Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 138 Dumbledore: Vaughn is more terrifying than Voldemort!
“Excuse me.” Vaughn raised his hand and said seriously, “My main target is indeed the Ravenclaw girls, and you don’t need to make excuses for that!”

Dumbledore: "..."

The old man remained silent for a while before sighing, "Alright, then, my dear, could you tell me when you plan to tell me you've found the Horcrux if I haven't discovered any clues?"

"One of Tom's Horcruxes is the Ravenclaw tiara, right? Many years ago, Tom tricked Lady Grey into revealing the tiara's location, then rushed to the Albanian forest, retrieved it, kept it for himself, and transformed it into a Horcrux. Because of this, Lady Grey has closed herself off ever since!"

Instead of answering directly, Vaughn asked, "Did Ms. Grey tell you all this? Don't say you deduced it yourself. I believe you can find out Ms. Grey and Blood Man Barrow's identities, but you can't deduce the specific details by reasoning alone."

Dumbledore stared at him for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, this is..."

Before he could finish speaking, Vaughn sighed, "Tom must have been really handsome before he became Socket Man, right?"

"what?"

"Just tell me, isn't that right!"

"……yes……"

Vaughn looked distressed: "Sure enough, throughout my year of school, I've been trying to communicate with Ms. Gray, but every time she sees my face, she becomes very wary and hostile. This is typical of the resistance and fear of handsome men after being deceived by a scumbag."

"I should have known better. With my face, there's no way I could break down her defenses. Only an ugly man could... Ugh, that wretched Tom!"

"..."

Dumbledore suddenly didn't know what to say...

Vaughn was somewhat annoyed.

For the past year since he enrolled, he has been trying to find the Ravenclaw crown, but the garbage mountain in the Room of Requirement is simply too enormous.

Voldemort was in the school at the time, and he couldn't possibly risk letting Harry sense the location of the Horcruxes.

So he could only frequently visit Ravenclaw, trying to win over Ms. Grey and get her help.

Unfortunately, it hasn't been very effective.

At first, he thought it was because he wasn't sincere enough or hadn't grasped the way to get along with ghosts. Now it seems the problem lies in his appearance!
He should have thought of it earlier.

The fact that Lady Grey was willing to tell Voldemort about the tiara back then suggests that her relationship with Voldemort was definitely more than just "friends".

The only reason a ghost could fall in love with a living person is because Voldemort was very handsome. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why Lady Grey, who had been deceived by men, would later trust Harry.

Because Harry's lack of good looks makes me feel safe!

Yes, this reasoning is reasonable and very logical!

On the distant Privet Drive, Harry, who was huddled in the attic writing a letter to Ron, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and sneezed several times.

"Strange, do I have a cold?"

The clueless Savior scratched his head, not paying much attention, and continued writing: "Dear Ron, it's almost July 31st. I eagerly await your arrival with Vaughn and Hermione. Of course, if possible, it would be best to do it in the evening, otherwise I'm worried the Dursleys will kick you out. Believe me, they're absolutely capable of doing it..."

……

Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office.

Dumbledore, who Vaughn said only gained Lady Grey's trust by virtue of his ugliness, has had a long face ever since he returned.

Vaughn sat opposite him and said calmly, "...As far as I know, the tiara is hidden in the Room of Requirement, that famous storeroom. For thousands of years, all the things abandoned by Hogwarts students have been thrown there. You should know how big it is."

"Anyway, I searched on and off for a year, but I still couldn't find where it was hidden."

Although I had some recollection of the location where the crown was hidden in my past life, unfortunately, those few details were hardly reliable compared to the scale of the House of Requirement's storage room.

It was a space the size of several football fields, piled high with mountains of clutter.

After saying that, Vaughn looked at Dumbledore: "Did Lady Grey give you any specific information?"

“No…” Getting down to business, Dumbledore put aside his frustration and shook his head, saying, “Just like the information you have, she only knows that the crown is in the Room of Requirement, which Tom hid when he returned to the school to apply for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.”

Speaking of this, Lao Deng felt somewhat guilty.

