Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 188 Nuclear Explosion and the Multispectral Vision Spell

Looking at Donald's pale face, Jack laughed loudly: "You've finally come to your senses? Donald, you think the dreamcatcher can stop me from calling for reinforcements? You think I didn't consider the dreamcatcher when I was plotting the betrayal?"

"Of course I considered that. For a long time, the existence of the Dreamcatcher made me despair and almost made me give up the idea of ​​betraying the Graves family, until two months ago... Hahaha—thank God, thank the gentlemen who provided me with the nuclear bombs for testing, and of course, I must thank Weasley even more."

He laughed wildly, making a hugging motion towards the frozen fireball, then turned back and looked at Donald mockingly: "Dear cousin, guess whether my experiment was a success or not?"

No need to guess anymore!
Donald didn't even need to take out the parchment he had hidden in his pocket.

He had already seen that in the air surrounding the frozen golden fire cloud, in the dark night, vortices quietly appeared, like black holes orbiting a star.

One, two, three...

Until they can't be counted anymore!
Beneath the enormous golden cloud of fire, Jack raised his hands, his sun-like figure imprinted in Donald's dim eyes.

Like a phantom!

Where the demonic shadow spread, the vortex formed by the phantoms in the field of vision quickly disappeared, and one by one, expressionless wizards dressed in black robes appeared without uttering a sound.

Jack's excited voice rang in my ears: "You say my betrayal has not an ounce of holiness? Poor Donald, do you see these puppet-like wizards? Familiar? Yes, they are the Purifiers. Even my family's partners have become my allies, supporting my rebellion. So who doesn't have holiness? Hahahaha!"

His laughter echoed through the night sky, but brought Donald only profound despair.

Upon hearing Jack's words, Donald knew that he was finished, as were the Aurors who had stayed behind because of his orders!

When the apparition ended and the "Purger" appeared, he knew that the Graves family was finished!

He recalled that before he left, Michael and other family leaders had gone to question the "partner".

In retrospect, it was all a setup!

The Magic Council, the 12 purebloods, the Magic Security Department, the WAC, the Federation... the mastermind used everything at his disposal.

As for their motives... does it matter?

The countless "Purgers" were enough to overwhelm everything here, when he and the Aurors were killed, when Kingsley, Lupin, and Tonks of the WAC were killed.

Whether they like it or not, the 12 purebloods will become enemies with WAC and the Federation.

Even after becoming enemies, it no longer matters which side is stronger; the Graves family, having lost eight Auror squads, will never recover.

The 12 purebloods, having lost Michael and other ministers, will inevitably descend into chaos.

Hatred and chaos bring war!
The war between pure-blood families, the war between the Magic Congress and the WAC and the Federation, could even escalate into a war across the entire Federation!

Donald had no idea who was behind Jack.

Those Muggles that work with their families?

Or is there another mastermind behind it all?

It's not important anymore!

Ahead, the "Purgers," silently arrayed, flew into the air, their uniform black robes and the atmosphere grim.

A bugle call sounded from somewhere.

Donald saw that as the horn sounded, the rows of eyes hidden in the hoods shone with a spiritual light. The black robes blended into the night, with only two points of light floating in the air, like will-o'-the-wisps symbolizing death.

Jack was still laughing hysterically.

The surrounding Aurors were already ashen-faced and drenched in cold sweat.

The Purifiers flew slowly over. Donald raised his wand several times, but eventually put it down in dejection. Whether he resisted or not was no longer important.

Seeing him give up resistance, Jack became even more excited, and his loud roar echoed through the night sky: "Kill them! Kill them all!"

As Jack roared, the first row of "Purgers" in the slowly flying formation raised their wands.

A perfectly synchronized spell gathers at the tip of the staff!
Donald closed his eyes slightly, awaiting death.

Then he heard a calm voice:

"These are the Purgers?"

The voice wasn't loud, it wasn't a shout, and it didn't express any emotion; it was just like chatting with friends in a bar.

Donald opened his eyes in surprise and looked in the direction of the sound.

