Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 136 Enhancing Talent and Another Magical Outburst
Arthur and Molly were undoubtedly very poor, but they never considered changing their situation. In the future, after Arthur won the prize money from the Daily Prophet, he made almost no long-term plans. After paying the fine and buying new school supplies for his son and daughter, he used all the remaining money for a family trip to Egypt to visit Bill.

Why is he so composed?
Because of the current magical world environment, wizards have almost no expenses other than sending their children to school.

Food and clothing are magical, making them completely self-sufficient, and even allowing crops to harvest themselves, so there's no need to do any farm work.

Entertainment was limited to newspapers, which cost 5 copper nats a copy—very cheap.

When Harry was in his first year, 11 Silver Shepherd bought a whole truckload of snacks.

Even if you splurge a little and have a drink at a pub, a large glass of butterbeer only costs 2 pesos.

This is one of the few ways to consume in the magical world. For individual wizards, such a stress-free life is indeed very happy, but if we look at it from a broader perspective, without pressure there is no motivation.

A civilization without motivation is not far from its demise!
In this respect, Muggles do a great job. Capitalists try every means to squeeze the surplus value out of people, making your life like walking a tightrope, where you could fall into the abyss at any moment, full of excitement.

Moreover, with the development of Muggle technology, this situation will intensify in the future, and the emergence of various consumer electronics products will push people's desires to extreme hedonism.

Undoubtedly, it was a society that was beginning to become distorted, but it was also a society with great technological development. Under the hedonistic trap of capital, Muggles unleashed unimaginable vitality.

Vaughn felt that such a future was worth considering.

"I came not for peace, but to plunge the world into war... Ha!"

Thinking of this famous quote from the Muggle world, Vaughn smiled.

He delegated the task of setting up the theater company to William White, with James Brown accompanying William—William wasn't a wizard, and a Muggle-born werewolf trying to do business with a wizard would be easy prey; if the wizard cast a Confusion Charm, he'd be sold out and still have to count the money for the wizard!
As for Vaughn himself, he returned to the Burrow to "inspect" the twins' research progress.

Since Fred and George gave the twins "Harry Potter and the Painted World" to screen at Hogwarts at the end of the semester, the film's enthusiastic response has made them very regretful.

The two men repeatedly expressed their grief and despair in front of Vaughn.

"That was Harry's first movie, what a great gimmick! And you got to screen it for free at Hogwarts. What a huge loss!"

"Yeah, yeah, even if it's not a lot, one Nate per person is no small amount!"

The twins, obsessed with money, don't care about publicity or promotion. Having "lost" a large sum of money, they have recently started to slack off on their research.

This is a good opportunity to tell them the news that the cinema company is about to be established, to give them a little push.

Sure enough, in the basement near the Burrow Garden, the twins, who had been listlessly fiddling with a few devices on the table, immediately perked up and their eyes lit up after hearing Vaughn's words.

Will there be a fee?

"Of course, cinemas will charge admission fees."

“Um…do we have shares?” Fred asked hesitantly.

Vaughn nodded: "Of course there is. You can talk to William White about this yourselves later. Consider it a technology-based equity investment. How much you get depends on your own abilities!"

The twins were instantly energized, completely forgetting their earlier disappointment. They enthusiastically reported their progress to Vaughn and assured him with great confidence:

"Give us another month, and I guarantee we'll come up with a complete solution to the problem of magic interfering with electricity. It's a very mature and inexpensive solution that can be used in wires, lights, cameras, projectors, and other equipment."

"In addition, we also have an idea for simulating electricity with magic. Once this project is completed, we will start experimenting with it."

Listening to the two men's confident assurances, Vaughn nodded noncommittally.

It's not that I doubt the twins.

These two guys are quite talented in alchemy, at least better than Vaughn, and their ideas and creativity are wildly imaginative, often resulting in amazing feats.

For example, the anti-curse suit they will develop in the future will be quite innovative—they used alchemy to achieve the same effect as the Ironclad Curse. As long as a wizard wears the anti-curse suit, it is equivalent to having the Ironclad Curse permanently attached to him.

A stunning work.

