Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 91 The Trial of the Savior
Outside Hogwarts Castle, on the path leading to Hagrid's Hut.

The fine cobblestone road was slippery from the rain, and the four of them walked on it carefully. The slightly chilly wind blew the drizzle around them. Harry and Ron, who were walking in front with their heads down, kept sneezing, and their robes were soon soaked.

But the two people and the cat following behind them were protected by a waterproof and moisture-proof spell and were in a mood to chat.

"Vaughn, when did you come back?"

"I just got back and was about to go back to Slytherin to rest for a while, but I was discovered by Guo Guocha."

When Guoguocha heard his master calling his name, he jumped over and rubbed against Vaughn's legs again and again.

Hermione asked expectantly, "Is everything settled?"

Vaughn nodded. "Almost. The next thing is quite complicated. The Wizengamot and the werewolves need to write to the International Confederation of Wizards. The three parties need to agree on a time to discuss the establishment of a joint committee's organizational structure. I won't have to be involved in this matter, so I will stay at school until the end of the semester."

The little witch suddenly smiled sweetly.

She looked at the two friends walking silently in front of her, quietly took Vaughn's hand, and gently shook it, concealing her inner joy.

"Ah!"

Harry sneezed again and couldn't help pulling at his robe. The wet robe became very heavy and completely lost its function of keeping out the cold.

The wind blowing on it can chill you to the bone.

He glanced secretly at Ron beside him. Ron was not much better than him. He pulled his robe with both hands and shivered in the cold wind. His face was as pale as Malfoy's, and his freckles seemed to have become transparent.

"Ron, maybe we should wait for your brother... uh, I mean, wait for Vaughn."

Harry said suggestively.

But Ron obviously didn't want to admit defeat.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken Harry away first after seeing Vaughn more than ten minutes ago.

Ron snorted. "Don't expect him to cast a waterproofing spell on you, Harry. He loves to see other people in such a mess. I don't need to wait for him to know that we're both going to get wet in the end."

No, he just wanted to see you in such a mess...

Harry thought to himself, but didn't dare say it out loud, for he was afraid that Ron's fragile self-esteem might collapse.

Harry had already discovered through their previous experience of practicing Occlumency...

Vaughan may have a bit of a bad taste, but he generally wouldn't do anything to strangers.

His "bullying" is often more like a joke with a bit of urging meaning played on people he is familiar with - like now.

In fact, the waterproof and moisture-proof spell is a spell that can be learned in the first grade. If the two of them worked harder in class and read more books after class, they would not have to stand in the wind and rain like fools now.

At least Harry felt that being bullied was no big deal. From childhood to adulthood, he had never enjoyed such a feeling!
The only thing that accompanied him growing up was loneliness.

Oh, Cousin Dudley's kind of bullying doesn't count!

Ron didn't know what was going on in Harry's mind, otherwise he would have thought Harry was crazy. He muttered about Vaughn's "care" for him since he was a child, to prove how wise it was for him to take Harry away early, at least he didn't have to humiliate himself.

It would be more convincing if he could stop his teeth from chattering when he spoke.

Fortunately, Hagrid's cabin was not far away. After crossing a hill, the small wooden cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest came into view. White smoke was coming out of the chimney of the cabin. Fang was squatting at the door and started barking from a distance.

Soon, Hagrid, wearing an apron and holding two umbrellas, came to meet them. When they met, he complained:

"You two little fools, you don't know how to cast a waterproof and moisture-proof spell, so why don't you know to bring an umbrella?"

Harry and Ron were struck by lightning.

Yes...

The two men, fooled by their own stupidity, huddled under Hagrid's umbrella, dejected.

The carefree Hagrid didn't care. He watched Vaughn and Hermione from a distance and waited for a while. When they approached, he went up to Vaughn and gave him a hug.
"Well done, kid. Werewolf Affairs Commission. That's the buzzword in the papers this year. No one's ever thought of it before. I mean, who cares about those poor werewolves... and those poor half-breeds?"

As he spoke, he wiped his eyes emotionally, probably thinking about his own life experience.

The wizarding world has a long history and has various drawbacks. What Hagrid said is actually that the abuse of magic has led to the emergence of new species, but these new species are not recognized in the wizarding world, and they can only become a marginal group that no one cares about.

A half-giant like Hagrid is lucky enough to be able to stay in Hogwarts, because at least there is Dumbledore who is willing to take him in.

However, his sadness only lasted for a moment, and he soon greeted them warmly, "Come on, children, I have made tea. It was given to me by Vaughan earlier, and it smells delicious!"

