Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 74 White Devil!
"Breaking news: Hundreds of werewolves gather in Diagon Alley, and Vaughn Weasley's investiture ceremony is plagued by mishaps!"

"Fudge's reputation was ruined. He was beaten by the Wizengamot at the investiture ceremony!"

"The Werewolf Committee: Is it truly working for the welfare of werewolves, or is it actually tearing apart the Ministry of Magic? — The love-hate relationship between Dumbledore and Fudge!"

"Vaughn Weasley, a child looked down upon by everyone, was kind, intelligent, and loving. The werewolves held him in high esteem. According to the werewolves interviewed, Mr. Weasley gave them hope and even covered their recent living expenses out of his own pocket..."

"Vaughn Weasley, a hypocritical, cunning, venomous snake who used the appearance of a child to disguise himself. Look, readers, he attracted those savage werewolves and his ruthless army. The wolfsbane potion is not the dawn of the wizarding world, but the poison bait for Weasley to realize his personal ambitions!"

"Is Dumbledore the kind-hearted headmaster of Hogwarts, or the White Devil plotting to overthrow the Ministry of Magic?"

Late at night, in the principal's office, Vaughn laughed out loud while reading the newspaper.

He stuck his head out and looked at Dumbledore who was fiddling with a plate of candy on the other side, and said jokingly: "See, Albus, someone called you the White King. This reporter is really brave."

Dumbledore twitched his beard, and his face turned stern, not wanting to speak.

He is very depressed now. He had promised Vaughn that he would cooperate with him to promote the establishment of the "Werewolf Affairs Committee". In order to minimize resistance, he agreed to Vaughn's request to introduce the International Confederation of Wizards.

Although he anticipated that his actions might lead to criticism, he did not expect that the criticism would be far greater than he imagined.

He underestimated his influence in the wizarding world as the most powerful wizard of the time. That was not something he could easily eliminate by hiding in Hogwarts.

For such a great man, people will naturally focus on interpreting his every move.

At this time, half a day had passed since the awarding ceremony.

From the moment the werewolves appeared in Diagon Alley, the significance of the investiture ceremony itself had disappeared. The Wizengamot had not yet responded to Vaughn's final proposal, and the investiture ceremony naturally could no longer continue.

As the parliament and highest court of the wizarding world, the Wizengamot serves as both a judicial and legislative body.

It is a loose organization, but has great power, and any decision it makes will be supported by the entire wizarding community.

This is also the reason why Vaughn insisted on holding the event at his own investiture ceremony, because at other times, it would be difficult for him to gather so many Wizengamot members. Without the support of the Wizengamot, the "Werewolf Affairs Committee" would not be able to succeed!
But on the other hand, such great power must be constrained by a set of procedures.

Therefore, any resolution made by the Wizengamot must be discussed and voted upon by all members, and it is impossible to get a result in a short period of time.

Dumbledore ate a piece of cockroach and felt better. "Amelia has sent letters to all Wizengamot members, preparing to hold a general meeting in two weeks. You should receive the letter tomorrow. After all, you are now a member of the Wizengamot."

Vaughn shrugged. "Just an ordinary member."

"Ordinary members wouldn't cause such a big trouble..." Dumbledore rubbed his forehead and asked, "Are those werewolves still in London? How are you going to deal with them?"

"I instructed Remus to take them to Muggle society for a while. Many of them are Muggles or Squibs. They will be able to support themselves after they have a proper identity in Muggle society without the risk of losing control of their transformation during the full moon."

At this point, Vaughn held out his hand to Dumbledore: "Give me 5000 gold Galleons!"

Old Deng was stunned: "...What?"

"5000! Galleons! Before the Werewolf Affairs Committee is established, I have to prepare at least enough wolfsbane potion for them to last two full moons... Tsk tsk, respected White Lord, you're not expecting me to pay for it all, are you?"

"..."

After choking for a while, Dumbledore finally couldn't sit idly by.

He muttered something, walked slowly back to the bedroom, and came back with a bag.

