Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 126 Ambitious Man

Vaughn Weasley was an ambitious man.

William had known this fact for a long time.

Having once been a part of the world of fame and fortune, he saw through the boy's ambition the first time he heard that Vaughn wanted to form WAC.

But William didn't care.

Or rather, given his and the werewolf wanderers' circumstances at the time, what other choices did they have?
Whatever Vaughn Weasley's ultimate goal may be, at least he was willing to develop wolf poison for the werewolves and give them a stable life with dignity, just like humans!
This is more important than anything else.

Moreover, Vaughn is a genius.

A genius potions master, and even more so, a genius wizard!

It is not unacceptable to serve a wizard whose power has been attributed to him.

After asking his questions about arbitrage trading, William fell silent. He knew that Vaughn had brought him out most likely to give him instructions.

Sure enough, Vaughn led him to another private room, casually waving his hand. Without a spell or a wand, a barrier-like magic appeared in William's perception, which was enhanced by the werewolf curse. It enveloped the room, preventing sound from being transmitted.

William subconsciously compared Vaughn's magic to that of other werewolf wizards he had seen.

Then, his attitude became even more respectful.

After waiting a moment, he heard Vaughn say, "Next, Remus, Barnal, and James will be in charge of leading those Muggles in the precious metals business, and you, I'll give you a sum of Galleons. Use that money to buy some werewolves and vampires for me on the black market."

Such a despicable term as human trafficking is now being uttered openly by the boy in front of us.

If it were Lupin, he would be terrified and try his best to stop it.

But William remained unfazed and calmly asked, "Sir, are there any specific requirements?"

Vaughn remained calm: "Werewolves need to be physically strong. Next, I will begin research on the second version of the wolfsbane potion. I will need enough test subjects. The related experiments may be quite intense, and I'm afraid the test subjects won't be able to withstand it. Therefore, it's best to have a large number of them."

"We can offer bounties to black wizards to capture Greyback's men, or we can smuggle them from abroad. There are no restrictions on the channels. Of course, it's best to capture those with bad reputations."

In other words, if there really aren't enough test subjects, ordinary werewolves from abroad are not out of the question.

William silently noted down the request and nodded: "I understand. What about vampires?"

Vaughn paced back and forth, lost in thought.

After a long pause, he asked William, "Where do you think werewolves currently stand in the world?"

William paused for a moment, hesitated, and then said truthfully, "Loneliness, exclusion, whether in Muggle society or the wizarding world, they belong to the marginalized group that no one cares about."

This is common sense; he doesn't understand why Vaughn is asking this.

Then he saw Vaughn shake his head: "No, in my opinion, werewolves have great potential!"

“…Uh, sir…”

Seeing William hesitate, Vaughn raised his hand: "I'm not referring to your combat abilities, nor am I hoping that I can develop a better wolfsbane potion in the future so that they can control their transformations. I'm referring to another characteristic of yours—your ability to sense magic!"

Snapped!
Vaughn snapped his fingers, and ripples of magical energy slowly spread through the air.

William's gaze followed the ripples as Vaughn continued, "As a pack, werewolves must find their place if they want to survive better; that is, you must demonstrate your value!"

Vaughn wouldn't have said that to other werewolves, but William was different. He was once an elite among Muggles and had enough knowledge and wisdom to stay rational and weigh the pros and cons.

"The world today is a binary opposition between the wizarding world and Muggles. In my opinion, such a world is divided. The two groups that rule the world have split into two parallel lines since the end of the 17th century... William, don't you think there's a problem with this approach?"

As Vaughn shook his finger, watching it create ripples in the air, he was lost in thought and said, "Wizards have amazing magic. They can make wheat fields sprout, grow, ripen, and bear fruit overnight. They can make vegetables as big as houses. In the wizarding world, there is never any hunger."

“Muggle society, on the other hand, has a large population. As someone who has done business before, you should understand that population is roughly equivalent to market size. Only a sufficient population can support a sufficient market size, and a sufficient market size can also accommodate more ‘labor force’!”

