Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 270 The Mystery of the Locked Room and the Murder Map

What a merciful White Demon King!

Vaughn wore the expression shown above.

"Honey, I feel like you're mocking me."

"Otherwise what?"

"Okay, I understand. I always tend to give others chances again and again, including bad people—Moffin is indeed not a good person. The deformed blood of the Gaunt family makes him cruel and irritable, but from another perspective, he is just a victim of Tom's conspiracy—"

"You don't need to try to convince me. I'm just offering a suggestion; I don't care whether it's good or bad." Vaughn interrupted Dumbledore, glancing again at the magnificent statue of Salazar Slytherin. He pondered for a moment, then said, "—How am I supposed to cooperate with you?"

This clearly means that he agreed to Dumbledore's plan.

Old Deng smiled broadly: "First, we need to keep track of the notebook's movements—Harry has been living with it in the Burrow for two weeks. Given your personality, you've probably tampered with it, haven't you?"

Vaughn had nothing to say.

A moment later, he raised his wand and shook it slightly, and a wisp of white mist sprayed out from the tip of the wand.

Vaughn lifted the mist with his wand and tossed it to Old Deng: "Put it into your mind's eye, and you'll be able to vaguely sense the location of the notebook. It's not very precise, but it's still somewhat useful for intelligence reference."

Vaughn paused, then gave Dumbledore a meaningful look: "If you're not afraid I'll take this opportunity to implant a personality implant into your mind."

Old Deng gladly accepted it, his tone cheerful: "Of course I'm not afraid, child. My heart is pure and full of love. I even look forward to you occasionally barging in as a guest. You don't know how boring it is for a man over a hundred years old to stay alone in his office every day. Even his dreams are monotonous."

Vaughn: "————"

You underestimated the old man's shamelessness again!

Vaughn, too lazy to waste any more words with him, asked, "Anything else?"

"Yes, there's another matter that requires your cooperation, concerning Mr. Crevy. I'd like to know if he's registered for your dueling club?"

Upon hearing this, a flood of memories immediately rushed into Vaughn's mind. He quickly "scanned" through them and shook his head: "He didn't register."

"Normally, Gryffindor shouldn't be averse to the Duel Club. It seems Tom has influenced him to avoid you—do you think Tom would be suspicious if I issued an order requiring all first-year students to attend your first club event under the guise of getting them into practical training early?"

Vaughn thought for a moment: "It's a bit deliberate. It would be more natural if we could persuade one or two of Crevy's close friends to drag him along."

Seemingly oblivious to the absurdity in his words, Dumbledore pondered for a moment and agreed, "I understand. I'll take some time to deal with it in the next couple of days."

Why should we pay attention to Crevy?

"Of course, it's about controlling variables, my dear. Not just Mr. Crevy, but I'll also talk to Bloody Barrow later and have him keep Peeves in check. We need to make sure that Tom only has Crevy available for a period of time."

"In addition, we must also ensure Mr. Crevy's safety. Before the start of the school year, the life force loss phenomenon you observed in Harry that you sent me indicated that anyone who comes into contact with the notebook will have their life stolen by it."

"We need to find a way to protect Crevy. Given Tom's tendency to avoid us, neither you nor I will be able to approach Crevy privately without alerting him. Only your upcoming dueling club event is the most suitable occasion—by the way, I've seen your lesson plan, which includes magical combat. Excellent! We can then openly point our wands at Mr. Crevy and cast spells on him!"

How humorous that the headmaster of Hogwarts is plotting to curse the students!

After discussing a few more details, Vaughn prepared to return.

Before leaving, Vaughn turned back and asked Dumbledore, who was still standing in front of the statue, head held high, staring intently, seemingly lost in thought: "Albus, you came to the Chamber of Secrets today and told me so much. It shouldn't just be to verify whether Slytherin left behind any Horcruxes, nor just to investigate Tom's motives—"

Amidst the eerie, emerald-green mist surrounding them, Vaughn's gaze towards Dumbledore was unreadable: "You, too, want to resurrect Slytherin, don't you?"

"————"

"The other day, you tried every possible way but couldn't find a clue how to free Harry from his fate as a Horcrux. The Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin, your speculation about Slytherin, was the only possibility you could find—I don't want to say how far-fetched and terrible those ideas were, but I think you should understand that your evaluation of Slytherin was very subjective."

""

"His disagreements with Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw may, as you said, be due to differences of opinion caused by the limitations of history, but it cannot be ruled out that he really hated the Muggle race and wanted to purify Hogwarts."

