Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 102 Vaughn's Fate and Splatoon Ron
After the Statute of Secrecy was enacted, wizards buried their heads in the sand like ostriches.

They are lost in the false peace and prosperity gained by concessions, singing praises and lamenting the difficulty of life, indulging in the rich material given by magic, living a life of drunkenness and dreams, and dreaming of living in peace in a corner forever!

However, they overlooked that only by maintaining competition can progress be achieved. From a macro historical perspective, the idea of ​​natural selection runs through almost all of human history.

No country or group has ever gained a chance to survive through constant compromise and concession. Those who cannot live in adversity will eventually be eliminated.

Of course, at heart, Vaughan is not someone who cares about the survival of the wizarding world.

All he had ever pursued was magic.

"Guo Guocha, I love magic. I long to understand all its secrets, truths, knowledge, and power!"

He suddenly spoke, and Guo Guocha, who was lying next to him, raised her head slightly and listened to Vaughn's voice.

"I long to one day unravel the mystery of the origin of magic. I long to one day reach the end of magic and see what the world is really like from the highest peak... But I know I can't do it alone!"

Manpower is sometimes poor.

Even with a system, Vaughn didn't think he could push magic to its limits by himself.

"I need people to help me, the more the better. The development of any knowledge system must rely on collective strength and wisdom, but the current magical world cannot do this..."

"The current magical world is inefficient and disorganized. Hundreds of years of false peace have caused everyone to lose their sense of urgency and collective spirit. They lack recognition of a unified will and even less of a competitive spirit."

"Guo Guocha, I knew a long time ago that if I wanted to continue to advance on the path of magic, I had to change the magical world!"

Guo Guocha couldn't help but get close to Vaughn's arms: "Meow~"

Vaughan glanced at it and smiled:

"Yes, it is difficult... but fortunately, we live in a critical era where an information revolution is about to break out in Muggle society."

"The Internet is profoundly impacting the world. In a few years, mobile phones and mobile networks will become widely popular. With Muggles advancing at an increasingly rapid pace of technological advancement, the maintenance of the Statute of Secrecy will become precarious."

"In a few years, a photo or a video will spread across the globe at a speed beyond your imagination. Even if the Ministry of Magic cooperates with the Muggle government to block information, as long as wizards still have connections with Muggles and are active in Muggle society, the cost of concealment will inevitably increase. Eventually, it will become unbearable and the cooperation will collapse!"

"In my opinion, the future evolution of the wizarding world can only take two directions. The first is that the wizarding world completely cuts off ties with Muggle society. All wizards gather in a few villages, no one is allowed to enter Muggle society, and Hogwarts stops accepting students..."

His voice trailed off, then paused.

He lowered his head and looked at Guo Guocha's eyes looking up at him.

Reaching out to scratch its chin, Guo Guocha hugged his hand and called softly.

Vaughn said in a low voice, "That's right, Guoguocha, I don't like that future. It was destined from the beginning. I will only choose the second direction of evolution - abolishing the Statute of Secrecy, integrating the wizarding world, taking the initiative, and forcibly promoting the integration of the wizarding world and Muggle society!"

"And with this choice, war is inevitable!"

As someone who considers himself more of a researcher, Vaughan dislikes politics and naturally dislikes war even more.

But the frustrating thing is that if he wants to push magic to the extreme, he needs to integrate the magic world and even expand the power of the magic world.

It is imperative to abolish the Statute of Secrecy, promote the integration of wizards and Muggles, popularize magic and improve the defect of the sparse wizard population.

Such changes will undoubtedly lead to a series of conflicts.

Conflicts of ideas, conflicts of interests, and may even involve conflicts over the right to survival of species!
Even in Muggle society, if a country wants to rise, it will attract a pack of wolves, let alone wizards who are so different from ordinary humans that they are almost another species?
As long as Muggles know the existence of wizards and magic, whether out of fear or greed, Muggles and wizards will inevitably repeat the scene of hundreds of years ago.

This is the bad nature of human beings, which has not changed from ancient times to the present.

A long time ago, Vaughan had also thought about evolving in a peaceful way. He had imagined using memory magic to modify the thoughts of the Muggle high-ranking officials and using the control of the Muggle government to minimize the negative impact of the merger.

Unfortunately, after experiments and reflection, this idea had to be abandoned.

