Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 140 The Evil Weasley Brat
Auror shook his head with a regretful look: "Yes, sir. Just to let you know, I already reminded you."

"Do not talk nonsense!"

The magically powered elevator creaked and groaned as it sped through the darkness before abruptly stopping.

The door opened, revealing a dark and deep corridor that seemed to have no end. It was so profound that just one glance felt like staring into an abyss.

There's a feeling that you could easily get caught up in it and never be able to escape.

The long, dark corridor had only two braziers lit near the elevator doors, where two Aurors, wrapped in heavy coats, stood guard on either side.

They exhaled thick white mist from their mouths and noses, which indicated the low temperature.

Feeling the icy air rush in as the door opened, the Auror operating the elevator shivered, pointed his wand at himself to temporarily warm himself with magic, and then explained:
“This is the hardened criminal area, Mr. Weasley. Unlike other places, Aurors are stationed here year-round on a rotating basis. In addition…” He deliberately emphasized, “…even to welcome a distinguished guest like yourself, the Dementors here will not leave. They are keeping a close watch on everything here!”

As if to confirm his statement.

Suddenly, an even stronger chill swept over them.

Vaughn looked up and saw a cloaked figure emerge from beyond the range of the brazier's light, where it should be the wall.

It resembled a floating, tattered bedsheet—ragged, eerie, and towering—and in Vaughn's eyes, it took the shape of a human figure reaching the ceiling, slowly drifting toward them.

Then, extend your hand.

The hand glowed faintly, gray and withered, like a damp, rotting skeleton dug out of a swamp, or the tentacles of some deep-sea monster.

It gently probed the range of the light, swaying from side to side, then suddenly stopped, pointing towards Vaughn's presence!
The next moment, the cloak that had been floating by suddenly retracted its hand, bent down, and faced Vaughn directly. Underneath the tattered headscarf, it took a long breath.

The chill grew stronger, and Vaughn could clearly feel an inexplicable force enveloping him with each long, slow breath.

His own consciousness was wavering, and a chill was seeping into his skin, his muscles, his bones, and even the depths of his soul, as if to freeze everything related to life!

"Damn it!"

"Get out of here, you disgusting thing!"

At the doorway ahead, the Aurors beside them were cursing loudly, and they hurriedly drew their wands.

However, in their panic, they were unable to muster any positive or happy emotions.

hateful!

The three of them were filled with anxiety and despair!

Vaughn is certainly annoying, but he is, after all, a noble figure from Wizengamor. If he were to be harmed by the Dementors, then...

Just then, a low, cold snort rang in their ears:

"Record: The strength of the Aurors stationed in Azkaban is extremely worrying; they are unable to deter the Dementors!"

"...?"

The three turned around in astonishment, only to see Vaughn, shrouded in a hazy, ethereal shadow and pulsating, looking completely normal. He even had the leisure to make a quick check before calmly raising his wand.
"Call the gods to protect you!"

Light shone in this prison where the sun never shone.

A silver-blue light surged forth from the elevator shaft like a tsunami, dissipating the darkness before it. At the forefront of the light, a silver-blue Maine Coon cat gradually appeared.

Stepping on ripples in the air, leaping and running!
He crashed headfirst into the Dementor that was bending down and sucking blood.

what--

A piercing scream seemed to ring in their ears, and also seemed to resonate in everyone's hearts. The three Aurors stared in disbelief as the Dementor exploded with thick gray mist after being struck by the cat-shaped guardian, its body shrinking several sizes.

It screamed and retreated hastily, scrambling back against the wall in a sorry state.

Meow!
The cat-shaped guardian roared fiercely, hovering in the air, stepping on ripples, dispelling the gray mist and chill, before crashing straight into the wall where the Dementors were hiding.

boom!
A large cloud of gray mist suddenly burst out from the wall.

The Auror beside Vaughn finally came to his senses: "No! Those walls are where the Dementors live, and they're the strongest line of defense here. We absolutely cannot destroy them!"

Vaughn glanced at him but didn't continue.

"return."

