Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 183 The Curse: The Dimensional Gate

Upon completing side quest ③, claiming the reward, and obtaining the [Spell Development Module], Vaughn naturally mastered how to use it.

Opening his slightly closed eyes, Vaughn looked at the spell development module on the system panel, focusing his attention on it.

"Enable!"

hum-

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Vaughn felt his brain vibrate violently, and then his consciousness plummeted.

In an instant, consciousness pierced through layers of darkness and fell into a palace composed of countless illusory bookshelves.

This is his memory archive, or thought palace.

For any memory mage, this is the most important place. Compared to it, the body is just a compound made of carbon, calcium, oxygen, hydrogen, and so on. When the soul first comes into this world, it is also a blank slate.

Memory is the foundation that enables a person to recognize their "self" and prove that you are you, and not some other existence.

It is memory that shapes you into an individual who is so different from others!
To shape the concept of "I"!

Long before he learned memory magic, Vaughn hid his memories deep within his inner world, placing them under heavy protection.

Normally, apart from the memories that are organized and archived, only his own consciousness should exist here, and nothing else should exist.

But at this moment, Vaughn, who had fallen in, saw something new in the center of the palace surrounded by towering, illusory bookshelves.

A cube that appears to have a regular shape, but is actually constantly changing!

It has a square structure like a normal cube, but every second, or perhaps in an instant when it is infinitely subdivided into 1 second, six new faces will emerge from its "inside" to form a new cube.

"Hypercube..."

Vaughn's expression was somber.

Although he was somewhat surprised by the performance of the HyperCube, Vaughn was not surprised by its existence, because this "HyperCube" was the "Spell Development Module".

What he cared about was where it appeared: "My mind has always been heavily protected, not only by the max-level Brain Occupation Technique, but also by the various defenses I set up after learning memory magic. But now, without any abnormalities in those defenses, the module has appeared in my memory archive... Sure enough, the system is bound to my soul."

Long ago, Vaughn had been curious about what exactly the system was.

A chip implanted in the brain?
Is it some kind of magic that we don't yet understand, based on his consciousness?

He had these kinds of doubts, but he refuted them one by one through research and investigation.

The soul is the only realm that neither he nor the entire magical world can reach for the time being.

Gazing at the ever-changing hypercube, Vaughn pondered for a moment before reaching out to touch it.

Then, his hand went straight through!
He didn't show any surprise; in fact, this reaction was exactly what was expected.
"The spell development module I'm seeing isn't actually in my dimension; what exists here is just a projection..."

The thought that surfaced in Vaughn's mind suddenly reminded him of a conversation he had with Dumbledore a few months ago.

At that time, accompanied by Dumbledore, he had just finished his first "Aether" journey. They talked about the Golden Soul Theory, the core theory of modern alchemy, which holds that "Aether" is the soul left behind after the Great Reality collapsed into all things. It connects all things, and all things are therefore spiritual. Naturally, the soul of all things is also a part of Aether.

Vaughn disagreed with the Golden Soul theory, believing that the ether might simply be the other side of matter, a chaotic information universe.

As for the soul, it may exist elsewhere.

For example, higher-dimensional spacetime!
When he raised this point, he had no basis for it; he simply didn't want to be influenced by Dumbledore and get his thinking trapped in the theory of the Golden Soul.

"But now it seems that the speculations made using Muggle scientific assumptions may actually be true?"

Looking at the Hypercube, Vaughn's eyes lit up: "If a person in a three-dimensional world picks up a ball and places it on a piece of paper, the two-dimensional people living on the surface of the paper will see a strange sight: their world will suddenly have a circle appear out of thin air without any warning, because they can only see the shadow cast by the ball, but not the ball itself... I never thought that this analogy that I told Old Deng would happen to me today!"

Interesting!
Putting aside the role of the spell development module, the module itself is something that Vaughn finds very valuable for research.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have time to satisfy his curiosity and interests right now.

