Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 273 Vaughn: All of you come at me at once!

"In ancient times, magic was not the primary power that wizards relied on for a long time. Senior students who have studied the relevant history of magic should know that it was not called magic back then, and it did not even have a unified name. Of course, now we have named it Ancient Magic."

"Ancient magic is a very difficult magic system to define. It does not have a standard with the same underlying logic. We can only divide it into some common steps, such as rituals and celestial phenomena. In particular, celestial phenomena (including stars) are the most powerful source of mystery in mysticism."

"Therefore, ancient magic is usually extremely powerful, capable of summoning wind and rain, and even the stars and the moon—the price is that it is very difficult to perform. To give an example of an ancient magic that has survived to this day, Animagus is the most advanced magic in Transfiguration."

"Its conditions are so harsh they're practically hellish. To complete this spell, you first need to keep a herb in your mouth for a whole month, from one full moon to another—don't ask me what herb it is, I won't tell you."

The young wizards who had been listening intently in the audience suddenly sighed in despair. Some had even pulled out their notebooks, only to hear such devastating news.

One of the twins yelled, "Why didn't you say so? We want to learn ancient magic!"

"I didn't tell you because it's too difficult. I'm sure, George, you absolutely won't be able to stick with it. Listen to me—for the next month, you absolutely cannot swallow or remove the herbs you're holding in your mouth, or you'll have to start all over again."

"After a month, during the full moon, remove the herbs; the first step of the ritual is complete. The second step is to place the herbs into a crystal bottle filled with medicinal liquid, allowing it to bask in the moonlight. Then add the auxiliary ingredients. Again, don't ask me what the 'medicinal liquid' is or what the auxiliary ingredients are."

"The difficulty lies here: a full moon is a necessary celestial phenomenon, so if the day of the full moon is cloudy—then we have to start all over again from the very first step!"

Among the crowd, George, who had initially thought he wouldn't be able to persevere after hearing Vaughn's words, was now, like many other young wizards, having second thoughts.

And that's not all.

After the full moon ritual is completed, Animagus magic, driven by the mystery of the celestial phenomenon, will eventually form a bottle of blood-red "potion".

The reason it's in quotes is because this potion has absolutely nothing to do with the current potion system; it's merely part of the ritual to complete a spell.

Anyway, by the end, everyone was terrified.

"————Animagus is extremely powerful. Wizards who learn it can switch between animal and human forms instantly without wands or spells, simply by thinking about it. Moreover, unless another wizard sees you transform, no detection magic can clearly distinguish an Animagus."

"In comparison, the effects of spells are much weaker. Even the most powerful spells in the transformation field can only maintain the transformation for a few hours."

As he spoke, Vaughn looked around and smiled, "Can anyone explain why the weaker modern spell system has been able to replace ancient magic and become the mainstream in the magical world?"

This is still a question that doesn't require thinking.

Many people raised their hands.

Vaughn glanced at it and "casually" picked Hermione.

The girl clearly sensed her boyfriend's favoritism, her face flushing slightly. However, as a confident top student, she forcibly suppressed her embarrassment and replied, "Because modern spell systems are more convenient, I don't know much about ancient magic. But judging from your example, the more powerful ancient magic was obviously hampered by cumbersome and demanding rituals, which is why it was abandoned by our predecessors."

Vaughn nodded, then looked at the others: "Do you all think so too?"

The students who had raised their hands exchanged glances and slowly lowered them, clearly knowing the reason behind it.

"Miss Granger's answer is fairly standard," Vaughn agreed, but then his tone shifted: "However, can modern spells truly not reach the heights of ancient magic?"

"?"

If reality were a comic book, those little heads in the audience would probably be slowly forming question marks at this moment.

Seeing everyone's confusion, Vaughn remained unfazed: "Or perhaps I should ask this: in your hearts, is the power of a spell determined by the power of the spell itself, or by the power of the caster?"

This question is a bit beyond the scope of the curriculum!

Not to mention the younger wizards, even some seventh-grade students who came here specifically for this day couldn't answer the question.

Because the two sound almost identical.

Professor Flitwick, however, showed interest.

At Hogwarts, he was considered an authority on spells. The question Vaughn raised pointed to a core issue: since spells use magic as their energy source, could the power of spells be infinitely increased if magic was used without limit?

From a practical standpoint, this seems difficult to achieve, since the factors that make a spell magical are not limited to magic power, but also include emotions, the structure of the spell, and other factors.