Vaughn calmly stuffed the palm-sized, weightless, charmed bag into his backpack. "Don't feel bad about it. Think about it, you stay at Hogwarts all day, eating and sleeping for free. What's the point of having money? You might as well use it to do something meaningful."

"...Go away, I'm sleepy!"

Vaughan didn't care. He patted his bag and said goodbye to Dumbledore.

After the awarding ceremony, various newspapers urgently added additional editions to report on the appearance of werewolves in Diagon Alley, Fudge's house collapse, and the establishment of the Werewolf Affairs Committee, making the topic extremely hot.

It also made him feel very good.

His original intention was to make a big deal about the wolfsbane potion and werewolves, to alleviate the plight of those wandering werewolves while promoting his own reputation.

So whether it is praise or abuse, it doesn’t matter to him - black and red are also red!
The day after tomorrow will be January 1992, the day for system reputation point settlement. This "hype" at the end of this month will definitely bring a big increase in his reputation points!

With a faint expectation, Vaughn decided to have a good rest and recharge his energy for the next two days.

After Vaughan left, in the portrait in the headmaster's office, Headmaster Black sarcastically mocked Dumbledore: "You ignorant, foolish old man, fooled around by a child, you've ruined your lifelong reputation, and now you've even lost your money!"

"Do you regret it? Serves you right! I've known for a long time that he's not a good person. It's only you, a bunch of pedantic idiots, who say I seduced him into corruption. A guy like him, a 12-year-old with a head full of calculations, does he need me to seduce him?"

Dumbledore was stunned for a moment as Black chattered on, then suddenly smiled and said, "At least he's doing something meaningful!"

He could see that Vaughn had sympathy for those stray werewolves. Maybe it wasn't strong, but it did exist - otherwise Vaughn wouldn't have needed to offend Fudge. If he wanted to become famous, he wouldn't lose anything by cooperating with Fudge.

Only because he sympathizes with werewolves would Vaughn push for the "Werewolf Affairs Committee"!
Dumbledore felt that this alone was worth the reputation and 5000 gold Galleons he had paid for.

Principal Black was so angry that he cursed: "Pedantic! Stupid! Being the same principal as a bunch of idiots like you is the greatest shame of my life——"

Dumbledore allowed him to curse, and only when he went too far did he say, "Phineas, no matter how much you curse, I will not let you go. Sirius has committed serious crimes, and staying in Azkaban is the most suitable fate for him. Don't even think about rescuing him."

Principal Black fell silent under his serious expression. After a long while, he burst into tears.
"That's the Black family, the last bloodline... The Black family is going extinct, Albus..."

"...Alas, be patient, Phineas. You are already dead. Don't worry about the affairs of your descendants."

Early morning, Gryffindor Tower.

Harry was awakened by Seamus Finnigan's screams.

"Merlin—did you see that? Ronnie, Ronnie, did you see that? Your brother actually caused such a big mess yesterday!"

Harry fumbled to put on his glasses and just in time saw Ron jump up next to him.

He yelled angrily, "Seamus! How many times have I told you not to call me Ronnie! Damn it, one of these days I'm going to kill Fred and George!"

Vaughan was awarded an honor yesterday, and Ron, as his younger brother, was not invited to attend and was very disappointed.

The twins never miss an opportunity to cheer up their younger brother. Yesterday, they specially comforted Ron loudly in a crowded place, called him by his nickname, and encouraged him to work hard to catch up, saying that there was only a small gap between him and Vaughan - not much, probably one Bill, one Charlie, and one Percy!
Thanks to them, everyone now knew Ron's nickname, and to make matters worse, Malfoy was there at the time.

Thinking back to last night's dinner, that guy was jumping around the Slytherin table, shouting "Ronnie Ronnie" at the top of his lungs.

Ron was so nauseous that he couldn't eat.

An excited Seamus ignored his protests and slapped a newspaper in Ron's face.

Ron grabbed the newspaper irritably and was about to throw it away when his eyes were caught by the photo on it -

Against a gray background, Vaughn stood in front of a magnificent auditorium. A strong wind blew the snow over Diagon Alley. A group of ragged people stood in the wind and snow, surrounding and crowding around him.

