Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 80 Snape: Am I the only one who is stupid?
Harry was a good experiment.

He has a naive character. When he thinks someone is trustworthy, he will cooperate as long as you say you are doing him good.

On the other hand, he lacks sufficient self-control. Even though he knows that there will be punishment for making mistakes, he cannot help but make mistakes. By constantly violating the rules, he provides a large amount of experimental data.

Over the past month, with Harry's help, Vaughan has gradually refined his original idea.

And the automatic response personality will be promoted into a real personality armor - a virtual personality with real thoughts, memories and behavior patterns, although it is only an Alpha version.

After listening to Vaughn's explanation of the original intention and principles behind developing the personality armor, Crouch had a strange expression on his face.

"So, I was talking to a fake personality?"

"No, only after I invite you into my inner world. Isn't that amazing? By the way, the one you're talking to now is also a virtual personality, but don't worry, 'I'm' still in the experimental stage. The template is based on me, and its thoughts and behaviors are exactly the same as mine."

Crouch: “…”

He suddenly had a lot to say, but didn't know how to say it.

After a moment, he asked curiously, "Then where is your true personality?"

Vaughan smiled but said nothing.

Crouch understood that the other party pulled him into the spiritual world and faced him with a virtual personality in order to hide his real personality and prevent him from memorizing magic and causing trouble here.

It is naturally impossible to reveal where the true personality is hidden.

Crouch sighed: "Let me out, I want to talk to the real you."

"no problem!"

Another snap of the fingers, Crouch felt dizzy, and when he opened his eyes again, he was back in the living room.

The frequent changes of scenes made Crouch a little confused about what was real and what was unreal. He subconsciously grabbed the armrest of the sofa. The rough fabric with body temperature brought him a sense of comfort.

Across from him, Vaughn leaned back in his chair, legs crossed: “So, are you going to accept my offer? I’ll heal your son, and you, in return, will cooperate with the Werewolf Affairs Committee on the Wolf Poison Potion, and at the appropriate time, do me a few small favors.”

Crouch was silent for a moment: "How sure are you?"

"I don't know." Vaughn was very frank. "I need to carefully examine Mr. Barty's memories to confirm the state of his spiritual world and the extent of the influence of the dark magic on him. Then, I can develop a treatment plan based on this."

"As a potential partner, I need to explain to you that Mr. Barty Jr. is also very important to my research. To be honest, I have never learned in detail about the mind of a completely corrupted dark wizard."

This is indeed the main reason why Vaughn came to Barty Crouch.

Crouch also obviously noticed it, "You said helping you with some small favors is also related to dark wizards?"

Vaughn smiled and said, "Yes. For example, you took advantage of your position to give me some dark wizards to study."

"..."

This was a bit like the evil human research on Muggle TV, but it actually made Crouch feel at ease.

This means that the other party did not fool him.

Through the demonstration and explanation in the spiritual world, Crouch also saw the potential of the strange personality suit. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Let me think about it...how can I contact you?"

This kind of reaction is basically confirmed.

Vaughan's smile grew gentler. "You can send me a letter by owl, or you can contact Professor Snape through the fireplace and have him tell me a time."

As he said this, he handed Crouch a slip of paper with the address on it and a few "Throw me in the fireplace" notes.

Crouch took it and smiled sarcastically: "Are you very confident that I will agree?"

"No, I'm just certain that a father would never let go of even the slightest possibility to save his son!"

"..."

……

The inquiry meeting continued for the next two days.

Minister's Office.

Cornelius Fudge, with a gloomy face, observed every move in the Wizengamot meeting room through the magic mirror.

This is his power as a minister. Although he cannot participate in Wizengamot decision-making, he can still observe.

The Wizengamot itself does not refuse outside observers, and occasionally even allows ordinary wizards to attend some trials.

Watching the questioning meeting proceeding calmly under the chairmanship of Amelia, looking at the hateful face of Vaughn Weasley on the central podium, responding to those harmless questions with understatement.

Fudge gritted his teeth and forced a glass of liquor down his throat.

"a ha ha ha--"

He suddenly burst into laughter, shaking with laughter, and then he was furious: "Damn it, I want sherry, not this damned giggling liquor, I don't want to laugh!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Minister."

Umbridge apologized hastily and hurriedly replaced his glass with a new one.

"Damn Burns, damn Weasley... those damn bastards! See, Umbridge, they don't even bother to hide their nonsense and pointless questions!"

Fudge used cursing to cover up his panic and frustration.

According to the process, the establishment of the Werewolf Affairs Committee after the questioning meeting was basically no surprise. The purpose of this meeting itself was to find out what problems a proposal had by asking questions.

