Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 144 System Changes and Curses
The short, stout wizard jumped three feet high, ignoring Vaughn, and instead unleashed a torrent of curses at Lupin: "Merlin's soles! Bastard! Shit! How dare you tell him my name?"

Lupin was speechless and about to say something.

Vaughn tapped the table, and instantly, ripples spread outwards.

A ripple of magic enveloped the table.

The space seemed to be veiled by a thin gauze, and the light and shadow were distorted by some unknown force, making Vaughn and the others appear as only blurry outlines to the other people in the bar.

The transmission of sound was also interfered with by magic, turning into a dull buzzing sound that was impossible to distinguish.

Behind the bar, Aberforth, who was idly wiping glasses with a dirty rag and actually keeping an eye on Vaughn and the others, snorted in annoyance.

Across from him, a wizard who had been staring at the rag in his hand for a long time reminded him, "This looks terrible. Why don't you use a cleaning charm to wash the rag?"

Aberforth glared at him fiercely: "Stop talking nonsense, drink if you want, get out if you don't!"

The wizard blushed, but dared not utter a sound.

The Hog's Head is quite famous throughout England. It has been a notorious pub since the last century, and its owners have never been pleasant people. In fact, the fact that they could openly run a pub in Hogsmeade without any Aurors causing trouble speaks volumes.

Inside Vaughn's magical barrier.

Mundungus curiously reached out and touched the distorted light and shadow around him. He sensed a rigorous and heavy feeling with the magical fluctuations. He looked at Vaughn: "Soundproof, light distortion, detection prevention, and some effects I don't recognize... A beautiful compound spell, silent and wandless, with a powerful magic comparable to an Auror. I think I know who you are."

“Oh?” Vaughn raised an eyebrow.

"In my decades of life, there are very few wizards who can achieve this level of skill at the age of ten, and in recent years there has been only one!"

"Vaughn Weasley, the inventor of Wolfsbane Potion, the youngest Potions Master and member of Wizengamor, founder of the WAC!"

Mundungus Fletcher's enormous head, unruly beard, and short, stout build made him look like a clown, as if he could crack a joke at any moment.

But at this moment his expression was very solemn, and even his body involuntarily tensed up.

Vaughn seemed oblivious to his wariness, still appearing quite interested: "Mr. Fletcher, it seems you know me quite well."

Mundungus tried to smile, but found his facial muscles stiff and unable to move: "This knowledge comes from your reputation throughout the black market of England. As far as I know, many black market potion shops consider it an honor to receive potions made by your own hands."

"Oh—so what kind of reputation do I have in the black market?"

Mundungus revealed a fawning expression: "Genius, powerful, mysterious—these are the assessments many dark wizards have of you."

Mundungus was undoubtedly a scoundrel.

But it is precisely these petty thieves who roam the gray areas and deal with all sorts of vicious people year after year who understand best who they can offend and who they should never provoke.

In his opinion, Vaughn was the kind of person you shouldn't mess with!
To be honest, he had never imagined that he would be dealing with such a rising star in the magical world.

Thinking about it, he glanced at Remus Lupin.

He and Remus Lupin had known each other for many years, from the time of Voldemort's rampage to the early days of the Order of the Phoenix, and the two often worked together.

Even after the war, the two remained in contact—as a werewolf, Lupin struggled to earn a stable income to support himself and often had to do dirty work.

For example, being commissioned by a dark wizard to smuggle contraband to the English Ministry of Magic, or helping a dark wizard teach his or her mortal enemy a lesson.

Mundungus, who operated in the gray area, was his intermediary.

Of course, Mr. Mundungus Fletcher wouldn't help for nothing; he would usually take 60% of the task reward as his own hard-earned money.

Anyway, a notorious werewolf is unlikely to go to the Ministry of Magic to accuse him of exploitation and oppression!
Even though they once fought side by side.

"Damn it, is this karma?"

Mundungus was lost in thought.

He had already guessed why Vaughn Weasley was looking for him.

