Pure-Blood Traitors

"Harfan Monte..." Skylar repeated the name softly, his cold face expressionless. "What exactly does he want?"

"Abatair." Nalida's remnant soul slightly raised her hand, and a soft light shone through the mirror. As the light faded, a phantom manuscript appeared on the mirror, gleaming with a silvery-white light.

"I have locked this book deep within my soul using special methods, and even Harfon Montes's best efforts could not take it from me," Nalida's voice was calm yet filled with sorrow.

Skylar's gaze lingered on the fantastical book, a flicker of interest in his eyes. He calmly asked, "So, what do you want me to do?"

"Break this bondage and liberate my soul," Nalida pleaded. "In exchange, I will give you the entire contents of Abatair. This is my last wish and my only reward."

Skylar remained silent for a moment, pondering the implications. His gaze swept over the dense runes on the picture frame, sensing the powerful magic that lingered within them.

This mirror is imbued with an extremely powerful curse, and the power of a curse is generally linked to its age—it's unimaginable how powerful the curse on this mirror, which has existed for nearly a thousand years, truly is.

Not to mention, Skylar believed in karma and destiny in the magical world—if he forcibly intervened in the feud between Nalida and Harfon Monte, he might become entangled in a karmic relationship with Harfon Monte.

However, the allure of Abatair was simply too great.

It can be said that Skylar's current strength is inseparable from Abatair. Without Abatair's theories as a foundation, he would not have been able to develop such unique techniques as "Amphimagus" and "Perfect Fiendfyre Blaze".

Finally, he said in a deep voice, "Fine, I will help you, but the secret of Abatair can only belong to me."

Nalida nodded slightly, a complex emotion flickering in her eyes. "This is the price I'm willing to pay... I hope you can be more trustworthy than Monte."

Skylar did not respond.

He extended his wand, a faint blue magical light gathering at its tip, and began to decipher the mysterious runes on the picture frame.

At the same time that Skylar was engrossed in breaking the magic on the mirror, far away in Great Britain, in the Longbottom Ancestral Home in Lancashire, in the northwest of England, in a dimly lit, mysterious room.

An ancient magic lamp sat in the center of the long table, emitting a faint orange-yellow glow that reflected on the solemn faces of the attendees. A heavy, oppressive silence permeated the atmosphere, as if even the air itself was under immense pressure.

Augusta Longbottom sat at the head of the table, her silver hair like snow, dressed in a dark green robe, a long-handled dragon-headed cane gripped tightly in her hand. Her gaze was sharp as a knife, yet tinged with worry, as she said in a deep voice, "The Britain Wizarding World today is almost unrecognizable. Arthur Weasley has lost his position and real power in the Ministry of Magic, and Dumbledore —I can't believe that someone as powerful as him has been suppressed to such an extent by Fudge."

Sitting to her left was Muriel Prewett, Molly Weasley's aunt and Ron Weasley's great-aunt. This elder of the Prewett family wore a silver tiara made of Goblin, and her eyes were piercing. Although she was old, she was still full of vitality.

She sighed, and said with a hint of indignation, "Yes, Fudge may appear neutral on the surface, but deep down he's still a staunch supporter of Pure-blood Supremacy. It wasn't so obvious when he was on good terms with Dumbledore, but now that Dumbledore 've only recently broken ties, he's already showing his fangs."

"I've heard—" Gerstilda Marchbanks, sitting on the right, began. She was an elderly witch with a deep, pensive gaze, who had served for many years at the Wizarding Examinations Authority, "That the power of dark wizards is gathering in the shadows. It's not just the remnants of Voldemort's followers; as far as I know, many high-ranking officials within the Ministry of Magic are also beginning to stir up trouble. I suspect that the Ministry of Magic has been infiltrated by external forces—a situation that makes it impossible for the young wizards who support Muggle to hold out."

"That should be true," Muriel said. "Dumbledore approached me earlier and persuaded me to make Prewett Manor one of the Order of the Phoenix's safe houses, and even cast many powerful defensive spells on it that I've never seen before..."

The three people in this Chamber of Secrets are the most supportive of Dumbledore and the most pro- Muggle representatives of the Pure-blood families in the Britain wizarding world. They call themselves the "Pure-Blood Enlightenment Faction," but are more widely known outside as the "Pure-Blood Traitor Faction."

Although Neville mentioned in the original books that his grandmother Augusta had a very close relationship with Muriel and Gerlsta, the three rarely met in person anymore. They were all getting on in years, and family affairs had long been handed over to the next generation. Furthermore, Dumbledore's influence had been soaring for the past decade, allowing his supporters, the Pure-Blood Enlightenment Faction, to experience rapid growth as well.

Unless there is a major event or crisis affecting the rise and fall of the family, they have no need to gather together for a meeting.