First of all, the magical conditions are not up to standard. Except for the forgetfulness spell, the influence of memory magic is not permanent. The human memory system seems to have a "backup" concept in the soul. The more modifications are made, the easier it is to trigger the correction mechanism.

The Imperius Curse, which acts directly on the soul, can achieve permanent control, but as a dark magic, its pollution and high mana consumption are a problem.

Another reason is that when it comes to issues such as the integration of wizards and Muggles that determine the fate of mankind, it is difficult for a minority to control the will of the group.

That's why he later changed his mind and promoted the establishment of the Werewolf Affairs Committee, thereby actively participating in the politics of the wizarding world.

Compared to the large population and complex social situation of Muggles, wizards are undoubtedly much simpler.

This has nothing to do with morality or ideological awareness, but is determined by the population base. There are only tens of thousands of wizards in the whole of England. Compared with the Muggle population of up to 6000 million in England, it naturally appears more "simple".

But even in such a "simple" environment, Vaughan realized that it would be difficult for him to integrate everyone's thoughts and understanding in the future.

There are bound to be diehards who insist on the International Statute of Secrecy, such as the pure-blood families, such as—

Dumbledore!

Chaotic thoughts were jumping around in his mind. While stroking Guo Guocha's soft hair, Vaughn stared at the curtain above his head in a daze.

Guo Guocha listened quietly to his murmurs:

"Dumbledore's premonition of death is probably related to me. Our perspectives are vastly different. It seems my future self hasn't convinced him. We're not on the same path after all..."

“…What a pity!”

Hearing the complex emotions in Vaughn's tone, Guoguocha put his big head close to Vaughn's chin and rubbed it gently.

"Meow meow~"

"I'm fine, just a little sad."

The path of magic is somewhat lonely.

There weren't many wizards that Vaughn could look up to and respect, and after spending so much time with them, it was inevitable that he would develop some feelings for them.

However, he will not give up his ideals and pursuits because of his feelings.

In a sense, he is also an idealist!
Of course, the premonition of death and the foreshadowed fate are all in the uncertain and distant future. Vaughn's attitude towards fate has always been to remain in awe and then try to control it.

As the night deepened and lights-out time arrived, the magical flames in the dormitory gradually dimmed and went out.

In the darkness, only Vaughn's open eyes remained, still emitting a magical glow.

……

The painful Easter holiday is over, but no little wizard feels lucky. For the fifth-year students who will take OWLs and the seventh-year students who will take NEWTs this year, the end of the holiday means they only have one month left.

The situation in other grades was not much better. The professors did not want the young wizards to be promoted just by playing around, and many people had not completed the homework assigned before the holiday by the end of the holiday.

Among them were Harry and Ron.

Fortunately, there is no such position as class representative at Hogwarts, and homework is usually collected by the professor himself during class.

The two of them had taken advantage of the last few days of the holiday to rush through their course assignments for Monday and Tuesday after school started, such as History of Magic, Herbology, Transfiguration, and Charms.

They all put the potions homework last.

Even after Hermione's reasoning, Harry and Ron already knew that Professor Snape was not a bad person, but they still disliked him.

Especially on Tuesday, when Harry returned to the common room in a rage.

When Hermione and Ron asked him why he didn't go to training, Harry said angrily:
"I've never seen a more annoying guy than that old bat. It should have been our turn to use the playground today, but he abused the Headmaster's privilege and gave the playground to Slytherin!"

"How shameless!"

Ron immediately shared the same hatred and offered advice: "Didn't you and Wood go to see Professor McGonagall? If Snape can approve the note, she can definitely do it too."

Speaking of this, Harry became a little discouraged: "Professor McGonagall didn't want to approve it because Snape told her in advance that he had asked for her consent... If you ask me, Professor McGonagall is too upright. How could she believe such an outrageous excuse as Slytherin's sudden change of tactics and urgent need for special training?"

Ron snorted, "Our dean is always like this, so righteous that he's a bit pedantic, that's why we get bullied..."

"Ronald!"

Hermione glared at him fiercely, and he quickly shut up and changed the subject: "Well, it's okay not to train. You have Defense Against the Dark Arts class tomorrow. You have time to finish your homework and you don't have to stay up late."

Hearing this, Harry covered his forehead with his hands. He looked at his two friends in distress and whispered, "I don't want to take the Defense Against the Dark Arts class."

"why?"