But theoretically, it seems feasible.

but----

Is Vaughn really going to discuss such obscure, almost philosophical questions in front of a group of young wizards?

of course not.

Changing the subject, Vaughn on the platform said, "If you ask me this question, I would say that a wizard's own strength is true strength. In my opinion, the modern spell system and ancient magic are not much different in structure. Ancient magic relies on rituals and celestial phenomena, and modern spells have the same structure. It's just that the underlying logic of the system has been replaced by spells and wand gestures."

"The principles involved are quite complex, but unfortunately, club activities aren't magic lessons, and I'm not standing here today to teach you the theory—so, let's leave the theory for now and move on."

Vaughn slowly raised the hand holding his wand: "Let's begin the demonstration!"

Upon hearing this, the young wizards below, who had been confused by the previous rhetorical questions, immediately came to their senses.

They looked at Vaughn with excitement; hadn't they waited until now for this moment?

For the sake of bizarre, mysterious, and powerful spells!

But the next moment, Vaughn poured cold water on everyone's enthusiasm: "Let's go back to the question from a little earlier. For the first event, I'm not going to demonstrate any profound magic to you. Instead, I'll show you another possibility through my own exploration."

As he spoke, he flicked his wand, and the air in the room moved accordingly.

Amidst the gasps of the young wizards below, all the candles and braziers in the training ground went out in the wind.

The room was pitch black.

Then, a pale blue glow appeared in the darkness, accompanied by a short incantation:

"Lumo!"

A very familiar incantation.

Almost every young wizard knows these basic spells—including first graders, who, a month into the semester, have already been taught in Charms class.

That's it?

Many people were somewhat disappointed.

Seemingly sensing their disappointment, Vaughn's voice rang in everyone's ears: "Please be patient, students. The Glowing Charm should be a spell that everyone knows. It's very easy to master. Even young wizards who haven't enrolled can learn it through practice."

"But just because it's easy to get started doesn't mean its potential is limited. As long as you can grasp the patterns and master it, this beginner's magic can produce effects beyond your comprehension, for example..."

Snapped!

A snap of the fingers.

The pale blue ball of light suspended in the darkness suddenly expanded, the cold blue light quickly faded, and a golden-red fireball rapidly expanded.

The dim, yellow light made the orb of light resemble the sun, dyeing everything in the room the color of a fiery sunset.

And the colors kept changing: red, white, green, orange—

"That changes the color; next, I can change its properties."

Before he could finish speaking...

With a bang.

As you can see, the ball of light representing the constantly changing colors of the glowing spell exploded.

The intense light tore apart the colors, leaving everyone who stared at it in a blank, white expanse, unable to see anything, and plunged into a state of temporary blindness.

The demonstration isn't over yet.

"I can make it take it back!"

As these words were spoken, the space filled with intense light, like a videotape on reverse, saw countless bursts of light "shrink" back, reforming into a blue sphere of light around them.

"They can be separated!"

The next moment, the ball of light split into many smaller balls of light, which he manipulated to spread evenly across the entire training ground.

"Another bombshell!"

It was another burst of light, but this time, the dazzling light filled the entire training ground like an overflowing lake, submerging everything it touched.

The spectacle was so acrobatic that it left the audience speechless.

The dazzling light, like rippling lake water, "flowed" before everyone's eyes.

The dreamlike scene made one almost feel as if they were in some illusory realm. The traces of light were reflected in the eyes of the young wizards, making their eyes sparkle.

Both because of the light and because of Vaughn's incredible magic.

The diffused light didn't last long; soon, with another snap of Vaughn's fingers, it retracted back to Vaughn's fingertips as if rewinding.

It condensed into a tiny speck of light, the size of a soybean, flickered a few times, and then went out!

Vaughn waved his wand again, and the candles and brazier that had been blown out earlier began to flicker again, restoring the lighting in the room to what it had been moments before.

The training ground was completely silent. Many people looked dazed, as if they had not yet recovered from the scene just now. On the other side, the professors, especially Professor Flitwick, were trying to widen their small eyes, and tears were faintly visible in their dark eyes.

A moment later, he clapped his hands enthusiastically: "Fantastic! A wonderful demonstration, exquisite magic!"

The loud applause startled the young wizards, and soon, a wave of applause followed one after another. Every young wizard clapped enthusiastically, their eyes filled with admiration and anticipation as they looked at Vaughn's figure on the high platform.

