Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 257 Spread My Name

He planned to use his personal connections to personally conquer Germany, and then, together with the German Ministry of Magic, persuade Northern and Southern Europe!

When Vaughn didn't include him before, he did his best to cause trouble. Now that Vaughn is playing with him, he immediately and smoothly changed his stance, regarding the international magic school potion exchange activity as part of his political achievements, and doing his best to make it bigger and more glorious!

As for practical classes, giant wolves, werewolf classes?

Everything else has to wait, he doesn't care—well, the werewolf class still has to be taken seriously. Ever since C was formed, after several conflicts with Vaughn, his persona has changed to that of a representative who opposes C and the werewolf equality.

Those staunch "ni" extremists in the public opinion are Fudge's current stronghold and base of support in the polls, so he is unwilling to give them up!

Seeing the Ministry of Magic representative and Vaughn exchanging glances, Lucius Malfoy's carefully cultivated air of nobility began to crumble.

Damn Cornell Fudge!

Those lowly mixed-race people are definitely unreliable!

He cursed inwardly, but he couldn't lose face as a member of the Malfoy family. Lucius stretched out his cane to stop the furious Alecto, and looked coldly at Vaughn, wanting to see what tricks he was up to.

Vaughn paid no attention to the two of them.

Compared to purebloods, the three wizarding family representatives who raised their hands were his real targets.

"Wesley, Pickford, Charlton —"

These are the surnames of those three wizarding families. Pickford and Charlton are nothing special; their ancestors were Muggles, and a certain generation suddenly developed magical talent. Over a long period of time, they gradually accumulated into wizarding families.

Only Wesley is different; this is a family with very close ties to Muggle society.

They have a prominent branch in Muggle society called Wellesley—yes, the same Wellesley of Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in English Muggle history.

Coincidentally, the spelling of Wesley differs from that of Wesley by only one letter.

The three families also noticed that Vaughn was looking in their direction.

Pickford and Charlton visibly tensed up, and while Wesley remained relatively calm, he couldn't ignore Vaughn's gaze.

The current Vaughn is quite different from the one a year ago. He is no longer an "unknown" first-year student, but a newly promoted Potions Master, a member of the Wizengamot, and President C.

Vaughn is particularly well-known within wizarding families—many wizarding families know that the boy is Dumbledore's chosen successor and that he himself wields considerable political power.

Add to that the military force represented by C's werewolf wizards.

In terms of politics and military strength alone, many wizarding families are simply no match for Vaughn.

If it weren't for the existence of the giant wolf involving werewolves, and even more terrifying werewolf classes that could ultimately threaten their descendants attending Hogwarts, the three of them would never have wanted to step forward.

Most importantly, it is rumored that Vaughn Weasley is not only a powerful magician, but also has a terrible temper.

First, Cornelius Fudge was slammed against the wall by a dispelling spell and banished from the Great Inquisition, utterly humiliated. Then, Gilderoy Lockhart, disliked by Vaughn Weasley, was exceptionally stripped of his honors and sent to Azkaban for life, a punishment reserved for a mere "liar."

But in reality, the three, who were slightly uneasy, found that Vaughn wasn't as aggressive as rumored: "Do the three of you also disagree with my research results?"

The three exchanged glances, then Wesley spoke up: "No, of course we believe in your expertise in werewolf research, but we still have some doubts. After all, we haven't seen concrete evidence that giant wolves can't transmit werewolf disease—"

Wesley swore he had never been so careful with his words, not even when dealing with purebloods.

To his surprise, Vaughn simply nodded gently: "I understand. So, once I confirm, are you willing to drop the matter of the giant wolf?"

The three exchanged glances, hesitating.

On the other side, Alecto roared again in fury: "Enough, you lot!"

However, her rebuke was barely begun when Vaughn interrupted her with a calm yet undeniable remark: "Please shut up, Aunt Alecto?"

As the words left his mouth.

In an instant, the space trembled, and ripples, invisible to the naked eye but very clear to the senses, spread outwards from Vaughn as the center.

His figure became blurry for a moment.

This phenomenon is familiar to all wizards; it is a powerful and profound magic that simply interferes with reality!

It has no emotional involvement and theoretically will not cause any harm. Its impact is even less than the power shown by a little wizard when his magic erupts and he loses control of his emotions.

But it is precisely for this reason that it is so powerful in its ability to intimidate people. Without the effect of emotions, magic is theoretically invisible and cannot affect matter.