"You know, I've always felt sorry for Quirrell. I always thought he was very kind to me, but it turns out he was the one who cast a spell on me and almost killed me. I... I'm worried I won't be able to control my emotions!"

The three of them had agreed beforehand to keep a low profile and monitor Quirrell secretly, waiting for him to lose his patience and try to steal the Philosopher's Stone before exposing him.

By then, with both witnesses and evidence available, the adults will no longer ignore it.

At this moment, Harry obviously couldn't be allowed to alarm Quirrell.

Ron, who was always quick-witted when it came to devious ways, thought quickly and suggested, "How about you call in sick? We'll go find Fred and George and get you some candy for skipping classes. Three pints of blood will spray out, and even if you want to go to class, Madam Pomfrey won't agree."

This proposal, which Hermione would normally firmly reject, was now unanimously approved by the trio.

"Speaking of which, what have Fred and George been up to lately? They've been acting so mysterious all day long, and they haven't even played any pranks. It feels like something's missing without them making trouble every day."

Harry shrugged, "I don't know. I only see them during training."

It was Hermione who replied, "They seem to be researching something. I think that's great. Fred and George are very talented in alchemy. It's a waste that they were always obsessed with pranks in the past."

As they were talking, the three of them had already arrived outside the twins' dormitory. The door was tightly closed, with a note taped to it:
[A great experiment is underway in this dormitory, please do not disturb! ]

Ron scoffed at this and complained as he touched the door handle, "The Great Experiment? These two guys are playing tricks again!!"

Under the astonished gazes of Harry and Hermione, Ron touched the door handle, his red hair exploded, he twitched wildly, and fell to the ground.

The twins are in trouble again!
A third-year student found Vaughan in the library, told him the news, and conveyed Professor McGonagall's instructions, asking him to go to the school hospital immediately.

When Vaughn arrived, before he even entered the door, he heard Professor McGonagall's signature Scottish accent, scolding loudly:
"...Audacious and lawless, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, I thought I had clearly told you that you were not allowed to conduct experiments in secret. If you can't remember my words, then perhaps I should consider using magic to engrave them into your brains!"

"Professor, we didn't do it secretly. We posted a warning on the door."

"Don't change the subject, George Weasley. The dormitory is a place for rest. Any experiment outside the classroom is..."

"Sorry Professor, it's Fred."

"Fred Weasley, I thought I also told you to raise your hand if you have any questions, or do you feel you no longer need your hands?"

Professor McGonagall's voice was filled with suppressed anger.

Vaughan could almost imagine her staring at the twins with those sharp eyes wide open, staring so hard that they trembled.

Vaughn coughed dryly and pushed open the door.

The school hospital has been almost full recently because fifth and seventh grade students have come to escape their heavy workload.

At this moment, everyone looked towards the innermost bed. Ron was lying on the bed with a pale face, while Hermione and Harry stood there in a daze.

At the foot of the bed, Professor McGonagall was just as Vaughan had imagined, her skinny body emitting a tremendous aura. The twins hunched their shoulders and hung their heads in dejection under her furious gaze.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Professor McGonagall turned around and saw that it was Vaughn. Her sullen expression suddenly brightened and her voice lowered a few degrees:
"Mr. Weasley, please come here."

The twins couldn't help but look up, but were immediately scolded by Professor McGonagall: "You two, stand still and don't move until you admit your mistake!"

The twins bared their teeth, their lips moving silently, and it was unclear what they were complaining about. Vaughn knew without having to guess that they were probably complaining about being treated differently or something.

Vaughan has been used to it since he was a child.

Nodding calmly to Professor McGonagall, whose demeanor had suddenly softened, Vaughan came to the bedside, looked at Ron, and poked him with his fingers.

Hard.

"Professor, what happened?"

"Electrocution, Mr. Weasley. Your two older brothers were doing Muggle electricity experiments in the dormitory, and your younger brother, poor Ron Weasley, was struck by a powerful electric current... Oh, don't worry too much, dear. He's stiff all over now because of muscle spasms caused by the electric current. Madam Pomfrey just gave him a large bottle of relaxant, and the potion hasn't taken effect yet."

Hearing about the electrical experiment, Vaughn couldn't help but look up at the twins.

Professor McGonagall quickly explained her purpose for visiting Vaughan:

"Originally, this matter shouldn't bother you, but the two Mr. Weasleys said that the electricity experiment was a task you assigned them. Is that true?"