Honestly, before Vaughn's demonstration, not to mention these young wizards, even many professors didn't know that the Glowing Charm could achieve such a magical and beautiful effect.

And it's not over yet.

On the high platform, once everyone had calmed down a bit, Vaughn continued with a smile, "I know that since the Duel Club registration period started, many rumors have been circulating in the castle, and I've heard everyone's discussions. Many students hope to join the club and learn powerful magic."

"I understand everyone's thoughts. I used to hope that I could be like the protagonists in wizarding novels, falling off a cliff or finding some treasure, learning an earth-shattering spell, and becoming invincible in the magical world."

Vaughn's words drew a burst of approving laughter.

Many young wizards suddenly felt closer to Vaughn Weasley, because they had also daydreamed about it.

In the suddenly relaxed atmosphere, Vaughn continued to express his point of view: "————But the reality is that there is no magic spell that can make people instantly successful. You see how beautiful the glow spell I just used is, right? But three years ago, when I first mastered it in the attic of my house, its light was not even as bright as a candle that was about to burn out."

"Magic is not static. It doesn't mean that once you learn a spell, its effect will always be the same. There is a process from unfamiliarity to proficiency, from weak to strong. For example, in my case, this process was the growth of my magic power and the continuous improvement of my understanding of spells over three years."

"Ultimately, the spell's power comes from my own increasing strength as the spellcaster. Only by becoming stronger can I orchestrate more miracles!"

"Compared to this, simply pursuing powerful spells is putting the cart before the horse."

There was a lot of discussion in the audience.

Some people seemed to have realized something.

Some people didn't quite understand.

Some felt that Vaughn's statement, along with the usual step-by-step learning approach emphasized by professors, was too conservative.

Amidst the cacophony of noise, Vaughn seemed unfazed. His words, amplified by the loud curse, remained calm as he spoke: "I know that simply stating it like this might not be very intuitive, so for the next demonstration, I'll need a few students to cooperate in a duel format, which also aligns with the club's name."

"To prevent cheating, you can choose yourselves, there's no limit to the number. The people you choose can use whatever advanced magic they know, while I'll only use basic magic from around the third year. How about that?"

this----

The people below the stage looked at each other in bewilderment.

Some were worried, some were surprised, but most, especially the older students, were very interested.

Vaughn Weasley!

A member of the Order of Merlin, the most famous student at Hogwarts, even more famous than Harry Potter, the savior.

If we could defeat this "big shot" in a duel, then—

Many students' expressions became eager, and soon, this excitement turned into action, with students from each grade and college stepping forward one after another.

In a corner, Professor Flitwick shouted, "Merlin, how could Vaughn make such a decision? He's incurred public wrath; many will stand up and try to defeat him. Severus, you must stop him—"

"You're worried he'll get hurt?" Snape asked expressionlessly. "It seems you don't know him as well as I thought, Philius. He—"

"No, I'm worried about the children who challenge him getting hurt. Of course I know Vaughn, his magic, his understanding of spells—those little wizards are simply not on his level. I even suspect that if he were to take action, it would severely damage those children's confidence!"

Flitwick blinked and said worriedly.

Snape had a slight suspicion that Flitwick was deliberately making a big fuss to gain Vaughn's favor by going against the grain.

hateful!

I knew that cunning Takayuu wasn't a good person!

If the professor's actions were partly acting, then Harry, who stayed in the second-year section, was genuinely worried about Vaughn.

"My God, so many sixth and seventh graders stepped forward. Is he really going to fight all of them?"

Harry looked nervous.

"It should be fine, right?" Ron tried to calm himself down, but his stammering tone and clenched hands betrayed his nervousness.

Hermione, however, seemed completely confident, reassuring them, "Vaughn isn't arrogant. The Duel Club is important to him, and he wouldn't do this if he wasn't sure."

"How do you know? What if he gets arrogant and loses his mind?" Ron retorted instinctively.

Hermione glanced at him: "Shut up, Ronald. I'm not like you, you don't even trust your own family!"

"6

"Ron stared wide-eyed at Harry in disbelief, lowering his voice: "This girl, she hasn't even joined the Weasleys yet, and she's already acting like Vaughn's family—"

Unfortunately, Harry wasn't in the mood to pay attention to his accusations.

Because the person who will challenge Vaughn has already been chosen in the arena.