Vaughn paused, and seeing that Dumbledore didn't turn around, he left with the words, "I know you're worried about Harry's situation, and you don't want things to develop to the point where we all have to make a difficult choice between completely eliminating Voldemort and saving Harry—but if, if everything is as you suspect, I hope you'll seriously consider the idea of ​​resurrecting Slytherin!"

"No matter how much we yearn to resolve the issue of Harry being a Horcrux, we shouldn't disturb the eternal rest of the dead. People who have become history shouldn't be brought back to life from history. No one can say for sure whether they are human or ghost without the filter of history."

That's all for this.

Without waiting for a reply from Dumbledore, who remained standing there, Vaughn turned and left.

After passing through the winding pipes and returning to the abandoned baptismal chamber on the ground, Vaughn heard a cat meow as soon as he emerged from the pipes.

Meow~

Turning around, Guoguocha's enormous figure emerged from the shadows, nuzzling affectionately against Vaughn's leg, her chest purring softly.

Vaughn struggled to hold her and first checked her for any injuries.

The one who saved Mrs. Lorris from being paralyzed with fear when Filch passed by him was Fruit Tea.

She chased after the attacker as he fled.

After a careful inspection, Vaughn found that Fruit Tea's fur was only a little messy. He tidied it up and scolded her, "Don't act on your own next time. What if he casts a killing curse on you?"

"Meow--"

"Even at a young age, he's still a wizard, and besides, the one controlling his body back then might not have been himself."

Meow~

"Alright, alright, you're the one who talks about loyalty. These two cats forming a clique?"

Fruit Tea was scolded until its ears twitched up like airplane ears. It licked Vaughn's hand in a fawning manner and begged for mercy before finally calming its master down.

Without waiting for Dumbledore, after playing with Fruit Tea for a while, Vaughn left the abandoned Baptiste Chamber, but instead of returning to his bedroom, he went along the second-floor corridor, through the main castle building, and arrived at the clock tower courtyard.

The school hospital is located on the second floor here.

When Vaughn arrived, a weary-looking Mrs. Pomfrey was just coming out with a basin of water. Seeing Vaughn, she wasn't surprised: "Mr. Weasley, have you come to visit Argus and Lorris?"

"Yes, madam, how is Loris?"

"Thanks to your and Dumbledore's timely arrival, the little one only suffered some superficial injuries—Merlin, I can't believe someone actually attacked Loris at Hogwarts. I know that because of Argus, many young wizards don't like Loris, but she's just a cat—"

The sentimental Mrs. Pomfrey's eyes reddened.

After dismissing the enthusiastic Mrs. Pomfrey, Vaughn entered the infirmary and, by the light of the brazier, saw Mrs. Lorris lying on a small bed, probably for pets like owls, her body wrapped in bandages.

Filch was curled up by the bed, sobbing.

Only when Vaughn approached did he raise his head, his ugly face covered in tears, no longer showing the fierce look he used to have when facing the mischievous little wizard.

"Mr. Weasley, thanks to you and Dumbledore—"

He stood up awkwardly, wanting to shake Vaughn's hand to express his gratitude, but looking at his rough, cracked skin and grime, he ended up just hunching over and dragging a chair over.

Then, looking expectantly at Vaughn, he asked, "Has the culprit who harmed Loris been caught?"

"Not yet. Dumbledore is still investigating. Fruit Tea is more worried about Loris, so I brought her to see you."

Vaughn casually pulled out a fruit tea as a shield.

However, Filch believed it. He glanced gratefully at Guoguocha, who was squatting on the edge of the bed, sniffing at Loris curiously—she had jumped on him as soon as he came in, probably because she thought it was strange that Loris was wrapped up like a mummy!

Vaughn came here not primarily to visit Lorris, nor to offer comfort to Filch.

Although Filch never caused him any trouble, he knew very well that this Hogwarts doorman was no good.

All of Filch's actions in upholding school rules and targeting students stemmed from his jealousy of the "wizard" community.

The instruments of torture hanging all over his office weren't meant to scare people; it's just that Dumbledore abolished torture after taking over Hogwarts, so he no longer needed to use them.

Of course, Vaughn didn't care whether Filch was good or bad. After offering a few words of comfort, he revealed his true purpose: "Argus, can you come with me back to your office? I want to find something over there."

Filch's office is located behind the grand staircase in the main hall of the castle.

Vaughn had never been here before, and in fact, no one wanted to be here; most students avoided anything related to Filch.

