Hogwarts: From Little Wizard to White Lord

"You will need to go to the station with me and Headmaster Dumbledore to greet them this afternoon. Out of courtesy, Mr. Weasley, please dress formally... Of course, if you don't have any, you can go to Diagon Alley through the fireplace in my office to buy some. The school will cover the cost."

Vaughn nodded. "I had a formal suit ordered before school started, but I haven't worn it yet."

Professor McGonagall chuckled and said, "Very good, child, then go back and get ready!"

Vaughn was about to leave when he noticed Snape standing there with a cold, dazed look on his face. He smiled sweetly and asked Professor McGonagall, "Can I ask Professor Snape to come with me?"

Snape, who was in a daze, suddenly shuddered. He widened his dark and lifeless eyes and stared at Vaughan fiercely.

Professor McGonagall didn't notice any of this. She was moved by what he said and said, "Of course, child... Severus, see how much your students care about you!"

Snape: "..."

He wanted to struggle: "I have something..."

Professor McGonagall immediately interrupted him: "Severus, don't refuse students' kindness. It's still vacation time, what else can you do?"

As she spoke, she glanced at Snape's hair, where a tuft of hair stuck up. She gently reminded him, "I think the shampoo you used yesterday was very good. It's still early, you can use it again."

The matter was happily decided.

Vaughan returned to Slytherin, took a shower, and sorted out his notes, which recorded his research on the werewolf virus and some details in the development of the wolfsbane potion.

These may be useful during interviews.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Professor McGonagall sent her Patronus to tell him that the Ministry of Magic's train was about to arrive, so he rushed to the gate of Hogwarts.

When they arrived, Professor McGonagall, Snape, and Dumbledore were already there. Dumbledore regained his usual smiling face and said, "Come on, dear, let's go greet the officials from the Ministry of Magic. But don't worry, the joint investigation is just a formality."

He only dared to say this in a coaxing tone when Professor McGonagall was around, otherwise Vaughan would definitely laugh at him.

Vaughn rolled his eyes covertly and followed him.

"Speaking of which, why did the Ministry of Magic's investigation team come here by train? Wouldn't a fireplace be more convenient?"

Dumbledore blinked. "That's bureaucracy. The Joint Investigation Team is meant to show respect. How can something as unremarkable as a fireplace reflect that?"

Professor McGonagall coughed, "Albus!"

Dumbledore immediately shut up.

Then, the group walked along the cobblestone road to the platform. After waiting for a while, a train that looked quite luxurious slowly emerged from the distant mountains.

The train ran slowly and steadily, like a sturdy fat man in gorgeous clothes, slowly and leisurely, and it took dozens of minutes to stop at the platform.

After waiting for a while, the door of the carriage opened after the steam and smoke dissipated.

A short, fat figure in a pinstriped suit, a bright red tie, and a long black cloak jumped out first. He took off his top hat and opened his arms enthusiastically to Dumbledore:

"Albus Dumbledore, my dear friend!"

Vaughn saw Dumbledore pause in surprise before happily stepping forward to hug the short, fat man. "Cornelly, what a surprise! Why are you here?"

Cornelius Fudge?

Vaughan suddenly realized that it was no wonder that the so-called investigation team was so pursuing "style". It turned out that the Minister had also come to Hogwarts.

After greeting Dumbledore warmly, Cornelius Fudge gently kissed the back of Professor McGonagall's hand and enthusiastically praised her for looking great today, like a blooming iris.

It was not until he saw Snape, whose face was cold and whose eyes were as lifeless as stone, that his fiery smile suddenly stopped and he said vaguely: "Oh, oh - Snape, the famous Potions Professor of Hogwarts... Sorry, do you smell like potions? It's really... special..."

Snape's face grew even colder, and his eyes looked as if he wanted to eat up the dear Minister of Magic in one bite.

However, Fudge was in no mood to care about a small professor. He walked up to Vaughan, shook his hand vigorously, and turned around to say to the people following him:

"Look, today's protagonist, Mr. Vaughan Weasley. As soon as I saw this beautiful fiery red hair, I knew it must be Arthur's child... Son, I am your father's boss, you know?"