"The reason why werewolves are currently a surplus of labor and unable to create value is because the magic world is too small to accommodate you—not only because of the fear of werewolfism, but also because the magic world's productivity has been in a state of overflow due to the effects of magic, while its consumption capacity has not changed much. It simply cannot absorb the output. For the magic world, your existence is superfluous!"

"I've been thinking, why can't the wizards' surplus productivity be dumped on Muggles? Of course, this idea has many problems, the most typical being that many magical items are simply unusable by Muggles, such as most potions!"

William watched Vaughn pace back and forth, expressing his thoughts, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Based on what he had heard about the werewolf's characteristics, he had a vague idea of ​​what Vaughn was planning. He wiped his sweat as he listened to Vaughn say, "...This problem is troubling me—how can I make magic benefit more people?"

As he spoke, his smile brightened: "I started seeking answers when I was 8 years old. Until last year when I developed the wolf poison, I truly understood the essence of wolfification and the werewolf virus... It's amazing how a blood curse, which was born countless years ago and exists in the form of a virus, brings pain but also endows werewolves with a faint magic."

"Even with just a tiny bit of magic, werewolves are different from Muggles. While it can't make werewolves cast spells, it can at least allow them to use potions and alchemical tools!"

"And to achieve this magical change, all you need to do is be bitten by a werewolf... William, if all Muggles turned into werewolves, then..."

William's face turned pale. He looked at Vaughn with barely suppressed fear in his eyes. This was the first time he had ever felt that the boy in front of him was so crazy.

It's not the kind of fanaticism or madness, but the kind of madness that is so extreme that it is immersing oneself in one's own imagination, ignoring rules and order, taking only gains and losses as the basis, and being extremely rational and indifferent!

He dared not listen silently any longer and quickly spoke up to remind him, "Sir, the secrecy law, the secrecy law!"

"..."

Vaughn stopped and turned to look at William, seemingly annoyed by the interruption, or perhaps deep in thought. After a moment, he smiled.

"Sorry, just kidding. Of course I won't allow the werewolves to spread unchecked, at least not until I figure out the werewolf virus."

"..."

Fear... that was William's feeling.

Vaughn knew he had lost his composure.

Exploring the mysteries of magic is a massive undertaking, and to accomplish it, he needs to transform the world into his ideal form.

He came up with many ideas for this, ideas that he couldn't usually share with others.

He understood that ordinary people might not be able to accept some of his ideas, so he never confided in them to avoid causing trouble for each other.

I had just relaxed a little, but because I had arranged for William to do the dirty work of buying and selling people, I couldn't help but say a little more.

Seeing William's pale face, Vaughn chuckled and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, I was just kidding. Right now, I'm mainly focused on research. I asked you to buy vampires for research purposes. According to legends, vampires and werewolves are infected in almost the same way, mostly a combination of viruses and curses... By the way, have you ever seen a vampire?"

William secretly wiped away his sweat and shook his head: "No, they are rarely seen in England. I've inquired about it before out of curiosity. It's said that vampires are mainly concentrated in the Balkans, Central Europe, and other Slavic regions."

This is similar to what Vaughn knew; vampires are indeed rare in England.

“Keep this task in mind. Observe more and find some reputable dark wizard groups…” Vaughn paused. Are there any reputable dark wizard groups?

He sighed, "Anyway, try to catch some for me."

He began to wonder if he should take some time to visit the Balkans.

After all, that place is a gathering place for black magic and black wizards. The magical creatures that are transformed from humans, such as werewolves and vampires, seem to have their origins in that place.

Perhaps in ancient times, the entire Balkan region was a large testing ground for black wizards?
While Vaughn pondered, William had already quickly jotted down his request. After thinking for a moment, Vaughn waved his hand and said, "That's settled then!"

Upon hearing this, William breathed a slight sigh of relief. The poor middle-aged werewolf had just been terrified by his boss and hadn't recovered yet.

"Yes, sir, I will arrange it as soon as possible."

He turned to leave, but Vaughn called out to him, "Wait a minute!"