Because it was he who received and then refused Tom Riddle!
If only he had been more alert back then...

The old man's eyes were glazed over for a moment, but he quickly regained his senses. He knew that what had happened was already done, and even going back in time wouldn't change anything.

There's no point in dwelling on this self-blame.

He paused, then gave a wry smile: "To be honest, before convincing Ms. Grey to tell me the truth, I never imagined that Tom would find the missing crown in the Albanian forest, and even turn it into a Horcrux..."

"But it fits his personality perfectly."

Vaughn took a licorice wand from the candy platter that flew past him, and while twirling it between his fingers, he said, "Proud, arrogant, thinking he can surpass the Four Great Ones, and showing no respect for their relics."

“Yes…” Dumbledore sighed, then forced a smile. “But this is also good news. Through Tom’s act of turning the tiara into a Horcrux, we can grasp some of his thoughts at the time. Valuable historical relics seem to be the basis of his ideas for creating and preserving Horcruxes…”

As he spoke, his expression turned somewhat grim: "Since they dare to desecrate Ravenclaw's crown, then the relics of other giants will likely not be spared either."

"Before informing you, I investigated the whereabouts of the relics of other giants. Although a long time has passed, some traces can still be found."

"The Slytherin locket has been passed down through the direct descendants of Slytherin, the Gaunt family, but the Gaunt family is extinct. It is said that Tom's mother, Merop Gaunt, lived in poverty and sold many of the family heirlooms."

Vaughn said calmly, “Then you should have investigated Borgin Burke. Many wizards sell their antiques through him. Old Burke is fairly honest.”

“Yes.” Dumbledore nodded. “He readily provided me with some information. The locket was bought by Hepzbah Smith, a descendant of Hufflepuff, who is said to also possess Hufflepuff’s golden cup. However, Hepzbah Smith died decades ago… Interestingly, Tom was working for Borgin Burke at the time!”

He stared at Vaughn and said slowly, "So, Vaughn, do you have any information about their whereabouts?"

Vaughn remained silent for a while before replying, seemingly unrelated, "According to your guess, finding the diadem and turning it into a Horcrux was a turning point in Voldemort's thinking. That's why the Albanian forest held such special significance for him, making him subconsciously hide there?"

"Yes."

"In that case, have you considered how many Horcruxes he made before the crown, and what materials he used to make them?"

"..."

This was the problem that troubled Dumbledore the most. He pinched the bridge of his nose, thought for a long time, and then shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I have thought about it, but I have absolutely no clue."

"So you came to see me?"

“Yes…” Dumbledore understood why Vaughn’s attitude was ambiguous. He said frankly, “I admit that at first I wanted to leave you behind and find the Horcrux myself, but the more I investigated, the more complicated the problem became, and the more I realized that the information you had was always closer to the truth than mine… My dear, I beg you!”

His face showed pleading.

Vaughn remained unmoved, scoffing, "That's right, I know where the golden cup is, I know where the locket is, and I know how many Horcruxes there are and what they are, but..."

Snapped!
The spun licorice wand stopped between his fingers, and his golden-brown, slightly fiery red eyes stared directly into Dumbledore's deep blue eyes: "But Albus, why should I tell you? And what can you offer?"

The conversation devolved into an exchange of favors, and Dumbledore's pleading expression vanished instantly.

He regained his composure: "So when we met, I tested you by asking if you wanted to be the principal. I was serious!"

To be honest, this was a very tempting offer for Vaughn.

For thousands of years, Hogwarts has nurtured countless outstanding wizards, and these distinguished alumni have donated countless amounts of knowledge and magic, as well as the legacy of the four great wizards.

Only the principal has the right to know those many secrets.

So, unlike his previous avoidance of the topic, this time Vaughn pondered for a moment and shook his head: "I am not currently capable of taking over Hogwarts."

Dumbledore smiled and suggested, "I can lend you the access first!"

Ah this...

Vaughn blinked; he was indeed a little tempted. What should he do?
Vaughn never intended to hide the secrets of the Horcruxes.

