Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 130 Those Who Are Qualified to Know the Truth

More than an hour later, as the last light in the dormitory went out, the group fell into a deep sleep.

Outside the tower, the deep, dark green of the Forbidden Forest stretched into the distance under the night sky. The bright moon rose, and the moonlight that streamed through the window gradually shone on the cage, enveloping the fat rats inside.

At one point, the mouse opened its eyes.

Its tiny, beady eyes shone brightly. It quietly straightened up, standing up like a person, its nose twitching as it carefully sniffed and observed the sleeping Harry and Ron.

Once it was sure the two were really asleep, it stretched out its paw, deftly unlocked the cage, slipped out, and lightly leaped to the ground.

rustling...

With a soft rustling sound, the mouse left its room, left the Gryffindor Tower, and passed through the quiet, deserted corridors and staircases.

It is very familiar with the castle, knows exactly where the doors are in every corridor, where the walls look like doors, and even knows which staircases are mischievous and will suddenly disappear when someone steps on them.

The rustling sounds led us to the restaurant.

Even late at night, there were still people in the restaurant, and the huge screen was still there, quietly showing a movie.

Exam week is coming to an end, and the holidays are just around the corner. The curfew at the castle is practically nonexistent. After a busy academic year, the professors are just going through the motions for the last few days, and even Filch isn't patrolling at night anymore.

Of course, only seasoned veterans know this kind of convention.

The mouse quietly pushed open the restaurant door. A senior student who was closest to the door vaguely sensed the movement and turned around.

His companion noticed what he was doing and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I think I heard someone come in..."

"It was probably blown open by the wind, don't be so suspicious. By the way, can you unleash a massive explosion silently?"

"How is that possible? I haven't even learned how to cast the Explosion Spell silently, let alone the Big Explosion."

"Damn it, how did Vaughn Weasley learn to play? It's absolutely demoralizing!"

"Sigh, that's just how geniuses are, there's no logic to it... By the way, I heard from Phil Travers of Slytherin that WAC will be sending people to the school to hold a recruitment fair the day after tomorrow, would you like to consider it?"

"...WAC is full of werewolves, this..."

“I heard from Phil Travers that Vaughn Weasley is running for the first president of the WAC. Don’t you think this is a good opportunity?” The proposer stared intently at the screen, not at Vaughn’s face, but at Vaughn’s abilities.
“We all have to find work to support ourselves. Rather than going back to Muggle society or working in Diagon Alley, I’d rather go to him. In my opinion, he could very well become the next Mysterio or the next Dumbledore!”

"Uh, you think it's that good?"

"of course……"

The mouse eavesdropped on the two's conversation while also keeping an eye on the huge screen at the end of the long table.

He had lived in Muggle society before and knew what movies were, so he didn't have any difficulty understanding them.

Therefore, as the plot on the screen progressed, his inner fear grew stronger.

When the rat saw that familiar, terrifying head finally being pulled off by Vaughn, its body trembled violently, and it collapsed onto the floor.

No!

I can't stay at the Weasleys' house any longer!

We must find a way to leave, even if it means becoming a stray rat in the Forbidden Forest, it's better than living in constant fear!

He was filled with fear as he stumbled and rushed out of the restaurant.

He didn't even want to go back to his dormitory, but before he had run far, a huge claw blocked his way.

The mouse struggled to lift its head.

I saw a giant cat with a phoenix perched on its back, its four eyes staring intently at it...

same night.

In the Ministry of Magic, located beneath Whitehall (the name of a street) in London, on the floor belonging to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, a meeting room had been deliberately cleared out, and several wizards dressed in black robes sat scattered in tiered seating.

In front of them, a screen floated and unfolded, with the light from a projector that also floated in the air projecting images onto it.

No one spoke throughout the entire process.

Only after the screening ended did the group begin to whisper among themselves.

Hearing the whispers behind him, Dumbledore looked at Amelia Burns beside him. The witch sat there blankly for a long while before murmuring:

"So, he really didn't die?"

Behind him, several wizards stopped talking and looked at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore nodded: "Yes, Amelia, he has never died and always wants to be resurrected and return to England!"