They were cheering, and they looked at Vaughan with fanatical and admiring eyes. There were also many people wearing purple robes, who looked like important figures, including Dumbledore and a serious witch, standing solemnly on the outskirts of the crowd, as if witnessing some important moment.

The reporter who took the photo was very smart. While recording this important scene, he also did not forget to take the respected minister into consideration.

The disheveled Fudge and his fat assistant in a pink woolen skirt were squeezed into the corner of the photo, looking panicked and helpless.

Looking at the photo of Vaughn surrounded by the crowd and spotlights, Ron's mouth immediately became moist.

Damn it!
It looks really beautiful...

Harry leaned over and saw the photo, exclaiming, "It looks really impressive..."

Ron said stubbornly, "Humph, it's just average!"

Even though he said this, he still read the newspaper carefully. Under the photo was a horrifying headline:

A new wizard is rising, and the Ministry of Magic is being dismantled—!

The huge exclamation mark is bright red and glaring!

On the other side, the excited Seamus had already pulled the sleepy Dean Thomas, who had just woken up, and the confused Neville, and read the contents of the newspaper loudly:
"...Wolfsbane Potion was the weapon Vaughan Weasley used to launch his attack on the Ministry of Magic. He pointed out the backwardness and flaws in the Ministry's system. In contrast, Fudge, who held a high position, failed to offer any incisive counterattacks. He seemed lost in some kind of fantasy. Even when he uttered the accusation, 'Weasley, you are tearing the Ministry apart,' it seemed weak and empty..."

"Vaughan is amazing!" Seamus praised loudly. "My uncle has always hated this short and fat guy, saying that he is the most incompetent Minister of Magic, a lucky guy who got hit on the head by a pie in the sky!"

Hearing Vaughn's name, Neville finally regained some clarity of mind and was very happy for his friend. Although he didn't know what was going on, he also echoed, "My grandma doesn't like him either."

Soon, the topic turned to how Vaughn would deal with Fudge, and only Dean Thomas, who was of Muggle origin, was confused.

Harry and Ron ignored that and hurriedly read the newspaper, finally understanding the whole incident of yesterday.

"Vaughn actually recruited a werewolf!"

When he repeated this sentence again, the two of them were already sitting in the restaurant. The fragrant breakfast filled the Gryffindor table. Ron, who had been hungry all night, was still in disbelief while stuffing pie into his mouth.

Hermione, who was sitting opposite with her fluffy head buried in a newspaper, said dissatisfiedly: "It's not about recruiting them, Vaughan is fighting for their rights!"

I don't understand what rights and interests are at all!
Ron, with his boyish sentimentality, longed for words like "werewolf army" and "armed forces". He boasted to Harry: "There may be tens of thousands of werewolves in the whole of England. If Vaughn recruits them all... Merlin——"

Hermione slammed the table in anger: "Ronald! God, I can't believe Vaughn and you are brothers... Your brother is doing something great, and you are still describing werewolves as animals!"

After a pause, she added rigorously, "And there aren't that many werewolves in England. There's an interview with a werewolf wizard named Remus Lupin, and he said there are probably more than two thousand in total!"

Ron blushed at her retort, and knowing he was in the wrong, he finally fell silent. Harry, who had been listening to their conversation, hadn't quite understood what Vaughn had done. After all, he came from Muggle society, and his impression of werewolves was based on Ron's earlier description of Greyback's cruelty, and also on what he had just read in the newspaper about the hardships of wandering werewolves who exiled themselves to the wilderness to avoid harming others.

It was not until this moment that he finally understood how true Vaughn's words in the newspaper were - prejudice is the poison in the human heart!
Ron subconsciously regarded werewolves as animals. Harry couldn't imagine what image werewolves had in the minds of other wizarding families and adults who influenced their children.

This made Harry suddenly understand the significance of what Vaughn had done.

Harry looked thoughtful throughout the breakfast. He read the newspaper over and over again, and finally folded it up and put it in his arms.

Seeing all this, Ron couldn't help but say sourly, "Harry, have you become a fan of Vaughan too? Are you planning to cut out his picture and stick it on the headboard of your bed like those little girls?"