If the proposer can answer all questions and get the approval of the questioner, it means that he has carefully thought about and made detailed plans for the proposal itself, and it meets the approval principles.

It is undoubtedly very painful to watch something that should belong to you being snatched away from you.

Umbridge consoled him, "Mr. Minister, you don't have to worry too much. The Werewolf Affairs Committee has a very serious problem. As an organization, it has no source of income. You've heard about this, right? The other day, that Weasley brat even tried to win over Barty Crouch in order to solve his financial problems!"

She covered her mouth shyly and laughed shrilly like a little girl. "But he underestimated your prestige. Barty Crouch ignored him. That old guy wouldn't dare to confront you. Just wait and see how much money Weasley and Dumbledore can give to those filthy werewolves!"

Hearing this, Fudge finally smiled. Suppressing Crouch was what he was most proud of.

And this thing that he was originally most proud of now disgusts Weasley!
Just double the joy!
Humph, stupid and naive Weasley!
He gulped down another glass of wine, and then, in the magic mirror, he was shocked to see...

Barty Crouch, who had been like a transparent man for the past few days, suddenly raised his hand.

This action obviously left the Wizengamot at a loss. Amelia paused, then said, "Mr. Crouch, what's your question?"

Everyone looked at Crouch's thin, serious face.

He stood up, his voice a little weak, but clear enough: "Mr. Vaughn Weasley, I'd like to ask you about the specific plans you mentioned the other day regarding promoting cooperation in exporting wolfsbane potion?"

boom!
Umbridge turned around tremblingly and saw the Minister's face was ashen and he threw the wine glass heavily to the ground.

The Wizengamot's inquiry meeting into the Werewolf Affairs Committee ended unexpectedly on the last day.

No one knows why Barty Crouch, who has been in hiding for many years and almost exiled himself from the power struggle, suddenly went crazy and jumped out at such a sensitive time.

At the meeting, everyone was carefully observing old Crouch. He seemed to have not changed at all. He was still dressed the same way as in years past, meticulously and in a gloomy manner. He was still taciturn, as if he only had a pair of ears.

However, his mental state was obviously different, like a dying person who suddenly saw hope of survival.

Although he rarely spoke throughout the whole process, every time he spoke, he grasped the key points of the cooperative export of wolfsbane potion. He even communicated with Vaughn directly in the meeting to help Vaughn fill in some details.

There was no concealment at all on that cooperative and eager look!
In fact, everyone knows that after the establishment of the Werewolf Affairs Committee, it will inevitably face attacks and targeting from the Ministry of Magic headed by Fudge.

Even with the approval of the Wizengamot, the Committee is a legal institution in England and the Ministry of Magic cannot take direct action. However, they still have many ways to indirectly influence such a powerful body.

For example, blocking the approval of potion sales, inciting public opinion and partners to boycott werewolves to earn gold galleons, adjusting the raw material market, etc...

Of course, the premise of all this is that the various departments of the Ministry of Magic can operate harmoniously and effectively implement Minister Fudge's series of plans.

But now, the Minister’s plan has not even started and it is about to be torn into pieces!
"...The Committee's biggest weakness before was its lack of income and official power. This was also Fudge's biggest reliance on turning the tables. However, Barty Crouch's betrayal gave the Committee a new channel - the international wizarding community!"

"With Barty Crouch's support, many of the issues we were worried about will now be resolved: Is it about approval for the sale of magic potions? That's okay. England's approval won't affect other countries. At least with Crouch as a social butterfly, some countries with minority languages ​​should be happy to open a green channel for old friends. It's proven that knowing a few foreign languages ​​can help you make many more friends."

"Stuck on raw materials? That's not a problem. Some countries with serious werewolf problems (like Northern Europe) probably don't mind buying raw materials + gold galleons just to get the wolfsbane potion quickly."

"Restricting pharmacists? The Extraordinary Apothecary Association is currently taking an ambiguous stance. However, regarding Extraordinary Potions, thanks to Dumbledore and Severus Snape's call, several pharmacists have expressed their willingness to be hired to brew the Wolfsbane Potion. For example, Mr. Slughorn, this lovable yet cunning old man, never misses any opportunity to become famous..."

"Although we still don't know how Mr. Vaughan Weasley persuaded Barty Crouch, his participation did make the successful conclusion of the inquiry meeting even more perfect."

"This also means that the establishment of the Werewolf Affairs Commission has officially entered the countdown—Rita Skeeter reports for you!"

