25 Chapter 25 "Bloodline Research"
After class, the Slytherins continued to happily discuss the events of the previous lesson in the hallways.
This time, Slytherin had made a significant impact, earning a full 60 points for the house.
Gradually, Skyler's reputation among his Slytherin classmates grew.
Notably, the Malfoy brothers and Theodore Knott from the Knott family had distinguished themselves.
Based on their achievements from the previous semester, which included Skyler's invitations to join the Transfiguration club, the Charm club, and receiving the "Today's Transfiguration" Most Potential Newcomer Award, it was evident that Skyler possessed remarkable abilities.
Even the usually unruly Theodore Knott now recognized Skyler as the leader of Slytherin's students.
In Skyler's year, several Slytherin girls sought opportunities to get closer to him who often hung out with Pansy.
They occasionally asked for advice on their homework or waited in the common room for Skyler to join them for dinner.
However, Daphne and Meredith acted like protective cats, watching Skyler closely and preventing others from approaching him.
Skyler was not a pushy individual; his actions during the Defense Against the Dark Arts class were actually motivated by another purpose.
The first week of school passed quickly.
Throughout the week, Skyler attended three Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.
While these classes no longer involved practical content like the Little Green Fairy, Skyler, who had memorized Lockhart's writings, continued to participate actively in classroom discussions.
He often contributed valuable insights, earning Slytherin additional points and gaining favor with Lockhart.
During the first school weekend, Draco successfully passed the Quidditch team selection and became a seeker, following the trajectory outlined in the original book.
The only difference was that, in this world, Professor McGonagall didn't provide him with a flying broom.
Instead, he purchased a Seven Stars Sweeper with his own funds.
Skyler paid little attention to these developments.
Unlike the Draco from the original book, Draco in this world worked hard and diligently trained throughout the summer vacation.
His skills would likely rival the talented Harry Potter, and with his own broomstick, Draco exceeded Harry's capabilities as a Seeker.
It's worth noting that on the day of the Quidditch trial, Draco, who was always quick to pick fights, clashed with the trio of Harry once again.
Hermione sarcastically taunted Draco for buying his way into the Quidditch team.
In his anger, Draco resorted to calling Hermione a "Mudblood," an offensive term, which ignited a brawl between Slytherin and Gryffindor.
In retaliation, Ron recklessly cast a "slug-vomiting curse" on Draco, but in the process, his wand malfunctioned, causing him to vomit slugs throughout the day.
Upon hearing about this incident, Skyler could only shake his head in disbelief at his brother's reckless behavior. In his opinion, Draco's imitation of their father's use of the derogatory term "Mudblood" was incredibly foolish, especially considering that Hogwarts is now under the leadership of Dumbledore, who has a strong stance against such prejudices.
During the second week of school, Skyler requested Dobby to acquire a bottle of Ogden Aged Fire Whiskey.
He then carried it to Lockhart's office.
Upon Skyler's gentle knock on the door, it swiftly opened, and Lockhart greeted him at the entrance with his signature smile, saying, "Ah, Mr. Malfoy, my finest student, welcome. Please, come in."
Lockhart's office was adorned with numerous picture frames featuring Lockhart's own images, all illuminated by an array of candles.
A substantial stack of photographs on the desk depicted Lockhart's trademark wide grins.
Skyler began by presenting Lockhart with the Ogden Aged Fire Whiskey, stating his admiration for Lockhart's adventures as a fan of his books.
This comment stoked Lockhart's vanity.
After initial pleasantries, Skyler eventually broached the main reason for his visit: "Professor, I've been reading your books and encountered some perplexing matters. For instance, the chronic effects of ghoul venom mentioned in 'Swimming with the Ghoul,' or the method to resist the enchantress's mind control in 'Holiday with the Dominatrix,' and the spell that ultimately restores the werewolf to human form in 'Roaming with the Werewolf.'"
Lockhart was momentarily left speechless as Skyler's questions appeared to be rather advanced for him.
"Of course, I'm not here to seek answers from you!" Skyler clarified, his eyes darting around. "I believe you could easily answer these straightforward questions, but you chose not to include them in your books. Therefore, I'm eager to explore these issues independently."
"Indeed!" Lockhart blinked. "No, you're right, Mr. Malfoy. I encourage you to explore these questions on your own. You truly are my finest student!"
"So, I intend to search for relevant books in the library to unravel these mysteries. The issue is that these books are located in the library's restricted section, and I require a professor's permission to access them."
Lockhart nodded approvingly, "Of course, I can provide that. I can't deny a seeker the pursuit of knowledge." He enthusiastically scribbled his extravagant signature on a piece of paper, which read: "Skyler Malfoy is allowed to access the restricted library section. Gilderoy Lockhart."
"Thank you, Professor!" Skyler swiftly accepted the note.
Lockhart waved his hand magnanimously, "You're most welcome, Skyler. Study diligently, and you may achieve something akin to my own success in the future."
The restricted section library pass was acquired!
Indeed, all of Skyler's previous actions were geared toward gaining access to the library's restricted section.
Skyler possesses a vast repository of knowledge, including the collections of the Malfoy and Black families, the family curses of the four major wizarding families, Professor McGonagall's expertise in Transfiguration, and Nicolas Flamel's alchemical knowledge.
He is not lacking in powerful magic.
Skyler is well aware of his current predicament: he requires more magical power to delve into expensive and high-level magic, and a lack of magical power is his primary limitation in magical learning.
The means to increase magical power are limited.
Apart from natural magical growth with age, there are three known methods:
The acquisition of legendary magical artifacts such as ancient wands, though these are exceedingly rare and challenging to obtain.
The utilization of dark magic to transform the body is a path taken by Voldemort, but one Skyler has no desire to follow.
The use of potions and alchemical items to tap into a wizard's latent magical potential is often related to their bloodline heritage.
While Skyler explored the collections of several wizarding families, he found no records regarding bloodline powers.
This led him to contemplate a visit to the restricted section of Hogwarts' library, where he hoped to discover valuable insights on blood magic.
Over time, Skyler dedicated much of his time to the restricted section.
It exuded an eerie atmosphere that sent a shiver down one's spine when entering, with the air feeling chilling to the pores.
Among the daunting titles on the shelves were ominous books, which left Skyler speechless, considering some of their content could easily be learned, and their effect on the Wizarding world is massive.
For instance, "The Sonnet of the Wizard" featured a cover with a gaunt wizard, with seven orifices bleeding, reciting something while tilting his head back.
Curious about "The Mystery of the Soul," Skyler cautiously opened it, but the book responded with a spectral skull lunging menacingly at him. Skyler deftly avoided it, and the skull dispersed into nothingness.
Uninterested in advanced soul magic, Skyler opted not to revisit that particular book and concentrated on finding information about blood magic.
He scanned row after row of book spines, reassured by the belief that Dumbledore would prohibit books similar to "The Secret of Advanced Dark Arts" from the restricted section.
After three weeks of diligent research, Skyler managed to gather all the necessary information.
Despite the library's extensive collection, there were few materials on blood magic.
The legendary wizard Merlin's research notes on bloodline transformation were of particular help.
Merlin had attempted to enhance magical power by infusing the blood of magical creatures into a human, but his research delved into forbidden territory and had to be abandoned.
Although Skyler was somewhat disappointed for not finding a specific method to enhance his bloodline power, he remained undaunted.
Research in magic is a gradual process, not something that can be achieved overnight.
He acknowledged that he had been fortunate in his progress so far and that facing setbacks was merely a part of the learning process.