"……Shut up!"

Harry was about to walk away in embarrassment.

"Wait a minute, are you still going to…" Ron pulled him back, subconsciously looked around, and then lowered his voice: "Are you still going to see that mirror? Take me with you!"

Harry looked at him in confusion. "Don't you want to see it?"

He had taken Ron to see the mirror a few days ago. Ron thought it was a bit weird, as it could actually see into people's hearts. Because that day, Ron saw himself in the mirror and became a prefect. Everyone in the family applauded him for his pride.

Harry reacted, "Ron, you..."

Ron hesitated, "I want to take another look... just treat it as a sweet dream, right?"

Harry suddenly felt very worried about his good friend. He had seen similar examples on Muggle TV. Some people gradually became mentally abnormal due to long-term repression and jealousy.

He thought about it and agreed.

..............................

"Evanesco!"

As the spell was cast, a mouse that was sniffing around on the table suddenly disappeared.

The soft light of the Black Lake in winter made the dormitory seem to merge with the underwater outside the window. In the middle of the room, Vaughn gently held the magic wand and closed his eyes to sense it.

In his perception, an obscure magical power was enveloping countless fine "dust" and scattering it in the indoor air.

They were so tiny that they were completely imperceptible to the naked eye, and if he had not cast the spell and had no magical or mystical connection with him, he would not have been able to sense them.

The so-called tiny is the feedback he gets from his perception. They seem to be able to penetrate every pore between molecules, whether it is air, table or bed sheet, and no macroscopic object can block it.

They were evenly scattered throughout the dormitory, with only a trace of residual power from the Vanishing Spell maintaining their fragile presence.

Wait for the counterspell or spell to be broken.

However, this power is so weak that it only requires a little interference from the magical level.

Vaughn picked up the wand and gently drew an arc, releasing a meaningless magical power that created invisible ripples in the air.

But in Vaughn's perception, at the microscopic level, it was like a raging storm.

The remaining power of the Vanishing Spell surged and collapsed in the raging waves of magic. The countless "dust particles" that were tangled up by it and projected into his perception were like stars covered by dark clouds, extinguished one by one after the ripples.

Vaughn opened his eyes, looked at the place where the mouse disappeared, and cast a counter-spell of the vanishing spell there.

But nothing happened.

The remaining power of the spell was broken, and without its protection, the mouse had been reduced to the most basic unit of matter, becoming one of the ocean of particles.

As Professor McGonagall said, transform into everything!

"A terrible curse..."

Vaughn's expression was somewhat serious. He tried several more spells to remove the curse and reveal the mouse, confirming that it had completely disappeared and could never be restored.

I couldn't help but think of a certain ability I saw in an anime in my previous life, Dust Release - the powerful force that breaks down matter into its atomic state.

The Vanishing Charm has a very similar effect.

This is also what Vaughan is interested in the Vanishing Spell.

Vaughan likes a planned life. After the incident of the wolfsbane potion, he does not plan to develop new potions until the Werewolf Affairs Committee is established and starts operating.

The base growth of reputation points cannot be achieved by blindly piling up fame.

He tested it two years ago.

When he published his paper on magic extraction in "Extraordinary Potions" and attracted a lot of pharmacists, he was testing the system's definition of "fame".

He guessed that the fame required by the system was similar to the power that drove magic in this world - emotion. In this world, emotion could also be considered a form of power, even though it had no quantifiable standards and was invisible.

Fame may be the emotional response others have to him when they hear or think of his name. This response can be joy, admiration, or disgust and hatred.

This was the conclusion Vaughan came to after he had a period of time where he turned into a troll, sent letters to hundreds of pharmacists, and engaged in heated arguments with them.

Starting from the second month after the test, his monthly reputation points increased by 1 point.

But Vaughan also discovered at the time that this kind of emotional feedback was not without limit, because he later tested it again, expanding the scope of the "victims" who were criticized to the magical circles of France and other countries. The result was that they did not add another point of fame for him.

