Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 195 Vaughn Under "Household Arrest"

"That's enough!"

The old wizard's rambling was interrupted by an impatient Snape: "I'm not in the mood for your nonsense. I just want to know, what's Vaughn's situation?"

Dumbledore, who had been interrupted, seemed a little unsatisfied.

However, he also knew that this was the limit of his teasing, otherwise Severus's "shyness" might backfire.

He spread his hands: "The newspapers say he's under house arrest, which isn't wrong. Yesterday, Vaughn sent me another letter. Apparently, the Dreamcatcher, that alchemical artifact in North America, is now openly monitoring the hotel where he's staying. The Muggles inside have been expelled, and everyone in the hotel is a wizard sent by the Magical Congress."

With twitching facial muscles, Snape gripped his wand tightly and loudly questioned Dumbledore, "If that's the case, why are you still researching Grindelwald all day long without taking any action? You should go to North America and bring Vaughn back!"

"Uh... calm down, Severus," Dumbledore reassured him. "I made a similar offer to him, but he refused."

"?" Snape frowned.

Dumbledore stood up, beckoned, and a plate of candy floated from the corner to Snape. "Want a piece of candy, Severus?"

"Let it go!"

"Alright." Dumbledore beckoned the candy platter to his side, picked up a pile of cockroaches and stuffed it into his mouth, and continued, "The house arrest did exist, and it is also a fact that Vaughn 'obeyed' the Magical Congress's house arrest."

"...Why did he do that?"

"Well..." Dumbledore thought for a moment, "Because of DeSantis's existence, he wants to temporarily ease relations with the Magical Congress, but he is unwilling to be too proactive. Therefore, he plans to put himself in a seemingly weak position and then use public opinion to force the Magical Congress to the negotiating table."

It's a bit convoluted to explain.

But Snape seemed to understand. He looked at the newspaper on his desk and hesitated for a moment: "You mean, the news in this was leaked by Vaughn?"

"Otherwise what?"

Dumbledore smiled: "As far as I know, the Magical Congress is still arguing to this day. The eight Auror squads have suffered heavy losses. Although the main casualties were the Graves family, as the core armed force of the Magical Congress, the Auror squads have been so severely infiltrated. Three Auror captains and dozens of Aurors have been turned..."

"DeSantis has brought a series of security problems. Is DeSantis's infiltration limited to the Department of Magical Security? If so, besides the traitors who have already been exposed, how many other people's minds are still under the influence of 'DeSantis'? If not, then it's even worse. Just how many departments are involved?"

"The Magic Congress is like a powder keg right now. They can't reach a consensus even after arguing for days. The crisis of trust caused by DeSantis has driven the councilors almost crazy. The 'house arrest' of Vaughn and Babajid is a product of this situation."

"Vaughn didn't want to provoke them, which is why he cooperated with the 'house arrest,' but he also didn't want to suffer in silence, so today, The Daily Prophet, The Quibbler, and others all received this 'report' that you are reading."

Snape's lips twitched.

But the half-blood prince would never admit that he was reckless.

He gave a dry snort: "All they do all day is scheme and manipulate public opinion; it's disgusting!"

Dumbledore still had a smile on his face: "That's why we didn't tell you."

"Remember to let me know next time, lest one day I accidentally put a few drops of Truth Potion or Despair Potion in your dinner because of deception!" Snape said coldly, then lifted the hem of his robe and turned to leave.

Dumbledore, standing behind him, burst into laughter.

.........

"Will this work on the Magic Congress?"

England is 5 hours ahead of America, so when it's noon at Hogwarts, it's just morning in Boston.

The Daily Prophet reported that Akinbad, who was on his deathbed, grabbed a newspaper and knocked on the door of Vaughn's suite early in the morning.

The old wizard had no objection to the newspaper article describing his impending death; on the contrary, he read it with great interest.

The Boston morning was shrouded in mist. As Vaughn emerged from the bathroom after washing up, a sliver of dawn was just beginning to spread across the horizon. Hearing Akinbad's question, he turned his gaze from the rosy dawn and sat down beside him.

"No organization can completely reach a consensus, especially when faced with major changes; there will always be people who will step out and sing a dissenting voice."

As he spoke, Vaughn carefully examined the burns on Akinbad's face, which was the reason the other man had come to him so early in the morning.

However, he still complained, "I'm just a pharmacist, not a doctor. Why don't you ask the Magic Council to arrange treatment instead of bothering me?"

"Because I'm afraid they'll kill me."

