Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 125 The Unbridled Vaughn

According to Vaughn at the time, this Muggle currency could be used to buy gold from Muggles, and then the gold could be sold to the goblins of Gringotts.

However, after living in Muggle society for a while, Lupin, who insisted on reading newspapers and studying, felt that this method was not very reliable.

"You're still trying to buy gold from Muggles? Vaughn, it's no use. The loan you and Dumbledore provided is only £50. How much gold can that buy? What will you do when that money runs out?"

WAC already owes more than 3 Galleons, and Lupin doesn't want to owe any more. He's afraid he won't be able to pay it back in the future and will have to betray the Werewolf's interests.

Lupin stayed in the WAC to keep himself in check, preventing the organization from becoming a tool for someone's private feud.

Vaughn remained noncommittal to the subtle wariness that was showing in him, and smiled: "Remus, it seems you haven't learned much usefulness in Muggle society."

"What do you mean?"

Vaughn didn't answer, but patted Lupin on the shoulder, gesturing for him to get up: "Come on, Moonface, come with me somewhere."

“Don’t call me Moonface…” Lupin complained, “I haven’t used that nickname in a long time.”

"Okay, Moon Face."

Lupin: "...Are you even listening to me?"

Complaining, he still stood up, watching Vaughn wave his wand to light the fireplace, and asked casually, "Speaking of which, how do you know my old nickname? Very few people know it, only..."

"Only a worm's tail, large feet, and a pointed fork?"

Lupin was speechless.

His expression was somewhat dazed for a moment.

These three nicknames were things from a long time ago in his memory, so long ago that the memories had begun to fade, like a Muggle television screen full of noise.

The laughter and joy of the past seem to drift from another world, echoing hollowly in my mind.

Lupin composed himself and probed, "It seems you know quite a bit. Did you find the prank props we made back then at Hogwarts?"

In Lupin's memory, when they were nearing graduation, they hid a prank prop in Hogwarts, hoping someone would carry on their prank business, so they also hid nicknames in the prop.

That item is very powerful, and he needs to confirm whether Vaughn has obtained it.

Of course, there are new problems here – they only left behind nicknames, without any specific identity information corresponding to those nicknames.

He was curious to know where Vaughn had learned all this.

Could it be Snape?

Lupin thought that this seemed to be the only explanation. As the quartet's "arch-enemy," Snape was the one who knew them best and was also the one closest to Vaughn.

He wanted to know if Snape also had that gadget.
Vaughn smiled without saying a word: "If you want to know the answer, why don't you go back to Hogwarts and take a look?"

Lupin stopped talking.

He dared not return to Hogwarts, where there was someone who filled him with guilt and whom he dared not approach; he was not yet mentally prepared to see "him".

Seeing that Vaughn had prepared the Floo Powder, he abruptly changed the subject: "Where are you taking me?"

Vaughn grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and threw it into the fireplace, where green smoke and light rose slowly.

Diagon Alley!

……

The last time I came to Diagon Alley was half a year ago when I organized a werewolf parade.

Compared to the ever-changing Muggle society, time seems to stand still in the magical world, remaining unchanged for months or even years.

The streets rise and fall, and the shops are crooked and twisted.

Just like many years ago when Lupin first came here, cowering behind Professor McGonagall, he saw the same thing.

Emerging from the communal fireplace, Lupin surveyed the shops on either side and the scattered wizards passing by.

Diagon Alley is only busiest before the start of the school year; it's much quieter at other times. After all, the wizarding world only has tens of thousands of people, scattered throughout the British Isles. Most of the time, adult wizards are not willing to travel "long distances" to go shopping.

Feeling the deserted atmosphere on the street, Lupin sighed, "The wizarding world feels so desolate compared to Muggles..."

He had never felt this way before; back then, although he also stayed away from the magical world, he always lived in seclusion.

Only during the past six months, living in the Muggle community, did he truly appreciate the stark contrast between the two.

"Because of a lack of change."

