Chapter 169 "Armand II's Story"

"At that moment, I stood as an indomitable force, a juggernaut sweeping through all in my path!" Armand's frigid countenance briefly yielded to a glimmer of pride, only to swiftly cloud over again. "In just a matter of days, I decimated our once vast family, leaving a mere three survivors. Even the ancestral portraits, embodiments of our lineage, fell prey to my venomous grasp..."

Skyler furrowed his brow; such a tumultuous event should have etched a profound mark on the magical history of the 13th century. Yet, curiously, there was no trace of such upheaval in the historical records of magic.

The Ministry of Magic, as Skyler recollected, was established in 1707. Prior to its inception, the wizarding government operated in a much more decentralized fashion, with a loose assembly of some twenty or thirty renowned wizards convening to deliberate the fate of the magical realm—an arrangement known as the "Wizards' Council."

Reflecting on other peculiarities, Skyler couldn't help but recall a notable revelation. Hagrid, the seemingly pure-blood wizard, was not as he presented himself. In fact, he lacked pure-blood heritage altogether. A disclosure brought to light the identity of his mother, none other than the giant Fridwulfa, whose current whereabouts remained a mystery.

Another intriguing incident involved the fierce-willed witch Modesty Rabnot; Rabnott attended the game of Cuaditch (Quidditch) in 1269, where Chief of the Wizards' Council Barberus Bragge released a Golden Snidget onto the pitch. Appalled by the treatment of the bird, Rabnott protested to Chief Bragge, but he laughed at her.

Using the Summoning Charm to call the bird to her, Madam Rabnott stuffed the Snidget down the front of her robes and fled. Although she was caught, she managed to release the Snidget into the wild. While she feared that Chief Bragge would turn her into a horned toad, she was fined only ten Galleons instead.

Not able to afford the fine, she lost her house. Fortunately, however, they did not take her hippogriff, allowing her to fly to Aberdeen to stay with her sister, Prudence.

This audacious maneuver prompted Bragg to nearly transfigure him into a serpent sporting luxuriant hair—a creature akin to a horned toad.

"Why has none of this ever been documented in magical history? What was the Wizards' Council doing at that time?" Skyler inquired, unable to contain his curiosity.

"With mere wine bags and rice bags as my adversaries? They dared not defy my might after witnessing the head of the Gaunt family groveling before me in public, pleading for mercy," Armand asserted with a touch of pride. "No one dared to challenge my supremacy thereafter, and those inept families even hoped for the Malfoy family's plight!"

As for the conspicuous absence of records in official history? Isn't it apparent?" Armand sneered, a derisive smile playing on his lips. "Giants, by nature, are cruel and bloodthirsty. They teetered on the brink of extinction due to cannibalism in the last century. The surviving dozen or so giants joined the command of a mysterious figure. Under the ominous reign of this enigmatic individual, they perpetrated numerous heinous crimes, including the most savage massacre of Muggles."

"Originally, they believed they were no match for me, and I—" Armand paused, his eyes gleaming with an eerie and sinister light, his voice quivering as he continued, "After severing the bonds of family, annihilating the family that guided me in the first half of my life, eliminating all my close relatives, and erasing all emotions of love and hate... I finally... successfully took that step... Many giants who served the mysterious man met their demise at the hands of Aurors combating the dark forces, but Fridwulfa was not among them. She likely escaped to some remaining giant village nestled in the mountains abroad."

"The once haughty Malfoy family had numerous enemies and few genuinely loyal allies. Witnessing my power, no one dared to oppose me," Armand admitted. "To be honest, at this point, my desire to kill is no longer as intense because the power in my soul is too overwhelming. Sometimes, it's so potent that even I feel frightened. I have a vague sense that the power in my soul is on the verge of retaliating... Of the three remaining members of the family, one is your fourth-generation ancestor, Nicholas. He was still an infant at the time and was taken away by another family member…"

"The last member was Agatha's most beloved clan brother. Remarkably brave, he dared to stand in front of me and bravely chose to confront my blade, all to buy time for the baby's escape. His courage reminded me of Agatha, and I intended to let him go out of respect..."