William felt himself sweating again, and he forced a groan from his throat: "Sir?"

Fortunately, this time Vaughn didn't say anything shocking. He simply instructed, "When you get back, have a private talk with the other regional heads and have them internally agree on a list of committee members to submit to me."

William breathed a sigh of relief. Compared to the maddening idea of ​​turning all humans into werewolves, this dark and cryptic instruction seemed so pure and innocent.

"Okay, sir, I will submit it to you in a week."

A week is William's precise estimate of the timeframe. The WAC is a newly established organization, and the list of committee members is based more on the individual abilities and intentions of each selected werewolf. There aren't many exchanges of benefits yet; otherwise, it would probably take several months of arguing before the final decision is made.

Vaughn understood and had no objections, only giving the final instruction: "At the first general meeting in July, I will be running for WAC president. Remember to inform everyone."

“Yes!” William replied calmly.

This is only natural; even if Vaughn hadn't mentioned it, the werewolves wouldn't have allowed a stranger to take the position of WAC president.

……

Lupin didn't know what expression to make.

For several tens of minutes, he, Barnald Jr., and James listened to Mr. Nye's explanation, and the various financial operations of Muggles broadened their horizons.

For the first time in my life, I've discovered... how "easy" it is to make money!
Hearing this made his heart pound, and he felt a sense of emptiness.

He didn't know if those things would actually work, but at least they sounded reasonable and complicated.

Lupin has lived for over thirty years. He may not know much in other areas, but his bumpy life has given him enough experience of being bullied—the more complex something is, the easier it is to deceive people!
He certainly wasn't worried about being deceived, after all, these 11 Muggles were already under Vaughn's memory magic control, and with Vaughn's strength, they had virtually no chance of breaking free.

This left Lupin feeling quite uneasy.

It is certainly wrong to abuse magic on Muggles, but...

Lupin looked down at the profit figures shown on the precious metals trading plan made by the 11 Muggle experts, recorded on the Muggle paper in his hand, and his heart was filled with hesitation.

He didn't notice when Vaughn and William left, and he didn't pay attention when they returned.

My whole brain was in chaos, with two little figures, one black and one white, engaged in a fierce battle.

Black Man: "With this revenue, WAC will have a source of income and will no longer be held hostage by Vaughn Weasley's loans. Every werewolf will no longer have to worry about funding for wolfsbane potion. Everyone can finally live freely and with dignity. What are you waiting for? Let's get started!"

White Little Man: Okay, okay!

"..."

Lupin covered his head, ashamed of his temptation and depravity, but... there was just too much money, and he couldn't refuse it to satisfy his sense of justice!
A shadow appeared in front of him.

Lupin looked up and saw Vaughn, who had returned sometime earlier, standing in front of him, looking down at him: "Remus, have you made up your mind?"

“…I’ve thought it through.” Lupin found his voice frighteningly hoarse, but his answer was unwavering: “I will lead this team with Barnald Jr., and ensure the success of the deal!”

He knew that he had completely changed when he said those words.

But he has no regrets.

This is all for the werewolves...

……

Everyone has weaknesses.

The art of employing people isn't actually that complicated. As long as you can discover their weaknesses, exploit them, and turn their softest spot into a rein, then anyone can be used by you.

Vaughn had always known that Lupin was a very righteous person and disapproved of him.

But he never suppressed or alienated Lupin because of this.

He has the magnanimity to accommodate dissidents because he knows he has the ability to tame them, not through violence or force, but by guiding them onto the right path.

For Lupin, the right path was to give werewolves survival and dignity.

This is also Vaughn's goal, although for Vaughn, werewolves are just a scenery along his infinitely long road that he will never stop for!

Seeing Lupin looking somewhat dejected after agreeing to the task he had assigned, Vaughn smiled.

He knew that this righteous werewolf wizard had begun to succumb.

This also means that he can take on more important tasks.