Upon hearing his answer, a wizard behind him couldn't help but question, "How do we know that everything you're showing is real? Dumbledore, I'm not trying to nitpick, but as far as I know, Muggle plays are all fiction..."

Wizards have always held deep-seated stereotypes about Muggles.

Even wizards who are Muggles are no exception.

But this time, Amelia interrupted the wizard: "It's true, McKellen, the one on screen who's parasitizing Quirinus Quirrell is Voldemort..."

Her expression was complex, a mixture of sadness and hatred: "I will never forget his face, so deformed, so disgusting, and that nauseating voice... My brother Edgar was killed on his orders, along with other relatives..."

Edgar Burns, a first-generation member of the Order of the Phoenix, lost his entire family to the Death Eaters for rebelling against Voldemort.

The wizards exchanged glances. The Burns family was no small force; before Voldemort's rise, it was one of the most powerful families in the wizarding world.

However, because they refused to submit to Voldemort, the family quickly declined, and the bloody massacre began with Edgar Burns, an event that was very famous at the time.

In a sense, this was why Amelia Burns, as a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic, was willing to cooperate with Dumbledore after the war.

Just as she said, she would never forget Voldemort's face, even though before, she wasn't sure if Voldemort still existed in the world.

But now, she was sure.

She took a deep breath and turned to look at Dumbledore: "Albus, what are you planning to do? You're making a Muggle movie about his situation, are you planning to show it to everyone?"

Dumbledore shook his head: "No, Amelia, I'm not going to tell you the truth. So before you leave this room, I want you all to swear an unbreakable oath to keep this a secret and, as McGrath has said, that the movies are fiction."

The people present were all seasoned veterans of politics, and they quickly understood why Dumbledore didn't reveal the truth.

"Are you worried that news of his survival will cause panic?"

"Dumbledore's concerns are valid; eleven years is not enough time to dispel the people's fear of the mysterious man."

"So, Dumbledore, what is your purpose in inviting us here and telling us the truth?"

Amelia also looked at Dumbledore, wanting to know what the leader of the white wizards had to say.

Under everyone's gaze, Dumbledore slowly said, "There's no particular reason. I invited you all here to tell you the truth simply because I need help!"

Before anyone could ask, he stood up, walked to the floating screen, and looked at the frozen image: "You all experienced the war 11 years ago. You know how powerful Voldemort is. Although you had doubts before, there is no denying that you were willing to accept me and gather around me after the war because you also knew in your hearts that Voldemort might not be dead, and I am the only hope to fight him in your hearts!"

The wizards remained silent.

Including Amelia.

In the adult world, there is no such thing as kindness without a reason, nor is there any taking sides for no reason; it usually stems from interests or demands.

Dumbledore is indeed a charismatic person, but charisma alone is not enough to get allies and collaborators to work in unison with him in all aspects.

In the past, those underlying thoughts were an unspoken understanding among adults, but now Dumbledore has revealed them.

He turned around, met their gazes, and sighed, "But my friends, I'm getting old. Next month will be my 111th birthday. My body and my magic are declining every day. How long can I bear the burden of fighting Voldemort?"

Amelia frowned slightly. She had already caught Dumbledore's unspoken message. She glanced at Vaughn Weasley, who was covered in blood on the screen: "Albus, you're going to groom him to be your successor?"

Several pairs of eyes stared directly at them.

Dumbledore nodded: "Yes, Amelia, and I hope everyone can contribute their efforts to help me nurture him!"

Before he could finish speaking, McKellen stood up: "Are you kidding me, Dumbledore? You expect a 12-year-old to take on Voldemort... Mystic?"

"How ridiculous!"

"Albus, what nonsense are you talking about?"

The others joined in the commotion, but Amelia observed Dumbledore's calm expression thoughtfully.

Of the group, only she had contact with Vaughn Weasley. Well…

In her observation, he was a rather distinctive... wizard!
Yes, Amelia felt that he was not like a child at all, but a wizard with mature thinking and ideas, and a profound mind.