"But I didn't anticipate that he would be the cause of my defeat," Armand ground his teeth, continuing, "He utilized his own life to enact a family secret—an ancient magic in the world. This magic can only be activated when the caster possesses the power to choose 'life' but willingly opts for 'death.' I must admit, I was naive; I shouldn't have entertained the sentimentality of a woman..."

"It was such an inconspicuous magic that managed to break through all my defenses. At that moment, my body became entirely immobile, losing any ability to resist. I could only watch as my body was gradually erased inch by inch..."

"Interestingly, this magic specifically targets the same bloodline as his and mine. It is the resonance of our bloodlines that allows this magic to unleash its maximum power," Armand said coldly. "As far as I know, the cost of this magic is not only his life but also exacts a heavy toll on the Malfoy family due to our giant blood!"

"It should be noted that, from that point forward, the Hagrid family would witness generations of large, fierce-looking men. Hagrid exploited his newfound power, introducing a slew of terrifying animals to frighten the students under his care. Now, here comes the question," Armand's eyes gleamed as he fixed his gaze on Skyler, "Who are you? Why can the magic eye be opened?"

"I am who I am. Nothing and no one belongs to me," Skyler responded calmly. "It seems the ancestor made a miscalculation. He didn't anticipate that you had a Horcrux and could escape death, nor did he expect that you would turn the Patriarch Ring into a Horcrux. This Ring has been passed down for centuries since Lord Nicholas. Every head of the family would wear it to practice black magic, but no one discovered that it was a Horcrux! You've been dormant for so long, yet you chose to awaken at this moment…"

"Hahaha..." Skyler chuckled bitterly. At this moment, he found a certain irony in his situation and, simultaneously, a hint of helplessness. "I wouldn't have done it if I had reached this point. If I could comprehend your motives, then I must be truly foolish. You've been scheming for so long, plotting for years, with no emotional attachment to the family. The family and Draco were never your objectives. At best, Draco was just a means to help you achieve your ultimate goal—a mere process. In the end, your goal—"

"Is me, right?" Skyler couldn't help but sigh after saying that.

He felt utterly miserable!

While others traversing the Harry Potter world might gain a system or a neat baby Obscurial magic engine, Skyler, as an adult soul, found himself grappling with the challenges of learning new things without the luxury of language comprehension; if you traveled through time and became a Muggle wizard, the typical plot progression would involve inventing basic potions, improving broomsticks, and dominating the business world with groundbreaking products.

On a grander scale, enrolling at Hogwarts Castle, tweaking Dumbledore's beard, or outsmarting the Goblin Bank and the Soviet Union's property was not out of the ordinary…

If Skyler had time-traveled and assumed the role of a pure-blood wizard, he would have been even more formidable. In the original narrative, any supportive family could initially spend limitless gold Galleons, readily accept Draco as their younger brother, purchase as many Firebolts as desired, and have the Minister of Magic treat the underage protagonist with more respect than even Harry Potter.

Professor Borgin would freely provide any banned potion ingredients, with no restrictions on prohibited trade items like ABC. Even national surveillance could be effortlessly bypassed, rendering Ministry of Magic trade restrictions obsolete.

Why did the pure-blood families, wizard merchants, and the Ministry of Magic collectively exhibit such high IQs when it came to Skyler? As if disliking Skyler wasn't challenging enough, the non-shrinking devils from the original work emerged one by one. They approached with their own motives, whether for personal gain or the well-being of those around them.

The Ghost Society operated in this manner. The Walpurgis followed suit, the Shadow Dragon under Morganna adopted the same approach, and now, even Skyler's own family ancestor, the most formidable one, joined the fray.

"Whom did I offend? Why is everyone targeting me? Not every single thing I've been doing has brought good results. Most of them would sneakily include an enemy from the past that's non-existent in the original Harry Potter story… Just how should I deal with all of these?" Skyler thought to himself as he contemplated the dark future.

It is as if Skyler's existence inside the wizarding world is considered a big threat by an invisible force behind the scenes that wants him to disappear.