Vaughn handed Lupin a list: "The clerk recruitment isn't going too well, is it? These are some graduates who volunteered to work at WAC. At the end of the month, arrange for them to host a campus recruitment fair at Hogwarts. I'll arrange for reporters to cover it." Lupin took the list, looking at the row of "Slytherins" on it, his expression unchanged.

It wasn't until he saw "Hermione Granger, Gryffindor, First Year" that he frowned in surprise: "This..."

"Oh, that's my girlfriend. She's coming here for an extracurricular activity. Be careful not to pay her a salary."

Lupin: "..."

Vaughn returned to Hogwarts late at night.

They walked to Professor McGonagall's fireplace again. The vice-principal, her face stern, glared at Vaughn as he emerged from a burst of green flames: "Mr. Weasley, how many more days off do you intend to take in the next three weeks?"

Vaughn respected the professor and sincerely promised, "I won't take any more leave, Professor. I promise to attend classes and study diligently, and strive to get first place in the promotion exam."

Professor McGonagall snorted. "The last time you and Albus tricked me out of school, you looked just as sincere as you are now!"

She was referring to how, a little over a week ago, Vaughn and Dumbledore tricked her into leaving Hogwarts to ensure the trial could proceed smoothly.

After the trial, Dumbledore revealed the entire plan to her.

In any case, she was the vice-principal of Hogwarts. She could use the excuse of avoiding leaks to keep the news from her beforehand, but she could no longer hide it afterward.

Especially since Professor Quirrell was parasitized by the Dark Lord and nearly killed students at the school, the subsequent handling of these matters, such as appeasing the Quirrell family, required her, the vice principal, to step in.

Professor McGonagall was initially very unhappy about this, both because the two of them kept it from her and put Harry in danger, and because she was left to clean up the mess they made.

Vaughn promptly shifted the blame: "That was all Albus's doing."

“But Albus said it was you!” Professor McGonagall’s expression was stern, trying to find any trace of a lie on Vaughn’s face.

But she was disappointed; the boy's expression was as impeccable as that of a white-bearded old man, filled with doubt and helplessness.

“Professor, that’s Albus Dumbledore. Do you think he could be someone I’m directing?”

"..." Professor McGonagall choked for a moment, then realized how true that was. "But Albus said that you thought I would help Mr. Potter, so you asked me to be tricked into going with you!"

Vaughn did not deny this, but instead flattered him without batting an eye, saying, "That's because in my mind, you have always been an upright, strict, and responsible person."

Professor McGonagall blushed slightly, her previously aggressive tone becoming dry: "...Not really... I mean, I am sometimes a bit strict, but it's all for your own good..."

Vaughn nodded repeatedly: "Of course I know. You care about every student in the school and would never allow a student to be put in danger, even if Albus and I are watching over them."

The vice-principal's expression softened further, and her inner thoughts began to lean towards Vaughn's words: "Since you know this, you shouldn't be playing along with Albus's nonsense, dear. I've always admired your maturity and composure."

"Yes, I'm sorry, Professor, but you've worked with the headmaster for decades, so you should know how stubborn and domineering he is. As a mere student, I simply couldn't go against him. Albus shifted the blame onto me, and you can understand why I would possibly order around a legendary wizard like him."

Well-reasoned and well-founded!

Professor McGonagall's thin lips pressed tightly together, her inner balance completely tipped: "Alright, I really shouldn't have listened to Dumbledore's one-sided story... I'm sorry, child. Go back and study. If something like this happens again, you can come directly to me, and I'll help you communicate with Dumbledore!"

"Thank you, Professor."

Perfect pass!

The vice-principal was so angry that she started calling out "Dumbledore," hoping that old Dumbledore would be more sensible and stop "smearing" others so casually. Otherwise, Vaughn wouldn't mind playing the victim in front of Professor McGonagall again!
With light steps, Vaughn walked out of the vice-principal's office. He didn't return to Slytherin, nor did he go to Gryffindor to find his girlfriend. Instead, he went to Ravenclaw, which he hadn't visited in a long time.

These days he's been busy with studying, Quidditch, trials and experimental plans, and recovering from his injuries, so he hasn't visited Ravenclaw Tower in a long time.