Therefore, Vaughn's expectations for the twins were not just to have them develop "magical interference-proof coatings" for Muggle machines or to use magic to simulate electricity.

That was just a transitional choice; he hoped the two of them could innovate and create "alchemy technology"!
Let alchemy, like Muggle electronics, develop unique alchemical products.

Vaughn had already come up with the relevant product ideas, such as developing an alchemical version of a magic smartphone with a two-way mirror as the core.

Alternatively, one could create a magical virtual reality world centered around the concepts of Mind Control and Pensieve.

Vaughn even considered, if given the chance, retrieving and studying the Sorting Hat, and then working with the twins to develop artificial intelligence…

Of course, these ideas are still a long way off, and at least for now, neither Vaughn nor the twins have the ability to do so.

After giving his two older brothers a pep talk, Vaughn returned to London, partly to wait for William's progress, and partly to prepare for the first WAC plenary meeting at the end of the month.

William White had previously visited Vaughn to inform him that WAC had finalized its headquarters.

Due to the unique nature of wolfification and the prevalent discrimination in the wizarding world, WAC did not choose to establish a presence in the wizarding world. Instead, with the help of Wizengamor, they continued to settle in Muggle society.

More than a month ago, after it was decided that the first plenary meeting would be held at the end of July, Wizengamo selected several buildings in Muggle society that were suitable as headquarters offices for WAC to choose from.

After a month of detailed investigation, William and the other werewolves finally selected an office building located in the western suburbs of London.

That area is an immigrant neighborhood in London with a diverse population, which is perfect for werewolves to keep a low profile and is even more suitable for wizards who are prone to producing oddballs.

On the evening of July 19, Vaughn hosted a small banquet at the newly established WAC headquarters.

This is both a declaration that WAC now has a "home" and a way to "connect with each other."

A cool breeze blew through Hyde Park at night.

Meanwhile, in the neighboring Notting Hill, a place that has no mountain but takes its name from one, a rather old office building is shining brightly under the night sky.

Lights, festive music, a buffet, and plenty of wine.

Groups of people dressed in strange costumes suddenly appeared in front of the office building, and were then led inside by the greeters. Amidst the bright lights and revelry, they greeted each other and laughed loudly. The bizarre scenes resembled a carnival (a unique festival in Notting Hill, originating from Latin American immigrants).

Vaughn walked back and forth in the crowd, holding a wine glass.

“Mr. Cero, welcome… Hahaha, of course not. Wissengamo is just renting the office building to WAC. Rest assured, the rent will not be less.”

"Travers, how have you been lately? Yes, Phil is settling in well here. I must say, I underestimated him before. Should I call him over? No, no, no, don't bother me. You know, the first meeting hasn't even taken place yet, everything is still in the planning stages, there's not much work to do."

“Oh—Rogers, that dress of yours…what? You’re pretending to be a Muggle? Uh…sure, it does look very nice, but Rogers, do you even understand what gender wears a dress?”

He casually exchanged pleasantries with the "friends" who had come by invitation, spouting nonsense that no one believed.

Vaughn felt he was being hypocritical.

But that's how politics is. If you want to use it to achieve certain goals, you have to actively embrace its negative aspects and turn those negative aspects into advantages.

The banquet gradually came to an end late at night.

After seeing off the last old wizard, Vaughn told the clerks who were temporarily acting as waiters to go home, and then went back to the top floor of the office building alone.

The entire top floor has only two rooms: a huge conference hall and the future WAC president's office.

However, back on the 17th when he first came here, Vaughn had already taken it over.

Pushing open the office door, you'll find a spacious and comfortable office of over 400 square meters, with a high floor offering a direct view of Hyde Park.

The expansive view is refreshing and invigorating.

The office was already occupied; it was Barty Crouch, the staid high-ranking official of the Ministry of Magic, sitting on the sofa, flipping through the newspaper.

Hearing Vaughn enter, he peeked out from behind the newspaper: "Is the banquet over? How did it go?"

“That’s fine.” Vaughn shrugged. “These guys are all cunning old foxes. It’s impossible to expect them to give a definite answer. So far, only Travers has hinted that he will vote for me.”