That doesn't make sense.

In Vaughn's view, Horcruxes only have some research value, such as how they can make a dead person continue to exist in this world using only fragments of a soul.

Aside from that, Vaughn had absolutely no interest in its other uses.

Noticing his interest, Dumbledore narrowed his eyes slightly and tempted him slowly, "Think about the piles of books in the forbidden library that you'll hardly ever get your hands on even after graduation. Think about how many secret rooms, secret passages, and underground spaces there are in the entire castle, with 142 staircases alone."

"And the Room of Requirement, you must have wanted to figure out how it works, how it was created, and what kind of magic it relies on to operate?"

"Oh, right, and also the Pen of Acceptance and the Book of Admission that you most desire, the Sorting Hat, the Gryffindor Sword..."

As the long list of treasures was read out, Vaughn's lips tightened, but his eyes shone even brighter.

Finally, he had to raise his hand to signal Dumbledore to stop, and said impatiently, "Alright, I admit, your offer is indeed very tempting!"

Dumbledore's eyes crinkled with satisfaction, and he was about to say something.

But then Vaughn suddenly smiled and held up one finger: "But I can only tell you one more thing for now. You'd better think carefully about which Horcrux you want to know!"

"This is not fair!"

Dumbledore puffed out his beard and widened his eyes: "The secrets of Hogwarts for thousands of years, in exchange for the whereabouts of a single Horcrux? This is extortion!"

Vaughn responded to his protests with a cold laugh:

"Albus, don't think I don't understand what you're up to. You know I have a ton of things to do right now: the WAC election, researching fire dragons, academic visits to North America, and alchemy... It's no exaggeration to say that my schedule is already booked until next year."

"Even if you lend me the principal's authority now, I won't have the energy to research anything for at least a few months. On the other hand, once you get all the information about the Soul Weapons from me and then renege on your decision to take back the authority, wouldn't I be at a huge loss?"

Dumbledore, his character slandered, glared at him angrily: "How could I possibly do such a thing? Don't you believe me?"

Vaughn answered without hesitation, "Sorry, I've never believed it!"

"..."

After blowing his beard for a while, seeing that his temper wouldn't intimidate Vaughn, Dumbledore's attitude immediately softened: "My dear, I can assure you, I can swear..."

Vaughn scoffed and interrupted, "Forget it, someone once made a blood pact with a friend, but he didn't keep it, and even sent someone to steal the blood pact back."

When Dumbledore heard Vaughn reveal his past, he was speechless.

The people who made the blood oath were him and Gettler Grindelwald, a scandal that caused a great uproar decades ago and is one of his few publicly known dark histories.

Although he could argue that he had no choice but to break the blood pact, Dumbledore also understood that, from the perspective of the contract alone, he was indeed in the wrong to betray Grindelwald.

So after a brief standoff, he reluctantly asked again, "Really, you can only say one?"

Vaughn shrugged, but to appease the elderly man, he explained, "Anyway, the whereabouts of the Horcruxes are in my hands, so it doesn't matter whether they're in yours or not. Are you planning to destroy them as soon as you get them?"

Old Deng shook his head: "Of course not. If we are not confident that we can completely eliminate Tom, destroying the Horcrux rashly will only alert him and make him create a new Horcrux!"

Only a fool would do something like that!
Vaughn shrugged: "So, why are you in such a hurry?"

"I……"

Dumbledore was momentarily speechless, nearly bewildered by his twisted logic.

However, after careful consideration, Dumbledore did not press the matter further.

It's the same sentence that's been repeated many times.

Vaughn is a lot like him, and people like them can't be forced.

But he still argued his case logically:

"Trading only the location of one Horcrux at a time is fine, but we'd better set a time."

“No, my schedule is very busy. Researching the secrets of Hogwarts requires following my schedule, and it can't be fixed or done in a fixed way. Unexpected events can happen at any time.” “But there’s no set time…”

"..."

After a heated exchange, the two eventually compromised, agreeing to negotiate every 4-6 months, depending on Vaughn's progress in his research on Hogwarts' secrets, whether to trade Horcrux information.