Behind him, not far from his and the Auror's group, by a flowerbed, a boy who looked to be wearing an expensive-looking robe and was about 5 feet tall appeared out of nowhere.

The airflow drawn towards the center of the nuclear explosion whipped his hair wildly, making it look like a flaming ball of flame.

Perhaps sensing Donald's gaze, the boy turned his head to look at him. Whether it was due to the reflection of the golden fire clouds or not, his eyes shone slightly, as if they were filled with stars.

Donald stared at him blankly.

The boy smiled and asked again, "These are the Purifiers?"

Donald nodded blankly.

"Thank you," the boy said, walking slowly towards them, a rather uniquely shaped elderwood wand twirling between his fingers.

Whether it was a trick of the eye or not, Donald seemed to see ripples spreading through the space as the wand turned.

Do not!
It's not an illusion!

Donald's pupils suddenly contracted—

The ripples were indeed there; in the invisible space, as the wand spun in the boy's hand, they spread like ripples on a pond ruffled by the wind.

Then, a huge, bizarre sphere suddenly appeared beside the boy.

call--

The wind blew out from inside the "sphere," carrying the salty smell of the ocean.

"Go, capture those purgers, I want to study them!"

The young man said it casually.

As his voice faded, Donald saw wizards riding brooms appear out of thin air, bursting forth from the "sphere," wands raised high, charging towards the Purifiers' ranks.

The boy was no longer paying attention to those things. He walked up to Donald, extended his hand, and said, "Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Vaughn Weasley!"

.........

Let's rewind a few minutes.

Still on the hotel rooftop, using magic to gaze at the battlefield from afar, he witnessed Kingsley and Lupin join the fray, helping Donald Graves escape, and then Donald, having extricated himself, spread his advantage to the other Aurors.

Ultimately, the situation was completely reversed, causing the traitors, who had once held the upper hand, to crumble.

The old wizard sighed, "I know this Donald Graves. He's the deputy minister of the Department of Magical Security. He's always kept a low profile and has hardly left any strong impression on me. I never expected him to be such a talent... Sigh, America under the system of powerful clans has buried so many people like him."

With eyes sparkling like stars, Vaughn, who was also observing the battlefield as a guardian deity, retorted, "So that's why the Federation is always trying so hard to mix sand into this continent, hoping that one day, they can bring all these talents under their command?"

Arkinbad dismissed his mockery: "It's a waste to leave talent unused. The Magic Council and the 12 purebloods don't cherish their own talents, so don't blame us for keeping an eye on them."

"To be able to talk about coveting something so confidently, you really have a thick skin."

"Hehe, same to you. You chose this place as the first stop for WAC's overseas expansion, wasn't that the same idea you had in mind?"

"I did this to liberate the werewolves."

"Do you think I believe it or not?"

The old fox and the young fox bickered, but at the same time they kept a close watch on the battlefield. They watched as Donald led his team into the darkness outside the street to try to rescue the survivors.

Akinbad shook his head: "After such a long delay, it's hard to say how many people are still alive. He acted too impulsively and is not a qualified leader."

This time, Vaughn didn't disagree, but he also didn't join Akinbad in criticizing Donald's choice.

This is actually a difference in perspective. Both he and Akimbad are leaders and direct persons in charge of the organization. They view problems from a holistic perspective, and the individual is of very little importance to them.

But if those here now were survivors struggling to survive in the deep darkness far away, their opinion of Donald would be different—who wouldn't want someone to go to great lengths to save them when they're in trouble?

"Rather than criticizing Donald's decisions, I'd rather see how the traitors respond."

Through the perspective of the guardian deity, he watched from afar as Donald led his team into the darkness, using his superior magical abilities to suppress and expel all the traitors who stood in his way.

"He's looking for a node."

Although Vaughn didn't know what kind of spell the darkness belonged to, he could tell that it was some kind of barrier. Wizards generally deal with barrier magic in a similar way: either they rely on a large number of wizards to gather their strength and cast a spell to destroy all barriers.