At his command, the guardian leaped lightly, its claws rippled as it returned to Vaughn's side, nuzzling against him.

The three Aurors stared in astonishment at the guardian deity that seemed to be a tangible entity.

As one of the most difficult spells in the magical world, the Patronus Charm is a prime example of how difficult it is to learn and even more difficult to master.

Many people who have graduated from Hogwarts for years can only summon a wisp of mist. Even Aurors like them, without special preparation, can mostly only summon a vague outline.

But today, they saw a 12-year-old wizard use it skillfully, and with astonishing power.

The Auror who had spoken to stop Vaughn gazed at the cracks in the wall caused by the Guardian's impact, and the wisps of gray mist emanating from those cracks.

I couldn't help swallowing.

Facing Vaughn again, he suddenly didn't know what to say. Recalling his subtle provocation and sarcasm not long ago, he felt his face burning.

So when Vaughn asked him, "Can I go in and have a look now?"

“Uh, of course, of course.” Auror nodded hurriedly.

Only after watching Vaughn and the Guardian disappear into the darkness, and the silver-blue light source gradually recede into the distance, did he exhale and give a wry smile to his two colleagues: "Suddenly I feel so useless..."

"How did he manage to master the Guardian Charm to this level at his age?"

"A genius, huh... Even if I had prepared beforehand, the guardian spirit I summoned wouldn't have been able to drive away the Dementors in one go. And did you notice? The Dementors seem to have been injured by him!"

"Sigh, no wonder there were rumors a while ago that he expelled Minister Fudge from the courtroom. I thought it was an exaggeration..."

……

Hearing the hushed whispers of the Aurors behind him, Vaughn smiled slightly, unconcerned.

He was more interested in the walls on both sides of the corridor.

At first glance, they seem no different from ordinary stone walls, but in reality, these dark-looking stone walls are some kind of magical artifacts.

A container that allows Dementors to inhabit!

As the silver-blue light of the guardian following behind them approached, the seemingly ordinary walls were instantly "scorched" and emitted gray smoke.

The faint silhouettes of Dementors could be seen darting about within them.

"According to the history of magic, Dementors are not magical creatures that are born naturally; they are likely created using dark magic."

"The manufacturing site is in Azkaban. Long ago, this place was not a prison, but belonged to a dark wizard who called himself Extis. He used magic to cover up this island and then lured and killed Muggle sailors on it. It is said that every wall here is filled with torture and pain."

"It wasn't until after Extis died that the Ministry of Magic discovered this place and the Dementors that depended on it for survival. They had become one with the entire fortress. At the time, the Ministry of Magic didn't even dare to demolish it, and they had no idea how the Dementors were created... Extis was also a master of dark magic!"

It is undeniable.

Vaughn was still very interested in the Dementors, Azkaban Fortress, and the walls that allowed the Dementors to take refuge, but unfortunately, he didn't have the energy for the time being.

As he walked along, somewhat regretfully, observing the stone wall...

Suddenly, someone in a distant prison cell called out to him in a loud voice:
"Hey kid over there, let me see your guardian spirit!"

Upon hearing the sound, Vaughn looked over and saw a woman, emaciated and resembling a vengeful ghost, between the bars of the cell.

She had a head of wavy, wire-like hair, and her pale, translucent face had wide, staring eyes that looked longingly and greedily at the guardian spirit licking its claws at his feet.

“Come here, child, ah—how long has it been since I felt joy? Closer, closer… Oh, redhead, the Weasley boy? Hehehe, we're related, aren't we? Closer, let Aunt Bella see you—”

Vaughn stared speechlessly at the madman trying to seduce him, about to say something.

Further down the corridor, the door to a cell suddenly shook violently: "Bella, you vile woman! Weasley girl, don't come near her, she's trying to kidnap you!"

Bella's eyes widened as she stared fiercely at the shaking door: "Traitor! Scoundrel! I should have killed you long ago! Killed you!"

Then she looked at Vaughn and giggled again: "Oh—darling, don't listen to Sirius's nonsense, he's the bad guy, he cruelly killed more than a dozen Muggles, hehehe—damn it! Come back here!"