Having finalized the details of the deal, Dumbledore's face fell again in displeasure, but Vaughn ignored his resentment and said leisurely, "Alright, now tell me, which one do you want to know?"

Which one should I choose?

Dumbledore fell into deep thought.

Vaughn didn't urge him on, and got up to wander around. Of course, there wasn't much to see, and the portraits around him were all asleep under the influence of magic, so there wasn't even anyone to amuse him.

After a long while, Dumbledore finally raised his head: "It is now known that Ravenclaw's tiara is hidden in the Room of Requirement, and it has been confirmed that Hufflepuff's cup and Slytherin's locket were both made into Horcruxes by Tom, is that right?"

“Yes,” Vaughn nodded. “You want to know the whereabouts of one of them?”

"No!"

Old Deng shook his head unexpectedly: "No matter how arrogant and evil Tom may be, it is undeniable that he has always loved Hogwarts..."

This sounds very incongruous.

But Vaughn knew that Dumbledore was right.

Voldemort truly loved Hogwarts; to him, the castle was his home, and one obvious event proves this—

When Voldemort was in his fifth year, he opened the Chamber of Secrets and released the Basilisk, which killed Myrtle.

He initially wanted to unleash his bloodlust, but when he learned that the school board had decided to close the school because of the deaths, he immediately suppressed his wild impulses.

Framed Hagrid and Aragog as murderers not because Voldemort was worried about the investigation and wanted to find scapegoats, but because he wanted to "catch the murderers" as soon as possible to give the board of trustees an explanation and prevent them from closing Hogwarts.

Because apart from this castle, he has nowhere else to go!
Dumbledore, seemingly lost in memories as well, paused for a moment before continuing, "...He loves this castle. No matter how arrogant he is, subconsciously he will still respect the four great leaders who built it. So the relics of the four great leaders will be properly placed by him, just like the Ravenclaw tiara in the Room of Requirement."

“Ms. Grey told me that Tom always thought he was the only one who knew about the existence of the Room of Requirement.”

"So, Vaughn, I want to know about the Horcruxes other than those three giants' relics. You can tell me any one of them!"

Vaughn understood that Dumbledore wanted to use the clues revealed by the Horcruxes, in addition to the relics of the Great Ones, to trace the pattern and quantity of Voldemort's creation of Horcruxes.

Now that the deal has been reached, Vaughn naturally doesn't care which one to say.

However, just before he was about to speak, he suddenly paused, as if remembering something, and said with a smile, "There is one that meets your requirements, Marvolo Gaunt's ring. It should be an early Horcrux made by Voldemort, at least before the relics of the Great Ones."

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore perked up: "Where is it?"

“I’m not sure,” Vaughn shook his head, then quickly added, “but one person knows, and that person is in Azkaban right now!”

"What's his name?"

"Morphin Gunter!"

……

Late at night, the principal's office was completely silent.

Behind the large desk, Dumbledore, dressed in a purple bathrobe, was writing while deep in thought.

The principals of past generations, framed in pictures on the surrounding walls, are breathing evenly as if they are fast asleep.

Only above him, in the closest framed picture, was an old red-haired witch looking down:
"You believe Vaughn's intelligence?"

“Of course, Matilda, the information about that boy has never been wrong.” Dumbledore didn’t answer, his quill continuing to write. “You don’t trust him?”

"……I have no idea."

Matilda Weasley, Dumbledore's Transfiguration professor and vice-principal during his school days, is also a typical Weasley (from Gryffindor).

She shook her head: "I've never seen a Weasley like him before. From a family perspective, I'm glad to have such a descendant, but from the perspective of a vice principal, I'm very worried about everything he's doing."

“Albus, I believe you can also see that Vaughn deliberately mentioned the Gaunt Ring. I suspect he knows where the ring is, but for some reason he wants to go to Azkaban, so he used Morfin Gaunt as an excuse.”