Akinbad curled his lip: "None of the Yankees are trustworthy. I'd rather trust you than their integrity!"

"Don't worry, although the Magic Council is monitoring us and keeping us under house arrest, you have to admit that they are the ones who least want anything to happen to us right now."

Vaughn joked.

Akinbad snorted and continued reading the newspaper: "I just hope things will develop as you expect, and that public opinion will really force the Magic Congress to put aside their useless arrogance and sit down at the negotiating table with us."

As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Michael Graves hasn't shown up. Do you think something might have happened to him too?"

"Perhaps... Your wounds are almost healed. Two more doses of magic potion will remove the fire poison, and then one dose of White Dried Orchid Essence will completely heal the wounds. Of course, if you need, I can help you preserve the scars."

Akinbad didn't react much when he heard this.

For a sorcerer like him, who came from Africa and rose from the bottom to the top, there was no fear of disfigurement, nor was there any need to deliberately keep scars to prove his martial prowess.

After finishing his "consultation," he looked up from his newspaper and sized up Vaughn: "Are you going out again today?"

Yes, although he is currently under house arrest by the Magic Congress, in reality, just as Vaughn tries to avoid provoking the Magic Congress, the Magic Congress also dares not provoke the WAC and the Federation.

The so-called house arrest didn't actually restrict them at all. As long as they didn't leave Boston, they could move around freely within the city limits.

For example, in the past few days, Vaughn has been wandering around the nearby university town.

To be honest, Arkinbad couldn't quite understand what the young wizard in front of him was thinking about all day: "I heard you've been at Harvard these past few days, listening to some Muggle professor lecture?"

"yes."

"Mathematics?" Akinbad guessed, after all, just a few days ago, the other party had used Muggle mathematical knowledge to develop a new magic.

To his surprise, Vaughn shook his head and denied it: "That professor teaches philosophy."

philosophy……

Akimbard certainly knew what philosophy was, but... was it necessary to study it?

As a Consortium wizard who is not prejudiced against Muggles, Arkinbad has actually been exposed to a lot of Muggle knowledge. Although he often doesn't understand it, he knows that Muggle physics, mathematics, biology, and so on are very useful knowledge.

Philosophy, on the other hand, was incomprehensible and pretentious, giving him the feeling that understanding it was a complete waste of time!

In a sense, his view was not wrong.

Since natural science separated from philosophy, modern philosophy has become a very limited discipline. It does not study and describe the objective laws of matter, but rather takes people and the society in which they live as its research objects and is a product of subjective thinking.

Although wizards are also human beings and have a society, their concept of "human" and society is completely different from that of Muggles.

If science still has value for wizards in terms of reference and verification, then Muggle philosophy is pure rubbish in their eyes.

It's perfectly normal that Akinbad doesn't like it.

Therefore, Vaughn ignored his doubts, simply took out the crucible, and based on the condition of the wound on Akimbard's face, slightly adjusted the potion recipe and brewed a potion for him.

After seeing him off, I walked out of the hotel alone.

Looking back, his alchemical talent granted him special vision, allowing him to clearly see the hotel building behind him, shrouded in a dense layer of "silk".

Those are the tentacles of a dreamcatcher.

Since Donald Graves woken up a few days ago and rushed back to Woolworth Building to report his ordeal, this thing has become increasingly undisguised.

However, it also shows that the Magic Congress is at a loss and cannot even calmly and rationally consider what attitude to take in dealing with the WAC and the Federation.

Ultimately, this resulted in a contradictory outcome—on the one hand, they intensified their surveillance of the WAC and the Federation, but on the other hand, they dared not truly restrict personal freedom.

Vaughn could almost picture the members of the Magic Congress arguing heatedly about how to proceed.

"Oh!"

He chuckled and walked out of the street. At the entrance, two Congressional Aurors dressed in black trench coats and top hats, looking like they were from 60 years ago, silently watched him leave.

No one stopped them, and no one followed them.

Of course, even if someone was following him, Vaughn didn't care. He walked a distance along the old road, but instead of heading to the place where he had been attending classes for the past few days, he turned into a small alley.

The alley was narrow and dark, with potholes and puddles, and the buildings on both sides had a strong Victorian style, making Vaughn almost feel like he had returned to rainy London in the summer.

At the end of the alley, in the filthy puddles, a man stood leaning against the wall.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up, and the instant his eyes met Vaughn's figure, he quickly straightened up and somewhat awkwardly took off his hat.

Good day, Mr. Weasley!

Vaughn stopped a few steps away at the edge of a puddle and asked gently, "John, is the black market open today?"