Vaughan smiled. "Yes, Dad did say you, Minister of Magic, the Honourable Cornelius Fudge!"

Arthur did say things like, "that stupid pig-head," "stupid shorty," "sly little man," and so on.

Fudge was obviously unaware that he had so many excellent reviews in the eyes of his subordinates. He laughed happily and ruffled Vaughn's hair vigorously.

"..."

Vaughan's smile was visibly stiff, but Snape next to him laughed.

With the respected Minister of Magic present, the other so-called investigation teams immediately became dispensable. Obviously, these Ministry of Magic officials and invited pharmacists also knew that this was just a formality. After greeting each other, they gathered around Snape and Vaughan to discuss academic issues.

Until a sharp voice came: "Mr. Weasley, I am Rita Skeeter, a reporter from the Daily Prophet, and I will be interviewing you. When do we start?"

Rita Skeeter?

When Vaughn heard the voice, he looked and saw a slightly plump middle-aged woman who looked very vulgar, wearing a dazzling golden-green slim silk dress. She was pushing her golden glasses and smiling at him seductively.

Vaughn looked at him strangely and held out his hand: "Hello, Ms. Skeeter!"

Rita's thick hands grasped him, shaking him gently without letting go. "Oh, dear, you are so handsome. You don't look like a slovenly potion-maker at all."

Snape and other pharmacists beside him: "..."

Unfortunately, Ms. Rita usually ignored these people who had no news value. She put her arm around Vaughn's shoulders and whispered, "My dear, I know your secret!"

Vaughn frowned. What the hell?

"A child under 12 years old developed the wolfsbane potion... Even novels wouldn't dare write about such a thing, but what about you? Mr. Weasley, not only did you publicize it widely, but it is said that there are a bunch of important people paving the way for you, tsk tsk..."

Rita whispered softly and poignantly into Vaughn's ear.

An ornate quill floated beside her, writing furiously on a piece of parchment.

But to Rita's surprise, when Vaughn heard her words, he did not react as she expected. He showed neither the fear of having his secret exposed nor the anger of being wronged.

Of course she knew that her words were fabricated, but that was her secret to interviewing. She liked to deliberately provoke the interviewees. If she could get the truth out of them, that would be the best. If not, she could make the interviewees lose control of their emotions and make them tell her the truth.

But the boy in front of me...

He just gave her a weird look!

Rita was about to say something else when Fudge, who had just finished communicating with Dumbledore, waved and called out, "Mr. Weasley, kid, come here quickly. Let's take a photo together!"

Vaughan smiled. "The minister is calling me. Sorry, ma'am, please talk about the interview later."

Pushing away Rita's hand on his shoulder, Vaughn walked between Fudge and Dumbledore. From here, he could see the panoramic view of Hogwarts Castle, which was a good place to take pictures.

The enthusiastic minister deliberately stood on a stone to appear taller. He put his arm around Vaughan, smiled warmly and cheerfully, and intentionally or unintentionally blocked Dumbledore behind him.

Vaughan, who also smiled and let the photographer take pictures, seemed to be thinking about something:

It seems that Fudge has already started to guard against Dumbledore...

This was to be expected, as the previous Minister for Magic, Millicent Barnard, retired the previous year (1990) without having finalised the Ministry's successor.

The outside world, including within the Ministry of Magic, believed that Dumbledore and Barty Crouch were the most prestigious and could convince everyone. These two were also the toughest figures who fought against Voldemort during his rampage.

Unfortunately, Barty Crouch's son, Barty Crouch Jr., was found to be a Death Eater after the war. Although Crouch Sr. sent his son to Azkaban personally, this incident made some neutral wizard voters no longer trust him.

In people's simple view, if a person can't even manage his own son, how can he manage the Ministry of Magic?

After eliminating old Crouch, Dumbledore became the only candidate, but Dumbledore refused the position of Minister of Magic. He told his friends that he was afraid that he would become addicted to power.

Many people thought that was his statement to express his noble character, but Vaughn knew that Deng was indeed afraid because of his experiences in his youth.

He knew that his resolve and faith were not that strong.

The last time he woke up was because of Ariana's death, and now there is no second Ariana.

Two important figures missed the opportunity to become ministers in succession. Other qualified candidates gave up the opportunity, perhaps to avoid suspicion or because they thought they could not convince the public.

