Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 160 Vaughn's Counterattack and Polymorph

He gazed curiously at the massive steel cruise ship on the distant sea: "So, this ship was built by a wizard?"

“Yes, at least 60% of it was the work of wizards,” the white-haired executive committee member said, laughing. “But Muggles regretted it after it was built.”

"why?"

The white-haired executive committee member blinked: "Because there are many traces of magic on it, such as a bathroom that closes automatically, a broom that sweeps automatically, and ghost dancers invited to entertain people... Muggles can't understand the wizard's good intentions; they think the ship is haunted, hahaha!" (The real Royal Mary has long been decommissioned; the name is only used here.)

Lupin laughed too.

At the same time, he realized that this white-haired executive committee member was probably someone who wanted to defect to Vaughn.

What is there to say?

How can two unfamiliar wizards quickly build a closer relationship when they meet?

Of course, we'll all complain about Muggles together!
Vaughn understood as well. He looked away, glanced at the executive committee member who was carefully following beside him with a kind and gentle smile, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Oliver Yaxley?"

"Yes, Mr. Chairman."

The executive officer, Oliver Yaxley, smiled even more gently, and casually mentioned, "My great-aunt is Lisandra Yaxley."

Lupin had no idea what the name meant.

But Vaughn immediately understood that this was a "relative"!
Lisandra Yaxley married Arcturus Black II, and they had three daughters, one of whom, Cedrella, married Septimus Weasley. They had a son named Arthur Weasley...

Pureblood families always manage to forge connections in such convoluted ways.

Vaughn was already used to it. He nodded knowingly and then naturally accepted the other person in: "According to seniority, I should call you uncle..."

"No, Mr. Chairman, you can just call me by my name."

"Okay, Oliver, you can try partnering with Remus to help me with some things, how about that?"

"It is my honor, Mr. Chairman!"

Oliver Yaxley agreed, nodded to Lupin, and then smoothly transitioned into his new role, taking a slight step behind Vaughn.

However, his presence did serve as a reminder to Vaughn.

"Oliver, do you know who the Yaxley family had a Death Eater who escaped trial?"

"Uh……"

Oliver was clearly taken aback by Vaughn's question. He paused, momentarily at a loss for words.

Vaughn noticed his concerns and smiled kindly: "Don't worry, I just heard that his magical skills are quite good, and after the Mysterious Man was destroyed, he quickly distanced himself from the situation. If you know him, you can pass on a message for me and ask him if he would be willing to work for WAC!"

Oliver breathed a sigh of relief and agreed.

Yaxley was one of the Death Eaters who left a relatively deep impression on Vaughn. He was very powerful in combat and once held his own against multiple members of the Order of the Phoenix.

When Harry and Ron infiltrated the Ministry of Magic, he was the first to discover them and directly invaded the trio's spaceship while they were Apparating away, causing Ron to "split into two" parts.

Vaughn is short-handed right now, and he doesn't mind that the other person was a former Death Eater.

Of course, he won't force the other party if they are unwilling.

But in that case, Vaughn could only feel sorry for the other person's future fate...

As they drew closer, the majestic silhouette of the Royal Mary gradually filled everyone's view. Many of the wizards in the delegation were seeing such a massive steel structure for the first time, and they curiously looked it over, whispering among themselves.

The ship's reception staff had been waiting at the dock for quite some time.

After checking Lupin's identification documents, he led the group up the gangway, showing no reaction to the low gasps of amazement from the crowd.

"He's a dud."

Oliver, who was familiar with the ship, whispered to Vaughn, "Many of the crew members on this ship are Squibs specially recruited by the ministry. They can serve both Muggles and wizards, and incidentally, they can also solve their employment problems... This policy was promoted by the previous minister, Millison Barnold, to alleviate the conflict between Squibs and their families!"

Upon hearing this, Vaughn glanced at the Squirrel leading the way.

In fact, he didn't quite agree with this kind of policy. In his opinion, Squibs should stay away from the magical world. Otherwise, how resentful would these people, who have weak magic power but can never cast spells, be if they just watched others cast spells and become wizards who could command the wind and rain?
People are not worried about scarcity, but about inequality!
However, this is not something he is considering for the time being.