Amelia narrowed her eyes slightly, and heard Dumbledore's loud retort amidst the noise: "Yes, Vaughn is only a 12-year-old boy, but that precisely demonstrates his potential. Gentlemen, who among you can do this at the age of 12?"

Dumbledore raised his hand and pointed to Vaughn's figure on the screen.

The wizards hesitated for a moment, then one of them quickly retorted, "That was Quirinus Quirrell's body, not the real Dark Lord. Vaughn Weasley killing him proves nothing!"

"Quirinas is an excellent Ravenclaw, Mr. Baird. You also graduated from Ravenclaw. Are you trying to suggest that it's common for a Ravenclaw graduate to be defeated by a 12-year-old wizard?"

Mr. Baird's face flushed red: "I didn't, you're lying!"

"enough!"

Amelia glared at Mr. Baird, stood up, and was about to say something when an old wizard who hadn't spoken until now gently raised his hand in the corner: "I think it's acceptable to help train Vaughn Weasley, so, Dumbledore, what kind of help do you need?"

The others stared at the old wizard in astonishment: "Alred, have you gone mad too?"

Ald Travers smiled: "Perhaps. If Voldemort can be resurrected, what's so strange about an old man like me going mad?"

In the astonished eyes of everyone.

Alred Travers, the old wizard from the Holy 28 and a branch of the Travers family, remained calm:

"I understand everyone's resistance. We are a loose alliance, banding together for warmth because of our opposition to the oppression of Voldemort and the pure-blood families. There is no clear hierarchy here. We obey Dumbledore because of the sense of security brought by his legendary wizarding power, and also because of the inclusiveness of his ideas."

“Now, Dumbledore wants to break this tacit understanding, wanting us old folks to spend real money on a 12-year-old and then acknowledge that the child as his successor. Of course you're unhappy about that, and if it were someone else, I would be unhappy too…”

He paused, glanced around at his old buddies, and said softly, "But if it were Vaughn Weasley, I would agree!"

McKlain, who was closest to him, frowned: "Why?"

Aldridge Travers did not answer, but simply said, "I believe Dumbledore will give us the answer."

Because of his words, the wizards barely suppressed their dissatisfaction and looked at Dumbledore again.

Dumbledore, however, was looking at Aldred.

This was an unexpected situation. Of course, Dumbledore had anticipated the opposition from the crowd. As Aldred said, although those present were allies, they were quite loosely connected.

There was no organizational program or a strict organizational structure.

It was just a small, salon-like group formed privately by a few families who disagreed with pure-blood rule in the magical world, after the turmoil ended 11 years ago, in order to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.

They can exchange information and act as external voting machines at certain meetings, but it's difficult to expect them to transfer benefits.

However, since Dumbledore dared to ask them to meet, he must have been confident that he could persuade them. However, this confidence did not include Aldridge Travers!
Looking at the old wizard in the corner, his face wrinkled and his appearance so aged and unsightly, Dumbledore suddenly realized that he had been overlooking the Travers family, a notorious opportunist in the wizarding world.

After pondering for a moment, Dumbledore withdrew his gaze, glanced at the others, and said thoughtfully, "I do have important intelligence to prove my choice..."

He waved his sleeve, and a miniature saucer-shaped object flew out. With a flick of his wand, it quickly grew larger, transforming into a shallow basin of water.

The Pensieve!
Dumbledore pressed the tip of his staff to his forehead, pulled out a strand of silver thread, and placed it in the Pensieve. He then looked at the crowd and stretched out his hand: "...There is a lot of information, all in the memories I put into the Pensieve. It is very important. If you want to see it, you must sign an unbreakable oath with me."

Although he said "you," Dumbledore's eyes remained fixed on Aldred.

Al-Layde lived up to his "expectations," stood up, came to him, shook his hand, and smiled: "I'll go first and set an example for everyone."

Dumbledore remained silent.

The other wizards, including Amelia, looked at each other in bewilderment.

……

The meeting ended in the early hours of the morning.

The heated exchange of opinions came to an end, and the others left one after another. When Amelia returned to the meeting room after seeing them off, she saw Dumbledore still staring at the image frozen on the screen above him, deep in thought.