The twins stared at Vaughn intently.

On the other side of the bed, Hermione and Harry also raised their heads, and even Ron, who was still unconscious, suddenly opened his eyes. It was not known whether it was because the relaxant had taken effect and the orbicularis oculi muscle had relaxed, or because he "died with his eyes open."

Vaughn remained calm and shook his head, "No, Professor."

The twins' eyes widened and they shouted anxiously in unison: "Professor, he is lying—"

"Shut up, both of you!" Professor McGonagall scolded. "You are hopeless. I shouldn't have believed your nonsense. I even thought you would be even a little bit as honest as Vaughn. We're both Weasleys, so why can't you learn to be more honest?"

The twins looked sad and angry.

Professor McGonagall ignored them and turned to Vaughan. "Sorry, kid, there's nothing for you to do now. Go back and rest. You've been exhausted lately."

Vaughn ignored the twins' anger and asked, "Professor, what are you going to do with these two liars?"

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips tightly and was about to say something when she heard Harry suddenly shout from behind her: "Ron!"

A few people turned around and saw that Ron, who had been stiff on the hospital bed, had now become like a ball of softened dough, with his limbs and mouth drooping limply.

The most terrifying thing was that his chest began to collapse, and long breaths came out of his nostrils, but no air was coming in.

Harry was terrified. It looked like he was about to die.

But Madam Pomfrey, who came rushing over, said these were minor problems: "Don't worry, Harry, this is the relaxant taking effect. The muscles supporting his lungs are completely relaxing... Oh, look at his eyes, how wide they are, his pupils dilated, he's still dreaming!"

"Professor McGonagall, can you help me transform into a trachea? Our little red-haired boy temporarily needs a trachea to supply air to his lungs. If possible, you'd better stay for a while. We will also need your Transfiguration to help in some situations later."

Although Madam Pomfrey didn't say it explicitly, Vaughn and Professor McGonagall knew what else they would need help with later - there are many types of muscles in the human body, one of which is called... the sphincter.

Relaxants are apparently very strong and not picky.

Since the muscles controlling the lungs will relax, the sphincter muscles may not be able to escape either!
Vaughn didn't want to see that scene, so he took the opportunity to suggest, "Professor, you can help treat Ron first. I'll take the other two back. I'll decide on any punishments after we're done. Is that okay with you?"

Professor McGonagall hesitated, nodded, and agreed. She also sent Hermione away: "Miss Granger, it's not suitable for a girl to stay here next time. You and Vaughn go back together... Potter, you stay and help!"

Vaughn and Hermione took the twins out of the school hospital not far away when they heard faint screams from the other side:
"Merlin—"

"Jesus Christ!"

"Help, I can't breathe!"

In the blink of an eye, several upperclassmen who claimed to be seriously ill and refusing to leave the school hospital came running out screaming, then disappeared, full of life. The twins, who had been angry and reluctant to go with Vaughn, exchanged a glance, suddenly relieved that they hadn't stayed, and felt a little smug.

"Poor little Ronnie, his fame will be all over the school tonight."

"That's right George, maybe we should come up with a nickname for little Ronnie ahead of time."

"Good suggestion. How about the Out of Control Warrior? Or the Jet Hero?"

The twins, who are optimistic by nature, forgot their anger in an instant.

He even forgot about being scolded by Professor McGonagall just a moment ago, and began to care for his younger brother with great interest.

Until Hermione couldn't stand it anymore: "That's enough! Who caused Ron to be like this now?"

"No, no, no, Hermione, we have a warning on the door warning anyone who tries to open it!"

"Yes, Fred. Apparently, little Ronnie has forgotten the dangers of society. Not only are we not wrong, but we have also taught little Ronnie a lesson – in the magical world, don't touch things carelessly!"

"Yes, it's very touching, George!"

Hermione: "..."

After that, Hermione ignored Fred and George all the way, for she was afraid of getting angry to death.

Vaughn didn't say anything either.

He went all the way to the eighth floor, opened the Room of Requirement, and summoned out the study that he used most often.

Only after closing the door did he look at the twins and speak, "So, you've figured out a way to fix the problem of magic interfering with the electricity?"

The twins, who were looking around with great interest, were overjoyed when they heard this:

"Of course, such a simple question wouldn't stump us at all!"

