Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 123 Snape's Malice and Summer Plans

He was captured by the resurrected Voldemort and subjected to all sorts of humiliation and torture, making his life a living hell!
Ron trembled with fear.

Harry was helpless about his friend's fear, but there was nothing he could do. Who would have thought that Quirrell, whom everyone bullied, would be the Dark Lord?

He continued recounting the secrets he had overheard from Vaughn: "...Furthermore, we have indeed misunderstood Snape all along...Professor Snape..."

"You called that old bat professor?" Ron, who was terrified just a moment ago, was so surprised by the address that he immediately forgot his fear. "Did Vaughn cast an Imperius Curse on you?"

Harry rolled his eyes, looked up at the blue sky above the castle, and, recalling what Vaughn had said about Snape and Lily Evans, sighed, "Snape was a pitiful man, Ron..."

"Come on, you pity the viper, but the viper won't pity you. Maybe Snape has his reasons, maybe his story is tragic, but that doesn't stop him from hating you. Harry, I've seen through it all. He wishes you were dead!"

Harry neither agreed nor disagreed with Ron's words.

In Vaughn's story, he saw a devoted man who loved but could not be with her, yet could not let go; his words were filled with regret and pain.

Therefore, even though Vaughn said that Snape's hatred for Harry stemmed primarily from James Potter, this hatred could not be resolved.

But because Snape was deeply in love with Lily Evans.

Harry, who also loves his mother and longs for her childhood experiences, simply cannot hate Snape.

This could be considered a different kind of "love me, love my dog" mentality?

However, Ron's "prediction" proved to be very accurate in judging Snape's character.

In the afternoon, during the potions class.

Harry, still immersed in yesterday's conversation and inevitably a little distracted, was spotted by Snape as the class began.

"Ah—Harry Potter, our famous savior—"

Snape walked through the cold basement, the wind from his robes biting cold. He raised his head slightly and floated like a ghost to Harry's seat, looking down at him with his nostrils.

"I see you're daydreaming. May I ask what shocking or sensational questions you're thinking about?"

In the past, Harry would have been furious and confronted Snape, making sarcastic remarks, and then Snape would have deducted points from his score.

But now, Harry feels that he and Snape might not be unable to get along.

So he politely stood up, ready to admit his mistake: "I'm sorry, Professor, I was distracted..."

Then, he was interrupted.

“Oh, the great Potter is daydreaming in my class—” Snape’s cold, numb black eyes were fixed on Harry, but he asked Malfoy, who was sitting behind Harry, “Mr. Malfoy, please tell me, is it because my lessons are not lively and interesting enough, or has the great savior become a Potions Master and no longer needs my teaching and explanation?”

Malfoy understood immediately and replied with a wicked grin, "Perhaps Potter has already learned it, Professor. He can get a perfect score without even attending your lectures!"

"No, Professor..."

Harry's rebuttal was drowned out by Snape's drawn-out tone: "Very well! Now, let me test you, Pott!"

He glanced at Ron, who was sitting next to Harry, trying to hunch his shoulders and practically wanting to hide under the desk so as not to attract attention.

A cold gaze swept over Ron's conspicuous head: "Tsk tsk—Ron Weasley, I heard you were humiliated by a fire dragon, buried alive in its dung, resulting in poisoning and swelling all over your body... Potter, what potion can achieve the same effect?"

Ron, his face flushed red under the strange looks from everyone around him, while Harry looked completely bewildered: "I...I don't know, Professor..."

On the other side, Hermione raised her hand high.

Snape ignored her and said very quickly, "It's a swelling potion. So, Potter, what are the specific ingredients of the swelling potion?"

"Uh……"

"Its ingredients are bat spleen, dried nettles, and pufferfish eyes!" As he spoke, Snape was already standing completely in front of Harry's desk, his tall body looking down at Harry with an oppressive aura. His expressionless face gradually turned into a hint of mockery: "Tsk tsk, look, Mr. Potter doesn't seem to have learned anything, but this arrogant mentality is very much like that of a savior."