As the group boarded the ship, Oliver tugged at Vaughn's sleeve and pointed to a guest room terrace in the distance. Behind the silvery-white terrace railing, intricately carved with patterns, several wizards in robes were chatting and admiring the scenery. The one in the lead was an old wizard with a dark complexion.

Akinbad!

No one knows what the people next to him said, but Akinbad burst into laughter. As he laughed, his gaze turned and met Vaughn's.

Next, everyone witnessed what a face-changing act looks like!

Akinbad first frowned, then blinked as if he doubted his eyes. Then his eyebrows rose high, as if an invisible hand was pulling his face apart.

The lingering smile quickly faded, replaced by surprise and astonishment. Then, as if stretched to its limit and then snapped back, his face scrunched up again.

It was a bitter mix of realization, dissatisfaction, and anger, along with a silent accusation of "How can you be so shameless!"
Soon, Vaughn and his entourage met the international delegation that had been waiting for them in the guest room area.

Akinbad stared intently at Vaughn: "What are you doing here?"

Vaughn smiled: "Mr. Akinbad, why can't we be here?"

"you……"

Akinbad had a lot to say. He wanted to accuse Vaughn: "Don't you know how dangerous it is around you right now?"

What are your true intentions in forcing your way onto a ship full of Muggles and dragging in an international delegation?

Unfortunately, these are things that cannot be said openly.

At least as a representative of the federation, I cannot explicitly say that North America would love to see Vaughn dead, and the so-called attack cannot be mentioned at all.

A variety of emotionally charged words stuck in his throat. Akinbad's face turned from black to red, then back to black, changing color over and over. In the end, he could only let out a cold snort and turn away!

"President..."

Lupin and Oliver looked at Vaughn.

Vaughn waved his hand with a smile: "Don't worry about him. Arrange for everyone to rest according to the list!"

When Lupin led a few Muggle werewolves to verify the housing information, another problem arose.

The Ministry of Magic arranged fourth-class cabins for the visiting group, which are interior cabins in the middle of the cruise ship. These cabins have no windows, no view, and are very cramped.

After Lupin returned and explained the situation, not only were the werewolf committee members in the delegation were furious, but even the committee members from Wizengamo and the International Federation were very annoyed with Fudge.

Frankly, these kinds of petty tricks serve no purpose other than to annoy people.

But Mr. Fudge, who has never had any vision, really loves doing this kind of thing!
Vaughn wasn't angry; he just felt like laughing.

Foolish Fudge, he can't even handle the basic tactics of dividing and winning over others!

Shouldn't the normal procedure be to put the werewolf in fourth class and the Wissengamo and the International Federation members in first class, using the huge difference in treatment to divide the delegation?

Ah!
Unwilling to deal with the idiots, Vaughn waved his hand, signaling the indignant committee members gathered in the corridor to quiet down, before taking out a credit card from his bag and handing it to Lupin, asking him to upgrade everyone's cabin.

As for whether the credit card limit is sufficient...

Honestly, Vaughn didn't even know how many pounds he had. To feed the werewolves, he had scavenged a lot of Muggle currency from the black market and Gringotts, and later he had basically handed it over to those controlled financial experts to manage. He hadn't cared how much he made since... Anyway, for the past few months, Muggle bank account managers had written to him many times hoping to visit him.

“Mr. Chairman, you should not pay the price for that scoundrel Fudge’s stupidity.”

"A Wizengamo commissioner said angrily."

Another committee member next to him nodded in agreement, saying, "Connelly is so disappointing. Even if there are some conflicts, they shouldn't be handled this way. The delegation represents not only the WAC, but also the image of England as a whole. What does he think politics is? Playing house?"

"I'm going to write back; this kind of behavior is disgusting!"

“Dear colleagues, please include me. I will also write today’s events into my observation report and submit it back to the federation. This is absurd!”

Vaughn smiled and let them make a fuss.

These people's anger is not about whether fourth class is uninhabitable, but about respect. Dear Mr. Cornelius Fudge, he will probably have to pay a price for his willfulness!