Walking beside him, Vaughn seemed uninterested in everything around him. "The wizarding world in England is like a stagnant pool, stagnant and without any flow. Everyone is like bacteria parasitizing in stagnant water. How can you expect them to be active?"

Lupin glanced at Vaughn, and he could tell that Vaughn was very dissatisfied with the current state of the wizarding world.

This made Lupin somewhat worried, but he didn't know what to say.

Silently, I followed Vaughn to the Leaky Cauldron. The low, dark bar had only a few customers. The bar owner, Tom, stood behind the counter, a tattered rag flying around him as he cleaned the seemingly perpetually dirty glasses.

Upon seeing Vaughn enter, Tom exclaimed with delight, "Ah, Mr. Weasley, welcome!"

"Good evening, Tom. Have my guests arrived yet?"

"We've arrived. We're in the private room I reserved for you, enjoying delicious food from the Leaky Cauldron... Mr. Weasley, what would you like?"

Tom eagerly led the way, asking questions as he went.

Vaughn's gaze swept over the filthy floor and the patina-covered bar counter, his expression unchanged: "I don't need it. You can ask Mr. Lupin."

Lupin didn't care. When he was down on his luck, he even rummaged through trash cans: "A glass of fire whiskey, please."

“No problem… Your name is Remus Lupin, right? Kid, I remember you!”

Lupin hadn't heard anyone call his child in a long time, so he could only manage a forced smile.

They went up to the second floor and led the two to a private room. Tom bowed and scraped as he retreated, saying, "Honorable guests, please wait a moment. The drinks will be served shortly."

Watching Tom leave, Lupin smirked, "In my memory, he wasn't usually this obsequious."

"That's the charm of Galleon, dear Remus. If you booked a private room all year round, he would be just as enthusiastic towards you."

"...You booked a private room?"

"Yes, it's to house your future team!"

Before Lupin could figure it out, Vaughn had already pushed open the door.

Inside the door, a dozen or so people were standing or sitting in a private room that looked quite spacious and luxurious, a stark contrast to the bar's dirty exterior, thanks to a spell that had been cast to prevent the bar from spreading.

Lupin glanced at it quickly.

Of the dozen or so people in the private room, he only recognized three. They were all werewolves: one was Barnal, the head of the London region; another was James Brown, the werewolf wizard from WAC; and the third was William White, the head of the Liverpool region.

These three can be considered veterans of WAC, and are the people with the closest relationship to Vaughn in the entire werewolf pack.

Especially Barnald Jr.

Hearing the door open, little Barnal looked up in surprise, rushed over, threw himself to the ground, and kissed Vaughn's robe.
"Greetings, sir!"

Lupin disliked Barnal, not because the boy was overly obsequious to Vaughn—in fact, many werewolves enjoyed kissing Vaughn's robes.

Vaughn saved the werewolves, and that was their way of expressing affection and respect; Lupin had no right to question their actions.

He disliked Barnal because the young werewolf was very aggressive and reckless.

He had a fanatical adoration for Vaughn, treating every word of Vaughn as gospel. As far as Lupin knew, Barnard Jr. even organized people in the Greater London area to read and study Vaughn's letters every day...

Just outrageous!
Correspondingly, Barnal Jr. also disliked Lupin, always feeling that Lupin didn't respect Vaughn enough.

After being kissed on the robe, having his hair affectionately ruffled by Vaughn, and then being helped up, little Barnal gave Lupin a veiled glare.

Lupin didn't want to argue with this naive teenager; he was observing 11 other strangers.

Until the night of the full moon, werewolves cannot perceive each other's identities before they transform, but Lupin is a wizard and can use magic to see auras.

In Lupin's view, there was no trace of magic or magical energy emanating from those 11 people.

They are Muggles!
This realization made Lupin's heart clench, and he couldn't help but look at William White.

If Lupin had to choose a reliable one from all the WAC regional heads, he would definitely choose William White.

This Muggle-born werewolf once had a fairly prominent career in Muggle society. If he hadn't been attacked by werewolves and infected with "werewolfism," he would most likely have entered the so-called upper class of Muggles and become one of the rule-makers.

Unfortunately, that's just a "what if".