"After all, the Savior killed the Dark Lord at a very young age, although—no one ever saw it!"

Looking down at Harry, Snape's once lifeless eyes were now brimming with malice. He whispered, "Heroes deserve to be treated well and favored, even if their abilities don't match, right, Potter?"

Harry didn't know how he left the Potions classroom.

When he came to his senses, he was already on his way to the restaurant, with Ron rambling on beside him:

“…I told you the old Batman wasn’t a good person. You shouldn’t have any illusions about him. Harry, Vaughn trusted Snape because he was a Slytherin. The old Batman naturally had a good impression of him, so we can only believe half of what he says about Snape…”

Harry gave a bitter smile. He had to admit that Ron had a point, but he still argued, "Maybe it's because the hatred runs too deep. I heard from Vaughn that my dad used to bully him..."

“Vaughn also said that Snape also called your mother a Mudblood, Harry! You shouldn’t project your admiration for your parents onto Snape, who was your parents’ generation. You’ve seen it yourself, he hates you. I think it’s best if our relationship with him stays the way it was before—an annoying professor and a naughty student, and after graduation we’ll never see each other again, perfect!”

At this moment, Ron appeared to be highly intelligent and wise.

Then, a passing first-year student, a snake, broke his defenses: "Hey, Weasley, what does the professor mean when he says you were humiliated by a dragon and buried in its dung?"

Ron blushed and stammered, "That, that was a fire dragon..."

"Oh—so what the professor said is true?"

"Slander! Slander!"

Amid Ron's furious shouts, the little snake scurried away, laughing and joking. When he turned back, Harry, his face full of curiosity, delivered another blow: "Yeah, Ron, I forgot to ask you, what exactly happened between you and that dragon that made you all swollen up like that?"

Ron stammered, "No...nothing happened, it was a fire dragon after all..."

Then came words like "I have to think about how to survive" and "You don't want me to die fighting the dragon, do you?" which improved Harry's mood considerably, as he was feeling somewhat depressed.

Finally, Ron complained, "I was sent to the dragon, it must have been Vaughn's doing. Do you even know who that dragon is?"

“I know, Norbert.”

Harry said that when he went back in time and saw Vaughn holding the dragon in its hatchling form, he immediately realized that it was Norbert.

Ron snorted and said, "I bet Vaughn and Dumbledore have been planning this trial for a long time. Remember when we bullied Nobeta and he pretended to stop us? I wondered back then when he started meddling in other people's business. Now that I think about it, he must have already planned to make Nobeta get his revenge!"

“Maybe…” Harry wasn’t very interested, since he hadn’t been retaliated against by Norbert. “I’m more interested in how Vaughn plans to deal with Norbert.”

Ron's face darkened: "Now that the trial is over, shouldn't he send it to Romania?"

……

"Gah!"

In the Slytherin common room, in Vaughn's bedroom, Norbert made an unpleasant noise that caught Fruit Tea's attention.

The enormous cat leaped gracefully onto the table, its bright eyes fixed on Nobeta, and its thick paws furtively patted the little dragon's head.

"hiss--"

Norbert opened his mouth and emitted a serpentine sound, seemingly menacing.

It opened its mouth wide, its neck swelled up, and a fiery red light shimmered beneath its scales—

The next second, its head was pressed onto the table by Guoguocha, and it naturally had to hold back its breath.

"Meow~"

Fruit Tea squinted its eyes, very happy. Nobeta struggled angrily, but having returned to its dragon hatchling form, it no longer possessed the power it had in the painting.

It has returned to the state it was in just a few days after hatching, pitiful, weak, and helpless, bullied by other cats!
"Alright, Fruit Tea, stop bullying Nobeta!" Hermione struggled to pick up the big cat and affectionately rubbed her furry cheeks against it.

Guoguocha looked helpless and could only watch as her "toy" quickly got up, wobbled to the ground, and then ran to Vaughn's feet, using its legs and claws to crawl up his trouser leg into Vaughn's arms.