Either the node is destroyed.

“Yes.” Akinbad, who was quite familiar with the United States, nodded, his tone sarcastic: “That’s the Graves family’s Dark Curse. Donald is naturally very familiar with it, but that doesn’t stop me from despising his recklessness. He should be glad that he only encountered ordinary wizards.”

If a barrier is entirely set up by a powerful wizard, the method of destroying nodes is not applicable, since the existence of nodes is to provide magic so that the barrier can maintain its coverage beyond the range of other spells.

However, it is clear that such a person does not exist among those traitors.

Vaughn ignored Akinbad's nonsense and continued to observe the distance, watching the faint light representing Donald and his group struggle forward in the thick, abyss-like darkness.

They raised their armored spells, and the surrounding attacks crashed against them in a dense barrage.

Watching the Aurors coordinate their efforts, and seeing Donald gradually find an opening to focus on casting shapeshifting spells, flooding the surrounding area with a large number of shapeshifting creatures to pinpoint the location of the node.

Noticing Vaughn's focused expression, Akimbard was somewhat surprised. Then, seeing Vaughn slightly twirling his wand, he immediately realized: "You're worried about Donald and those Federation Aurors?"

"No."

"Stop lying, I think you're about to make your move."

"I just don't want them to die."

"You still insist that the mastermind behind the scenes will personally intervene?"

“Of course.” Vaughn stroked his wand, his expression calm, but his words were anything but indifferent: “Whoever that person is, he has already invested too much in instigating conflict between us and the Magic Council. Those traitors of the Graves family below are not poor commoners. To become Aurors, they are all elites. Even if they are exploited by their families, their situation is much better than that of ordinary wizards.”

"The price to pay for recruiting so many elites to betray us is unimaginable. With such a huge investment, the people behind the scenes cannot just watch the plan fail, much less abandon these elites."

As he spoke, he glanced at Akinbad: "Don't tell me you can't see such a simple truth."

Akinbad remained unfazed by Vaughn's subtle mockery: "I was just testing you. However, I have a different opinion from you. Although I don't like Donald, I have to say that his decision to have Dreamcatcher blockade Boston was indeed very timely. Without Apparition, even if the mastermind wanted to support those traitors, they would be powerless."

Vaughn was puzzled: "Why are you so sure the mastermind can't break through the Dreamcatcher? I've already demonstrated it to you."

“Don’t assume everyone is a monster like you!” Akinbad rolled his eyes, somewhat annoyed. “Muggle science theories… crooked methods… In short, if dreamcatchers were so easy to break, North America’s high-pressure isolation policies could not have lasted for hundreds of years. Don’t overestimate the wisdom of wizards; in this world, mediocrity is the majority.”

Vaughn stopped talking.

In his view, Arkinbad's way of thinking is actually very similar to Dumbledore's, which may be a commonality given to them by the era in which they grew up - the era in which they were most active was the period when Muggles were transitioning from feudalism to modernity.

The Second Industrial Revolution brought about a significant improvement in material conditions, but people's spirit and "faith" did not keep up with the leap in material progress. As a result, many ideologies rose up, and ideological confusion became a very distinctive feature of that era.

They witnessed firsthand Muggles waging wars, massacres, and genocide amidst chaotic ideologies... This experience profoundly influenced their understanding of Muggles.

Even if they have enough wisdom to understand the principle of things spiraling upwards, they are still human beings. A human being's judgment and inclinations about things always remain at their peak age.

Perhaps in their eyes, Muggles are still the same as they were decades ago.

Vaughn is different from them.

Gazing at the darkness that was constantly dissolving as Donald advanced, Vaughn observed and anticipated.

How will the mastermind break through the dreamcatcher's blockade?

So when Donald finally broke the node, and Akinbad stubbornly insisted that Donald had gotten lucky while cursing the traitor and the mastermind behind it all, a bright light suddenly shone in the distance.

Akinbad's rant came to an abrupt halt as he stared, speechless, at the blinding light in the distance and the conspicuous, destructive cloud of fire.

