Hogwarts' Golden Glory

At two in the morning, Kane leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Igor lay on his lap, and the warm magic flowed gently into his weary body like a stream.

"I need to verify it," Kane murmured, "to verify Armand's theory. But not his methods—too dangerous, and unethical."

He thought of the werewolf Tobias, of Ella, and of the werewolves who had started new lives in Misty Valley. His potion helped them, but only temporarily—it needed to be taken monthly, and its effectiveness varied from person to person.

If we can truly understand the essence of werewolf magic, perhaps we can develop a permanent solution. Or even... go further.

An idea took shape in his mind.

"Igor," Kane opened his eyes, "you can sense the differences in magical power between different magical races, right?"

The phoenix nodded.

"Then, if I improve upon Armand's method, incorporate your perception abilities, and design a safe observation magic circle... perhaps I can study the nature of magic without harming anyone."

Ig let out a reassuring chirp.

Kane acted immediately. He retrieved several books from the bookshelf about ancient magic circles and modern observation magic, and began designing a completely new composite magic circle. This circle needed to possess:

Non-invasive: Magic that cannot be directly touched or extracted from the experimental subject.

High-precision perception: Able to distinguish subtle differences between different sources of magic.

Safety protection: It can immediately cut off the magic backlash if it occurs.

Long-term stability: Can operate continuously for long-term research.

He worked until dawn. As the first rays of sunlight shone through the tall stained-glass windows of the library, a complex magic circle design was completed. At the center of the design was a simplified phoenix symbol, surrounded by the six points of a hexagram, each point extending into intricate observation runes.

Kane named it the "Phoenix Eye Observation Array".

He needed materials: pure crystal (as a medium for magical energy conduction), star silver sand (to draw the array), phoenix feather (Igor voluntarily provided a shed feather), and... "witnesses" from different magical races.

Not blood or body tissue, but items that bear magical imprints. For example:

Wizard's wand wood shavings (easy to obtain, he already has them).

Werewolf fur (Tobias and Ella can volunteer to provide it)

Vampires... that's troublesome, but maybe I can buy blessed silverware on the black market (it leaves magical residue on vampires after they come into contact with it).

A copy of the centaur's star chart (Frenzer might be willing to provide it).

A metal plate forged by fairies (Gringotts' Galleons have fairy magic marks).

As for "unknown"... leave it blank for now.

Kane wrote down the materials list. This part needed to be secretly procured by Lucius through family channels.

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door of the library.

"Young Master Kane?" It was Dobby's shrill voice. "Young Master Draco is outside. He wants to see you. He says... he's been waiting for three days."

Kane glanced at the rising sun outside the window, then at the pile of research papers on the table. Finally, he sighed. "Let him in, Dobby. Also, bring over two breakfasts."

Draco's eyes widened as he entered the library. He had never known there was such a place in his house—it looked older and more mysterious than any library he had ever seen.

"Merlin..." he murmured, "You've only been here for three days?"

"It's for work." Kane was organizing his notes and didn't look up. "Sit down, Dobby will bring breakfast right away."

Draco sat down in a chair, his gaze involuntarily drawn to the dragon-skin notebook on the table: "What...is that?"

"Our ancestor's research notes. Armand Malfoy, 15th century." Kane finally looked up, noticing his brother's prominent dark circles and tired expression. "You didn't sleep well?"

“Father too,” Draco said softly. “You’re all busy, but you don’t tell me anything. When Mother asks, Father just says ‘business troubles,’ but I know that’s not it. And that Nott… Evan Nott, he came three days ago and then disappeared. Father made all the house-elves say the same thing: ‘Mr. Nott never visited.’”

Kane was silent for a moment. Dobby then appeared with a breakfast tray, put it down, and quickly disappeared again.

"Draco," Kane said, pushing a glass of pumpkin juice towards him.

He cut off a piece of bread and slowly spread butter on it: "You want to know what happened? I can tell you part of it. But once you know, there's no going back. You'll see... another side of this world. The less glamorous side, full of danger and choices."

Draco gripped his fork tightly. "I need to know. I don't want to be treated like a child anymore, kept in the dark about everything."

"Alright." Kane put down his knife and fork. "First of all, Evan Nott was indeed sent by the Dark Lord—Voldemort. He brought a vial of poison, disguised as a 'loyalty test,' to make Father drink it. If Father drank it, he would either die or become a more complete slave."

Draco's face turned pale: "Then... Father..."

"I've taken care of it," Kane said casually. "Nott is in a safe place now and won't be a problem for the time being. As for the Dark Lord... I went to the Scottish Highlands over the summer and had a conflict with one of his experimental projects. As a result, he was severely injured and has temporarily retreated."

"You...and the Dark Lord..." Draco's voice trembled.

"A fight." Kane nodded. "And more than that. I helped a group of werewolves there—not some lunatic like Greyback, but ordinary werewolves who had been persecuted and exploited. I gave them a modified wolfsbane potion, helped them build new communities, and enabled them to remain sane during the full moon and live like normal people."

Draco was stunned. A werewolf? Helping a werewolf? This completely overturned the education he had received since childhood—werewolves were dangerous beasts that should be controlled, isolated, or even eliminated.

"Why?" he asked with difficulty.

"Because they are human too," Kane said. "Or rather, they were human. And... they have power. Power that is properly channeled can be a bargaining chip to change the course of events."

"Champions? For what?"

"To protect the Malfoy family in the coming storm, and to protect all the innocent who do not want to be dragged into the war," Kane looked directly into his brother's eyes, "Draco, Voldemort will be fully resurrected sooner or later. Dumbledore will resist him, the Ministry of Magic will be in chaos, and the pure-blood families will be torn apart. At that time, there will be no neutral ground. You will either stand on one side or on the other. And the Malfoy family... needs a third way."