicate features, whose aloof demeanor perfectly matched the icy landscape of Northern Europe. He had shoulder-length dark brown curly hair and thick brown eyebrows.

"Hello sir, I'm Kristof, one of the 7th- Prefects, and the person in charge of welcoming the new students today," he said, then frowned and added, "You're not on the list or in the photos I have. Do you have any identification?"

Kristof's magic wasn't bad; perhaps not as powerful as Eleanor's when her wand was unsealed and at full strength, but not much less than Krum's. Skylar understood his cautious attitude; after all, Durmstrang's location was one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in the global wizarding world. Every year, countless fools would find information about Ghost Ships docking there and try to conceal their identities and board the Ghost Ships to Durmstrang.

"Hello, uh, this isn't the right place to talk. I have something to show you," Skylar said sincerely.

Kristof gave Skylar a suspicious look before giving his two henchmen a wink. Then, holding his wand, he said to Skylar, "Let's go to the room. There's no one else there, but you have to walk in front of me, and keep your hands where I can see you."

Damn, this is practically treating Skylar as a suspect.

Skylar wasn't angry. He chuckled, nodded in agreement, and then entered a room in the direction she pointed out.

No sooner had Skylar stepped into the room than a sharp whistling sound came from behind him—this guy had launched a sneak attack!

Unfortunately, he encountered Skylar, who possessed the Divine Insight of Amaterasu. No matter which direction the sneak attack came from Skylar, the success rate was almost zero!

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, all in one look!

Skylar didn't even take out his wand. He turned slightly to the side and gently waved his hand behind him. The red light shooting from behind seemed to be broken into threads and vanished into nothingness in an instant.

Kristof was startled for a moment, then shouted as if he had just woken up, "There's an intruder here! Everyone, come help!"

At this moment, Skylar removed his hood and said with a hint of displeasure, "I am a distinguished guest invited by Karkaroff. Is this how Durmstrang treats me? Attacking me before even confirming my identity?"

"Everyone who infiltrates the Ghost Ship says the same thing—we've arrested several of the principal's relatives over the past few years, from cousins to grandfathers. You have no proof, so why should we believe you?" shouted a burly henchman behind Kristof.

For some reason, even though the two men's faces had no resemblance whatsoever, Skylar couldn't help but see the shadows of Goyle and Crabbe in this lackey.

Skylar suppressed a laugh and pulled out the Durmstrang school badge that Karkaroff had given him. "Here, if you want proof, this is the identification Karkaroff gave me. I was just about to show it to you privately, but you suddenly made the first move."

Kristof and his men looked at each other, unsure of what to do in this situation.

They were aware of the existence of the Durmstrang school badge and knew that the person possessing it could freely enter and leave Durmstrang, but they did not know how to authenticate it, and they had never heard of Karkaroff giving the badge to anyone.

"A bunch of useless idiots," a pleasant female voice drifted into the room on the wind, "I was just at the communications station to receive the headmaster's latest instructions, a mere five minutes' work, and you managed to mess up the orientation of the new students. It seems your positions as Prefects are truly undeserved. I think I should propose a new round of Prefect selection competitions to the headmaster."

"No! Please don't!" Kristof cried out in anguish. "I've poured countless hours and five long years into climbing to this position, I can't lose it! Please, beautiful Miss Savannah, an angel as beautiful as you wouldn't be so cruel, would you?"

Skylar instantly learned the whole story from the whispers of those around him.

Unlike Hogwarts, where Prefects are appointed by the headmaster alone, a decision that no one else can object to, Durmstrang employs a brutal selection process.

Every student can earn points through exam scores, extracurricular activities, Quidditch Matches, and completing tasks from professors or the school. The student with the highest points can obtain resources provided by the school—such as Prefect, Quidditch seats, even Restricted Section passes, and the right to participate in academic clubs privately established by professors.

Of course, the most famous way to earn points is through duels.

Duels are a popular sport at Durmstrang University. A banner on the most prominent wall of the main hall displays a power ranking, updating in real-time the duelists' strength based on their win-loss ratio. As a result, Durmstrang's Dueling Club is the largest and most popular club in the entire school.

The half-open door was suddenly pushed open, and a cool breeze accompanied by the soft sound of high heels wafted in.

Skylar subconsciously turned his head, his gaze falling on the person who had just entered. What came into view was a tall woman wearing a white robe. Judging from her appearance, she didn't seem to be much older than Skylar, and her age was probably similar to that of Nymphadora Tonks. The moonlight from outside the door shone on her, as if draping her in a mysterious veil.

Her figure was tall and elegant, a well-tailored white robe outlining her smooth lines. Her silvery-white hair and snow-white, translucent skin shimmered in the moonlight, reflecting off her clear, azure eyes, as bright as an icy lake.

"Enough." Her cool voice was low and clear, carrying an insurmountable chill and an irresistible authority. The room fell silent instantly. "Can anyone tell me what happened?"