"Ah……"

Barty Crouch scoffed, "Travers has already bet on you. With sunk costs at stake, he'll definitely support you wholeheartedly. As for the others, don't worry about them; they're all a disorganized bunch."

Indeed, as Crouch said, after tonight's banquet, although many people did not express their opinions clearly, Vaughn already knew that his victory at the end of the month was almost a certainty.

It's very simple logic.

Half of the WAC seats belong to the werewolves, and Vaughn is their only choice.

Therefore, if the Wizengamot and the International Confederation of Wizards, who occupy the other half of the seats, want to compete, they will need to put forward a joint candidate in order to rival Vaughn.

This dinner was itself a test.

If Wizengamo has secretly cooperated with the International Federation of Wizards, then those old wizards definitely won't be coming tonight.

After all, no matter what, Vaughn was their colleague. As cunning as he was, they still had some sense of camaraderie and wouldn't come to him for free meals if they hadn't explicitly said they didn't support him.

Since they have come, it proves that the two sides have not cooperated. Therefore, regardless of whether Wizengamo has an insider or whether the International Wizarding Federation wants to push someone out, it is impossible for them to defeat Vaughn.

Vaughn smiled and didn't continue the topic, instead asking Crouch, "What made you decide to come here today?"

Crouch hardened his face: "Mr. Weasley, you promised to save my son, but how long has it been since you last visited my home?"

This……

Vaughn did the math, feeling a little embarrassed, realizing it had indeed been a long time since he'd been there: "Sorry, Buddy, you know I've been really busy these last two months of the semester..."

"Of course I understand you, so I didn't bother you until summer vacation... But Mr. Weasley, it's almost the end of July now!"

"Oh dear, I have a lot of responsibilities and a lot of work to do..." Vaughn said shamelessly.

Crouch's lips twitched, and he slammed the newspaper he was holding onto the table. On the open newspaper, a photograph stood out prominently.

The photo was taken many days earlier in Diagon Alley, with Vaughn and Hermione walking hand in hand in the center of the picture.

The headline read in bold: "Potion Prodigy Possibly Goes Public About Relationship?"

"Humph!"

Crouch snorted. "Is this what you call having a lot of responsibility? Being busy?"

Vaughn remained unfazed: "Marriage is indeed a very important matter."

Crouch was speechless for a while before saying indignantly, "No wonder you can cooperate with Dumbledore, you two are birds of a feather!"

Of course, he only complained a few times.

Vaughn was just joking, too.

Even if Crouch hadn't come looking for him, Vaughn was planning to go to Crouch's house in a few days. Partly, he wanted to observe the changes in Barty Crouch Jr., and partly, he had some questions he wanted to ask.

Crouch arrived at that moment, saving Crouch the trouble of making another trip.

So after a few jokes, Vaughn said while making tea for Crouch, "...At present, the development of my Persona has to be halted. My original plan was to use the Persona to refresh in real time to suppress the corruption of dark magic."

"However, even with the Personality Manifestation system advancing to version 3.0, the refresh rate still can't keep up with the rate of corruption from black magic. Moreover, in the foreseeable future, further iterations won't result in a significant improvement in refresh rate. After all, real-time memory backup and backup retrieval both require time. It seems that to solve the corruption from black magic, we still need to start with the soul."

As he spoke, Vaughn pushed the brewed tea toward Crouch and looked at him: "Barty, do you think I'm ready to access the realm of spirits right now? I need your experience for reference."

Barty Crouch once led the Aurors, and it was he who issued the decree during the Wizarding Wars more than a decade ago, authorizing the Aurors to use the Unforgivable Curse against Death Eaters.

Therefore, he has relatively rich experience in using black magic.

Listening to Vaughn's words, Crouch's stern face remained expressionless. Emotionally, he certainly wanted Vaughn to begin his research into the realm of the soul immediately.

but……

After a moment of silence, Crouch shook his head and said, "Go inside my head and take a look..."

Almost no wizard wants someone to break into their mind.

Everyone has secrets they don't want outsiders to know.

As a wizard, one knows all too well just how fragile a person's thoughts and memories are. Under the influence of magic, they are softer than clay and can be easily molded into the likeness of another.