Yesterday, he had just received two werewolf clients who hired him to find dark wizards, supposedly to organize a wizard squad to capture werewolves.

What a naive idea!
What did those werewolves think the dark wizard was? A group of law-abiding citizens who valued order and kept their promises?
Stop joking!

The reputation of dark wizards is like toilet paper – used once and discarded. Trying to organize them for any mission is utterly impossible.

Only a fool who has never experienced the harsh realities of society would have such a wild idea.

So, in the spirit of helping others grow, Mundungus Fletcher did not hesitate to take the two werewolves to a dark wizard's den, and after getting the referral fee, he quickly ran away—as for whether the two werewolves were turned into voodoo dolls or had their organs removed and were broken up and sold in the market... what did that have to do with him?

But he didn't expect that not long after he tricked the two werewolves, Remus Lupin would come knocking on his door, subdue him in no time, and drag him to the Hog's Head pub...

A deep sense of regret lingered in Mundungus's mind.

Across from him, Vaughn, still gently tapping the table, asked in a low voice, "Mr. Fletcher, you probably know why I've come to see you, right?"

Mundungus's balding head glistened with sweat in the flickering candlelight of the bar. He wiped his forehead, bowing and scraping, "Yes, yes, Mr. Weasley, but please let me explain. I didn't know those dark wizards were so wicked, they..."

thump—

A crisp tapping sound suddenly entered his mind.

Mundungus's hasty explanation came to an abrupt end.

He saw that Vaughn, sitting opposite him, had a faint blue glint in his brown eyes, which were tinged with a golden-red hue.

As the sound rang out, a visible ripple spread from the knuckles of Vaughn's fingers as he tapped the table, blurring his vision.

Having spent years mingling in the lower rungs of society and encountered various dangers, Mundungus immediately realized that Vaughn was trying to invade his mind.

He reacted swiftly, drawing his wand, his throat bobbing, about to utter a spell.

But he was immediately horrified to find that he had frozen...

He seemed to have suddenly lost control of his body; not only could he not wave his wand, but his out-of-control muscles couldn't even utter a spell!
The next instant, the world spun around.

An endless darkness engulfed him. Perhaps a second passed, or perhaps an eternity. When Mundungus regained consciousness, what he saw almost stopped his heart from beating.

It was still the Pighead Bar. Inside the silent, spy-proof magical barrier, Vaughn was still tapping the table lightly. The difference was that he was now holding a strand of silver thread in his hand!
With years of experience, the seasoned Mundungus knew exactly what that was—

His memory!

Seeing his memories being extracted, for a moment, Mundungus was almost overwhelmed by rage.

For wizards, money, flesh, desire... these things are certainly important, but the most important are still magic and memory.

The former is the foundation upon which they establish themselves in the world.

The latter is their privacy, their secrets, the very reason they possess the concept of "I".

However, Mundungus was a competent black market dealer, thief, and broker, and after their recent encounter, he also understood that he was no match for Vaughn Weasley!
Those at the bottom of the magic world, who believe in the survival of the fittest, understand best what it means to be weak and that weakness is the original sin, and what it means to assess the situation and act accordingly!

Therefore, he quickly calmed down.

This surprised Vaughn, who wanted to see his reaction: "You don't mind me taking your memories out of my own hands?"

Mundungus grinned obsequiously, his short, chubby figure making him look particularly endearing: "Of course not, I understand. In fact, I was just about to apologize to you. The two werewolves who came to see me yesterday must have been your subordinates, right?"

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Weasley. If I had known they were working for you, I would have done my best!"

“You are smarter than I thought, Mr. Fletcher,” Vaughn said in surprise. “At least in terms of being pragmatic, many wizards are not as good as you.”

Lu Ping twitched his lips.

He strongly suspected that Vaughn was verbally criticizing him for being "out of touch with reality"!
However, Vaughn obviously wouldn't care about his thoughts.

Vaughn glanced at the memory thread in his hand but didn't read it. Partly because, in his magical vision, the thread was filled with many black impurities.

That was caused by the contamination from dark magic.