Whether the tea smelled good or not was another matter. The four of them followed Hagrid into his cabin and discovered something strange—

All the windows in the small house were blocked tightly. After inviting everyone in, Hagrid immediately closed the door and blocked the gaps with rags.

There was a blazing fire in the fireplace. Even in such chilly and gloomy weather, the surging heat waves still made some people almost suffocate.

Harry, who had wanted to ask about the matter quickly, was gasping for breath and unable to speak.

Ron, whose face was pale just a moment ago, was now so hot that he unbuttoned his collar: "Merlin, Hagrid, what the hell are you doing? Are you really raising a dragon?"

pat!

Hagrid, who had just brought the snacks, dropped the plate. He wiped his forehead nervously and said, "Oh my God, how did you know? Who else knows?"

"No one else knows, Hagrid. Hermione found your library slip. We guessed."

Hagrid breathed a sigh of relief and was about to say something when he saw Vaughn, who had been silent all the time, walk to the fireplace, pick up the fire tongs and stir the firewood inside.

The other three also noticed that Ron seemed to have suddenly lost his memory and completely forgot that he was still complaining about his brother's shortcomings just a few minutes ago. He excitedly moved closer to Vaughn, with Harry lying on his shoulder and Hermione watching from across the table.

As Vaughn pushed aside the firewood, a black egg about the size of a watermelon appeared from under the burning wood.

Ron held his breath, his eyes shining in the firelight: "This...is this a dragon egg?"

"Yeah, isn't it beautiful?" Hagrid said in a daze, even though he had been looking at it for several days and still couldn't get enough of it. "It's a perfect creature, isn't it?"

Vaughn squatted down and looked at the dragon egg carefully. He cast a spell on his eyes. In his field of vision, the firelight gradually dimmed. On the contrary, the life light gushing out of the dragon egg was extremely dazzling.

He nodded. "Yes, it's a beautiful creature."

A long time ago, about a few years after he traveled through time, Vaughn, who had worked hard to learn English, began to read the limited collection of books at home.

Most of them were history books of the wizarding world, and some were notes copied from the ancestors by Molly and Arthur before and after their marriage from the Prewett and Weasley families.

If Vaughn wants to find the essence of magic, he must first trace back to its origin and birth.

Before the establishment of the Wizards' Council (the predecessor of the Ministry of Magic, which was dissolved in 1707), the magical world had no unified management organization, so when tracing the history of magic, we can usually only rely on the notes of our predecessors to get a glimpse of one side of it.

Even after entering Hogwarts, Vaughan spent at least half of his time in the library flipping through notes that seemed meaningless to other students.

Time is the most powerful spell of forgetfulness. Everything will eventually be buried by the dust of time. He never expected that the answer he was looking for could be found in the book.

In the magic world, there are many people who study the origins of magic, but they usually link magic with civilization. In fact, in the eyes of most people, magic either came from Egypt or the more ancient East.

This is the mainstream view.

Vaughan is different from them. He believes that the original form of magic has never been out of people's sight and has not been hidden by time - magical creatures!
In his view, everything in the world originates from nature, and magic is no exception.

Perhaps the first wizards of long ago learned magic from magical creatures. Considering that dragon pox, a disease with a long history and difficult to talk about, still existed in the wizarding world, he had reason to suspect that the magical bloodline that pure-blood families were so proud of and desperately tried to protect might have come from a rather bizarre source...

The reason why Vaughn pursued the origin and nature of magic was that he had been puzzled by one thing - he had learned through the system that the magic power scale of an ordinary adult wizard was about 500 points, which was probably the average level in the magic world, and his current magic power was already approaching this limit.

But even though he was close to average, he still felt powerless when facing Dumbledore.

When Vaughn faced Dumbledore, it was like facing the vast ocean, while he himself was just a gurgling stream. Relying solely on his own growth, he felt a sense of despair that he would never be able to catch up in his entire life.

He had felt a similar feeling from Voldemort before!

This is what confuses Vaughn the most. They are both wizards, and even if there may be differences in talent and bloodline, why is it so big?

The gap is so big that it seems as if Dumbledore and Voldemort are no longer the same species as other wizards!
They gave Vaughn the feeling that they had become part of the magic, part of the mystery. They were no longer wizards, but some kind of magical creatures, or rather, mythical creatures!
Beside the fireplace, Vaughn, his eyes flickering faintly with magic, looked at the dazzling life light of the dragon egg in his field of vision.

The light was so rich and strong, far beyond that of humans, and unlike the pure white of humans, the life light of the dragon egg had a fiery color.

In his opinion, if there is anything in the world that is closer to the life level of Dumbledore and Voldemort, it must be magical creatures.

They are both magical creatures, the only difference is that magical creatures are born from nature, and nature is imperfect.