Following behind Filch, I watched him nervously open the door, revealing a fairly spacious but rather low and dark room.

The room had no windows; the only light came from an oil lamp hanging from the low ceiling.

A strange smell of stale grease lingered in the air, a smell that came from both lamp oil and the simply furnished room.

They look dirty; they're all covered in patina.

Only the rows of shelves and filing cabinets standing along the four walls give this place a bit of an office feel, rather than a homeless person's den.

The shelves and filing cabinets were filled with things.

Filch hurriedly greeted Vaughn and then jogged over to rummage through a shelf.

A moment later, he returned happily, carrying a stack of thick, folded parchment: "Mr. Weasley, this should be the thing you were talking about. I remember it; it's been here for many years."

"Thank you, Argus."

Vaughn thanked him, took the parchment from Filch, and slowly unfolded it.

Filch stood on tiptoe to peer inside, curious about what could possibly attract the attention of the renowned Vaughn Weasley, who had even gone to great lengths to find it.

But when the parchment was unfolded, Filch was stunned – there was nothing inside!

There was no magic or treasure map as he had expected, not even any writing; the unfolded parchment was completely blank!

"this----"

He was about to say something.

Across from him, Vaughn, his eyes gleaming with magical light, scanned the parchment several times before putting it away: "This is what I've been looking for. Thank you again, Argus, you've been a great help."

Looking at the gleam in Vaughn's eyes, Filch felt both awe and envy. He guessed that the parchment might be some kind of magical item, and that he only saw it as blank paper because he was a Squib.

But in Vaughn's presence, he quickly suppressed his jealousy and resentment, and said with a fawning smile, "I'm glad I could help you. And then—the tonic you promised for Mrs. Lorris—"

Filch is a real scoundrel; he's blinded by greed and forgets all principles.

However, Vaughn didn't feel offended. Everyone has their own way of surviving, and he had no interest in using any high standards to measure humanity.

He replied calmly, "Don't worry, I'll personally cook her a pot in a couple of days. But I have another favor to ask of you. I don't want anyone to know about what happened today, not even the little wizard, the professor, or the ghosts and Peeves in the castle, understand?"

"Of course, of course, you're a good person, just like Dumbledore. With you personally preparing the tonic, Mrs. Lawrence will surely recover quickly—I will definitely keep your secret—"

Saying goodbye to the incoherent, cheaply proclaimed "loyalty" of Filch, Vaughn and Fruit Tea return to the Slytherin dungeon.

Only after closing the dormitory door did he re-unfold the thick stack of parchment.

"Marauder's Map —"

Yes, what he went to Filch was the Marauder's Map.

The thick parchment, now unfolded, was still blank, contrary to Filch's assumption that any wizard could see through the concealing magic applied to it.

Instead, the creators added a secret code to unlock it. Without the code, even someone as powerful as Snape wouldn't be able to see its true form.

Coincidentally, Vaughn is probably one of the few people in the world who knows the secret code of this magical item.

He picked up his wand and gently tapped it on the parchment: "I solemnly swear I will not do anything good!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the ordinary thick parchment emitted a faint glow. On the blank surface of the paper, delicate ink lines appeared, like ink stains spreading outwards from the tip of Vaughn's wand on the paper.

Interconnected and crisscrossing lines, like a spider web, quickly spread to every corner of the parchment, outlining images and lines of text.

In the blink of an eye, words appeared at the top, a line of dark green cursive script:

[Moon-shaped face, insect tail, large feet, and pointed fork]

[Gentlemen who are dedicated to helping those who create magical pranks]

[Introduced with great fanfare]

[Marauder's Map!]

The handwriting is childish yet full of vitality. Just looking at it, one can almost imagine the youthful and mischievous laughter of four carefree young wizards who left this magical item many years ago.

What a pity, fate is cruel.

My fingers traced the four names at the top.

Today, the people represented by these four names are either dead, disabled, or have become despondent and self-exiled, or are wallowing in pain and nearly driven to madness.

Vaughn sighed inwardly and then looked away, glancing at the graphic outlined by the ink stains beneath the lines of text.

This map depicts the entire Hogwarts Castle and its grounds, with every detail scaled down to the nearest scale and imprinted on the paper, making it instantly recognizable.

The so-called "live points" in the name refer to the numerous small black dots scattered throughout the castle and terrain graphics, some stationary and some moving, that appear when the map is opened.

Each small black dot represents a person.

There are also very small words next to it showing this person's name!