Lupin, who left with his credit card, soon returned, and as Vaughn had instructed, the entire delegation was accommodated in suites.

This minor incident has finally subsided.

Vaughn lives in a spacious suite with huge windows and a garden terrace, offering views of the distant ocean and the unique beauty of the pool below.

He asked Lupin to take the suitcase to his room and then began packing his luggage. The journey from Southampton to New York would involve stopping at several Nordic ports, and he would be spending most of the next few days on the ship, so he needed to settle his luggage.

By the time everything was tidied up, it was almost noon.

woo-

A ship's horn sounded outside the window; the cruise ship was about to set sail.

As Vaughn stepped out of the room, he saw Lupin hurrying over. Upon seeing Vaughn, Lupin said, "Master, the people from the Ministry of Magic have arrived."

"Oh?"

Vaughn, who had only intended to check out the deck, raised an eyebrow with interest: "Besides Dolores Umbridge, who else is there?"

"There are five more Aurors. The squad leader is Kingsley Shackle, a veteran Auror warrior... and there's also a trainee Auror, Nymphadora Tonks..."

Lupin paused when he read out the last name.

Then he noticed that Vaughn was looking at him strangely, which made him feel guilty: "Uh... Mr. Chairman, is there a problem?"

“No, dear Remus, I was just thinking that we’re going to be spending a lot of time with the Aurors, and we need someone to build a good relationship with them so that communication can go smoothly if necessary. Don’t you agree?”

"Yes...yes, Chairman."

"Then, how about I assign this task to you? Of course, if you're not willing—"

"I am willing!"

Lupin blurted out instinctively, then tightened his expression: "Uh, I mean... I'd be happy to help you out..."

Vaughn gave a half-smile.

Lupin always felt that those squinting, smiling eyes seemed to be able to see right through him.

He was so nervous that he was almost sweating.

Fortunately, Vaughn didn't continue the topic. After handing over the task to him, he asked, "Where are they now?"

“I came to ask you to come over. They’re being blocked on deck by the commissioners…” Lupin’s already melancholy face looked even more troubled now. “The commissioners are questioning Dolores Umbridge about why the Ministry of Magic put everyone in fourth class. It was supposed to be a normal negotiation, but then they discovered that the Auror squad and Umbridge had checked in first class. Now they’re arguing on deck, and all the Muggles around are watching the show…”

No wonder he looked so distressed; you can imagine how chaotic the scene must have been.

Vaughn nodded. "Take me there."

When Lupin arrived with Vaughn, the deck was already packed with people.

The Royal Mary can carry 2000 passengers, and although it was not at full capacity on this voyage, there were still more than a thousand passengers.

Judging by appearances, there were at least several hundred people gathered on the deck watching the spectacle.

In the center of the crowd, a high-pitched, shrill female voice could be heard from afar: "...The ministry also faces many difficulties. In order to squeeze out the budget for this visit, Minister Fouché's hair has turned white, and he has been unable to eat or sleep. Why can't my colleagues at WAC understand?"

"Bullshit!" someone shouted angrily. "The delegation's budget was provided by WAC, I signed it myself, a full 2000 Galleons..."

"It's normal to experience some loss when exchanging Galleons for Muggle currency."

The shrill female voice spoke slowly and deliberately.

"A pile of gold exchanged for worthless paper, and you're telling me there's some loss involved?"

"Anyway, that's the truth. I have detailed procedures and proof here. If you don't believe me, I can show it to you."

“Who knows if you’ve tampered with things!” On the outskirts of the crowd, Vaughn shook his head. These committee members really had no experience in fighting, and they were easily led by the nose by that woman, forgetting their original purpose.

As the noise grew, more and more Muggles gathered, and Lupin and he could barely squeeze in.

He frowned impatiently, flicked his fingers a few times, and silently cast a spell.

Muggle Exorcism Curse!

The power of magic spread out instantly, and several representatives of the Federation who were watching the spectacle sensed the fluctuations and were startled.

They exchanged a glance, looked around, and saw that the Muggles around them, under the influence of magic, left without any hesitation or delay, as if suddenly and naturally losing interest in the commotion before them.