Unless it is powerful enough to break down the boundaries between the spiritual and the material!

A 12-year-old child possesses such magic —

Amidst the horrified expressions of the 12 board members, and the awkward silence of Alecto as he struggled to speak, unable to utter a roar, and the subconscious trepidation that arose within him as he faced the powerful wizard, the scene unfolded.

The ripples in the air were fleeting.

The air tremors caused by magic not long ago seemed to have never occurred.

All the onlookers saw was Vaughn Weasley pull out a phoenix feather, wave his hand, and light it; the fiery red feather burst into flames.

In a cloud of smoke, Dumbledore's emblem, the phoenix Fawkes, emerged from the air with a giant wolf.

At the same time, they heard Vaughn say, "Since everyone wants to see for themselves, then I will personally verify the giant wolf's safety—"

As he spoke, he stretched out his arm and offered it to the giant wolf's mouth, his gaze softening: "Seba, bite me!"

Having lived in the Forbidden Forest for so long, Sebastian had almost forgotten its days in human society.

Compared to the tranquility, peace, and serenity of the forbidden forest.

The memories humans have of it are almost entirely negative.

Their reaction to it was humiliation, beatings, and driving it away—then one day, about ten days after its parents left home, a group of wizards came to their door.

That was the first time Sebastian felt how close death was to him.

It was less than a foot away, and a magic wand with a gleaming tip was pointing at its head.

That memory has become blurred over the past ten years. The images that now linger in its mind are like those covered by frosted glass—hazy and with blurred colors.

But the color was somber, a pale green with a hint of blue, like the winds of Northern Europe, just as it clearly remembered the chilling mood it felt at the time.

Those were the colors of fear and despair reflected in its heart!

-

It thought it would forget these things, because Dumbledore arrived later, rescued it, and provided it with a stable life.

For more than a decade, it believed that its past experiences might have been somewhat biased, and that not all humans were bad, especially after its recent practical lessons.

It met many little wizards.

Life in the forbidden forest was peaceful, but also monotonous and desolate.

During this period, there was no need to hunt or work in the fields according to the centaurs' instructions. The daily activities became "playing" with a group of children.

Sebastian felt that his heart, which had gradually become dormant due to loneliness, seemed to be coming back to life.

Even today!

It looked up at the conference room, whose four walls were painted with lush forests, resembling a forest sanctuary.

Unfortunately, the meeting room was not filled with nature-loving, gentle druids, but with wizards who sat on high chairs, looking down at it.

The light held a sense of wonder, as if I were seeing an object I had never seen before.

It also harbors disgust, hostility, and contempt.

Sebastian had no idea what was going on here. This morning, Mr. Weasley brought Fawkes the phoenix to him and didn't give him many instructions. He simply told him that if Fawkes brought him into Hogwarts, he only needed to do as he was told.

Now it knows.

More than a decade has passed, and the wizards have never changed. They still hate and despise werewolves, even giant wolves like them.

From that brief conversation, it understood that they, and even forced Mr. Vaughn Weasley, to use himself as a test to see if the giant wolf had truly lost its ability to transmit wolf disease.

Seba couldn't quite describe his feelings at that moment.

My mind is a bit of a mess.

Looking down at the wizards who were looking down at it, it felt as if time had turned back more than ten years, back to that turbulent and despairing situation.

It was as if we were back to a time when it and the other giant wolves were gathered around the little Banal, the werewolf commissioner, listening to him tell us "stories" about werewolves in human society.

However, regardless of the era, the memories that surfaced in its mind, what it saw and heard, its own story, and the story of Little Barnal's werewolf, had nothing to do with beauty.

Every scene from those experiences, every word from those stories, tells of suffering!

"Is it starting again? —"

A thought, whether fear or grief, surged uncontrollably into Seba's mind, causing him unspeakable inner turmoil.

It couldn't help but glance at Mr. Weasley.

This werewolf's savior, the closest good wizard Sebastian had ever met to Dumbledore, remained expressionless in the face of the questions from the others present.

But Seba thought he must be very sad too.

He didn't fight for much for werewolves, just the most basic rights of a "human being," yet there were always people who hindered him, attacked him, and slandered him.

The young Barnard had been reading human newspapers to them quite often recently, so they were well aware of Mr. Weasley's efforts for the werewolves and how the wizards opposed them.

"Seba, come and bite me."

Seba stared at Mr. Weasley's outstretched arm, his mind a complete blank.