On the other hand, Mundungus Fletcher's shrewdness made him feel that this person suddenly had value.

So he asked, "Then, Mr. Fletcher, can you now tell me who the dark wizard was who injured my two werewolf minions?"

He sent out his goodwill signal.

Mundungus, as expected, understood immediately. After glancing at the wisp of memory that Vaughn had extracted from him, he decisively chose to abandon the darkness and embrace the light:

"They were a group of black wizards who had fled from France. There were six of them, and the Conard brothers were the leaders..."

"Cough-cough-"

Upon hearing this, Lu Ping, who had been mostly silent, nearly choked on his saliva.

Vaughn also wore a strange smile.

He had also taught himself French, so of course he knew that "Conard" meant "idiot" in French...

Mundungus, unfazed, said with a strange British pride, "That surname is obviously fake. The French have always lacked a sense of self-deprecating humor, far inferior to the English."

“I bet the Conrad brothers are wizards who graduated from Beauxbatons. Of course, apart from them, the other four are all wild wizards (without formal education). After leaving France, this group seems to think they have broken free of their shackles and are unwilling to even abide by the rules of the black market. They are known for their ruthlessness.”

Upon hearing this, Vaughn smiled and said, "You don't seem to follow the rules very well either, Mr. Fletcher."

Mundungus grinned: "Old Mundung is just a crude thief with no culture, but he knows to show respect to distinguished people. Only then does the crude old Mundung understand the meaning of rules, such as when facing someone like Mr. Weasley."

The blatant flattery that came out of his mouth didn't seem out of place at all.

Lupin still felt unwell in his stomach.

He looked at Vaughn, who pondered for a moment and asked, "Where is their base?"

“In Cornwall, sir,” Mundungus said. “Old Mundung can take you there.”

He gave him a half-smile and nodded.

Before long, the three of them walked out of the Hog's Head Tavern, where Hogsmeade was now shrouded in a thick fog.

Those are clouds flowing down from the surrounding mountains.

Mundungus didn't have enough magic to carry two people at once, so he first used Apparition to teleport Lupin to Cornwall before returning to pick up Vaughn.

The spatial distortion caused by Apparition stirred up the thick fog in front of the bar, and then Mundungus and Vaughn disappeared.

Inside the bar, Aberforth, who seemed to never have enough glasses to clean, slightly raised his head.

A faint worry surfaced in those eyes that bore a striking resemblance to Albus Dumbledore's.

In fact, aside from not recognizing him at first, he later remembered who the child Lupin had brought was.

To be precise, he had no interest in paying attention to changes in the outside world while living in seclusion at the Hog's Head. It wasn't until the beginning of the year, when Vaughn Weasley's name was frequently associated with Albus Dumbledore, that he began to notice him.

Having never actually met him before, Aberforth only knew that Vaughn Weasley was a genius and that his brother seemed to be grooming him.

He originally didn't want to get involved in this kind of thing.

But upon seeing the other party at the Pig's Head Bar today, Aberforth suddenly felt a sense of unease—having spent over a century holed up in the Pig's Head Bar, he had seen far too many different kinds of people, and he could roughly gauge whether someone was good or bad with just a glance.

Vaughn Weasley… reminded him of someone from decades ago who had also amassed a huge reputation while still in school.

They even have many similarities.

Equally handsome, equally powerful, equally...ambitious!
If it weren't for the different hair color, Aberforth would almost have thought that person had returned to the wizarding world.

He wiped the wine glass with a dirty rag, but his mind had already wandered off somewhere else, his thick, tangled beard obscuring his changing expressions.

All people could see was the bar owner, looking sideways at the portrait of Ariana hanging on the wall above the display case.

Those familiar with Pig Head Bar know this portrait and that it is the bar owner's most cherished possession, which he wipes clean several times a day to ensure there is no dust.

But no one knew why the pub owner valued it so much, and even less could he know that he was already considering asking Ariana to help him open the passage to Hogwarts so he could confront his brother.