Putting down the newspaper in her hand, Amelia Burns looked at Vaughn with a half-smile:

"Since when did Rita Skeeter become your mouthpiece?"

Vaughan shrugged as he ate his cookies. "Perhaps she was always a fair and compassionate journalist, but she was too focused on storytelling and neglected the pursuit of news authenticity."

"Ah……"

Amelia laughed. She had been interviewed by Rita several times and knew very well the stupidity and viciousness in that woman's heart.

She actually didn't care much. She was a die-hard Dumbledore supporter and a politician. She knew that in political struggles, the right approach was to unite all forces that could be united.

It is respectable to be close to the virtuous and stay away from the villains because of personal likes and dislikes, but it is too idealistic.

However… Amelia put down her newspaper, pinched her brow, and said with a mix of headache and curiosity, “I just told you the day before yesterday not to have any contact with Crouch, but… speaking of which, how exactly did you convince him?”

Vaughan didn't answer, but instead asked, "After watching Crouch's performance today, do you think winning him over will do more harm than good?"

"...It's hard to say, but his mental state is definitely different. His positivity far exceeds my expectations."

Although she didn't quite understand, Amelia answered honestly.

The one who lost his value was Crouch, who was just waiting to die, not the Crouch who was very cooperative and proactive with Vaughn's plan in the previous meeting!

Vaughn smiled.

When a father is in desperate situation, he can indeed burst out energy far beyond the imagination of outsiders for his son and family.

Looking at the child sitting on the sofa in front of her and eating cookies, Amelia felt that he was more mysterious and unpredictable.

As for Crouch, in fact, in the first few years, many people were still optimistic about him, expecting him to get out of the haze of life and lead everyone out of the downturn in the era of Millicent Barnold (this was a rather appeasement leader, and her main strategy during her administration was to play ostrich. The current backwardness and inefficiency of the wizarding world were partly due to her).

Many people have tried to help him get back on his feet, including Amelia.

But everyone failed, and everyone thought that the once iron-fisted Crouch had become a useless man!
No one could have imagined that such a guy, who many old friends and colleagues could not pull out of the quagmire, would be conquered by Vaughn Weasley today.

Amelia was curious about what method Vaughn used.

Others were curious as well.

The two were chatting when someone knocked on the office door. Amelia coughed, straightened her appearance, and responded, "Come in!"

The door opened and an imposing middle-aged man walked in.

He was a middle-aged wizard with thick, messy brown hair, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, but with extremely sharp eyes. His legs seemed to be a little lame, but his gait was big and menacing, and every move revealed a tough style.

At first glance, one might think they are seeing a lion ready to go to war.

"Rufus?"

"Amelia!" The wizard pursed his lips slightly, his voice low and serious. He nodded to Amelia, then fixed his sword-like gaze on Vaughn:

"Mr. Vaughan Weasley, my name is Rufus Scrimgeour. Could you tell me how you persuaded Barty Crouch? As far as I know, he has not been involved in political affairs for a long time!"

"..." Vaughn, who had just taken a bite of a biscuit, blinked, a little confused by his bluntness. "So?"

"So, I suspect you used abnormal means on him..."

Amelia frowned, "Rufus!"

Amelia was a little angry.

Rufus Scrimgeour is the Head of the Auror Office, which is under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Although the Auror Office has a certain degree of autonomy due to the separation of legislation and law enforcement, in name, the other party is still her subordinate.

But now her subordinates were questioning her guests in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Amelia."

Scrimgeour apologized, his eyes never leaving Vaughn. "But as an Auror, I have reason to be suspicious of doubts. Especially, if a high-ranking Ministry official like Barty Crouch is under the Imperius Curse..."

"That's enough, you're going too far, Rufus!" Amelia didn't want to listen anymore and was about to yell at Scrimgeour to leave.

Vaughn raised his hand. "It's okay, Amelia."

He looked at Scrimgeour, who looked like an old lion, with a head of messy gray hair, with great interest, and smiled, "What would you do if I didn't want to tell you?"

Scrimgeour still had that pouty expression on his face. "If you don't want to tell me, I can't force you to, but you will come into my sight, and I will watch your every move!"

"Of course, you can put pressure on me through other important figures. I know that Dumbledore supports you behind the scenes. Yes, this gossip has spread throughout the entire wizarding world."

He pulled the corners of his mouth, seemingly smiling, "But as long as I sit in the position of the head of the Auror Office, you have to be careful, there are eyes behind you!"

After saying that, he turned and left without any hesitation.

It seemed as if he appeared just to say these words of warning.

After he left, Vaughn looked at Amelia strangely: "Is he always like this?"