"It seems that war is inevitable, and could break out at any moment," Augusta said solemnly, a grave look crossing his face. "What's worse, our people are being weakened and disintegrated. Families that once supported Dumbledore are now wavering, some even choosing to protect themselves."

Muriel's face was filled with grief. "Yes, we Pure-Blood Enlightenment Faction have paid too high a price to support Dumbledore —in the last Wizarding War, the two most outstanding young men of my Prewett family — Gideon and Fabian— both died in battle, severely weakening our Prewett family."

"Who isn't?" Augusta's aged face trembled slightly, as if recalling a painful past. "My beloved son and daughter-in-law— Frank and Alice —weren't they also driven insane by torture?"

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.

Yes, outstanding talents are the foundation of a family. The Pure-Blood Enlightenment Faction could have been even stronger, but unfortunately, they lost four of their most important talents in the last war. One can imagine how much of a blow this must have dealt to their power.

"Speaking of which, I originally thought—" Muriel's face suddenly showed dissatisfaction, even a hint of anger, "that Molly, the last surviving descendant of the Prewett family, could bring external support to our family after marrying into the Weasley family, but who would have thought that Arthur Weasley— "

"He's such an unambitious, mediocre guy, spending so much time in the Ministry of Magic and still achieving nothing, leaving my precious niece to live a life of poverty," she said with a disdainful sneer. "And what's the result? He can't even keep this low-paying, low-status job anymore, completely losing his influence in the Ministry of Magic."

"I heard his sentence also included a hefty fine of ten thousand Galleon," Gerlsta asked with concern, after all, they were colleagues on the same side in the Ministry of Magic. "Do you know what happened to them afterward?"

"What else can they do?" Muriel said, exasperated. "Their savings were barely enough to get by, and now they've lost their jobs and are facing a huge fine. They can only sell off the inheritance left to them by their ancestors to pay off the debt. What else can they do? Even so, Molly still borrowed a thousand Galleon from me. Can you believe it?"

Seeing Muriel's anger, the two dared not provoke her. Gerlsta changed the subject, saying, "Actually, if it weren't for that young man Kingsley from the Shacklebolt family getting into trouble, we wouldn't be in this situation."

"Yes," Augusta nodded in agreement, "Kingsley is a powerful and intelligent young man. Among the younger generation of our family, he is the one I have the most faith in, and he is capable of leading this generation of Pure-Blood Enlightenment Faction individuals."

"It's truly a pity," Muriel said, a look of regret crossing her face as she thought of Kingsley's death. "Without Kingsley, I believe the Pure-Blood Enlightenment Faction has officially entered a crisis of generational transition—" she said decisively, "Frankly, I see no future in the next generation of young wizards!"

"Is it really that bad?" Augusta said, frowning deeply. "In my opinion, the Pure-Blood Enlightenment Faction does indeed have a bleak future, but it's not entirely hopeless—"

She paused for a moment before slowly saying, "For example, Bill, Charlie, and Percy from the Weasley family are doing quite well. Bill has always been an academic high-achiever, and I hear he's doing quite well in Egypt. Charlie has athletic talent and has a promising future in Romania. Percy was recently promoted to the position of ministerial personal assistant, wasn't he?"

Muriel interrupted Augusta, saying coldly, "Don't mention that unfilial son Percy. Arthur got into this mess because of him reporting him."

"What?" Augusta exclaimed in surprise.

"That's what I heard too," Gerlsta said calmly, a hint of regret in her voice. "I never imagined the Weasley family would produce such a descendant..."

"So, that leaves only Bill and Charlie who are truly capable," Augusta said in a deep voice. "I've heard that the other Weasley children— George, Fred, and Ron— are doing mediocre work at school, practically unremarkable."

"It's hard to admit," Muriel sighed deeply, "You're right, the other Weasley kids don't really have much talent—and they're all rather unruly. You know, a few years ago when I went to the Weasley's Christmas dinner, those two troublemakers, George and Fred, actually put a Dungbomb on my seat. Can you imagine that?"

Augusta sighed as well, "My Longbottom family isn't much better. My grandson Neville —he's timid and indecisive, and always forgets things. Every year his report card almost makes my magic go berserk—with the mediocre talents they've shown so far, it's unlikely they'll achieve anything great in the future."

Muriel began, "The only saving grace is that Ron finally accomplished his only decent achievement—" She smiled for the first time that day, "And became best friends with Harry Potter Savior school, so there's a good chance he'll bring Potter into our camp in the future."

A shrewd glint flashed in her eyes as she continued, "I can tell that the Weasley's youngest daughter has been instilled with stories of Potter's heroic deeds since childhood, so she quite likes Potter. I think... perhaps a marriage alliance would be an excellent idea to firmly bind the Savior's reputation to our side..."

Augusta nodded. "That's a good idea. I'll remind Neville again that he must find a way to increase his interaction with Potter and become a closer friend and partner to him."