To Harry's surprise, he also saw Malfoy among them.

Vaughn saw it too, but unlike Harry's instinctive wariness, Vaughn noticed that Malfoy was all smiles and even greeted him.

Vaughn returned the greeting: "Draco, are you coming too? I must make it clear, once we start, I won't hold back."

"It's alright." Malfoy's pale face flushed with excitement. "I want to experience what it's like to fight you. I'm not afraid of pain!"

'

'

Something feels off.

Ignoring the strange Draco for the moment, Vaughn looked at the other chosen people.

The young wizards chose five people in total, making six with Draco.

Almost all of them came from the other three colleges.

Vaughn's mind flashed through their application information: Gryffindor selected three people, two from the sixth grade and one from the fifth grade.

Ravenclaw selected a sixth-grade student.

The person who came out of Hufflepuff was an acquaintance of Vaughn's, Cedric Diggory, who was in fourth grade this year.

This most famous Hufflepuff student, known for his kind and generous nature, scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly when he saw Vaughn looking over: "People don't quite believe you can beat us, but I know you can. I don't want them to get hurt, so I volunteered. But Vaughn, don't hold back later. I hope everyone can recognize the gap between us through this battle."

The Hufflepuffs behind him: "————"

Vaughn smiled and nodded: "I will, Syed."

Aside from Cedric and Draco, Vaughn wasn't very familiar with the others; he simply greeted them.

There wasn't much tension between the two sides. Although the older students' eyes were full of fighting spirit, they didn't have any more malicious emotions.

Vaughn's rules did sound arrogant, but everyone had just witnessed his amazing Flurry Spell and knew how powerful it was, so they naturally didn't make a fuss.

One of the Gryffindor sixth-grade students even asked Vaughn, "Who are you going to start with?"

He was quite gracious, handing the choice over to Vaughn.

But to everyone's surprise, Vaughn answered without hesitation, "All of you come at me together!"

There was a moment of silence in the audience, followed by a buzz of discussion.

Several of the older students who were chosen to fight frowned.

Vaughn ignored this completely and said, "According to the rules I just mentioned, you will use the most powerful spells you know, and I will use basic spells from around the third year. The condition for victory is disarming and losing the ability to fight. Does anyone have any objections?"

'

Before the phrase "Let's all go together" is uttered, they may have had objections, and their simple moral compass would make them ashamed to fight outnumbered.

But now, the Gryffindors were filled with nothing but annoyance.

Cedric hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something, but seeing Vaughn's calm expression, he didn't say anything.

As for Draco—he's the only one from Slytherin who didn't want to come, so he just showed up to join the fun and naturally doesn't have any opinions about anything.

Several contestants, each with their own agendas, were still hesitating.

The sixth-year student from Ravenclaw suddenly smiled slightly: "Then, please enlighten me, Mr. Weasley!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his wand and chanted the spell:

"Deprimo!"

The battle erupted suddenly and violently, catching everyone off guard. A flash of magic struck Vaughn's feet, and the ground in that area churned violently like a boiling pot.

Then it cracks and collapses!

Earthquake curse!

A powerful spell capable of directly collapsing a house.

No one expected the start to be so violent. The young wizards watching screamed and backed away, while Harry and Ron turned pale and cried out in surprise.

But in the center of everyone's light, Vaughn did not fall to the ground as everyone expected due to the sudden effect of the spell.

He simply waved his wand casually amidst the swirling dust, maintaining the loud spell so everyone could hear his brief incantation:

"Feer Lig"

Then everyone could clearly see that he floated up like a feather, carried by the airflow generated by the vibration.

"It's a spell as light as a feather!"

A quick-thinking young wizard in the crowd shouted, "The transfiguration spell we'll learn in the second semester of second grade—make yourself as light as a feather!"

"Oh—"

The second-year students suddenly realized something. Of course, among these voices of understanding were also some of the third- and fourth-year underachievers. Although the others were annoyed by Ravenclaw's sudden intervention, since the fight was permitted by Vaughn Weasley himself and had already begun, they had no choice but to catch up as quickly as possible.

A Gryffindor sixth-year student struggled to raise his wand, and as the spell burst from between his clenched teeth, thick, hazy clouds of mist shot from the tip of his wand and gathered in mid-air.

In the blink of an eye, a thick, leaden cloud formed.

Thunder roared through the clouds.