Vaughn didn't want to listen to the madwoman anymore. Amid her roars, he walked to Sirius's cell door and peered through the bars at the ragged man inside, a man almost unrecognizable from his former self.

He lay on the fence, gripping the bars with both hands, his long, dirty fingernails making it almost impossible for him to close his fists.

In the light provided by the guardian angel, a trace of warmth appeared on his numb face, and his scarlet eyes reflected a moist light.

He glanced at Vaughn, his voice low and hoarse: "Weasley, you... how did you get here?"

But before Vaughn could speak, he shook his head: "Forget it, I don't want to know... Leave, everyone here is scum, this isn't a place for you..."

He harbored some resentment.

What's wrong with the Ministry of Magic these days? How could they let a child appear in Azkaban?

But... this has nothing to do with him, a man waiting to die. He has already given the warning and fulfilled his duty.

He slowly crawled back to the ground, slithering towards the corner, and then he heard the boy behind him say in a mocking tone, "Don't you really want to know? I'm here for you, Sirius Black, or rather, Harry's godfather!"

"..."

Sirius slowly turned his head, his sunken, withered eyes seeming to burn with light: "Who are you?"

But the brightness in Sirius's eyes lasted only a moment.

He quickly lowered his head, his tangled hair obscuring his face, and he breathed heavily a few times: "Judging from your age, you're Harry's classmate, right? How... is he doing?"

"I'm doing alright!"

Vaughn thought for a moment and said truthfully, "Of course, life at Hogwarts has been pretty good. You should know that everyone thinks Harry is the savior who defeated the Dark Lord, and very few young wizards would refuse to be friends with him."

“Life in Muggle society was much worse. His aunt was always jealous of and loathed everything about Lily, including her son. However, at least she raised Harry.”

Upon hearing this, Sirius looked up, seemingly surprised by the information Vaughn possessed.

But he didn't say anything, only murmured repeatedly, "That's good...that's good..."

It seemed that at this moment, his only interest was knowing how Harry was doing, and he had no energy left to care about anything else.

This performance was undoubtedly bad news, indicating that Sirius had completely given up all hope and was now merely a walking corpse, clinging to life in this cell.

However, Vaughn was not worried.

He stared at it with interest for a moment before asking, "You should know that Dumbledore is here, right?"

Sirius remained silent.

Vaughn didn't expect a response from him and continued, "I've investigated your case. You betrayed James Potter, killed Peter Pettigrew, and even went so far as to blow up a Muggle street, resulting in the deaths of more than a dozen Muggles... But what intrigues me is that you don't seem like a Death Eater."

"After all the Death Eaters were captured and faced charges, some of them tried to justify themselves by using the Imperius Curse as an excuse, while others, like Bellatrix and the Lestrange brothers, fanatically shouted Voldemort's name."

"But you didn't exhibit either of those behaviors. When you were arrested, although you were delirious, you only kept saying that Peter died well and deserved it. Sirius, your behavior is very contradictory!"

Sirius remained silent.

Any criminal in Azkaban who heard Vaughn's words would probably have clung to this hard-won lifeline like a drowning person, desperately trying to explain their innocence and grievances in order to escape this hell.

But he didn't.

After a long silence, his voice finally came from behind the messy, long hair, hoarse: "There's no contradiction. Peter deserves to die, and so do I."

"why?"

Vaughn, looking intrigued, leaned closer to the cell bars, looked down at him, and softly uttered a question that struck Sirius like a thunderbolt: "Did you replace the custodian of the Potter mansion with Peter, and then Peter betrayed James Potter, so you think you're also responsible?"

"you……"

Sirius Black suddenly raised his head, his previously lifeless and gaunt face now filled with astonishment.

Many shocks and doubts prompted him to ask again the same question he had given up on a moment earlier:
"who are you?"

It's no wonder he was flustered.

No one else knew about this except him, James, Lily, and Peter, and now, more than ten years later, of the four people who knew, only he is still alive.