Hearing her footsteps, Dumbledore turned around and suddenly said, "Amelia, has the Travers family ever produced a prophet?"

Amelia paused, then said, "I don't recall..."

She stopped abruptly before she could finish speaking, suddenly realizing, "Isn't Travers a stooge you planted?"

"……no!"

Dumbledore pinched his brow. "I wasn't close to them before. The Travers family's main line is a staunch believer in pure-blood supremacy; their heirs are even followers of Voldemort. Although the branch families have long since severed ties with the main line, I still don't trust them." Hearing this, and recalling Dumbledore's earlier question, Amelia suddenly realized: "You suspect that Aldred's branch has prophets? What did they see in the prophecies?"

“That’s right, otherwise I really can’t understand why Alred would suddenly jump out to support me, and…”

He frowned, then pulled a strand of silver thread from his mind, placed it in the Pensieve, and bent down to observe it carefully.

A moment later, a memory image recorded on a piece of parchment appeared on the water's surface.

Amelia peered over and saw a list with only about a dozen names, one of whom stood out:

Phil Travers!

"This is... Alred's grandson? He sent his grandson to WAC?" Amelia asked in surprise.

She noticed the heading on the parchment, which read "WAC".

Amelia murmured, "I never would have guessed Alred would have such courage..."

To be honest, although Amelia contributed a lot to the formation of WAC and always stood firmly by Vaughn's side.

But she would absolutely not agree if her niece, Susan Burns, wanted to join the WAC now.

Political stance is one thing, actual contact is another.

As long as the wolfification syndrome is not completely resolved, werewolves will remain a potential danger.

Dumbledore pondered for a moment, then chuckled and said, "Yes, boldness. That old opportunist actually dared to make such a heavy bet, binding the next generation of the family heir to Vaughn's side... Such an unusual move must have a deeper reason."

In the Muggle world, there could be a variety of reasons that would prompt a family of opportunists to make a bet.

But in the magical world, the first thing wizards suspected was that there might be some kind of prophecy!

Amelia pondered and said, "I've never heard of any fortune-telling lineage in the Travers family. The only fortune-telling family that has survived in England is Trelawney."

"They didn't intermarry?"

"As far as I know, the Trelawney family has never intermarried with any other families. They have always wanted to restore the glory of their ancestors, so how could they allow their family bloodline to be passed on to outsiders..."

Amelia's expression was somewhat unnatural.

Dumbledore was similar; in order to maintain the purity of their bloodline, pure-blood families often engaged in practices that were unacceptable to people with normal values.

He changed the subject: "Let's investigate the Travers matter later... Do you think they'll eventually agree to my demands?"

"I don't know."

"And what about you, Amelia?"

Amelia didn't answer immediately. Instead, her expression faltered for a moment, showing some hesitation. After a while, she asked in return, "Are Harry and Voldemort's fates really so intertwined that no one else can shake them at all?"

"Yes, kid."

"But can Vaughn disrupt them?"

"That's right, this is the conclusion I've drawn from nearly a year of observation."

Dumbledore answered calmly.

Amelia continued, "You raised Vaughn, but why did you need 10 kinds of fire dragons? What does Vaughn plan to do with them?"

Dumbledore paused for a moment, then replied cheerfully, "I don't know, my dear. In fact, I forgot to ask him."

"..."

It started raining early in the morning.

After many sunny days, the weather has finally returned to the traditional damp climate of the Scottish Highlands, with humid winds and dark clouds arriving over Hogwarts from the distant horizon.

Lightning danced like silver snakes, and a torrential downpour ensued.

The Black Lake outside the window was also churning. The surface of the water was pitch black, and the currents below were surging. A patrol of several mermaids passed by the window of Vaughn's dormitory. Whenever the weather was windy and the waves were high, the water plants and Greendylo would proliferate at the bottom of the lake. The mermaids had to constantly clean them up to ensure that those things did not encroach on the mermaids' grazing land.

In the dim light, Vaughn looked up from the lab bench and pushed away the magnifying glass that was floating in front of him.