"...What exquisite magic!"

Someone murmured softly.

The Aurors and committee members on the other side also noticed the anomaly. They stopped arguing and then saw an open space appear in the gradually departing Muggle crowd. The Muggles bypassed the space as if waves were flowing around a reef, and Vaughn was standing in the center of that open space.

Vaughn was also looking at Dolores Umbridge.

This was the second time he had seen her. The last time was at his medal ceremony. Several months had passed, and this detestable witch still had such terrible taste, wearing a cloying pink cardigan, a pink skirt, and a big pink bow!
Upon seeing Vaughn, Dolores Umbridge seemed to have forgotten her previous lesson, and she smiled sweetly: "Mr. Vaughn Weasley, you..."

The next second, her voice stopped abruptly.

She saw Vaughn draw his wand and point it at her.

Terror filled Umbridge's fat face. Her lips parted, but before she could utter a scream, a cold incantation rang out: "Transform instantly!"

quack!
Umbridge disappeared, and a pink toad landed on the ground!

"Arrogant! Presumptuous!"

In the luxury suite, the soft glow of the crystal chandelier, mixed with the natural light streaming in through the viewing window, illuminated the interior.

John Dexter's restless footsteps pounded on the soft wool carpet, sending a few tiny fibers fluttering and swirling in the light.

The living room was packed with people. Nifadora leaned against the window, while the others sat or stood scattered in the corners, silently listening to Delixi's roar.

"What does Vaughn Weasley take the Ministry of Magic for? Who gave him the audacity to attack Ministry officials? This kind of thing must not be tolerated!"

"enough!"

On the bar counter in the corner of the room, Umbridge, now a toad, was placed in a glass fish tank. Terrified by her ordeal, she hopped around wildly inside.

Kingsley had to use magic to immobilize her, poking her with his wand, the tip of which occasionally flashed with a few sparks.

But all these efforts yielded no results other than a few faint screams from the pink toad.

He angrily berated Dexter: "What's the point of saying all this now? We can't let this slide... Why didn't you say a word when we were on deck? Didn't you stop Vaughn Weasley?"

Delisi was so scolded that he turned red in the face and couldn't say a word.

Nifadora, who had been quietly listening to the commotion from the window, turned around and gave Dexter a disdainful look before asking Kingsley, "So? Can the magic be dispelled?"

The others also looked over with concern.

It wasn't that they cared so much about Umbridge, but rather that he was, after all, their nominal leader on this trip. They hadn't even set off yet, and he'd already been turned into a toad. What would happen if the ministry held them accountable?
Under the watchful eyes of the group, Kingsley's reaction was somewhat disappointing; he shook his head.
“Vorn Weasley’s magical power is stronger than we anticipated. His Transfiguration Charm is extremely powerful. The magic has penetrated into every tiny part (cell) of Umbridge’s body, completely locking down every change in her. I am powerless to stop it.”

"Can't even stop the incantation immediately? What if all incantations come to an end?"

someone asked.

These two spells are quite versatile antidotes. Except for some very profound death curses and curses, they can be used to counter almost any spell and are also a required course for Aurors.

"No."

Kingsley's expression was serious. He waved his wand, and a cloud of white mist rose up, forming a picture according to his will.

Those are the microscopic structures of the human body, with many "cell"-like things condensing out of the white mist—although the magical world does not understand Muggle biology, it still has the means to observe the existence of cells, but its understanding is still relatively basic and has not yet formed a completely new discipline.

All the Aurors present had received systematic education, so they had no difficulty understanding the "image" Kingsley was showing them, knowing that he was showing the situation inside Umbridge's body.

Under the watchful eyes of the others, Kingsley continued to wave his wand, and one by one, points of light appeared. They expanded like inflated balloons, growing into geometrically beautiful polyhedral shapes that enveloped each "cell".

"Umbridge is completely 'locked up' like this?"

"It should be...this is—"

The whispers in the crowd ceased abruptly, and the Aurors saw that as the polyhedron completely enveloped all the cells, Kingsley clenched his fist.