"Albus, haven't you made enough mistakes in the past? You're supporting another ambitious guy. What are you thinking?"

Meanwhile, Mundungus brought Vaughn to Cornwall, panting heavily.

English summers are often rainy, and at this time of year, the skies over Cornwall are covered with thick, dark clouds that stretch like a thick carpet from overhead to the horizon.

“This is…this is it, Mr. Weasley!” Bringing two people from Scotland to Cornwall had drained Mundungus of his magical energy and emotional resources.

If Vaughn hadn't noticed his magic was failing during the second Apparition and forcibly intervened to help him complete the second half, Mundungus's upper or lower body would probably have already been thrown into Muggle society by now.

Ignoring Mundungus, who was exhausted but still trying to flatter him, Vaughn looked around at the area.

This is a fishing village by the sea.

The bay's terrain embraces a small area of ​​seawater, and the change in the continental shelf on the shore indicates that it is an excellent deep-water port, very suitable for fishery development.

However, that's all in the past.

Since the Muggle government in England began promoting deindustrialization and developing the tertiary sector in the 80s, traditional industries and fishing have inevitably declined.

Of course, compared to the traditional industries inland that could only watch helplessly as they died, this fishing village was not defeated by the Muggle government's decisions. Its unique geographical environment allowed it to successfully transform and develop tourism.

As far as the eye can see, the Huixing Bay deep-water port, which used to be bustling with fishing boats, is now filled with speedboats and sailboats.

In the distance, there are pristine white sand beaches and lush vegetation along the shore. In the farthest reaches, on a cliff jutting out from the continental shelf, an ancient castle sits nestled among the green trees.

Vaughn saw the name of the place he was on the road sign beside the road: St. Ives.

Because of its proximity to Devonshire, Vaughn had heard of this place. He withdrew his gaze from the distance and looked at a two-story building not far away.

It was a typical Cornish cottage, with white-painted walls and a pale gold roof, and even the current rainy weather hadn't diminished its charm much.

Noticing Vaughn's gaze, Mundungus, disregarding his fatigue, hurriedly explained, "Mr. Weasley, the Conrad brothers' gang is in that little building. Those scumbags are not entirely stupid. Many foreign tourists come to this Muggle village, and they hide here, completely inconspicuous."

Then, he fawned, "Sir, please be sure to ask old Monton to open the door for you. It's old Monton's apology; those rude Frenchmen are difficult to communicate with. I can explain your purpose to them on your behalf to facilitate subsequent negotiations..."

"Negotiation? What negotiation?"

Vaughn's nonchalant question caught Mundungus off guard. He blinked his small eyes and stammered, "Talk about, talk about them injuring your men, and, and compensation..."

Vaughn's expression remained unchanged: "There's no need to talk about this with a dead man!"

As soon as he finished speaking, amidst the astonished expressions of Mundungus and Lupin, Vaughn silently recited the system.

[Host: Vaughn Weasley]

[Magic Scale: 584 (500 for an ordinary adult wizard)]

【天赋：魔咒学8、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）……】

【诅咒：复生咒LV0（0/2）、枯萎咒LV0（0/2）……觉醒咒LV0（0/3）、岁月咒LV0（0/4）……】

Ancient Magic: Soul Stealing Charm LV0 (0/4)

[Alchemy Level 0 (3/20)]

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

【Reputation Points: 19】

The system panel has undergone some changes.

The cursed magic and ancient magic that Vaughn obtained from Morfin Gaunt's mind have been categorized into separate sections by the system.

The logic remains unchanged.

After glancing over the other prompts, Vaughn looked at the "Curse of Time" in the [Curse] section.

This was the first magic he had encountered that deeply involved the concept of "time," achieving its destructive effect by plundering the target's time—a very domineering and insidious technique.

Looking at his remaining reputation points, Vaughn put them up to LV2 (7/24).

In an instant, a flood of knowledge poured into his mind from nowhere; it was a series of abstract understandings of words, as well as memories from repeated practice.

This process may seem lengthy from a conceptual standpoint, but in reality, it only takes a few seconds.