How did this child in front of me know that?
Faced with his doubt and uncertainty, Vaughn gave a straightforward answer: "If I said that Peter told me, would you believe me?"

boom!
Sirius, who was dejected and sluggish just a second ago, suddenly lunged at the cell door, his withered hands struggling to reach out from the gaps in the bars.

That ghostly face was contorted with shock, disbelief, and disbelief.
"Impossible! I saw him die with my own eyes!"

He died right in front of me!

"No..."

His nervous murmurs abruptly stopped as he saw Vaughn open his small satchel and pull out a photograph—a photograph soaked in developing solution.

The photo shows a scene playing on repeat:
A fat, missing toe squats in its cage with a dazed expression. Sirius Black stares blankly at the photograph, as if he's in a daze.

……

In the first half of Sirius's life, his life was a mix of sunshine and shadows.

The dark cloud naturally refers to the Black family, whose fanaticism for the so-called pure-blood glory often suffocates him.

They dictated his every word and action, stifled his freedom, and dictated his choices. They didn't care about his thoughts and treated him as nothing more than a puppet or a machine.

Sirius Black's personal will is irrelevant as long as it achieves their goals.

Until he enrolled at Hogwarts.

That was the first time he left home, the first time he smelled the air no longer filled with the stench of decay, but with the sweet scent of freedom, and the first time he felt the sunshine shining into his life.

That day, he met James, Remus, and Peter...

For 11 years, he was confined in this dark and gloomy cage. The memory of that day often flashed back in his mind. He still clearly remembered the clouds floating above the mountains surrounding the castle that day.

I remember that day, the sky was as blue as the forget-me-not flowers.

I remember the scent carried on the wind, the scent of summer's final days.

I also remember James, his smile as radiant as the sun, under a clear, sunny sky, extending his hand to him with Remus and Peter: "Can we be friends?"

That was the first time in his dark life, filled with curses, insults, and lashes, that he experienced what kindness was.

It cracked a fissure in his cold heart.

It was they who gave him boundless courage, enabling him to bravely defy his family's arrangements at the age of 16 and sever all ties with that decaying old house.

He is free!

He thought that such free days would last forever, with unrestrained stags, black dogs, wolves, and rats running freely in the mountains and fields, braving the wind and rain, and under the starry sky.

To be unrestrained and to imagine the future in boundless imagination, no matter how absurd.

However, when he was 21, all of that shattered!
James's death dragged him from the mountaintop into hell, burying his reputation, his fantasies, and his hopes beneath the ruins of Godric's Hollow.

They were trapped in the cold, damp darkness of Azkaban.

The friendships and family ties he once cherished collapsed overnight. Peter killed James, and he killed Peter.

Sirius Black also died with them; perhaps his body is still alive, but his heart has been broken by pain and regret.

After taking his revenge, his soul was overwhelmed by endless emptiness.

Having indirectly caused the death of a friend, and having personally killed that friend, what right do I have to continue living?
Therefore, he never defended himself against the Ministry of Magic's accusations; he was immersed in the nightmare of self-reproach, awaiting death.

until today--

After a long silence, a heart-wrenching scream echoed through the dark corridors of Azkaban's high-security prison...

What is it like when a person's reason is completely consumed by revenge?
At this moment, Sirius Black, who was crying, howling, and thrashing about on the ground like a madman, was the perfect example of this problem.

The wailing and howling of ghosts and wolves started up again all around.

Those twisted Death Eaters could hear the pain and rage in Sirius's roars.

Nothing in the world could please them more than this emotion; they shook the cell door, banged on the walls, and pounded the floor... a cacophony of strange cries rose and fell.

This greatly displeased Vaughn, who had been observing Sirius Black.

Those people spoiled his fun.

"Shut up!"

His booming voice, as if casting a spell, echoed through the dark corridor. The chaotic howls around him paused for a moment, then quickly resumed their cursing:
"Damn Weasley, who are you talking to?"

"Kill him! Kill him!"

"I will skin him alive, eat his flesh, and tear his soul apart!"