"George, be humble. We are standing on the shoulders of our predecessors. There is nothing to be proud of. In fact, the magic radio you provided, Vaughn, has been a great help to us."

"Yeah, yeah, that's about one-eighth of the credit!"

"I told you to be humble and raise it a little higher, maybe one-seventh!"

"Well, considering the alchemical materials provided by Vaughn, I can barely raise a little more."

Vaughn ignored the twins' boastful tone. He opened his satchel, pulled out the remaining alchemical materials and tools, and handed them to them.

"Show me your ideas and solutions!"

"Ha, George, it seems our dear brother doesn't quite believe us!"

"Then show him, Fred!"

The twins completely forgot their initial resistance to the task, and took the things with a smile, ready to start working with great enthusiasm.

Watching the two men begin to count the materials and exchange ideas, Hermione leaned over to Vaughn and asked, "So it was you who really gave them this task?"

Facing Hermione, Vaughan no longer had to lie. He said helplessly, "I originally just wanted to divert their attention so that they wouldn't be thinking about playing pranks every day. In fact, I didn't expect them to achieve results so quickly."

Vaughn certainly didn't expect the twins to complete the task so quickly.

The deadline he gave them was to complete it before the end of summer vacation. He had calculated that deadline, and it even seemed a little tight to him.

As they spoke, the twins had already taken inventory of the materials and tools.

Hermione, who was about to ask something, immediately became focused. She had never been exposed to alchemy before. This subject was full of mystery and unknown knowledge to her.

She held onto Vaughan's arm, stood on tiptoe to see more clearly, and asked from time to time:
"What is that bowl-like thing?"

"The magic mortar is mainly used to grind soft and fragile materials," Vaughn replied. He was always patient with his girlfriend and even took the initiative to introduce other tools. "The flask-like thing next to it is called a retort, which is used to mix or purify liquid materials. The closed metal cylinder is called a calciner, which is used to process metals..."

Hermione listened with great interest, "So many tools and uses. I didn't realize alchemy requires so many steps. But it seems a bit similar to potions?"

Vaughn nodded. "Potions are a branch of alchemy. Hundreds of years ago, alchemists' main occupation was brewing potions. They also developed the original potion system."

Hearing Vaughn's words, one of the busy twins gave him a thumbs-up: "Fair answer, dear brother. Many pharmacists are reluctant to admit this history!"

Hermione asked curiously, "Why?"

Another proudly replied, "Of course it's because alchemy is greater and more inclusive, while potions are single and narrow. Perhaps only someone like Snape would find stirring a pot with a stick aesthetically pleasing!"

Snape is criticized every day!
Soon, the twins assembled the tools and set up the boiler. They rubbed their hands together and began to process the materials while proudly explaining their idea:
"Although solving the problem of electricity being interfered with by magic is not very challenging, it was actually a bit difficult for us at the beginning."

"Only a little, George."

"Yes, only a little bit... We discovered that there's actually no problem with the generation of electricity. The generator Vaughn provided us is functioning normally. It's only when electricity is fed into the lines that magical interference takes effect, causing the electricity to escape."

"We spent two days reading a few Muggle books and gained a preliminary understanding of power transmission and the forces acting on electric fields. We discovered that the magic wasn't interfering with electrons... Fred, is it called electrons?"

"Yes, George. Magic doesn't interfere with electrons, it interferes with electric fields." Fred looked at Vaughn with a seemingly reserved, yet actually provocative, smile. "Our genius brother, do you know what an electric field is?"

Vaughan glanced at him. This was the right person to ask. "In layman's terms, the electric field refers to the force between electric charges. Going deeper, it involves the concepts of quantum electrodynamics and virtual photons. If you want to understand it, I suggest you study for a few more years!"

Fred: “…Damn it!”

George: "It didn't stump him!"

The two of them didn't understand at all. They decided not to embarrass themselves and began to explain their discovery to Hermione: "...In short, the flow of electricity is determined by the electric field, and magic interferes with the electric field. That's why electricity doesn't work at Hogwarts."

"Once we find the cause of the problem, the rest will be much easier. It's actually not difficult to solve. The electric field is formed in these wires. We just need to find a material, like the insulation layer made by Muggles, to wrap the wires and reduce the effect of magic on them."