To Mundungus and Lupin, Vaughn simply paused for a moment, and then a vast amount of magic emanated from his body.

The magic that was mobilized at full power even affected the natural fall of the rain. The raindrops were pushed aside by waves of vibrating air and expanded outwards in a spherical shape.

The next moment, the two saw Vaughn draw his wand, point it at the small building, and heard him chant the spell:

"Tempus Edax! (Latin, taken from Tempus edax in Notre Dame de Paris, homo edacior. Tempus refers to time, and Edax means 'to devour' or 'to destroy'.")

A peculiar vortex condensed at the tip of the staff.

But to the astonishment of Mundungus and Lupin, who were watching, they couldn't describe the shape of the vortex at all; they could only see the rain falling around them, which began to float into the sky the instant the vortex condensed.

No, it's not floating, it's retreating!

The raindrops that had fallen onto the clothes of the group and scattered upon hitting the ground were reassembled by some force, as if a Muggle movie had been rewound.

But soon, their expressions changed from surprise to fear—

The vortex condensed at the tip of the wand for an extremely short time, just an instant, before disappearing from the tip of Vaughn's wand. The next instant, it had already blasted into the small building.

There was no explosion, and no sound or light effects.

The solid brick walls of the small building seemed completely unable to stop it; it slipped inside like a ghost, and then, terrible changes began.

The pristine white building with its golden roof is visibly decaying.

The once-clean wall paint has peeled off and turned black, and the rust marks are like spreading ink, along with the cracked lines that swallow up the original color.

Then it collapsed!
Under the influence of magic, the small building seemed to have gone through decades in just a few seconds, turning into ruins due to the erosion of wind and water.

Several magical lights still shone in the ruins.

There were six wizards who were suddenly attacked and fought back desperately, but their struggles were doomed to failure as an invisible vortex enveloped them.

Their armored spells and counter-attack magic were all teetering on the brink of collapse under the vortex.

Moreover, this process is very short, only a few seconds.

As the magical light faded, a wizard screamed in despair, trying to rush out of the ruined house, but it was in vain.

His miserable state was reflected in the pupils of Mundungus and Lupin—

His clothes quickly became tattered, his once full skin became dry and wrinkled as if dehydrated, and then large patches of discoloration appeared on his body.

He staggered a few steps, and then, crack, his severely aged and fragile bones could no longer maintain their original shape.

He fell to the ground, and under the curse of time, he was reduced to a pile of bones and shattered into pieces almost the instant he hit the ground!

What is the most terrifying thing for a wizard?

Everyone probably has their own answer.

Human fear cannot be quantified; it is influenced by a person's experiences and the surrounding environment. There is no broad definition of "most" fear, only a "most" fear under specific time and place conditions.

For example, Mundungus at this moment.

He felt that what was happening before his eyes was the most terrifying scene he had ever seen in his life.

He watched as the six dark wizards who had been laughing and joking with him just a day before, the menacing Conrad brothers, were desperately and miserably robbed of their time by Vaughn Weasley's strange magic.

He watched as these experienced wizards used every possible method to save themselves in a matter of seconds.

However, the difference in magic and magical power rendered all their efforts meaningless. They could only watch helplessly as the armor spells they had erected extinguished, and then they were exposed to magic, turning into scattered bones in despair a few steps later.

The strongest of them all, Conrad, lasted a little longer, but that only brought him more intense pain—in the last few seconds of his life, he clearly felt how his brain, which was now just a skeleton, was dying and disappearing little by little, and how his consciousness was slowly sinking into darkness.

As Mundungus gazed at the horrific scene, his face and lips turned as white as snow. His heart pounded, as if an invisible hand were gripping it, reminding him to remember this moment forever.

Lupin, standing next to him, didn't look much better either.

In fact, he never expected Vaughn to be so ruthless, without contact, without negotiation, and without even wanting to listen to the explanations of the six wizards.

With a single move, he wiped out six lives!