The reality was that William White had to give up his status and wander around in humility, not even daring to see his family.

However, although he lost his status and position, William White's wisdom, insight, and experience remained, and he was also the most experienced manager in WAC.

Therefore, Vaughn entrusted him with the most important Liverpool region.

As England's leading export port and a former shipbuilding center, Liverpool has experienced a sharp decline in shipbuilding due to deindustrialization and other factors. However, it remains an important producer of industrial goods and has a thriving tourism industry.

With its excellent transportation links, access to all of Europe, and large influx of foreigners, Liverpool is a good place to work, a good place to hide, and has the geographical and political foundation to build an intelligence network.

In Lupin's mind, William White, who was in charge of the Liverpool region, was the most important person to be noticed and the person he wanted to win over.

In fact, the two exchanged views on the development of WAC cautiously through several letters.

That's why Lupin subconsciously looked at William White, trying to find out who these Muggles were... or rather, what Vaughn wanted to do with these Muggles.
To his surprise, William White did not respond to his gaze.

The middle-aged werewolf greeted Vaughn with a gentle smile: "Good evening, sir. I have brought these guests as you instructed. They all have extensive experience and resources in the precious metals industry in Muggle society."

With that, he invited Vaughn to stand before the group.

The eleven meticulously dressed Muggles looked somewhat bewildered. Vaughn's age and the fact that young Barnal had kissed Vaughn's robe left them exchanging bewildered glances.

Upon seeing William White usher Vaughn forward, a middle-aged man in a well-tailored suit, carrying a cane, frowned slightly: "Mr. White, what's going on? You said your boss wanted to discuss precious metals trading with us. Is your boss this...this kid?"

William White remained respectful and said gently, "Yes, Mr. Nye, this is my boss, Mr. Vaughn Weasley."

"absurd!"

"That's ridiculous. I didn't take the time out of my schedule to play house with kids."

"Mr. White, you have disappointed us greatly!"

The eleven Muggles were indignant. The middle-aged gentleman, referred to as "Mr. Nye," even picked up his cane and coat, ready to leave: "What a ridiculous prank, Mr. White. I only agreed to this meeting because of your past experience, but your behavior has humiliated me!"

But he didn't leave in the end.

He looked at the boy who had come up to him with a blank expression, and pulled a small wooden stick from his sleeve. Behind the boy, he heard a middle-aged man with scars on his face and a melancholy expression, named Remus Lupin, exclaim, "Vaughn, no—"

Then, he saw light and darkness...

Lupin had always known that Vaughn was an unconventional person, but he never imagined that the other party would use memory magic on 11 Muggles in front of him!
When he saw Vaughn draw his wand, he instinctively cried out and tried to stop him, but it was too late.

A silvery-gray light emanated from the tip of Vaughn's wand, like mist extending from the sky and engulfing the eleven Muggles in an instant.

In the mist, the expressions of the Muggles quickly changed from shock, astonishment, and fear to peace, and in just a moment, Lupin saw them smile.

That smile was content, warm, and joyful, yet it left his heart feeling icy cold.
“Mr. Weasley, we have seen the information you provided. It’s an incredibly primitive financial system. The planning and use of currency seem to be stuck hundreds of years ago!”

"Yes, arbitrage trading is entirely possible. We have ample gold, silver, and copper. Of course, we also need to authenticate the currency you use for trading to verify its precious metal content." Under the influence of magic, these Muggles, who were just a moment ago clamoring about deception, disappointment, and indignation, suddenly seemed to have received a revelation, pushing the "discussion" and "negotiation" to its conclusion.

Lupin stared blankly at everything as Vaughn took out several Galleons, Silver Sickles, and Bronze Nutters and handed them to the Muggles.

Watching those Muggles excitedly pull out their tiny tools and start testing the precious metal content of the currency felt so abrupt and surreal...

Lupin didn't know what to do.

He was a kind and law-abiding person. During his school years, he strictly followed Dumbledore's teachings and would hide in the Shrieking Shack every full moon night, enduring the pain and torment of transformation alone, until later his three friends learned Animagus in order to keep him company.