After looking at it for a while, Vaughn, remembering the purpose of activating the module, waved his hand, and the Memory Archive responded to his call. A file bag floated up from the bookshelf and flew into his hand.

Vaughn opened it, pulled out the "files" inside, and flipped through them one by one.

They were fragments of magical photographs, including images of Vaughn practicing the Apparition Charm near Crouch's house more than six months ago.

There are also scenes of him invading Voldemort's teleportation portal within the world of the painting.

The last picture shows a scene from two days ago where he created a new spatial spell in the space of his suitcase, inspired by mathematics and through calculation rather than intuition!
These images are his memories, as well as his experience and resources from learning Apparition to becoming proficient and developing new spells.

After putting these memory fragments back into the file folder, Vaughn walked up to the super cube that symbolized the "Enchanted Development Module".

Based on how he automatically learned to use the module after it was activated.

The spell development module is not a wish-granting machine-like mechanism!
Using it, rather than making demands on it, will cause it to "produce" the required spells. If we were to draw an analogy, it would be somewhat like the 3D printer of our memories.

It can indeed "print" any spell, but first you need to give it a blueprint, a framework for the spell you want. This requires you to have a certain research direction and development ideas for the spell you want!

"The so-called blueprint is not actually putting a drawing in. The fact that the module appears in the memory archive means that it requires memory and experience."

Thinking it over, Vaughn picked up the "folder" containing the memories and threw it into the amorphous hypercube.

The illusory folder, shrouded in a hazy halo, melted into the surface of the hypercube the moment it touched it, like a snowflake falling into a lake. The folder was completely "melted" into the strangely moving surface of the hypercube.

They disappeared in an instant.

Apart from this, there were no unusual phenomena, and the hypercube continued to move regularly.

Vaughn could only notice the change in the suddenly pop-up panel—

His reputation points, accumulated over two months, are slowly dwindling!

Even before the spell development module was activated, Vaughn had predicted that its operation would require "energy".

That's why I deliberately saved reputation points back then, instead of just adding them to the spells every month as before.

Glancing at the steadily decreasing reputation points, Vaughn paid little attention, instead focusing his attention on the hypercube in front of him, whose appearance remained completely unchanged.

He was very curious about how this thing worked.

A high-dimensional computational tool capable of deriving magic?
Or something else, something that is almost non-existent in the three-dimensional world?

Or is it related to the response mechanism we saw in Ethereum?
If the timing hadn't been so unfortunate, Vaughn would probably have abandoned everything in reality to study this module!

It's not just about being interested in the system's secrets; its existence and its mechanisms may also reveal the true concept of spacetime in this world, which is neither the alchemist's golden soul nor the various Muggle fantasies.

It is the real "truth"!
Of course, it wasn't just a matter of timing; the hypercubic structure of the module itself also left Vaughn feeling helpless – how could he possibly study it if he couldn't even touch it?

Lost in thought, the reputation points on the system panel finally stopped jumping.

[Reputation Points: 27]

"I inhaled a full 15 points..."

Vaughn frowned slightly. For his first attempt at a module function, he had specifically chosen a spell that he had already developed but had not yet perfected.

"Another big spender!"

He muttered a curse to himself, then closed his eyes slightly, receiving the information about the new spell transmitted by the system.

A moment later, when he opened his eyes again, his consciousness had left the memory archive and returned to the suitcase space, standing on the grassland where the breeze was blowing.

Vaughn looked at his hand, raised it, and gently ran it across his face.

call--

A sudden gust of wind swept through, the sound of air being abruptly pushed aside, and a strange, smooth sphere that looked like a flat, round object from any angle appeared beside Vaughn.

The air hissed, the space vortexed, and the grass rolled up!

The moment it took shape was like a black hole suddenly descending.

In the distance, Matthew, who was guarding the entrance, was drawn by the sudden commotion and couldn't help but peek out. Then, he was startled by the 7-foot-tall, mirror-smooth sphere that suddenly appeared next to Vaughn.