"A remarkable alchemical creation—" Looking down at the map, Vaughn gave this seemingly whimsical work a very high evaluation.

On the map, he saw Dumbledore still lingering in the Chamber of Secrets—although the area where Dumbledore was located was not drawn on the map, but rather appeared to be trapped in a blank space.

They also saw Harry and Ron fast asleep in the bedroom. Between them was a tiny mouse footprint, but next to the footprint was a human name: Peter Pediru!

"Ha, Wormtail—or rather, Peter Pettigrew!"

Vaughn smiled. He had been wondering if Peter, who was also involved in creating the Marauder's Map, would have a way of hiding himself.

In retrospect, the original four raiders were not capable of adding too many of their own ideas to such a stunning alchemical creation.

The Marauder's Map is one of the most magical items that Mr. Harry Potter, the great savior, received during his student years.

Vaughn certainly wouldn't ignore it.

In fact, when he started getting involved with magic, his first plan for himself was to get the Marauder's Map.

Based on the details from their previous life's memories, the Marauder's Map was probably stolen from Filch when the twins were in first grade.

Then they gave it to Harry when he was in his third year.

But perhaps his arrival affected the "plot"—when Fred and George enrolled, Vaughn had already made a name for himself in the potions field. Although Arthur and Molly were unwilling to let Vaughn bear the burden of household expenses, the Galleons earned by Vaughn's beauty line still greatly alleviated the Weasley family's financial difficulties.

At least when the twins enrolled in school, Vaughn provided them with the same funding for their studies, and even without this huge expense, Arthur and Molly did not cut off the twins' allowance.

As a result, those two troublemakers had spare money to invest in alchemy since they were in first grade.

With something worthwhile to do to earn money, the twins, though still causing trouble and clashing with Filch multiple times, no longer had the leisure to steal things that Filch had confiscated.

Vaughn, who hadn't enrolled yet, naturally missed out on Marauder's Map.

As for why I didn't receive it when I enrolled later—

That's because, as Vaughn's magical power gradually increased, he understood the principles behind the creation of the Marauder's Map. The map itself has almost no technical content; its amazing aspects are only in two parts.

First, there's the concealment magic. In Vaughn's memories from his previous life, Snape was completely fooled by the concealment magic when he first encountered the Marauder's Map.

Secondly, it records and displays the magic of all living people within the Hogwarts area.

The second point is its core function!

"Just as I sensed when I enrolled, everyone who steps into Hogwarts automatically signs a non-binding contract."

Vaughn's eyes gleamed as he tapped and swiped his wand across the Marauder's Map, observing and pondering: "This kind of contract magic must have been added to the castle by the Ministry of Magic later, originally intended to facilitate tracking."

It can't possibly be the four giants, because the four giants have more sophisticated methods, like the Book of Entry!

That book records the wizards of the entire Commonwealth (excluding the British Isles), far more formidable than the Silk Road Wizard.

"The creation of the Marauder's Map must have cleverly utilized that contract magic. Everyone who enters the castle and automatically signs a contract with it is also automatically recorded by the Marauder's Map."

Enveloped in magical light, Vaughn saw the entire castle radiating light, the glow of the Marauder's Map in his hand mirroring the castle's glow.

This indicates that the two are connected in the field of occultism.

This was also Vaughn's guess when he enrolled last year, which is why he didn't pay much attention to Marauder's Map back then.

After all, if one only borrows the castle's magic instead of having the ability to sign contracts, the research value of the Marauder's Map is greatly reduced.

Of course, this doesn't mean the Raiders quartet isn't powerful.

On the contrary, Vaughn thought they were quite remarkable.

When they created the Marauder's Map, they were still students. How many wizards could have such ingenious ideas and powerful alchemical skills at such a young age?

Perhaps there's also some family background involved—for example, Bigfoot, Sirius Black. The Black family has produced many high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Magic. It's hard to say whether any Black family officials "moved" magical materials home when the Ministry of Magic launched the Scrolls to remodel Hogwarts.

More than a hundred years ago, Phineas Black, the headmaster of Hogwarts, did just that!

After studying it for a while, Vaughn refocused his attention on the map, on the small black dots. After searching for a moment, he finally spotted two familiar names in a corner of the castle:

Mischievous Ghost.

Colin Crevey.

The two hid in a secret passage on the fourth floor, very close to each other. Crevy's footprints remained still, as if he was doing something, while Peeves' footprints hopped and skipped, as if he was very excited.