After graduation, he followed the call of friendship and conscience, joined the Order of the Phoenix, and fought to the death against the Death Eaters—it goes without saying that the period when Voldemort was rampant was a rare "good time" for the werewolves.

Although Voldemort himself looked down on werewolves, considering them livestock, the Death Eaters did not mind using werewolves to spread fear.

More than a decade ago, when Voldemort's power was at its peak, many werewolves joined the Dark Lord's ranks, burning, killing, and looting to unleash the anger and hatred that had accumulated over the years of abandonment and rejection.

But Lupin never intended to become a Death Eater. He was naturally inclined towards justice, longed for order and goodness, and had pure and simple values.

Therefore, after Voldemort's downfall, he refused Dumbledore's arrangement and became an unknown wanderer, far from people, enduring poverty and loneliness.

It wasn't that he willingly chose to do so, but rather that in his simple and pure values, upholding justice should not be mixed with self-interest, nor should it involve ignoring potential dangers and enjoying special privileges.

In every sense, Lupin is a law-abiding and good person.

However, in front of this good man, Vaughn brazenly disregarded the Secret Code and used memory magic to control 11 Muggles!
Watching these Muggles, whose cognition had been altered by memory magic, become enthusiastic and overjoyed.

Looking at this magical scene, Lupin felt as if he'd been electrocuted, his head spinning and tingling. Instinctively, he reached for his wand—

"Remus!"

A withered hand pressed down on Lupin's wand. Lupin turned his head and saw James Brown!

Both of his parents were werewolves and had never attended a magic school. After his magic awakened, he was fortunate enough to avoid becoming a werewolf wizard who died as an Obscurial thanks to his parents' guidance. He shook his head slightly at Lupin.

Following James's subtle glances, Lupin noticed that Barnald Jr. and William White were watching him closely.

They...are waiting for him to make a mistake!

Lupin felt a sudden chill in his heart.

He was certainly not afraid of Barnard Jr. and William White, those two guys didn't have magic; the coldness in his heart came from the human heart.

Lupin had always known that many werewolves didn't like him.

The reason is his "disrespect" for Vaughn. Over the past six months, Barnard Jr. has spoken ill of him in public more than once, saying that he is a traitor and doesn't know what's good for him.

Lupin never took the slander against Barnal seriously, nor did he care about the subtle dissatisfaction of the other werewolves.

Because he knew why he "disrespected" Vaughn, he hadn't forgotten that when he first joined the WAC, he was there to protect himself from Vaughn turning the WAC into a tool for private feuds.

He knew his intentions were good, and the werewolves would one day understand his good intentions.

This is his greatest psychological advantage in remaining calm in the face of slander.

But today, at this moment, Lupin suddenly wondered if Barnald Jr., William White, and those werewolves would one day truly understand his good intentions.
Just as he always believed, the werewolves recruited by WAC were all good people—this is beyond doubt; those who weren't good people wouldn't have exiled themselves and become wanderers.

But this very good man stood by and watched as Vaughn violated the Law of Secrecy and abused magic on Muggles without uttering a single word of objection!
Instead, they were watching his every move, seemingly waiting for him to attack Vaughn, waiting for him to cut off his own path to survival, and then... to take him down!
After being stopped by James Brown in his momentary impulse, Lupin regained his senses and felt a chill run down his spine.

He couldn't explain why they did it.

Jealous of Vaughn's high regard for him?
Is it simply that I don't like him?
Or... are they coveting the power he holds?
In the blink of an eye, many thoughts raced through Lu Ping's mind, many of which made him feel cold and desolate.

He didn't know when the two of them started to change; he only knew that in his heart, Little Banal was no longer the reckless young werewolf he had been six months ago.

William White was no longer the mature and wise gentleman whose elegance could not be concealed even in tattered clothes.

Of course, once reason returned to his mind, he knew even more that he was no match for Vaughn. Even if he took out his wand, he would most likely be crushed by Vaughn with ease!

Hesitating, wavering.

Lupin eventually put the wand back in his pocket.