Vaughan was not sure about the specific principles behind this, but he guessed that the spread and growth of fame might involve some more hidden parts related to the mysterious system of this world.

There is an upper threshold limit, just like when you throw a stone into the lake, the ripples caused by the stone shake the water plants, and the shaking of the water plants is the feedback given by the things affected by the ripples.

But this ripple will eventually dissipate into nothingness, and the place where the ripple finally disappears is the upper limit of the threshold that it can affect.

From that time on, Vaughn began to pay attention to the most unpredictable force in the world - fate!
Vaughan believed that the reason why those foreign pharmacists were unable to give him fame points was probably because of the reality of national boundaries, which prevented him from having a connection with them in destiny.

To put it in practical terms, his influence could not reach beyond England and could not interfere with the lives of those pharmacists, so even if they disliked him or hated him, it would not be reflected in the system's settlement.

Perhaps only a connection of fate can explain this phenomenon.

This time, Vaughn chose wolfsbane potion as his trump card to become a potion master, and he is still testing it.

The wolfsbane potion itself is unlikely to cause a sensation. Only through his hype can it affect the fate of many people, and there is even hope that it can go beyond national borders and affect more people.

But it was precisely because the planning was too strong and eye-catching that Vaughn felt that any of his recent achievements in potions might be overshadowed by the emotional feedback from the "Wolfsbane Potion Incident."

So he decided to put aside the potion for the time being and turn his attention to improving his own strength.

Tomorrow is the day for reputation point calculation.

When Vaughn woke up early this morning, he began to sort out the spells he knew, preparing to select some to practice and study in depth in the coming days with the help of reputation points.

The "Iron Armor Spell" and the "Disarming Spell" must be further studied.

He had been practicing these two spells since he learned them a few years ago. Needless to say, the "Iron Armor Spell", this seemingly simple spell, was the only means of protection for wizards. It could block most spells except for some powerful black magic.

The "Disarming Spell" is a very effective means of attack. After all, except for a small number of powerful wizards, most people cannot do without a wand.

If you take away a wizard's wand, most of his abilities will be wasted.

After deciding on these two spells, Vaughn was in a dilemma when it came to choosing other directions. He wanted to enrich his offensive and defensive methods.

In terms of defense, you can continue to study Transfiguration to supplement the defense besides the "Iron Armor Spell".

But when it came to attacking, he didn't know what to choose.

Currently, he has two directions. One is to delve into memory magic such as "Legitimate Memory", attacking, harassing and restraining the enemy from the direction of memory, to assist "Disarming Spell", "Stunning Spell" and so on.

Another direction is to work hard to develop a powerful spell that the enemy cannot resist.

That's how the Vanishing Spell came into his view.

"Tsk, why didn't I realize before that I actually have a bit of a choice problem..."

Vaughn touched his chin, his eyes scanning the open system panel, unable to make a decision for a moment.

In fact, both have advantages and disadvantages.

After learning memory magic to a certain level, once it can be performed silently and without a wand, it can be activated silently and is the first choice for ambush. The disadvantage is that it does not have strong destructive power and is also restrained by memory magic masters. If you encounter Voldemort, it will most likely be useless.

The Vanishing Spell is powerful enough, but it was developed from Transfiguration and was not originally intended to destroy. Not only does it have counter-spells, it is also restrained by Transfiguration. According to Vaughn's test, the life after disappearance actually still has memory and thinking ability. If it encounters a master of Transfiguration, such as Dumbledore, the person can restore themselves.

Vaughan was in distress and in a bad mood, so when he was about to go to the restaurant for dinner and passed by the common room and saw the prefect, he cast a stunning spell over him.

The prefect didn't even have time to complete his resistance before his eyes rolled back and he fell off the sofa.

The little snakes were silent, and Malfoy buried his face in the sofa cushions, trembling like an ostrich.

All this made Vaughan feel bored. He could only bully these weak people. When would he be able to punch Voldemort and kick Dumbledore?

Selwyn, the weakling who had been knocked down by his Disarming Curse, and Lupin, the weakling who had been pushed out the door by his Silencing and Wandless Flying Curse, said they had something to say...

(End of this chapter)