"Of course, of course. As you know, after the events of the past few days, everyone is in dire need of a place to exchange information. Many local wizards have come here, and today's black market is hosted by Mr. Joker."

This is the entrance to a black market in Boston, and the wizard in front of you is the gatekeeper.

The existence of the black market was told to Vaughn by Donald Graves, and it seemed to have a powerful background; at least, the gatekeeper recognized Vaughn immediately when he first arrived a few days earlier.

John looked at Vaughn with a hint of fear in his eyes.

Whether Muggle or wizard, every social system has a bright side and a dark side.

In countries like the United States, which have been torn apart by the Magic Congress, dark forces are particularly rampant. This is partly due to the retreat of ruling power, the proliferation of civilian armed groups and organizations, and the lack of clear control over the ruling power.

On the other hand, during the power vacuum, all sorts of ambitious people couldn't help but emerge; some liked power, and some liked money.

This black market is backed by an ambitious man who loves money and holds a high position in Congress. Otherwise, how could a black market possibly exist in Boston, which is almost completely blocked by the Magic Congress in the current situation?

Over the past period, the bigwig behind the black market has warned them more than once not to mess with Vaughn Weasley, and even showed everyone footage of the battle a few days ago—extracted from the memories of the surviving Aurors.

It's to prevent them from being ignorant and blind, and from offending people they can't afford to mess with.

Thinking of the astonishingly vast magical power and exquisite magic of Vaughn Weasley in the images he had seen, John's throat bobbed nervously, and he stepped aside in fear:

"Please come in, Mr. Weasley. Have a good time."

As for the credentials and entry fees required to enter the black market according to the rules?

Whoever wants it can have it; he certainly wouldn't dare to ask!

"Thank you." Vaughn remained as gentle as ever, politely expressing his gratitude before stepping into the puddle ahead.

The shallow, dark gray puddle seemed to suddenly turn into a bottomless abyss the moment he stepped in.

The oil film on the water's surface rippled and "swallowed" Warn.

John, who had been gripping his wand tightly, finally breathed a slight sigh of relief as he watched Vaughn sink completely to the surface. He then realized that his back was covered in cold sweat, and his clothes were soaked through and clung to his body.

Wiping away sweat, John was still shaken: "Standing in front of him felt even more nerve-wracking than standing in front of the big boss. This monster, is he really only 12 years old?"

Think back to when you were 12 years old.

Envy and jealousy briefly surfaced in his heart, then subsided. He was no longer at the age to dream, and leaving Ifamoni and entering society had long since worn away his ambitions.

Now all he wants is to live a peaceful and stable life.

John sighed, tucked his hands into his sleeves, leaned against the wall, and looked at the alley entrance, determined to be his gatekeeper.

……

He sank underwater, but felt no contact with the water. His vision went black for a few breaths, and when Vaughn's vision returned, he was standing in a simple bar.

The mottled red brick walls, the crisscrossing pipes, and the waterlogged ditches not far away all indicate that this was originally a sewer system built by the Machi government.

At this point, it was merely being used by wizards, who made some magical modifications to it.

A huge bubble-like shield covered the entire bar area, keeping out the dirty sewer environment and unpleasant smells.

The space inside the protective shield was further enhanced by a seamless expansion spell, creating a space almost the size of a hotel lobby. Inside, many boxes, tables, chairs, and a makeshift stage and bar were scattered haphazardly.

The bar was bustling with activity. A gramophone blared music no one listened to, and a large crowd had gathered in front of the stage. A wizard wearing a Pukki mask stood on it, waving a hammer and shouting loudly to the people below:

"...The Leopard Cat, according to Newt Scamander's book 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,' is classified as a Level XXXXX magical creature, as rare and precious as dragons and phoenixes. They are natural masters of Levitation, and keeping one would be an excellent helper on your travels and adventures. If you are an apothecary, you are even more fortunate, as the Leopard Cat's eyes and dried brain are extremely rare medicinal materials, and are the main ingredients for brewing various memory-protecting potions..."

The wizard, wearing a Pukki mask, gave a provocative explanation.

Next to him was a rotating stand with a lifelike model of a cougar-like feline that mimicked various movements as he explained.

Deep inside the stage behind him stood a large iron cage covered by a black cloth, next to which was a sofa that looked very soft and comfortable.

A wizard wearing a clown mask sat on a sofa, surrounded by several wizards with wands at their waists.

Noticing Vaughn, the Joker Mask picked up his glass and gestured towards them.