"Damn it! A nuclear bomb!" Akinbad's face turned ashen. "How dare they—"

"Why wouldn't we dare? Nothing is surprising on North America. They've used nuclear weapons on their own people before."

Compared to Akinbad's disbelief, Vaughn, who possessed memories of the "future" and knew how many magical things would happen in the United States in the future, was only surprised at first, but not too much.

He stared at the darkness that had suddenly vanished due to the violent explosion.

Eyes like stars reflected the distant light and fire clouds, but in Vaughn's magical vision, besides the dazzling light, there was another eerie scene.

The numerous "curtains" falling from the clouds were torn to pieces by the distant "halo" of light that suddenly burst open and then froze, as if solidified.

Vaughn knew what the light was, and even more so, he knew the meaning behind what he was seeing, which piqued his intense interest:

"The electromagnetic pulse released at the moment of the explosion is the light, and the 'tear' of the curtain is the result of the destruction of the magic field... Using electromagnetic fields to interfere with magic fields, interesting. Did those guys behind the scenes borrow my theory?"

Arkinbad, still reeling from the shock of the nuclear bomb exploding in the city, finally snapped out of his daze upon hearing Vaughn's mutterings: "Your theory? That paper from over two months ago discussing the relationship between electromagnetic fields and magical fields?"

"..."

Vaughn narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at him. "That paper went almost unnoticed after it was published. How did you come to that conclusion?"

Akinbad showed no remorse and said matter-of-factly, "Back then we were on different sides, so of course I would have people watching your every move."

Of course, this wasn't exactly something to be proud of, so he quickly steered the conversation back on track: "I remember in your paper about the relationship between electromagnetic fields and magical fields, you only put forward some hypotheses and didn't offer any substantial content, right? But now..."

My gaze remained fixed on the distant horizon, on a fiery cloud that had risen halfway up, appearing red against the night sky, but which, due to some kind of time magic, no longer emitted much light and appeared dim.

Vaughn's star-like eyes flickered with uncertainty: "That's because you don't understand Muggles. In fact, the hypotheses I mentioned in my paper have already been theoretically considered by Muggles, such as gauge field theory. Although they are not studying magical fields, but the interaction between gravitational and electromagnetic fields (fields and matter), from a mathematical point of view, there is no difference."

Having explained this much, Vaughn didn't say anything more.

Because if we continue to delve deeper, the concepts involved become too complex. Gauge field theory is a very large proposition. The gauge group SU(3)×SU(2)×U(1), which unifies the mathematical form of the three fundamental forces of quantum electrodynamics (quantum properties of electromagnetic interaction), weak interaction, and strong interaction, is gauge field theory.

It has a famous name in the Muggle scientific community: the Standard Model!
Similarly, string theory, which attempts to unify the four fundamental forces, is also a gauge field theory, as are some formulations of general relativity.

It is essentially a mathematical framework, a language of expression, and therefore quite controversial even in the Muggle scientific community. If we go back 30 years, field theory was even considered a silly "entertainment" tool!
The reason is that mathematics can only make experimental predictions, but cannot solve actual problems. Therefore, even if Vaughn were to continue, he would not know what to say.

He also couldn't understand how the forces behind those traitors could actually bring to life the hypotheses that he and the twins had written in their papers.

"How interesting... The interference of electromagnetic pulses on the magic field is obviously not something that can be achieved simply by detonating a nuclear bomb. Otherwise, why are the lights representing electromagnetic pulses 'torn apart' the curtain cast by the dreamcatcher, while also being restrained by a kind of time magic? Instead of being 'torn apart' together in a brutal way?"

Thinking it over, Vaughn could no longer wait.

Before he could finish asking, still confused and not understanding anything, Akinbad continued to ask. He shook his wand, and a sphere appeared.

Vaughn walked into the "sphere" and quickly disappeared.

……

“...I am Vaughn Weasley…”

After giving Donald a curt greeting, Vaughn glanced at the fiery clouds still frozen by time magic not far away.