Vaughn stared at Crouch: "Are you serious?"

"Hurry up!" Crouch said dryly, "lest I regret it!"

Vaughn shrugged, then pointed his wand slightly, and silently, his eyes lit up.

Crouch, whose brain was now freed from Occlumency, seemed mesmerized the moment the light appeared, unable to resist staring directly into Vaughn's eyes.

His golden-brown pupils, tinged with red, seemed to have suddenly transformed into two vortexes.

Crouch felt the world spinning and stretching, and he felt himself floating up, swirling and turning around the vortex just like the world around him.

faster and faster!

His heart was pounding wildly; that was his brain sensing something was wrong, trying to rouse his body.

But he couldn't control anything.

As he spun wildly, his consciousness began to blur and darken. When he regained consciousness, he found himself in a dark space.

The ground was covered with shallow watermarks, and the water surface was pitch black, making it feel as if one was walking on thin air.

Against the backdrop of that deep color, Crouch could clearly see his own presence, as well as Vaughn, who stood out conspicuously in his white robes, opposite him.

“Where is this?” Crouch asked. “The crevice of your mind,” Vaughn replied, “between thought and memory.”

Crouch wasn't very knowledgeable about memory magic and didn't quite understand what Vaughn meant by "the gap."

He just chuckled self-deprecatingly, "I thought you'd just fall into my memories..." Then, as if remembering something, he squinted at Vaughn and asked suspiciously, "This isn't some kind of persona clone, is it? You sent a fake to me while you wandered around in my memories?"

Vaughn scoffed, "I'm not that bored. If I want to see your memories, I'll do it openly and honestly, and you can't stop me anyway."

"..."

That makes so much sense...

Crouch remained silent for a while before saying, "Go to the pure land within my heart."

Pure Land refers to the most beautiful part of a person's heart. It is a comprehensive concept encompassing memories, emotions, and so on. It represents the positive emotions of a wizard. Magic such as guardian spells requires the existence of Pure Land to be successfully cast.

From a material perspective, Pure Land does not exist.

However, in the spiritual world, because of the close connection between memory and emotion, Pure Land can exist in a certain form in a certain place in the spiritual space.

Vaughn nodded, stepped forward, and grabbed Crouch's shoulder.

"Don't resist."

In fact, Crouch had no way to resist; he was just surprised to find that Vaughn's memory magic was much more powerful than the last time he had seen it.

The world before my eyes was distorted once again.

When Crouch regained consciousness, he found that he did not seem to have left the dark space; the void before him was still endless.

"you……"

Crouch was about to say something when he suddenly froze.

He saw Vaughn beside him, waved his hand in the air, and the next instant, a pool of black mud emerged from the void.

The moment they appeared, several wisps of white mist also appeared. The white mist struggled against the black mud, and the collision between the two sides produced a disgusting plume of smoke.

Accompanied by a buzzing sound.

It's like disgusting rotting flesh being roasted over a fire, the stench is overwhelming!

"This is……"

“This is your sanctuary.” Vaughn looked on with interest. “You’ve never been here before?”

Crouch stared blankly, then said calmly, "I've never been here...and there's no need for me to come. Several years ago, I could no longer summon my Patronus, and that's when I knew that dark magic had definitely corrupted the Pure Land."

"What are those white mists? The remnants of your guardian spirit?"

“No…” Crouch finally revealed a complicated expression. “That is what I want you to see: ancient magic passed down in the Crouch family. It can resist the corruption of dark magic!”

"Oh? What's the principle behind it?"

Vaughn became increasingly interested.

Crouch shook his head: "If you want to know, I can teach you this magic, but I need you to promise me that you will not attempt to access the soul realm without absolute certainty."

"...Isn't that the main reason you sent me to see the Pure Land?"

Crouch remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "I suppose so. I never expected it to turn out this way. All I know is that this is the price I've paid for controlling my son with the Imperius Curse for the past 10 years..."

The price was indeed quite high.

Vaughn looked around at the dark void. He didn't say "space" because even in the idealistic world of the mind, there was nothing in this place.

Crouch's happy, positive, and uplifting emotions and memories were all tainted.