It glanced around at the wizards sitting high on their chairs, looking superior. Mr. Weasley's words surprised them somewhat.

Some people watched coldly.

Someone quickly stood up to object, urging Mr. Weasley to reconsider.

One of the middle-aged male wizards with platinum hair and the other female wizard with orange hair wore mocking expressions, seemingly convinced that Mr. Weasley's request to them was an act.

Looking at the various expressions on people's faces, Seba couldn't quite describe the surging emotions surging within him.

It only felt—anger!

Seemingly sensing its emotions, Mr. Weasley walked over slowly and gently stroked the fur on its forehead with one hand: "Sebastian, didn't we agree?"

"gentlemen----"

Sebastian glanced helplessly across the circular conference table, where an old wizard was trembling as he tried to intervene: "—Vaughn, my dear, currently, including yourself, no research indicates that the giant wolf population is completely free of feralism. What if…"

"There's no chance of anything going on, esteemed Mr. School Board Member."

Seba saw Mr. Weasley interrupt the old wizard's advice and then smile gently at him: "Come on, Seba, I have to do this to convince them."

"But----"

Seba hesitated.

As a giant wolf, a descendant of werewolves, it knew all too well the wizard's aversion to the label "wolfification." Therefore, although the old wizard's words implied something that made it very uncomfortable.

But there's no denying that the old wizard was right.

What if, as a descendant of werewolves, I really do harbor the werewolf virus within me?

Vaughn Weasley is the savior of the werewolves!

It's the only savior that allows werewolves to walk in the sunlight!

All werewolves can make mistakes, but he can't!

These are the words that Commissioner Barnard has been repeating to the tribe these past few days. He is instructing the giant wolves to know how to protect Mr. Weasley and to ensure Mr. Weasley's "purity".

"—Those human wizards and extremists outside have been relentlessly smearing Mr. for the past six months. Their usual tricks are spreading rumors and conspiracy theories. They say that Mr. is researching the werewolf virus because he himself is a werewolf—"

"They see us as rats in the gutter, and now that the gentleman is leading us away from that filthy world, they're trying to drag him down with them. They want to stigmatize him, to make him part of the gutter, so they can rightfully tell their blind followers: 'Look, it was all a werewolf conspiracy after all!'"

"Mr. Vaughn Weasley must be 'pure.'"

"He must be a thoroughly human wizard, untouched by the stigma of werewolf syndrome or werewolf virus. He can only be a doctor, a healer, an individual outside of werewolves, and absolutely cannot be the 'patient' himself."

In my memory, Committee Member Barnard repeatedly emphasized these words.

Seba hadn't understood why Barnal was emphasizing this before, but today, it suddenly understood.

Look at those bystanders, do they really not care? Are they really indifferent to Mr. Weasley's decision to be bitten by the giant wolf himself to prove that the wolf does not have wolf-like symptoms?

And what about those two high-class witches and wizards? What was the hidden surprise and expectation in their eyes, which seemed to be watching a joke?

Yes, they do care!

However, their concern, like Barnald's warning, was that they wanted Mr. Weasley to go from being a healer to a "patient"!

Seba looked around, feeling a chill in his heart.

It's truly tragic that, out of the 13 wizards present, only that unpleasant-speaking old wizard, Professor McGonagall, and three other wizards and witches spoke up to stop Mr. Weasley's adventure.

It probably sensed its hesitation.

Seba felt Mr. Weasley's hand stroke his fur again, and heard his voice beside him: "Don't worry, Seba, I believe in my own research, and I believe that the giant wolves are no longer plagued by the werewolf virus—you are an accident, but also a choice of nature!"

What does this mean?

Seba didn't understand.

It raised its head, trying to deduce Mr. Weasley's thoughts from those golden-brown eyes that looked down at it without any sense of distance.

But it saw nothing in those eyes.

There was only calmness in it, and the unwavering determination to do it because there was no other way!

yes----

Before arriving, Fox overheard and told him about the argument: the wizards in the room wanted to stop Mr. from fighting for the rights of the werewolves, and the issue could not be moved forward if Mr. could not prove the giant wolf's "safety".

Therefore, Mr. Weasley must be bitten by it —

Ah!

Seba suddenly wanted to laugh. It remembered that night more than ten years ago, a night it thought it had forgotten deep in its memory, when Dumbledore, who had saved it, did the same.

The old man was surrounded by a group of male and female witches who forced him to make a promise that the giant wolf would live in seclusion in the Forbidden Forest and stay away from the human world. Why is it that good people always suffer trouble for no reason?