Those wretched lizards!
Guoguocha watched as Hermione grabbed her paws and made a clapping gesture to cheer on Norbert's actions, then snorted impatiently.

And there's a clingy, childish witch!

Hermione, of course, had no idea about Fruit Tea's feelings towards her. After playing with the big cat for a while, she had to put it back on the ground. Then, looking at the baby dragon snuggling in Vaughn's arms and making unpleasant noises, she asked, "Vaughn, what are you going to do with it?"

Vaughn, who was deep in thought, snapped out of it: "Noberta?"

He shook his head. "I haven't decided yet. I'm planning to go to Romania during the summer vacation."

As he spoke, he glanced at the fledgling dragon that was staring intently at him, seemingly afraid that he would abandon it.

Fire dragons are highly intelligent. Their size indicates that their brains are not simple. They are not mindless beasts. On the contrary, as the most powerful magical creatures, fire dragons are social animals with a simple but multi-layered social structure.

These creatures, once at the top of the food chain, form groups of varying sizes based on different factors such as kinship, gender, and race.

The smallest unit is usually a family group consisting of a mother dragon leading several cubs. These family groups will then form community groups with other family groups, and these community groups will merge with other community groups to form the largest population!

The territorial clustering of populations is also a major characteristic of fire dragons.

Vaughn hesitated, not because Nobeta was truly difficult to arrange, but because of a task he had undertaken—

[Side Quest ③: Study all fire dragon magic and figure out their basic principles (activated)]

【Progress: 0/10】

[Reward: Magic Scale 100, Spell Development Module]

With the test plan for Harry and the series of experiments conducted under the guise of it all over, Vaughn was finally able to take some time to consider his plans for the summer vacation after the term ended in a month.

He was just thinking about this issue.

He needed to create a relatively clear order of what he needed to do—as his magical power and influence increased, Vaughn found that he had to handle more and more matters personally!

First, the development of the Werewolf Affairs Committee.

Over the past few months, the Werewolf Affairs Committee has been under construction, even though he ceded half of the committee seats to Wizengamo and the International Federation of Wizards in order to counter Fudge and ease tensions with Dumbledore.

However, the committee's main purpose is to manage werewolf affairs, and the majority of the committee members are werewolves, most of whom are inclined to support Vaughn.

According to the procedure, the Werewolf Affairs Committee will hold its first plenary meeting around the end of July, at which the committee's management team will be determined.

Vaughn is preparing to run for president!
This is the inherent meaning of the question.

Vaughn created the Werewolf Affairs Committee (WAC) not to benefit anyone else.

He preferred to bring in Dumbledore rather than let Fudge get involved, precisely because he didn't want to relinquish control of the werewolves.

He himself has little interest in power, but the problem is that what he wants to do requires the cooperation of power.

The world is currently at peace. In both Muggle society and the magical world, the power base is quite stable under the peaceful environment. Therefore, he can only set his sights on werewolves, a marginal group that is usually ignored.

Of course, werewolves actually have great potential. The easy spread of werewolfism and its harm to social order determine that werewolves are widely distributed, unable to gain social status, and easy to win over.

That's why Vaughn decided to develop the wolfsbane drug as his "breakthrough" work.

Now it's time for him to reap the fruits of power!

Thinking it over, Vaughn once again sank into his mental world and marked the campaign details in his memory archive.

Next up is the system task, the first system task that Vaughn is eager to complete. His goal is not the 100-scale increase in magic power, but the "spell development module"!
As Vaughn delved deeper into the realm of magic, he now clearly realized that his perspective on the world differed greatly from that of normal wizards.

The wizarding world has never lacked young wizards from Muggle families, but family background does not necessarily lead to significant differences in their views. After all, they enter school at the age of 11, and during these crucial years of shaping their beliefs, they are constantly exposed to things in the wizarding world.

The rapid advancement of technology in Muggle society, while the magical world still uses kerosene lamps, is a very real example.

Normally, every year there are wizards from Muggle families who graduate and enter society, and they will more or less bring the convenience of technology into the magical world.