He looked at the black mud that was still locked in a stalemate with the white mist.

That black mud was Crouch's former sanctuary!
If it weren't for the presence of that white mist, Crouch would probably have changed his personality long ago and fallen into a demon.

……

Crouch left.

He made a promise with Vaughn that he would go to him to learn magic in a while.

After seeing him off, Vaughn sat in his office for a long time, pondering before finally bringing up the system panel again.

[Host: Vaughn Weasley]

[Magic Scale: 548 (500 for an ordinary adult wizard)]

【天赋：魔咒学7、黑魔法6、变形术8、魔药学10、草药学6、炼金术6、占卜学2 (满值为10)】

【魔咒：大脑封闭术LV5(MAX)、铁甲咒LV5(MAX)、缴械咒LV5(MAX)、飞走咒LV5（MAX）……摄神取念LV3(21/32)、幻身咒LV3（10/16）、神锋无影LV3（3/24）、幻影移（显）形LV3（3/24）……】

[Alchemy Level 0 (3/20)]

[Potions: "Vaughn Beauty" series, "Vaughn Hair" series, Wolfsbane Potion, etc....]

【Reputation Points: 19】

[Talent Points: 1]

Without further hesitation, Vaughn put the talent point he had been holding back into Spellcasting.

Looking at the talent list, [Spellcasting 7] twisted and turned into [Spellcasting 8]. Vaughn held his breath and waited for the change.

Before long, a strange change began to occur.

It was a very peculiar feeling.

My brain felt like it was being immersed in ice water; my blood vessels throbbed and pumped in large amounts of oxygen-rich blood, making my thoughts clearer than ever before.

It was like experiencing tinnitus for a long time, and suddenly all the buzzing sounds disappeared, leaving you surrounded by a rare tranquility.

The world in my eyes seemed to brighten by a shade, and the colors became more saturated.

Then, the air that his body was in contact with suddenly began to vibrate.

"magic……"

Vaughn looked down in surprise, watching his body become blurred due to the violent vibration of the air, as if covered by a thin veil.

In his perception, the changes within his body were even more intense. The usually calm magic power seemed to be boiling, flowing and expanding from under his skin, in his muscles, in his blood vessels... throughout his entire body!

Invisible ripples spread out.

The office furnishings—tables, chairs, sofas, scattered documents and books—all seemed to float.

Vaughn was no stranger to this situation.

In the magical world, its appearance symbolizes the awakening of a wizard!

Magic riot!

At the same time, Vaughn also saw the number in his magic scale section on the system panel changing rapidly:

549, 550, 551, 552...

Until everything stopped, the floating objects fell back to the ground with a whoosh, and magic returned to Vaughn's control. A huge number flashed before Vaughn's eyes:
【Magic Scale: 584】

……

The attic of Granger's house.

hum-

Suddenly, under the influence of some unknown force, the light began to flicker wildly. Vaughn, who was engrossed in testing materials on the lab bench, frowned, straightened up, looked up at the light, and then looked down at his own body.

Unstable magic flowed through his body.

The electric lights were also affected as a result.

"Tsk, what a hassle..."

He reluctantly stopped what he was doing and waited for the magic to subside.

But a moment later, there was a knock on the attic door, and Hermione asked worriedly, "Vaughn, are you alright?"

Vaughn snapped his fingers, and the door opened automatically. Seeing the girl's worried expression, he reassured her, "It's just magic stirring; it's nothing."

Mr. and Mrs. Granger peeked around the corner of the stairs behind Hermione.

At this moment, the entire Granger house was experiencing electrical malfunctions due to Vaughn's magical agitation. The lights were flashing wildly and appliances were frequently restarting, which was quite frightening.

Hermione glanced back at her spying parents, then ignored them and carefully sensed the unstable movement of magic within Vaughn's body, asking, "How long will the aftereffects last?"

"Based on past experience, it should take another day or two!"

To be honest, Vaughn didn't expect that the improvement in his talent for spellcasting would have such a big impact.

Surprisingly, at the "advanced age" of 12, he once again caused a magical upheaval.