As they were talking, Fred and George picked out a few plants and put them into the mortar. The spell-cast mortar and pestle ground them quickly, and soon they were ground into a gelatinous substance.

Looking at the plant and the ground jelly, Vaughn thought: "Milkweed..."

"Yes, it's the main material for the new insulation layer we invented... It sounds simple, but it's actually quite complicated. We tried many materials that could be squeezed to produce gelatin, and ultimately found that only this one has a higher tolerance."

"This is just the first step. In this world, only magic can fight magic. Materials that can block magic do not exist."

"It's like nothing can block gravity!"

"Precise metaphor, George!"

"So we've found another way. Since we can't use magic to counter magic to prevent interference with the electric field, we can let the magic flow smoothly through the wires as desired, minimizing its interference with the electric field."

As George explained, Fred poured a few handfuls of metal powder into the calciner. After calcination, he poured the melted liquid metal into a cup of solution.

Vaughan recognized it as a mercury solution at a glance.

The calcined metal liquid fell into the mercury solution and gradually 'dissolved' as Fred stirred it. When it finally cooled, a strange, golden paste appeared in the cup.

The twins held up the cup, struck an exaggerated pose, and shouted:
"Dangdang—mithril amalgam, Weasley's great invention, highly magic-friendly, magic flows through it as smoothly as silk."

"Weasley's professional guarantee, absolutely no residue!"

Mercury is the basic substance that we must learn in the first lesson of alchemy.

Because the birth of alchemy is closely related to it.

According to Vaughan's knowledge of the history of alchemy, the birth of early alchemy was due to the ancient people's discovery that mercury could "dissolve" metals.

At that time, no one understood the principle of like dissolves like, and no one could explain the concept that metal atoms could "share" electron clouds.

Muggles can only regard this magical phenomenon as magic...

Wizards also think it is magic, a magical magic without the involvement of magic power!

As a result, the discipline of studying mercury quickly emerged and was eventually named alchemy. It was called this name because wizards and Muggles at the time often used mercury to dissolve gold ore powder, and then used the mercury solution (mercury amalgam) produced after "dissolution" to make gold. Gold is chemically inactive and only exists as a single substance. It is difficult to react with other elements. Therefore, the gold particles in gold mines are generally small and scattered.

But in modern times, mercury has actually been eliminated.

On the one hand, through years of research, wizards gradually realized that mercury is not a product of magic.

On the other hand, the Muggles' metallurgical technology is changing with each passing day, and a series of metal trade agreements signed in modern times to appease the goblins have made wizards accustomed to "sitting back and reaping the benefits".

As a result, the direction of alchemy changed, and it no longer involved investment in metals - why waste effort on something that can be bought cheaply?
However, I didn’t expect that the obsolete things would appear in the hands of the twins today.

However, Vaughn did not underestimate the twins' creativity because of their "Renaissance."

He took the cup from the twins and held it up to the light, examining the strange solution inside. He said, "You're going to mix it into the insulation made from milkweed gum?"

"That's right, look, George, I knew my dear brother would understand our thinking!"

"But he doesn't understand enough!" said George unconvinced.

"Yes, yes, that's not enough!" Fred raised his eyebrows, and every expression seemed to show pride.

Vaughn frowned slightly in thought.

Yes, it is indeed not enough!
Mithril is a pro-magic metal, but not a magic-forbidding or magic-absorbing metal. Just like Muggles say that metals conduct electricity, it is impossible for metals to absorb electricity out of thin air without a connection.

Whether it is magic or science, they all follow the same logic - the objective conditions of the material require design and planning to achieve the desired effect.

He suddenly remembered the magic radio he had given to the twins. In fact, he had done some preliminary research on it before giving it to the twins.

However, due to his limited knowledge of alchemy, Vaughn could not figure out how the magic radio could solve the problem of magic interfering with electricity.

He only saw some... symbols inside the radio!
Thinking of this, Vaughn looked at the mithril amalgam in the cup again and said suddenly, "This is also the ink you prepared. You want to use it to outline the alchemical symbols in the insulating layer?"

Hearing this, the twins, who had been winking at each other, suddenly had long faces because they had finally stumped their younger brother.
"Damn it, he actually guessed it!"

"I think when I go back this summer, I need to ask Mom and Dad to re-investigate. How could Vaughn and Ron be twins? They look like two completely different species!"