He easily answered the question from the bronze eagle door knocker, walked into the tower, breathed in the faint fragrance in the air, and listened to the little witches' low gasps of surprise mixed with joy in the common room.

Vaughn was in a good mood.

Sure enough, the girls were as enthusiastic as ever. Just look at their fiery eyes! They must have missed him and fruit tea so much after not seeing him for so long!
Unfortunately, we forgot to bring fruit tea when we came. Without it, how will the little witches cope with their longing?

As Vaughn was overwhelmed by the sudden burst of lively chatter from the Eagle School, he thought with distress…

……

Late at night, the lights in the Gryffindor common room were still on.

Hogwarts' curfew rules only apply to the castle area outside each house. Inside the house towers, there are no rules about turning off the lights or what time to go to bed.

This is partly due to the school's lack of sufficient staff for management, and partly because Hogwarts has a relatively relaxed academic atmosphere.

Harry used to enjoy this relaxed management style, but recently he has started to feel miserable.

Because he discovered that Hogwarts was only lenient in its academic atmosphere, but its exams were anything but lenient. If Harry did terribly on the promotion exams in three weeks, he believed the school would definitely make him repeat the year!

Under the flickering light of the brazier embedded in the wall, the books piled up on the desk almost overwhelmed Harry, the savior painfully swimming in an ocean of knowledge.

These books were part of Hermione's study plan for him—this afternoon, Harry, carrying his quiz paper, finally managed to corner Hermione and beg his academically gifted friend to help him salvage his dismal grades.

Hermione scolded him and Ron for their laxity, then, in a fit of pique, assigned them a whole bunch of things.

According to the girl's original plan, she just wanted to punish them.

But to her surprise, for the entire afternoon, apart from physical needs such as eating and using the restroom, Harry's eyes were almost constantly on the book, and the scratching sound of his quill pen writing on the parchment was almost constant.

He's like a completely different person.

Even Ron, who is usually playful, showed great patience and perseverance. At this moment, Ron was sitting next to Harry, with books and parchment piled up in front of him as high as Harry's desk.

Even his dazed and confused expression, tormented by the ocean of knowledge, was exactly like Harry's.

After finishing a thick book, Hermione realized it was getting late and was preparing to go back to her dorm to rest when she looked at her two friends and asked, "Aren't you two going to rest yet?"

"Let's talk about it after we've finished reviewing this lesson!"

"Wait until I finish writing this paper."

The words that would never normally come out of Ron and Harry's mouths made Hermione feel like it was magical: "What's wrong with you two today? Why are you being so diligent?"

"Didn't you see it? Our quiz scores!"

Hermione didn't take it seriously: "Isn't that normal? I reminded you two when you were bragging together every day a few days ago."

Based on her experience, Harry and Ron would never mistake her for someone else.

But today is different.

"We already know we were wrong, that's why we're determined to make amends!"

"Thank you, Hermione, you've been a huge help!"

Hermione: "..."

She suddenly had a strong urge to cast a spell to check if these two guys were under some kind of dark magic, like a soul-stealing curse.
Harry and Ron weren't just putting on an act.

They knew Hermione's study plan was a bit excessive, but the two still forced themselves to try to complete it.

They gave different, but essentially similar, answers to Hermione's questions!
"We don't want to repeat a grade, no, not only that, we want to do better!"

"why?"

Harry, who was writing furiously on parchment, paused upon hearing this and looked at Hermione earnestly: "Hermione, what do you think of my performance in the world of the painting? Don't talk about courage, just talk about my performance with magic!"

Ah this...

Hermione tried to recall for a moment, then said tactfully, "You didn't use any magic at all, Harry."

“Yes!” Harry said blankly. “In fact, back in the picture world, I already regretted not paying attention in class and not learning more spells.”

“I know I have flaws in my personality. I’m playful and carefree. These have always been there and haven’t improved. The past week was proof of that. I was immersed in the sense of accomplishment that the ‘trial’ brought me and in the stories that Vaughn told my parents… Fortunately, today’s quiz served as a wake-up call, reminding me of how helpless I felt when I faced Voldemort in the world of the painting… how helpless I felt when I faced the mysterious man!”