But in reality, this is rare; clearly, their ideas have actually been assimilated by the magical world!

This led Vaughn to discover an awkward situation—when he wanted to conduct research in a modern, efficient, and methodological way, he found himself lacking the "tools."

For example, tools that can observe magic, and even spells that can aid in research.

Because predecessors didn't have his scientific thinking, they naturally didn't focus on developing "tools." For example, Muggles can use many methods to research and analyze materials, such as pyrolysis, X-rays, magnetic resonance, gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, scanning electron microscopy, and so on. But in the magical world, they still observe with the naked eye... When Vaughn was researching the properties of potion materials, he had to use the crude and inefficient method of dissolving them with magic, and those days left a deep impression on him.

If it weren't for the allure of profit, the Scarpin Revealing Charm (a spell to identify the ingredients of a potion) might never have appeared.

In order for the research to proceed smoothly, the development of "tools" has become a top priority.

However, the development of spells usually takes a long time, and the emergence of the "spell development module" is undoubtedly an important shortcut for Vaughn to solve the problem.

That's why he hesitated about Norbert's fate.

In the memory archive, Vaughn hesitated for a long time before setting aside his plan to "complete the system task".

He needs to think about it some more.

The mission requires 10 different types of fire dragons. However, given the current world situation, fire dragons are mostly kept in protected areas by the magic ministries of various countries. It is extremely difficult for an individual to obtain even one fire dragon, let alone 10!
Especially for extremely ferocious dragon species like the Hungarian Horned Beetle and the Norwegian Ridgeback, it's practically impossible for them to be researched privately. Norbert might be his only research subject...

Nobeta, who was still hoarsely calling out and acting cute, suddenly shivered...

"Then we need to save Isabella, which requires a trip to North America."

Vaughn placed his "North American trip" after the "WAC president election," as this matter could not be rushed. The situation in North America was very complex, and the decision on Ilfamoni's invitation could wait until after the first WAC meeting.

Only when he becomes the president of WAC will his visit to North America be legitimate. He doesn't want to agree to any ambiguous academic visits, which generally represent unofficial channels.

However, a visit in one's capacity as the president of WAC carries a different significance, roughly equivalent to a diplomatic visit.

"Next is the research and development plan for Wolfsbane Potion 2.0. This can be placed after the system task. If I successfully develop the 'tool' using the 'Spell Development Module', my research and development progress will be greatly accelerated, which is much more efficient than the current exhaustive method."

"Finally, and most complicatedly, is the development of WAC..."

Vaughn fell into deep thought.

The WAC's current organizational structure is very fragile. The wolfsbane potion has only been developed for less than six months, and the living conditions of werewolves in the magical world have not been fundamentally improved. The English magical world, with only tens of thousands of people, does not have enough capacity to take in more than 1600 werewolves at once!
Currently, most werewolves are still working in Muggle society under the guidance of werewolf wizards such as Remus Lupin, barely managing to survive.

But this doesn't solve the most important problem: the werewolves need wolfsbane potions every month, and those potions can only be purchased with Galleons.

In response to this problem, Vaughn initially came up with two solutions. One was to borrow money from himself and Dumbledore to help WAC establish an internal foundation, and then use the gold obtained from the gold transactions in Muggle society to exchange for Galleons in Gringotts.

On the other hand, the trading rights of wolfsbane medicine were transferred to WAC, enabling WAC to open up new sources of revenue through the international trade of wolfsbane medicine.

However, Vaughn himself was not very satisfied with either of the two proposals.

The former has other purposes, while the latter can only be considered a transitional choice.

He needs werewolves, not to find a bunch of freeloaders to serve him, but to help him build his career and ideals.

Werewolves are undoubtedly a valuable workforce; while the werewolf virus curses them, it also significantly enhances their physical condition.

The most typical point is that even a Muggle turned werewolf can observe and come into contact with magic just like a Squib!
There was a very faint magical reaction on them!

While pondering, Vaughn circled "WAC development issues" heavily and placed it before "WAC president election".