He clenched his fist instinctively, his melancholy eyes fixed on Vaughn, who was still holding his wand and had completely destroyed the collapsed building and the dead dark wizard.

He...cannot agree with this approach!

he……

His heart was screaming and roaring, but suddenly, a scene from 11 years ago appeared in his mind.

The Potter mansion in Godric's Hollow, reduced to ruins by the bomb; James and Lily lying in pools of blood; Harry's loud weeping; and Sirius Black, in the Daily Prophet, laughing and crying madly after killing Peter...

For 11 years, Lupin has had many questions in his mind.

Why did Sirius betray James?

He understood his friend better than anyone else. Sirius hated the idea of ​​purebloods, which was why he broke with his family and severed ties with his past.

Why would someone so resolute in pursuing their ideals side with Voldemort?
However, for 11 years, such worries and doubts could only fester in his heart. Dumbledore felt very guilty about the deaths of James and Lily—he suspected that there was a traitor in the Order of the Phoenix, but he suspected the wrong person (Dumbledore suspected Lupin at the time), which led him not to insist on using himself as the Secret Agent.

In a sense, Dumbledore also wanted to use the Secret Service to lure out the traitor.

But he never expected that the traitor was Sirius Black, who was closest to James and Lily.

Disappointed and remorseful, Dumbledore harbored a deep hatred for Sirius from that moment on. Over the past few years, Lupin had repeatedly suggested going to Azkaban to confront Sirius face to face, but Dumbledore refused each time.

With more than a decade passing and Sirius Black potentially dying in Azkaban at any moment, Lupin was almost in despair about his pursuit of the truth.

Until we met today, Vaughn said he saw Sirius Black in Azkaban!
Like a drowning person desperately grasping at a straw, Vaughn is probably the only one who can help him resolve his inner conflict.

The resurfacing memories plunged Lupin into a struggle, torn between morality and friendship and the truth. He clenched his fists, then relaxed them.

After several such attempts, he finally sighed inwardly.

Before anyone knew it, the magic had stopped, and the rain that had been receding around them began to fall again.

Amidst the splashing water, Mundungus and Lupin watched as Vaughn retracted his wand, turned around, and his handsome, youthful face remained unchanged.

This greatly alarmed the two of them.

Despite casting such powerful magic, Vaughn's face didn't turn pale at all.
Unaware of the two's inner thoughts and too lazy to care, Vaughn flicked his wand with lingering enjoyment.

In fact, he himself was somewhat surprised.

Previously, his knowledge of the Curse of Ages was limited to the repeated practice in Morfin Gaunt's memories, but as mentioned before, the Gaunt family, which practiced inbreeding, had a talent that was worse with each generation.

Marvolo Gunter still had some skill, but Morfin Gunter was completely out of commission.

In his memory, Vaughn even saw him fighting with a wand in one hand and a dagger in the other...

So he never expected that upgrading the Time Curse to LV2 in one go would produce such a powerful effect.

His original idea was simply to demonstrate his strength in order to intimidate Mundungus and Lupin.

Thinking it over, Vaughn instructed, "I'll go back first. Remus, you and Mr. Fletcher will have to do your part and cast a Muggle Expulsion Charm and a Confusion Charm on those ruins to prevent Muggle panic."

The reason the two weren't allowed to use the Restoration Spell was because the small building had been completely destroyed by the Time Curse. Even though the Restoration Spell is also a form of time magic, the extent of the damage was beyond its repair capabilities.

Upon hearing Vaughn's instructions, before Lupin could reply with a hesitant expression, Mundungus said obsequiously, "You're too kind, Mr. Weasley. Rest assured, Lupin and I will cover this place up so well that the Muggles won't find it for decades."

“Very good.” Vaughn nodded. “After you’re done, have Lupin take you to where I’m currently staying. I have something else to tell you.”

He desperately wanted to go back. This time, casting the Time Curse not only made him realize its power, but also made him discover something.

He needs to carefully examine himself, review his state at the time, and analyze and explain all the changes.

Inspiration is fleeting, but it cannot be wasted.

(End of this chapter)