Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 162 Felix Felicis and Dreamcatchers

"Uh, of course..."

Lu Ping nodded blankly.

Matthew, who was on the other side, also came to his senses, walked over, and extended his hand to him: "Hello!"

Beneath his messy, long hair, Matthew's eyes were dull and lifeless, only brightening slightly when they glanced at Vaughn.

Lupin had no idea what had happened in the world inside the suitcase over the past few days.

But now that he'd come to his senses, he was delighted to learn that Matthew had escaped his "sea of ​​suffering" and joined WAC. He quickly shook the other man's hand and said, "Hello, Mr. Matthew, welcome to the team!"

"...Can you let go now?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Amid Lupin's awkward smile, Matthew withdrew his hand, glanced back at the werewolf being dealt with by Vaughn, and suddenly said, "I know him, his name is Barry."

"..."

Lupin remained silent, pondering how to strike up a conversation. Did Matthew's words imply that the man was his friend?

That's awkward!

Did they want him to go and plead with Vaughn together?

This……

Just as he was pondering this, he heard Matthew say, "I was just examining his bone marrow!"

"……what?"

Lupin was taken aback.

Matthew glanced at him, then looked back at the head with exposed brain matter: "Some people's evil is forced, while others' evil is inherent in their bones. I always thought his heart and marrow were black, but I never expected that he was pink like everyone else."

Ah this!

Is this... a kind of humor?

Lupin was even more speechless.

Fortunately, Matthew didn't continue. Instead, he said, "Let's go out. Mr. Weasley said it's not appropriate for us to be present for the next experiment."

"Ah, okay!"

Lupin noticed that Vaughn had already started finishing up. Various human tissues suspended in mid-air were reassembled into a human shape and stuffed into a culture tank below by Vaughn.

Just after the two left the suitcase space and returned to the suite.

The light shining from the suitcase's entrance suddenly dimmed.

A massive surge of magical energy erupted, affecting Lupin and Matthew even after they had left that space.

Suddenly, everything went dark, as if night had fallen. In a daze, the two seemed to see a full moon slowly rising!
After a long while, the illusion before their eyes disappeared.

"What is this? Why do I feel like I'm turning into a wolf under the full moon?" Matthew gasped for breath. He felt a certain power within him stirring, which, along with the previous illusion of the full moon, was now stirring.

My heart was pounding, making a drumming sound.

A feeling that he couldn't quite describe—whether it was excitement or exhaustion—made him gasp for breath!
Lupin, who was in a similar state, suppressed his inner impulse, grabbed Matthew away from the suitcase, and replied, "That's the magical moon in the suitcase space, an alchemical artifact."

When he was arranging for him to move the werewolves, Vaughn had explained the function of the briefcase to him.

"Just like the real moon?"

Matthew was beginning to understand why Mr. Weasley had said it wasn't appropriate for them to be present.

Lupin nodded, glancing at the briefcase again with lingering fear: "Yes, but I didn't expect it to be so powerful under the chairman's control, even affecting the outside world..."

No wonder Vaughn doesn't want anyone to bother him.

If there were a few werewolves in the room, it's hard to say whether they would be influenced and lose control!

Lupin dared not linger any longer.

As they left the suite and closed the door, the lingering mystery of the magical moon finally ceased to affect them.

Feeling his body had calmed down a bit, Lupin led Matthew outside and said, "What are the plans for the next step? How about we go to my room to wash up first, and then have a big meal at the restaurant?"

"No rush, I want to go outside and take a look first."

Lupin glanced at Matthew's disheveled appearance and shrugged: "Whatever makes you happy."

The two quickly crossed the corridor and arrived at the terrace of the guest room area on this floor. This area was reserved for suite guests, who were either very rich or very powerful in Muggle society.

Matthew, with his long, dirty hair and tattered clothes, was undoubtedly a very eye-catching sight here.

Neither Lupin nor Matthew paid any attention to the disdainful and disgusted looks from the Muggles. They walked to the edge of the terrace, facing the cool, fishy sea breeze, and Matthew closed his eyes slightly.

After a long pause, he finally asked, "Where are we now?"