This is certainly not because it needs to be dealt with immediately, but because the problem is too complex and huge. The preliminary preparations alone need to be done well in advance, and some things also need to be coordinated with the "WAC President Election".

Not to mention, it also contains some of Vaughn's other ideas.

For example, by using gold from Muggle society, they could disrupt the Galleon system in the wizarding world!

"The wizarding world has been closed off for too long. The result of refusing to communicate and compete is that it has been left far behind by its rivals (Muggles). This situation is not entirely due to the secrecy laws, but also because the wizarding world's abundant material resources give wizards enough confidence to 'close themselves off'!"

Undoubtedly, magic is a wondrous means.

A review of the "History of Magic" reveals that even in the most difficult times, wizards never experienced the famine that Muggle societies have been unable to escape throughout history!

Both ancient magic and modern spell systems have a mature set of "tools" for solving the food problem.

The most typical examples are the growth spell and the magnification spell.

The former allows non-magical plants (crops, etc.) to grow and mature in a short time, while the latter can inflate a normal pumpkin to the size of a house!

Yes, magic cannot change the nature of matter, but it can change the mass of an object!

In the case of crops and cash crops that are essential for food and clothing, the nature of the crop is obviously not important; quality (yield) is the most important.

Food and clothing are the most fundamental issues of survival. Wizards have conquered these issues, which naturally reduces their demand for Muggles. They do not need Muggles to produce food, nor do they need Muggles to produce light industrial raw materials such as cotton, wool, and silk. Furthermore, the metal industry is provided by goblins.

So why would they still be interested in communicating with Muggles?

The current magical world is like being trapped in a stubborn tortoise shell, and this tortoise shell is woven from excess material resources.

No reforms will work unless it is broken down—you can't expect a group of well-fed and well-off people to voluntarily step out of their comfort zones!

"I feel so evil..."

Looking at the several phased goals he had listed under "WAC Development Issues" in the memory archive, Vaughn sighed insincerely.

Then they detached themselves from the spiritual world.

When she came to her senses, Hermione was playing with Nobeta, while Fruit Tea was squatting nearby, looking impatient.

Seeing that Vaughn had come to his senses, Hermione left Norbert and asked, "Vaughn, are you done thinking?"

She knew that Vaughn had built a memory archive in his mind's world. When they studied together before, she often saw Vaughn "daydreaming" by himself, and she was used to it.

“Yes.” Vaughn nodded. “I’ve made some plans for what to do next.”

Hearing this, Hermione's eyes lit up: "Summer plans?"

"Yes."

The girl suddenly became shy and asked him hesitantly, "So... you said you wanted me to take my parents to the Humble Abode for a while during the summer vacation, when do you plan to start?"

what……

Vaughn suddenly realized that he had completely forgotten about it.

It turns out that no matter how sophisticated the memory magic is, or how clear and foolproof the memories are, humans will still overlook some "less important" things due to their focus.

He quickly immersed himself in his inner world, and in the area of ​​his memory archive where important tasks were recorded, he wrote down "Invite the Granger family to the Burrow".

Then he quickly returned, the whole process taking less than a second, his smile never faltering: "Of course, I'll come pick you up from your house as soon as summer vacation starts!"

"Won't this interfere with your business?" the girl asked coyly and feigning concern. "I saw in the newspaper that Iphamoni invited you to North America for an academic visit..."

"Summer vacation is long, there's no rush!"

Vaughn returned to his inner world and placed "inviting the Granger family" on his "North American trip".

"And there's also the Werewolf Affairs Committee, which is supposedly going to hold its first meeting soon?"

Forget it, I'll just put the invitation at the very top, making it the most important one!
Vaughn remained unfazed: "It's alright. The werewolves trust me now, so I don't need to expend too much energy paying attention to them. I'll definitely have time to play with you in the magical world!"

Hermione smiled sweetly, relieved to receive such a satisfactory answer. She could finally relax and begin her Hermione-style dating routine.