So, Fudge, then Deputy Director of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, was watching the show when he was inexplicably hit on the head by the position of Minister...

"The outside world has always said that Fudge was a puppet supported by Dumbledore. After he took office, he often asked Dumbledore for advice. In fact, the requests for advice were indeed true. This guy took over in a hurry and was completely unprepared. He urgently needed someone to give him advice, even..."

Vaughan suspected that the rumor about the so-called "puppet" was probably spread by Fudge himself.

Not only can he use Dumbledore's prestige to intimidate potential opponents and consolidate his power, but he can also put Dumbledore in the spotlight, allowing public opinion to monitor him and making him avoid suspicion and dare not interfere in the Ministry of Magic.

"It seems that he is really a smart person..."

With a fake smile on his face, Vaughan pondered the changes in Fudge. It was obvious that after a year in office, the respected Mr. Fudge thought his position was secure.

The fox began to be wary of the tiger that once borrowed its power!

"It's good to be vigilant. As long as Fudge is vigilant, he will find ways to obtain the Wolfsbane Potion. I have already made it clear that I intend to disclose the formula and cooperate with the Ministry of Magic. That's why he came here in person today and was so enthusiastic... Does he think I'm worth winning over and want me to hand over the formula to the Ministry of Magic for operation?"

In a flash, Vaughan figured out Fudge's purpose.

The smile on his face became more sincere.

Sure enough, not long after the photo was taken, Fudge deliberately called over a few employees, saying that they admired Dumbledore very much and hoped to talk more with the headmaster.

After the employees pulled Dumbledore aside, Fudge quickly took Vaughn and left the crowd.

"Mr. Weasley..."

"Please call me Vaughn, Mr. Minister. You worked with my father and are my elder. You don't have to be so polite."

Fudge obviously did not doubt the sincerity of a 12-year-old boy. He immediately agreed and said happily: "Yes, good boy, very polite..."

After a few compliments, he quickly said, "I heard that you're planning to release the wolfsbane potion formula and give up the patent. Could you tell Uncle Fudge why?"

Vaughn displayed the elementary school innocence and stupidity he had learned from Ron and said, "I want to help those stray werewolves, but they can't afford the potion, so I want to make the recipe public to see if I can convince everyone to make the wolfsbane potion free."

"Oh, how kind..." Fudge patted Vaughan's shoulder vigorously, then said sadly, "But child, you are still young and don't understand the difficulties involved. To put it simply, even if you disclose the formula and convince the pharmacists to make the wolfsbane potion free, which pharmacist would be willing to waste time on a free potion? Or, they will resell it at a high price, and you will never know..."

After explaining the pros and cons, he saw Vaughn lost in thought and said, "I have a better idea. Would you like to hear it?"

"Uncle Fudge, please go ahead."

Fudge's expression was very sincere. "Give the formula to the Ministry of Magic, give it to Uncle Fudge. I can promise you that I will set up a separate department to be responsible for this matter. The Ministry of Magic is very rich and can afford all the expenses of the werewolves... However, I have a small request -"

"I want you to make a public appeal and have those stray werewolves accept the 'Werewolf Registration Act'. Oh, child, this is to prevent us from giving potions to bad people. If we don't register, what if a bad werewolf like Greyback gets the potion, right?"

Vaughn looked hesitant, somewhat tempted, yet also hesitant.

As a seasoned politician, Fudge was not in a hurry. He said considerately, "Vaughn, go back and think carefully about what your uncle said."

"Let's not talk about this topic for now. Uncle Fudge wants to tell you some good news."

Vaughn asked curiously, "What good news?"

Fudge acted like a loving elder. "Of course it's your Order of Merlin, son. You've done a great deed, and your uncle must reward you. So before we leave, I'll ask the Order of Merlin to pass a resolution to award you the Order of Merlin, Second Class."

As he spoke, he took out a piece of letter and opened it for Vaughan to see.

"Under my uncle's urging, Sir Merlin's Order has decided to hold your investiture ceremony at the Wizengamot Court in three days!"

Looking at Fudge who turned back and chatted happily with Dumbledore, Vaughan sneered in his heart.