"After passing Iceland, we entered the waters of the Americas two days later and then headed south to New York Harbor."

Of course, there will be a stopover in Canada, but there's no need to go into that. When the visit was planned, WAC sent a letter to the Canadian Ministry of Magic, but they haven't replied yet.

It's likely that Fudge's side put pressure on Canada.

Wizarding power, economy, potion supplies, and politics all depend on the Canadian Ministry of Magic in England, making it difficult for them to escape the influence of the English Ministry of Magic.

Taking a few deep breaths, when Matthew opened his eyes, he noticed several people pointing and whispering in his direction by the pool on the deck below.

The Muggle outfits those people were wearing were haphazardly put together; they were clearly wizards.

One of them was an old, dark-skinned wizard who was the leader of the group.

Noticing his gaze, Lupin introduced him: "That's Babajid Akinbad, the vice president of the International Federation. If you read the newspaper I gave you earlier, you should remember him."

"Um……"

Matthew nodded, thought for a moment, and asked, "Where does the Federation disembark?"

Lupin understood what he meant and shook his head: "According to the original plan, their destination was also New York. However, not long ago, the Federation delegation changed its itinerary. The new plan is that they will disembark in Boston and investigate the actual situation in several nearby states along the way."

Matthew grinned: "They're not stupid, why would they want to be used as a shield forever!"

He then said nothing more, raised his head, and looked at the blue, calm ocean in his field of vision, which stretched all the way to the horizon where it met the sky, like two mirrors that went from parallel to intersecting.

How long can this calm last?

……

In the suitcase space, Warn's experiments have begun.

He dragged the control center of space out of the void.

Those were many lines and symbols whose meanings were difficult to discern, representing magic and alchemy respectively.

The immense magical power emanating from Vaughn was channeled into the lines and symbols through his wand, causing the clear blue sky to flip as if a curtain were being switched.

Night falls.

A full moon rises slowly behind the mountains that curve from the horizon, and the moment its bright moonlight falls, a sense of mystery fills the space!
The ceremony has begun!

"Ouch——"

The first to react were the werewolves still imprisoned in iron cages. Their eyes, filled with pain and obsession, stared at the moon. They howled uncontrollably, and amidst the cracking and popping of their joints, their bodies began to deform, hair grew, and their joints twisted.

Claws and fangs grew out of the flesh.

Next were the werewolves that Vaughn had processed, those that were fixed in the culture tanks.

Perhaps the magic and drugs Vaughn used had some effect, as their transformations were delayed and occurred at different times.

However, it doesn't matter. The purpose of this experiment was to screen and record data.

Eight culture tanks floated up and spun above Warn's head.

The nutrient solution inside the tank was boiling, producing a large number of bubbles.

At the same time, a large number of sensors embedded inside the tank began to operate.

Information regarding changes in the liquid composition inside the container, the appearance of the experimental subject, the spectrum, and other parameters was recorded and sent to the computer below.

At the same time, magical detection methods were also operating silently without affecting electronic instruments.

Vaughn, still channeling magic into the space control center to maintain the magical moon, downed a vial of Felix Felicis.

This potion, which claims to grant wishes, certainly doesn't have the power to interfere with fate.

In fact, the main function of Felix Felicis should be called emotional amplification. As we all know, emotions are a real and undeniable power in the magical world.

One of the fundamental "energy sources" that allows magic to create miracles is emotion.

A significantly enhanced emotional state can indeed interfere with reality in order to achieve the goal of "making one's wishes come true".

However, Vaughn has a different view. In his opinion, "wish fulfillment" is a crude interpretation, and Felix Felicis amplifies emotions and interferes with reality, which is more like an interference with "probability".

There is no single solution to anything in the world. There is nothing that can be said with certainty that if you follow a certain formula and preconditions step by step, it will develop into an absolute result.

For example, a bead rolls from the top of a straw hat down to the brim, and its possible trajectories cover any part of the cone-shaped "top of the straw hat".

Failure, derailment, and deviation are all possible. Even if the possibility is small, it still exists, representing that the development of things is probabilistic.