"Ugh……"

Amelia sighed, "You should ask how many people in the entire Auror Office are left who don't have this style."

"Okay, how many are left?"

"...The first person I can think of is Kingsley Shacklebolt..."

After complaining, Amelia defended Scrimgeour, saying, "Aurors are always on the front lines against Dark wizards, so they can be very direct and rude at times. Alastor Moody is a representative figure in this regard. Believe me, one day when you see him you'll understand that Scrimgeour is actually quite gentle."

Vaughn smiled and said jokingly, "Ah, it seems that the Ministry of Magic still has many systems that need improvement. I think it is necessary to set up a psychological counseling agency for the Auror Office. I have some attainments in memory magic. Amelia, would you consider hiring me?"

Seeing that Vaughn didn't seem to care much about Scrimgeour's offense, Amelia secretly breathed a sigh of relief and joked back, "If I ever become Minister of Magic, I might consider it."

Vaughn responded with a smile.

He really didn't take Scrimgeour's threat seriously.

This old lion is undoubtedly a qualified Auror, with a sense of justice and a strong mind.

Even if Voldemort captured and tortured Harry in the future, his whereabouts would not be revealed.

But his talent is limited to this.

In the original novel, with Voldemort's resurrection, Fudge's resignation, and Amelia's murder, he did not make any effective decisions after becoming Minister of Magic until his death in battle.

The only achievement in his career as a minister was distributing defense pamphlets to the wizarding residents...

Amelia didn't want to talk about Scrimgeour any more, so she changed the subject and asked, "What has Dumbledore been busy with lately? I've hardly seen him lately."

"He... is probably investigating a case in some primeval forest right now!"

"?"

……

Snape, with a stern face and the long hem of his robe dragging behind him, exchanged secret signals with the extremely ugly dripping stone beast and came to the principal's office.

Then he saw Dumbledore, who was covered in dust, with his beard and hair covered in dead branches and leaves.

"what……"

Snape laughed expressionlessly, emphasizing his sarcasm. "Respected White Lord, you've been gone for over half a month. I thought you were busy with some major event in the wizarding world, but now it seems you might have just drunk too much and fallen into a tree."

Shamelessly, Dumbledore pretended not to understand and said with a friendly smile, "Severus, long time no see. How is everything going recently? How is Harry?"

"Not very good. Your great savior has disguised himself as an owl, a Ravenclaw student, a hamster, a madman... and a stag in order to attract attention!"

When he mentioned the last word "stag", Snape's face darkened, as if he had thought of something that disgusted him.

Dumbledore shrugged, "What a vibrant youth, isn't it? Um...how's Vaughn?"

It has to be said that the person who knows Snape best is Dumbledore.

Snape's expression relaxed visibly. He didn't say anything, but took out a newspaper from his pocket and handed it over.

"Ha, it seems you've been paying attention to your dear students."

"I just want to see him kill himself!"

"Don't say one thing and mean another. If you don't care about him, with your temper, you wouldn't carry a newspaper with you... Oh—the inquiry meeting is over? Crouch actually supported Vaughan at the meeting? I seem to have missed a lot of exciting scenes!"

After quickly browsing the report in the newspaper, Dumbledore narrowed his blue eyes slightly, but said nothing more.

Snape couldn't help but feel a little strange: "Aren't you curious about why he was able to convince Crouch? Many people are very confused."

"Of course I'm curious." Dumbledore took off his glasses and wiped them, his expression calm. "But we have an agreement to protect the trust we have now and focus on more important things."

"For Vaughn, the Werewolf Affairs Committee is his most important priority right now. All his goals are to serve the establishment of the committee. I have no reason and no desire to interfere."

"Just like when he needed me to show up in person the most, I chose to do what I thought was important, and he didn't interfere with me. This is a compromise and trust between two smart people, which is very precious!"

Snape narrowed his eyes.

Humph, I don’t really understand you smart people!
He didn't bother to ask what kind of agreement the two foxes, one big and one small, had made. He simply said, "Are you done asking? I still have to go back and correct your savior's paper. Tsk, tsk, it took me an hour to force myself to read that piece of garbage without vomiting."

What surprised him was that Dumbledore didn't say anything and seemed to be thinking about something.

After a moment, he said, "Severus, find some time to force Quirinus."

Hearing this, Snape frowned: "You want to speed up the process? Why?"

According to the previously adjusted plan, he should force Quirrell again at the end of the semester, thereby alerting the Dark Lord and forcing him to break through with his will.

That node was chosen just to wait for Harry to master Occlumency.

(End of this chapter)