"Let's start reviewing!" She took out her textbooks from her small handbag and said seriously, "There's less than a month left until the exam, and there are still so many books I haven't read!"

Vaughn: "...Okay..."

……

Yes, there is less than a month left until the end of the first academic year.

Time flies by so quickly, rushing by so fast that it slips away like water through your fingers before you even realize it.

Compared to Hermione, who was more proactive, Harry and Ron were a bit slower to realize things.

Until early June, Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions classes all coincidentally conducted a pop quiz, which completely simulated the format and content of the upgrade exams from the past few years.

The two slow-witted students only realized then that there were only 3 weeks left until the exam!
"Merlin—what have we been doing lately? Where has the time gone?"

In the Gryffindor common room, Ron clutched his head and gasped as he looked at the three parchments marked with large A (Acceptable), P (Poor), and D (Dreadful).

Beside him, Harry, Neville, and Seamus's grades weren't much better. Poor Seamus, for some inexplicable reason, who could turn any spell into an explosion charm, received huge Ts (Trolls are terrible) in both his Charms and Transfiguration tests!

This score is already the floor of the current examination system; it can't be any lower, otherwise...

“I was paying attention in class…” Neville was pale and trembling.

"Hehe, I'm tired..." After causing another explosion in the spell class at noon, Seamus's face was still dark and he was beginning to show signs of mental instability.

Harry looked utterly dejected: "What have we been doing lately? That's a good question. Let me think... You've been pestering me all day about what's in there, or spitting at every guy who makes fun of you... For a whole week, Ron, we haven't put a single day into studying..."

Harry could almost see his fate three weeks from now—

The famous Harry Potter failed to advance to the next grade in his first year, becoming one of the few students in recent years to repeat a grade!

What an honor! That's an achievement that even Marcus Flint couldn't unlock!

He was suddenly incredibly grateful that Dumbledore had forbidden them from revealing their experiences in the world of the painting; otherwise, Harry couldn't imagine how undisciplined he would have become under everyone's scrutiny.

It can't go on like this!

Harry told himself that the Philosopher's Stone incident and the trials were over, and he couldn't keep dwelling on the past.

He sat up straight and looked at Ron seriously: "We have to find Hermione, Ron. Only she can save us now!"

Ron also looked serious, then slumped his shoulders in frustration: "It's tough. She's been hanging out with Vaughn all the time, supposedly to help him treat his injuries."

"Vaughn's injuries haven't healed yet?"

"It should be soon..."

……

"This is the last dose of medicine!"

In the potions office, Snape's icy voice made the basement, now officially summer, feel utterly cool. His equally cold expression made one suspicious that the potions he handed over might contain some dubious ingredients.

Hermione accepted the potion and politely thanked Snape, saying, "Thank you, Professor. You've worked hard."

Snape impatiently shook his hair, glancing at the little girl as she helped Vaughn untie the bandages, sprinkling half of the potion on the wound and drinking the other half.

Will it hurt if I spray the medicine like this?

"Oh my god, just looking at it makes me feel pain—"

The girl's tender greetings and heartbroken exclamations made Snape's face grow increasingly grim. He looked around his familiar basement, where the intoxicating scent of herbs no longer mingled with the sour stench of love.

How annoying!
Hermione clearly didn't care about the office owner's opinion. She precisely divided the medicine in two, carefully feeding Vaughn one half and applying the other half to the wound.

A week has passed, and the wound still shows no signs of healing.

The power of the curse stubbornly lingered around the wound.

The good news is that after a week of effort by Vaughn and Snape to prepare targeted potions, the black spiderweb-like patterns around the wound have faded considerably.

At this moment, as he took the last dose of the potion, Vaughn let out a long sigh of relief, as if he had suddenly broken free of some kind of shackles, and a feeling of ease welled up from the bottom of his heart.

In that feeling, he looked down.

The black network of markings that had been surrounding his wound was receding at a speed visible to the naked eye.

A faint black mist flowed from the hole in Vaughn's hand where the snake's bite had made.

(End of this chapter)