The emotions amplified by Felix Felicis interfere with precisely this probability!

He then drank Frucrine.

The magical light that shone in Vaughn's eyes gradually took on an amber hue, like that of Felix Felicis.

He felt his spirit expanding, growing, and exploding... For a moment, he even felt that he could manipulate all matter around him, macroscopically, microscopically, and at the atomic level (quantum)!

But he knew it was just an illusion.

It was a sudden surge of emotion that brought positive feedback, a kind of self-confidence that could be described as "arrogant"!

Therefore, Vaughn quickly controlled his inflated ego and, as planned, focused his attention and thoughts on the culture tanks floating above his head.

The "disintegration" of the werewolf's body tissues during the previous preparation process was not due to any strange fetish he had.

Instead, he was casting a combination of spells and potions on every tiny part of their bodies, a detection magic.

Now, as the full moon rises and the transformation begins, they continuously feed back the changes that occur inside the eight processed werewolves' bodies as they transform.

Numerous pieces of information, transmitted through magic, formed various signals before Vaughn's eyes.

Various lines, color blocks, spots... things that seemed meaningless at first glance swept past his eyes like a waterfall. With the help of the powerful effects of Felix Felicis, Vaughn maintained his clarity of mind, concentrating on capturing every signal while also trying to interfere with it.

Beside him, an automatic quill pen hovered, rapidly scribbling across the parchment, recording the information Vaughn had analyzed and transmitted.

This process lasted for about a minute.

Only after the last werewolf in the incubation tank completed its transformation did Vaughn's surging magical power gradually subside.

Vaughn slowly landed back on the ground, and the raging winds that had been stirred up by the magical disturbances gradually subsided.

The bright light of the full moon bathed the earth, and everything returned to peace.

Only the werewolves in the cages not far away roared wildly and desperately rammed into their cages.

Vaughn frowned, waved his hand and cast a mass silence spell, silencing them, before rubbing his throbbing temples.

"The amount of information generated by the cellular-level changes far exceeded my previous expectations. Fortunately, I had prepared Felix Ferulic in advance, otherwise I might not have been able to hold on!"

I felt somewhat fortunate.

He could clearly feel that his brain was sluggish, a side effect of overworking himself!
However, all that hard work paid off.

I walked over to a few computers placed in the distance, looked through the various data collected on them, and then looked at the information recorded by the automatic quill pen—piled up to a full two feet thick!
"very good!"

Vaughn nodded in satisfaction.

Although this experiment was merely information gathering, and the development of the new version of the Wolfsbane Potion has not yet entered the formal process, it is still a good start. Aside from the massive amount of data collected, it also proved that the information gathering experiment it developed—combining dissociation, spells, and potions for data collection, supplemented by Muggle instruments—was effective.

Putting aside everything else, it can be used to collect information about werewolf transformations, and it can also be used on fire dragons!
Or perhaps other amazing creatures we might study in the future!
"This is scientific thinking, not scientific superstition, not so-called materialistic cult, but a repeatable methodology."

His head was still heavy, but that didn't dampen Vaughn's cheerful mood. He hummed a song as he flipped through the records.

It's hard for outsiders to imagine that this politically influential young man, who sometimes seems cold and cruel, can be so "simple" in his happiness!
Of course, the lab rats and werewolves who witnessed all this wouldn't think that way.

……

Matthew settled into Lupin's room.

The other members of the delegation reacted differently to this newcomer who had suddenly joined the delegation. The Wiesengamo faction members were indifferent, and the Wiesengamo's organizational structure was already loose, which did not change after they joined the WAC.

As long as they don't break the law, they usually don't like to meddle in other people's business, especially since Vaughn is one of their own.

The committee members sent by the International Federation had some reservations about this – the members of the delegation had been agreed upon in advance, so what was the point of adding them halfway through?
Unfortunately, their numbers were too small, and since they were accompanied by a delegation from the Federation, they did not raise any objections to avoid suspicion.

On the contrary, the werewolf committee members were more resistant to Matthew.

Many people know that this guy named "Matthew" was once Graybury's henchman, a powerful wizard who followed Graybury many times to spread fear.