Although Vaughn said everything was fine, Hermione still sensed it carefully for a while to make sure that it was just a slight loss of control over her magic before she was able to put her worries to rest.

After a while, the magic subsided, and the lights in the attic and all the appliances in Granger's house were no longer affected.

But new problems have arisen.

Ding-dong-

The doorbell rang faintly downstairs. Vaughn smiled helplessly, walked out of the attic with Hermione, and apologized to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, "Uncle and Aunt, I'm so sorry for the trouble. I'll handle it!"

Mr. Granger wanted to say something, but his wife and daughter silently suppressed him.

Mrs. Granger laughed and said, “What trouble? Hermione has had this happen before, we’re used to it, aren’t we, dear? (gritting her teeth)”

Faced with his wife's threat, what could Mr. Granger say? He could only smile and remain silent.

Only after Vaughn went downstairs and left did he complain, "Hmph, Hermione used to only affect one room, but he's different. Our whole house, and all the neighbors around us, were affected. If this continues..."

"Alright, when did you become so stingy?" Mrs. Granger interrupted his complaint, asking in bewilderment.

Of course, it's when you all support that brat and ignore my feelings!
Mr. Granger thought to himself with a hint of embarrassment!
Downstairs, amidst the intermittent ringing of the doorbell, Vaughn opened the door and, seeing the person standing outside, immediately apologized, saying, "I'm sorry, Shakel, for troubling you again. It's the same situation as the past two days. I'm experimenting with potions, and something has gone wrong."

The newcomer was an Auror, Kingsley Shackle.

Under the Act of Secrecy, the Ministry of Magic monitors all of England, and any suspicious magical fluctuations in Muggle communities will attract the attention of Aurors.

Kingsley Shackle, a dark-skinned sorcerer with gold earrings and an antique-style robe, shrugged and joked upon hearing Vaughn's words:

"Yes, yes, I don't think you need to cast spells in the Muggle community. The problem is, even if everyone knows that you triggered the trail because of the experimental potion, there is one person who will absolutely not believe it."

"He demanded that the Aurors keep a close watch on you and investigate any suspicious activity thoroughly... I think you should know who that person is."

Vaughn shrugged: "Ha, who else could it be? Of course, it's our dear Minister!"

“Hahaha—” Kingsley laughed heartily, “So, Mr. Weasley, I still have to go in and take a look, of course, you know, it’s just a formality.”

"No problem at all, please come in."

As Vaughn stepped aside to let Kingsley Shackles in, he noticed that there was another person following behind him.

Kingsley then remembered and quickly said, "Oh, I almost forgot, Mr. Weasley, this is the intern the department assigned to me. She was learning how to handle affairs with me before I came here, so I brought her along. Is that alright?"

She was a witch who seemed to have a somewhat eccentric personality. Her heart-shaped face looked a little pale, but her eyes were dark and bright, full of energy.

Noticing that Vaughn was looking at her, the witch blew a bubble out of the chewing gum in her mouth and extended her hand: "Hello, my name is Nymphadora Tonks, you can call me Tonks, nice to meet you, Mr. Weasley."

As she spoke, she raised her eyebrows smugly, gesturing for Vaughn to look at her hair.

Suddenly, her hair color began to shimmer like a neon light, changing from yellow to green to a rainbow of colors.

In the living room at the end of the entryway, the Grangers, who had just come downstairs, immediately covered their mouths: "Oh—"

"Tonks!"

Kingsley glared at Tonks, then took off his little round cap and pressed it to his chest, bowing to the Grangers: "Excuse me, sir and madam. This is my intern who is learning from me. He is a bit naive, so I hope you won't take offense."

These past few days, because Vaughn's magic has been frequently out of control, Kingsley Shackle has been the one to handle it each time. The Grangers are quite familiar with him, so they quickly assured them it was no problem.

Hermione, however, was more interested in Tonks's ever-changing hair color.

The girl was envious and quietly asked Vaughn, "What kind of magic is that?"

Before Vaughn could answer, Tonks introduced herself familiarly: "Disguise Magus, a natural ability that you can't learn. Hello, my name is Nymphadora Tonks, you can call me Tonks."

(End of this chapter)