On the platform below, Norbert, who had grown to the size of a foal, was fixed in place, lying on his back with his two protruding red eyes looking pitifully at Vaughn.

"What, are you afraid I'll dissect you?"

Norbert opened his ugly mouth, making a nasty cry, and his tail wagged frantically.

Vaughn chuckled, released the spell binding it, and patted its thin, bony head: "Go play!"

Norbert slid off the lab bench in a flash, stretched his stiff wings, and ran to another bed in the dormitory, which was Fruit Tea's territory. The big cat was lazily nestled in the blankets, the damp air making him drowsy.

The fledgling dragon, which was bullied by it just a few days ago, now has the advantage in size.

But Fruit Tea wasn't worried. Relying on its owner's affection, it calmly watched Nobeta struggle to climb onto the bed, and then kicked him off.

"Gah! Gah!" Norberta was furious.

"Meow~"

Guoguo Tea licked the cat's paw dismissively. "Foolish lizard, you dare to dream of playing with Master Guoguo Tea?"
Ignoring the two pets' playful fight, Vaughn opened his notebook and recorded some experimental data he had just obtained from Norbert.

Studying the magical principles of fire dragons is no easy task. The difficulty lies not only in the fact that fire dragons, as research materials, are hard to obtain, but also in the fact that they are alive.

Life is not simply a few materials; it is a vast and complex system composed of multiple elements.

To understand how a dragon breathes fire, we first need to determine if it has an organ that can breathe fire.

Assuming this can be determined, we need to understand how that organ functions, what causes it to produce fire (or combustible material), and what processes are involved in transport, synthesis, decomposition, and metamorphism...

Compared to Muggle biology, the scope of research basically ranges from biological physiology to biochemistry and then to cell biology...

It's a real headache.

Vaughn buried himself in his notebook, the rustling sound of his quill pen gliding across parchment filling the air.

"...What is certain at present is that there are several tiny, peculiar structures inside the fire dragon's body—not organs, but a kind of imperceptible structure whose form is not yet clear, and can only be judged from the flow of magic power... These structures are mainly concentrated in the chest cavity, neck, and throat. Judging from the pattern of magic power flow, it gives people a sense of déjà vu of alchemical symbols, but it is also very different..."

After a short while, having written down the experimental data and his thoughts, Warn drew a diagram on parchment and completed the record.

The diagram was incorrect, because as an alchemist, Vaughn did not sense any magical fluctuations from it.

Unfortunately, after spending so much time with Norbert, Vaughn was reluctant to "sacrifice" it.

Otherwise, I really want to cut it open and see...

On the other side, Nobeta, who was playing with Fruit Tea, suddenly raised its scales as if in response. It looked around blankly, but did not realize where the sense of danger came from.

The innocent little dragon quickly forgot about the little incident and continued to tease the fruit tea with great interest.

Vaughn also put away his notebook and muttered to himself:

"system!"

As soon as he thought of it, the system panel popped up in front of him.

[Host: Vaughn Weasley]

[Magic Scale: 491 (500 for an ordinary adult wizard)]

【天赋：魔咒学7、黑魔法6、变形术8、魔药学10、草药学6、炼金术6、占卜学2 (满值为10)】

【魔咒：大脑封闭术LV5(MAX)、铁甲咒LV5(MAX)、缴械咒LV5(MAX)、飞走咒LV5（MAX）……摄神取念LV3(21/32)、幻身咒LV3（10/16）、神锋无影LV3（3/24）、幻影移（显）形LV3（3/24）……】

[Alchemy Level 0 (3/20)]

[Potions: "Vaughn Beauty" series, "Vaughn Hair" series, Wolfsbane Potion, etc....]

【Reputation Points: 19】

[Main Quest 2: Help Slytherin win the House Cup at the end of this school year (in progress)]

[Reward: 1 Talent Point, 50 Magic Scale]

Side Quest 3: Research all the magic of the fire dragons and figure out their basic principles (in progress)

【Progress: 0/10】

[Reward: 100 Magic Scales, Spell Development Module]

Today is July 1st, a new month has begun, and reputation points have been settled.