Ahead, Vaughn, seemingly oblivious to everything, turned around "at the opportune moment" and waved to him: "Dear Remus, come here and see your future team, as well as Barnal and James, you guys come too."

Looking at Vaughn, who had a smile on his lips and no unusual expression, Lupin suddenly wondered, "Did he really not find anything?"

not necessarily!

The scene of meeting Vaughn today flashed through Lupin's mind.

The other party appeared at his home out of nowhere, without even giving prior notice, which was very abrupt.

Combining Vaughn's use of a spell to destroy his armor charm and "imprison" him—a move that could almost be described as a declaration of force—Lupin suddenly had a sudden realization.

Vaughn did it on purpose!
Vaughn was demonstrating his strength precisely so that this moment would allow him to clearly understand the gap in strength between the two sides, giving him a reason to "calm down" and avoid doing anything irrational!

Having realized this, Lupin was somewhat frustrated.

James patted his arm and pulled him over to Vaughn's side, and Barnald Jr. also came over.

Vaughn looked at the three of them and asked, "Do you know about Muggle arbitrage trading?"

Lupin didn't want to talk, but Barnal, as always, was quite excited in Vaughn's presence. He apologized loudly, "I'm sorry, sir, my self-taught Muggle knowledge doesn't include this part. I'm sorry to disappoint you!"

“Dear Barnal, no need to apologize. No one can understand all systems of knowledge. If you don’t know something, you can learn it or consult professionals. That’s why I asked William to find these 11 Muggle experts… Mr. Nye, could you explain this?”

The Muggle named Nighy took off his hat and bowed cheerfully: "It's my pleasure, Mr. Weasley."

His warm smile showed no trace of the arrogance and anger he had displayed moments before; instead, he appeared very gentle and patient. He said, "Arbitrage trading, as the name suggests, is a trading method that takes advantage of the differences in interest rates between different regions to transfer funds from regions with lower interest rates to regions with higher interest rates in order to obtain the difference in profit."

"Let's use a real example, such as the currency system of your magical world."

Mr. Nye took out two magical currencies that Vaughn had just given them: one gold Galleon and one silver Sickle.

"To be honest, Mr. Weasley, given the monetary structure of your magical world, it's a waste of your talents to have us do arbitrage trading, because it's too rudimentary and the market capacity is too small."

In memory magic, if the caster does not specifically modify their personality, the person under the spell will basically act according to their own personality.

Mr. Nye's personality didn't seem very good. He casually made a "belittling" remark, but under Vaughn's smile and little Barnal's annoyed look, he continued, "We just tested them, and these coins are all made of real gold and silver. The face value has almost no credit content. They are classified entirely according to the corresponding metal values ​​in your magical world."

"In other words, the face value of this Galleon and this Silver Sickle is almost equivalent to the price of gold and silver in the magical world."

"1 Galleon = 17 Sickles, this is both the currency exchange rate and the gold-silver exchange ratio..."

At this point, Mr. Nye looked at Lupin, then at James, then at Barnald Jr.: "Gold is 17 times the price of silver, I can say that, right?"

The three werewolves looked at each other, wondering if the problem was obvious.
Mr. Nye seemed to have also learned about the "ignorance" of the magical world from the memories transmitted by memory magic, and he showed great patience: "Mr. Lupin, as far as I know, you have done some research on the financial situation of the magical world."

This "as far as I know" is clearly also a memory that Vaughn weaves and transmits.

Because Lupin had recently told Vaughn that he had specifically looked into the financial structure of the wizarding world, he glanced at Vaughn, said nothing, and simply nodded.

"Let's take an example. Now, if I use the pounds we have to buy a batch of silver from the Muggle world and then transport it to Gringotts, can we exchange it for an equivalent amount of silver sieko from the goblins?"

When faced with such a practical issue, Lupin could no longer remain silent. He thought for a moment and said, "It can be exchanged. Elves have a crazy love for precious metals, especially gold and silver. However, they are very greedy and will demand that you pay a seigniorage."

"So, what is this tax rate?"