"Is this a new spell that Mr. Weasley developed? Last time it could only create a passage just big enough to fit an arm, but now... why has it been perfected so quickly?"

Magic requires practice.

Especially for newly developed spells, the trial and error and calibration of spells and wand movements are processes that even the spell developers cannot ignore.

Just as no wizard who learns Avada Kedavra can immediately kill someone with a curse, even the Dark Lord has experienced situations where a Killing Curse might only result in the opponent losing a single hair.

What he saw before him undoubtedly overturned his understanding and even made him question the meaning of life.

In the heart of the grassland, Vaughn, who was testing the new spell, was clearly unaware of Matthew's inner thoughts. He was focused on experiencing the entire process of testing the new spell.

"...Compared to before, the new spell is more powerful, but the increase in magic power consumption is not much...This is because the module has optimized its spatial parameters, making it easier for magic power to distort space to form singularities and singularities, as well as the precise 'calculation' of the dynamic tensor, using reasonable energy to maintain the channel so that it does not collapse on its own the moment it takes shape due to changes in volume."

"The specific magic consumption... is only about 30% higher than Apparition?"

Feeling the feedback from the flow of magic within his body, and with wisps of light passing through his pupils, Vaughn's eyes gradually brightened.

It's important to understand that Apparition has significant drawbacks. The limitations on the number of Apparitions that can be split or used to create minions are the reasons why it cannot become a primary means of transportation for wizards.

These drawbacks are completely absent in the new spell.

The new spell constructs a stable passage. Apart from the moment the spell is cast and you need to concentrate on determining the target location, you don't need to think about these things at all during the subsequent travel. Therefore, there is no possibility of splitting due to distraction.

As for the limitations of Apparition, there is a similar issue: the caster of Apparition must pay an equal amount of magic to the follower in order to travel with the follower.

The magic power required to stabilize the new spell channel is paid the moment it takes shape, and no matter how many people pass through it, no additional magic power is needed until the channel dissipates!

Vaughn, who initially thought the module consumed a lot of energy, suddenly felt that spending 15 reputation points wasn't a bad deal.

He couldn't have achieved this level of performance before the "module optimization" curse was broken!

At the time, it was just opening a "small window" big enough for an arm to pass through, but the magic power consumed was the same as Apparition, since it was originally derived from Apparition.

What intrigued Vaughn the most was—

"Could the module be optimized again for any existing spells?"

However, after only thinking about it for a moment, Vaughn shook his head and rejected the idea.

First of all, consuming reputation points is a big problem.

Secondly, while many spells may indeed have the potential for improvement, the potential is not great. After all, the spells currently circulating in the magical world have undergone the refinement of time and generations of wizards and are already quite mature.

Furthermore, he had already practiced most of the spells he had learned to level 2-3, and was familiar with their syllables and wand gestures.

A sudden change, especially one achieved through a "black box" like a module rather than by manually modifying it, means that optimizing each spell is equivalent to changing past habits to adapt to new syllables and actions.

This will not only fail to improve him, but will also cause him to face a decline in strength for a period of time!
"However, not all magic is useless. For example, ancient magic that has been eliminated by the modern spell system was eliminated not because it was weak, but because the spells were too complicated to cast. It required various rituals, potions and mystery, and some even required certain celestial phenomena (such as Animagus)."

"In contrast, these spellcasting requirements are themselves part of the 'blueprint' and conform to the module's requirements."

Vaughn lets his imagination run wild.

However, he couldn't try ancient magic for the time being. In the year since he enrolled, he had focused his main energy on learning modern spells and had hardly touched ancient magic. Apart from studying a set of living dissociation rituals created by werewolves, the only spell he had actually learned was the "Soul Stealing Charm" that he had previously obtained from Morfin Gaunt's brain.

After experimenting with the new spells for a while, Vaughn finally turned his attention to the constantly flashing system panel.

Upon clicking, a notification popped up:

Please name the new spell.