Dumbledore paused, not answering directly, but instead looked up and comforted her, "You are dead, Matilda. From now on, it is time for you to enjoy peace and quiet. Do not worry about the affairs of the living."

“Well…” Matilda sighed, then looked at the parchment Dumbledore had written on: “Are you writing a letter?”

"Yes, it's the application from Vaughn and me to visit Azkaban."

"But I heard that you and Vaughn have a very bad relationship with the current Minister of Magic?"

“Oh, the relationship is indeed not very good.” Dumbledore said, then winked playfully. “But I have privileges. As the chief wizard of Wizengamor and president of the International Confederation of Wizards, I think many people would be willing to give me face if I just went to visit Azkaban, even if they know Fudge hates me.”

An application was quickly written.

But Dumbledore did not rest. Instead, he pondered for a moment, then took out another piece of parchment, and his quill automatically dipped in ink.

Matilda craned her neck and saw a line of writing that Dumbledore had made:
“My dearest Ogden, you should be enjoying a peaceful retirement, but due to some circumstances, I have to bother you once again…”

Looking at the name, Matilda casually asked, "Ogden? Is that Tiberius? He's not dead yet?"

"Yes, Tiberius is still alive and remains a member of Wizengamot, but this Ogden is not him; it is Bob Ogden, a retired Ministry of Magic official."

Why did you write to him?

“I have been investigating Tom’s background, Matilda.” Dumbledore wrote a short note in a few quick strokes, sealing it in a thick parchment envelope as he replied, “It began long ago about his birth and his family. Bob Ogden was a witness to one part of the story, a harbinger of a tragedy, and, of course, more importantly, he knew a young Morfin Gaunt!”

Matilda nodded, then asked curiously, "Speaking of which, who exactly is this Morfin Gaunt? Why was he imprisoned in Azkaban?"

"He is the older brother of Tom's mother, Merop Gaunt, Tom's uncle, and the last descendant of the Gaunt family..."

At this point, Dumbledore paused, then said gravely, "As for being imprisoned in Azkaban, it was because he brutally murdered the Muggle Riddle family!"

Unexpectedly, Matilda covered her mouth in surprise at the answer.

But soon, she noticed something amiss: "Wait, Riddle? Tom Riddle, that Riddle?"

"Yes."

Hearing this answer, and seeing Dumbledore's solemn expression, Matilda understood: "Making Horcruxes requires killing people with your own hands. If Morfin Gaunt knew the whereabouts of Voldemort's Horcruxes, then it means that the one who killed the Riddle family wasn't Morfin Gaunt, but..."

"Yes……"

The same words, spoken by Dumbledore now, were filled with repression and pain: "Now it seems that the one who killed the Riddle family was probably Tom... a demon who wiped out my father's entire family, back when he was still attending Hogwarts..."

Dumbledore could never understand why human nature was so different.

Some people are still innocent and carefree in their teens, while others have already turned to hell with blood on their hands!

He couldn't understand this problem, and neither could Matilda. She could only comfort him, saying, "Perhaps the loss of his mother at a young age, the knowledge that he was abandoned by his father, the sense of loss about his background, and the despair about reality distorted his mind. It's not your fault, Albus."

As she spoke, she inexplicably thought of Vaughn again, and suddenly felt very fortunate: "Fortunately, Vaughn grew up in a harmonious family. Perhaps to the Weasley family, Arthur and Molly were two little rascals, but they were very good parents. If Vaughn had the same background as Voldemort, then..."

That would be terrible.

Looking back on his year with Vaughn, Dumbledore could hardly imagine how terrible it would be if Vaughn were to take revenge on society like Voldemort.

At least from Deng's subjective judgment, it was probably more harmful than Voldemort!
He couldn't help but find amusement in the situation, jokingly saying, "It seems the wizarding world should award Arthur and Molly a medal for their education of their child."

Matilda knew he was joking, but the joke reminded her, and she murmured to herself, "...Perhaps I should suggest to the family that Arthur and Molly be accepted back into the family. After all, what happened back then isn't an insurmountable conflict."

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore was stunned: "Matilda, you've already..."

