Hogwarts: From Little Wizard to White Lord

"I've almost finished reading the book. I'm going to start developing potions and perfecting my theories. I'm sorry to disappoint you, Headmaster."

"Severus has been praising you in front of me, Slytherin's Potions genius."

Vaughan smiled: "It's all thanks to Professor Snape and your kindness. It's getting late, Headmaster. I need to go back and rest. Good night."

"Goodnight Mr. Weasley."

Two foxes, one big and one small, greeted each other and said goodbye, as if everything was just a chance encounter and ordinary chat.

Chapter 33 Bargaining (Part )

Vaughn didn't take his "chance encounter" with Old Dumbledore seriously. The previous conversation between the two was certainly not just a casual chat. Old Dumbledore was pretending to be crazy, but in fact, he was vaguely telling Vaughn that he knew about the existence of the Room of Requirement and had always been keeping track of Vaughn's whereabouts.

The so-called invitation to try out the toilet room was actually a test of whether Vaughn was willing to be "obedient" and his attitude towards him.

So Vaughn simply refused and stated his current pursuit:

I just want to study potions, leave me alone!

There is a saying in the past life, "A gentleman can be deceived by tricks."

Dumbledore was hardly a gentleman, but no matter how many conspiracy theorists in his past life speculated.

What is undeniable is that Dumbledore did follow the rules.

He is unwilling to force others to act according to his ideas, and unwilling to abuse his magic. He will only guide and seize the weaknesses of human nature to achieve his own goals within the scope permitted by the rules.

The formation and solidification of this character and behavior style were not innate to Dumbledore, but were the result of several heart-wrenching setbacks and lessons in his long life.

Ariana died in Godric's Hollow.

Grindelwald broke with him.

Even Tom Riddle...

Perhaps Dumbledore regretted the many days and nights when Voldemort was wreaking havoc.

I regret why I showed my strength to Tom and made him surrender when I first met him.

He used his power to force a child to admit his mistakes, so the child spent his whole life chasing power and got lost in power!

It was precisely because he was familiar with Dumbledore's character and past that Vaughn never feared or hated him - if it were Voldemort, Vaughn would have cast a curse in his face and then found a way to escape without a word.

Vaughan likes people who follow the rules, even though he doesn't necessarily follow the rules himself...

This is called a flexible moral bottom line!

The next day, when Vaughan went to see Professor Snape, he told him about his encounter with the headmaster and commented with a happy expression, "The headmaster is a good man."

"..." Snape had a blank expression on his face, feeling that something was strange.

But at this moment, he was not in the mood to think about whether Vaughn was speaking sarcastically or really believed it.

When they met today, they were not in a dark basement.

Instead, they came to the Quidditch pitch - the location chosen by Snape.

It was the end of September and the beginning of October. The temperature in the Scottish Highlands dropped sharply and the weather began to get worse. Gloomy leaden clouds rolled over the sky, and strong winds, carrying icy rain, howled wantonly on the Quidditch field.

Even in such bad weather, the Gryffindor team did not give up training.

Oliver Wood was riding on a broom, being blown around by the wind, and his mouth was full of rain, but he still tried to shout loudly, give a motivational speech and make tactical arrangements.

He completely ignored his teammates, all of whom had ashen faces, as if they were possessed by vampires.

The skinny Harry fell several times, and his whole body was shaking so much that he couldn't even keep his glasses on, as if he would convulse and die at any moment.

In this kind of weather, even the most enthusiastic Gryffindor would not be willing to give up the warm fireplace to come and support the team.

In the empty stands, only Ron and Hermione were wearing raincoats and huddled in the shed.

Therefore, Vaughan and Snape, who were wearing the "Waterproof Curse" and "Bubble Head Curse" on the sidelines, stood out very clearly.

"...See?! Slytherin is afraid of us! They sent their own head of house and their best students to spy on us. Do we want to be looked down upon by them? Where is your passion? Where is your voice?"

"Harry! Roar up and show Slytherin your style!!"

Wood is passionate.

Harry: "Dededededede..."

The twins couldn't help but complain, "What can they possibly spy on in this awful weather? Look at how Harry freezes into ice?"

"Wood has gone crazy Fred. Ever since his idea of ​​using Harry as a secret weapon was shattered, his mind has been turning to trolls."

Angelina Johnson, the Gryffindor chaser, clung to her broom tightly, her figure already disheveled in the wind. She cried out, "Damn you, Wood! I curse you to become a woman, to have your period every day, to be caught in heavy rain every day!"

Gryffindor team: "..."

Looking at the embarrassed appearance of the little lions, Snape snorted with pleasure: "Stupid team, stupid Potter."

Vaughn automatically ignored Snape's harsh words towards Harry. He smiled at Fred, George, and Harry, who were about to collapse in the distance, and asked, "Professor, do you like Quidditch too?"