Vaughn returned the courtesy and casually found an empty table to sit down.

The clown mask is "Joker," the person in charge of this black market. Vaughn only dealt with him on his first day here.

His impression of the other person was that they were of average ability but very good at socializing.

At this moment, bidding had begun on the stage. The wizard wearing the Pukki mask pounded his gavel: "Cat-leopard, cat-leopard, 2500 zhuo guo... Very good, this friend bids 2700 zhuo guo, and... Okay! This friend..."

The atmosphere quickly heated up, with the audience vying to submit bids.

Amid the commotion, Joker, who was temporarily tied up, gave a wink to the bar area.

The house-elf acting as the bartender snapped his fingers, quickly mixed a drink, and brought it over: "Mr. Weasley, this is a gift from Mr. Joker. Did you come here today for the same thing we discussed before?"

Vaughn calmly pushed the wine glass away.

He didn't particularly enjoy drinking, and he especially disliked drinking in a bar located in the sewers. Hearing the elf's question, he nodded: "Bring the person over!"

The little elf bowed and left, soon returning with a person.

The man's face was completely covered by a large turban, making it impossible to see his features or determine his age. The only clue was that he was a tall, thin male wizard.

The wizard, acting as if he knew Vaughn well, sat down opposite him and extended his hand: "Hello, esteemed Mr. Weasley, you may call me 'John Doe' (a pseudonym for an anonymous person, similar to Zhang San or Li Si in Chinese slang)."

Vaughn shook hands with him and smiled: "The one at the door is also named John."

John shrugged. "Everyone in our line of work has this name. It's simple and easy to understand. As you know, I'm an information broker. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

John appeared relaxed, but in reality, every muscle in his body was tense.

Those who knew more about Jack Graves's betrayal a few days ago understood just how terrifying this seemingly harmless, smiling little wizard was.

It wasn't just the opponent's overwhelming magical power, but also the forces he commanded!

Unlike the gatekeeper John, the intelligence officer John, who was alerted by the battle that night and watched from afar, witnessed the subsequent fighting firsthand.

The purges summoned by Jack Graves.

The combined forces of the WAC and the Federation under Vaughn Weasley.

As an intelligence dealer, even just observing from afar was enough for John to recognize that there were a large number of wizard families such as Greenwell, Baird, and McLean in the allied forces.

In the past few days, the intelligence community has basically confirmed that Vaughn Weasley has gained the allegiance of some old-established wizarding families in England—at least the younger generation of the North American branch, such as Oliver Greenwell, appeared in the battle that night.

What surprised everyone even more was that this was not all of Vaughn Weasley's power in North America.

Almost all intelligence brokers received definitive information from the Magical Congress—in this capitalist country, nothing is possible without the support of powerful figures—that while Vaughn Weasley was in Boston, his influence had already extended beyond the city.

A team of North American werewolves is approaching Boston!

If you think about it further, it will soon be the night of the full moon in the lunar calendar. At this moment, no one would think that the werewolf team was formed spontaneously by the werewolves.

No one would think that their constant march toward Boston was driven by any simple purpose.

John himself analyzed that the werewolf team that arrived at a leisurely pace was actually a less intense form of intimidation!

These are important figures you shouldn't mess with.

Thinking it over, John became even more humble and carefully said, "However, apart from our local advantage in gathering information, our strength is really insignificant to you. If your demands are beyond our capabilities..."

Seeing his cautious look, Vaughn smiled and said, "Don't worry, I just want to ask you to do two small things."

"Please speak," John said, not daring to relax.

"First, I need you to send someone to Arizona to investigate the ptarmigan's habitat."

"Well……"

Upon hearing this request, and considering Vaughn's status as a Potions Master, John hesitated slightly: "It's not that we refuse, but as you know, the situation hasn't been good lately, poaching Thunderbirds..."

Vaughn interrupted him: "It wasn't poaching. I was asked by a friend to go there to visit a ptarmigan he had once rescued."

Upon hearing this, John breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help asking out of curiosity, "May I ask, who is this friend you're referring to—?"

Just then, the auction for the cat and leopard on the other side of the stage ended, and another "item" was brought out. Pukchi Mask loudly introduced it:

"Next up is the Mountain Tyrannosaurus, also known as the Bird Dragon. According to Mr. Newt Scamander's research, they are related to the Ornithomimus...

Notice Vaughn's expression.

John suddenly realized and complimented, "So your friend is Mr. Scamander. I must say, he is a great man who has made outstanding contributions to the wizarding world."

(End of this chapter)