The fiery red mushroom cloud, and the densely packed, yet lifeless, "Purgers" surrounding it, came into his view.

His eagerness to come was not solely for observing the interference of the electromagnetic field on the magic field up close.

Furthermore, from the moment he observed the curtain of the dreamcatcher being destroyed by the electromagnetic pulse released by the nuclear bomb, Vaughn knew that Donald and the others' rescue and breakout plan was doomed to failure.

Although he disliked the Magic Congress and the 12 Purebloods, Vaughn really couldn't let these Federation Aurors die. Otherwise, who knew what kind of madness the 12 Purebloods would go through after suffering such a heavy blow?

He came to America not for some random war, at least not now!
However, his goodwill was limited to this.

Compared to Donald, Vaughn was more interested in the technology used by the "Purgers".

A magical glint appeared in his eyes. Ignoring the battle that had already broken out in the sky, Vaughn carefully sensed the frozen mushroom cloud.

In his view, the world is constantly changing.

For a moment it was a thick soup of light, so bright that its outlines were almost indistinguishable.

One moment it's filled with "vibration," as if everything is made up of something like leaping harp strings.

Then, the colors of the whole world gradually blurred, and all objects became just clumps of color, like undulating mountains, twisting mist, or swirling nebulae.

A new notification line is flashing slightly in the system panel:
[Multispectral Horizon Spell LV1 (1/8): Allows direct observation of electromagnetic waves of multiple frequencies, including visible light]

This is a new curse.

Just now, when Vaughn greeted Donald, he used the "Spell Development Module" to create a new spell based on spells such as the Sense Charm and the Revealing Charm.

As the panel describes it, it can help the caster directly see electromagnetic waves with wavelengths below 400nm or above 700nm, located in the infrared and ultraviolet regions.

As a new curse, it doesn't require much investment, only 10 points.

The reason is simple—human vision depends not only on the absorption of light wave signals by the visual organs, but also on the brain's recognition system.

The human brain has only evolved to the point of defining the colors of visible light; it cannot "imagine" what infrared and ultraviolet light look like.

The Vision Charm did not modify the brain to define "new visible light".

In Vaughn's field of vision, what he saw were those abstract things like mountains, mist, and nebulae.

It's not that the world is really like that, but rather that the electromagnetic waves move too fast for the brain to process and define, creating an illusion of color.

However, although the brain lacks the high-resolution capabilities to observe the "true" world, it can still be used to analyze the frequency types of the current electromagnetic field in space.

As the spell was activated, the light in Vaughn's pupils constantly shifted, and everything before his eyes changed continuously in his field of vision.

Logically speaking, the radiation caused by a nuclear explosion includes not only gamma rays and X-rays (thermal rays), but also alpha rays, beta rays, neutrons, and other particle beams.

However, the situation is different now. The frozen mushroom cloud and the normal temperature around it indicate that the radioactive material caused by the nuclear explosion has not spread out at all, and even the hot gas caused by the evaporation of matter has not been released.

This means that, in addition to the control of time magic, this nuclear bomb was also a specially made gamma-ray bomb!

As his field of vision continued to leap into the higher energy range, what he saw became increasingly bizarre and fantastical. When he advanced to a certain range with extremely short wavelengths, the world had become completely indistinguishable.

But at the same time, Vaughn finally witnessed how gamma rays eroded the magic field—

Under the effect of the Vision Spell, he temporarily lost the ability to observe the magical field.

But he could see through the movement of gamma rays that they were bound within a strangely structured geometric body. The endless, indistinguishable colors of the gamma rays were released in waves as the body "vibrated," radiating outwards.

The radiated light, like concentrated sulfuric acid, slowly and continuously eroded an invisible object.

……

"What is he doing?"

Donald was puzzled as he watched Vaughn Weasley suddenly fall into deep thought after greeting him.

However, he soon lost interest in Vaughn.

The sky was ablaze with the flames of war!
From the strange "sphere" summoned by Vaughn Weasley, one wizard after another flew out. When the last wizard, riding a broomstick and smelling of the salty sea, burst out of the "sphere" and soared into the air with his companions...

