Chapter 36 "Merlin's Trials"

With a month remaining before the summer vacation, the cancellation of exams left students with a newfound sense of leisure.

Laughter and joyful shouts echoed throughout the school, emanating from every corner.

Several noteworthy updates appeared on the student bulletin board a few days later, creating quite a stir.

First, the expulsion of Lucius Malfoy from the school board signified the impending loss of the Malfoy family's influence in Hogwarts.

This change weighed heavily on Draco, who appeared visibly disheartened and ceased his aimless wandering around the school.

With Skyler's guidance, Draco began to take Skyler's advice to heart.

He shifted his focus away from the notion of flaunting his family's prestige and instead dedicated himself to the pursuit of magical knowledge and mastering the art of flying.

His resolve solidified as he committed to building his personal strength to uphold the family's honor.

Skyler observed this transformation in Draco with a mixture of relief and approval.

He saw this as a potentially positive turn of events for the Malfoy family's reputation, especially since Gareth Greengrass, owner of the Greengrass family, filled Lucius's vacant school board position.

Secondly, a noteworthy announcement came from Dumbledore himself.

He revealed the revival of a centuries-old friendly inter-house competition known as "Merlin's Trial."

This open contest was to include students from grades 1 to 6 across all four Houses, with the prize being a prestigious Order of Merlin.

Sir Merlin was a legendary wizard who founded the earliest magical organization known for helping Muggles and regulating the use of magic upon them.

This contest was a way to honor Sir Merlin's legacy.

Despite the restrictions imposed on wizards due to the "International Secrecy Act," a system of medals recognized individuals who contributed to the wizarding society's growth.

The Order of Merlin comprised three different classes: First Class Medal, Second Class Medal, and Third Class Medal.

The competition's prize was an exceptional honor, unrelated to the standard ranking system, presented to students displaying exceptional performance.

As excitement and anticipation regarding this friendly match filled the air, a subsequent announcement dashed the dreams of many who had hoped to participate.

It was revealed that each House, excluding Slytherin, could nominate only one student to compete.

The selection process would be determined by each House's head.

Though the rules didn't specify that older students were required to participate, it was understood that the upper years had a natural advantage over their younger counterparts.

The consensus was that only elite upper-year students would be selected for the competition.

The perceived unfairness in the selection process stemmed from Slytherin being allowed to send three students to compete, which raised questions among the other Houses.

Dumbledore offered an explanation, citing Merlin's history as a Slytherin graduate, implying the reward system leaned in favor of his House and the younger generation therein.

Skyler, however, had a sudden realization that this was, in fact, a compensatory move made by Dumbledore for Slytherin, mirroring Dumbledore's previous discussions with Skyler regarding the House's treatment.

This revelation portrayed Dumbledore in an entirely new light, prompting Skyler to reflect on his own assumptions about the respected Headmaster.

Slytherin swiftly selected its candidates, thanks to Snape's decisive choices.

The 6th-grade prefect Gemma Farley, 4th-grade Cassius Warrington, and 2nd-grade Skyler Malfoy were appointed to represent the House in the competition.

The rapid selection caused some disappointment among followers of Gallup Lestrange, who had initially been considered a strong contender.

This unexpected loss had a negative impact on Gallup's reputation and, by extension, the Lestrange family.

Gallup's somber presence could often be observed in the Slytherin common room, and no one dared to provoke him.

Skyler wasn't surprised that he was chosen to compete.

Given his current strength and reputation, he could more than represent Slytherin.

He didn't place much emphasis on winning the competition or the prizes it offered.

A medal symbolizing honor had little practical significance for him.

Additionally, as a member of the Malfoy family, he knew it wouldn't be difficult to acquire an Order of Merlin.

Simply donating a substantial sum of money to the Ministry of Magic would secure one, a precedent he was aware of, as Arcturus Black had achieved this in a similar manner.

Over the next few days, the other Houses finalized their candidates.

Percy Weasley, a sixth-grade prefect who had earned an impressive 12 certificates in the OWL exams, was chosen to represent Gryffindor.

Penelope Clearwater, a sixth-grade prefect known for her long brown curly hair, was selected as Ravenclaw's candidate.

Penelope had recently recovered from petrification by a Basilisk.

The candidates from these two Houses were not surprising choices, as both were well-known leaders among their peers.

In contrast, Hufflepuff's candidate raised some eyebrows.

Cedric Diggory was the unexpected choice, a fourth-grade student known for being handsome and the Quidditch team's seeker.

Yet, Skyler, having knowledge of the original story, was aware of Cedric's capabilities when he reached the sixth grade and understood the reasons behind his selection.

Hearing the familiar names from his previous life and realizing that he would be competing against them, an uncontrollable excitement stirred within Skyler.

The second week of June marked the beginning of Merlin's Test.

The competition was held at the Quidditch Stadium, where the stands quickly filled with students from all Houses, ready to support their respective representatives.

The competition consisted of three events, with topics provided by an ancient magic book known as "The Book of Merlin," carried by Dumbledore.