They don't trust him.

In the eyes of these werewolves, since the other party had once submitted to Greyback, whatever the reason, it meant that his character was problematic. They had all fallen into the same category of werewolves, and in the past they could force themselves not to harm others by living in seclusion, so why couldn't he?
Clearly, he is evil by nature!
This simple idea gave Lupin a headache. Although he managed to suppress the opposition by leveraging Vaughn's prestige, Matthew's situation did not improve.

Fortunately, Matthew was very honest.

Since coming out, apart from occasionally going to the deck to sunbathe, I have mostly stayed in my room reading newspapers and magazines.

From the magical world, from Muggles, from England, from America.

Perhaps it is because of his decadent and aimless life over the years that he has lost too much of the perspective and understanding of normal society that he is now making a concerted effort to catch up.

In Lupin's view, this was a good sign, indicating that the other party's defection was not out of fear of death, but rather a genuine desire to change themselves.

Time passed slowly, and the Royal Mary sailed out of the last stretch of icy waters, finally spotting land in the distance.

That evening, as was his custom, Lupin carried a tray to deliver dinner to Vaughn.

Upon entering the suite, Lupin was surprised to find that Vaughn, who had been in seclusion in the suitcase space for a long time, was in the suite's living room, organizing stacks of parchment.

He seemed to be in a good mood, and noticing Lupin, he greeted him warmly.

"Ah, Remus, you've been working hard lately. Wait a moment, let me finish these things, and then we'll have a drink together."

His "drink" refers to a Muggle carbonated beverage, which is the only "childishness" Lupin can find in Vaughn.

Lupin ignored the strange invitation; his gaze fell on the piles of parchment, and he said with some excitement, "President, your research..."

To his disappointment, Vaughn did not give the answer he hoped to hear: "Not yet, you know, potion development isn't that easy."

"Uh, sorry, yes, yes, I was too eager... So, what brings you here this time?"

"Have you forgotten, Fire Dragon?"

Lupin patted his head.

He had been busy with miscellaneous matters lately and had indeed forgotten about this matter. Before the departure, those wizard families had passed on the message that the first batch of fire dragons would be transferred over after the cruise ship entered the waters of the Americas.

The reason they don't operate in open waters is because the dragons they provide are all legal, with special approval certificates and transaction records, and can only be traded within the country that issued the approval.

Vaughn continued tidying up, with Lu Ping and others standing beside him.

As the light outside the window gradually changed, at one point, Vaughn, who was organizing documents, suddenly looked up at the sky outside the viewing window, which was dyed red by the setting sun: "We've entered the waters off the Americas!"

"Ok?"

Lupin looked in that direction, but he couldn't see anything.

Only wizards like Vaughn, with their talent for alchemy, could see that outside, from the sky to the sea, countless symbols stretched down from the clouds, like a gigantic waterfall.

The cruise ship slowly passed through this invisible barrier that stretched from the sky to the sea...

Magic and alchemy are like twins; where magical power is strong, alchemy is bound to flourish as well.

Therefore, several countries in the world with strong magical traditions each have their own famous and unique alchemical artifacts.

England is naturally the pen of acceptance and the book of entry, two alchemical artifacts that oversee the entire British Isles, and even some Commonwealth countries (such as Australia and New Zealand).

Although they mostly exist only in legends and many wizards have never even seen them, their rulings take precedence over everything else in England—once the Pen of Acceptance and the Book of Admission jointly determine the list of young wizards to be admitted for the current year, no one can modify or overturn it!
Regardless of whether those young wizards are pure-blood, half-blood, or Muggle, their Hogwarts student status is above all laws.

The English magical community and the Ministry of Magic only have the right to accept the ruling.

This is also one of the reasons why pure-blood families in England cannot, like in America, push through laws like the Rappaport Act to fundamentally detach themselves from secular life.

As one of the magical powers on par with England, the United States possesses three alchemical artifacts: Ilfamoni's snake staff, the Magical Congress's magic clock, and the Dreamcatcher!
Of course, whether the snake staff should belong to the United States is a matter of international debate—mainly because England is very unhappy about it.