The twins were so furious that they didn't bother to say anything more. They took the cup of mithril amalgam back from Vaughn, sat on the ground muttering to themselves, and closed their eyes.

Hermione, who knew nothing about alchemy, looked at the two curiously and asked Vaughan, "What are they doing?"

"They are meditating on symbols."

"Meditation? Symbols?"

"Yes, do you remember what Professor McGonagall said when she taught us Transfiguration? In the eyes of wizards, everything has a soul. This is the key to transforming dead things into living things."

Vaughn said slowly, "Alchemy holds a similar view, but alchemical theory holds that all things were once a whole. So even though they have become what they are today, at a higher level, the world and all things still share a common soul called 'ether.'"

"'Ether' holds the secrets of creation. It's an inexpressible concept, incapable of even being organized into language or words. It exists only as simple symbols... The core of modern alchemy lies in alchemical symbols, which help alchemists create all sorts of magical tools, manipulate magic, travel through space, and even reverse time..."

As he spoke, Fred had already opened his eyes and happened to hear the last sentence. He happily agreed, "That's right, my dear brother. Alchemy is so magical, great and incomparable!"

Hermione, who was buried in her notebook, looked up in surprise: "Are you done meditating?"

"It's over."

"What about that... symbol? Draw it and let's see."

Fred narrowed his eyes, looking inscrutable, and slowly replied in a low voice, "I can't draw it. It's only in my mind!"

"..."

Hermione puffed up her cheeks in anger, thinking Fred was being naughty again.

But Vaughan knew that Fred wasn't joking. He explained to Hermione, "Alchemical symbols aren't language, much less words. They don't have a system, and there are no observable, concrete images."

"In a sense, it is actually invisible, unreadable, unspeakable, and unwritten. It is a concept or enlightenment obtained by the soul traveling through the 'ether'."

Hermione was completely confused; this was beyond her understanding.

Frowning for a moment, the girl scratched her hair and looked at Vaughn in confusion. "You mean, it doesn't exist? But you said it was just a crude graphic... That seems so contradictory."

"No, there is no contradiction. It actually exists, in Fred's soul. Or you could say it doesn't exist because you can't see it."

"...Then how do you know?"

Vaughan didn't answer, just smiled.

Why does alchemy require talent? Because without talent, not only can one not understand the basic concepts, but even observation is impossible.

At this moment, perhaps in Hermione's eyes, Fred and George were still the same as usual, but in Vaughn's eyes, they were shining -

As the meditation ended, a large number of tiny points of light lit up in the twins' bodies. They connected into one, and the soft light enveloped their figures, as if covering the twins with a gauze dress woven from stars.

The "gauze dress" is a perfect circle, which has a real appearance and seems illusory.

This "circle" is the symbol that the twins brought back from the ether.

This was the extent of Vaughan's knowledge of alchemy, in which a circle could represent many things.

In the introductory books on alchemy that Vaughan had read, alchemy, which had developed over thousands of years, had a total of 53 symbols.

Eleven of them are considered to be the basic framework of the world.

They represent the four elements and seven metals (gold, silver, iron, mercury, tin, copper, and lead) respectively.

They are unchanging and have definite meanings in any school of alchemy.

That is to say, in addition to these 11 basic symbols, for thousands of years, alchemists have used the remaining 42 symbols to explain and represent the changes in all things and their relationships.

So in alchemy, each of those 42 symbols has a wide range of meanings.

As the subject in magic that is closest to Muggle technology, alchemy is essentially more idealistic than magic. At least magic cannot create things out of thin air (magic cannot produce food or any substance out of thin air. Spells such as summoning spells are essentially about transferring objects from other places).

But alchemy can.

Therefore, any knowledge of this subject cannot be demonstrated to the outside world. Fred said that he could not draw the symbol, not because he could not draw the circle, but because it was meaningless.

Not only could Hermione not see the symbols he drew, but the meaning of the symbols could not be fully expressed through graphics.

Just as Vaughn could see at this moment, but he had no idea what the "circle" that Fred and George obtained from the ether actually represented.

After all, he is still a novice in alchemy.

Soon, George woke up from his meditation, and the twins did not delay any further and started to work immediately.

Fred took out his wand, chanted a spell, and drew a few circles in the air. Under the control of magic, the milkweed juice that had been ground in the mortar quickly released water and condensed into a milky white gelatinous substance.

(End of this chapter)