The polyhedrons suddenly contracted, and in just an instant, large areas of polyhedrons shrank back into points of light, and the cells they encased were obviously compressed as well!
The scene composed of the Mist Curse shifts and magnifies, the perspective moves away from the microscopic, and the polyhedron shrinks, causing Umbridge to transform from a human into a pink toad!

Kingsley glanced at the Aurors' astonished expressions and let out a long sigh: "As you can see, the Transfiguration Charm Weasley cast on Umbridge was done on an extremely subtle level. In a sense, he used the spell to achieve an incredible transformation—a kind of essential change!"

As is widely known, transfiguration cannot theoretically change the essence of things.

But magic is called magic because it can create miracles. While a true fundamental change cannot be achieved, similar effects can be achieved through other means!

"How did he do that?" someone murmured.

“I don’t know either. This demonstration was just a rough process,” Kingsley said. “All I know is that Umbridge’s current state is entirely maintained by Weasley’s polyhedral spell. I’ve examined it, and its structure isn’t strong. Theoretically, the Curse Stop and Curse End can definitely destroy it.”

"But what happens after it's destroyed? Without the compression and control of the spell, the subtle changes to Umbridge will inevitably expand rapidly, bang—"

Kingsley made an explosion gesture.

The Aurors were stunned, as if they were witnessing the spectacular sight of their beloved Lady Umbridge being blown to bits!

The pink toad in the fish tank was also stunned and trembled.

In the vast suite, the air remained deathly silent for a long time before an Auror hesitantly spoke up: "So what do we do now?"

Another person suggested, "How about we retreat... Uh, I mean, the situation is now beyond our control. Our duty is to protect the delegation, but the delegation attacked Ms. Umbridge, who leads us. How to respond next is not something we can decide, is it? Why don't we leave it to the gentlemen in the ministry to figure out?"

As he spoke, he added, "It's a good opportunity to send Ms. Umbridge to St. Mungo's for emergency treatment. After all, no one knows how long Vaughn Weasley's curse will last. Kingsley said that this kind of shapeshifting involves the essence of things... What if its side effects are like those of the Animagus, where the longer the shapeshifting lasts, the closer the mind becomes to the animal being transformed, causing Ms. Umbridge to actually believe she is a toad?"

He made a lot of sense, and two people immediately agreed with him.

Then, Delis jumped out again and started cursing at the group: "Ms. Umbridge represents Minister Fudge. That guy turned her into a toad, which is not only an insult to Ms. Umbridge, but also an insult to the Minister, and an insult to us!"

"Shame! Disgrace! Your weakness disgusts me!"

The Auror, enraged by his curses, retorted, "What started this whole thing? Wasn't it because you took it upon yourselves to teach the delegation a lesson and secretly changed the cabin reservations made by the Ministry of Magic? You were the ones who humiliated them first!"

"Traitor!" Delilah shouted, drawing his wand to teach the man a lesson.

The other side was not to be outdone.

Seeing that a fight was about to break out between the two sides, Kingsley, who had a headache, had to intervene and stop it: "Enough! Stop it, both of you!"

As the most senior Auror in the squad, he still held considerable prestige.

No one dared to offend Kingsley.

After separating the two groups by waving his wand, Kingsley scratched his head in frustration. After a while, he said, "Don't talk about retreating anymore. The mission must go on, but you'll all have to keep this to yourselves..."

"Kingsley!" Dexter exclaimed urgently.

“Shut up!” Kingsley glared at him. “That’s an order! Do you want to see news in tomorrow’s Daily Prophet about the Ministry of Magic mistreating the WAC delegation and the delegation retaliating?”

"You all better behave yourselves. I'm going to talk to Remus Lupin and try to resolve this peacefully... at least don't let it become public knowledge. Aren't we embarrassed enough already?"

After saying that, he ignored everyone and turned to leave.

Niphadora, who had been leaning against the window without saying a word, followed them.

Kingsley, who was about to go out to find Lupin, glanced back at Nymphadora who had followed him out, and said irritably, "What are you doing following me?"

Nymphadora coolly tossed her hair: "I can't stand it, it's full of cowards and idiots."

Kingsley remained silent and did not stop them.