The first wizards to emerge have already launched an attack on the arrayed "Purgers"!

Colorful spells instantly filled the night sky.

At the same time, the "Purgers," who had originally been chanting spells to destroy the Federation Aurors, hurriedly changed their spells to defend or counterattack against these suddenly appearing enemies.

Flames, lightning, and even white, red, and green lights exploded, collided, and bounced off like fireworks.

The scene became extremely chaotic!

No one anticipated this situation, not Donald, and not Jack Graves either!
“Avada——”

From afar, Donald heard Jack's shout. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw Jack, who had been laughing wildly, now roaring and waving his wand at the sky under the frozen mushroom cloud.

"—Kedavra!"

As the incantation ended, a thick, ghastly green light instantly traversed space, and a figure descended from above.

Fortunately, Donald, who had been watching the battlefield closely, saw that those afflicted by the Killing Curse were not people summoned by Vaughn Weasley—they were moving at high speed on broomsticks.

The one killed by the Killing Curse was a hooded Purifier.

A faint mocking laugh could be heard from the air:

"Haha, Oliver, that guy down there is probably insane. Maybe our appearance scared him so much he peed his pants."

"Maybe so, why don't you go get it checked out?"

However, despite his joking remarks, two figures flew down from the sky when Jack Graves' wand below lit up green again.

They unleashed a barrage of spells, forcing Jack Graves to abandon his offensive strategy and switch to defense.

Using the light from the mushroom cloud, the light from the spell, and the speed that had to be reduced after lowering the flight altitude, Donald saw the faces of the two wizards riding brooms who were blocking Jack's path.

He knows them.

A few days ago, when two Commonwealth Aurors claimed that Vaughn Weasley had developed a new spell using Muggle mathematics, Michael had taken him along to read the memories of those two Commonwealth Aurors.

Unfortunately, their memories had been tampered with. Michael and the others did not see any evidence of "Vaughn Weasley developing spells using Muggle math," but only saw a few businessmen in their memories trading fire dragons with WAC.

The faces he saw at that moment belonged to two of those merchants.

Oliver Greenwell, Zach Baird!
Michael had instructed him to investigate the backgrounds of the two men, who came from the Greenwell and Baird families, both English wizarding families.

That's not a problem. America is a country of immigrants, and if you trace the lineage back, every family here inevitably has ties to families in various European countries.

In fact, if it weren't for the "Purger" intelligence leak today, he would have planned to conduct an in-depth investigation into whether Greenwell and other English families had any ulterior motives related to Vaughn Weasley, according to his original plan.

"Now, there's no need for further investigation..."

Donald smiled wryly; their presence here at this moment spoke volumes about their relationship with Vaughn Weasley.

For a moment, he felt a mix of emotions, but quickly shook his head, clearing his mind of those chaotic thoughts, grabbed his wand, and prepared to support Oliver and Zack—

He's going to catch Jack Graves!

It's not just about finding out why the other party betrayed them and which side supported their betrayal, but also because Jack Graves still holds that alchemical artifact that froze the nuclear bomb!

Donald knew Jack's strength well; he wasn't that strong. Judging from Oliver and Zack's performance, Jack was no match for them at all.

If faced with the possibility of defeat, what if Jack goes crazy and presses that "remote control" button like he threatened him before...

Donald could not imagine the catastrophe that an unrestrained nuclear bomb would cause!
However, the next moment, his expression suddenly changed.

The ground beneath him suddenly softened, like a muddy swamp, and his legs sank in. Then the ground returned to its hard state.

Donald instinctively raised his wand, and a flash of red light appeared before his eyes. His wand had already flown out, spinning as it landed in a slender palm.

"..."

Silently and without a sound, there were very few people present who possessed this level of magical power.

Donald turned around and, sure enough, saw Vaughn Weasley, who had somehow drifted out of his reverie, looking at him with a half-smile.

"Where do you want to go, dear Donald?"

(End of this chapter)