"Eek—yes, let's eat him, let's eat him! Hehehehehe!"

“I’ll remember you, Weasley. You better pray I never get out, or one day I’ll capture you and your whole family, control you with the Imperius Curse, torture you with the Cruciatus Curse, and make you wish you were dead—”

Hearing all those vicious and terrifying words.

Vaughn looked in the direction of the sound with a grim expression. Although the corridor was dark, it did not affect his eyes, which were under the influence of the Extrasensory Charm.

With the blessing of that incantation, even a tiny bit of light was enough for him to discern who was speaking what.

Those were two brothers imprisoned opposite Bellatrix.

Their condition was similar to Bella and Sirius: pale skin, emaciated and filthy. They desperately pressed their fierce and ugly faces against the cell bars, and their withered arms stretched out, grabbing around like vengeful ghosts.

Vaughn walked over slowly.

The two men's movements became increasingly frantic, and their eyes even emitted a ghostly green light in the darkness.

Vaughn looked for a moment, tilted his head, and asked, "The Lestrange brothers?"

The two disheveled men just roared and howled wildly, like wild beasts.

Bella, in the cell behind Vaughn, laughed nervously: "Hehehe, of course it's them, the master's most loyal lackeys, my dear husband and his brother."

Seeing Vaughn turn around, she struck a seductive pose and licked her lips perversely: "Darling, you must remember what they said. Eleven years ago, in order to find the whereabouts of their master, they and Barty Crouch Jr. cruelly drove the Longbottoms insane."

"They're scary, unlike Aunt Bella. Even if you anger me, I won't treat you so cruelly, hee hee hee—"

Vaughn remained expressionless.

Under Bella's intrigued gaze, he merely glanced at the Lestrange brothers, then at the still-noisy cells deep in the corridor, and suddenly sighed:

"To be honest, I didn't originally intend to do anything to you this time."

"?"

Bella's chaotic and frenzied mind was momentarily stunned. Looking at the Weasley boy who seemed to be saying, "Why are you forcing me?", she suddenly wanted to laugh.

Laughing like crazy!

Mock his arrogance and overestimation of his abilities, or provoke him?
But as soon as she opened her filthy mouth, before the laughter could escape her lips, it suddenly caught in her throat—

She saw the red-haired child pull out his wand, the tip pointing to the ground, the corridor only dimly lit by the light provided by the Patronus.

But it was precisely in this dim environment that Bella was able to clearly sense the immense magical power emanating from the child.

She heard him continue, "...But now that I think about it, since we're already here, I might as well teach you a lesson and also lay the groundwork for future events!"

The words fell.

There were no incantations, no hand gestures.

However, in Bella's perception, a terrifying spell had suddenly formed.

boom!
Bella's body floated up uncontrollably, as if being pulled by something, and slammed into the cell door, sticking tightly to it.

Meanwhile, the Lestrange brothers opposite, Selwyn next to them, and Rol further away, were all affected by the same magic.

Like her, they were held firmly against the cell door by a tremendous force, unable to move.

Damn!

A hint of fear finally surfaced in Bella's crazed eyes. As an elite Death Eater, even though her mind had been distorted by dark magic, she was still a master of spells.

She could tell that the silent spell the Weasley boy had cast was not some kind of profound magic.

It's the simplest flying spell!
No...that's not right!
Bella suddenly noticed that all the sounds around her had disappeared; the strange cries and noises had vanished from her ears.

But she could clearly see that the Lestrange brothers' mouths were still opening and closing, and they were shouting something in a frantic and terrified manner.

Is it a silent, invisible spell?

Composite magic? Silent casting?
Who exactly is this Weasley kid?

Vaughn ignored the fear in Bella's eyes. After casting the spell, he felt much better: "Very good, much quieter... Hmm, let's start with the two of you. I heard you two were quite arrogant before. Since you're so energetic, I'll put something in your brains."

A faint silver light shone in the darkness.

Bella's pupils contracted sharply, reflecting the horrific scene opposite her—that Weasley brat, roughly grabbing her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange's, head.