Snape's face was expressionless, and his words were concise: "Stupid sport!"

"Then why did you bring me here?"

Snape's face twitched, but he didn't answer. Instead, he asked in his unique, slow voice, "You've finished reading the book. When do you plan to start working on perfecting your method of extracting magic power?"

"Not yet, Professor," Vaughn explained. "Next, I plan to delve deeper into the field of potions. I'll first brew some advanced potions and familiarize myself with their rituals. Then, I'll begin researching the ingredients."

Snape thought for a moment, "I heard from Dumbledore that you want to develop a new potion?"

"Yes, in fact, the perfection of the magic power extraction method is unlikely to produce results quickly."

"Each material has many different properties. Some can be used in known formulations, while others cannot. But that doesn't mean they won't be useful in the future."

“If I want to build a universal template, I have to understand all the features—about their effects, the similarities and differences in their extraction techniques, and whether their combination produces new features. At least a relatively clear list of these should be established.”

This is a big project.

Snape couldn't help but glance at Vaughan.

Vaughn remained calm as he continued, "Even if the properties are extracted, it's impossible to immediately determine their effects. We can only make vague guesses, especially for those that don't exist in known formulas. This requires the development of new potions to characterize them..."

"I plan to make magic extraction my life's work, Professor, but I can't keep saying 'it's still being perfected'. Developing new potions is both to verify my theory and to fill in the gaps before I completely perfect it."

Snape didn't know what to say.

His stern face and lifeless eyes made it impossible to tell what he was thinking. Only after a long while did he snort, "Ignorance and fearlessness!"

After a pause, he added, "But not arrogant."

Vaughn smiled and said, "I've always believed that a person should have lofty goals but also be down-to-earth."

Chapter 34 Bargaining (Part )

The philosophy in this sentence doesn't sound like something an 11-year-old child could say.

Snape looked at Vaughan and suddenly hesitated about his previous thoughts.

Vaughn noticed his hesitation and asked, "Professor, is there anything you would like me to do?"

Looking at the smiling face, for some reason, Snape thought of Dumbledore - the old guy who always smiled in front of him.

In fact, the moment Vaughan arrived at the Quidditch field and saw the Gryffindors, he knew what Snape wanted him to do. This perennial otaku would only take the initiative to come out of his basement to watch what he considered a "stupid sport" when it came to Harry!

Sure enough, Snape, who had maintained his aloof personality for a while, asked dryly, "What do you think of Potter's Quidditch skills?"

"Great." Vaughn looked at the little lions who had already started training above, and Harry's thin figure quickly shuttled through the wind and rain.

He looked at Snape and said with a malicious look, "Everyone says that Harry inherited his father's talent. Gryffindor believes that no Seeker from other house teams can match Harry."

Boom!

Vaughan seemed to hear the sound of teeth grinding.

He saw Snape clench his hands, and his dark eyes showed a rare strong emotion.

It’s hard to tell whether it’s remembrance or hatred.

But it was clear he was no longer beating around the bush: "Vaughn Weasley, if I put you on the Slytherin team, could you beat him?"

Vaughan appropriately expressed his surprise: "Professor, why? You know, Harry and I are friends, and I don't like Quidditch very much."

"Hehe, my friend... you just need to tell me if you can do it?"

"This... should be possible."

Vaughn looked confident and innocent. "But Professor, I have a lot to do, especially experimenting with medicinal herbs. Not only does it take up a lot of my time, it also costs a lot of money. I also have to make money by boiling herbs..."

"I'll give you the materials!"

Snape almost squeezed these words out from between his teeth.

"I also have to focus on my studies. You know I love studying, and homework takes up a lot of my time every day..."

"I will contact Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick." Snape's expression grew even colder. "Given your level in Transfiguration and Charms, I believe they will cancel your homework, including my Potions class! But you can't skip the homework for other classes."

"That's great." Vaughn said cheerfully, "Also, I noticed that in the book you gave me this time, apart from the Oblivion Charm, there's no other memory magic, such as Legilimency..."

Snape's face was ashen.

He was now certain that the Weasley in front of him had the same bad character as Dumbledore!

Greedy and never shows mercy when in power!

Absolutely abominable!

But after taking a few deep breaths, he said dryly: "Next summer vacation, I will send you a book... Don't go too far, Weasley!"

Vaughn was still not satisfied. Such a good opportunity for blackmail...

Unfortunately, judging by Snape's expression, these demands had already reached his bottom line.

But he still added one more thing: "I hope Slytherin has a new captain. Marcus Flint is a fool."

Snape instinctively wanted to throw his robes away and walk away.

But think carefully about Marcus Flint - he was a tall and burly guy who looked like a gorilla, with well-developed limbs and good athletic ability, but the material composition of his brain was unknown.

Dumber than a troll.

He suddenly felt that there seemed to be nothing wrong with Vaughn's request.