It was originally Salazar Slytherin's wand, which had been kept by the Gaunt family for thousands of years, but in the 17th century it was taken to the New World by Aesop Thale, a descendant of the Gaunt family.

The English wizarding community considered this theft, and the wand should be returned to the Gaunt family in America.

However, the snake staff had already been planted by Aesop Thale in Iphamoni's courtyard, and it grew into a snake tree with leaves that could cure diseases, so the matter was eventually dropped.

The other two magical artifacts, the magic clock and the dreamcatcher, are also very powerful alchemical artifacts. The former can monitor magical fluctuations anywhere in the United States and can even automatically identify whether they have caused a magical leak, the level of the leak, and so on.

the latter……

Vaughn raised his head and looked at a dazzling light screen composed of countless symbols, which swept past his body as the cruise ship moved.

This is a dreamcatcher!

A legendary creation born from the fusion of the American magical world and the Native Americans of North America, two distinct magical civilizations!

It covers the entire United States, from the sky to the land to the sea, it is everywhere and inescapable!
Seeing Vaughn's strange movements, Lupin paused for a moment before suddenly remembering the legend: "Chairman, just now...we passed through that dreamcatcher?"

"Yes!"

Lupin was somewhat incredulous. He recalled the legends he had heard and drew his wand.

As he silently recited the incantation, his body and the surrounding air twisted violently a few times, and then... nothing happened.

Lupin opened his eyes again, his face looking rather grim: "I tried Apparition, but I failed..."

Vaughn was not surprised by his failure, explaining, "In the magic of Native Americans, the dreamcatcher represents filtering and protection. Two hundred years ago, when the colonist wizards decided to cooperate with the Native Americans to develop this alchemical artifact, it was derived from Native American magic. Its function is to filter out everything that is 'not allowed'."

"You were just trying to Apparate to the other side of the border, weren't you?"

"Yes, it was an uninhabited island we passed by not long ago."

"Unauthorized crossing of borders by means of Apparition, Portkey, Floo Net, or flying broomsticks is not permitted under Dreamcatcher's rules, so your magic has failed."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ping's expression grew even more unpleasant.

"Then, Mr. Chairman, what is permissible?"

"It was approved by the Magic Congress!"

No wonder...

Before departing for America, Lupin urgently gathered some information about the country from newspapers and other sources.

The news that impressed him the most was, of course, the newspaper report that a large number of ordinary wizards had been affected by the situation in North America, resulting in heavy casualties.

He wondered why, given the chaotic situation, ordinary wizards were still staying in America instead of seeking refuge in neighboring countries.

Now he understood; it wasn't that the wizards and the people didn't want to leave.

They can't use the most convenient and safest methods, so they can only sneak across the border like Muggles.

Getting caught up in disputes during the process is almost unavoidable!

Thinking about this, Lupin had a new question: "If the Dreamcatcher is so powerful, why is the Magical Congress letting the situation deteriorate? They could simply use the Dreamcatcher's abilities to strip Muggle-born wizards of their spellcasting abilities!"

Vaughn chuckled: "No matter how powerful Dreamcatcher is, it's still just an alchemical artifact. Its power has its limits... Try Apparating to my side."

Lupin was a little confused, but he still used Apparition as instructed.

This time, he succeeded.

With a crackling sound, his figure twisted and disappeared from where he stood, then squeezed out of the air next to Vaughn.

"..."

Lupin seemed to realize something.

Vaughn continued, "Not only that, you also need to consider the issue from another angle—why does the Magical Congress use dreamcatchers to restrict the crossing of borders?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Ping thought about it carefully before guessing, "For easier management?"

This was the most obvious answer he could think of.

Vaughn praised, "That's right. Putting aside the Floo Network, Apparition, Portkeys, flying brooms, and so on are the most widespread modes of transportation in the magical world. Although there are ways to counter them, both anti-Apparition and large-scale anti-flying spells require high costs."

"You should know how much effort England puts in every year to combat the pervasive smuggling."