"Me too."

Ron, standing to the side, added, "You all probably already know, right? Although I've been trying to hide it and didn't want to reveal it, you should all know that after I left Chessboard Town, I was teleported to Nobeta's side. That wretched fire dragon humiliated me terribly. It flicked my head, forced me to clean its scales, rinse its mouth, roast meat, and scoop its poop..."

"and many more."

Harry interrupted Ron, "You shovel Noberta's poop? I've wanted to ask you that for a while now, is dragon poop really that poisonous? Why are you all swollen?"

Hermione also looked over curiously. In the books she had read, it seemed that if one only came into contact with a small amount of dragon dung, it wouldn't have such a strong effect.
Thanks to Hagrid's big mouth, everyone now knows that Ron's previous swelling was due to contact with dragon dung.

Ron blushed and stammered, "It's nothing... I didn't want to, but there were no tools there... Nobeta has been there for who knows how long, and no one has cleaned it up, so I had no choice but to..."

He looked at his hands and smiled sheepishly.

Hermione and Harry realized what was happening, and their faces turned green!
"Ronald Weasley, you're disgusting!"

"I had no choice. You have no idea how terrifying it is to face a furious fire dragon up close. I didn't know it was just a trial at the time, otherwise I would have preferred to die rather than comply. Do you know how many times I washed my hands after I came out?"

"That's enough, don't say any more!"

Hermione scolded, glaring disdainfully at her two friends: "You two, one of you got crushed by your mortal enemy, and as soon as it was over, you became arrogant and lax for over a week, only thinking about cramming at the last minute. The other one is even more outrageous, because of dragon dung..."

"That's not a nice way to put it, Hermione. You should say it's because I was humiliated by the dragon."

"What's the difference? You seem quite willing, Ronald. Otherwise, why did you only start thinking about working hard after the test?"

The little girl launched into a tirade against the two of them.

In the past, Ron would have definitely argued with her, and Harry would most likely have given her the silent treatment for a few days, and then one day he would suddenly feel guilty, apologize, and make up.

But today, Harry and Ron behaved themselves, and all of this was observed by a white-bearded old man hiding behind the magic in a corner.

He watched with satisfaction as Harry and Ron curbed their mischievous nature and diligently studied their lessons.

After Hermione launched into a tirade, she went to great lengths to answer all sorts of questions for the two academically challenged students.

The trial is indeed over. After this experience, he doesn't plan to go through it again, because it's pointless.

However, the assessment of Harry's character will likely continue for some time.

This investigation is no longer limited to Harry, but also includes Hermione and Ron.

“Their fates are intertwined; they rise and fall together!” Dumbledore watched quietly, then lowered his head and said softly, “But at the same time, Hermione and Ron’s fates are also closely tied to your master’s. What choice will he make?”

At his feet, Guoguocha squatted on the ground, staring intently at him.

Cats, of course, cannot speak.

But Dumbledore knew that the cat could understand what he was saying and would even report his whereabouts to Vaughn.

His enchanted eyes saw a faint, white mist floating around the cat, Vaughn's signature personification suit.

However, things are different. Several months have passed since the last time we saw Vaughn cast this spell, and no one knows how much he has improved.

Dumbledore's gaze was somewhat profound.

Vaughn has grown up so fast that no one has realized it. Thinking of the conversation when he visited his old friend in Devon, Old Deng pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Meow~"

Fruit Tea wagged its tail and nudged him with its paw.

Dumbledore was taken aback: "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Meow!" Fruit Tea responded, licking a melon seed, its vertical pupils glancing at his beard with ill intent.

Dumbledore: "..."

snort!
It truly resembles its owner!
A legendary wizard like Dumbledore would not stoop to the level of a pet. Seeing the trio continuing their studies peacefully, Dumbledore left the Gryffindor tower and, like a ghost, silently arrived at Ravenclaw.

(End of this chapter)