A few months ago, when Vaughn first realized the gap between himself and Dumbledore, he wanted to study magical creatures, trying to figure out the origin and nature of magic and why Dumbledore was so powerful.

Or, what does he have to do to "evolve" into that?

Of course, Vaughn knew that it was bound to be a big project and there was no need to rush, so he always focused his main energy on improving his spells and reputation.

However, he wouldn't let go of readily available material if it were offered to him. While he was observing, Harry and Ron had already started talking to Hagrid.

"Hagrid, how did you get it? I mean, there are almost no real wild dragons now (they all live in protected areas). As early as the 17th century, in order to prevent Muggles from knowing about dragons, the wizarding world confined all dragons to their habitats."

Ron asked curiously.

Before Hagrid could reply, Hermione chimed in, "This is the International Confederation of Wizarding Secrecy. In 1692, the wizarding community worldwide decided to hide the existence of the wizarding world from Muggles. The first group to be restricted was magical creatures. To this end, the International Confederation invited intelligent magical creatures like mermen, centaurs, and goblins to form a delegation to sign the Statute."

Harry, completely clueless about "common sense," had been listening intently. Finally, upon hearing a familiar phrase, he said happily, "I know about this Statute of Secrecy. I read in the newspaper a while ago that some wizards used it to attack Vaughn and werewolves, saying that werewolves reintegrating into Muggle society could lead to violations of the Statute of Secrecy."

Hagrid, who was about to answer Ron, was immediately distracted. He stroked his beard and said, "Oh, this is a very serious matter. The Statute of Secrecy cannot be violated, otherwise the International Confederation of Wizards will impose disciplinary sanctions on the entire England, and even Dumbledore won't be able to stop it."

He looked at Vaughn: "How did you finally solve it?"

Vaughn thought for a moment and replied casually, "There's no solution. Werewolves need work, and only Muggle society is big enough to support them."

Hagrid was speechless.

He didn't quite understand what volume was, so he mumbled a few words like "very good" and "insightful," then turned back to Ron's previous question, his expression immediately becoming beaming with joy:
"How did you get this dragon egg? Ron, you'll never imagine!"

Without waiting for Ron to ask, he happily said, "This is my trophy, Ron. A Greek made a bet with me—actually, I just wanted to have a drink that day—and he lost. He didn't have anything valuable on him, so he gave me this dragon egg."

Hagrid looked at the dragon egg in the fire and was delighted. "That's a good man who kept his promise. I dare say he must have put a lot of effort into getting this thing."

Ron was almost drooling with envy. "Yeah, no one can keep a dragon these days. Hagrid, have you found out what kind it is?"

"of course."

Hagrid pulled out a book he had borrowed from the library. "It says here, judging by the pattern on the eggshell, it should be a Norwegian Ridgeback—very rare, with very few left in existence."

This time, Ron was really drooling.

In his opinion, rarity = expensive = large sums of gold galleons = financial freedom!

All evening, until they returned to the castle, Ron couldn't stop thinking about Hagrid's good fortune.

"Why can't I meet a Greek who can lose a dragon egg to me?"

Before going to bed at night, Ron was still mumbling this sentence, and it was not without a hint of sourness: "Maybe that Greek guy deliberately lost to Hagrid. He might be worrying about what to do with the dragon egg. It's indeed rare, but it's a big crime, right, Harry?"

After waiting for a while and not getting any answer from Harry, Ron raised his head and looked at the bed next to him.

Harry was lying on the bed, staring blankly at the tasseled ceiling.

"What's the matter with you, Harry?"

"…I was thinking about what Hagrid said."

Ron was stunned for a moment before reacting: "Snape?"

Harry nodded.

Of course, he would not forget the main purpose of looking for Hagrid. At night when everyone was paying attention to the dragon eggs, he did not forget to find an opportunity to ask Hagrid.

The answer surprised him a little.

"Harry, you already know that when I picked you up, I went to Gringotts to get the Philosopher's Stone, right? It's really scary. If Dumbledore hadn't told me to pick you up that day, it might have been taken by the thief who broke into Gringotts."

"So since then, Dumbledore has kept it in Hogwarts. Dumbledore set up a powerful magical mechanism. Every professor, including me, was involved. I provided Fluffy to guard the entrance... Yes, Harry, Snape was involved too."

"I don't know exactly what arrangements he made, but I heard from Dumbledore that Snape was responsible for the most important step. If Snape wanted to steal the Philosopher's Stone, he would have had the opportunity long ago and wouldn't have had to wait until now."

Harry repeated Hagrid's words to Ron.

Ron scratched his head. "Well, that sounds reasonable."