“15%!” Lupin said, shrugging. “I told you, fairies are greedy.”

But Mr. Nye didn't seem to care. He continued, "If I were to ask to exchange the silver for an equivalent amount of Galleons at a ratio of 17:1, would that be possible?"

"Of course, as long as you pay the seigniorage."

Snapped!
Mr. Nye clapped his hands, laughing with a mixture of enthusiasm and contempt. “Very good, Mr. Lupin. Greed is normal. From an arbitrage trading perspective, we like the goblins’ greed. As long as we can successfully exchange silver for Galleons at a ratio of 17:1, a 15% seigniorage is perfectly acceptable… Gentlemen, do you know what the gold-silver ratio is in our Muggle society?”

Before the two could answer, he excitedly exclaimed, "80 times! Gentlemen, a full 80 times (historical international gold-silver ratio, specific data for England in 92 could not be found)!"

At Mr. Nye's excited shouts, Barnald Jr., Lupin, and even James Brown held their breath.

Having said that, they understood what Ney meant.

It is obvious that the value of gold and silver in the wizarding world is different from that in Muggle society.

Arbitrage, in this context, refers to profiting from the price difference between the magical world and Muggle society, where their economies are independent and the value of equivalent goods differs significantly.

"How easy it is, gentlemen! We can exchange 1 Galleon of gold for 80 silver shicos in Muggle society, then exchange that silver for Galleons again in Muggle society for even more silver... Gentlemen, it won't take long, just a week, for us to empty Gringotts!"

The three werewolves were caught in a clash of ideas, their expressions dazed.

Vaughn then led William White out of the private room.

William, who had a glorious past and was once an elite student at a prestigious university, knew about this arbitrage method that had long been used to death in the Muggle world, even though he was not a finance major.

However, he was also surprised when he first learned about Project Vaughn.

According to his understanding, wizards are actually indifferent to everything in Muggle society. Vaughn is the first "outlier" he has ever met who uses financial means.

Thinking about it, he couldn't help but ask, "Sir, have you ever considered that the fairies might eventually understand the drawbacks of this arbitrage and then restrict the exchange of gold and silver?"

Vaughn chuckled and countered, "Do you think fairies can resist their love for gold and silver?"

"Uh……"

Having lived in the wizarding world for many years, even though he spent most of his time in seclusion, William had gained a sufficient understanding of it, even through newspapers and magazines alone.

Fairies, of course, cannot suppress their love for precious metals.

Throughout history, those guys would rather be deprived of the right to use their wands than not have gold, silver and money in their hands; they were the epitome of money-grubbing.

“In their eyes, precious metals are not like pounds; they have value, and a high value at that. So even if they discover them, they will only ask for a share, and will not consider restricting the exchange of gold and silver.”

William asked instinctively, "Then, will you share the profits with them?"

Vaughn shrugged: "Maybe, who knows? It depends on the goblins' attitude. If they're reasonable, we might be able to give them a little something, but if they're not so sensible... then unfortunately, according to the Secrets Act, magical creatures like goblins are not allowed to have contact with Muggles, and the right to trade precious metals can only be held by wizards!"

Since he was going to engage in arbitrage, Vaughn certainly wouldn't be unprepared.

Arbitrage trading is a simple business model; its success depends entirely on the channels and resources available.

As a wizard, Vaughn naturally had few connections in Muggle society.

However, memory magic can rapidly expand his network of connections!
As for the magical world, there's no need to worry. Vaughn considers himself somewhat famous and a member of the Wizengamot, so dealing with mere fairies shouldn't be a problem.

Even if his prestige can't suppress the goblins... isn't there still Dumbledore?

In faraway Devonshire, Dumbledore, who was visiting an old friend, suddenly sneezed.

The loud noise startled a withered, emaciated old man beside him, making him jump.

With a snap, the old man's brittle bones dislocated.

"Hiss—Merlin—"

"Sorry, Nico, I think I've caught a bit of a cold. Are you alright? Let me see."

"Crack!"

"Oh—it's broken, it's broken..."

(End of this chapter)