Painfully thinking, Seba's gaze swept over the faces in the conference room once more, memorizing them, before he closed his eyes.

Open your mouth————

Seba forgot how he got back to the tribe.

After biting Mr. Weasley, Fawkes took it away from the castle and let it go back on its own. Fawkes would stay here while Dumbledore was away.

Seba walked through the Forbidden Forest almost instinctively, his mind a jumble of sadness and self-reproach, even though he knew that the decision to bite Mr. Weasley was not his, nor was it his responsibility.

-

When it regained consciousness, it was already back at the tribe's gate, and it noticed that a centaur was following it at a distance.

Seba was not wary of the centaur's presence.

The relationship between the centaurs and the giant wolf tribe was somewhat tense in the past because Dumbledore brought the giant wolves into the Forbidden Forest and promised the wizards who had previously pressured him that he would watch over the wolves' territory so that they would not enter the human world again.

Dumbledore assigned this responsibility to the centaurs.

Frankly, the centaurs are very trustworthy; they help the giant wolves build houses, cultivate farmland, teach them fishing and hunting, and ensure their survival.

At the same time, they acted like prison guards, watching out for the giant wolves' every move.

Therefore, the relationship between the two sides is very complicated, both friendly and hostile. Especially when the elders of the centaur tribe were in power, they were very wary of centaurs and giant wolves coming into contact, fearing that the terrible wolfification disease would affect the fragile centaur tribe in this forbidden forest.

But that situation has changed.

Since a riot broke out among the centaur tribe in the middle of the year, the centaur outposts that were originally ordered by the centaur elders to guard the area near the giant wolf tribe have disappeared.

In their place came a group of young horsemen.

They no longer see themselves as guardians of the giant wolves, but instead strengthen friendly communication and trade with the giant wolf tribe, striving to improve relations between the two sides.

Now following it is a young centaur who often comes to the giant wolf tribe to exchange the berries he picks for prey. Giant wolves are omnivorous like humans, but because they do not have nimble hands, it is difficult for them to complete the gathering work!

Seba knew why the centaur was following him, and he greeted him, "Thank you for escorting me, Abedo. Please give my regards to Ferenze and Margaret when you get back."

Ferenze and Magri are the new leaders of the centaur tribes after the mid-year riots—temporarily!

Seba had heard from the centaurs of the tribe that Ferenze and Magree believed that intelligent beings such as centaurs, humans, and werewolves were born equal, that no one was born noble, no one was born lowly, and that there was no race born with sin.

Therefore, it had a good impression of the centaurs, including Ferenze, and it was under its leadership that the giant wolf tribe accepted the centaur tribe's goodwill.

Over there, a young centaur named Abedo curiously peeked out from behind a tree: "Sebastian, can you tell me why you seem so distracted? You were in great danger earlier, actually trespassing into Aragog's territory. That old man's descendants are starving, and no one can survive their jaws—luckily, you only took a short detour and quickly left that place."

Upon hearing this, Seba gave a wry smile at his own dazed state and thanked Abedo once again.

As for Aberdo's curiosity, it didn't want to answer; those were questions belonging to werewolves and their descendants, and shouldn't be answered—

Sebastian, who was about to say goodbye again, suddenly stopped.

In the dim light of the forest at dusk, Abedo could not see Sebastian, who had suddenly stopped, and the wisp of white mist that had flashed across his normally clear eyes.

He only saw Seba standing there, seemingly pondering for a moment, before nodding his head and inviting him, "Yes, Abedo, I am indeed somewhat perplexed and am about to discuss this with the other giant wolves in the tribe. If you would like to listen, you are welcome to come over. I would even like to ask you to share my perplexity with Ferenze and Magree; I need their wisdom."

Aberdo didn't think too much about it.

For months, he frequently visited the giant wolf tribe and learned that these creatures, whom the elders had previously forbidden him from contacting, were actually very simple and kind.

He thought it was just a story to hear, so he happily accepted the invitation: "Would you like me to pick some berries? I saw a clump of cranberries when I came here, they were so beautiful—"

Harry was somewhat troubled.

To be more specific, there are three worries.

First, there was the new practical course. Unfortunately, his team failed to complete the mission before the course ended—Ron's jinx was right; the arrows on the map in the mission scroll appendix were indeed "traps."

It indicates not only the location of the Runebo snake eggs, but also the location of the enemy!

It's not even one-way.