"Yes, I am dead, my body has long since rotted into bones, but as an elder, as a member of the family, who can truly find peace? Even that scoundrel Phineas is still worrying about the family..."

What followed was a barrage of complaints.

Dumbledore discovers for the first time that his Transfiguration professor is also an ordinary woman...

……

Vaughn did indeed have ulterior motives in telling Dumbledore about Gaunt's ring.

But this time, his personal motives had nothing to do with his own plans.

It was simply out of pity for a misanthrope, a person with truly rich and positive emotions.

After leaving Hogwarts, he did not return to the Grangers' house, but instead went back to the Burrow via the fireplace, where Molly was there to meet him—the Floo Network terminal (fireplace) connected to the wizarding family usually has an entry spell and a disconnect spell granted by the Ministry of Magic.

This is to prevent wizards from taking advantage of FlooNet's management loopholes to trespass into other people's homes (FlooNet offices are mainly responsible for preventing Muggle fireplaces from connecting to FlooNet and combating dark wizards using FlooNet for smuggling, etc., and do not deal with such 'minor matters').

As the name suggests, an access spell is a spell used to determine whether or not someone is allowed to pass through when they come via Floo Net.

The Disconnect Spell controls the fireplace to sever its connection to the Floo Network. This can be done freely. Of course, reconnecting requires registering with the Ministry of Magic, explaining the reason for disconnection and the reason for reconnection, etc.

Molly picked up her son late at night in the living room. Having already heard Vaughn briefly explain the situation over the fireplace, she hugged her son, calling him her darling, while simultaneously complaining:
"What is Dumbledore doing? Why is he always bothering you? You're just a 12-year-old kid."

Arthur, dragged out of bed by his wife to "pick up" their son, yawned listlessly: "That means he values ​​Vaughn a lot..."

Then he saw Molly glare at him fiercely, and he quickly changed his tune: "...Yes, Dumbledore is so irresponsible, how could he order a child around like that..."

snort!
Molly ignored him, hugged Vaughn's head and kissed him a few times: "Baby, when are you and Dumbledore leaving? I heard it's really cold in Azkaban, should we pack some extra clothes?"

Vaughn was both amused and exasperated: "Mom, we're just visiting a prisoner, not going on a vacation..."

"No, what if I get sick? Oh, and I should also bring some chocolate; there are those pesky Dementors everywhere over there..."

Listening to her mother's nagging, Vaughn felt helpless but couldn't object, letting her hurriedly prepare her travel items.

Although he said that Dumbledore was still applying and it was uncertain when he would leave.

But in this respect, Arthur and Molly have great faith in Dumbledore's abilities.

"He'll definitely get approval quickly. He has a lot of connections in the wizarding world; after all, he's been a Transfiguration professor since 1900, and for over 90 years, his students have been all over England..."

"No, it was 1899, you're wrong, Arthur!"

"No, it's 1900!" Arthur, who was usually timid, argued forcefully this time.

Vaughn wasn't interested in his parents' sudden childishness, and he casually asked, "Mom, where are Ginny and Ron?"

“They were already asleep. I didn’t tell Ginny you were coming back, otherwise she would have waited until now. Besides, she just had a fight with Ron last night over fruit tea.”

As Molly spoke, she waved her wand, summoning Vaughn's clothes down, and then complained to Arthur, "Arthur Weasley, when are you going to get your youngest son a new pet? That fat rat is the most destabilizing thing in the whole family!"

"Uh……"

Arthur, who had always been loafing around in the Ministry of Magic, was speechless.

As they were talking, Guoguocha peeked out and ran downstairs.

It meowed excitedly and pounced on Vaughn, rubbing against his chest and neck.

Molly's heart melted: "Oh—this clingy little cutie, baby, take it with you when you go to Hermione's house, it was so sad when you left."

What could Vaughn say? He had no choice but to agree.

Fortunately, Mrs. Granger had enjoyed fruit tea when she visited the Burrow, and she even asked Vaughn how to buy such a smart and intelligent pet with cat-like blood.

(End of this chapter)