Vaughn looked at the newly added 19 reputation points. Half a year ago, he developed the Wolfsbane Potion and prepared to establish WAC, which pushed the monthly reputation points to 15 points.

It didn't stop there; it continued to rise slowly every month. Although it only increased by 4 points in six months, it was still a steady and gradual increase.

Vaughn didn't use up his points, but kept them for a rainy day.

Aside from the changes in points, the biggest change in the entire panel is in the Spells section.

Although I've been busy for the past year since I enrolled, my spell levels have improved significantly compared to a year ago, or even just two months ago.

Looking at the large number of level 4 spells after the max-level spells, Vaughn felt both satisfied and somewhat distressed.

As mentioned before, the level of a spell can be reached depends entirely on talent. With Vaughn's talent of learning spells to level 7, most regular spells can only be improved to level 4 and cannot be improved any further.

Some of the more difficult spells are already at level 3, which is the ceiling.

Once you reach the current limit of your talent, you can continue to improve your spells, but that will require spending reputation points.

"But I'm always short on reputation points!" Vaughn rubbed his temples with a bit of worry. Because of the huge gap in spells, he hasn't dared to invest in alchemy yet. As a result, he hasn't opened the system panel for almost a month, just to avoid looking at it and feeling upset!

Today, I opened it because, on the one hand, it's the beginning-of-month settlement of reputation points.

On the other hand, the main quest ②, which has lasted for a year, is finally coming to an end today.

July 1st marks the start of summer vacation and is also the day Hogwarts announces its results and declares the winner of the House Cup.

Of course, apart from Vaughn and Slytherin, the other three houses don't care about the House Cup—the hourglass is in the castle hall, and any passing student can see it, with Slytherin's score far ahead.

Ordinary students were more worried about their grades, so much so that even the movie shown by the twins didn't get many viewers that day.

That's actually a good thing. When the movie was at its peak a couple of days ago, Vaughn didn't even dare to leave his dorm room.

"Hey Harry, Ron, wanna go to the Great Hall?"

"Don't worry, Harry, you'll definitely be a sophomore! You will too, Ron."

"Harry, Ron, Fred and George said the movie will be showing in Diagon Alley soon, is that true?"

"You guys are going to be famous! It's a shame I didn't bring a camera, otherwise I would have definitely asked you to take pictures and sign autographs. Maybe you'll become stars someday!"

In the evening, Harry and Ron pinned on their washed and dried robes the house badges that were only worn on major holidays, and walked out of their dormitory, greeted by people along the way.

Since the movie became popular at Hogwarts, such scenes have become commonplace.

Although the title of savior at the start of the school year, and the social death experience of being controlled by a virtual personality at the beginning of the year, have toughened Harry up.

However, he still doesn't like to have too much interaction with strangers.

Harry casually responded to a few enthusiastic classmates, then deliberately lingered in the common room with Ron until everyone had left before he and Ron followed behind.

“You should learn to adapt to this kind of life, Harry.”

Unlike Harry, Ron loved these days of being in the spotlight. He said excitedly, "Look how enthusiastic everyone is! Everyone cares about us and pays attention to us. And when the movie is shown in Diagon Alley, there will be even more people like this. Are you going to refuse them every time with a straight face?"

Harry said nothing.

He had already experienced being in the spotlight before, and he knew that the so-called popularity was all fake. Last year, when he first entered university, he was adored by everyone.

His placement in Gryffindor House caused a sensation throughout the entire house.

But even with such a high reputation, he was still ostracized when he caused Gryffindor to lose for the first time last year.

However, Harry did not refute it.

Harry knew how much Ron enjoyed his current situation—for the first time, he was no longer being called "Harry's sidekick" or "Weasley."

It's "Ron"!
This poor fellow, for the first time, is not mentioned in people's conversations as an appendage or an extra.

So let him be happy for a while longer!

Thinking this, Harry asked calmly, "You seem so happy, have you found the culprit who hurt Scabbers?"

Upon hearing this, Ron's happy expression immediately turned gloomy.

(End of this chapter)