"..."

Looking at the prompt, Vaughn suddenly got a little stuck. He was not good at naming things in his previous life, and it was the same in this life. Even when naming his own cat, he had to "borrow" the fruit tea he loved to drink in his previous life.

While pondering, Vaughn's gaze fell upon the smooth, round surface of the sphere beside him, and a thought struck him. He said:

"The Gate of Dimensions!"

The name comes from a superhero movie and the magic of a place called Kamar-Taj. Of course, it's just a name borrowing; the actual effects are completely different. This borrowing serves as a tribute, and also as a reflection of his hopes for the future!
He hopes that one day he can truly pass through the gates of dimensions and see if the higher dimensions are indeed, as he imagines, the source of souls and magic.

……

Standing guard at the entrance to the suitcase, Matthew was still thinking about the scene he had witnessed not long ago.

Back when he had just graduated from Hogwarts and was on his graduation trip, Greyback turned him into a werewolf. He had basically drifted through the years in a daze, and naturally had no interest in thinking about developing spells like other wizards.

However, although he had no experience with spell development, it did not prevent him from knowing that what he was seeing was abnormal.

only……

Matthew shook his head, not wanting to think about the problem anymore. He only needed to remember that his new master was a genius, very promising... no, not just promising, Mr. Weasley was already a powerful wizard.

When you become powerful, no one will notice your abnormality.

Matthew is more interested in himself than in Mr. Weasley.

"call--"

Matthew breathed heavily, looked up at the sky outside the window, and saw a bright, nearly disc-shaped moon hanging high in the sky.

In two days, it will be a full moon.

For Muggles and wizards, such days are nothing special, but for a werewolf like him, they mean the beginning of a nightmare...

"Aren't you used to it yet?"

The sudden sound interrupted Matthew's thoughts. Startled, he turned around and saw Vaughn, dressed in a velvet robe, emerging from the suitcase entrance in the moonlight.

"Mr. Weasley, what...why did you come out?"

“What needed to be done has been done, there’s no need to hide anymore.” Vaughn smiled, glanced at his arm covered in coarse, black hair beneath his rolled-up sleeves, and said, “The wolfsbane potion can keep you sane on a mental level, but the physical excitement and impulses will still remain. You have to learn to adapt to and control them.”

"I'm sorry, but over the years I've become accustomed to the fear that the full moon brings, and I haven't quite adjusted my mindset yet..."

Matthew got up, walked over to Vaughn, and looked at the sky, but this time not at the moon, but at something he couldn't see at all: "Aren't you worried about the dreamcatcher?"

Vaughn shook his head: "There's nothing to worry about. I just dislike it, but it's always been there. It can't just stay hidden forever just because I dislike it, can it?"

In fact, he didn't care much about the dreamcatcher's surveillance.

The reason he hid in the suitcase space before was simply because he needed to complete side quest ③ and was worried that those Yankees who were prone to peeping would notice his sudden surge in magic power!
Now that the mission is complete and the reward has been claimed, there's no need to stay any longer.

Moreover, tonight is destined to be a restless night!
The American Chain Sect, the Purge's confidential documents... These unexpected factors, although Vaughn cannot yet be certain of the reasons behind them, cannot be good no matter how you look at it.

He did not stop Kingsley, Lupin, and Tonks from approaching the American Chain Cult and the so-called classified document that could become the trigger.

He also wanted to know which side the person who brought the American Chain Sect to Boston and revealed the secrets of the "Purgers" belonged to and what their purpose was.

This will undoubtedly put Kingsley, Lupin, and Tonks in danger.

Vaughn is not the kind of person who would disregard the lives of his men to achieve his goals, so he must come out tonight.

He emerged from the suitcase and went to the bay window in the bedroom. Looking at the city bathed in moonlight, he remained silent.

He didn't speak, and even if he had some questions, Matthew was too embarrassed to ask them. After a long silence, Matthew, who was standing next to Vaughn and watching him look out the window, heard the door behind him open.