Nymphadora quickened her pace to catch up, humming a cheerful tune.

"In such a good mood?"

"Of course, I'm so fed up with that Umbridge, I feel disgusted just looking at her. If it weren't for the fact that I still want to be an Auror, I would have applauded and cheered when Vaughn turned her into a toad!"

Upon hearing this, Kingsley sighed.

To be honest, he is very disappointed in Fudge now. Not only is Fudge himself becoming more and more unreliable, but his subordinates are just as bad.

That Dolores Umbridge, he's all about abstraction.

In fact, WAC's accommodation arrangements were originally suites, since the relevant budget was provided by WAC and the Ministry of Magic had no intention of causing trouble.

It was Umbridge; she changed the delegation's accommodation standards at the last minute and even arrived just in time for the cruise ship's departure. According to her:
"New organizations need some lessons and warnings!"

Now he's been turned into a toad, serves him right!
But what Kingsley found exhausting was that the matter of Umbridge being turned into a toad couldn't just be left unresolved; it had to be addressed.

In the end, I had to take matters into my own hands.

Unaware of his sorrows, Nymphadora, a witch who had returned to Muggle society, quickly regained her former Muggle life.

As she passed a vending machine, she bought some snacks and chewing gum: "Want to try some Muggle food?"

Kingsley had no interest.

Nymphadora didn't seem to mind, leisurely blowing bubbles as she followed beside him: "Are you really going to find that Lupin? Why not just go find Vaughn directly?"

"We're looking for him to have a buffer. We're not sure what Vaughn Weasley's attitude is right now. If we rush in and he refuses to remove the Transfiguration Charm from Umbridge, the situation will be very awkward. So it's better to contact Remus first. Even if we fail to negotiate with him, it won't affect our ability to continue contacting Vaughn later."

Kingsley taught patiently.

But Nymphadora showed little interest: "It's so complicated. If it were me, I would have just told Vaughn directly. I think he's quite reasonable..."

"..."

Is Warn reasonable?
I'm afraid many people think otherwise!
At least that's what Remus Lupin thinks.

Carrying a tray of apple pie, fried cod, and black tea, Lupin walked through the narrow corridor between the cabins to a suite and gently knocked on the door.

The door opened silently, and there was no one behind it. Lupin was not surprised and stepped inside.

The luxurious living room is brightly lit, just like the ocean and sky outside. By the window, a desk is set up, its semi-fixed design preventing it from swaying as the cruise ship moves forward.

A locked suitcase sits on top, surrounded by a mess of various tools and blueprints.

At his desk, Vaughn was still taking things out of his bag. Hearing Lupin's footsteps, he didn't turn around and casually waved his hand: "Thanks for your hard work, Remus. Just leave it on the bar. Also, don't let anyone bother me."

After setting out the food as instructed by Vaughn, Lupin leaned over to look at the suitcase and the scattered drawings beside it. He saw an anatomical diagram of a werewolf.

Are you going to start your research today?

“Yes,” Vaughn said. “Time is still a bit tight. I hope we can make some progress during this period. Once we arrive in New York, it’s hard to say whether we will have any free time.”

Lupin knew that what Vaughn meant was not only that after arriving in New York, they would likely face hostility and attacks from North American powers, but also that the fire dragons prepared by the Travers and other families would be transported there at that time.

I glanced at the suitcase again.

Lupin knew that the werewolf test subjects were inside. A hint of reluctance flashed in his eyes, but he said nothing.

Perhaps contributing to the development of the wolfsbane drug as an experimental subject could be considered a way for those guys to atone for their sins... That was all he could think of; once Vaughn made a decision, he wouldn't listen to anyone's advice.

Just as when he impatiently turned Dolores Umbridge into a toad, no one could persuade him to turn her back.

After thinking for a moment, Lupin asked, "Master, the Aurors have contacted us about Umbridge. How should I respond?"

Vaughn pulled a notebook from his bag and was engrossed in examining it without looking up: "The spell's effect will last for 10 days. Tell them to keep an eye on Umbridge. If she appears in front of me again, it won't be as simple as a Transfiguration spell."

(End of this chapter)