This is exactly what made Harry feel depressed. He had thought about the magical mechanism. The trapdoor guarded by Fluffy was simply a classic hint of mechanism design.

However, he originally thought that the mechanism was set up by Dumbledore, and Snape did not know the specific situation. Instead, it was Quirrell who was probably deeply involved in it, so he ran into Snape threatening Quirrell that day.

But now it seems that this is not the case.

He... seemed to have always misunderstood Snape.

This fact was hard for Harry to accept, and he even felt that there was something wrong with the whole incident.

If there was anything Harry gained from studying with Vaughn for several months, besides Occlumency, it was that he learned to think first and use his brain first.

There was no way. If he didn't use more caution when getting along with a smart person like Vaughn, he would have become as resentful as Ron.

Now thinking back carefully, Harry felt that everything was too coincidental.

Why did Dumbledore ask Hagrid to take the Philosopher's Stone on the day he was picked up?

Why did the people who broke into Gringotts do it on that day?
Why did Dumbledore go to such great lengths to hide the Philosopher's Stone in Hogwarts and create so many magical mechanisms to protect it?

In fact, Harry felt that if Dumbledore had hidden the Philosopher's Stone in the headmaster's office or in his pocket without saying a word, it would have been safer than it was now.

Ron was already asleep, snoring loudly.

Harry, with too many puzzles lingering in his mind, tossed and turned and couldn't sleep.

Just when the Savior was suffering from insomnia again, in the principal's office on the eighth floor.

As Dumbledore cast his spell, all the portraits fell into a deep sleep.

He and Vaughan went to the Pensieve and watched the memory of their night in Hagrid's hut.

The smoke of memory, like ink dropped into water, spreads and diffuses around the two people.

Vaughan looked at himself, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, and the dragon egg in his memory, his expression flat. "Quirrel has learned from Hagrid how to get past Fluffy... You're really ruthless, Albus. To make sure Hagrid wouldn't let the cat out of the bag, you even used a Confounding Charm on him."

"Oh—did you notice?"

Vaughn smiled faintly: "I realized it when I met him. Poor guy, he still doesn't realize that the person he trusts most would curse him."

"Your progress in memory magic has far exceeded my expectations, Vaughn."

Dumbledore praised him, then sighed, "Hagrid is a good boy with a simple mind. It's my fault for keeping him at Hogwarts, preventing him from understanding the complexities of reality... Although Quirinus's mind may be a little unclear, he still has some basic judgment. To convince him that the Philosopher's Stone isn't a trap, I must make everything seem as reasonable as possible."

"Aren't you afraid that Tom will find out? He's a master of memory magic just like you."

Dumbledore winked playfully. "I checked beforehand, and Tom is still asleep. I have you to thank, Vaughn. Without unicorn blood, he has to hibernate frequently to avoid sucking Quirinus to death."

As he spoke, his expression looked a little sad.

Quirinus was originally a student he had high hopes for. In his original plan, he was going to let Quirinus teach the Defense Against the Dark Arts course for a year, and after the term was up, he would arrange for him to join the Ministry of Magic or the International Confederation of Wizards.

Unfortunately, things are unpredictable.

Dumbledore couldn't tell whether it was Voldemort's curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts class that caused all this, or the disturbance in Voldemort and Harry's fate.

But no matter which point, he cannot escape blame.

If he hadn't found Quirinus last year, all this...

As if sensing his guilt, Vaughn couldn't help but sneer, "Albus, have you noticed that you're always on guard against Slytherin, but in fact, the most problems are in another house?"

Dumbledore: "?"

Vaughn counted on his fingers. "Qurinus Quirrell, Ravenclaw; Rita Skeeter, Ravenclaw."

Dumbledore's beard twitched, and he said stubbornly, "It's just a coincidence!"

Vaughn smiled. He had one more thing he hadn't said. When Gilderoy Lockhart came to Hogwarts next year, he really wanted to ask Dumbledore again, was it a coincidence?

The two of them looked at the memory for a while. Perhaps to change the subject, Dumbledore greatly appreciated Vaughn's memory processing, and thought that the memory he constructed was very clear and full, so clear that it could be mistaken for the real thing.

Especially Miss Granger, her every frown and smile is lifelike and very touching.

Vaughn rolled his eyes, not bothering to respond to his teasing. As he left, he asked him, "When are you going to guide Quirrell to crack the other mechanisms?"

Dumbledore smiled and said, "I was just about to tell you about this. What do you think of those magical mechanisms?"

Vaughan didn't answer, but his expression said enough about what he was thinking—it was almost like a child playing house.

"Do you want to make things more difficult for Quirinus and Tom?"

"Ok?"

(End of this chapter)