Looking back, it was Akinbad.

The old wizard looked travel-worn, but when he entered and saw Vaughn leave the briefcase space, he was not surprised. He said, "My men are already outside the city. I can order them into Boston whenever you need them."

As he spoke, he had already walked up to Vaughn.

Akinbad has many flaws, such as being assertive, rough, and using rather drastic methods, but it must be said that he is the most trustworthy politician Vaughn has ever met.

Vaughn nodded slightly and thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your hard work."

“If everything goes according to your prediction, a little hardship is nothing.” Akinbad hesitated for a moment, then asked, “How confident are you that the Purifiers will come tonight?”

"I'm not very confident."

Admiring the city street scene under the moonlight outside the window, before Akinbad could widen his eyes, Vaughn continued, "I'm just speculating based on one possibility, just in case."

"Just because of that Muggle named William?"

"Yes, if the so-called Purifiers' classified documents really exist, and as that Muggle said, he is a product of the Elephant Party's rule, given that the so-called Purifiers are likely the result of the Magical Congress, or some people in the Magical Congress, collaborating with Muggles, then the real reason why that Muggle named William appeared in Boston is worth discussing."

“Some people who know about the recent movements of the Magical Congress know that the situation here is very fragile, and they know what can attract us. So they leaked documents to that Muggle named William, and may even have interfered with his thinking, so that he brought something that interests us to us... Guess what those people are up to?”

There's no need to guess at all.

Akinbad snorted: "It's nothing more than some instigation, framing and other such conspiracies!"

"It's not exactly a conspiracy, but more like an open scheme... Would you give up that classified document?"

Akinbad did not speak.

Vaughn continued, "You won't, and the Magic Congress won't allow the documents to fall into our hands either; they will definitely send someone to stop us."

What will happen when two teams with completely opposite goals meet?

All that will happen is battle!
"The people behind the scenes deliberately created this opportunity, using a confidential document that neither we nor the Magic Congress can give up, to exacerbate the situation."

"Only when the situation deteriorates sufficiently, only when conflict occurs, will a favorable situation be created for them. Just like when catching fish, you have to stir up the water, deceive the fish's vision, and create an environment unfavorable to their survival so that you can catch them more easily... Once a battle breaks out, they can begin to implement their true objectives."

"For example, killing that Muggle named William!"

"..."

Akinbad prides himself on his knowledge of Muggles, so what Vaughn said might not be entirely out of the question.

But what puzzled him was:
"Why are you so sure that Muggle is the key to everything? Is he that important?"

"Yes, he is very important!"

Vaughn answered casually.

Meilianzong is certainly important. In his memory of the future, this person will ascend to the throne of power in the United States next year, propose the famous Information Superhighway plan, and vigorously develop the Internet industry.

The future cluster of information industry conglomerates with market values ​​of hundreds of billions or trillions will all originate from his plan!
This kind of "intelligence" is naturally something that cannot be spoken aloud.

Fortunately, Akinbad did not delve too deeply into the source of Vaughn's confidence; in any case, it all began the moment William uttered the term "Purger" in his speech.

The fuse for conflict had already been lit.

Just as Vaughn said, he couldn't give up the Purifier's confidential document, and the Magic Congress wouldn't let him get his hands on it.

The only difference is that, according to Vaughn's speculation, there will likely be a fourth party involved besides the WAC, the Federation, and the Magical Congress surrounding that Muggle named William and the classified documents!
Akinbad simply remarked with some emotion: "Last time when we were discussing the possible reasons for the emergence of artificial wizards, you mentioned that perhaps some people, out of greed and arrogant confidence, chose to cooperate with Muggles. At the time, I wondered when the backlash against such greed and arrogance would come. I didn't expect it to come true so quickly."

"What do you think the situation is like at the Magic Congress right now?"