“When you force others to accept laws that are unfavorable to them, you can’t expect them to obey obediently instead of running away. Under this premise, the more diverse the means of transportation, the more ways to escape, and the higher the management cost. Therefore, the application of dreamcatchers is essentially to reduce the management cost increase caused by the Rappaport Act.”

"If we follow your idea, putting aside whether it can be done, just setting restrictions and issuing approvals to purebred bloodlines nationwide would significantly increase management costs, which is contrary to their original intention."

Lu Ping was enlightened by what he heard.

This is also why Vaughn deliberately explained it.

Even now, having adjusted his mindset, Lu Ping is still not a qualified "vice president".

His current behavior is more like that of Vaughn's secretary or assistant, only handling miscellaneous tasks.

This outcome has nothing to do with Lupin's intelligence, but rather because he has never served as a leader and is not good at viewing and analyzing things from a management perspective, which leads to a limited vision and perspective.

Training is not something that can be done overnight.

Lupin clearly sensed Vaughn's intentions, and he didn't know how to evaluate it... Sometimes he himself wondered why, out of so many people in the WAC, Vaughn favored him the most.
However, these doubts did not prevent him from being grateful to Vaughn and from becoming motivated as a result!

Next, he began to proactively learn and analyze and structure some matters from other perspectives:
"Mr. President, I heard that the United States repealed the Rappaport Act in 1965, but it was reinstated just three years later. Why is that?"

The two had already arrived at the restaurant, and Vaughn ordered two Cokes.

When faced with his deputy's question, Vaughn showed great patience and asked him in return, "Tell me your opinion first?"

The wizard, who usually appeared as a melancholic and artistic old man, was unusually flustered: "My opinion... is it because the purebloods feel threatened?"

He was neither pureblood nor Muggle.

I rarely thought this way before, so I lacked confidence in my performance.

As it turns out, his current perspective is indeed limited. After hearing his answer, Vaughn shook his head: "This is only one of the reasons, not even a decisive factor. Have you tried to find information and analyze the ins and outs of the whole incident?"

Lupin paused, then shook his head.

Vaughn smiled: "It's all because of Muggle!"

"what?"

Lupin looked surprised as he listened as Vaughn slowly said, "In fact, the entire Rappaport Act, from its repeal to its reinstatement, was closely related to Muggle society. The incident was caused by two Muggles. One of them was a black woman named Rosa Parks, who was kicked off a bus in 1955 for not giving up her seat to a white person and was then arrested and imprisoned."

"Her experience caused a huge uproar in America at the time. It was the first time that Muggles had brought up racial and civil rights issues to the whole society for discussion. The wizarding world was also involved. Then the wizards were surprised to find that the Rappaport Act and the apartheid system were strikingly similar. They were both so unfair and unreasonable!"

"..." Lu Ping opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

He didn't understand Muggle segregation, but the Rappaport Act... wasn't its irrationality obvious?
Seeing his thoughts, Vaughn laughed and said, "My dear Remus, don't use your thinking and your modern understanding to judge the thinking of people in that era. The fact is, they have been ruled by the Act for 170 years since it was passed in 1790, for at least five generations."

“Countless wizards have long been accustomed to the idea that wizards and Muggles should avoid intermarriage, friendship, conversation, and other contact, just like Black people back then had to give up their seats to white people on buses and couldn’t use the sinks in public restrooms… Such rules are ingrained in people’s bones, and most people have become accustomed to them.”

"Until another Muggle named Martin Luther King Jr. suddenly appeared, I have to say, you really should listen to his speeches. They are full of emotion, logically clear, and break down problems and contradictions in a very simple and easy-to-understand way..."

"In short, it was the first collective awakening of the idea of ​​wizarding equality in the American wizarding world. It's hard for us to imagine now, but just 30 years ago, many young pure-blood and half-blood wizards took to the streets to stand up for Muggle-born wizards and work to overturn the Rappaport Act..."

"For the first time, wizards and Muggles have reached a consensus on the same issue, and have even begun to break through their preconceived notions and cooperate with each other. The Muggles provide ideological education and guidance for the wizard vanguard movement, while the wizards provide protection for the Muggles to prevent them from being persecuted!"

(End of this chapter)