Similar to the Goblet of Fire, this book had autonomous consciousness.

Dumbledore, along with the four House heads, served as referees to score the participants, ensuring the game's fairness.

The first event was the potion competition.

Dumbledore waved his wand over the Book of Merlin, causing it to open and flip pages until it stopped at a specific entry, announcing the task, "The antidote to detoxify Draught of Living Death..."

The Draught of Living Death, a potent sedative and sleeping potion, was a challenging task suited for the 6th-grade NEWT-level Potions class.

Consequently, senior students had an advantage, as they were the only ones who had learned to brew it.

Only Percy and Penelope were familiar with its production process among the competitors.

Despite being a 6th-grade student, Gemma hadn't enrolled in the Potion improvement class, leaving her as bewildered as the junior contestants.

However, the competition required them to create the antidote to the Draught of Living Death, not the Potion itself, so Percy and Penelope didn't have the upper hand beyond the knowledge gained from their courses.

Fortunately, Skyler had the answer to this challenge.

The solution was found in the book "The Book of Medieval Secret Medicines" that Meredith had gifted Skyler at Christmas.

It contained the recipe for an antidote invented by an ancestor of the Shafiq family.

In her time, the ancestor had fallen in love with a charming Muggle.

Facing family opposition, she devised an elaborate ruse, pretending to run away using the Draught of Living Death.

She invested significant effort in inventing an antidote.

The Muggle lover eventually discovered her, but by that time, he had fallen for another girl, choosing not to rescue her.

Thankfully, the effects of the Draught of Living Death mysteriously waned, saving her from a gruesome fate.

Resurrected, she grew to despise love and unleashed her hatred on her Muggle lover and his new flame, ending their lives with dark magic.

Although the antidote went unused, its production method was recorded, and it earned the name "Invigoration Draught."

While other contestants were still pondering, Skyler had already started brewing, his movements as fluid as an artist creating a masterpiece.

The referees were greatly impressed, nodding in satisfaction.

Professor McGonagall turned to Dumbledore and remarked, "If this young lad had entered school earlier, perhaps the last Potions Championship would belong to Hogwarts, not Mahoutokoro."

Dumbledore nodded, observing the other contestants.

Percy, Penelope, and Gemma had begun brewing their potions shortly after Skyler started.

Cedric was just starting to choose materials, while Cassius remained deep in thought.

The Potion refinement process was straightforward and uneventful.

Skyler's Invigoration Draught was expertly crafted, earning him a perfect score of 50 points.

Cheers erupted in the Slytherin section, with some Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students also applauding, particularly the younger girls.

Percy, who had brewed a high-concentration Revive Potion capable of waking a sleeping person but with side effects like nausea and vomiting, scored 40 points.

Penelope had crafted a Mandrake Restorative Draught, perhaps inspired by her own experience of being petrified.

This potion could revive someone from slumber, though the awakened person remained groggy. She, too, scored 40 points.

Gemma and Cedric both attempted to create the Antidote to Common Poisons, but their potions had no effect, earning them a mere 10 points for effort.

Under significant pressure, Cassius failed to produce a viable Potion, ending with a score of zero.

The competition then proceeded to its second event: the Transfiguration Challenge.

The Book of Merlin's task for this stage was to transform a stone into a living mouse.

The Transfiguration challenge proved to be relatively straightforward.

Each contestant managed it without much difficulty. Percy, Penelope, and Gemma succeeded in their first attempts, easily transforming a stone into a lifelike mouse.

Cedric, on the other hand, took two tries to achieve the transformation.

He initially produced a beardless mouse but succeeded on the second attempt.

Cassius, the most challenged by this task, needed three attempts to complete the transformation, though the mouse's tail appeared slightly shorter than ideal.

Having read through Professor McGonagall's extensive Transfiguration notes, Skyler acknowledged that his Transfiguration skills were already at the OWL level.

Realizing that turning a stone into a rat was relatively straightforward, Skyler set his sights on more challenging transformations.

Being the youngest participant had its advantages, as he carried none of the pressures or baggage that others did.

Skyler meticulously recalled the vital details of Transfiguration from Professor McGonagall's notes and concentrated his energy, casting Transfiguration on the stone.

To everyone's astonishment, the stone transformed into a lifelike Murtlap.

While creatures created through Transfiguration did not possess magical abilities, the Murtlap exhibited no natural differences from an ordinary mouse.

Skyler had to master the fine details of the transformation to create the dense and agile anemone-like tentacles on the mouse's back, a task that proved challenging.

A minor error could result in octopus-like or squid-like tentacles, requiring meticulous attention to detail.

As the scores were revealed, Skyler, Percy, Penelope, and Gemma received perfect scores of 50, while Cedric scored 40 points, and Cassius received 35 points.

The current standings reflected Skyler's remarkable performance, with 100 points.

Percy and Penelope were closely trailing with 90 points, Gemma had accumulated 60 points, Cedric held 50 points, and Cassius, with minimal chance for the championship, had gathered 35 points.

Skyler stood out as the only junior student among the remaining four contestants, attracting significant attention in the competition.