Vaughn thought for a moment and said, "It's hard to say what will happen to the Magical Congress as a whole, but most of the participants in the artificial wizarding movement will probably investigate their 'partners' immediately... I'm not too optimistic about them. William's appearance was too abrupt, and those Muggles... it's like they're deliberately using William and the classified documents to expose themselves."

"Luring the snake out of its hole?"

"It's possible."

"Heh, whatever, who cares how they die?" Akinbad sneered, then stopped caring. He glanced at the sky and asked, "It's getting late. How's your manpower preparation going?"

"Already prepared."

Gazing at the moonlight outside the window, Vaughn saw a human-shaped silhouette made of white mist reflected in his pupils.

……

The moon rose to halfway up the sky.

The scattered rays of light made the earth look as if it were covered with a layer of desolate frost.

Walking the streets of Boston, I waved my wand once again, shoving aside a Muggle who had his hands in his pockets and was trying to get closer.

Lupin rubbed his forehead: "Why is that damn politician still wandering around so leisurely?"

Ahead of them, a car was slowly driving by. Kingsley, who had been watching it closely, glanced at his companion and said, "Calm down, there's just a mediocre politician in the car. Tonks can handle it."

"I know, I just..."

"You're just letting your emotions cloud your judgment. Why don't you think about something else, like... the full moon in two days?"

"..."

Lupin was speechless; he really knew how to rub salt into people's wounds!

Another black man, dressed in loose clothing, with one hand in his pocket and seemingly holding something, approached.

Lupin cast a Confusion Spell, which made the black man pause for a moment. He then scratched his head, looked bewildered, and walked past the two of them, leaving in a daze.

"The security situation in Muggle is truly terrifying. This is a city, right on the street, and they dare to rob people with guns?"

Lupin complained.

Kingsley shook his head: "He just had his hand in his pocket, he didn't actually point a gun at you. You should have pulled his hand out. Maybe the bulge in his pocket was just his finger."

Lupin couldn't understand it.

Boston at night inexplicably reminded him of Knockturn Alley, both equally dangerous, making one feel like they were walking on thin ice, except one was a place of Muggle crime and the other was a place where dark wizards roamed.

He really didn't know how the Muggles in this city could adapt to this environment. Maybe the Yankees were already used to it!

The two followed for a while longer, and along the way they dealt with three more people who appeared to be armed, as well as two strange women with heavy makeup who immediately started touching them inappropriately.

This situation only disappeared after walking for a while longer and arriving at a neighborhood with a completely different style, cleanliness, and so on.

The Lincoln that was driving slowly ahead finally came to a stop some distance away.

"Next time we go on a mission, we need to consider using a car that has been enchanted with a Muggle-repelling charm."

Hiding in the shadows with Kingsley, Lupin sighed, "I never realized before that stalking someone could be such a physically demanding job."

"Shh-"

Kingsley held up a finger, indicating that he should look towards the target. "They got out of the car; that house should be it."

Looking out from Luping, there was a row of detached buildings.

The iconic red brick of the New England neighborhood features a lawn, garden, and a historic-looking cast-iron fence at the entrance.

He saw the car door open, and Tonks, dressed in a beautiful outfit, got out of the car, laughing and talking to the guy named William who opened the door for her.

“She never turned black hair in front of us.”

Lupin suddenly muttered something under his breath.

"what?"

"She used to change her hairstyle all the time, but she never changed her brown hair. But today..."

Kingsley sighed, "Remus, you should really control yourself. I've heard that you werewolves experience certain impulses around the full moon, a problem that even wolfsbane potions can't solve... I really should buy a camera and record your resentful expression right now."

"..."

Lu Ping, lost in inexplicable emotions, didn't want to talk to him.

Although the two were joking, they did not let their eyes off Tonks. They watched as Muggle William "gentlemanly" took off his coat and draped it over Tonks' shoulder.

Watching them chatting and laughing, I went into the small building and turned on the lights.

The lights illuminated the small building and garden, making them look magnificent.

(End of this chapter)