His consciousness was pulled from his body as his eyes suddenly rolled back, he foamed at the mouth, and his limbs convulsed.

She could even hear the Weasley boy's indistinct, seemingly distant whispers under the Silent Curse, words he deliberately let her hear: "What filthy and vile memories, like a pile of rotten mud that stinks to high heaven, but it is precisely this chaotic consciousness that is most suitable for implanting some ideas."

"Those implanted ideas will remain hidden deep in your memories, to be awakened when I need them someday... I'm sure it will be quite interesting then!"

Damn!

Damn!

Bella, sensing the other party's ulterior motives, tried to struggle and resist, but under the control of the simple yet powerful Summoning Spell, she couldn't even move a finger.

She could only watch helplessly as her husband and his brother were wantonly toyed with and had their memories implanted by the red-haired devil.

Then, the devil smiled and walked towards her...

……

Sirius had no idea how long he had been causing trouble.

In his hazy memories, he seemed to have fainted several times because his weak body could not withstand the intense emotional fluctuations.

All he knew was that when he regained consciousness, the red-haired Weasley was gone.

The only proof that the other person had been there was the photo left in their arms.

Oh, and the photos!
Sirius picked up the photo, staring at the rat playing on a loop, a surge of intense hatred welling up within him.

“Peter, you’re still alive… I’m going to kill you, I… no, I need to calm down…”

A strange thought suddenly surfaced in his mind, suppressing his frenzied hatred: "I... it's not time to leave yet. I have to wait for the right opportunity... What opportunity? Yes, when the opportunity arises, I will naturally know... Yes, wait..."

In his delirious murmurs, the poor man hid the photo inside his clothes, obediently trusting his own "thoughts," and decided to wait for the "opportunity" that even he did not know to arrive.

Sirius Black cannot leave yet.

Because Vaughn wasn't ready yet.

In order to kill Voldemort, Voldemort must be resurrected.

Of course, in Vaughn's plan, the process of resurrection must be firmly controlled by him.

Therefore, he chose Peter, the loyal servant to carry out the resurrection plan, for the Socket Man!
In fact, Barty Crouch Jr. should have been included, but given that he and Crouch Sr. are currently in a honeymoon period of cooperation.

Even someone as ruthless as Vaughn couldn't bear to let his partner suffer the pain of losing a child again.

Peter will have to make do with this.

Of course, Peter, being as timid as a mouse, lacks the initiative to resurrect Voldemort, so he needs a little stimulation.

For example, Sirius Black's prison break forced him to leave the Weasley family home, where he had been hiding for over ten years, and to muster the courage to find his master.

Only in this way will his motives seem reasonable and will he be able to deceive Voldemort, who is also a master of memory magic, so that Voldemort will not discover anything unusual—at that time, Vaughn will also take away the persona he placed in Peter's memory.

Wherever they go, they leave a trace.

Vaughn never directly interfered with Peter's memories, but rather exerted influence indirectly through personality manipulation, filtering, and dumping.

This was to avoid the fact that the traces he left in Peter's memory when the plan was implemented in the future would arouse the suspicion of the Socket Man.

Of course, it's still a long way from the implementation of the plan.

It's not yet time for Sirius to play a role; for the time being, he'll need to endure some more hardship in Azkaban.

But he didn't do nothing. At least, when he modified Sirius's memories, he also strengthened Sirius's mental world.

There weren't many major changes; they simply added a "shell" to the other person's memory body, a personification, to hide his emotional fluctuations and interfere with the Dementors' ability to sense his emotions.

So that those disgusting monsters wouldn't suck on him every now and then.

When they returned to the elevator shaft, the three Aurors who had been waiting visibly breathed a sigh of relief. They had all heard the commotion caused by the Death Eaters in the cell block earlier.

If Vaughn doesn't come out soon, they're prepared to go in and check.

Seeing Vaughn emerge from the darkness, followed by his Patronus, the Auror operating the elevator swallowed hard and asked, "Mr. Weasley, would you like to continue the tour?"

(End of this chapter)